I was delighted to see that TVUUC is sponsoring a new UU church in Maryville. My partner, Tim, and I visited TVUUC in 2006 when we were traveling frequently to TN while my mother was dying. No surprise, of course, but the people at TVUUC were wonderful – welcoming, caring, warm – just when we needed a place that felt indeed like sanctuary.

I've been a UU for only a couple of years – I joined my UU church (Paint Branch UUC) with Tim, who's been a UU for about 15 years. UU principles and my own were already one and the same, so it was a perfect match in many ways.

I still have very conservative family members in Knox and Blount County. I've heard hate speech many times from some of them, these days about blacks, hispanics, Muslims, and GLBTs. Since I don't see them that often, I've been biting my tongue rather than have a falling out. I wrote them to respectfully tell them how we are feeling about the shooting – no response yet. (sigh) I'm hoping that some good will come out of this tragedy and that east Tennesseeans who use hate speech will think twice before using it again.

You said: “When your community is attacked because of your beliefs, you feel very much alone. You wonder if others secretly agree with the assailant. You wonder if anywhere is safe. You wonder if maybe something is wrong with you.”

My local Jewish community centre never quite recovered from the shock the Seattle shooting, and still employs heavier than normal security and all sorts of security precautions that many regard as inconvenient (I am not Jewish, but I frequent the centre often).

I thus found your comments regarding the psychological impact of this tragedy fascinating. . .how it can lead to a group feeling more isolated and alone. . . and how to deal with this. A particularly significant issue given the Jewish origins of many of your congregation, and the experience of anti-semitism.

Thank you for posting this.

Again, I wish you and yours all the best.