And here’s a young girl
On a kind of a telephone line through time
And the voice at the other end comes like a long lost friend.
–“Virginia Wolf” by Indigo Girls
This lyric is from the song “Virginia Wolf” by the group the Indigo Girls in response to finding solace in her poetry and written words. It captures the enigmatic sensation of finding and being claimed by an ancestor. A message time travels to you through a story, a place, the written words connecting you to a moment in history. A synergy, filled with voices echoing from the past moves through time and space to resonate inside of you, and you feel seen and known.
I am grateful for the teachings of Rev. Tandi Rodgers, who instructs us to claim our religious ancestors and then leads by example with unabashed delight! She has created a collection, filled with Unitarian, Universalist, and UU luminaries that can be both honored and consulted as needed. From Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross, to Rev. Olympia Brown, the first women ordained as a minister, fine ancestors who were flawed and fabulous and shaped who we are today as a faith community
I love the idea of being chosen and choosing your ancestors. The idea that our lineage is more than familial. It is one of ideas, values, and commitments to one another in our time and throughout our shared history. Ancestors are tapping you on the shoulder insisting that it is your turn now to do what you can for the common good.
The history that holds us is filled with the many seekers whose lineage we carry by building a community grounded in welcome and love, by working for justice and centering our connections with the natural world and one another.
“History has its eyes on you.” —Hamilton by Lin Manual Miranda
Certainly, history will record these moments we are living through. May we live into becoming the ancestors that are needed in our time, worthy of being remembered by seekers in future generations.
Blessings,
Rev. Kimberlee Tomczak Carlson, Minister of Religious Education