UUs sing, dance in Chicago for People's Climate March | Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth

Photo by Clare Lanaghan.

To view more photos — and add your own — of UUs at various marches around the country, go here.
To read about UUs at the DC march, go here.
I also posted videos and photos during the Chicago march, which you can view on my twitter feed.

While 200,000 folks were marching at the People’s Climate March in DC this past weekend, I marched through the rainy, windy streets of Chicago, one of over 370 sister marches around the world.

Protestors rallied at Federal Plaza downtown to hear local speakers call out environmental racism that has long plagued the city, demand an end to capitalism, and call for May Day strikes.

When we got to the bridge across from Trump Hotel, and folks started to disperse, some stayed to dance in a circle to the beat of the drums. Even though it was such a grey, cold and wet day, and Trump’s shiny name glared at us across the river, the energy of the people was transformative. We had movement. We were the movement. We had trust and vulnerability, just by being there. We had families, immigrants, workers, students, artists, indigenous folks — we had each other. I couldn’t stop smiling, reminded of just how jubilant and full the world can be. My hands were numb, and my heart was glowing.

Photo by Amelia Diehl.

Later that day, I co-led an inter-generational creative collaborative worship on Saturday night at the UUA mid-America Regional Assembly in Oak Park, Illinois. The worship, part of the UUYACJ’s campaign to deliver 100 Worship Services for Climate Justice, was co-organized with help from Clare Lanaghan, another Beloit College student, and generous guidance from Nancy Combs-Morgan, a UUA Programs Consultant. Nancy really helped us re-envision a more interactive worship that didn’t follow the traditional model, which I’m sure was encouraging to folks after a long day at the assembly.

Rev. Ashley Horan, with the Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance, gave the induction. She spoke of her long history of organizing, which began in second grade when she formed a group to battle pollution, which allowed her to see how directly she was part of the interdependent web of life of which we are all a part. She invited the audience to take a moment to ground themselves on the Earth, feeling their feet on the surface below the carpet.

Nancy led a movement exercise, getting the audience to sing and dance to the song “Love Reaches Out” by artists from the DC-based interfaith social justice arts organization The Sanctuaries. She was inspired by another organizer telling her, if you want to organize people to act, you need to move together.

Clare talked about growing up in Iowa, and not taking the landscapes of corn for granted. She urged the audience to develop a nuanced awareness of the land around them, practicing active engagement through things like planting a garden.

Clare and I asked the audience to make a pledge for climate justice, inviting them to respond creatively. We had faith flags with elemental designs created by Abigail Clauhs, a station for sand art, and a large mural where folks added their vision of climate justice. Nancy led an Elm Tree Dance, inspired by Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects.

Photo by Amelia Diehl.

I announced my intention to organize a pilgrimage walk from Paris, France to Bonn, Germany for the UN COP23 talks in November. (You can read more about that here.)

In my personal reflection, I spoke of how we can’t have climate justice without racial justice. Part of the work of white folks is to acknowledge and challenge whiteness, coming to terms with personal and cultural histories of colonialism. (You can read the full text of that message here.)

We concluded the night singing along to “Blue Boat Home” by Peter Mayer.

I am so grateful to have been part of this moment, this movement, in solidarity with everyone in DC, at sister marches, and everyone who couldn’t make it but wanted to. Many thanks to Nancy Combs-Morgan, Clare Lanaghan, Rev. Ashley Horan and all the folks at Mid-America Regional Assembly for making this worship as amazing as it could be.