First Parish Unitarian UniversalistBring Many Names
Sermon by the Rev. Diane Teichert
First Parish Unitarian Universalist - Canton, MA
November 12, 2000
I planned to begin this sermon with reference to a vote. Not the one you'd think, though. The vote I have in mind today is not a presidential election vote or even a state or local one. And, it wasn't contested.
It was a vote, of sorts–actually more like an opinion poll–taken here, at First Parish, last June. Sponsored by our Social Action Committee, the ballot invited individuals present that Sunday to rate their level of interest in a variety of possible social action themes for the coming (now present) year. Five options were presented, people were asked to rate their interests from 1 to 5 (none of this choose one, winner take all business!), and the ballot was very easy to read.
I'm told that Diversity was either the first or second choice of 2/3 of the members who voted and in the top three of 85% of the participants. Now, that's a mandate!
Recognizing that "diversity" is a rather broad topic, over the summer the Social Action Committee decided to focus first on racial diversity. Recognizing that they couldn't do it alone, other committees were invited to consider how to incorporate the theme of racial diversity into their work during this year. And, at our leadership retreat in September for committee chair persons and members of the Parish Committee, it was agreed to embrace racial diversity as a congregation-wide theme.
It may be too early to report on specific plans to support this theme being made by various committees. But, it's not too early to say that several committees have taken it seriously and I hope that others will, too. It can be as complex as the RE Committee deciding to plan the Winter Trimester of 2002 around this theme or as simple as the Church Services Committee trying to find guest preachers for my Sundays off who are not white like me.
As for the Social Action Committee itself, I attended their monthly meeting this past Monday. I learned that they've been very busy. They are looking for opportunities to make contacts with diverse groups in Canton, plus Norwood, Randolph and Westwood towns that do not have a Unitarian Universalist congregation. For example, three members attended a recent No Place for Hate meeting in Norwood sponsored by the local schools, police and hospital, learning more about efforts to welcome racial diversity in that community and making connections with folks.
Two committee members also attended the meeting here last month with the curriculum director of the Canton Public Schools to hear about her progress in introducing professional development opportunities that promote racial understanding to teachers and staff.
Also, three Social Action Committee members, along with another First Parishioner, participated just last weekend in the Jubilee World Anti-Racism workshop for our District sponsored by the Anti-racism Committee at Old Ship UU Church in Hingham.
Too, they have scheduled the first of what they hope will be a series of discussion/dessert nights for Friday, December 8th (as you see in the printed Announcements). Plus, they are planning the worship service here on Martin Luther King weekend and will promote a multi-week winter adult religious education program called, "Weaving the Fabric of Diversity." Finally, they are targeting the first weekend in May for a special event on this theme, as yet to be determined.
So, as you can tell, the Social Action Committee is doing a lot. It would welcome more members to help them carry out this important work.
Over the past few years, there has been a related, but independent, development in our congregation that dovetails nicely with the diversity theme. You probably notice this development when the children come forward for Time for All Ages: that as a group they are more racially-mixed than the adults at First Parish. Through adoption and through bi-racial marriages, First Parish has a remarkable number of racially-mixed families.
Last spring, I invited the parents of those children to get together and they met in June, July and August for mutual support and conversation about the blessings and the hardships of their particular kind of family. Talk turned toward difficult experiences many of the children have had at school with unkind racial remarks and ignorance of the dynamics of race in our culture. Out of those came the beginning of an effort to promote professional development for teachers on race awareness (thus the meeting I just mentioned) and to increase the number of teachers of color in Canton public schools.
The fact that our Religious Education program is more than one-quarter children of color is important to remember when we talk about wanting to become more racially diverse–First Parish is already racially diverse. If we speak as though it isn't, it's like those children and several adults are invisible to us. In fact, this ethnic diversity we already have is a cultural gold mine we have yet to tap. It is also a strength we can offer to others in the community who may be looking for a welcoming environment for their children of Asian, African, Latin American or Native American heritage or a comfortable diverse environment for their children of European descent.
According to one parent in a mixed-race family, they choose to come to First Parish for its religious openness, even though it lacks the racial diversity that is also important to their children, living as they do in a mostly white community.
So, you see, this religious openness of ours as Unitarian Universalists– our affirmation that there is truth in any of the world's religions, the many religious backgrounds represented among us, and our current theological diversity–is a draw.
But, I want to talk today about how our theological diversity is more than a draw. I want to propose it as a model: a model for us as we look to embrace other kinds of diversity. Perhaps, even, a model to offer to a world weary with religious conflicts.
