Silence = Death

Sermon | January 21, 2024 | Lisa Jebsen

If you were to describe my preaching style, “kind” and “gentle” might be words that come to mind. At least I hope so! Another way to describe my preaching style could be “warm and fuzzy.” 

I love those. They feel good, they align with our UU principles and they will still be a part of my ministry. However, I feel in the depths of my soul that it’s time to get out of my comfort zone. 

This is my fitness background talking here. You will hear this kind of language in my group fitness classes and when I work with personal training clients.

Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable!
When we step outside the comfort zone, that’s where we create change! 

So the tone of today’s service is in line with that type of thinking. The reading was a little more peppery than usual. The title of the sermon alone should be a giveaway. 

A little bit about that. This title is a direct rip-off of the slogan created by the Silence=Death Project. I want to give them proper credit and share some of the history behind this slogan with an excerpt from their WIkipedia page:

The Silence=Death Project, best known for its iconic political poster,^[1] was the work of a six-person collective in New York City… 

Avram Finkelstein founded the Silence=Death project in 1987 with Jorge Socarras, Chris Lione, Charles Kreloff, Oliver Johnston, and Brian Howard during the AIDS crisis as a consciousness-raising group,^[3] and as a means of mutual support.^[4] The content of their discussions quickly turned political. Inspired by posters made by the Art Workers Coalition and the Guerrilla Girls, the group decided to create their own poster to be wheatpasted around New York City. Rejecting any photographic image as necessarily exclusionary, the group decided to use more abstract language in an attempt to reach multiple audiences.^[5] They created the Silence=Death poster using the title phrase and a pink triangle, known from its association with the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s…

The poster originally hit the streets in mid-March 1987, less than a month before ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) was formed…

The Silence=Death poster was also used by … ACT UP as a central image in their activist campaign against the AIDS epidemic. Because of ACT UP’s advocacy, the pink triangle remains synonymous with AIDS activism. In 2017, the image was reinstalled in the windows of the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art^[9] with a new line at the bottom: “Be Vigilant. Refuse. Resist.”

In the January newsletter and in sermons over the last year and a half, I’ve touched on the struggle I’ve had with what I’ll call “UU shyness.” Something that all of us struggle with, to one degree or another. I say this based on conversations we’ve had about the UU taboo of proselytizing or the need to master our UU elevator speeches. Between those two examples plus my sermon about my spiritual growth through the role of Mother Superior in Sound of Music, that’s a lot of navel gazing! 

Which is probably normal for a new minister. After all, one of the first rules of writing is “write what you know.” Maybe an informal UU writer rule is write about what you DON’T know! 

Anyway, navel gazing. 

It’s been a hallmark of my short career as a minister. Hell, it’s the hallmark of my entire time here at UUCOM: as a visitor, member and minister. Once again, that’s unsurprising. Our fourth principle is the free and responsible exploration of spirituality. You can’t really explore much without regard for how it relates to you and your own experience. And yet…. I stand here today to say that’s not enough any more.

This is me channeling my inner Mother Superior right now – she was always gentle and encouraging but she never let Maria off the hook or take the easy path, hiding away from her problems in the abbey. 

So much of my spiritual journey has been on the down-low. One of my regrets of my time in Midland (a place I’ve called home for half of my life!) is the guarded way I’ve held space for expression of my beliefs. I’ll never forget telling my friend Jim Azelvander in 1997 that Tim and I were moving to Texas. He literally pointed at me and laughed as he said, “You’re moving to a state where your senator is Phil Graham!” 

Sidebar: how very quaint that back then Phil Graham was considered an awful senator. That’s a bitter pill to swallow when you look at today’s Texas senators.

My point being that Jim knew the Fiery Lisa. The Lisa who let you know EXACTLY what was on her mind. The Lisa who was always writing letters to the editor of the student paper at Bowling Green State University, the Lisa who took part in protests and demonstrations imploring the powers that be to divest from South Africa because of apartheid. The Lisa who was always quick to tell you how much she loathed the policies of the Reagan administration. 

After our move, it soon became clear that it would be much harder for Fiery Lisa to find a place here. All too easily, I fell into silence. Be quiet. Be respectful. Keep your political and social views to yourself or you could hurt the non-profits you and your husband serve. 

