We the People

Photo by Sue Linderman

On Saturday morning Kevin and I joined several thousand other Delawareans for a march up the northbound side of Pennsylvania Avenue, across the footbridge near Tower Hill, and back down the southbound side. This was one of many #NoKings marches honoring the democratic ideals that have held our nation together through thick and thin for two-and-a-half centuries. St Stephen’s was well-represented, and I recognized friends from all different parts of my life in the crowd. The day was festive, the people were jubilant, and the weather was perfect for walking. 

One of the things that impressed me was a spirit of goodwill and neighborliness. I noticed mutual respect and gestures of kindness offered between marchers and officers from the Wilmington Police Department who were present at every cross street to keep traffic moving and pedestrians safe. On one street, someone from the neighborhood handed out bottles of cold water to anyone who asked. At another, I saw a sign supporting veterans and I asked the man carrying the sign if he was a veteran. He wasn’t, but the woman just ahead of us turned around and said she was.  Her sign identified her as an Army nurse and the man thanked her for her service. These were feel-good moments between strangers coming together to appreciate and encourage each other. Not too much to ask from any of us.

One of the most moving things I witnessed happened even before the march got going. As we prepared to leave the green and begin the walk on Pennsylvania Avenue, I noticed someone doubled over, supporting herself against a large tree.  I wasn’t sure what was happening, and I didn’t want to intrude, but I wondered. A step closer and I realized a young man was with her. I asked if they needed help.  He had come with his mom. All had been well until a wave of chemo-related nausea washed over her in the middle of that giant crowd. What to do? As we talked, another person came forward and asked around for water for the woman. A passerby quickly handed over his unopened bottle. Someone else helped her to sit on the ground as another man asked if she needed a chair. Seconds later he came back with a one borrowed from yet another person in the crowd.  Any one of us could have been that young man or his mother. Our small interventions were not life-changing, but they mattered in that moment. Strangers came together to help each other. Not too much to ask.

One of my favorite signs said “I am one person. What can I do? …said 75 million people,” implying that if one person would just begin, many others would join in the work of repairing our world. We live in strange and challenging times, more frightening to some than others because of our different circumstances. A kind word, a cup of cold water, a strong arm, and a borrowed chair won’t solve our most pressing problems. But they are a place to begin because they remind us how much we, the people, have in common and how much we need each other.

Blessings as we, the people of St Stephen’s, love, invite and serve.

Pastor Sue