A Rejection of the Chains of Conformity
We will not wear the uniformity of collusion, with powers of dominance and habits of denigration.
We will not push people beyond the margins of acceptability by means of economic imperialism.
We will not climb our way to mountain-top experiences by treading on the dreams and hopes of our sisters and brothers and non-binary cousins.
We will not be inclusive by identifying the people we like and the people like us, who think and talk and know within the polite etiquette of our zones of comfort.
We will name and sever the chains that enslave us to systems of spiritual decay, of judgmentalism and nastiness.
We will cast off the garments of protections that prevent us from solidarity with the humble and vulnerable...
An Affirmation of Diversity
We will claim space for those who have been squeezed into corners
and those who find themselves on the edges of community.
We will listen for and ponder the silences of those with no voice.
We will seek out those who have not been heard
and those who have been heard but ignored.
We will attend to those who need the time to speak their truths,
acknowledging that we may need to learn new ways to hear
and develop new languages for understanding.
We affirm our need for the lacuna-shaped lives in our global communities.
We pray for new dimensions of knowing.
We work towards a vision that casts us beyond mere solidarity
into the eruption of interaction and collaboration.
We submit our own principalities and powers to work to dispossess and displace ourselves,
so that our proclamation of faith might be characterized with integrity and mutuality.
We claim our place as the Children of the God of quirkiness and colour, dancing and innovation, fullness and flourishing...
AMEN
