In September of 2025, our congregation adopted a declaration in opposition to the growth of authoritarianism in the United States. You can read the declaration here. Rev. Ben’s statement in our church newsletter before the declaration was adopted is included below.
October 1st, 2025
Friends,
I am looking forward to our congregational meeting on Sunday when we will consider and (I hope) adopt a statement regarding our congregation’s determination to speak out and take actions in response to the heinous tomfoolery the Trump Administration is unleashing on our neighbors in Oakland, in California, in the United Sates and around the world. Please read these documents thoughtfully and prayerfully and bring your insights to our congregational meeting on Sunday.
What we’re doing is important. I have no idea if our words and actions will change anything that is wrong in the world, but it will have an effect on us. In the face of injustice we will have spoken up. In the face of bullying, we will have stood up. In the presence of suffering we will have showed up. This is what it means to be faithful: we do our part regardless of the impact our efforts do or do not have.
One of the things I learned on my recent European trip is that the movement we’re trying to address in church’s statement is not just American. MAGAism is part of a global slide into rightwing authoritarianism. I met MAGA fanboys in Ireland, while I was in the UK a massive pro-fascist rally featuring Steve Bannon clogged the streets of London (a city which, thankfully, I didn’t visit on this trip), and in Comine, a small town in Belgium, my daughter Mimi and I got lunch at a deli that was selling a “Trump Sandwich.” It didn’t feature nearly as much baloney as I think it should have.
Part of what we are going to do at Sunday’s congregational meeting is commit to spreading the word about what we are saying and doing as a church in the hope that other’s congregations will follow suit. This work has already begun—in German. Follow this link to hear an interview I did for the German equivalent of National Public Radio. The movement is global, and, whenever possible, our voice should be as well. But even if we’re only speaking to ourselves and to our friends that’s fine too.
We just need to speak out, regardless of who is listening. And we are.
God’s Peace,
Ben
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