UU Principles
Simply stated, the Seven UU Principles are a summary of a way of living and loving.
Order of Service - Script
for Sunday:
July 10, 2022:
NIUU, Jeanie Donaldson, Pastor Fred
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Jeanie Donaldson - Prelude:
Annie Laurie, arranged by Dennis Alexander
Welcome and Announcements:
The Women’s March will have a peaceful protest from 4 - 7 pm at McEuen Park today regarding Roe vs Wade.
Come into this circle of love and compassion,
Come into this community where we can dream and
Believe in those dreams—
Welcome to North Idaho Unitarian Universalists where we accept, we support, we transform: Ourselves, Our Community. Our world.
Lighting the Chalice:
Being Sanctuary
By Jennifer "Jo" VonRue, Linette Lowe
Welcome to this space, this sanctuary of peace where we come to not only create our best selves, but to also do the work of creating a beloved community. We come together today as individuals much like individual pieces of glass or pottery that are different shapes, sizes, and colors, all of which are broken, with imperfect jagged edges, but always beautiful.
While our pieces may not always fit neatly together, it is within this sanctuary, guided by our Principles that we gather together to create a beautiful mosaic. May the brokenness and beauty you find in one another create peace in this space and fill our hearts with love as we light our chalice.
Opening Words:
Toward a Place of Wholeness
By Viola Abbitt
We are Unitarian Universalists.
When we lift up our Seven Principles, some of us think of them as a form of theology—but they are more important to our collective than that:
they do not tell us what we should believe; they tell us how we should be.
They tell us how we should act in the larger world and with each other.
We are brought here today by the fact that Unitarian Universalism has fallen short of the image that was presented to the world, and to many of those who embraced this religion.
But we are also brought here today by the truth that Unitarian Universalism has shifted course to move toward a place of wholeness: a place that perhaps never existed for us as a denomination.
It has been a long, and sometimes unforgiving road to today. But we are here today because we are mindful of that past, and because we have hope for the future. We want the practice of this faith to be a fulfilling manifestation of its promise.
Open your hearts. Seek new ways of understanding.
Come, let us worship together.
Hymn #6: "Just as Long as I Have Breath"
1. Just as long as I have breath, I must answer, “Yes,” to life;
though with pain I made my way, still with hope I meet each day.
If they ask what I did well, tell them I said, “Yes,” to life.
2. Just as long as vision lasts, I must answer, “Yes,” to truth;
in my dream and in my dark, always that elusive spark.
If they ask what I did well, tell them I said, “Yes,” to truth.
3. Just as long as my heart beats, I must answer, “Yes,” to love;
disappointment pierced me through, still I kept on loving you.
If they ask what I did best, tell them I said, “Yes,” to love.
Covenant:
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.
Greeting each other (Those present in person can leave our seats for this, if we wish.)
Joys and Concerns (with lighting of candles of caring)
Story:
Our Principles as a House of Love
By Karen G. Johnston
The following is written for two voices, but this Time for All Ages can be done in one or more voices.
Building a House of Love
Voice One: Did you know that LOVE is a really big deal in Unitarian Universalism? I bet you did. Because we just can’t stop talking about it.
Voice Two: Love this. Side with Love of that. Justice is what LOVE looks like in public. (We weren’t the first ones to say that. Dr. Cornel West was. But we love it so much that we sing it back to him and the universe all the time!)
Voice One: There was once a scientist guy who asked all kinds of people, not just Unitarian Universalists, what they thought of love and how important it was for them. His name was Robert Miller. It turns out that of all the groups he studied, whether religious or not, UUs rank LOVE as a core value more so than others do.
Voice Two: I guess LOVE really is a big deal for UUs.
Voice One: I want you to remember that because we are going to come back to that.
Voice Two: Another big deal in Unitarian Universalism is our Principles. They are a big part of our covenant with each other.
Voice One: We know they are a big deal because we have so many ways to talk about them to make sure all the different brains and bodies and ages understand them. There’s this way, which is really a list in English.
Voice Two: And this way, which is the list in Spanish!
