Taking a Stand for All of God’s Children

Rev. Nan Swanson
January 21, 2025

As I watched the Inauguration Day activities and the values they represented, I worried about all the people who were going to be left out.  I worried about being ecologically responsible for, not just ourselves, but for life on this planet.  I worried about the income gap and how the rich are planning to get richer on the backs of the poor who will inevitably get poorer.  I worried about the cost of this deportation effort (in the billions).  I worried about the status of women and how our rights are being undercut.  I worried about “truth.”  I worried about the fate of a free press.  I worried about the effect of Christian Nationalism on believers in this country and the effect it will have on faithful people of other religions.  I worried about our integrity.  Are we acting on what we say we believe?

The San Jose People’s March

And so, I broke out of my funk and attended the San Jose People’s March with another member of Westhope.  As we gathered in front of Valley Fair Mall and opposite Santana Row - symbols of our love of things - I thought of the bumper sticker that says, “The one with the most toys wins!”  As we listened to speakers telling us that there are strength in numbers, that we must stand in solidarity, that we are a nation of immigrants, that what happens to the least of us affects us all, I felt relief to be among people who care about these issues.  As we chanted about taking down the walls that separate us; about not feeding the war machine, but feeding people, I looked at the posters people had created around us. It was heart-warming to see two 6-8 year olds.  The girl held a sign that said “Protect Me! Not Guns!”  The boy held a poster that said, “Dead Kids Can’t Learn.”

The Cree Prophecy

A picture was taken of me with my favorite poster which was a Cree Prophecy:  “When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money.”  Such wisdom to guide us.

Standing for all of God’s Children

After the speeches, we walked down Steven’s Creek, turned down Winchester, holding up traffic as we chanted, then turned into Santana Row, chanting and hearing people cheer and honk and make the peace sign in support.  It was exhilarating!  It put legs to my belief that we are all gifts from God and precious in God’s sight…and should be in our sight.  The terrible lethargy I had felt was gone because I had stood for what I believed.  May we hold onto our faith as we move forward into this new era and take action to stand for all of God’s children!