Home[We all have visions of what might be. In thinking particularly about this congregation, I have hopes and dreams for where we are going and what it will mean in our lives.]
A reading from the Rev. Steve Crump, as reported by Rev. Kent Saleska
Living churches have problems;
dying churches don’t.
Living churches make lots of noise;
dying churches are peaceful as a tomb.
Living churches often outspend their income;
dying churches would not dream of giving or spending more than
they did ten years ago.
Living churches are full of unfamiliar faces;
in dying churches, everyone has known everyone for years.
Living churches say, "We’ll find a way;"
dying churches say, "We can’t do that."
Living churches talk about money, life, death, love, birth,
anger, and the weather.
Dying churches talk about the weather.
Good Morning!
I want this sermon to be something other than a laundry list of things that we can achieve. I want it instead to be about my general vision of what our religion is and what we can be.
I believe in the transforming and redemptive power of Unitarian Universalism.
When I speak of the transforming and redemptive power of Unitarian Universalism, I mean both its ability to transform us individually and to transform the world at large.
My future vision for this congregation and my vision of Unitarian Universalism are inextricably linked. I am not Unitarian Universalist because I am here; I am here because I am Unitarian Universalist. I am deeply committed to our movement and to its historic Universalist principles of the unity of humanity and of love and inclusion for all and its historic Unitarian principles of Reason, Freedom and Tolerance. These principles shape my view of this congregation and our role in the world.
In my mind, out mission as a congregation is to bring these broad principles into action in our individual lives and in the life of the broader community, the community outside our walls.
My vision is of a congregation where when people enter it they say, “I am home”. Whoever they are, whatever their personal theology or background, I want them to feel that they have come home.
My vision is of a congregation where people who have been pushed aside, marginalized or despised can walk in and feel the kind of acceptance that is itself transforming.
My vision is of a congregation where whether we believe in God or the Goddess or do not believe in any Divinity at al, we can embrace each other, and share our beliefs in ways that nurture the faith of each; where questions and comments to each other are exciting and intriguing rather than condemning and belittling; where we seek to understand one another rather than to debate one another; where we seek to grow from that understanding, and do not seek to change the theological beliefs of others.
I seek a future for this congregation in which personal spirituality is continually deepened and strengthened by interactions with others, by the depth and meaning of our worship services, by the religious education programs we have, by the lived experience of this community.
Our Universalist forebears believed that the knowledge of God’s unconditional love was itself transforming. They believed that people who find acceptance and love are opened by it to new life here and now.
My vision is of a congregation where those who have done wrong in life and harmed others, can walk in and feel not condemnation for past failing but a Universalist love and acceptance that brings transformation towards healing and future wholeness. That they find acceptance and inclusion here because they have entered into a congregation where we recognize that no one is pure, that all human beings fail at times to live up to their highest potential and their own highest beliefs, where we recognize that circumstances can lead anyone to do wrong and that none are irredeemably lost. In the language of our Universalist forbears, none are beyond the reach of God’s love, and so none are beyond the reach of human love; we are all forgiven, we are all saved. Because I believe that is true in the deepest sense, whether we believe in God or not, I seek a congregation in which all are welcome and all are brought into the circle of community and hope. My vision is of a congregation in which that bringing into community is itself transforming and healing for each of us. My vision is of a place where because I who have failed am welcomed my heart is opened and I am changed; but also my vision is of a place where because I welcome the one who has failed, my heart is opened and I am changed. After all, I too have failed in some way or may do so in the future. That is the genuine transformation, a transformation where all are changed: the one who failed because they find acceptance and love and therefore become accepting and loving; and the ones who offer acceptance and love, because that is how they rise above judgment and condemnation and become ever more accepting and loving.
I believe that our Unitarian Universalist principles have the power to transform the broader community. This congregation was once called Hope Church. I believe that we can be a beacon of hope and change. Note that a beacon does not sit hidden away someplace; it shines into the world around itself, announcing its presence, calling people to it and illuminating everything that its light rests upon.
