April 14, 2021

At a recent and excellent anti racism training Rev. Emilie and I (Tuli) attended (organized by Rev. Robin before she went on sabbatical), we were told, “Hope is a strategy.” It felt immediately strange to my ears. For decades, as a trained sexuality educator, a mantra is, “Hope is NOT a strategy.” It took me a while to sort out the difference: of course hope cannot be a strategy when it comes to sexuality and safety, similar to the wearing of seatbelts. We would never dream of not wearing a seatbelt and “hoping” everything would be ok. But with our efforts for equity, racial or otherwise, hope HAS to be a strategy or else we would not be able to strive towards it over the generations.

And yet: what is the seat belt equivalent when it comes to anti racism and the journey towards equity? How do we keep ourselves and the others around us, particularly the marginalized, safe? For me, it is our covenants, our shared ideals, and our relationships that are going to keep us safe as well as a keen awareness that safety for white people is not the same as safety for people of color. There can be no one “seat belt” equivalent until we achieve equity. We must remain hopeful that this day will come or else our resolve will weaken. We must also know that our white siblings will have to endure and engage more deeply so that people of color can be safe. 

What keeps you safe, Beloved, even as you have hope for a more just and equitable world?

Yours, in faith, 

Tuli and Rev. Emilie (with Rev. Robin on sabbatical)