Hannah Hergenhan - On Belonging

Hannah Hergenhan

My name is Hannah Hergenhan and I’ve been a member of Beacon since 2014. Some of you may not recognize me as we’ve been a bit absent over the pandemic, between having a toddler and one very shortly on the way, my husband I and don’t get out too much.

I was asked today to speak on the theme of belonging, and immediately, a topic came to mind.

In the spring of this year, we were given the opportunity to host a Ukrainian family. Though their entire lives were being uprooted, they were very fortunate in unfortunate circumstances. They avoided the active conflict by fleeing to Cyprus in February, and the husband worked for a company based in the United States, transferring his employment from virtual to in person and relatively easily obtained visas for the whole family. Even with all of their resources, as I waited at the airport for them, I was thinking of how frightened they must have been to be immigrating to a country they’ve never visited and staying in the house of people they’ve never met. 

What I couldn’t have anticipated is how incredibly seamlessly they would blend into life here and how much they made themselves belong, not only within our family, but in a completely new country. Within less than a week of being here, they went into New York City, saw the ocean, navigated shopping, the DMV, and the Social Security office (no small feats for any of us!). I was struck with the resilience that each one of them had given the circumstances. They jumped right in and did whatever they could to build a life here, eventually getting an apartment of their own in mid July. The older boys are enrolled in school and thriving. They have absolutely become family to us and so wanted stability and to belong here after being in transition for so long with all of the uncertainty that their home country now faces.

This experience has reinforced that you can belong anywhere, as long as you keep an open mind and heart and have a community that does the same. That’s why I treasure Beacon. From the aid which many of you showed this family which they are incredibly grateful for, to the inclusive message of our congregation, and our generosity locally and around the world. I’m incredibly proud to belong to this community and to share in its story.