Dear Friends,
It was when I first moved to Atlanta to attend college in the late 1970s that I encountered the slogan that our city was one that was “too busy to hate.” It’s my understanding that Atlanta claimed this description because of the progressive views of some of its political and civic leaders in the 1950s and 60s, which included the integration of the city’s public schools in 1961. The idea was that Atlanta was a place that was too busy changing, growing, and caring about the well-being of its citizens to have time to stay stuck in the mire of hate and discord.
It’s a lofty ideal and perhaps one that inspires and challenges our city to this day.
Thinking about this expression, it seems that being a Unitarian Universalist and getting too busy go hand in hand. Our city and world offer us many opportunities to live our progressive faith, and it has been inspiring for me to see the ways that Northwest has gotten busy. Increasing the energy efficiency of our main building and ultimately consuming less fossil fuel is being achieved thanks to a grant from Georgia Interfaith Power & Light and some busy Northwest volunteers at work re-insulating our attic.
Those of you who care about learning what Northwest can do to help end poverty right here in Sandy Springs recently attended a poverty summit hosted by our local partner the Community Assistance Center. Your visible weekly participation in the Moral Monday rallies at the Georgia capitol, which ended this week, is still another example of how Northwest is helping work for justice.
It seems that if I want to make this world a better place, getting too busy is part of the package. May we continue to use the energy we have to live the values we care about.
Warmly,
Terry