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“Without a Creed - - How Does That Work?”
During my sabbatical last March I participated in a four-day workshop in Delray Beach, Florida to deepen my meditation practice. Many of the participants in the workshop were long-term meditators, honing their skills for sure, but also enjoying the company of other practitioners and the depth with which they could share their enthusiasm for meditation. Among the first-timers, besides myself there was a hospice chaplain from a denomination I think of as being quite conservative, a big, burly Southern man. As my sabbatical was brand new, I didn’t choose to mention to anyone that I was an ordained minister – I wanted to relate through my identity as a fellow meditator, and sometimes people can be thrown by having a minister present.
This worked until day three when I was asked what I did for a living. When I said I was a Unitarian Universalist minister, the chaplain, Jim, in particular, reacted, but not the way I expected. “I want to talk to you!” he exclaimed, and then shared that he was currently in the process of seeking ordination as a Unitarian Universalist minister. A shift in his religious understanding began when his chaplaincy brought him into intimate contact with all kinds of people. As they approached death he felt his job was to receive their stories, affirm them as they sought to understand the meaning of their lives in their own religious language. At first he felt hypocritical not correcting them, hiding his theological differences. But what developed eventually was the conviction that various paths are valid and his job was to listen, accept and love as he was able. They were Protestant, Jewish, Catholic –some passionate believers others not churchgoers at all – but all at death’s door, where there is no time for bringing one’s beliefs into agreement. It was okay – it was necessary, to “come as they were.”
I was proud to hear him say in front of this group that Unitarian Universalism was the one religion that allowed him the resources he felt he needed to listen to and affirm his patients at the end of life. So he was seeking our ordination. But Jim was blunt about the cost - becoming Unitarian Universalist diminished his standing in the eyes of some colleagues he cared about, and some family members were disappointed in him. But he kept his eyes on the prize: what he sought was worth it: an authentic, uncompromised religious voice.
To use the language of our reading this morning, the end of life is a place where love becomes much more important than theological “truth”. This chaplain was struggling with his own personal version of “Father, rabbi, teacher, I must leave the seminary…” Our church history is full of brave and thoughtful women and men who have seemed at first to lose their religion, and then by means of private struggle and personal risk, have discovered new ways of being religious.
This is why one of the most interesting questions anyone can ask any Unitarian Universalist, including each of you, is about your personal journey. Some of you were born into Unitarian Universalism, but many of you can speak eloquently and deeply about the theology you left behind.
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But this morning I don’t want to get caught up in the theology you left behind. What’s also interesting and important is that “losing one’s religion” like this can be the turning point at which important personal spiritual work begins, where the seed of a revitalized and dynamic new personal faith springs up.
Most of you have already experienced the difficulty of trying to explain Unitarian Universalism to someone. In my write up of this morning’s service I said I would talk about the blessings and the curse that comes with Unitarian Universalism. That it’s so hard to describe is its curse. The impression is that you can believe anything you want – Gode, afterlife… I love telling the dinner party story that originated with Forest Church, and goes something like this:
"You’re a what?"
"A Unitarian Universalist."
"Oh, I see," he says, but obviously he doesn't.
"I've never really understood just what it is you Unitarians believe. You are Christian, right?"
"Not exactly. I mean, we were historically and some of us are…. are but most of us aren’t."
"Do you believe in Jesus?"
"Well, yes and no. Most of us are deeply inspired by his teachings but very few believe that he was resurrected on the third day or that he was God."
"What about immortality?"
"Well, I guess you'd have to say that we're pretty much divided on that one."
"But at least you all believe in God...?”
"Not exactly. Again, some of us do and some of us don’t.”
"What then do you believe?" our bewildered hostess politely asks.
It is this vague part of Unitarian Universalism that causes people like Garrison Keillor to make fun of us. Probably all of us have heard the one about how you don’t want to make a Unitarian mad. You might find a question mark burned on your lawn. Or, what do you get when you cross a Unitarian with a member of another religious group known for its practice of door-to-door evangelism? You get a person who knocks on your door for no particular reason.