Voice One: You can even see our Principles in languages like Arabic and Thai.
Voice Two: And there’s this way, which is in language for kids.
Voice One: And there’s this cool Principles wheel, by Reverends Ian Riddell and Kimberley Debus, which shows a not a linear way to think about the relationships between the different principles.
BOTH: SO MANY WAYS!
Voice Two: All of these ways are focused on the Seven Principles. When Unitarian Universalism first came into being in 1961, there were only six Principles. Our seventh Principle was proposed in 1985 and added in 1987.
One way to imagine our Principles was originally suggested by Reverend Barbara Wells ten Hove. It’s called a keystone arch (PDF). This is like a doorway through which we enter into what this faith calls us towards.
Voice One: It’s kind of cool because the 4th Principle – the free AND responsible search for truth and meaning is at the center, holding together the space for us to balance between each individual’s inherent worth and the needs of the great community of which we are a part. But do doorways or archways ever exist all by themselves, just floating in air?
Voice Two: Not really, right? They are usually stabilized on the ground, a part of a larger building or structure.
Voice One: So maybe there is a Principle that is still missing?
Voice Two: Just like we figured out 35 years ago when we decided that the 7th principle was missing. Maybe the missing Principle is the ground upon which the doorway is built?
Voice One: Maybe it’s the whole House of Love we are always trying to create for ourselves, each other, and the world?
????
Voice Two: Maybe, if we add an 8th Principle, we will get closer to the BeLOVEd Community we dream about, where there is no oppression of any kind, where we can say Black Lives Matter, but we don’t have to, because they already do.
BOTH: I want to be a part of building this House of Love. Do you?
Citation: Robert Miller, “Religious Value System of Unitarian Universalists,” Review of Religious Research, vol. 17, no. 3 (1976): 189-208, noted in Engaging Our Theological Diversity (PDF).
Meditation:
Three Things
By Jan Taddeo
The storm outside echoes the
storm raging within my soul.
So many people in need…
so much pain, so much grief.
Too many causes and campaigns
fill my mailboxes, sap my energy,
beg for my money.
Three things I must do...only three things?
You've got to be kidding—which three do I choose?
Books and letters, magnets and movies
implore me to dance as if no one is watching
learn seven habits and make four agreements
give generously, vote often, express myself!
Yet hundreds, thousands, millions live with hunger
and thirst, in poverty, enduring violence, and disease.
Did Mother Teresa, Martin and Ghandi cry out
with despair from the darkness of overwhelm?
What three things did they choose?
Three things. Three things we must do.
Is it to act in kindness, serve justice, love God and your
neighbor even as you love yourself.
But where do I start?
So much thoughtlessness,
hatred and fear.
Too little justice, too much selfishness.
Where is God? Who is my neighbor?
Three things...seven principles, ten commandments, twelve steps…
all number of things speak to us; and yet,
we must choose.
We must choose to do something, so three things
may be the right number…not too few, not too many.
But which three things shall I do? Will you do?
Here's an adage I've always liked:
Don't just do something, stand there.
Stand in the surf, or sit on a rock, or lay your
body across the earthy loam…and be quiet.
Very quiet.
Do you hear it? That still small voice, the
echo of your soul, reverberating with the call
to your own true self to emerge.
Then the calm within becomes the calm without.
The storm blows over, the sun recovers its position of strength,
And that glorious symbol of hope and unity emerges across the sky.
At the end of this rainbow, a treasure…
the three things you must do:
Go outside yourself and know the needs of the world.
Go within and discover your Life-given gifts.
Then arch yourself like a rainbow bridge between the two and
create a more beautiful world.
Sermon:
The Seven UU Principles form a foundation
for our faith and practice,
UU orthodoxy and orthopraxy, so to speak.
Other religious organizations tend to have
statements of belief, like creeds and confessions.
We provide the summary of a way of living,
guidance for a meaningful and positive life.
At this time for our congregation and for our nation,
I feel that our UU Seven Principles
are especially important.
