First Parish Unitarian Universalist"Come Dream a Dream With Me"
A sermon preached by Rev. Diane Teichert
First Parish Unitarian Universalist - Canton, MA
Canvass Sunday and April Fools Day, 2001
"What do you get when you cross a Unitarian Universalist with a Jehovah's Witness?"
"Someone who knocks on your door and doesn't know what to say when you open it."
I know this chestnut of a UU joke was already familiar to at least three of you, because I heard one of you tell it in the carpool on the way to the UU Women's History Tea at the Stoughton church a just few weeks ago! She recently heard it on public radio's "Prairie Home Companion."
It being April 1st, here's another joke on us from Garrison Keillor, from his on-line advice column.
The inquirer writes, "I'm a sportswriter from Northern California, now living in a Midwestern city, and my once happy social life has hit a losing streak. There was the recent divorcee who sent me dirty e-mails after our first date and called me "Baby" on the second. There was the lank Russian ‚migr‚ turned redneck. There was the voluptuous bartender who jumped me on our first date, then blew me off when I told her I'm not that kind of boy. What's to be done? Move back West? Quit dating? Signed, Gathering Dust.
Dear Gathering,
You are hanging out in the wrong place, maybe in a sports bar with giant-screen TV and free stale popcorn with that yellow napalm topping, and so you have encountered a covey of aggressively needy women who need to throw themselves at men in order to distract them from the Bears game. Try a new location, like the Unitarian church. Not a redneck in the bunch. Unitarian women are sexy but incredibly thoughtful and sensitive and also passionate about ethics. They won't try to jump you on the first date; they'll want to know how you feel about economic justice first. They are not voluptuous because they often fast in protest of something or other, and when not fasting, they eat things made from tofu and exotic mushrooms. You will need to learn to folk dance and sit through lectures on American foreign policy by speaker \s from third-world countries, but this is a small price to pay for happiness."
Well, I don't have much to say about that joke on us. But, I do have something to say about the first one. Like many jokes, it trades on stereotypes in order to make fun of somebody. Until Garrison Keilor told it, I bet it was most often told by us to each other! And, like many put-downs, it has an element of truth to it.
Of course, Jehovah's Witnesses do far more than just knock on doors. And, of course, we Unitarian Universalists have a lot to say about many things (some of our critics say all we want to do is talk!) But it is true that we do not try to convince others of our beliefs. Nor could we tell somebody what UU's believe. That's for good reason, though: because, unlike most churches, UU's as a group do not believe just one thing.
As another UU minister, Lex Crane, recently wrote," Most churches are identified by a shared body of traditional beliefs. Our beliefs, on the other hand, are held not by the church, but by each of us individually..But why this insistence on individual freedom of belief? Because we have learned by experience that, in religion, the truth that matters above all, is not that which is expressed in a traditional holy book, nor in creeds or doctrines; rather, it is the truth that emerges in the minds and hearts" [and I would add, most importantly, actions] "of each living individual in community, as they share in a lifelong search for truth and meaning. Understanding is more important to us than believing.
He goes on to say, "So what can we say to others in reply to that simple question, 'what does your church believe?' We can say our church is different from most others in that its people do not come together around a shared body of traditional belief. Rather they come together to share a search for growth in understanding, a search based as much on reason and contemporary knowledge, as on traditional teachings from the ancient world. And we don't limit ourselves to one tradition alone, but draw on the accumulated wisdom in all traditions." (UU Minister's Association Chat, with permission)
This is all true, as far as it goes. But, I believe such a response sells Unitarian Universalism short. It leaves a vague impression, unnecessarily. I think we do have shared beliefs, but what we mean by "belief" probably isn't what the person who asks the question means. Knowing that the questioner likely means theological or doctrinal beliefs, my colleague felt compelled to respond by saying we don't have shared beliefs, only a collective search for individual beliefs. That's an ultimately unsatisfying response, I think. It's certainly not one to shout from the rooftops or knock on doors for!
