From Tennessee Valley UUC - Tomorrow, the Sun Will Come Out!
July 29th, 2008
By ELROD
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Last night we mourned.
We grieved.
Our wonderful neighbors at the Second Presbyterian Church in Knoxville opened their sanctuary to the members of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church to hold a candlelight vigil.
It was a moment of solidarity.
It was a moment of hope.
By now, many stories have come out about the motives and background of the shooter, Jim Adkisson. But last night, during a powerful electrical storm that lit up the East Tennessee sky, we focused on more important things.
Healing.
Community.
Peace.
Social justice.
Human dignity.
Hope.
We proudly affirmed who we are and why we are Unitarians.
After a few beautiful songs played by our pianist, Vicki Masters, our Reverend Chris Buice gave some words of hope. The pastor at the Westside UU Church even suggested that it was audacious for us, in this dark hour, to hope for healing.
The President of the Unitarian Universalist Association of America in Boston informed us that a large candlelight in vigil in Boston was being held to show support for us. He asked the community to raise their hands if they were members of TVUUC. About half raised their hands. He asked those who belonged to Westside UUC to raise their hands. A solid group in the middle of the sanctuary raised their hands. He asked those at Second Presbyterian to raise their hands and several scattered throughout the crowd did so. He asked those at the Hebrew Congregation Beth El (on the other side of TVUUC on Kingston Pike) to raise their hands and a proud section sitting right near us raised their hands. Then he asked those not affiliated with one of our neighboring congregations to raise their hands if they had come here just to support us. And nearly half the sanctuary raised their hands. It was so moving. We all started to applaud them. This community will not be intimidated. We will not be terrorized.
In an iconic UU moment, the President told us that a reporter had asked him if he thought the shooter was going to Hell. Everybody started chuckling in the crowd and the President said, “I don’t know what will happen after he dies, but I do know that he has been living in his own Hell for years.” And that was the true compassion of the Unitarian Universalist Church - to show sympathy even for those who would harm us. To love our enemies. It was a powerful example for those of us who may not accept the divinity of Jesus that, at the very least, he was a powerful teacher. This moment was not just Unitarianism at its best. It was Christianity at its best.
After lighting candles and singing a few more hymns, we were in for the biggest surprise of the night. Vicki Masters broke into a familiar tune - but one not on the program for the night’s service. It was “Tomorrow,” the theme song from “Annie.” As you all probably know, the disrupted service was a performance of Annie, Jr. The kids never had the chance to put on their show.
But when Vicki broke out into “Tomorrow,” all the kids ran up to the stage and led the entire congregation in song. With a thunderstorm literally howling outside the church walls, we sing in unison: “The sun will come out, tomorrow!” The courage of those kids, who just a day earlier witnessed something no human being should ever have to see, inspired us all. There really was hope. The sun really will come out tomorrow.
Yes, the sun will come out for TVUUC. After the service we mingled and hugged and shared stories about what happened yesterday. The tales of bravery were real. Greg McKendry really did save lives. Had he not stood up and confronted the gunman, a family of four directly in the line of fire would have been killed. We sat next to a woman whose father was shot in the eye and who has lost his vision. He was in good spirits, she relayed to us: “I won’t look too scary to the grandkids.”
My wife and I walked into the TVUUC sanctuary and stood exactly where the shooter was, saw where Greg McKendry stood, and sat where we normally sat in church - right behind Greg McKendry. We thought about all the wonderful moments we’ve had at TVUUC - the prayers, the songs, the sermons, the fellowship, the moments when my son embarrassed us by blurting out during the religious education director’s story, the plays, the spirit of the place. We saw the Welcome sign with the rainbow on it. On the back of the sign was a note remarking that a similar sign in 1950 that said “Welcome” had encouraged controversy back then. In 1950 Knoxville was segregated and Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church (later TVUUC) admitted African Americans and whites to worship together. For this, the church was punished by the city. The only thing that has changed on the sign is the rainbow and the word “Universalist” in the name. There is clearly a direct line between the civil rights movement in Knoxville in the 1950s and the gay rights movement today. TVUUC has proudly stood on the front lines both times, no matter the cost.
Some people say that Unitarians don’t believe in anything. Or that we are dry and intellectual. Last night, it was very clear that we do believe something very real and very powerful: The sun will come out, tomorrow.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 9:25 am and is filed under Mass Murder, At TMV, Guns, Bigotry, Gay Rights, Culture Wars, Ideologies, Terrorism, Minorities, Society, GLBT Issues, Homophobia, Christianity, Religion. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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