If we are paying attention,
we can all find in them words to live by,
not in the sense of orders or commands
but in the sense of affirmation of ideas
that can guide us as we make decisions
and navigate relationships.
The first principle
provides a foundation for all the others:
The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
When we affirm another persons worth and dignity,
we are far less likely to exploit them
or cause them harm
in the ways we relate to them.
The seventh principle is a fitting culmination,
especially in this period following July 4:
While we celebrate Independance Day on 7-4,
we are all interdependent on each other
and on our world as a whole:
so we affirm our
"Respect for the interdependent web
of all existence of which we are a part."
The Five Principles between
the First and Seventh Principles are:
2nd Principle:
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3rd Principle:
Acceptance of one another and
encouragement to spiritual growth
in our congregations;
4th Principle:
A free and responsible search
for truth and meaning;
5th Principle:
The right of conscience
and the use of the democratic process
within our congregations and in society at large;
6th Principle:
The goal of world community
with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
I realize that so many words,
however meaningful they may be,
can be difficult to remember,
so I have prepared a one word summary
for each of the Seven Principles
as a mnemonic,
and as a summary
an aid to memory and meaning.
1. Worth
2. Compassion
3. Acceptance
4. Search
5. Democracy
6. Community
7. Web
These simple summaries have been shared
on Facebook and on our congregation's web page,
on Pastor Fred's Page.
There will soon be a UU GA vote
on an Eighth Principle.
As far as I can tell,
there was no final vote last month at GA
in Portland, OR.
In fact, I've read that there will be votes
on an Eighth Principle at GA in 2023 and 2024.
Eighth Principle:
“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
I have no problem at all with the goals
that the proposed Eighth Principle is written
to try to achieve.
I do have a few problems with it
the way it stands.
For one thing, it throws the entire collection
of Seven Principles off balance, at least as I see it.
It is a little bit too long,
and perhaps it tries to accomplish too much
for a single principle.
For another, it is expressed as a double negative,
and it may even be a contradiction in terms.
Racism is surely a negative force in the world.
Anti-racism could end up being
like fighting fire with fire.
Now, in real fires in the world of natural forces,
fighting fire with fire is sometimes necessary,
but as a spiritual principle,
fighting fire with fire is not likely to work
at all.
It's not my intention
to disparage the 8th Principle at all.
Yet I believe that there is a better way for us
as UU's
to join the struggle against racism.
The best way to fight the negative force of racism
in my view
would be the application
of the other UU Principles.
The first one is the most obvious
and the most powerful,
and I have cited it in this regard before.
If we affirm
the inherent worth and dignity of all people,
there is no place for racism to take root.
With the Second Principle,
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations -
These would provide the exact opposite of racism.
In the Third Principle, acceptance of each other
is the key:
Acceptance of one another and
encouragement to spiritual growth
in our congregations;
If we are accepting one another,
there is no way we can judge one another
on the basis of race
or any other arbitrary condition.
Likewise, learning to accept one another
includes learning to say, "Let it be,"
a mantra that is most useful
for spiritual growth.
As the Third Principle encourages spiritual growth,
so a meditation method that says, "Let it be,"
can be powerful.
As I'm sure you recall (maybe all too well),
I regard the heart of spirituality to be breathing.
Using "Let it be" as a mantra is perfect
for a meditation based on breathing.
Breathe in, saying, "Let it..."
and breathe out, saying, "... be."
Our Fourth Principle,
A free and responsible search
for truth and meaning,
leaves an open door for all kinds of inquiry,
including, and maybe especially in our time,
a kind of self examination that could help us
overcome all kinds of prejudices.
Our Fifth Principle seeks to promote
The right of conscience
and the use of the democratic process
within our congregations and in society at large;
which would give all people
freedom of self determination
regardless of ethnicity or race.
Finally, our Sixth Principle enables us to live by
the words we have recited
in the Pledge of Allegiance,
freedom and justice for all,
as it says, "The goal of world community
with peace, liberty, and justice for all."
Liberty and justice for all
surely would bring a sense of community and peace
for us all.
To do so, to live by those words,
inherently excludes attempts to enforce
any kind of chauvinism, sense of superiority
over against others,
and it would especially exclude racism.
