Maybe you made some New Year’s resolutions a few weeks ago. Maybe you have adhered to them faithfully. Or maybe they are getting a bit frayed at the edges, modified, or abandoned.

Fear not. Another significant January date is fast upon us and warrants us making some firm intentions and promises to ourselves, our family, and our community.

Jan. 20 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and we pledge ourselves to continue his work for justice and equity. We remember Dr. King’s work, words and witness — and we recognize that his work is not finished. We are called to continue to be active in the movement he and his comrades created, and the struggle for which they fought and died.

So on Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we recommit to doing our part to confront racism and white supremacy. We embrace the need to be informed, involved, and relentless in our efforts to promote the principles of fairness, inclusion, shared power and wealth, and equality.

Jan. 20 is also Inauguration Day. A convicted felon will take the oath of office with his hand on a Bible he pretends to have read. He will, he claims, on Day 1 begin passing laws, making appointments, and announcing executive orders that will convert our democracy into a kleptocracy ruled by oligarchs and billionaires. He will, so he says, begin Day 1 with crackdowns, deportations, the pardoning of insurrectionists, and the incarceration of innocents.

We have much to fear.

Therefore, Jan. 20 is a good day to make new pledges, commitments, and oaths of our own. Allow me to suggest some promises we can make to ourselves and each other on Jan. 20 as Trump begins what may well prove to be a reign of terror for women, children, poor people, undocumented refugees, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, immigrants, Muslims, Jews, and anyone who dissents.

Pledge No. 1: Commit to being decent in an indecent world. Our nation is divided, polarized, and ugly things are said in public, online, in meetings, and at community gatherings nationwide. Let’s pledge not to let our own community mirror the national trend through vitriol, name-calling, and peddling of false information. Be civil — quick to listen and slow to criticize. We cannot make all of America kind again, but let’s make Northampton kind again. Ask yourself this: If someone accused you of being kind, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

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Pledge No. 2: Commit to staying put. This talk among some who oppose Trump about moving to Portugal, Canada, or Mexico is nonsense. They don’t want us, and they don’t need us. We need you to stay put and organize. Don’t flee, don’t give up, and don’t give in.

As Cara Hoffman wrote in the New York Times on Dec. 7, “Stay home in the United States and put in the time to fix things, encouraging a spirit of mutual aid in towns and neighborhoods instead of contributing to polarization.” She added, “There is no escape from the world, just the need to build a better one.”

Pledge No. 3: Do not allow yourself to normalize anything Trump says or does. This talk about how Trump may not be as dangerous as we imagine is wrong. He will be. Do not let yourself be lulled into believing that what Trump plans to do is normal. Attacks on civil servants, mass roundups of refugees and immigrants, claims on Greenland and Panama — none of this is normal. Evaluate Trump’s every action against the values of compassion, generosity, protection of those who are vulnerable, empowerment of those who have been targeted, inclusion, and love of one’s neighbor.

I have a poster in my home that says: “If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention.” Let’s keep that in mind.

Pledge No. 4: Stick together. Stay close and connected in affinity groups, community groups, houses of worship, any group that provides support and a place to remember that friendships matters, community matters, love matters, caring matters. Stick together. Arm-in-arm we can bring our best selves forward.

We are in for very challenging times. Take care of yourself and those around you. Hold the vision of a better world, a kinder society, a safe and just America, and do what you can, where you can, and when you can, to make that vision a reality.

We need each other. Ever onward.

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