Let’s Talk About Courage

According to the dictionary, courage is: The mental and moral strength to act despite fear, danger, or difficulty, involving perseverance, integrity, and vulnerability, often for a greater good, rather than the absence of fear. It is about controlling fear and acting according to one’s values, whether facing physical threats, emotional challenges, or speaking truth to power.

We are living in a world where peace is waning and there is a serious void in finding safety and security. There are wars and the possibilities of civil and international wars. Economic pressures are increasing due to a rise in the cost of living and essential resources are becoming increasingly difficult to access. At the same time, health concerns are rising and the ability to obtain proper care is less certain, with less regard shown for accommodating different circumstances.

Within communities, many individuals hesitate to speak openly, fearing judgment or misunderstanding. There is also a real fear of reaching beyond our comfort zones, to be curious, to listen, and to learn from those who are different from us. Older adults are living with increased fear and isolation, while young people express growing frustration with systems they feel have let them down.

COURAGE requires trust and faith in the power of our Universal God, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, who is greater than the forces of this present age and who protects and rescues us from human-made structures. These structures have shaped our lives in ways that often cultivate fear rather than freedom.

COURAGE is the presence of faith that assures us we have the mental and moral strength to speak up, build community, overcome prejudice, and take the necessary steps to move beyond walls of fear and anxious anticipation.

This is a moral moment that calls for courage rooted in faith and guided by our deepest values. Courage does not ask us to be fearless, but to be faithful, to act with compassion and conviction even when we feel uncertain. By leaning into our faith or the values that center us, we are reminded that we are not alone and that our voices, choices, and relationships matter. When we choose courage, we choose to build belonging over division, hope over fear, and love over isolation. In doing so, we become co-creators of a more just and connected world, one step, one moment at a time.

Rev. Stancy Adams
IFLC Board Chair