Who are we and how do we want to be known in the wider community?
These questions are guiding our conversations about whether UCE should have a different name. Several people in the conversations we’ve had so far have expressed that, whatever they feel about our name and whether or not it’s changed, they will remain a part of this congregation. I would hope everyone feels that way, but that may not be the case.
Words matter and how we project ourselves into the world has meaning and impact. There could be no perfect, pithy name to describe what this vibrant, active, and pluralistic faith community is or means to those already part of it. But asking the questions helps us realize the ways we want to transform and grow. I’m grateful for the healthy and productive dialogue that’s taken place so far.
Questions about our identity as Unitarian Universalists and as a congregation have also been alive in our UU and UCE History sessions this month. About 40 people have attended the sessions and I’m inspired by the ongoing questioning that’s emerged:
- Is there a cause for which I’d be willing to go to jail?
- Can I truly love my enemy?
- Is there a divine force beyond me that cares about me?
- What makes us resilient and how do we gather our courage to live our values, even when it seems all is set against us?
Looking back at our history and remembering those who overcame hard things, and the ways the arc of the moral universe has been bent by our ancestors helps us remember who we are and who we want to be for our descendants.
From within this current moment, it may seem as though things have never been this bad in our country. But that is simply not the case. Things have been downright horrible for millions of people for much of our history and yet those who have been marginalized, removed, enslaved, oppressed, and treated as less than human have endured to survive and thrive. Not everyone. Not in all circumstances. But sometimes. And it has been community, collective care, and commitment to the values of love and justice that have carried them through.
Claiming who we are with courage, conviction, and clarity enables us to be more welcoming to those who are looking for a place to find strength and grow, to be nurtured, challenged, and fortified to keep sowing the seeds of what the world may be beyond all that is breaking down right now.
Beloveds, let us hold tight to who we are, hold tight to one another, and hold tight to our dreams for a world more loving, beautiful, inclusive, and free. It will take all of us to co-create it.
Yours in faith and solidarity,
Rev. Eileen
Practicing Beloved Community at UCE 