On Feb. 8, I was asked to speak at a rally in front of City Hall in Northampton intended to energize our common resistance to the multiple horrors being unleashed by Donald Trump and the oligarchs who surround him. After I spoke, several people suggested that my speech should be published because it had been helpful to them. My thanks to those who sought me out to say: Share your message.

What follows is the speech I gave at the rally.

Thank you visionary, and quick-to-respond activists who planned this gathering. We will need to do this often over the next four years. I appreciate you.

Things are very bad and we know it. Our hearts are broken.

I do not need to share the litany of how dangerous and destructive this new administration is and how much damage, hurt, fear, and suffering Trump has caused in his first few weeks in office.

You know the litany, and so naming again the terrible, people-harming actions he has taken as an imperial and, as he believes, an anointed leader, is not how I want to spend my few minutes at this mic.

I want to share several thoughts with you, and I hope they will be helpful. I am a pastor and they say pastors always preach the sermon they need to hear. So today I may be sharing four points that I need to hear.

1. We need to go forward with a compassionate heart and a strong spine. A compassionate heart so we can weep with those who are weeping, feel the pain of our trans siblings, undocumented workers, refugees, all those who feel hunted, all those who have been fired, all those who have been defunded, all those who have been made invisible or labeled deviant.

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We need to feel the pain and join with those targeted, but we also need strong spines to take action that is bold, visible, ongoing and effective. In the years ahead, we need both compassionate hearts and strong spines. Take care of yourselves.

2. We need to abandon concepts like our “comfort zone” and creating “safe spaces” when we gather. There is no longer a comfort zone or a safe space. Nothing is comfortable and no place is safe. We must push ourselves to do hard things, and take actions that involve risks — some that we have not done before.

We need to form affinity groups and rapid response networks to be ready to protect those who are vulnerable, to engage in civil disobedience, to travel distances to march and protest, and to accompany others who are in need, in danger or targeted.

3. Be decent in an indecent world. Michele Obama is famous for saying “When they go low, we go high.” Well, they have gone lower than we could have imagined. So low we are stunned and almost silenced by the depravity of the pardons, executive orders, and policies coming from the White House. They have gone so low we are often left speechless.

But we must not be speechless, we must continuously raise our voices. We must raise high the banner of dignity, the sacredness of all life, the love for our planet, the devotion to children, the desire to welcome the stranger, and the call to service and caring. We must not spiral down into tactics that debase us. We must claim the moral ground and not cede an inch.

4. This next point is addressed to activists living in Hampshire County: We need to go south, to Hampden County. We need to find ways to be involved in the activism happening in Springfield. Let’s not just organize in Hampshire County; if we do, our gatherings, our efforts, and our work will mainly involve white people and often white, middle- and upper-class people.

We need to find ways to support the work and leadership of the folks in Springfield in groups like Arise for Social Justice, Healing Racism Institute, No One Leaves, Climate Action Now, and others.

I serve a predominately African American church in Springfield and recently I asked a church member what white people from Hampshire County could do to help support the leadership of activists of color in Springfield. After a pause, he said, “Follow and fund.” He went on to say: “Follow our leadership, support our efforts, come to Springfield with strong arms and a willingness to support our work — and bring your checkbooks. We need funding,” he told me, “to keep the work alive.”

And just a closing thought to the white, affluent people here. We must not center ourselves in the fight that lies ahead. Not center our own distress and sorrow. We cannot bring our own needs to the struggle if we are privileged and (relatively) safe.

White, able-bodied, Christian, heterosexual, middle-class people: When partnering with leaders of color, let’s not bring our own distress to every gathering, meeting or action. Instead: Let’s listen and help. Bring the snacks. Provide rides. Do child care. Raise money. Carry the sound system. Put up the chairs. Clean up the room. We must learn to stand in the background doing what must be done (without thanks) and let those bearing the brunt of Trump’s deprivations lead.

Times are hard. And we are strong.

Do not give up. Do not give in. Do not lose sight of our deepest core values: inclusion, safety for all, love of humanity, care for planet Earth, protection of those on the margins of privilege and wealth, strengthening democracy, and shared power.

Bless you. Onward together. Thank you.

The Rev. Andrea Ayvazian, Ministerial Team, Alden Baptist Church, Springfield, is also founder and director of the Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership.