I don’t know if bearing witness, if keeping my soul tender, if loving each other even from far away is enough, it probably isn’t, but I want to believe it is something anyway.
Thank you. I so appreciate your voice out here in the wilderness. Not enough influencers are speaking about this atrocity, but you, in your inimitable way, are saying it better than most of us. Thank you.
With you in the unprocessible, bearing witness, staying as tender and soft and angered and anguished as I can. All while holding Julian of Norwich words in my heart like a daily mantra, trusting , begging, pleading for an end to this senseless genocide. The invitation to trust Love, humanity, in the liminal space of unknowing feels so tenuous right now. Yet will I trust AND do all the things to be in solidarity with those who mourn. Thanks for the naming, Sarah.
Thank you for speaking out, Sarah. I feel so much anger and frustration and sadness...and helplessness. Please explain to me how anyone can justify these horrors under the banner of God's plan to save His "chosen" people. I am ashamed of and disgusted with my government (USA) for supporting these atrocities in every way possible. What will it take? When will we learn? I can only take comfort in knowing that God is love and He weeps alongside us.
The Mennonite church I attend has a candle surrounded by rubble burning every Sunday we meet. Just a reminder to pray and bear witness to this horror. It's such a helpless feeling.
Hope. You give me hope. What you think about. Write about. It's not nothing. Lighting a candle. Saying a prayer. All you can do. I can do. Staying conscious. It's not nothing.
Thank you for using your voice/platform and your empathy to connect not only with your community, but with people on the other side of the globe. It means something.
Thank you for putting words to this situation that is untenable, and yet has been dragging on for months. It is hard to feel helpless and yet to know so deeply that this is wrong, but not be able to do much about it.
Divine Mother, protect your precious children. Open the hearts and eyes of those engaging in these atrocities, may their hearts bleed with remorse. May both sides find their way to peace. We trust Your wisdom and will be done.
Thank you for this witness. I agree about this need and have been supporting WCK for food for Gaza. I am also concerned about Haiti with the recent murder of a young missionary and his wife. I am supporting in my small way Heartline Haiti. It's important to remember this need even closer to home as well. But not to distract from the overwhelming need in Gaza.
I appreciate the concern for Gazan civilians, as I think not enough care has been taken to prevent civilian death. And I, too, bear witness to the disparities in Palestinian life, having lived in East Jerusalem for a few months and studied in the West Bank. That said, I think if we call for "ceasefire now" we also need to call for a release of the remaining hostages, which include a 4 year old and several young women where video evidence indicates they were raped as they were captured and are likely enduring ongoing sexual violence. I can't say "ceasefire now" to the parents of those young people because I would never give up trying to go after my family members if they were held in tunnels 85 feet underground in such conditions, and I wouldn't want my government to give up either. "Release the hostages" and "ceasefire now" must go hand-in-hand. I also think the term "genocide" in this case is unhelpful and inaccurate--a small quibble, but one that is deeply hurtful to Jewish people and is contributing to an alarming rise in antisemitism in the United States, including in ways that have affected my congregation (who shares a building with a Jewish synagogue). Nuance and complexity are really important for this most intricate of conversations. As always, appreciate your writing, but want to add those bits to the mix.
Thank you. I so appreciate your voice out here in the wilderness. Not enough influencers are speaking about this atrocity, but you, in your inimitable way, are saying it better than most of us. Thank you.
With you in the unprocessible, bearing witness, staying as tender and soft and angered and anguished as I can. All while holding Julian of Norwich words in my heart like a daily mantra, trusting , begging, pleading for an end to this senseless genocide. The invitation to trust Love, humanity, in the liminal space of unknowing feels so tenuous right now. Yet will I trust AND do all the things to be in solidarity with those who mourn. Thanks for the naming, Sarah.
Thank you for speaking out, Sarah. I feel so much anger and frustration and sadness...and helplessness. Please explain to me how anyone can justify these horrors under the banner of God's plan to save His "chosen" people. I am ashamed of and disgusted with my government (USA) for supporting these atrocities in every way possible. What will it take? When will we learn? I can only take comfort in knowing that God is love and He weeps alongside us.
Bless you and your tender heart! Bless all of us and our tender hearts!
The Mennonite church I attend has a candle surrounded by rubble burning every Sunday we meet. Just a reminder to pray and bear witness to this horror. It's such a helpless feeling.
Hope. You give me hope. What you think about. Write about. It's not nothing. Lighting a candle. Saying a prayer. All you can do. I can do. Staying conscious. It's not nothing.
This resonates so much. I hate the helplessness that I feel and the wondering...."Really, God?"
Please consider that God is not punishing Gaza; God weeps at the horrors God’s people visit on each other. Just my humble opinion.
I agree 100%.
Thank you for using your voice/platform and your empathy to connect not only with your community, but with people on the other side of the globe. It means something.
Thank God for you and for the way you midwife us in grief.
Thank you for putting words to this situation that is untenable, and yet has been dragging on for months. It is hard to feel helpless and yet to know so deeply that this is wrong, but not be able to do much about it.
Seconding all of this
Thank you, Sarah, for speaking up and speaking out and breaking the unconscionable "Christian" silence on this atrocity
Divine Mother, protect your precious children. Open the hearts and eyes of those engaging in these atrocities, may their hearts bleed with remorse. May both sides find their way to peace. We trust Your wisdom and will be done.
Amen. Thank you for writing and for sharing.
Thank you for this witness. I agree about this need and have been supporting WCK for food for Gaza. I am also concerned about Haiti with the recent murder of a young missionary and his wife. I am supporting in my small way Heartline Haiti. It's important to remember this need even closer to home as well. But not to distract from the overwhelming need in Gaza.
I appreciate the concern for Gazan civilians, as I think not enough care has been taken to prevent civilian death. And I, too, bear witness to the disparities in Palestinian life, having lived in East Jerusalem for a few months and studied in the West Bank. That said, I think if we call for "ceasefire now" we also need to call for a release of the remaining hostages, which include a 4 year old and several young women where video evidence indicates they were raped as they were captured and are likely enduring ongoing sexual violence. I can't say "ceasefire now" to the parents of those young people because I would never give up trying to go after my family members if they were held in tunnels 85 feet underground in such conditions, and I wouldn't want my government to give up either. "Release the hostages" and "ceasefire now" must go hand-in-hand. I also think the term "genocide" in this case is unhelpful and inaccurate--a small quibble, but one that is deeply hurtful to Jewish people and is contributing to an alarming rise in antisemitism in the United States, including in ways that have affected my congregation (who shares a building with a Jewish synagogue). Nuance and complexity are really important for this most intricate of conversations. As always, appreciate your writing, but want to add those bits to the mix.