These Seven Principles summarize goals for life
not only for UU's
but for the sake of all humanity.
In our own communities
in our families
in our circles of relationships,
these are principles of hope
for a humanitarian way of life.
UU is a humanistic religion.
In other words,
humanity and a humanitarian way of life
are at the center of what we believe
and how we behave, however imperfectly.
For those who are theists,
I will share a word I saw on the front page
of a Catholic newspaper
in an ancient church in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia.
Simply the words said,
"God is a humanist."
Those words have remained with me all my life
as a kind of theme for believing and living.
The least I can say in response is
Amen.
So let it be.
Blessed be.
Congregational Response
Offering Information
Charity of the Month:
Kootenai Humane Society
(Soon to become Companions Animal Center)
Kootenai Humane Society is ushering in a new era for the homeless animals in a new location with a new name that will encompass the many aspects of our mission. One that will convey the purpose, relevance, and what the mission is all about, caring for our community's animals.
The next several months will be a transition period for the new name, Companions Animal Center. Once the new facility opens, the new name will be proudly displayed on the building.
Kootenai Humane Society rescues and adopts more than 2,000 pets each year.
Our No-Kill Philosophy means we never place a time limit on how long cats, dogs, and other pets stay at our shelter.
KHS relies on donations to support our adoption, animal rescue, and community support programs.
We are 100% donation funded!
NIUU
P.O. Box 221
CDA ID 83816
Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing words:
Be About the Work
By Andrea Hawkins-Kamper
As we extinguish our Chalice, may we see all as it is, and may it all be as we see it.
May we be the ones to make it as it should be,
For if not us, who? If not now, when?
This is answering the cry of justice with the work of peace,
This is redeeming the pain of history with the grace of wisdom,
This is the work we are called to do, and this is the call we answer now:
To be the barrier and the bridge,
To be the living embodiment of our Principles,
To be about the work of building the Beloved Community,
To be a people of intention and a people of conscience.
Order of Service - Script
for Sunday:
July 10, 2022:
UU Principles
Simply stated, the Seven UU Principles are a summary of a way of living and loving.
NIUU, Jeanie Donaldson, Pastor Fred
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Jeanie Donaldson - Prelude:
Annie Laurie, arranged by Dennis Alexander
Welcome and Announcements:
The Women’s March will have a peaceful protest from 4 - 7 pm at McEuen Park today regarding Roe vs Wade.
Come into this circle of love and compassion,
Come into this community where we can dream and
Believe in those dreams—
Welcome to North Idaho Unitarian Universalists where we accept, we support, we transform: Ourselves, Our Community. Our world.
Lighting the Chalice:
Being Sanctuary
By Jennifer "Jo" VonRue, Linette Lowe
Welcome to this space, this sanctuary of peace where we come to not only create our best selves, but to also do the work of creating a beloved community. We come together today as individuals much like individual pieces of glass or pottery that are different shapes, sizes, and colors, all of which are broken, with imperfect jagged edges, but always beautiful.
While our pieces may not always fit neatly together, it is within this sanctuary, guided by our Principles that we gather together to create a beautiful mosaic. May the brokenness and beauty you find in one another create peace in this space and fill our hearts with love as we light our chalice.
Opening Words:
Toward a Place of Wholeness
By Viola Abbitt
We are Unitarian Universalists.
When we lift up our Seven Principles, some of us think of them as a form of theology—but they are more important to our collective than that:
they do not tell us what we should believe; they tell us how we should be.
They tell us how we should act in the larger world and with each other.
We are brought here today by the fact that Unitarian Universalism has fallen short of the image that was presented to the world, and to many of those who embraced this religion.
But we are also brought here today by the truth that Unitarian Universalism has shifted course to move toward a place of wholeness: a place that perhaps never existed for us as a denomination.
It has been a long, and sometimes unforgiving road to today. But we are here today because we are mindful of that past, and because we have hope for the future. We want the practice of this faith to be a fulfilling manifestation of its promise.
