Reminders of hope...

I was at a meeting late yesterday afternoon - the founding of a new regional congregation-based social justice organization in the Berkshires - where our conversation drifted naturally towards our grief.  In addition to the organizers, the other folk were clergy and women religious - two clergy women and a nun - making me (the straight, white guy) the minority.  Regardless of our official offices, however, we all felt wounded, confused and angry about the Sandy Hook shootings that resulted in 28 dead (including the shooter and his mother.)

As we moved towards opening the meeting with prayer - and lighting a candle - we discovered that no one in the room had either a match or a lighter.  It was an "aha" moment that broke into our business like a ray of hope:  not only were there no smokers among us, but we didn't know anyone in the whole office who might be able to help.  Think about that:  it wasn't all that long ago that no smoking zones were the exception to the rule, while today this once outrageous practice is our norm.  The smoking lobby was strong and influential, but public sentiment - and public health education - shifted the balance of power away from smoking and towards real health.

"OMG," I said out loud.  "If that could happen then - and ripen into something so ordinary, that could happen with guns, too."  An Epiphany of hope, yes?  As energy builds in the USA towards gun control, we're also going to have to confront our culture of violence in new ways..  It will be rough going but also possible.  I know I need a reminder of hope from time to time to keep searching for the light in the darkness.  Think about it...