Earlier this summer I attended a meeting in an unfamiliar church. As I was walking outside, I noticed a little plaque nailed to the main doors. It was about the size of a computer tablet and it read: You are Now Entering Your Mission Field.
This was not something I had ever seen at a UU building, not on the front door, back door, anywhere.
But why not? Why don’t we (and I mean ministers and lay people alike) leave our building with the express purpose of actively promoting our inclusive, progressive, science-friendly, welcoming congregations? When I think about the seven Principles of our Faith, or our congregation’s history and Mission, I am very proud. After almost 60 years as a UU, I remain impressed with our open heartedness, our insistence that we are connected to each other and our planet, and our emphasis on democracy as a saving, redemptive, and (ideally), just system. It is truly counter cultural to respect reason and analysis, to be always testing our claims of truth.
Why are we so uncomfortable to toot our horn when it comes to Unitarian Universalism? Why don’t we have UU missions to far flung people and places?
I am not judging anyone for their lack of proselyting; I am a minister and rarely speak about the good news of our faith outside of the sanctuary. It feels intrusive, bossy, and inappropriate. But is this just an excuse for not feeling secure or confident enough to talk about the religion I love? While a few of you are born and raised UUs, most of you chose this religion or at least this congregation. Could we tell a friend about the freedom and the faith that we have found?
I am wondering whether some of this lack of confidence is because we don’t know enough about Unitarian Universalism. Do you want to learn more about the history of our religion? There is a wonderful DVD collection funded by the UUA that details the origins and changing theologies of Unitarianism and Universalism as well as the movement after the 1961 merger. Some of you may have seen these but it would be fun to watch one in a group.
The world as mission field is not a concept most of us are comfortable with. And I am not suggesting that we start knocking on doors in the neighborhood. But it is worth considering how we live out our faith. I look forward to discussing this with you at 4 Cleaves Street, or wherever else we see each other in the mission field.
Poem of the Month
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.