I am sitting with photos of intense flooding in FL and reflecting on how each day brings new challenges and a profound need to be in community. We are living into the impacts of climate disruption in all of its forms – heat, floods, fires, tornadoes, and more. The moral call for a faithful and committed response could not be clearer. This is work we will continue to live into together as a movement.

I also find myself both grieving and determined in response to the renewed wake of violence in this nation – in the threats to our congregations and the devastation in our streets. Racialized violence, resistance to gun control, legislative violence, and the use of fear to promote controlling ideologies are just some of the ways people are being targeted in these heartbreaking times.

I know that I need to remain connected to all of you when the days are difficult. I know that the impact of our response is greater when we ground ourselves in our values and show up together to proclaim that another way is possible. Beloveds, I believe in us. I believe that we can renew the moral witness and prophetic action of the progressive religious left as we join together for all that is to come. The time for us to live the values of our faith every day is right now.”