I know it may be very hard, if not impossible!, for many of you to imagine yourselves door-knocking, but just suppose for a minute, since it's April Fools Day (you can risk it!):: you're going door to door. You ring the door-bell. Ding-dong. An adult opens the door, and you launch in, "Hi, I'm from First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Canton, you know, the one with the yellow doors. I'm here in your neighborhood today to invite you to come visit some Sunday. Because."
If we were UU evangelists, what would we say next?
I'm reminded of a story told by another of my colleagues, John Morgan, in an essay entitled, "Shout It Out, Folks: We're Evangelists, Too!"
A few weeks ago, I happened to use the word 'evangelism' in a sermon. As I was gathering together my notes and heading for the coffee, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that someone was marching toward me, face flushed, angry eyes looking for a landing spot on my psyche.
"Don't ever use that word here," she said.
"What word?" I asked innocently, already knowing from past experiences what she was going to say.
"Evangelism!" she drew back as if the word itself had caught in her throat. I think it had. "Don't use it again. We have newcomers here today!"
I wanted to ask how the newcomers had learned of this church if not from someone's evangelism, but I held my tongue." (Salted With Fire, edited by Scott Alexander, p. 15)
Though perhaps it is now exclusively and unfortunately associated with those who believe that their brand of Christianity is the one and only true religion, "evangelize" just means to share one's good news. The word "evangelize" is from the Greek for "good news." UU's can share good news, too!
Morgan defines evangelism as "sharing our dream with others in order to transform the world" and then he goes on to elaborate a bit. He says our sharing will seem shallow unless we feel the power of our dream personally. And that evangelism is "about important issues, such as how to live and how to die." and that it "aims at transforming the whole world to one bearing closer resemblance to our dream," not by telling others what to believe but because "the principles and purposes we express will make the world better." Finally, he says, "you have to understand and be committed to the dream in order to effectively share it." (pp. 16-17).
What's our dream? The statements read a few moments ago from your responses during a sermon several weeks ago, describe our dream in one respect. You had answered the question, "which of First Parish's commitments are most important to you?" Embedded in any one person's answer to that question is their understanding of Unitarian Universalism and First Parish in particular. Their answer reflects their own priorities, and points to where the power is for them personally. For some, as you heard, it was in the caring community. For others, in action for social and/or racial justice. In their own spiritual growth through adult religious education, or for their children. And so on. Feeling the power of those commitments paves the way to share that good news with others and to make the world a better place for all.
It's interesting to note that even though the question did not ask about dreams, it seemed to evoke them anyway. Remember the statement,
"Helping to provide a welcome to all who would join us in worship and community.
Reaching outside our community to serve human needs beyond our own
Keeping the long-tradition of this community alive into the future
Helping reach spirits through music"
"Come dream a dream with me, that I might know your mind. And I'll bring you hope when hope is hard to find, a song of love and a rose in the wintertime."
We have dreams to share and we believe they could transform the world. That's good news! It's a saving message!
Now, Unitarian Universalists usually don't talk any more about being "saved" than we do about "evangelizing." But, I know we do have a saving message.
One saving message, one of our commonly held beliefs I think, is that being in our religious community saves lives. Whether someone experiences the love and compassion we try to practice here as human love or as an expression of God's love, or the Goddeses', the end result is the same: in whatever happiness you have, you are not alone, and your happiness is multiplied! In whatever sorrow you have, you are not alone, and the burden is shared! "And I'll bring you hope, when hope is hard to find."
Being in a religious community is good for our health, it's a life-saver! In fact, recent studies published in the American Journal of Public Health and elsewhere have supported this belief as a statement of fact. Researchers have shown that religious involvement has salutary effects on health and mortality. One recent study of the residents of an elderly housing community compared death rates as associated with frequency of attendance at religious services. The results showed that, for both men and women, weekly attenders had the lowest mortality and nonattenders had the highest mortality (American Journal of Public Health, October 1998, pp. 1469-1473).