Open your hearts. Seek new ways of understanding.
Come, let us worship together.
Hymn #6: "Just as Long as I Have Breath"
1. Just as long as I have breath, I must answer, “Yes,” to life;
though with pain I made my way, still with hope I meet each day.
If they ask what I did well, tell them I said, “Yes,” to life.
2. Just as long as vision lasts, I must answer, “Yes,” to truth;
in my dream and in my dark, always that elusive spark.
If they ask what I did well, tell them I said, “Yes,” to truth.
3. Just as long as my heart beats, I must answer, “Yes,” to love;
disappointment pierced me through, still I kept on loving you.
If they ask what I did best, tell them I said, “Yes,” to love.
Covenant:
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.
Greeting each other (Those present in person can leave our seats for this, if we wish.)
Joys and Concerns (with lighting of candles of caring)
Story:
Our Principles as a House of Love
By Karen G. Johnston
The following is written for two voices, but this Time for All Ages can be done in one or more voices.
Building a House of Love
Voice One: Did you know that LOVE is a really big deal in Unitarian Universalism? I bet you did. Because we just can’t stop talking about it.
Voice Two: Love this. Side with Love of that. Justice is what LOVE looks like in public. (We weren’t the first ones to say that. Dr. Cornel West was. But we love it so much that we sing it back to him and the universe all the time!)
Voice One: There was once a scientist guy who asked all kinds of people, not just Unitarian Universalists, what they thought of love and how important it was for them. His name was Robert Miller. It turns out that of all the groups he studied, whether religious or not, UUs rank LOVE as a core value more so than others do.
Voice Two: I guess LOVE really is a big deal for UUs.
Voice One: I want you to remember that because we are going to come back to that.
Voice Two: Another big deal in Unitarian Universalism is our Principles. They are a big part of our covenant with each other.
Voice One: We know they are a big deal because we have so many ways to talk about them to make sure all the different brains and bodies and ages understand them. There’s this way, which is really a list in English.
Voice Two: And this way, which is the list in Spanish!
Voice One: You can even see our Principles in languages like Arabic and Thai.
Voice Two: And there’s this way, which is in language for kids.
Voice One: And there’s this cool Principles wheel, by Reverends Ian Riddell and Kimberley Debus, which shows a not a linear way to think about the relationships between the different principles.
BOTH: SO MANY WAYS!
Voice Two: All of these ways are focused on the Seven Principles. When Unitarian Universalism first came into being in 1961, there were only six Principles. Our seventh Principle was proposed in 1985 and added in 1987.
One way to imagine our Principles was originally suggested by Reverend Barbara Wells ten Hove. It’s called a keystone arch (PDF). This is like a doorway through which we enter into what this faith calls us towards.
Voice One: It’s kind of cool because the 4th Principle – the free AND responsible search for truth and meaning is at the center, holding together the space for us to balance between each individual’s inherent worth and the needs of the great community of which we are a part. But do doorways or archways ever exist all by themselves, just floating in air?
Voice Two: Not really, right? They are usually stabilized on the ground, a part of a larger building or structure.
Voice One: So maybe there is a Principle that is still missing?
Voice Two: Just like we figured out 35 years ago when we decided that the 7th principle was missing. Maybe the missing Principle is the ground upon which the doorway is built?
Voice One: Maybe it’s the whole House of Love we are always trying to create for ourselves, each other, and the world?
????
Voice Two: Maybe, if we add an 8th Principle, we will get closer to the BeLOVEd Community we dream about, where there is no oppression of any kind, where we can say Black Lives Matter, but we don’t have to, because they already do.
BOTH: I want to be a part of building this House of Love. Do you?
Citation: Robert Miller, “Religious Value System of Unitarian Universalists,” Review of Religious Research, vol. 17, no. 3 (1976): 189-208, noted in Engaging Our Theological Diversity (PDF).
Meditation:
Three Things
By Jan Taddeo
The storm outside echoes the
storm raging within my soul.
So many people in need…
so much pain, so much grief.
Too many causes and campaigns
fill my mailboxes, sap my energy,
beg for my money.
