Some Things Can Only Be Carried

Dear friends,

In her book It’s OK That You’re Not OK, Megan Devine writes of heartache that can’t be cured: “There is pain in this world that you can’t be cheered out of. You don’t need solutions. You don’t need to move on from your grief. You need someone to see your grief, to acknowledge it… Some things cannot be fixed. They can only be carried.”

One year ago tomorrow, 18 people died in Lewiston because a person with significant mental illness was allowed to possess a weapon of war. We can work for gun control, but we cannot bring back those friends, family members, neighbors lost to violence. Some things cannot be fixed, they can only be carried.

That is true of so much right now, it feels. It’s a heavy time to be awake and alive in this country and world. We do what we can, but some things–like grief–aren’t to be fixed. They are to be held, witnessed, and carried together in community.

This is the purpose of Remembrance Sunday… the Sunday falling closest to Samhain, Halloween, All Saints and All Souls Day. The time where the veil between the living and the dead is believed to be thin.

We’ll honor those 18 lives lost in worship with a candle lighting liturgy, and honor the other beloveds we have lost over the years and whose memories are important to us by building a Memory Tree. We’ll have beautiful poems and music to share as well. I hope you’ll join us.

And if you’re interested in something that CAN be fixed, I invite you to consider signing up to be a signature collector on Election Day for a few hours on behalf of the Safe Schools, Safe Communities ballot initiative. It’s a bipartisan initiative working to get a red-flag gun law on the Maine ballot in 2025. The organizers will be using the A2U2 Sanctuary to put together their Election Day volunteer packets next week. When I find out what time they’ll be here I will share in case anyone would like to lend a hand in helping them assemble materials.

Whatever you carry, I look forward to seeing you on Sunday. And until then, may your days be blessed.

In faith,

Rev. Tara

(they/them)