It’s fair to say that many people around the world watched the outcome of the recent US election with bated breath and that, for many of us, the re-election of Donald Trump was not the outcome we had hoped for. On 9 November 2024, several UK Unitarians gathered online to discuss our reaction to it, our communities’ reactions to it, and our thoughts about the way forwards.

Many of us were concerned, even distressed, about what the future might hold, and several people stressed the importance of giving people time and space to accept what has happened before trying to move forwards. Some felt that whilst it is important to look at what we can do in future, trying to move forward too past can feel like putting pressure on people to deny their feelings and minimise their concerns. Others noted that Unitarians, like all people, are diverse in their political views, and that we need to be careful not to assume that everyone shares the same thoughts and perspectives. Some thought back to divisions in communities that emerged around the 2016 Brexit vote, and the Covid-19 pandemic, and suggested we aim to remember what happened then and what lessons we had learned. Behavioural covenants were mentioned as a possible option.

Whilst it was something of a sombre gathering, many of us valued the opportunity to gather together and come to terms with what the future is likely to be, and remind ourselves that our spiritual community endures.