Director of Children & Youth Ministry Column

Community Is Resistance

“Community is Resistance” has become my favorite slogan coming out of difficult times. I find it to be the bottom and truest line of every concern and question I have right now. As a result, it’s also serving as my personal mantra every day. So what does it mean? Well, I can tell you what it means to me as a leader in our Children & Youth Ministry at UUSE.

First, let’s consider the structure and purpose of community. On a base level, community in action involves people working together to address issues and create change in their communities. How it works: identify problems (community needs and goals), build power (strengthen bonds by showing up), create solutions (brainstorm and network together), and working for change (sharing gifts and resources resulting in meeting the community needs and goals). This process never ends but continues over a spiral, passed down through the generations. Community organizing often takes place at a local level, based on proximity. This could be geographical proximity, or a proximity in shared values and goals. I personally find myself working on both simultaneously.

I’m not claiming or aiming to be a community organizer per se, but I am thinking deeply and acting purposefully with community strength at the forefront. Folks who read my columns or attend stakeholder meetings have heard me talk about the importance of building a sense of community, in terms of belonging and support, both at UUSE and as a personal, spiritual practice within all he circles and spaces we inhabit. When considering a community that is geographically spread, such as ours at UUSE, community action also involves implementing a broad communication system as well as intentional regular gatherings to be together.

Identify needs and goals, build power, create solutions, work for change: if any of these pieces are missed, the cycle is halted. As you might be putting together, I’m looking through this lens of community organization to support my approach to our community in Children & Youth Ministry. With life changing for families at rapid speed over the past 5 years, we are appropriately at the first phase of identifying community needs and goals. It can feel like an ever-evolving and moving target. But I’m learning we need not overcomplicate it. What are our most basic needs? We are fortunate to have safe shelter at UUSE with indoor plumbing and flowing water. What’s next? Food! When I put out an ask for donations of snacks and refreshments on the Garden Level folks showed up in full force! When was the last time you were able to loan your neighbor a cup of sugar? It feels good and doable! It’s a grounding act that literally feeds one of our most basic human needs. This is the vein I am starting in.

So let’s start there: food (ministry). I am personally doubling the size of my annual CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share of vegetables and herbs this year, in part because my share is largely paid for by a USDA grant and my personal cost is very low. I wouldn’t be able to afford it without the grant, and I see an opportunity to put the excess produce to good use at UUSE. I’d like to process single ingredients through drying, canning, and freezing with others, as well as host a couple community meals over the summer at UUSE! I am dreaming up a “cooking club” of sorts for families to be together, for children to learn kitchen and self-sufficiency skills, and for us adults to learn from them. Food and feeding others is a common stressor for many people (myself included.) It feels SO much better to do with others. So give me a shout if this sparks some interest for you! But it will be open and advertised to everyone regardless. Keep thinking of ways to strengthen the foundation of our community! Community is Resistance!

Emmy Galbraith (she/her/hers)

Director of Children and Youth Ministry

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