When we bear witness to someone else’s story, we have the privilege and opportunity to take a little piece of the burden that person carries and hold it for them. Sometimes what is being shared is a boulder that the teller is struggling to carry. Each time someone tells us their story, and we listen deeply to their truth without judgment, it is as though that teller is giving us a little pebble chipped off that boulder. The more someone is able to share their story, the more they are able to decrease the power it has over them and lessen its burden.
How can we as individuals truly bear witness to each other, in our daily lives and in our own congregation? How can we as a congregation truly bear witness to the world? Maureen Lawlor, a HUUF member, chairperson of the Social Action Committee, and volunteer coordinator for the Breast and GYN Health Project, will explore bearing witness together.