Creating Community Sun, 30th June, 2013
This morning, as many of us are basking in the neon glow of Pride week in St. Louis and the afterglow of the downfall of DOMA, I am feeling more than ever a part of this community. So thoughts are naturally turning to what it means to be in community with others.
I'm proud of my Unitarian-Universalist community in St. Louis and our commitment to doing the needed work to make the world a kinder, more inclusive place. Friday night, thanks to the vision of our brilliant leader Adam and many hands from three area UU congregations, we put the finishing touches on our UU Pride float that will make its appearance in this morning's Pride parade in downtown St. Louis.
This float, and the process that built it, holds a wealth of lessons about the value of community and how those values get translated into real results. The float design itself portrays the historic UU commitment to building community in St. Louis, and includes icons representing Washington University and Mary Institute (now MICDS) both of which were founded by William Greenleaf Eliot and his Unitarian congregants. And with the creation of the St. Louis public school system and Southside Day Nursery, it's clear that Unitarians played a large role in bringing education and support for working families to what was in the 19th Century a primitive settlement surrounded by vast wilderness.
And the process that built the float is even more meaningful to me personally, since it was a labor of love from people all around the metro area, from Belleville to Ellisville. Just like in Eliot's day, today we're still coming together to celebrate the values of love and compassion that lift up human communities—specifically celebrating the worth and dignity of all people, including those in the LGBTQIA community. This is the ultimate act of worship - which means to "worth-shape" by naming and celebrating truth the way we see it, the way we experience it.
This urge to express our faith in meaningful work in the wider world is the legacy from our Unitarian and Universalist forebears. Today, our cause may be the abolition of legal and societal discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered people and others. But 150 years ago the cause was the abolition of slavery, which similarly required both changes in law and changes in social attitudes. One of the leading voices was Rev. Theodore Parker, who saw that achieving freedom and justice for all was a very long journey, one that may never be finished: "I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice."
Based on this morning's forecast, it will likely rain on our parade. But, thanks to the brilliant forethought by our fearless leader, Adam, the float is made of sturdy stuff. Like all the institutions we UUs and our friends have built together in St. Louis, it will weather the storm and stand as a beacon of faith, hope and love for years to come. After the rain will be the rainbow, bending towards justice on the distant horizon.
On this day, I am proud of my faith, and proud of the contributions we continue to make in this community and around the world. Thank you to all those who stand with us, and with your own communities, on the side of love.
Happy Pride!
This morning, as many of us are basking in the neon glow of Pride week in St. Louis and the afterglow of the downfall of DOMA, I am feeling more than ever a part of this community. So thoughts are naturally turning to what it means to be in community with others.
I'm proud of my Unitarian-Universalist community in St. Louis and our commitment to doing the needed work to make the world a kinder, more inclusive place. Friday night, thanks to the vision of our brilliant leader Adam and many hands from three area UU congregations, we put the finishing touches on our UU Pride float that will make its appearance in this morning's Pride parade in downtown St. Louis.
This float, and the process that built it, holds a wealth of lessons about the value of community and how those values get translated into real results. The float design itself portrays the historic UU commitment to building community in St. Louis, and includes icons representing Washington University and Mary Institute (now MICDS) both of which were founded by William Greenleaf Eliot and his Unitarian congregants. And with the creation of the St. Louis public school system and Southside Day Nursery, it's clear that Unitarians played a large role in bringing education and support for working families to what was in the 19th Century a primitive settlement surrounded by vast wilderness.
And the process that built the float is even more meaningful to me personally, since it was a labor of love from people all around the metro area, from Belleville to Ellisville. Just like in Eliot's day, today we're still coming together to celebrate the values of love and compassion that lift up human communities—specifically celebrating the worth and dignity of all people, including those in the LGBTQIA community. This is the ultimate act of worship - which means to "worth-shape" by naming and celebrating truth the way we see it, the way we experience it.
This urge to express our faith in meaningful work in the wider world is the legacy from our Unitarian and Universalist forebears. Today, our cause may be the abolition of legal and societal discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered people and others. But 150 years ago the cause was the abolition of slavery, which similarly required both changes in law and changes in social attitudes. One of the leading voices was Rev. Theodore Parker, who saw that achieving freedom and justice for all was a very long journey, one that may never be finished: "I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice."
Based on this morning's forecast, it will likely rain on our parade. But, thanks to the brilliant forethought by our fearless leader, Adam, the float is made of sturdy stuff. Like all the institutions we UUs and our friends have built together in St. Louis, it will weather the storm and stand as a beacon of faith, hope and love for years to come. After the rain will be the rainbow, bending towards justice on the distant horizon.
On this day, I am proud of my faith, and proud of the contributions we continue to make in this community and around the world. Thank you to all those who stand with us, and with your own communities, on the side of love.
Happy Pride!
