On the Tuesday after Inauguration Day, I spoke with my pastor. “What do you think about putting our pronouns on our church nametags?” I asked. “She, hers… He, his… They, theirs? Can we make it clear we understand there are people who do not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth, and that there are people who are nonbinary?”
On the Wednesday after Inauguration Day, I talked to the executive director of a not-for-profit on whose board I serve. “In our next newsletter,” I asked, “can we mention our DEI Committee? Can we lift up our commitment to the values and goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion?”
On Friday, I went to work at Rock Valley College and warmly welcomed a group of immigrants who had come to take placement tests to begin English class in February.
And on Saturday, I created publicity for a special drive for the Rock River Valley Pantry—this month my congregation will be filling our collection barrel with ethnic foods.
Even in the USA, many people believe they have no political power. Did you know that more than a third of our eligible voting age population did not vote in the recent election? But I believe political power is given to us all, at the very tip of the grassroots; it begins with the choices and decisions we make each day. And I believe that simple acts of kindness, hospitality, fairness, and solidarity can sometimes be acts of resistance.
