OfflineI have been involved in my wife's UU church for a couple of years now. And I never really did understand what would make such a church tick. I've read the seven principles. I've asked and gotten the standard answers. But I still thought "People who believe in everything really don't believe in anything", or "it is all just intellectual".
Then sitting in the last plenary session of GA I heard something that made a difference. The moderator was talking about issues of raceism. And she talked about finding the point of pain and then staying in it. Staying there until ....
And I suddenly got it. As she talked about "This village may be the only village that could..." all the social work and everything else in the UU church dropped into place.
Yes UU's have seven or more principles they believe in. But that is just head knowledge. What makes those beliefs and others a religion is the work of spiritual discipline. The spiritual discipline to follow those principles until issues are uncovered. Then the spiritual discipline to struggle with those issues and process them. The spiritual discipline to stay in the hard place and work the issue. Not just staying superficial, or brushing over issues with broad platitudes, but getting dirty with them.
And not necessarily figuring it all out, but processing it and being willing to process it again. Having faith, believing, that discipling oneself to stay in the issue is better, of more value, of higher virture, is a greater spiritual work or calling than just accepting ready made, superficial answers, or having life arranged to avoid the issue entirely.
I can believe in a religion that redefines work on our selves and our relations with each other as our spiritual duty. Not for the benefits of getting ahead or that we are happier in life, but as the work of our souls.
Dude, methinks that was one of the most wonderful posts about UU I've ever read. Thank you for sharing your epiphany with us. (Welcome, btw.)
When I co-facilitated a 7 principles class at our church, one of the things that we emphasized is that we don't say we "believe" in these 7 principles. We say we "affirm and promote" them. If one doesn't "get" the difference, it sounds like overly intellectual nitpicking, or perhaps a phobia about committing to "beliefs." But I think "affirm and promote" was our attempt to put into words what you personally experienced at that moment during GA. It's not about believing certain statements; it's about attempting to live one's faith as sincerely and genuinely as possible. And it is most decidedly uncomfortable.
This was only my second GA. And having gotten over the honeymoon/glowy/bed-of-roses feeling from my first GA experience last year, I was painfully aware this year of all the ways in which we fall short of our highest aspirations, particularly with respect to racial diversity and inclusiveness. But as Rev. Gail Geisenhainer gave such deeply personal testimony to in her sermon on Sunday, only by being willing to be in that painful place can we begin to be the people that we want to be. It is so very hard to stay in right relations with each other. It sounds like a mundane goal, not lofty enough to be worthy of "religion," but therein lies the heart of everything. So many times I've gotten fed up with UU and wanted to walk away. So many times at this GA I've gotten fed up and wanted to walk away. I did walk out of the hall during that Zulu hula number, feeling very very alienated from everyone around me who was happily dancing away. But walking out is easy. Staying is so much harder. Relationship is spiritual practice. And then just as I think it's the last straw someone does or says something so sincere, so open and vulnerable, so beautiful that it seems like everything leading up to it was worth it.
Unitarian Universalism breaks your heart and heals it at the same time.
Wow! That is truly amazing!!