Minister’s Letter — April 2007

Dear Friends,
How passionate are you about Unitarian Universalism? Can you take it or leave it? Or is it important enough to you to go out and really let people know about how liberating, nurturing, and challenging, you have found our faith to be? It has been suggested that one of the reasons UU hasn’t grown much in our country, is that we hide our light under a bushel rather than let it shine. We don’t want to share our faith lest we appear evangelically oriented–lest we appear as proselytizers—God forbid! Oh, my!!!
Another reason I think UU hasn’t grown much is that some people come to us expecting an oasis of human congeniality, since we’re so “rational” and our values emphasize compassion and the worth of the individual. You looking for that kind of church? With a cool preacher to boot? Well, you won’t find it. Sorry. Even UUs are human. Boy, do we make blunders and misjudgments! But it is our faith, our principles, that matter most, as in any serious relationship or commitment. So we must be ready to work through our personal issues and stand by our faith because our faith and our commitment to our values are so much more important than our differences. Don’t you think?
Another reason we might not be growing so much, is that we intellectualize a lot. UU members sometimes blah, blah, blah, intellectualizing one another to death and never experiencing the heart of faith – a passionate belief in something beyond one’s self, something that is not amenable to scientific measurement or proof.
Personally, I think there is a lot of passion and joy in our Fellowship. Obviously we have grown a lot in the last few years. All of you are so caring, humorous, inquisitive, searching, grateful, politically and environmentally conscious. Our recent 50 anniversary celebration is a prime example of how well you work together and support one another. And we are blessed to have had so many good people, founding members and others to remember and celebrate. How do we keep this going for another 50 years! ?
With passion! With conviction that we are an imperfect human community of values, faith and a vision that will touch peoples’ hearts, ethically and spiritually guide our children, and serve a fractured world.
But we also have to tell people. We have to invite all people, especially the weak, despised and the vulnerable. We have to shout out our good news to the rooftops and the mountains and the riverbanks that we are here! We ALL have to welcome them when they do come.
We have to take active stands in the community for environmental and social justice and the welfare of others who need our help. We have to explore more ways of deepening our spiritual nature. We have to offer support to the families in our midst through all the development stages, from birth to retirement.
And last, certainly not least, we have to be generous with our money to support the growth and mission of the faith we treasure.
Can we do this? It depends on you. If this is a religious family you can take or leave–we won’t do much at all. Probably just fade away. If it is a human (and therefore imperfect) community of faith you regard as one of the most important commitments in your life, because of what it stands for, then I totally believe we can shine, shine, shine in the community and the world–as we should be shining for those in a world looking for the light we bear. What do you think? See you at the Fellowship.
Jim Covington