Jesus models a kind of leadership grounded in humility, self-sacrifice, and deep attentiveness to the needs of others. Leadership is not defined by control but by care. True leadership requires integrity. We are called to offer such leadership in our own spheres. And that will look different for each of us. In the face of escalating harm and immoral choices by government leaders, several of you have asked how to respond. When the video surfaced yesterday of a TUFTS graduate student in Boston, a Fulbright scholar, being taken by masked men, cuffed and put in an unmarked car, it was terrifying. Everyday, there are more stories of detentions to unknown locations despite judicial orders, lack of charges, or due process.
We must resist the temptation to excuse such behaviors, or grow numb with despair. We are called to be the steady presence of integrity. We are called to model the kinds of responsibility and maturity that we long to see in our leaders.
Such leadership is found in everyday actions that stand up for justice rather than stand by. It's found in school board meetings, and calls to elected officials, in letters to the editor, in community gardens, in kitchen table conversations, and in protests. Below is a list of local and national organizations offering ways to stand up with integrity. And don't forget your Lenten centering practices that root us in something deeper than the news cycle.
We're in this together,
Pastor Kelly
