Rev. Nan L. White delivered this address during an interfaith vigil for Orlando shooting victims’ families, held Saturday, June 18 at Havurah Shir Hadash.

Last Sunday night, after the horrific news in Orlando, and a long, emotionally draining day ministering to people of my congregation and strangers, I decided to watch the Tony Awards loving Broadway and theatre. One of the winners of a Tony award, I don’t remember who or for what,said during his few moments expressing gratitude that “When a tragedy like Orlando occurs, we can let it define us, destroy us or strengthen us.” Those words rang true for me all week and I imagine many of you, like myself, struggled emotionally, spiritually, and in practical ways of daily functioning, often wondering how long will it take to feel normal again.

We have all been changed by this tragedy and we can’t go back to whatever we understood as normal.Our response forward is a choice, a personal choice and a choice that each faith community will make, and my prayer and hope is that our choices go in the direction of strengthening our resolve to live as a people of peace and love and justice.

We need each other to help strengthen and empower us to become more courageous than we were before this happened.

We need to support each other allowing room to grieve and mourn by offering a healing balm of compassion so that when we are face to face with anyone who expresses hate in any form we have the courage to express love more and more.

There is an African song we sing at my congregation (in our UU hymnal) and it was written to remind us that no matter what our personal circumstances, focusing on the healing potential of love helps us to go on. The tune was given the name “Biko,” in honor of South African anti-apartheid Activist Stephen Bantu Biko who was arrested in 1977 then beaten to death while being interrogated. The song is titled “There is More Love Somewhere” and I’d like us to join our voices in singing as a prayer and meditation for all of our faiths represented and those absent this morning, lifting up the Oneness of our humanity and our universal need for love.

There is more love somewhere
There is more love somewhere
I’m gonna keep on ’til I find it
There is more love somewhere.

Breathe in peace
Breathe out love

Be courageous in your living your one life.

Rev. Nan L. White
Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Ashland, Oregon