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Nov 14

Post-Election Resources for Families

The following is a list compiled by Rhea Brown-Bright, the Director of Lifespan Religious Education of the Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church.


Children’s Books:

Sometimes we need to take a moment to ground ourselves in what we value. These books help us take a moment to remind ourselves the world around us still has hope in it. While most of these books are geared towards younger children (K-3), there is something to sitting with a picture book at any age. All the themes overlap even if broken into categories, so feel free to reflect on any or all topics in the books.


Community Building:

What We'll Build by Oliver Jeffers

Everything is Connected by Jason Gruhl

Love Grows Everywhere by Barry Timms and Tisha Lee

Thank you Omu by Oge Mora

Finding People who Understand you:

The Day you Begin by Jacqueline Woodson

I am Stuck by Julia Mills

For Trans, Gender Non-Conforming, & Queer Young Folks

From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea by Kai Cheng Thom

What are your Words by Katherine Locke

Teo’s Tutu by Maryann Jacob Macias, illustrated by Alea Marley

Twas the Night Before Pride by Joanna McClintick, Illustrated by Juana Medina


Anti-Racist

Anti-Racist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi

All the Colors We Are by Katie Kissinger

Intersection Allies: We Make Room for All by LaToya Council & Carolyn Choi

I am Mixed  by Garcelle Beauvais and Sebastian A. Jones

Our Earth

We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

Berry Song by Michaela Goade

Coco’s Fire: Changing Climate Anxiety Into Climate Action by Jeremy D. Wortzel & Lena K. Champlin


Blessings & Readings for these Times:

There is a comfort in being able to read words of comfort and care, during times of sorrow. These words might resonate with older kids, especially high schoolers. Some of these blessings and readings rely on the word God, you can change that for your comfort. Perhaps spirit, love, or another word might resonate more. Or maybe for you, God is the right word. Use the words below as appropriate for your family.

“In lament, our task is never to convince someone of the brokenness of this world; it is to convince them of the world’s worth in the first place. True lament is not born from that trite sentiment that the world is bad but rather from a deep conviction that it is worthy of goodness.”

“For Boundaries in Our Empathy” from


Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Mediations For Staying Human by Cole Arthur Riley

“God of shared tears, There is too much to hold. Our bodies cannot take it. Release us from the underlying guilt that we are not doing enough, crying enough, working hard enough. Sometimes it is easier to cry for another than for ourselves. Help us encounter our own emotions with the same attunement we possess for others. Develop our discernment for when our experience of the pain of others is good, and when it is an exercise in self-escape or saviorism. We confess that too often we give our attention only to receive attention. We perform empathy to feel a part of something. Protect us from the commodification of our shared lament. In all our efforts toward emotional solidarity, help us to truly center those who are hurting, and decenter the forces of whiteness that would leverage tragedy for profit. Expose how public performances of lament only serve to mask the detached morality of the most privileged. If we weep with the suffering, may their cries always ring louder. If we feel anything at all, make it honest. Amen”


“For when you need a little hope” from The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days by Kate Bowler and Jesica Richie

“Oh God, these feel like darkening days,

With little hope to be found.

We cry out: Where are you, God?

And where are your people,

The sensible ones who fight for good?

Why does the bad always seem to squeeze out

all that is good?

Oh God, help us in our exhaustion and in our desperation.

When we’re tempted to throw our hands up

in surrender,

anchor us in hope.

Blessed are with eyes open to see reality:

The sickness and loneliness,

The injustice of racial oppression,

The unimpeded greed and misuse of power,

Violence, intimidation,

And use of dominance for its own sake,

The mockery of truth,

And disdain for weakness,

And worse–

The seeming powerlessness

Of anyone trying to stop it.

Blessed are we who are worn out from cynicism

That we feel we’ve earned.

We who are running on fumes,

Without the promise of destination,

God, seek us out, and find us,

And lead us to where hope lies,

Where your peaceable kingdom will come

And your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Hope is an anchor dropped into the future.

We feel you pulling us toward it once again.”


“For collective grief” from The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days by Kate Bowler and Jesica Richie

“This world.

Impossible.

Unthinkable.

We are brought to our knees.

God, today, there is no true north.

And when I last checked,

The sun did not rise at all.

Today, the innocent still suffer,

Buildings still fall,

Families still grieve.

A world has ended without

Any reasonable fanfare.

This is the way of tragedy,

How it breaks in and robs us while we sleep.

Help us to know what to feel,

What to do,

How to grieve– together.

Blessed are we

Who try to see things clearly,

Though the truth of it all feels

Unimaginable.

Blessed are we

Who ask and ait, and ask again,

For answers that may not come,

For hope that seems hard to find,

For comfort that is not easily offered.

Along the day

Show us how to live

When we’ve lost the things

We cannot get back.

Remind us that you

Are our home and our refuge.

When life’s unthinkable fragility

Is too difficult to hold,

Take my hands.


“Wild Forces” by St. Francis of Assisi in Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West

There are beautiful wild forces within us.

Let them turn the mills inside

And fill sacks

That feed even

Heaven.


“A Hundred Objects Close” by Mira in Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West

I know a cure for sadness:

Let your hand touch something that

makes your eyes smile.

I bet there are a hundred objects close by

that can do that.