Three things I must do...only three things?
You've got to be kidding—which three do I choose?
Books and letters, magnets and movies
implore me to dance as if no one is watching
learn seven habits and make four agreements
give generously, vote often, express myself!
Yet hundreds, thousands, millions live with hunger
and thirst, in poverty, enduring violence, and disease.
Did Mother Teresa, Martin and Ghandi cry out
with despair from the darkness of overwhelm?
What three things did they choose?
Three things. Three things we must do.
Is it to act in kindness, serve justice, love God and your
neighbor even as you love yourself.
But where do I start?
So much thoughtlessness,
hatred and fear.
Too little justice, too much selfishness.
Where is God? Who is my neighbor?
Three things...seven principles, ten commandments, twelve steps…
all number of things speak to us; and yet,
we must choose.
We must choose to do something, so three things
may be the right number…not too few, not too many.
But which three things shall I do? Will you do?
Here's an adage I've always liked:
Don't just do something, stand there.
Stand in the surf, or sit on a rock, or lay your
body across the earthy loam…and be quiet.
Very quiet.
Do you hear it? That still small voice, the
echo of your soul, reverberating with the call
to your own true self to emerge.
Then the calm within becomes the calm without.
The storm blows over, the sun recovers its position of strength,
And that glorious symbol of hope and unity emerges across the sky.
At the end of this rainbow, a treasure…
the three things you must do:
Go outside yourself and know the needs of the world.
Go within and discover your Life-given gifts.
Then arch yourself like a rainbow bridge between the two and
create a more beautiful world.
Sermon:
The Seven UU Principles form a foundation
for our faith and practice,
UU orthodoxy and orthopraxy, so to speak.
Other religious organizations tend to have
statements of belief, like creeds and confessions.
We provide the summary of a way of living,
guidance for a meaningful and positive life.
At this time for our congregation and for our nation,
I feel that our UU Seven Principles
are especially important.
If we are paying attention,
we can all find in them words to live by,
not in the sense of orders or commands
but in the sense of affirmation of ideas
that can guide us as we make decisions
and navigate relationships.
The first principle
provides a foundation for all the others:
The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
When we affirm another persons worth and dignity,
we are far less likely to exploit them
or cause them harm
in the ways we relate to them.
The seventh principle is a fitting culmination,
especially in this period following July 4:
While we celebrate Independance Day on 7-4,
we are all interdependent on each other
and on our world as a whole:
so we affirm our
"Respect for the interdependent web
of all existence of which we are a part."
The Five Principles between
the First and Seventh Principles are:
2nd Principle:
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3rd Principle:
Acceptance of one another and
encouragement to spiritual growth
in our congregations;
4th Principle:
A free and responsible search
for truth and meaning;
5th Principle:
The right of conscience
and the use of the democratic process
within our congregations and in society at large;
6th Principle:
The goal of world community
with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
I realize that so many words,
however meaningful they may be,
can be difficult to remember,
so I have prepared a one word summary
for each of the Seven Principles
as a mnemonic,
and as a summary
an aid to memory and meaning.
1. Worth
2. Compassion
3. Acceptance
4. Search
5. Democracy
6. Community
7. Web
These simple summaries have been shared
on Facebook and on our congregation's web page,
on Pastor Fred's Page.
There will soon be a UU GA vote
on an Eighth Principle.
As far as I can tell,
there was no final vote last month at GA
in Portland, OR.
In fact, I've read that there will be votes
on an Eighth Principle at GA in 2023 and 2024.
Eighth Principle:
“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
I have no problem at all with the goals
that the proposed Eighth Principle is written
to try to achieve.
I do have a few problems with it
the way it stands.
For one thing, it throws the entire collection
of Seven Principles off balance, at least as I see it.
It is a little bit too long,
and perhaps it tries to accomplish too much
for a single principle.
For another, it is expressed as a double negative,
and it may even be a contradiction in terms.
Racism is surely a negative force in the world.
Anti-racism could end up being
like fighting fire with fire.