Let's back up, though, to understand what our religious diversity actually is. The most obvious aspect of it is in the variety of our religious backgrounds. I know from my conversations with many of you that it's a wide range. We can demonstrate this quite easily if you'd be willing to stand briefly, when your childhood religion is named. There may be a few of you who will stand alone, but I hope you will participate anyway, knowing that here we affirm there is worth in all religions (regardless of whether you have rejected, or not, the one in which you were raised). Please stand for each one that applies to your upbringing.
Raised Roman Catholic
Raised Greek or other Orthodox Christian
Raised Protestant or generally Christian
Raised Jewish–secular, reform, conservative, orthodox
Raised Muslim
Raised Universalist, Unitarian, or Unitarian Universalist
Raised Buddhist
Raised Hindu
Raised pagan
Not raised with a particular religion
What did I forget?
A more hidden form of religious diversity is in our current religious beliefs, our current theological perspectives. They may be hidden, in that you may not necessarily feel comfortable revealing your beliefs to others, or in that your beliefs may be somewhat hidden even to yourself. Many people, I find, are not sure what words describe their beliefs. Others may feel they are always in transition, or do not wish to be pinned down to one, or even more, theological perspectives. Still others may think these categories unimportant or irrelevant to the actual living of their daily lives. From my conversations with many of you, I know there is a wide range.
I hope you'll participate so we can get a feeling for the range of theological perspectives among us. I'll give you some definitions, which I adapted from a resource from the UU New England Leadership School, and you can listen for which ones describe you. You'll notice that the list doesn't include different religions per se–not Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism, etc. The list, instead, draws attention to our underlying beliefs about human life and the divine if any, without relation to organized religion of any sort. I'll read the list once with definitions, so that you may consider which one or more describes you, more or less. And then, I'll read it again, without the definitions. It would be the second time through that you would stand.
Agnosticism says that certainty about the existence of God is unknowable.
Atheism denies the existence of God or gods.
Theism is belief in the existence of God, a knowable creator of the universe.
Pantheism identifies Deity with the various forces and workings of nature.
Panentheism says that the Divine is in everything and is more than everything.
Earth-centered spirituality is based on the cycles of the seasons and the rhythms of nature, and may affirm both God and Goddess.
Humanism says that we humans are ultimately responsible to make the world a better place through our love, service, action, and knowledge.
Transcendentalism seeks religious experience that transcends the human senses that might be called the voice of God within, the human conscience, moral sense, or inner light.
Process Theology says that there is a cosmic creative process that has brought everything into being that might be called "God," that grows and changes, in which all living things, including humans, are participants.
Spiritual humanism says that humans are ultimately responsible but that there is a spiritual dimension to life in which humans can participate that grounds us and gives us energy and hope.
None of the above or I don't know.
So, now we've seen a quick portrayal of the religious diversity of First Parish. First, in our religious backgrounds growing up. Second, in our current theological perspectives. We really are quite diverse.
One wonders, how in the world do we manage to worship together, being so diverse? I think that the answers to this question suggest models for how to welcome more diversity.
How is it that we worship together, as different as we have just seen we are theologically? I will highlight just two of several possible answers to this question.
First, we strive to be open to the idea that another person's theological perspective works and is true for them even though it doesn't work or seem true to us.
True, I've heard the opposite here, but not too often.
I've heard it said, in reference to rituals drawn from the Christian tradition, "if that's what they want, why don't they go across the street?"
Those words, in and of themselves, aren't the problem. It's the judging and exclusive tone with which they are said that reveals intolerance. If these same words were asked as a sincere question, asking to explore the reasons why someone might be a Christian but would rather worship here than across the street at the United Church of Christ, our theological diversity would be truly affirmed by those same words.
Fortunately, the majority of people here are genuinely open to experiencing the possible meaning in the rituals of various religious traditions, whether it be Christian communion or the taslich ceremony on Rosh Hashanah, a fast in honor of Ramadan, or "calling upon the four directions" as pagans do. This openness enables us to learn about other religions as interested outsiders, at least, and even to deepen our own spirituality if we are willing. It also allows those who find these rituals meaningful from within those traditions to feel comfortable here.
I've also heard it said, "why don't they just get over it?" in reference to someone else's apparent inability to be open to something they have previously rejected from their childhood religion,
This strikes me as equally intolerant. Again, the problem is the judging and exclusive tone, not the words themselves. If they were asked as a sincere question, asking to explore the reasons why someone might be stuck in a rejection mode about (for example) Jesus, our theological diversity would be truly affirmed by those same words.