Look at

beauty’s gift to us –

her power is great that she enlivens

the earth, the sky, our

soul.


“A Prayer Against Apathy” By Nicholas D’Agosto- https://www.uua.org/worship/words/prayer/prayer-against-apathy

Nature is only ever at work.

Take stock of the world around you:

Constantly in movement,

Each action suited to its end.

Fire, with its ferocity and voracity,

devours, ignites, it roars its presence,

and illumines the front.

From it, people recoil.

It singes and scars, but it also clears space.

Some of us must act like fire.

Water, with its elegant, erosive powers;

Steady is the flow of its work.

With direction, sustainability,

A river is what nourishes and carves;

Not a typhoon, which destroys indiscriminately, recedes,

And leaves the people in drought.

Some of us must act like water.

Earth, with its food to eat,

and generative soil;

Its many forms of living companions

to comfort us in times of solitude, of loss.

Earth rejuvenates, and holds us.

Some of us must act like earth.

Air, so integral to all of us we must remind ourselves to notice our breath.

Not one of us lives without it.

Not one of us is untouched by it.

It cannot help but give, and forgive.

Single-minded, it knows everything as one.

Some of us must act like air.

May we each model in our natures,

the best in Nature.

Eternally changing;

Knowing only movement,

And an urge to create life.

Amen, and blessed be.


“Justice Is Our Prayer” by Rebekah Savage- https://www.uua.org/worship/words/opening/justice-our-prayer

We gather together today with sacred intention to declare that Justice is our prayer.

We affirm in covenant with the Beloved Community that is possible.

Not here, not quite yet.

The seeds have been planted time and again,

and we remember all those who went before us who made Beloved Community a dream that could be realized.

Justice is our prayer.

May our time of worship/service together continue to water the budding trees of our diverse interdependence.

May our time of worship give air and nourishment to the parts of our collective spirits

that need to grow and thrive;

that embrace equity as a known way of being.

Justice is our prayer.

We affirm in covenant with the Beloved Community that this is possible.

May it be so.

Let us worship together.


Music:

Below are songs that I have found to bring peace, joy, and comfort. Music can be a reset, and sometimes music that feels like worship and rage is exactly what the soul needs.

Spotify playlists:

Collectively Here- a playlist curated by Rhea

Sanctuary Boston Playlist

Youtube:

"Forget Your Perfect Offerings"

"Courage, My Friend"

"There is a Love"

"Keep on Moving Forward"


Good News from the Election:

The results of election night were hard on the presidential election. However, some good stuff still happened below. Linked below are sources of information about those elected such as the first trans woman to Congress, the first Black mayor in Tulsa, OK, and more.

Political seats-

7 states protected abortion rights, including Missouri one state that had the most restrictive law before-

Activities/Actions to do: You might be feeling like you need to do something. To find a way to make meaning. Below are some ideas that may be personal or go outward into the community.

Reflect on our shared values as Unitarian Universalists: How do we live out having love at our center? What does it mean to create a world where from love we work towards justice, transformation, pluralism, generosity, interdependence, and equity? Maybe you could do a drawing, journal, or talk together about what this means for you.



Rest:

I know, it sounds counterintuitive, but for work to continue rest must also happen. Take a moment to think about the ways you haven’t rested. Where have you and your family grinded too hard? What helps you slow down? Maybe singing is restful for you. Maybe playing a game or doing a puzzle is restful for you. Maybe journaling is a rest practice for you. Or, maybe, taking a nap is what you need. Check out more about rest and rest practices at the nap ministry:


Volunteer:

It is vital that we take care of each other. That we both provide the care we can and receive care. One of the ways we can provide care is through volunteering with organizations that we share values with and help make sure our neighbors have what they need. Here are some links to potential places to volunteer near Melrose:

Volunteer Match- A website with different nearby volunteer opportunities

Volunteer opportunities for high schoolers at Melrose Public Library


Donate:

If you have the resources, talk about places you could donate money as a family to make a difference. Below are some possibilities, but not the only ones.

Look up if there are mutual aid funds in your area.

Planned Parenthood

Trans Emergency Fund

Forward Fund


Chalking:

Have some sidewalks to use? Have some chalk? Write notes of hope and love for people to come across. This idea comes from the 2016 election: https://www.twincities.com/2016/11/14/post-election-love-notes-in-chalk-appearing-around-twin-cities

Ideas of things to write:

You are Beloved

Peace Unto You/As-salamu alaykum

Always Center Love

All are Welcome

A Dream Chain:

You may have more commonly heard this concept called a gratitude chain. However, rather than gratitudes use this to create a piece of art showing what dreams you have for the future. What could you build together? What does a just equitable world look like? This could include some gratitudes you have for the world already, but dream of the world that could be and hang it as a reminder.


Be in Community: One of the best things we can do is be in community. Share meals with neighbors, have movie nights, and create spaces for collective dreaming.


Talking about the election: It’s hard to talk about the election. For a lot of our young folks, they feel like a decision was made they had no say in and they are hurt. Some may not seem to feel much about it. All of that is okay. Below are some resources for how to talk with kids about the election.


Guidance For Talking to Kids about the Election

Guiding kids -- and ourselves -- through the election aftermath

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