I wish for us to be a beacon of religious freedom, of reason in religion and of tolerance in religion; a beacon declaring a message of love and inclusion of all in a world that too often rejects those values. I want us to be a congregation that pushes and prods and urges the broader community to incorporate those values into itself. I give you one example: I believe that the moment is right to urge the legislature of the State of New York to pass legislation recognizing equality for transgendered people and the right to same sex marriage. There are bills in both the House and Senate to achieve these ends and the Governor has stated that he will sign them if they come to his desk. We can be a force in making that happen. It is my hope that we will do so, and that is only one example. To speak with a religious voice for full equality for all people, to speak with a religious voice for human rights and dignity, to speak with a religious voice against torture and injustice, that is what we are uniquely suited to do.
My vision is of a congregation that is known in the broader community meaning--at least Yonkers, Hastings, and all of Greenburg. If asked, Do you know the First Unitarian Society, I want people to say, “Oh yes, that is the congregation that…”.
When people continue that statement, what do you want them to say?
I want to be known as the congregation that stands for full equality and justice for all and that is known not to act on that just within the confines of its own building, but that is known to act for that in the world.
I want to be known as the congregation that stands for and lives out the meaning of the phrase “religious freedom”—again, not just within the confines of these walls, but in the world at large.
I want to be known as the congregation to which people should turn if they are sick of soul or sore in spirit. I want us to be known as the congregation that believes in hope and that believes that any person can live up to their best vision of themselves.
I want to be known as the congregation where, no matter who you are, when you walk in the door you are welcomed as a friend.
I want to be a congregation that is the finest expression of what a living, breathing religious community can be.
I stated earlier that I did not want to present a laundry list, but I do have one: I want us to be a teaching congregation with an Intern Minister every year; I want us to be a congregation that has paid staff to do the busy work so that the members can get about the business of spiritual work, of growth and outreach, of service and transformation; I want us to be a congregation that fully and fairly compensates those staff members; I want us to have an expanded space so that we can better achieve the goals we have for ourselves.
But more, I want us to be a community that lives out a religious life of love, hope, inclusion and support. I want for us to be a community that recognizes that ministry is not just a professional role but that we are all engaged in the ministry of the congregation, that we are called to minister unto each other.
I want a congregation in which each member encourages this kind of community by acting out that religious life to which we are called, the life of inclusion and mutual nurture.
I want a congregation in which each member welcomes people by talking to visitors at Coffee Hour and where many join the Membership Committee.
I want a congregation in which people encourage community by creating and joining a Social Events Committee. I want a congregation in which members help to deepen people’s understanding of religion and their own religious and spiritual path by joining the Religious Education Committee or being a teacher; or by joining the Continuing Religious Education Committee, or helping to run a workshop.
I want a congregation in which members help to deepen connections by joining the Small Group Ministry planning committee meeting on March 27; or joining the Caring Committee; or joining the Pastoral Care team.
I want a congregation in which each person helps to transform the broader community by joining the Social Action Committee or one of its many programs, or by joining the Straight And Gay Affirmation Committee.
I seek a congregation in which the members do anything that serves the community and that satisfies them: that shares themselves by expressing their spiritual journey through the Program Groups, working on planning summer services, planting flowers or painting the walls with the Facilities Committee or strengthening the community through the Finance Committee, or finding any other program or committee that can use their help and support. And by funding their dreams for this place, for the people and the programs and possibilities that we have together.
But these things are merely tools; they are the means to other purposes. For me, for me, deeper personal spirituality, stronger community and connection, transformation of ourselves and transformation of the world; those are the purposes for which we exist.
We can be distracted from that vision by the steps we take to reach it, by the meetings and memos, by the announcements and letters, by the tasks and the talking. But all of that is merely means. The vision, the dream, is ultimately what counts.
I am not demeaning or dismissing the steps. The smallest vision in the world will remain mere vision if no steps towards it are taken. And the most unrealistic of dreams can be achieved if people begin to take realistic steps towards it. But it is the dream which inspires and determines the steps.
Because we are a religious community, I ask you to come here with the fullness of yourself. I ask you to bring to this place your hurts and sorrows, your aches and losses, your fears and shames; share them to ease them. Because we are a religious community, I ask you to bring the fullness of yourself to hear the hurts and pains of others, to reach out a hand of hope and comfort to those who need it.
But also, I ask you to come here with your dreams and hopes, to lift them up and share them with others, to become ever more inspired and inspiring as you reach for your personal dreams and as we together move forward with each other to reach those ideals and hopes that we set as our mutual goals.
May this be the place of my dreams and of yours. May it be the place where people learn and share and strive. May it be the place where hope is ever reborn.
So let it be.
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