By encouraging a climate of welcome here at First Parish, I imagine that salutary effect is increased. For example, we struggle to be tolerant of each other's different personal styles and personalities, sometimes with difficulty, and there are no doubt instances of hurtful and undermining statements. Individuals must speak up, apologize, forgive, and try anew, and mostly we do! When it works, I bet we add at least a week of good health to our lives!
By encouraging a climate of welcome here, we offer that same salutary effect to newcomers. When each one of us wants to welcome, to know and to understand individuals whose backgrounds and lifestyles differ from his or her own, difficult though enriching as that may be, we offer them longer, healthier life, too. No doubt hurtful or insensitive things are said. Individuals must speak up, apologize, forgive and try anew, and mostly we do! When it works, I bet we all gaine another week of good health!
A climate of welcome is a saving message, especially for, but not limited to, those who are ill, lonely or discouraged, and for anyone who feels isolated, disregarded, or misunderstood, anyone who is shunned or taunted, discriminated against or held back by prejudice.
A climate of welcome is a saving message for even the welcomers, though, for it eases guilt, and diminishes fear of the unknown.
That such a climate of welcome is right and good and has the power to transform not only First Parish but the world.that, I would argue, is one of our common beliefs as Unitarian Universalists, a saving message that is worthy to shout from the rooftops or knock on doors for!
I would also put forward our Principles and Purposes, but especially the seventh principle, as a saving message. Perhaps you recall the seventh principle from the children's presentation two weeks ago, that "we covenant to affirm and promote the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part." This is a saving message for the earth and all that dwells therein, because its promotion can reverse the ecological disaster that so-called "development" has wrought upon our environment. By seeing human life as interconnected with all other living things and everything in the natural world, we see that our longevity is dependent on the long-term viability of other animals, plants, mineral resources, air, water-all living things and the universe in which we find ourselves.
With this seventh principle, Unitarian Universalism radically departed from our Judeo-Christian heritage. The Biblical view places human beings at the center, as the pinnacle of divine achievement, whose needs are separate from and more important than so-called "lower" species, plant life, and inanimate objects. Indeed, in Genesis in the Hebrew Scriptures, God declares that humans shall have dominion over the earth.
"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food." (Genesis 1: 28-29)
This notion of human dominion has helped to create a disaster that I believe can be corrected when we humans, even or perhaps especially the American variety, understand ourselves as incredibly, amazingly, intricately interdependent with all that is.
Then-to take a current example- we will gladly honor, rather than fight, international carbon dioxide standards, absorbing initial short-term economic losses (hardly a justifiable worry for the world's wealthiest nation) for a long-term universal gain. Then we will be actively looking for ways to reduce the impact of our footprint on the earth, thereby insuring the longevity of our children's children. That we are radically interdependent is a saving message, not just for people but for the earth itself!
"Come dream a dream with me, that I might know your mind. And I'll bring you hope when hope is hard to find, a song of love and a rose in the wintertime."
When you pause to ponder, both of these saving messages are about interdependence and interconnection. The first was about our interdependence, one with another, in religious community-about how it saves lives. And the second was about the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part-about how it saves life itself.
So, you see, we do have saving messages. We do have good news. We do have dreams. We do have something to say at the door.
So, next time.you encounter someone who feels lonely or troubled or is looking for a sense of community and a place to nurture the spiritual in their lives, or who might not feel too welcome in your town because they are perceived as being "different" than the norm in these parts.next time you're in the library, on the kids' soccer field, at the supermarket or on line at the post office.or.
April Fools!!.when you ring that doorbell--ding-dong!-and the door opens, and someone peers out, and you begin your spiel, "Hi, I'm here to invite you to visit First Parish-you know the one on Washington St. with the yellow doors-where we believe being together saves lives, and where what we believe can save life itself!"
So may it be!
Amen.