Both Sides By Rev. Nina D. Grey January, 2002

As we enter this New Year, 2002, I am thinking about what the war is and where the war is.

At first it felt like it was “here”. This is because the attack on the World Trade Center felt very personal with my daughter and son-in-law and granddaughter living only 2 miles from there, in downtown NYC. I felt fearful, then angry, and then deeply grief stricken as I learned of all the deaths and the families devastated.

We are learning to live with new realities. People who live closer to the violence feel their feelings more intensely and for longer periods. Yet like those who live in countries where terrorism or war is a daily fact of life they make adjustments which become a part of everyday life. What was not normal becomes normal. They understand that we have to go on living. We understand that too, and many of us do.

For some, our priorities may have shifted. We may treasure today more mindfully. We may live with a heightened alertness now. We may think about what our roles might be in such a changed world or in a world which we now see differently.

Where and what is the war? Is it “out there”, in Afghanistan, where many are dying, and in other mideast countries? Is it “in here” as we struggle in our minds and hearts with what our nation’s role is, how we are connected to terrorism and war, how we feel about it, what other options there are and what power we have to make differences? Is it “here”, because we are the objects of terrorism, because so many lives were lost, because our civil liberties are under greater attack, because while our attention is diverted, there are legislative moves which can lead to a worsening of the economic conditions of those least able to cope with recession?

We face painful challenges. I am grateful to be part of a community of faith which stands insistently for the dignity and worth of all, for justice, equity and compassion, for a world of freedom, justice and peace. Let us seek wisdom, hope and courage together. I am grateful to be part of a community which holds the ideal of the Beloved Community and will not relinquish it easily. In this New Year, let us continue to dare to believe in the possibility of transformation, of love, of justice, of peace. Let us keep faith.

In faith, with love,

Nina