When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

I include Christian scripture in this blog this time because I feel I need to speak from my tradition and faith in these moments. The killing of nine people in Charlestown, in a church, in the name of hate is painful. But hate is not the last word. It does feel as if we are perishing. But death is not the last word.

A saw a friend and colleague of mine at an event tonight. She let me know that a young man she had been trying to have me meet so that he might get help since she was sure he suffered from traumatic stress and he was having such a hard time…that young man was one of the first to be murdered this year in Boston. It does feel as if we are perishing. But I have to remind myself, death will not have the last word. I won’t be afraid and I will persist through my faith.

Put in the most practical terms we have to act. If you reader are a person of any faith, if you are a humanist, if you are in any way someone who cares about humanity and what is good and right, I ask you to dig deep and consider the following as some possible and important action.

1. Join others in speaking against racism, hate and the oppression against any human being.
2. Join others in demanding better gun control legislation. I don’t want any more dead kids!
3. Speak up for the provision of a good education system, which is made available to all.

Help that be the choice instead of supporting the proliferation of prisons and the feeding of the prison pipeline (disproportionately fed by people of color and the poor).

4. Say no to legislation that disproportionately favors the already privileged and further disenfranchises everyone else.
5. If you are a health provider in mental health or other field of healing…don’t prioritize the financial interests (of our health system) over your vocation to serve your community, your patients our kids.

In the storm that we are in, act with love and justice… hate be still!”