Resilience Through Action

by Brian Dugas

In the 2024 elections:  75 million people voted Democrat, 77 million people voted Republican, and 89 million registered voters didn’t vote at all.

Sit with that for a minute, and think about what it says about the confidence that people have in the structure and operation of our government.  It’s shocking, but not surprising.  We have had a front row seat to the absurdities over the last few years 

At this point I am more concerned about the impact that this new government is going to have on the lives of the people in this country.  Not the rich who control the government and have padded their nests, but the ordinary person, and especially those marginalized populations who have relied on the government for some level of protection.

While the support at the national level is at great risk, there is still much that we can do at the local level. Towards that end, I would like to share with you some of the things we are doing to build resilience in our congregation. Resilience is defined as: “the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness”

Building resilience has long been the goal of the Green Team who’s projects included the solar panels on our roof, the efficient heating and cooling system, and of course, the community garden.

For those of you who don’t know, last year we partnered with Hillside Farms to plant and harvest a community garden on their property.  This year we intend to do the same with individuals able to take ownership of their own rows.  Through communicating with others, we hope to coordinate the crops we produce so that at harvest time we might have a wide variety of goods to share with each other.  Now imagine expanding that coordination to include home gardens so that everyone can plant and share in the harvest. There is no telling the cost or availability of these goods next year or the years beyond.

Next is the Social Action Committee which has talked about building resilience at the last couple of meetings.  Our committee already oversees the support to many organizations through the collection for a cause program, and supports food pantries both inside and outside the church.

Recently, we have decided to expand our efforts into pastoral care and congregational safety. Our partnership with the Peace and Justice Center has flourished to include the upcoming meeting called United We Stand where we will meet on Zoom with three attorney’s on Monday, January 6th at 8:00PM, to be followed by an in person gathering at Kings College with both local and regional attorney’s.  These meetings are oriented towards building a knowledgeable, informed and strong community able to withstand the challenges of the next few years.

Lastly, I would like to share with you that the Social Action committee of the B’nai B’rith Synagogue has reached out to us and would like to form a partnership.  This partnership is just in the exploratory phase, but this is how we build a resilient community. If you would like to be part of anything I have mentioned, speak to any member of the SA Committee or Green Team.