The notion of a “liberal spiritual oasis” has always been such a comfort to Fiery Lisa but now that word “oasis” feels a little more like a caution. A secret. A little place to hide away. We can be open with each other – but only here. 

Now, it is impossible to overstate what a blessing this oasis has been to me through the years. UUCOM has quite literally saved my life on at least one occasion. The gathering that Rev. Emily held here after the 2016 elections gave me hope when I really did not know how to carry on. 

I have taken so much from this oasis. I like to think that I’ve given back with my time, talent and treasure. But that’s not enough anymore. Yes – I want UUCOM to continue to give comfort in the dark times that we live in but we can’t just be a place to gather for a bit of hope. Or a safe place to express liberal views in the reddest part of a deep red state. 

I don’t need to tell you that in so many ways, we are losing. Especially here in Texas. I’m very proud that at the end of last year, our “share the plate” collection allowed us to send $450 to the Community UU Church in Plano.  This pride is diminished somewhat for me personally because after the attack on our fellow UU congregation, I dropped the ball. I should have been much more vocal in my outrage. Sending a check is great but rereading my message sent with that contribution stopped me in my tracks:

We stand with you in solidarity during these times when now, more than ever, our UU principles need to be shared with those in your community, Texas, our nation and the world. 

Nice thought. But what good is it if it’s just some nice words in a cover letter? What am I doing to spread the message of our UU principles outside of these walls?! 

Just yesterday an all-ages event sponsored by Basin Pride was postponed/canceled. An event meant to be a gathering that would give comfort and joy to some of the most vulnerable members of our community. It was shut down by some loud-mouthed, narrow-minded locals who stoked the fires of fear. 

I’m sorry if that labeling and othering language doesn’t align with our first UU principle of the inherent worth and dignity of all but I’M PISSED OFF, Y’ALL.

Last night we opened our doors to the Basin Pride folks, as a place to gather, regroup and comfort each other. While I consider this to be our UU principles in action, I am LIVID that such a vocal minority won that battle. And yet, as my anger dissipated, a deep shame settled in. If I had been more outspoken in my support of the LGBTQ+ community, could this have been headed off?

We’ll never know. And yes – there are many other things at play here – this turn of events did happen very quickly. And yet…

My main takeaway is that we need to work on openly speaking about our faith. Our traditions. Our UU principles. The world needs our message. We can’t be passive any more and hope that people find our oasis. We need to be as loud and proud as any born-again Christian. For too long, right wing/religious extremists have used the language of fear against us, making words like liberal, abortion and immigrant, dirty. We must take them back! 

While I’m not saying we need try to convert others like a fundamentalist church, we kind of do. We need to prosthelytize OUR good word. Prosthelytize. There’s another “dirty word.” We can’t afford the luxury of being laid back about our faith any more!  If we don’t talk about, celebrate, BRAG about our beloved community – it will die. Silence = death.

Yes, we are a minority religion.

Yes, we are an oasis, of sorts.

BUT WE ARE NOT in the minority in terms of love!

We are in the MAJORITY in terms of support for reproductive health care – including abortion rights. 

We are in the MAJORITY in terms of support of LGBTQ+ rights

We are in the MAJORITY in terms of workers’ rights.

We are in the majority in terms of equal rights for all, no matter what color your skin is.

I could stay up here listing more and more things but I think you get the point. 

I don’t want to worship in an oasis any more. All too often an oasis can turn out to be a mirage. Instead, I want the Unitarian Universalist Church of Midland to be a BEACON.

A beacon of hope. A beacon of love. A beacon to all in such dark times. 

A beacon that calls us and inspires us into action.

Remember: a beacon needs light. A beacon only works if it’s visible. 

I don’t know how exactly we achieve this – I’m an excellent ranter and only a so-so problem solver. Nevertheless, I hope you will work with me to find the path to transform our oasis into a beacon. As you know, every journey starts with one step. Here are two suggestions that any of us can do in the immediate future to start us on our way:

1. Before you leave today… Sign one of the cards of care to be sent to those receiving abortion care in Las Cruces.  
2. Tell someone about our church and our values. Personally invite them to come to Sunday worship. Or our banned book club. Or a PFLAG meeting.

Pick one. 

Do it. 

We can’t afford the luxury of silence any more.

May it be so.

RESOURCES: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence%3DDeath_Project

https://www.davidzwirner.com/exhibitions/2021/more-life/silence-equals-death