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Dear Rev.Joan,
It’s so quiet. So intimate.
Those were my first thoughts when I stood in the street right next to the spot where Michael Brown was shot, where he died, and where his body lay for hours. For the last few nights I had seen the very different scene on West Florissant Avenue where thousands
of people gathered in pain and protest, and I never expected the actual site of the tragedy to be so close and still. The Canfield Garden apartments sit on a small neighborhood street with room for only one car to pass at a time. Imagining Michael’s body lying
on the center line of that tiny street in full view of all of the residents who knew him split my heart in two.
Being there, this street was a place of reflection, not rioting. This neighborhood is resilient, its inhabitants taking care of each other and deeply respecting the place where this young man was killed; honoring the life that ended there. The stark
contrast to what the media has portrayed was poignant.
I came to that spot—and have continued to come back—as part of a group of local clergy providing pastoral care and direct service at the request of the community. I listened to folks’ stories as I helped unload pallets of water and carry donations of groceries,
toilet paper, and diapers to cars. Many residents have lost their jobs because of businesses closing and public transit being disrupted by street closures. The community needed immediate assistance, and to be able to provide support, love, and nourishment
(physical, emotional, and spiritual) in the very same place that the death happened provided a powerful message of hope and the potential for the seeds of healing to be planted.
A lot of people have asked me how they can get involved and a lot of people have wanted to come to Ferguson. What I’ve told everyone who has asked is: Show up in your own community. Be in solidarity. Be accountable.
Injustice isn’t “coming soon to a town near you,” it’s here, it’s already struck your town, and the question is simply: how are you showing up?
For me, as someone who has only been living in the St. Louis area for two years, solidarity and accountability mean showing up to everything that I hear about, introducing myself as a UU minister, and then keeping my mouth shut. I don’t offer my resume of more
than a decade of experience doing pastoral care in crisis situations. I simply show up everywhere I am needed—show up, shut up, do what people ask of me, and show up again.
Showing up and being of service is how relationships are built and nurtured, particularly across lines of difference. And with relationships come mutual trust and the ability to take collective action to ensure that the seeds of healing, hope, and change don’t
die in fallow ground.
How will you plant and nurture seeds of change? This
collection of resources provides a good starting (or continuing) place. You can also stay connected to the faith-based response in Ferguson through our new UU
Facebook page and the organization
Praying With Our Feet.
Thank you to all who have joined me in honoring Michael Brown and the many, many others who have died due to violence and racial profiling by showing up.
In service,
Rev. Julie Taylor
Affiliated Community Minister, Emerson UU Chapel, Ellisville, MO
Board Member, UU Trauma Response Ministry
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