I love to laugh, but I don’t find the Unitarian jokes as funny as I used to. The problem is that most of the jokes imply that we don’t really believe anything, and that is not true. And it is not true that if you are a Unitarian Universalist you can believe anything you want. It is true that there is no creed that all Unitarian Universalists must profess. We accord each person the freedom to search for truth and meaning. But with that freedom comes the responsibility, both to search and to form an answer to the question of what we believe.
We are misunderstood. UUA President William Sinkford suggests developing what he calls an elevator speech to get around this problem - what you'd say when you're going from the sixth floor to the lobby and somebody asks you, 'What's a Unitarian Universalist?' For the past few months the UU World has been running an elevator speech each month. This month the Rev David MacKay of Vashon, Washington writes:
“Unitarian Universalism embodies religious freedom. We do not provide the answers to life's great questions. Instead, we provide a beloved community in which individuals, working together and alone, are encouraged to find answers that are meaningful in the context of their own lives. We draw upon all sources of knowledge—including experience, authority, intuition, reason, and faith—in the search for answers.
Ours is a living, dynamic religion. We are always free to develop and change our beliefs as we acquire new knowledge and insight concerning truth, reality, and the meaning of life.”
Not bad. But it still wouldn’t head off the difficulty of the next logical question. What’s our common ground? As far as I’m concerned, any good elevator speech, should mention our Principles and Purposes. The P & P offer a concrete list of our shared values and the many sources from which we draw those values. They can give newcomers a glimpse into how we manage to contain a variety of differing beliefs under one steeple.
Of course, if you mention the P & P, you run the risk of being asked what they are. One solution is to carry a wallet card. [EXPLAIN] If you don’t have a wallet card, you can most always find some on the Parlor table near the guestbook. Carry one at all times. Give them away as the opportunity presents itself.
You may notice that I’ve included a half sheet P & P with your Order of Service. Now I want to offer you a challenge. During my sabbatical I memorized the Principles and Purposes as part of my prayer and meditation practice. When you memorize something its meaning is magnified. I want to challenge you to do the same. The larger sheet is easier to work with if you plan to memorize.
(mention PINS we will give out if they memorize the P&P) Believe me when I say that you don’t need a sabbatical to do it. And imagine if someone asks you what Unitarian Universalists believe and you can say – well, we don’t try to answer the larger theological questions for all, about God or the afterlife but we do believe that all the great traditions at their best, walk on holy ground. Unitarian Universalists
do recognize and share some common principles which we try to live by. They are:
- The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
- Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
- Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
- A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
- The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
- The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
- Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
And then explain that The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:
- Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to the renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
- Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion and the transforming power of love;
- Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life.
- Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
- Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
- Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature
- Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support. (299 words)
Starting next month the first four consecutive Sundays in October, Peter and I will be teaching the New UU, a course that will give a deeper knowledge about UU history and how Unitarian Universalism works in practice.[SIGN UP SHEET]
Here we begin to better touch upon and experience its blessings. But for now I leave you with a description of the blessings of our faith that was written by:
Our
Faith
by Unitarians in Edinburgh, Communications Committee, 1985
Our faith is personal
because it begins where people are.
Our faith is reasonable
because it respects the place of human thought.
Our faith is free
because it provides space for individual growth and development.
Our faith is developing
because it grows with our greater understanding of how things are.
Our faith is supportive
because we share it with others in a mutually creative, tolerant and compassionate community.
Our faith is responsible
because we cannot separate it from the local, global and ecological communities of which we are part.
Our faith is diverse
because it draws not only on Jewish and Christian teachings about responding to God's love by loving our neighbours as ourselves; but also on wisdom from the world's religions, insights from science and humanism, and on personal experience.
Our faith is Unitarian
because it acknowledges the unity of the cosmos, the oneness of God, and the humanity of Jesus and other religious pioneers.
Our faith is Universalist
because it draws upon traditions which will not limit the love of God but affirm the dignity of every person.