Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church
Sunday, August 6, 2017
The Call to Worship by Tricia Most
Our interim minister, Rev. Evan Keely, spoke of worship as a weekly ritual to remind us of the sacred values that define who we are.
Our Unitarian Universalist faith draws from sources that call us to invite into our lives an awareness of transcending mystery and wonder to renew our spirits, and to rejoice in, and embrace All of Life;
Our faith draws from sources that call us to attend to the wisdom of those who challenge us to resist oppression with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
Our faith calls us to embrace wisdom from World Religions that inspires us in our ethical and spiritual lives;
Our faith calls us to respond to God’s love by loving all people as taught by Christian Traditions and Jewish Traditions;
Our faith calls us to honor Humanist teachings and to be guided by reason and science;
Our faith calls us to honor the Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions that celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature;
Unitarian Universalism calls us to embrace:
- The miracle of birth
- The prayers of our Grandmothers
- The dreams of our Grandfathers
- The spirit of God.
- The Courage of Mothers and fathers
- The Mercy of Sisters
- The Love of Brothers.
Unitarian Universalism calls us to be keepers of faith and makers of peace. Indeed, our ritual of weekly worship reminds us of who we are.
The Framing by Carol Carter-Walker
I have been a Unitarian Universalist for thirty years. During that time, I have been an active member of two congregations and involved in Committees and Boards at the local, district, regional, and national levels.
I have been to 24 General Assemblies. These annual gatherings, often called GAs, are where the denomination, an association of nearly 1,000 congregations:
- conducts the business of the organization; and
- explores and expands our commitment to our faith’s principles and practices. For the four days of General Assembly, there are business meetings, worship services, sermons, lectures, workshops on business and social justice issues, and opportunities for public witness from early morning through late evening.
In the earliest GAs I attended, many delegates lined up at microphones to discuss proposed social justice statements and business items. Some of these discussions were illuminating. But some delegates lined up and hogged the microphones with arguments about the placement of commas and the order of sentences. Many delegates seemed to be representing their personal rather than congregational points of view. Still others seemed uninterested and uninformed about the business at hand.
I also remember some excellent workshops that would leave me energized. But there were others that were obviously hastily pulled together.
What I have seen over the years is a change. More thought and more people are involved in the planning of GA.
- Regions now offer local delegate orientation prior to GA.
- Most items reach the Meeting Agenda only if a critical mass of congregations endorses its placement.
- There is now more focus on the essence of our social justice work rather than the wording of our statements about it.
- There has been a tangible shift toward providing attendees with tools and strategies to begin living our principles not just in the often, semi-hidden walls of our churches, but in concert with other churches, neighbors, and partners.
We have come a ways from the days of the comma wars. But, that having been said, I did not look forward to this year’s General Assembly. I thought there would be lots of pain, anger, and frustration—or worse, a lot of lofty words with no intention behind them.
This past April, the denomination was roiled by poor hiring decisions that were followed by resignations of the President and two senior staff members. The Moderator, the person who presides at General Assembly, resigned and died shortly afterward. Then, there were revelations of outrageous severance packages given to two of the people who voluntarily resigned. The hiring decisions that benefitted white males to the exclusion of women and people of color imploded and led to a sobering thesis that, in spite, of its many attempts to purge itself of this stain, white supremacy was still infused in the institution. Ironically, this turmoil occurred against the backdrop of a vigorous campaign for a new UUA President in which all three candidates were women.
Very quickly, the denomination took steps to right itself. The Board:
- Appointed three- Interim co-Presidents, all well respected, long-term, and well-known leaders, all people of color. The Board and co-Presidents collaborated with Black Lives of UU, a group of black clergy, religious professionals, and lay members, to provide resources for and asked congregations to interrupt their regular programming to conduct a White Supremacy Teach-in April 30 or May 7. Over 700 congregations did so.
- Used technology to best advantage by using a system that allowed several hundred UUs to virtually attend Board of Trustees meetings during this period.
- Reported these difficult issues in real time via the online weekly UU e-magazine.
The work of tackling difficult issues head on continued at General Assembly. It focused on feeling, openness, and living into our faith, rather than merely intellectualizing about it. The Opening Ceremony featured a jubilant New Orleans style second-line band. The Closing Ceremony included a powerful laying on of hands for the newly elected UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray by the entire assembly.
