Minister’s Update Letter: Onward Toward Progress – Faith, History, and Justice
February 2026
This past week, I had the honor of serving as a guest speaker at the January meeting of Onward Toward Progress (OTP), a national citizen-led coalition inspired to save democracy by registering voters, canvassing, and supporting like-minded organizations. Held locally in Pasadena/Altadena, the gathering left me deeply encouraged by the seriousness, commitment, and moral clarity of everyone in the room.
OTP’s origin story begins in 2016, when a small group of friends, facing what felt like desperate and uncertain times, went looking for something positive and constructive to do. An opportunity emerged in their own backyard, California’s 25th Congressional District, and OTP launched a GoFundMe campaign that helped flip the seat in 2018.
Fired up by that success, OTP approached the 2020 election cycle with renewed energy, raising approximately $90,000 to support Field Team 6 (FT6) in registering more than 30,000 Democratic voters in Michigan. In 2022, the group focused its efforts on Nevada, raising funds for FT6, canvassing, and postcarding; those efforts helped re-elect Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and a slate of Democratic legislators.
That work continues today. OTP is actively gearing up for the upcoming midterm elections and is becoming involved in the Orange County race supporting Derek Tran. The clear message throughout the evening was this: the work is never over; democracy requires tending.
I was especially grateful to be in the company of powerful voices who spoke before me, Jessica Craven, founder of Chop Wood, Carry Water, and the author and blogger behind the Carry Water newsletter. Their remarks laid important groundwork, reminding us that endurance, strategy, and moral clarity, not just enthusiasm, are what sustain movements over time. Their words provided a strong foundation for my own encouragement to the gathered community.
What struck me most about the evening was not only OTP’s political sophistication, but their resilience, spiritual resilience, even when spirituality was not named outright. These are people who understand that progress is not automatic, democracy is not self-sustaining, and justice does not move forward on its own.
Progress happens only because people decide, again and again, to move onward, even when the road bends backward, even when the work grows heavy, even when hope feels fragile.
In my remarks, I shared this conviction: whatever spiritual perspective you hold, whatever theological or philosophical framework resonates with you, these times will require faith. Not faith as dogma, not faith as certainty, but faith as capacity, faith that carries us when results are slow, steadies us when outcomes are unclear, and reminds us that we do not do this work alone.
The days, weeks, months, and years ahead, building the beloved community, electing and supporting leaders, and walking alongside both elected officials and grassroots organizers, will demand resilience, patience, and courage. Democracy is not a moment; it is a practice.
At SepulvedaUU, we often speak of love at the center, justice as a spiritual imperative, and our shared responsibility to one another. Gatherings like this OTP meeting remind me that those values are alive and active far beyond our sanctuary walls.
I left that evening grateful to have been in such company, people committed to showing up, staying engaged, and moving onward toward progress. May we continue to do the same, in our own ways, with faith strong enough for the long road ahead.
As Unitarian Universalists, we are sustained by a tradition that understands justice as both moral and spiritual work. As Theodore Parker famously observed, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Yet that arc does not bend on its own. As UU theologian James Luther Adams reminds us, “Democracy is a moral adventure, and the moral destiny of humankind is at stake in its development.”
And when the work feels daunting, as it surely will, we are invited into courage rather than retreat:
“Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless when facing them.” – Rabindranath Tagore
May we live into these truths together, seeking justice, nurturing democracy, building the beloved community, and moving onward toward progress.
In faith,
Rev Gordon
Rev Gordon Clay Bailey
Minister
Sepulveda UU Society
818-724-4260
For more information and access to other events, sign our Guestbook!