When Fear Rules the Sacred Ground
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Perfect love casts out fear.” — 1 John 4:18
Last week, the National Park Service quietly erased Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from its list of fee-free days and added Donald Trump’s birthday. It was a bureaucratic act so small that most people missed it…and yet it reveals everything. It’s one more attempt to rewrite the story of America: to sanctify domination, to bury memory, to pretend the struggle for freedom is over.
This is racism, yes—but beneath it, something even older and more corrosive: fear. White fear. Fear of reckoning, of reversal, of justice. Fear that equality will mean loss. Fear that the myth of supremacy, so long enshrined as divine order, will crumble.
That fear is theological. It’s born of the heresy that some are more beloved of God than others. It’s a theology of hierarchy, not of incarnation; of scarcity, not of abundance. It worships a god made in its own image: anxious, vengeful, male, and white. It is, in the truest sense, idolatry.
Idolatry always leads to suffering. It fractures the soul of a people. It forces a nation to spend its energy defending a lie. And it always collapses because the universe itself is wired for mutuality. Creation is not a ladder to climb but a web to tend. In God’s world, there is no “up” without “under,” no dominion without dependence, no freedom without belonging.
When Dr. King dreamed of the Beloved Community, he was articulating this divine physics: that our fates are bound up in each other’s flourishing. White fear can delay that truth, but it cannot undo it. The earth itself bears witness. The rivers that carried enslaved people to their deaths now carry their descendants to protest. The mountains that heard freedom songs still echo their harmonies. The land remembers what justice sounds like.
So yes, it matters when a government replaces days that honor liberation with one that glorifies a strongman. Symbols form the psychic infrastructure of a people. Change the rituals, and you change the imagination. Turn memory toward power, and you hollow out a nation’s soul.
The corrective is not sentimentality—it is courage. It’s not the shallow optimism of those who say, “This isn’t who we are,” but the deeper faith of those who know, “This is who we’ve been, and it’s time to transform.” Love, the kind that casts out fear, isn’t soft. It is revolutionary. It unseats empires precisely because it cannot be bought, bribed, or threatened.
Our task is not merely to lament the erasure of justice days. It is to embody them. To live our own Juneteenth, the daily practice of freeing ourselves from the systems that depend on someone else’s captivity. To walk our own King Day, the relentless insistence that nonviolence is not weakness but the highest form of strength.
Fear may rule the sacred ground for a season, but love always reclaims it in the end. The land knows which story is true.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What stories of fear are still shaping your understanding of who belongs?
How do you experience the tension between fear and love in your community’s public life?
What would it mean, in practice, to make love—not fear—the organizing principle of your faith?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For the Healing of Our Fear
Holy One of justice and mercy, you dreamed a world without hierarchy— where every child of earth could lift their eyes unashamed. When fear distorts your image in us, forgive our small gods of power and pride. When love feels dangerous, remind us that only love can set us free. Give us courage to remember rightly, to speak the truth without hatred, and to build the beloved community from the ground you made sacred. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Reclaiming Ground
This week, visit a place that is meant to be “for the people”—a park, a schoolyard, a courthouse lawn—and bring your full presence. Notice who feels welcome there, and who doesn’t.
Place your hand on the ground. Remember those who were erased from that soil’s story: Indigenous, Black, immigrant, poor. Speak a blessing aloud: May this ground remember love more than fear.
Then ask yourself: what small action could you take to widen belonging here?
Write a letter. Talk to your neighbors. Refuse a silence. Each act of courage reclaims a piece of sacred ground.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
January 6, 13, 20, 2026 - Protest and Action Chaplaincy Training with Rev. Anna Galladay. This live, online training offers a framework for providing compassionate, grounded spiritual care during protests, advocacy gatherings, and social movements. Learn more here.
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 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 new section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Do you know the great folks at Spiritual Wanderlust? They are giving us with such great courses and teaching. I’m excited about this series on the mystics.
Joshua Michael Schrei is the producer of the “The Emerald” podcast. It is SOOOOO good. Here is one of my recent favorite episodes, but all of them are worth listening to. Fix a hot cup of tea, settle in and enjoy every minute!
Brian McLaren just published his first sci-fi book, The Last Voyage. It’s the first book of a three part series. It’s brilliant, important and such a fun read. We should have a book club session on this one.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
Love the spiritual practice. Thank you.
Another step to oblivion and there’s nobody screaming loudly…