There were three Moderators instead of one. They were diverse in age, race, gender, gender expression, and experience. They counseled us to leave the microphone if someone ahead of us had already said what we planned to say. (This was not 100% successful.)
There was, if I may use religious language, a holiness about our work—not just taking in information, but talking about how we could use it to make us better.
I am cautiously optimistic that we can make the changes needed in ourselves and in our congregations and other institutions to join with others as a strong faith for a hurting world.
I believe that: Now is the time!
Sermon: The Time is Now! by Tricia Most
Part One
“Be wherever you are.” The phrase suggests self-acceptance. It also hints that we may not all be in the same metaphorical place and that that’s okay. We come from wherever we are bringing our different beliefs with us.
However much Humanist Paint Branchers like to think this is a Humanist congregation, the Ministerial Search Committee survey revealed that this congregation is theologically very diverse. So it seems that maybe we need to stretch ourselves to live into our first and second principles about demonstrating respect and compassion for others and our third and fourth principles about encouraging each others’ spiritual pursuits and personal searches for meaning. I’ll come back to that later.
As Carol Carter Walker said, our UU denomination is in the process of taking steps to “Right itself.” This process has a lot to do with who we see in leadership roles on the General Assembly plenary and worship stages. The greater inclusion of young speakers, leaders of color and the visibility of people who cannot be described as senior, straight, white men is refreshing and affirming to some of us. And more importantly, it helps all of us know who we Unitarian Universalists really are. This year there were more diverse groups of people involved in the planning for GA and it transformed the experience.
The Board of Trustees report was not at all what I might have expected. Instead of reading
a narrative of accomplishments, there was a facilitated conversation during which each member on the stage was asked big questions about their commitment to aspects of our faith. They talked about transformational respect and inclusion, and about multi-racialism. Before our eyes, each person intimately demonstrated how they live their UU values. I found the composition of the group on stage striking. I watched a multicultural group of three women whose responses seemed to be in stark contrast to that of the one, senior Caucasian man in the group. At one point, each person was asked about their hopes for the future of our denomination. An African-American woman talked about wanting her brother to feel welcomed in a UU congregation by music and language that speaks to him and his lived experience. She said she longs for her brother to find what he needs in a UU church. She also longs to hear greater diversity in the music and to experience more diversity in worship. The white man protested vehemently.
He said he cherishes things exactly as they are—and he doesn’t want any changes. His argument centered around the idea that the music her brother finds unappealing – quote – “shaped me into the person I am.” Despite her detailed description, this White UU minister was unmoved. He remained concerned only with his own history and seemed unable to consider the experience of a young black man since it was different from his own.
In real time, right before our eyes, we were seeing what privilege looks like. The inability to empathize with an experience that differs from our own lives prevents genuine connection. It is a privilege to not have to consider what difficulties – emotionally, and logistically – someone different than us might have.
Some of us might not realize that it’s a privilege to be able to easily walk into this room, to easily stand up to sing a hymn. At GA this year, attention was drawn to the fact that some people feel offended by the metaphor of standing up for justice, because they are literally unable to stand or walk. A resolution was presented for the “Standing on the Side Of Love” campaign to create new imaging that better includes and reflects the needs and contributions of disabled people. Naturally, there were people who wanted to convince differently abled others that they shouldn’t feel oppressed or offended by the words “Standing on the Side of Love.” Someone queued up at the microphone to say ‘Standing on the Side of Love’ is merely a metaphor. Another pointed out that there are many dictionary definitions for the word “stand” and only one of them refers to literally standing up from a sitting position. There was even an individual in a mobile cart who waited in line to express the opinion that she was unoffended. She implied that, therefore, no one else should be.
No decision was made at GA. The issue will receive greater scrutiny over the next year. But, I think the larger issue remains one of privilege. Do we behave as though we do not have to consider the concerns of people whose lived experience is different from our own? It is a privilege to not think about various kinds of oppression that we, personally, do not experience.
Jason Shelton wrote the familiar words and music after which the “Standing on the Side of Love” Campaign is named. Jason spoke at the plenary session following discussion of this controversy. He pointed out that he had nothing to do with the “Standing on the Side of Love” tee shirts, bumper stickers, etc., and that he receives no financial benefits from the “Standing on the Side of Love” Campaign for their sales. However, he suggested the lyrics and title of his song, which is Hymn # 1014 in our Teal hymnal be changed to “Answering the Call of Love.”
