Base Community

All through Latin America, house churches called Base Communities have flourished. Our beloved NIUU can resemble them in many ways.


Those of you who have been listening
  to me preach for a while
    are well aware that a have a number
      of what I call my hobby horses.

Those are my themes of special interest to me,
  and I hope, at least to some extent,
    of interest to you as well.

I would never want to be a bore
  especially to people
    who are listening to me carry on
      for so many Sundays of the year!

If you get tired of some of my hobby horses,
  please feel free to let me know.

I do so love to ride them! :-)

One of my favorites is base communities.

Those are house churches
  mostly in Latin America.

They are not specifically authorized
  either by church or state,
    and in some places, unfortunately,
      both kinds of authorization
        can be important.

There is also a house church movement in China,
  where government authorization
    is even more important
      and often hard to come by.

In recent years there have been crackdowns
  on house churches in China,
    where they are considered
      potentially subversive.

Because of those ongoing crackdowns,
  the house churches of China
    can be very different
      from the base communities of Latin America
        that I want to talk about.

Many people in China speak of
  "unregistered churches"
      because the groups can be quite large
         and may not meet in people's homes.

Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the Corona Virus,
  has 240,000 house church
   and unregistered church members.

It's not hard to imagine how difficult it may be
  to prevent contagion among people
    in house churches and unregistered churches.

Generally speaking,
  the base communities in Latin America are smaller
    and in less danger of persecution
    than the house churches of China,
      at least in most places and so far.

The base communities in Latin America
  are often associated with
    liberation theology in thought, word, and deed,
      and as such they may be in danger
        of running afoul of right wing governments.

Liberation theology tends to proclaim
  the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

As a result, right wing political leaders
  may at any time accuse those who espouse it
    of also espousing left wing ideologies.

In truth, the idea of
  the worth and dignity of every person
    is not a political ideology at all.

It is a spiritual principle,
  foundational to our UU faith,
    but it can be seen as a profound threat
      to those who practice the politics of division
        and seek to make scapegoats
          out of vulnerable minorities.

Base communities and house churches
  are an antidote to the politics of division
    because those who gather in them
      see each other face to face
        and often interact in a friendly way
          with people who may be very different
            from themselves.

A base community forms a kind of foundation
  for the lives of the people who take part in it.

Hence it is called a "base" community.

We ourselves,
  as a small congregation,
    can see ourselves as a base community.

For many of us,
  this group is a foundation for our spiritual lives.

We are a support group in many ways.

The Harding Center is - or can be -
  a home away from home
    because of the beloved community
      that gathers here.

Our mutual support and caring provide
  a sense of security in ways
    that nothing else could do.

We are free to share our lives
  - or not -
    as we are comfortable with each other.

We are a true community
  in the sense that we share a oneness
    of purpose
      of understanding
        of mutual respect
          and of a powerful sense of belonging.

When we go through difficult times in our lives,
  our NIUU base community is here for us.

I can attest to this truth for myself,
  as most of you know well.

You all have your own stories
  of having been sustained by friends
    who are more like family
      in this community that gives us a foundation.

Those stories are ongoing right now
  as we gather today,
    and all of us who benefit from each other's care
      are grateful for it.

One of my favorite sayings is,
  "A joy shared is a joy multiplied;
    a sorrow shared is a sorrow divided."

I know this has been my experience in life,
  including right here.

I'm certain it has been yours as well,
  over and over.

Of course we don't live up to these things perfectly
  by any means.

We all fall short.

We all need to be reminded of why we are here.

We all need to offer each other
  the hand of friendship
    and the word of encouragement,
      even if that word sounds something like,
        "Better luck showing that you care next time!"

This is one reason
  that we speak the words of covenant every week:

"Love is the spirit of this church, and service its law.
     This is our great covenant:
     To dwell together in peace,
          To seek truth in love,

        And to help one another."

With these words
  we remind each other
    of why we are here.

Again, we don't live up to these words perfectly,
  but the covenant means that these words
    express our intentions, our hopes
      and our commitment to each other.

The commitment is what makes us a community,
  a small group ministry,
    and not just a group of people
      who gather together.

When we are unable to be together,
  that is no denial of our oneness,
    the common unity
      that makes up our community. 

It just means that we miss being here.

It means that we are reminded
  that it really does take a village to raise a child,
    and it takes a village to care for an adult.

We cannot meet all of each other's needs,
  but we can make a beginning.

Together we can accomplish
  much more for each other
    than we could do as individuals.

Even more importantly,
  we do not want to focus all that good energy
    only on ourselves.

We want to
  - and we do -
      turn our energy outward
        to help and to serve the community around us
           especially with and through
             organizations that represent
                our values and principles along with us.

Our charities of the month
  are a sign of our service to the community,
    and I observe our members doing all we can
      to work with and help
        the charities of the month 
          and other groups
            that are of service in our world.

Hence we are a Base Community
  not only for ourselves
    but also for our surrounding communities,
      States and nations.

One of the most important things
  we the people of our NIUU Base Community can do
    is provide each other encouragement
      as we live our lives, help each other,
        and reach out
          to the vulnerable people
            around us.

It's easy to get discouraged.

And yet...

Not only is there strength in numbers,
  there is strength in the words of hope
    we can speak and hear in this place.

I have a simple mantra
  that I've developed to help me
    as I try to navigate difficult times.

I remind myself that the present moment
  is not all there is.

I won't complete the work
  of bringing better times.

I won't see their fulfillment,
  but I can help move myself,
    the people I care about,
      and the people around me
        in a positive direction.

My mantra has three parts.

In the first part,
  I recognize the way things are.

I try to be realistic,
  even though I'm an incurable optimist.

So I remind myself of the way things are:

It is what it is.
  Let go.

Next, I let my optimism have a moment:

It's all good:
  Let it be

Finally, I remind myself to keep going. 

Don't give up:
  Persist!

It may be
  that the most important task for us all
    in these times

Is simply persistence.

Don't give up, my friends.

We can encourage each other to persist
  as long as we live.

There are many ways
  to encourage each other to persist,
    and an important part of our gathering together
      is to explore those possibilities.

Sometimes all we need to do
  is express appreciation
    for the work each one of us is doing.

Sometimes something much simpler,
  like saying, "Remember, I'm here for you,"
    can be enough.

We can all be a source of strength
  as we help each other persist
    in the work of our base community,
      a foundation for us all.

We all need a secure place to stand,
  so the concept of our beloved base community
    will probably continue to be a hobby horse for me,
      and you all will probably hear about it again!

Amen
Blessed Be