“Violent acts aren’t uniting our nation in introspection, grief and grace — they’re separating us into warring factions.“
~ David French
Dear friends,
Every week, I think I’ll write a short rah-rah message about our Run for Courageous Welcome. And every week, I change my mind and write something that feels deeply meaningful—to me at least—because of what is going on in our world.
Not throwing shade on rah-rah, though. Never!
I feel I should begin by confessing my own culpability in the divide that seems to have widened this past week. Love and forgiveness have felt like lost commodities; both extra difficult and extraordinarily necessary. I start out loving and forgiving, and then a post or a podcast or a news reel pulls me into less-gracious territory. I’m not talking about equivocating or neutral graciousness. I’m talking about honest assessments that evolve somehow from anger to love instead of the other way around.
In a September 14 article aptly called “There are Monsters in Your Midst, Too,” David French says that when we craft our reality based on our own a “carefully curated false reality,” the widening chasm between “sides” is unavoidable:
As a result, no matter the direction of the tragedy, the end result is the same — the right grows angrier at the left, and the left grows angrier at the right.
I’m not sure what else to say, except that this is not our reality at Refuge. Here, we want—desperately want—to create:
Refuge instead of banishment
Harmony instead discord
Celebration instead of reproach
Blessing instead of cursing
Lived stories instead of loud ideologies
Middle-meetups instead of extreme-grenade-tossing
Respect instead of mockery
Grace, patience, and, yes, love for the “instead ofs”
This is not as easy to do or be as it is to write. I know you understand the complexity and sacrifice and collaboration it takes to love. That’s why you invest in the beauty of the story we’re telling here. That’s why we want to invest in you, in your community as well as ours.
And that, friends, is why we do this Run for Courageous Welcome. We are crafting a truly beautiful reality together. And I hope you’ll join in!
And now for the rah-rah the rest of the way to September 27!
Kitti