Personally, I liked the idea that changing two simple words could solve a controversy. Perhaps it’s not that simple. But, I would like to ask you to join me in singing hymn #1014 with Jason Shelton’s suggested word change. Try singing “Answering the Call Of Love.” If you find yourself singing the more familiar words, it’s okay. But, if you can, try singing “Answering the Call of Love.” It’s hymn #1014 in the Teal hymnal.
Sermon: The Time is Now! by Tricia Most
Part Two
The UUA shake up earlier this year led to the recognition that major changes were needed.
But, as former member of the Ohio State Senate, Nina Turner, says: “There is promise in the problem.” It is clear to me that the UUA staff and GA planners deliberately incorporated our UU values into the way the business of our denomination was conducted at this year’s General Assembly. Early during GA week, I learned that the board of trustees made a significant decision. It seems that until 1961, there were two annual meetings. One was a decision-making General Assembly. The other was “A General Conference” focused on theology. Apparently, when Unitarians joined with Universalists to form our current denomination, the theologically- focused “General Conference” stopped happening. It was decided that we need to resume the practice of holding a theologically-oriented conference each year. A task force was created to plan for a “General Conference” to be held by Fall of 2018. The theme will be: “What is Unitarian Universalism called to be in this World?” The second gathering is needed, the board decided, because “Elections and Debates do not fulfill our UU commitments.” Like the Board of Trustees, the three co-Presidents — all people of color — also offered their “Presidents’ Report” as a conversation about how their faith informed their work for the UUA.
When the staff report was presented, it was noted that by hiring three co-presidents of color, The UUA had suddenly established a racial quota of 40 % People of Color.
The staff also reported their recognition that that number would evaporate when the newly elected white female president replaced the 3 interim presidents.
Our annual general assemblies might serve to remind us of the possibilities of our faith.
This year, there were 553 People of Color in attendance at General Assembly. The Youth Caucus and the Young Adult Caucus were very active and visible as was the BLUU – Black Lives of UU. People of diverse genders were visible in positions of leadership. People’s special needs
were addressed by establishing a new norm that walkers yield to people with mobility issues
so they could exit the auditorium first. There are “Enhanced Auditory” seating areas as well as “Fragrance-free” seating areas.
I am especially pleased by the proposal of an eighth UU principle, which will be considered during the next year. It begins as each of our Principles begin:
“We the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association covenant to affirm and promote: Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by building a diverse Multi-cultural, Beloved Community in actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
The struggle for wholeness within our denomination goes way back. Some in our denomination have long recognized that we need to do more to more fully live in to the promise of greater inclusion and greater diversity. Back in April of 2009, my husband, Eric, and I traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to attend a conference with the inspiring title: “Leading Congregations into a Multi- racial, Multi-cultural Future: The Time is Now!” That conference was not the first or the last UUA conference with the words “The Time is Now!” in its title. There have been a series of UUA conferences trying to inspire congregations toward greater inclusion and diversity.
Later that year, at the 2009 General Assembly, UUA President Rev. William Sinkford said:
“We have this wonderful, open theology. We need to start matching our practice
to that theology.” Now, at Paint Branch as we begin a new church year with a new minister, Rev. Rachel Rudd Christensen, it is my hope that this congregation can live into the wonderful, open theology suggested by the diverse Sources of Unitarian Universalism. Thanks to Suzanna Schiller, we have mandalas representing each of our 6 sources on the windows of this sanctuary. They serve to remind us of the broad range of religious ideas that inform our faith. It is my hope that we can encourage and respect each other’s spiritual development and searches for meaning, as we continue the task of building our own theologies. The Time is Now! It’s a good time to trust the wisdom in each of us—every color, every creed, and kind.
And now it is a good time to sing! Please turn to hymn #1008 in the Teal hymnal. Please rise if you are willing and able to sing hymn #1008 When Our Heart is in a Holy Place.
Final Words by Tricia Most
“We have this wonderful, open theology!”
Let us embrace the diversity of our Unitarian Universalist faith!
Let us rejoice as we journey toward spiritual wholeness!
And let us celebrate that the mandalas of our Sources hang up above our heads!