We Stand on Their Shoulders
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God goes with you.” — Deuteronomy 31:6
We are living in a very scary time. We are not imagining our fear, not exaggerating what is at stake. We live with real fear, produced by the state, enforced through violence, and reinforced through policy and propaganda. Innocent people are being harmed every day. Communities are being destabilized on the whim of a racist president. Many of us are asking how to keep going without losing our humanity.
We have been here before. It helps to remember.
In the early 1960s, Fannie Lou Hamer was a sharecropper in Mississippi, living under a regime of racial terror that governed Black life through violence, intimidation, and law. When she attempted to register to vote in 1962, she was fired from the plantation where she lived, beaten, threatened, and arrested. Later, while imprisoned for her activism, she was brutally assaulted by police and fellow inmates at the direction of officers. The injuries she sustained stayed with her for the rest of her life.
She was afraid. She never pretended otherwise.
But she kept going.
Hamer did not have institutional protection. She did not have wealth or political power. What she had was clarity. She understood that silence would not keep her safe, and compliance would not preserve her dignity. When she spoke before the Democratic National Convention in 1964, recounting the violence she had endured, she did not dramatize her story. She told the truth plainly. Her testimony was so unsettling that President Lyndon Johnson called an emergency press conference to interrupt the broadcast.1
That moment teaches us something important for today.
Oppressive systems fear truth-telling more than they fear anger. They fear the clarity that exposes the moral cost of their actions. Hamer’s courage did not come from certainty of victory. It came from a refusal to cooperate with lies.
She once said, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” This was not despair. It was moral exhaustion turned into resolve. It was the sound of someone who understood that fatigue does not disqualify courage; it often precedes it.
Hamer paid a high price for her resistance. Her body carried the consequences of state violence. Her life was shortened by the stress and injury she endured. Courage did not protect her from harm. But it did protect something else: her integrity, her dignity, her refusal to let fear determine what was real.
That is the inheritance she leaves us.
Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is deciding that fear will not be the final authority over your life. Courage is staying awake when the world urges you to look away. Courage is choosing to stand up and contribute, even when the outcome is uncertain and the cost is real.
We do not stand alone in this moment. We stand in a long line of people who faced regimes that relied on intimidation and erasure—and who chose to resist anyway. We inherit not only their victories, but their unfinished work.
This does not mean we must replicate their suffering. It means we allow their courage to steady us. It means we remember that fear has never been the final word, even when it felt overwhelming at the time.
Fannie Lou Hamer did not believe she would see the world fully transformed. She believed that telling her story and standing with others mattered anyway.
That belief is still alive.
We are not asked to be fearless. We are asked to be faithful: to one another, to truth, and to the dignity that no system has the right to take away.
This is our turn. We do not step into it alone.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where am I feeling fear most acutely right now—in my body, my relationships, or my sense of safety?
What does courage look like for me at this stage of my life—not in heroic terms, but in faithful ones?
How might I draw strength from those who resisted before me, without minimizing the cost they bore?
A Prayer for the Day
A Blessing for Steadfast Hearts
Holy One, You see the harm we are living through. You see the fear that tightens around our breath and the grief that settles into our bones. We do not ask to be spared from the service. We ask for the strength to face it without turning away. Hold those who are frightened. Protect those who are targeted. Sustain those who are resisting at great cost. When our courage feels thin, remind us that we do not stand alone. We stand with those who have gone before us— whose bodies carried the marks of injustice, whose voices broke open silence, whose faithfulness still steadies the ground beneath our feet. Give us clarity without cruelty. Resolve without despair. And the grace to keep choosing dignity, even when fear presses close. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Drawing Strength from the Lineage
Set aside 15–20 minutes for this practice. Do not rush it.
1. Remember One Ancestor of Courage
Bring to mind one person who resisted injustice before you. This may be Fannie Lou Hamer or someone from your own family or community. Picture them as fully human. Tired. Afraid. Determined.
2. Name the Cost They Bore
Silently acknowledge what it cost them to stand up. Do not romanticize it. Let the weight of that cost be felt.
3. Receive the Inheritance
Now ask yourself: What did their courage make possible for me?
Name one freedom, one right, one opening that exists because they refused to be silent.
4. Make One Faithful Commitment
End by completing this sentence in writing:
“Because they stood, I will…”
Let this be specific and sustainable. Courage grows through consistency, not grand gestures.
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Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
TONIGHT!!!! January 15, 2026, 7-8pm EST - FREE Online Webinar: When the Internet Hurts: The Hidden Online Dangers Facing Our Teens and How Faith Communities Can Respond, Join me in conversation with Sharon Winkler, survivor parent and nationally respected youth online-safety advocate. Sharon’s son, Alex, died at age 17 after experiencing cyberbullying and algorithmically targeted pro-suicide content. Since then, Sharon has dedicated her life to helping parents, educators, and faith leaders recognize online dangers and build safer communities for young people. Register here.
February 5, 2026 - Margaret Wheatley and and I are launching a new online course called “Leading with Spirit,” a six-session journey into soul-grounded leadership designed to deepen your trust in guidance, nurture perseverance, and rekindle imaginal wisdom for our fractured world. Take a look at the course outline. We are really excited and hope you can join! Scholarship are available if needed. Learn more here!
February 11th and 25, 2026 - Join Our “Building a Culture of Leadership Within Congregations” Cohort facilitated by Rabbi Benjamin Ross and me! A two-session course for ministers and faith leaders ready to strengthen how their congregations and ministries identify, develop, and support leaders. Learn more here.
July 19-24, 2026 - Join me and amazing co-facilitator, Victoria, on retreat in the back-country of beautiful Wyoming. The Art of Wilding is a 5-Day Expedition for Women Leaders. We will spend the week reconnecting to nature, exploring our inner landscapes for change, and engage the wisdom of spiritual teachings. Click here to learn more.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Have you heard about the Franciscan Federation? I absolutely LOVE these folks and am excited about the future they are envisioning. If you want to learn more about Franciscan theology, check out their extensive website of resources. This world needs more Franciscan-hearted people. Count me in!
Are you a recovering evangelical leader in search of a network of people who understand your journey? Jonathan Foster and friends have launched the Curian Network. It’s a denominational space credentialing and resourcing pastors, chaplains, spiritual directors, and counselors in this wild day and age we live in.
Bryan Sirchio is the lead designer of the Convergence Music Project and has just launched a new podcast on Just and Generous Worship Music. Check out the podcast and new website here: https://convergencemp.com/
I am working on a big AI project in partnership with a company called Change.ai. I have been SO impressed with their commitment to justice organizations and safe, ethical AI space. Change Agent grew out of a 55-year-old civil rights nonprofit, and those values guide their approach.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/fannie-lou-hamer