February 14th is not only Valentine’s Day in celebration of romantic love: it’s also National Standing on the Side of Love Day, when the radical notion of accepting people for who they are gets the play it deserves.
One day out of 365? It’s a start, organizers say.
On National Standing on the Side of Love Day, we embrace the heart of our campaign: to harness love’s power to end bigotry and oppression. We do this by celebrating courageous love and by reaching out in love to those who have been excluded and marginalized.
In all of the world’s religions, love is upheld as a central tenet. We seek to harness this unifying and transformative power of love to stop oppression.
Love is the life force of families and the foundation of our communities. On Valentine’s Day, we ask people around the country to consider how to embrace and express their love for those who may feel unloved and excluded.
Amen! and may we add, Alleluia.
Tennessee based Unitarian Universalist congregations are gearing up for specific activities, including hosting rallies, speaking up to members of Congress about important issues, and holding interfaith forums.
They do so with pointed passion. Knoxville resident Jim Adkisson opened fire at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in July 2008 because he was angry and the church, he said, was “ultraliberal.” Two were killed, six wounded.
But!
The night after the shooting the church held a vigil that was attended by an overflow crowd of many faiths and political persuasions. The service ended with the children, on their own initiative, singing the “Annie” theme song with the lyrics “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow.”
“Everyone was standing up and clapping,” Tennessee Valley Pastor Chris Buice said. “At that moment, I had a palpable sense of love that is greater than our differences that I felt, and still feel, in a physical way.”
One of those attending was the Unitarian Universalist Association’s then-president William Sinkford. Inspired by the church’s example of overcoming hatred with love, he helped launch the national campaign.