Covenanting is at the heart of the practice of Unitarian Universalism. Our religious ancestors created our tradition as a faith community bound not by allegiance to a particular creed — that is, specific beliefs — but rather by faithfulness to a covenant — that is, a set of mutual promises to each other and to something greater than ourselves.
Over time, the practice of covenant in many congregations has been reduced to behavioral covenants and used as a way to monitor behavior between individuals. This leaves out so many important aspects of covenant: our commitments to Spirit, Justice, Love, Earth; our commitments to ancestors and our generations to come; our commitments to other UU congregations who are part of our Association.
Spiritual Leadership calls us to remember that covenant is a practice, not a product. There are ways of practicing covenant that are multidimensional and liberating, and which help us learn skills needed to contribute to liberation in the world.
"Covenanting" Posts From Our Practice Makes Possible Blog
Displaying 1 - 10 of 11.
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by Meck Groot |Last year, at their request, I met with Follen Responds to Racism (FRR), an anti-racism team at the Follen Community Church in Lexington, MA. We had an animated conversation. They told me about their work and the many ways they are addressing racism within and beyond their congregation. I was...Filed in: , Covenanting, Doing Our Inner Work, Faithful Risking, Tending to Tradition -
by Wren Bellavance-Grace |“Hello, who are you?” “I don’t know; I’ve never met me before!” This dialogue is from a comedy skit a friend and I wrote for an elementary school talent show. My comedy career never took off, but this dialogue resonates with me these days, as we collectively emerge from two years of...Filed in: Centering Gifts, Covenanting, Doing Our Inner Work, Faithful Risking, Tending to Tradition -
At the beginning of 2020, we didn’t know what was coming. At the beginning of 2021, we had hope on the horizon. Now, at the beginning of 2022, our hope is tempered by a healthy respect for how quickly things can change, and some trust in our ability - and flexibility - to faithfully respond....Filed in: , Covenanting, Doing Our Inner Work, Faithful Risking, Tending to Tradition -
by Erica Baron |What is a covenant? For most of my time as a leader in Unitarian Universalism, I have understood covenant to be the words we use to describe the agreements we make to each other. What I have learned over time is that the words are more like a map. They help us understand the covenant....Filed in: Covenanting -
by Meck Groot |According to Movement Strategy Center (1), community transformation depends on: power analysis: understanding who has access to resources; who influences and participates in decision-making; and whose standards, stories and worldviews are valued; community organizing: working together across our...Filed in: Centering Gifts, , Doing Our Inner Work, Faithful Risking, Tending to Tradition -
by Hilary Allen |Here I was thinking everything had already been said. That there were no other words to say (again) what we all already know: here we are, still in pandemic life. And yet, a shift has arrived and there are ideas being shared that can bring comfort, illumination, and insight. So, I wanted to share...Filed in: Tending to Tradition, Centering Gifts, , Doing Our Inner Work, Faithful Risking -
by Wren Bellavance-Grace |September is County Fair season in much of New England. In our UU congregations, September is also Ingathering time; water communion time; returning-to-church-time after far-flung summers laden with small jars of water from our travels and foot-long zucchinis from overflowing gardens....Filed in: Tending to Tradition, , Covenanting, Doing Our Inner Work, Faithful Risking -
by Meck Groot |A congregational board member called to ask what their church might do about their building. Like so many New England churches, theirs is old, labyrinthine, mostly inaccessible, and larger than they need now....Filed in: Centering Gifts, , Doing Our Inner Work, Faithful Risking -
by Erica Baron |As we have engaged UUs around New England in reflecting on living in covenant, we on regional staff have noticed an assumption so foundational that it is often revealed in storytelling but rarely said directly. That is: We can be either in covenant or in conflict, but not both at the same time.... -
by New England Region of the UUA |We understand covenants as being an attempt to make promises together that are grounded in a shared understanding of something unenforceable but to which we want, collectively, to be faithful or obedient. However, lots of other stuff can tend to creep into our covenants, too...