The Blessings of This Religious Community

Sunday, May 16, 2004

Rev. Gretchen Woods

SERMON

“The Blessings of This Religious Community”

This past Thursday, Til Tillitson,called to make certain I knew that Peg Varvel’s brother, Jim Draper had died. This is exactly the kind of caring attention we need to pay to one another in this religious community. I was able to speak with Peg about her family, the arrangements for his Memorial yesterday morning, and how she was faring. I learned that a box of plants to honor Jim had been delivered to her home. Janet Throop was already putting them into the ground for her: another example of religious community in action.

That very evening, the Program Council offered a dessert party to honor the Committee Chairs. At the event, Richard Hervey, current chair of the Program Council, led us in brainstorming folks who deserve “Thank You” notes for their quiet work on our behalf. We began with Maxeen Thompson, who assures that we have half and half every Sunday for the coffee, and Carol Krakauer, who washes all our towels. Just about every person in the room was mentioned, until Rich Brainderd noted that we might just as well pull out the directory and send a note to everyone. This is a tribute to all of you who offer your time and talent in some way.

So, why do we do it? What do we get out of being part of this religious community? What are the blessings of grace, unbidden, that fall to us here? I submit that, at the very least, we have a beautiful shelter, wonderful people, and, most of all, a group with which to share the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.

First, the place: While some UU churches pride themselves on not attending to their communal space (maybe they feel that makes them less worldly?), this congregation truly appreciates and cares for its building and its grounds. Of course, we depend upon the leadership of Russ Karow with the Building Committee and Nancy Leman who chairs Grounds, but, in actuality, everyone who pulls a weed, as do Pru Kaye and Janet Wagenschutz (to name but two), or picks up trash helps us make this a sacred space. Yes, we began with old barracks from Camp Adair, but they were put together with loving care. Then, our own Edith Yang creatively blended them into this larger complex that we enjoy today. And we must honor endless details of care, from painting to patching to recycling that Louise Ferrell does. This space remains sacred because of the attention of all these people.

Which brings me to another huge blessing: our people. The list that the Program Council began on Thursday was focused upon those who do their thing quietly, without fanfare. The woman who waters our plants; Floyd MacFarland, who folds the orders of service very Friday; the group that cheerfully prepares our newsletter for mailing on Tuesdays. This is in no way to denigrate those who take on larger loads of responsibility, like Dan Murphy, our current president and Carolyn Madsen, our incoming President, should you so vote this next Sunday. We simply wish to recognize that all efforts to help are valued.

Of course, we cannot disregard every person who spends time helping our children in their own growing religious quest. This is why we make a special time to honor our RE teachers and Committee. But we also must not overlook those stalwarts who month after month, provide a tasty soup lunch and raise funds for the many important charities that serve this town. Our Social Concerns Committee does more in one month than many other church’s do in a year. This takes committed people who shoulder the load for the long haul.

Ultimately, in considering our blessings, we must come to the purpose of this religious community: to provide a safe space and a sharing group of people for” the free and responsible search for truth and meaning” and to energize each of us to bring our findings to life in this hurting world. We are here to determine what is most important to each and every one of us and to bring that to life in our world. As the Rev. Beth Miller, puts it, “This church exists to increase the amount of love and justice in our world.

This does not mean we must agree with each other, but it does mean we need a place to discuss, argue, and test what comes our way. And we do it, not because we were” born into this tribe,” but as freely associated people. We have chosen to be together and choose to be together because we share the same values in our UU Purposes and Principles.

This means that we are free to disagree with one another and to vote according to our own consciences. We are not expected to march lock-step forward as one. We are expected to think through our choices and bring our values to bear upon them. This applies to the resolution regarding same-sex marriage. I regret that family plans keep me away for this meeting, because I would love to hear the discussion before the vote.

From the time of the Winchester Profession in 1803, Universalists have maintained the freedom to differ in their professions of faith. As David Bumbaugh writes, “”But even then differences within the movement were strong enough that the Universalists attached a freedom clause allowing room for those differences.” (Bumbaugh, Unitarian Universalism: A Narrative History. p. 154.) Conrad Wright, the outstanding Unitarian historian of the twentieth century asserted, “We do not have to think alike to walk together.”

I am well aware that some of us do no believe that we should make any statement of conscience for the whole congregation that might exclude those of other views. I am aware that some among us are uncomfortable with calling same-sex relationships marriages. I am aware that some same-sex couples believe that traditional marriage is archaic and undesirable as a matter of law or lifestyle. Both my sons seem to fall in this category. As for me, I shall marry Judy in Massachusetts on July 31, 2004 as a public statement that, for me, my love for her is no less valuable than my love for the husband who left our family in 1987. I believe Judy and I deserve the same rights and responsibilities that naturally accrued to that last marriage.

Within our religious tradition, we have many views, and the space for them. Still, the Unitarian Universalist Association as a whole has steadfastly remained in accord that same-sex marriage is another civil right for which we should, out of our principles, stand fast. A banner hangs from our headquarters in Boston, right next to the Massachusetts State House, proclaiming: “Same-Sex Marriage Is a Civil Right!” We do not ask any other religion to confirm marriages they do not approve. We simply ask them to keep their religious ideas to themselves where this is concerned, rather than forcing them upon others.

However this meeting comes out, and the new officers and budget are at least as important as the vote on same-sex marriage, we shall continue to walk together as a religious community because it is too important for us not to do so. There are so many ways in which this world needs people who can and do freely choose their religious community and continue the free search for truth and meaning. We make it happen together. We need one another, and we need as many of us as we can come together in freedom.

We began this service with one of my favorite hymns: Louis Untermeyer’s “Prayer for This House.” I close with a poem from Kenneth L Patton, entitled “This House”

This house is for the ingathering of nature and human nature.

It is a house of friendships, a haven in trouble, an open room for the encouragement of our struggle.

It is a house of freedom, guarding the dignity and worth of every person.

It offers a platform for the free voice, for declaring, both in times of security and danger, the full and undivided conflict of opinion.

It is a house of truth-seeking, where scientists can encourage devotion to their quest, where mystics can abide in a community of searchers.

It is a house of art, adorning its celebrations with melodies and handiworks.

It is a house of prophecy, outrunning times past and times present in visions of growth and progress.

This house is a cradle for our dreams, the workshop of our common endeavor.

So be it blessed be!