© The Rev. Joseph M Cherry
Written for and given to:
The Unitarian Church of Vancouver
12 June, 2011
I’ve been to Toronto three times in my life.
Once when I was in grade 8 for a field trip. It’s only about 4 hours from Detroit, you know. We went to the Ontario Science Centre and the Old Spaghetti Factory. It seemed a very glamorous and glorious adventure to me in 1983.
The second time I was in Toronto was for about twenty minutes. I’d made a wrong turn going from Sarnia to the Peace Bridge.
And finally, I went just last month. This time on purpose, and with a purpose. Like the first time, and I guess the second time, too, I was coming from Detroit. But this time was different. I was there for a conference. Actually two conferences. One was the Canadian Unitarian Counsel Annual Conference and Meeting, called the ACM, and the second was the annual gathering of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers of Canada.
While I was at the CUC ACM, I took part of what’s called a “leadership track.” It was essentially a five part lecture, each just under an hour, given by church consultant, Rev. Robert Latham, about congregational dynamics and Unitarian spirituality. This was the first offering of its kind, but it was very successful and I doubt it’ll be the last.
The five sessions were: Religious Mission, Religious Identity, Religious Message, Religious Identity and Character and then a summary session.
I’m not going to take you through all five sessions, but some interesting ideas were looked at, which caused some questions. Some of them about Unitarian Universalism globally, and some about my time with this congregation.
Rev. Latham sees his work with congregations as being made more effective when the work is done through the congregation’s sense of mission. On the front of the order of service this morning is some word art I created, using the text from UCV’s mission statement.
Latham states emphatically “Commitment to a clear sense of mission will meet the demand of every issue or challenge a congregation encounters.”
If a congregation doesn’t have a clear sense of mission, it can lead to trouble.
Who creates that sense of mission? The people do.
Through working together in meetings and using the democratic process to elect leaders, the people of a congregation work out and live out the mission of their church.
“A congregation may have ministerial leadership but if it does not also have strong lay leadership it still will not succeed in its mission,” writes Latham. “However, it is not simply a matter of having qualified leadership. What makes this leadership effective it its commitment to the mission above all else. Indeed, when a congregation is in trouble it will inevitably stem from some element of its leadership that is committed to an agenda that is antithetical to the congregation’s religious mission.”
I am not standing up here saying that this congregation is in trouble, or its leadership has somehow gone awry. Remember the title of my sermon is “This Could be the Place,” not “We are in trouble here.”
Further Latham warns against the habitual practice of “a warm body approach” to filling volunteer positions. Every congregation needs not just a nominating committee, but a leadership development group whose responsibility it is to help further the effectiveness of its leaders.
In our jobs, we often have professional development goals, if not down-right expectations.
“Leadership makes everything happen that is going to happen,” Latham concludes.
In short, what I want to ask is that as UCV continues on, how are you choosing your lay leaders? I’ve been on nominating committees before. You meet and try to figure out who has the skill sets you need, and then you make a list of people to call, and you put them in order of preference. And then you start making the phone calls, or coffee dates.
What might happen if you change that pattern? Would you consider someone who was clearly dedicated to the mission of this church, and then help them develop their skill set? This might be beneficial to the congregation and the individual. I’m not suggesting that we through the baby out with the bath water, but maybe mix things up a bit.
In another session, entitled “Religious Identity and Character,” Rev. Latham talks about the characteristics of being a Unitarian, and also a Unitarian Universalist. Some of his thinking in this area might be a little controversial, but still it’s good grist for the mill.
I’m going to quote him here “The nature of openness throughout our history has caused Unitarians to reside on the cutting edge of theological relevance. This has not been an easy journey. We began as theological heretics proclaiming the unity of God (asking the question: Who or What Is In Charge?) We moved on from this point to open ourselves to creation and other theologies as sources of knowing (asking How Do I Know What I Know?) In the 1930’s we created the theology of Humanism (asking Who Am I? or What Is In Charge? What Is Our Purpose?) Presently in our midst is a growing but not well defined view of reality that can be called Spirituality.” We are on an evolutional move theologically…
Here is the rub. Once we find a theology that we like we often become very resistant toward both ourselves and others evolving any further.”
