Well, we’re in the soup now. There’s nothing like a crisis to bring clarity about what is most essential.
Over the last few weeks I’ve watched as my inbox overflowed with messages from our UU congregations and communities, our dedicated religious professionals, and our committed lay leaders. Maybe you too have received treatises of care – newsletters, quotes, poems, songs, vigils, videos, sermons, prayers – all shared as sustenance for the moment and strengthening for those to come. I’ve witnessed how you’ve advised those in your circles of connection – to breathe, to be gentle, to welcome the stranger, to rekindle relationship, to stay in the present, to take action, to take time, to really be together, and to feel through this moment rather than numb it away with blame or shame or urgency for what comes next.
We live in a paradoxical time, a time of crisis and collapse and a time of cataclysmic change. What a paradox to be leaning into collectively as Unitarian Universalists – anchoring in our call to put Love at the Center exactly while our challenges to realize beloved community multiply.
In this whirlwind of change, some of us may find opportunity to experiment with new lifeways, to release some old patterns, assert some clearer boundaries, put aside some enduring conflicts, to let some disagreements lie, and maybe even say goodbye to some well-loved survival mechanisms no longer suited to our present. Others may recognize this as opportunity to build anew and begin again in Love, to return to covenant, to respond intentionally to the emergent present, to embrace new risks, explore new possibilities, and forge stronger connections.
How will we live into our call to center Love in this moment? How will we embody this work and share this essential ministry?
We don’t have answers yet and may not for a while still, but I suspect that how we minister to the realities of this world will depend on our everyday actions, our willingness to offer welcome, to embody sanctuary, to explore new partnerships, and experiment with new forms of enduring kindness which deepen our practices of exquisite care. Paradoxically, we may need to let go of a lot of what has been, so that we can hold tight to what matters most now and for the future.
Friends, let us spark courage in each other as we move heart-first into the unknown, recognizing deep in our marrow that our hearts do not beat alone. Know you are needed for what comes next – that we need you to keep showing up, to support each other, to share your unique gifts, to fulfill your distinct mission, and to envision and co-create new futures for those who will need our living tradition moving forward.
We don’t yet know how we’ll be shaped by the years to come; any more than the caterpillar knows it will emerge from the chrysalis with tender wings ready to fly. We do know that we’ll be with you on this journey, gathering provisions, sharing our resources, negotiating risk, and making safety through relationship. We’ll keep the chalice burning as we return to the Love which is the essential core of our covenant, again and again. I can’t wait to see where Love will lead us next.