Holding our Elders, Holding Each other
Almost two years ago, Black Lives of UU held its first revival in Kansas City, MO. During one of our worship services, and in keeping with our emerging Black UU worldview, we honored and recognized the elders in our midst. That ceremony began as follows:
Elders…this is a term and a responsibility we carry with us in Diaspora from the Motherland. It is not just a word or a duty but it is the literal and physical bond that carries the life-blood and the life force of a people from generation to generation to generation and to generation. One piece of writing describes the responsibility of Elders as the ones who correct imbalances, who maintain peace and those who revitalize community life in a direction toward truth and justice. As you can see, this goes far beyond simply retaining the history of the ages that many would try to take from us. By relaying the stories, lives and ways of our ancestors, our elders teach us what it means to be human. [1]
We value deeply and hold in high esteem our elders. They offer us love and life that has been handed down across the ages. And so it compounds a million fold the horrors of this moment in time to know that it is our elders who are being impacted most by the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. And worse yet, Black communities are being disproportionately impacted by this disease, which means more of our Black elders are at greater risk of infection and certain death. This is unacceptable.
While in some ways we are more connected than ever, we must continue to center those who are in the margins. For some, physical distancing has translated to social isolation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that communities create “buddy systems” to make sure vulnerable and hard-to-reach people stay connected, particularly to news about COVID-19. And for those of us who are not elderly — why not make it a point to check in on our older friends and relatives? Here are some suggestions for ways to connect:
- Pick up the phone and give an elder a call
- Really ask how they’re doing. Like many of us they may be facing COVID exhaustion and want to discuss other aspects of their life. This isn’t a fact-finding mission, but an opportunity to connect.
- Reach out to a neighbor (while maintaining physical distancing) and see if there are things that they need such as medication, groceries, games, a good book.
- Consider organizing neighbors to take turns looking out for vulnerable folks.
- Consider offering to help folks with internet access and helping folks learn how to navigate FaceTime, Zoom and other applications that help us get the face to face time that is needed.
We encourage everyone in the BLUU community to endeavor to preserve your health and stay connected in the ways you can. If you are in need of pastoral care or spiritual support, please reach out to the BLUU Ministerial Network here.
[1] This ceremony was written by the Rev. Dr. Derrick McQueen, Pastor of the historic St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem, New York and Associate Director of the Center on African American Religion, Sexual Politics, and Social Justice.
