Unitarian Universalists of Sterling

Dear Community,

In recognition of the sorrow we share, in honor of the lives that have been lost and changed forever in Knoxville, Tennessee, and in sympathy with the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, we offer a meditation of grief and a prayer for healing.

An article by Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael, published in the Loudoun Easterner's "A Faithful View" section,  Thursday, October 18, 2007:

We live in a community struggling over the question of illegal immigration. Our press reports on rallies, the  closure of our local day worker site, and on the passionate dialogs in our local government and our communities. The struggle is ever-present. It comes at us when we expect it, and when we expect it least.

Many associations are being drawn - between illegal immigration and economic instability, between increasing immigrant populations and decreasing safety, between immigrants and crime, even between peace and war. And because associations like this are being drawn, I feel it is necessary to prepare a religious response to the question of illegal immigration. I say this blatantly for good reason. This is a highly charged political situation. But the political forum rarely encompasses ethical reflection. It rarely pauses long enough to consider what my faith community— Unitarian Universalists — refer to as the inherent worth and dignity of every being.