Now, in real fires in the world of natural forces,
fighting fire with fire is sometimes necessary,
but as a spiritual principle,
fighting fire with fire is not likely to work
at all.
It's not my intention
to disparage the 8th Principle at all.
Yet I believe that there is a better way for us
as UU's
to join the struggle against racism.
The best way to fight the negative force of racism
in my view
would be the application
of the other UU Principles.
The first one is the most obvious
and the most powerful,
and I have cited it in this regard before.
If we affirm
the inherent worth and dignity of all people,
there is no place for racism to take root.
With the Second Principle,
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations -
These would provide the exact opposite of racism.
In the Third Principle, acceptance of each other
is the key:
Acceptance of one another and
encouragement to spiritual growth
in our congregations;
If we are accepting one another,
there is no way we can judge one another
on the basis of race
or any other arbitrary condition.
Likewise, learning to accept one another
includes learning to say, "Let it be,"
a mantra that is most useful
for spiritual growth.
As the Third Principle encourages spiritual growth,
so a meditation method that says, "Let it be,"
can be powerful.
As I'm sure you recall (maybe all too well),
I regard the heart of spirituality to be breathing.
Using "Let it be" as a mantra is perfect
for a meditation based on breathing.
Breathe in, saying, "Let it..."
and breathe out, saying, "... be."
Our Fourth Principle,
A free and responsible search
for truth and meaning,
leaves an open door for all kinds of inquiry,
including, and maybe especially in our time,
a kind of self examination that could help us
overcome all kinds of prejudices.
Our Fifth Principle seeks to promote
The right of conscience
and the use of the democratic process
within our congregations and in society at large;
which would give all people
freedom of self determination
regardless of ethnicity or race.
Finally, our Sixth Principle enables us to live by
the words we have recited
in the Pledge of Allegiance,
freedom and justice for all,
as it says, "The goal of world community
with peace, liberty, and justice for all."
Liberty and justice for all
surely would bring a sense of community and peace
for us all.
To do so, to live by those words,
inherently excludes attempts to enforce
any kind of chauvinism, sense of superiority
over against others,
and it would especially exclude racism.
These Seven Principles summarize goals for life
not only for UU's
but for the sake of all humanity.
In our own communities
in our families
in our circles of relationships,
these are principles of hope
for a humanitarian way of life.
UU is a humanistic religion.
In other words,
humanity and a humanitarian way of life
are at the center of what we believe
and how we behave, however imperfectly.
For those who are theists,
I will share a word I saw on the front page
of a Catholic newspaper
in an ancient church in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia.
Simply the words said,
"God is a humanist."
Those words have remained with me all my life
as a kind of theme for believing and living.
The least I can say in response is
Amen.
So let it be.
Blessed be.
Congregational Response
Offering Information
Charity of the Month:
Kootenai Humane Society
(Soon to become Companions Animal Center)
Kootenai Humane Society is ushering in a new era for the homeless animals in a new location with a new name that will encompass the many aspects of our mission. One that will convey the purpose, relevance, and what the mission is all about, caring for our community's animals.
The next several months will be a transition period for the new name, Companions Animal Center. Once the new facility opens, the new name will be proudly displayed on the building.
Kootenai Humane Society rescues and adopts more than 2,000 pets each year.
Our No-Kill Philosophy means we never place a time limit on how long cats, dogs, and other pets stay at our shelter.
KHS relies on donations to support our adoption, animal rescue, and community support programs.
We are 100% donation funded!
NIUU
P.O. Box 221
CDA ID 83816
Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing words:
Be About the Work
By Andrea Hawkins-Kamper
As we extinguish our Chalice, may we see all as it is, and may it all be as we see it.
May we be the ones to make it as it should be,
For if not us, who? If not now, when?
This is answering the cry of justice with the work of peace,
This is redeeming the pain of history with the grace of wisdom,
This is the work we are called to do, and this is the call we answer now:
To be the barrier and the bridge,
To be the living embodiment of our Principles,
To be about the work of building the Beloved Community,
To be a people of intention and a people of conscience.
posted by pastorfred at 2:38 PM
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