MAY 28 - 31, 2026

Keynote Speech: Weaving Resistance, Emily Mace, Intern Minister at Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL

Emily started her presentation by passing out strands of yarn. She called them “Charms of Hope.” As you tied the string around your finger, consider that we are not alone. She said “think of it as our best shared future how it is braided with our present and our destiny.” The tied string can be for hope or for whatever support you need. As we untied the strand we were “letting go of our burdens and bleakness.” Letting them fall away.

She told the story of her friend Tracy Wright, who started a Knitters group in Portland, Oregon, “Knitters Against Fascism.” I learned a new term “Craftivists” – Crafters who are Activists. Tracy invited knitters to come to the ICE detention center in Portland to show the world that Portland was not in flames! Tracy said, “Bring your camp chair and coffee and come and stitch.” First there were 5 stitchers, then 10 and then it made NPR. They were “Weapons of Mass Construction." Emily said her friend was part of a much bigger tapestry. A garment of destiny. Emily quoted Dr. Martin Luther King – “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

Emily described the events in Minneapolis last January. Renee and Alex’s murders. Clergy from many denominations went to Minneapolis and joined 10’s of Thousands of protesters. Emily started knitting red hats – a symbol of resistance that started back in WWII - Norwegian resistance to the Nazis.

Emily is also knitting a "Tempestry" scarf – another new term. Each day she knits a row in the Climate scarf with the color of the yarn representing the high temperature of that day. Blue for cold, green – cool, yellow – warm, orange – getting warmer.

Emily described the metaphor of yarn. It is strong, because as it was spun the fibers twist together. And the more it is twisted and plied together (ply means multiple strands twisted together) the stronger it gets.

Crafting and Resistance have a long history. Spies sewed messages into garments. The AIDS quilt – 110,000 names on 50,000 panels. The pink pussy hats. The red resistance hats. 

We use needle and thread to heal what has been harmed. Emily described a book created by a friend. It’s called "Living and Dying Under Dobbs." Dobbs is the law that now allows states to make abortions illegal or difficult to get. Her friend has quilted panels into a book. Each page represents a person who has died or suffered because of the Dobbs Act.

Emily described what happened to her on July 4th, 2022 in Highland Park. A man with a gun killed several people celebrating the 4th. Emily could hear the gunfire. She ducked for cover and in the panic she scraped her knees and elbows and tore her dress. Later she repaired that dress with a few stitches, but it was months later before she would come back to the dress and close the tear with stitches that spelled "HP" - the initials for Highland Park – her town.

So – One step at a time, one stitch at a time. Stitch a hat, stitch a tempestry scarf. Emily has a sweatshirt with the words – Rest Resist Repeat. Emily said, “Sometimes I wonder how one stitch can possibly be enough. But there are others doing the same. Thousands doing the work of resistance to create a better more just world.” Many stitches joined together will be enough.

At the end of Emily’s presentation she brought out a ball of yarn. She asked us to join her in a circle around the altar. I’ve done this exercise before, toss the ball of yarn from person to person across the space. But today there was a difference. As the ball of yarn unwound, we realized that we might run out before everyone was CONNECTED. So what did we do? We got closer to each other, closer to the altar. We tightened up the excess yarn. We continued to toss the ball of yarn. And at the end we had just enough to connect everyone. WE ARE THE WOMEN OF UU WOMEN’S CONNECTION – OF COURSE.

We carefully laid the strands of the web we had woven, draped on the altar.

Thank you Emily for your powerful message. Let’s keep on moving forward. Stitch by stitch Weaving Resistance.

Diana DeWeese
Member UU Women’s Connection
Secretary to the Council