Trust helps us adapt
Trust helps us adapt
Creatively responding to chaos in community
Dear Soulful Revolutionary,
On Tuesday, I had the privilege of leading an action for Palestine at the Episcopal General Convention in Louisville, KY on behalf of Palestinian Anglicans and Clergy Allies (PACA). About 40 people participated in holding up posters with our campaign message, “Listen to Palestinian Christians,” during the legislative session. We were joined by about a hundred others for a prayer vigil afterward.
In between was a bit of chaos.
Disrupted tactics
I had planned for our group to move from the poster action in the convention center to a park across the street to hold the vigil. But while we were holding our posters, we suddenly heard what initially sounded like a freight train, and turned out to be pounding rain – blown sideways by gale force winds. My mind began racing, trying to figure out an alternative plan (which, in retrospect, we ought to have had — though to be fair, rain was not in the forecast!).
Meanwhile, our team member who was going to make remarks on our behalf was barred from doing so, deemed “out of order” by the President of the House of Deputies according to its parliamentary rules. Our plan had been to have him announce our campaign and invite everyone present to our Compline for Palestine vigil. His not being allowed to do would mean less visibility for us.
We needed to pivot, and quickly.
As we marched with our posters down the hall, I spoke with those with me at the front of the procession about the possibilities before us. We could stay in the lobby or try to find a sheltered location outside. With the latter option appearing nonstrategic given the continuing wild weather, we opted to stay inside, hoping that we would be more visible to those leaving the conference.
Unfortunately, we soon realized that some of our friends who had been at the park to set up were not able to come inside — the doors had been locked to the convention center toward the end of the session. We were also compelled to deal with security who wanted us to put down posters and leave.
Trusting connections = adaptive change
Through all these adaptations, our team stepped into the breach. Some folks stepped up to talk with security, others assumed roles in the vigil they hadn’t previously signed up to lead. Our team outside found shelter in an underpass, and started their own liturgy, with various people stepping up to lead. Finally, I led our indoor group outside, singing along the way, to meet our outdoor friends, who later told us how heartening it was to hear our voices from down the block!
(An important aside: The Rev. Canon Leyla King is the only Palestinian American woman serving as an Episcopal priest, and the visionary and co-founder of PACA. Her moving homily, which I had the privilege of reading at our Compline for Palestine vigil, can be read in its entirety here. Her reflections on listening are deeply connected to the cultivation of connection).
Throughout this adaptive action, I relied upon an amazing team of leaders — most of whom I had only met in person a day prior. Yet I knew I could trust them to be flexible, creative and authoritative. I knew they would keep at the center our shared goal to amplify the voices of Palestinian Christians.
Episcopal communications expert Kyle Oliver recently wrote, “The more connections, the more freedom to act.” This was certainly true of my experience of this action. We had a large team which had long been building relationship — many of us since PACA started in February of this year, and others since our planning for this action began six weeks prior to its implementation. Within this community of trust, we could adapt accordingly.
Connection was key to our planning and implementation, which served us very well in the moment of pivot. Built on a clear message, drawn directly from PACA’s mission — Listen to Palestinian Christians — we were all on the same page about our goal to amplify the voices of our siblings in Palestine and the diaspora.
I have heard many moving stories from PACA members about either their own experiences as Palestinians, or about their transformative relationships with Palestinians. Bearing these connections front of mind, we were empowered and freed to creatively act in alignment with our mission, even when the specifics of our tactical plans were disrupted. All our tactics were aligned with this shared purpose, including our posters featuring direct quotes from Palestinian Christians, our vigil liturgy emphasizing the importance of prioritizing Palestinian voices, and our social media campaign.
A community of trusting mutual relationships is the context in which we can be responsive, problem solving creatively, rather than devolving into reactivity. When we are organizing and moving as community, we have margin to work with. We can take risks and make changes, trusting others to communicate the impact of these adaptations on them. Practicing humility and gratitude, we can learn and grow for next time.