Just this week on Huffington Post, Rev Marilyn Sewell wrote a piece that flashed up on my facebook page like a wildfire. People posted and re-posted this article “the Theology of Unitarian Universalism ,” and some, of course, responded to her, too. In the written copy of this sermon, I’ve included the web address to that article if you’d like to read it yourself.
At first I was mostly just excited that Unitarian Universalism was getting as much exposure as it was going to get, being on Huffington Post and all! And then I read the article, which I enjoyed.
Among the things that Rev. Sewell wrote was this: “We are a free religious faith, and so have no creed. And as freedom is wont to do, our faith invites a certain degree of wackiness and abuse. But if that’s the price of freedom, then I still choose freedom.
“Our faith, of course, does have requirements. To become a Unitarian Universalist, you make no doctrinal promises, but you are required to do much more. You are required to choose your own beliefs—you promise, that is, to use your reason and your experience and the dictates of your conscience to decide upon your own theology, and then you are asked to actually live by that theology. You are asked to take your chosen faith very seriously.”
And a paragraph later she offers a history lesson of our faith, lest you forget that our faith is serious business, she starts with this: “Our free faith was hard won. It has a long history, and our religious ancestors died for this freedom.”
Robert Latham included in his lecture information gathered from the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. He quoted a poll that showed that in our midst: Christians feel ostracized; Humanists feel threatened; Pagans feel oppressed and Mystics feel ignored.
I’m going to repeat that. In our congregations, Christians feel ostracized; Humanists feel threatened; Pagans feel oppressed and Mystics feel ignored.
In a totally happy coincidence, here at UCV, our 9-12 year olds recently conducted a survey of people attending church two weeks ago on Sunday. They have compiled their numbers and I can now share with you a theological snapshot of our congregation. I am grateful for their curiosity and willingness to share their data.
In this poll, it was revealed that on average, as individuals, we first questioned the faith we were brought up in, when we were 14½ years old. Our average age as a congregation is 59.61 years old. And our average tenure as a Unitarian? 19.8 years.
Also, you may remember if you were here on that Sunday, there were questions about your belief system. I’ve added this information to the last sheet of the printed sermon, so please don’t worry if you don’t get all these figures, but they are interesting to hear.
20.4 % of respondents identified with the statement “God is Nature.” 19.2% identified as Humanists, 18.4% as Mystics, 13.7% as Agnostics, 8.2% as Pagan, 7.8% as Atheists, and 5.9% as Christians.
If you’ve been adding in your head, you’ll note that the percentages did not add up to 100%. People were not asked to identify with only one spiritual path. We are Unitarians after all, and no one would’ve followed that direction anyway.
Getting back to the UUA poll I mentioned earlier, it suggests that 5.9% of our people feel ostracized; 19.2% feel threatened; 8.2% feel oppressed and 18.4% feel ignored in our church. What do you think about that? Can you yourself identify with feeling one or more of these things?
In an article by Robert Latham, which was not accepted into the UUWorld magazine, suggested that in our zeal to differentiate ourselves from the rising tide of Christian fundamentalism in the early mid-20th Century, the Unitarians “went beyond rejection” to create three substitutes for what we thought of as “dead dogma.” The first substitute was community, the second was social action, and the third was political correctness. The result is an identity crisis. We still, 50 years after the merger of the Universalists and the Unitarians and the creation of the CUC, still we cannot define our living faith statement as a whole people of faith.
Marilyn Sewell suggests in her article that we do however have a theology:
• We believe that human beings should be free to choose their beliefs according to the dictates of their own conscience.
• We believe in original goodness, with the understanding that sin is sometimes chosen, often because of pain or ignorance.
• We believe that God is One.
