Communal Tragedy

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As individuals, we all know pain and loss. It is the rare person who escapes sorrow. But when one of us hurts, others are there to offer comfort. Communal tragedy is different. When something bad happens to us as a community—whether that is a school, a town, a people, or a country—we struggle to figure out how to tend to our own wounds while taking care of each other. Drawing on compassion, empathy, justice, and love, we can bring out the best in each other, and perhaps, find a theology of hope in the midst of despair.

Latest Rituals

“We cannot live in constant sorrow”
“No altars for candles and teddy bears. / No petitions, angry protests, or briefings.”
“A heavenly court grows… / They bear witness to / Our ongoing news cycle”
Poem in response to school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, May 24, 2022
“it cannot be a still small voice”
“As this day begins its dark descent / our tongues go dry again”
“But there’s the funnyman, the Jew / with stubbled jaw and haunted eyes”
“My grandparents / spoke Yiddish on muddy streets”
“Adonai Ekhad, One God / One life, eleven lives, too many”
“Because they left / We live.”

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