Holy Week Hopes
In the wake of yet another Supreme Court ruling, I have been noticing and attending to the emotional toll that non-affirming actions such as these take on my heart, mind, and body. Anti-LGBTQ+ theologies, policies, and spaces cause direct harm to many of my friends and family members and do not bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
In this moment, I am allowing myself to acknowledge the anger, fear, sorrow, or grief I feel about these harms even as I recognize the joy, life, hope, and love I experience from affirmation and community care. These emotions can be held in tension with each other, and Holy Week is a very relevant example of this tension—I can watch new life grow out of death, and experience transformation amid what was meant to harm. And all moments of those experiences are very real.
I wrote the poem below to help me reflect on these emotions; I pray it offers you, too, a space to reflect and share your true self this week, wherever you may be.
“Holy Week Hopes”
by Mick Atencio
being a body
holding a hand
crafting amid cruelty
shaping a stand
making in moments
telling the truth
queer lives are sacred
our persistence is proof
you don’t need to “get” us
we just want to grow
slowly and safely
needing nothing to know
being a body
facing a friend
please care for God’s children
you dream to defend.