• We believe that revelation is ever unfolding.
• We believe that the Kingdom of God is to be created here on this earth.
• We believe that Jesus was a prophet of God, and that other prophets from God have risen in other faith traditions.
• We believe that love is more important than doctrine.
• We believe that God's mercy will reconcile all unto itself in the end.
Naturally, not every Unitarian or Unitarian Universalist has accepted Rev. Sewell’s suggestion at first blush. Some will doubtlessly be upset by inclusion of such words as “God,” and “Jesus,” and even the patriarchal word “Kingdom.”
But there are a couple of them I’d like to lift up again. “We believe that revelation is ever unfolding.” “We believe that love is more important that doctrine.” Surely this is a place we can start to agree.
Religion isn’t easy. At least well-thought-out, honestly practiced religion isn’t easy. Perhaps especially for us Unitarians, with our uneasy relationship with authority, and our well-practiced resistance to being told what to do.
I’m as guilty of that as anybody.
But maybe we should focus on coming together here in our churches. As Sewell rightly reports, people have died for our religious freedoms. As Latham posits, leadership focused on the mission of the church above their own agendas is the best way to live out our values through our faith and our religious institution.
This past week, at the North Shore Unitarian Church’s annual meeting, they passed something extraordinary! A resolution:
Resolved that the congregation of the North Shore Unitarian Church considers the decision to become a member as a major step in one’s life journey, requiring careful thought and deliberation, and believes it is reasonable and valuable to have the following expectations of membership:
1) members make attending worship services a priority;
2) members take part in the life of the church;
3) members act in service both within and beyond the church;
4) members make a personally significant annual pledge to the Church;
5) members make efforts to better understand and live by the principles and values of Unitarian Universalism as they understand them to be.
As you might imagine, there was long discussion about this resolution. There are some concerns, some hurt feelings. Some feel like this is too close to dogma, and some are relieved that have a statement about expectations, not requirements mind you, but expectations of membership in their church.
What I hope you’ll be able to see in this message, my weaving together of Latham, Sewell and the North Shore Church’s work, is that there needs to be more coming together in our faith. More focus on the beloved community, and a longer view about what we are doing here.
On Sunday mornings around the world, people sit together in churches hoping for an experience that touches them, that moves them, and even one that transforms them.
With so much already going well here, this could be the place that it happens for more people than are here now.
This could be the place;
• Where deep friendships are made.
• Where spiritual awakening can happen.
• Where a lonely person knows that they matter to someone.
• Where leadership skills are developed and put to good use.
• Where the laughter of children and sages ring to the rafters.
• Where no one feels ostracized, threatened, oppressed or ignored.
• Where, when we gather hands and sing “Carry the flame,” people look around the sanctuary at all the people they’ve come to love over the years they’ve been coming.
This could be the place…for more people than are here with us now.
This could be that place.
As we go on, living our lives in faith, may we always keep that potential in mind and at heart. Living boldly in the knowledge that the universe is ever unfolding, that love is more important than doctrine, and the person sitting down the row from you is someone who might just help your life be transformed into something even more wonderful than you imagined.
Benediction
Brethren, farewell. I do you tell, I’m sorry to leave you, I love you so well.
Now I must go, where I don’t know, wherever Life leads me the trumpet to blow.
Thank you for allowing me to walk with you, this congregation, for a year. For the conversations and lessons, for the laughter, for trusting in me as a minister for whom you can turn when troubled, I thank you.
I am sorry to leave you, I am deeply grateful to have had the chance to get to know you as I have. You are part of my journey, and I will carry you with me always.
In gratitude for our time together, I made this pulpit fall for the congregation. I hope that when you see it, today and the future, it’s gentle chevron pointing upwards encourages you toward your higher natures, and reminds you of the bright, vibrant future I know this congregation will have.
If you are new to our congregation, each week at the end of service, we gather hands and sing a song called “Carry the flame.” We repeat it twice. Let the people gather together and sing.
