Minister’s Letter — February 2006

Dear friends,

I just received the following comment from one of our members: This is what the fellowship is all about…a wise person once told me that a community is a group of people who understand their interdependency.

That wise observation was stated in an email from someone recently in response to a “thank you” note I had sent for the caring ministry this person and others had extended to our members who needed support.

Wise indeed. And this little comment reminded me anew how important our Fellowship is and the work we do together. It goes without saying that if we truly believe in the interdependent web of all existence, our faith must begin with how we relate and care for one another within our own community. In fact, I believe a caring community will be a transforming community, i.e., our lives will change for the better. Otherwise, why be in a faith community?

All of our work as a Fellowship should be transforming work. In some way, dramatically or quietly, your affiliation with UU-BCO should change your life. As your minister, my goal is to help make that possible. In other words, if you choose to become a member, you should expect that your life will change in a deep and profound way. Is that expecting too much? I hope not.

This change, however, doesn’t happen by the mere act of becoming a member, but rather happens as a result of the energy and effort you will put into changing your world. Unitarian Universalists at our best do not believe in cheap “salvation”— saving ourselves and our world from meaninglessness. Wholeness and meaning only come from doing the deep and difficult soul work of transformation.

Unitarian Universalism is one of the most difficult religious paths to follow. Why is that? We don’t concern ourselves with what you believe, but we do ask that whatever you believe – live it!

So let me remind you of the actions you can take at the Fellowship that will help us change our world and change ourselves:

Worship with us regularly – worship helps us to center ourselves, to challenge our assumptions, to realize that we can make a difference, and to connect us to something larger than ourselves. I will always welcome your input on how we can make the worship experience even more powerful and meaningful.

• Do something to change the world –join our Social Concerns Committee and take part in our social outreach ministries or social action endeavors. Or help create new outreach ministries. I’m not the only minister. We are all ministers.
• Do something for someone else – there are many opportunities for pastoral outreach in our shared ministry. Again, we are all ministers.
• Do something for someone else who is not connected to our Fellowship – people are hurting in our world and our community. Kindness and generosity are gifts that are always needed.
• Do something for yourself – take part in one or more of our spiritual or intellectual activities here in our Fellowship. Join a Community Circle group or attend the Buddhist meetings, men’s and women’s groups, book groups, adult RE and other activities that offer wonderful opportunities to do something for yourself.

The bottom line is this: by living your faith(your values, the UU principles), you will discover that you have become changed in the process. By changing your world, you will become changed for the better. Authenticity, integrity, generosity and kindness are the gifts that you will receive in living out of the fullness of your character and your faith. That’s how transformation happens and wisdom is learned and the interdependent web of existence is nurtured.

See you at the Fellowship.
Jim Covington