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At my Unitarian Universalist church, we have a ritual every Sunday of lighting a candle of compassion, accompanied by a few words of meditation or prayer or our hopes for a better world–whatever you want to call it. Yesterday I served as the lay leader for the service and this is what I wrote when I lit the candle.
Each Sunday we light a candle of compassion for those in our community and around the world who are struggling or suffering. At this moment in history, the number of people who fall into those categories seems to be growing exponentially.
As UUs, we strive to cultivate equity, justice, and generosity, among other essential values. Meanwhile, a lot of people with a lot of power are working hard not only to remove these words from our shared vocabulary, but also to destroy their meaning and manifestation in our society. Which means we need to dig deep for compassion and hold tight to love. Our faith compels us to double down on kindness and refuse to abandon our commitment to our fellow humans.
It’s not always easy, though, as we bear witness day after day to selfishness, callousness, and utter disregard for humanity. So we must start by offering compassion to ourselves. We need to do what it takes to care for ourselves if we are to continue caring for others.
We share our compassion with all people who are isolated, persecuted, marginalized, or abused because of who they are or how they look or where they live or what they believe or their desire to be fully themselves. We hope for them mercy, relief, wholeness, and ease. We extend compassion to those who feel demoralized, devalued, and lost, and wish for them affirmation and encouragement and the understanding that something better is possible.
And, as we begin our celebration of pride month, may we offer our compassion to our LGBTQIA+ siblings and those who support them. We hope for them not just safety and belonging, but also love, and joy. We strive for a world where members of the queer community are not just accepted but authentically embraced.
May we extend compassion to all who need it, including ourselves.
You Ask a Lot of Questions 