Week-Ending Reflections: Re-Entry, Renewal, and the Rhythm of Community
Week-Ending Reflections: Re-Entry, Renewal, and the Rhythm of Community
There’s a moment after every transformational journey when life asks you a simple question: Now that you’ve changed, what will you do next?
Returning from Brasília—still carrying the energy of that sacred, political, spiritual, and deeply feminist pilgrimage—I barely had time to unpack before I was thrust right back into the beautiful whirlwind of my “old” life. Except it didn’t feel old anymore. I came home renewed, grounded, and ready.
And good thing… because the week wasted no time reminding me who I am and what I’m called to do.
Re-Entry at Full Speed: The Holiday Celebration Returns
The first stop on this fast-moving train was the Anacostia Coordinating Council’s 13th Annual Multicultural Holiday Celebration, supporting MPD’s Christmas Party for Ward 8 kids.
This year came with a major twist:
Our Executive Director was on sabbatical,
The planning mantle shifted to my shoulders, and
I was stepping back up to the mic for the first time since my MC debacle in September (IYKYK).
And let me tell you… that alone could raise anyone’s blood pressure.
Would I fumble again? Would I forget Santa Claus again?
But something shifted in me. Brasília gave me breath. It gave me grounding. And when I stepped up to that mic—with all the anxiety and all the excitement braided together—I remembered: this is community work. This is joy work. This is heart work.
Not only did I get through the script smoothly, I recognized every dignitary, acknowledged Santa on time, and together we raised a mountain of toys for our most precious asset—our young people.
Success. Grace. Redemption. All wrapped in one.
From Holiday Lights to Council Chambers: Soul of the City BID
The celebration ended, the last candle was snuffed out—literally—and by dawn the next day, I was in full legislative gear preparing for the public hearing to establish the Soul of the City Business Improvement District.
What unfolded in the Council chamber was nothing short of powerful.
Our witnesses—longtime residents, small business owners, entrepreneurs, cultural leaders—stood up and told the full story of what we’ve already built and what this BID will unlock:
Long-overdue resources
Coordinated planning
Clean and safe services
Stronger economic development activity
A pathway to quality of life improvements that Ward 8 has deserved for far too long
It was testimony rooted in lived experience. It was truth. It was hope with receipts.
And in that moment, I felt the Brasília energy again—the reminder that transformation isn’t a place you visit; it’s a force you bring home.
#GoGoSanta + Holiday Soul
As soon as we exhaled from the hearing, we pivoted straight into preparing for #GoGoSanta, our mobile holiday Soul tour filled with:
🎶 Music
🎁 Gift-giving
🍗 Food
❤️ Joy
And of course, the best backdrop possible: Sycamore & Oak, our community’s living room.
Seeing families, children, elders, entrepreneurs, and neighbors celebrate together reminded me why we fight so hard for infrastructure, investment, and imagination in Ward 8. The culture is already here—strong, creative, and resilient. We are simply building the scaffolding to support it.
Closing the Week: Fairlawn Civic Engagement
And because the week wasn’t done with me yet, I closed it out by bringing greetings to the Fairlawn Civic Association on behalf of the Anacostia Coordinating Council.
Community engagement is not a task—it’s a rhythm. And this week, that rhythm was steady, purposeful, and deeply affirming.
What I Learned This Week
Transformation doesn’t protect you from the whirlwind—it equips you for it.
This week reminded me that:
I can return home and step back into leadership with renewed clarity
Community work is unpredictable but always sacred
Every stage—from the Council chamber to Sycamore & Oak—is a platform to build belonging
Joy and justice can (and must) co-exist
My purpose travels with me
Brasília lit a spark. Congress Heights keeps it burning.
Here’s to another week of building power, place, and possibility—right where my feet are.
Monica Ray