Fortunately, the majority of people here are genuinely open to other people's stories of hurt and disillusionment or whatever it is that prevents them from seeing the possible truths in the religion they have rejected. This openness, if it leads to conversation, enables healing. It also teaches us how to share with some humility the convictions we do have, and to be wary of becoming strident.
Being truly open to the idea that another person's theological perspective works and is true for them even though it doesn't work or seem true to us, should lead us into interested, non-defensive, sympathetic exploration one with another across our theological differences. We can speak about how our past experiences shape our current theological perspectives. We can speak about how our current spiritual experiences and practices shape our decisions day to day. The more we can engage in this trustworthy sharing, the more we will come to appreciate the theological diversity among us as a treasure and the more we'll welcome more of it.
Can you see how a learned ability to be truly open to another person's theological perspective prepares our congregation to welcome other kinds of diversity, including racial? The interested, non-defensive, sympathetic two-way exploration across any kind of difference helps to bring down walls–whether they are walls of hostility, prejudice, indifference, or just walls of learned reserve.
Not long ago, I heard an example of the way being open reverberates like this, from a member of the Unitarian Universalist congregation in N. Easton with whom I was serving on our District Board. (She was also one of the bell-ringers who performed for us in our Service of Installation in May 1999). Unity Church had recently gone through the soul-searching process of becoming an officially designated Welcoming Congregation, a denominational program to help congregations become more open to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. She was quite proud of this and then went on to marvel how, having learned to be open to gays and lesbians, it seemed that the congregation had learned how to be open in general and they were finding more people of color attending and returning.
Now for my second (and a good bit shorter) answer to the question, how do we manage to worship together even though we are so theologically diverse? We strive for a sense of community that draws on but transcends our individual theological perspectives.
Our time together at Sunday morning worship reminds us that we are not alone in this world. Even those of us who do not believe in God are not alone. We have and need each other. We all bring "joys and sorrows, gifts and needs," as we often say as the Chalice is lit, and we "celebrate the life we share together"–in all its complexity, all its ups and downs.
This sense of community, I think, is at the heart of things for us as Unitarian Universalists: we don't have a common creed or even a common theology. Collectively, we can't have Jesus at the center, or the Qur'an, or a concept of ourselves as the Chosen People; nor God or the Goddess. Even though we adopted our Principles and Purposes as a guide for the living of our lives, if we were to think of them as the spiritual center of our religious faith, I think they'd be in danger of becoming a creed, a test for membership. If church history is any guide, making them into a creed would lead us into endless arguments over the right meaning of key words! No, even the Principles and Purposes should not become the center of our faith.
What holds us together, then, is our sense of community. It's revealed in the Covenant we recite every Sunday, which many of you, especially the children, have memorized. "Love is the doctrine…service is the prayer" we say. This Covenant is a living and binding agreement between us. "Living" in that love and service, to be real, must come alive in our thoughts, words and deeds. And, "binding" in that our love and service binds us together as individuals in community. So bound, we are better able "to dwell together in peace with respect and understanding" even when we differ with one another, even when we are different from one another.
Can you see how a deepening sense of community that draws on but transcends our individual theological perspectives prepares our congregation to welcome new kinds of differences among us? It could as well draw on but transcend racial differences, or any kind of difference.
Our sense of community is not based on being birth-right Unitarian Universalists, or on all bringing the same name for god or even any name at all; it's not based on being of one race or ethnicity, on liking classical music (or not!), or on physical ability; it doesn't require being in the same tax bracket, sharing one political ideology, or having the same sexual identity; it's not even about preferring stained glass windows over clear ones!
Our sense of community is created by love and service, respect and understanding. Such a community learns how to welcome nearly anyone. Amen
O spirit of life and of love,
That is in all and around all,
Waiting to be invited, waiting to be praised…
Some hearts are full of joy, others full of sorrow,
Joys shared have now multiplied and sorrows shared have been unburdened.
Some hearts are not full of anything, it seems.
May those hearts be softened, and opened to their own joys and sorrows,
As well as to the joys and sorrows of others.
We pray for wisdom for the leaders we have elected,
May they wear their authority with honor,
And for the leaders still waiting to know who was elected,
May they wait out the process with honor.
We give thanks that ours is a country that can wait in peace without violence.
Oh that such peace would be known throughout our world!
In the quiet of this place, in the beauty of the day, in the eyes of another, may we find a stillness that inspires us to stand firm for what is right and good.
Amen