The UUCW Nugget
October 7, 2015
 
Office Hours
(Sept 1, 2015 - 
June 30, 2016):
Mon, Tues, Wed: 
9 am - 3 pm
Thur. 9 am - 2 pm
(Closed 2nd Wed.
Oct - May)


Congregational Mission Statement
"The members and friends of the Unitarian Universalist 
Church of Worcester covenant to be a congregation of love, hope and justice inspiring people to take on the challenges of a changing world."
  
Welcoming Church 
Mission Statement 

The LGBTQI and Allies of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester strives to further the affirmation and celebration of LGBTQI individuals in all aspects of the church community. We also seek to increase the visibility of UUCW as a Welcoming Congregation within the greater community.
 


Reverence and Reason

It is by no coincidence that our Touchstone themes for September and October are Reverence and Reason. A wise person once said, "Faith and Reason are like two wings of the human spirit by which it soars to the truth."[1] UU Minister, author and theologian, Forest Church and former president of the UU Association of Congregations, John Buehrens advise us, to be mindful of the dangers of idolatry, "We must employ our reason and the insights of science to increase our understanding and cultivate the garden of the spirit."[2]

Former president of Meadville Lombard School for the Ministry in Chicago, William R. Murray has this to say on reverence and reason:

"I believe a viable religion of the twenty-first century must include at least five characteristics.

First is the affirmation that human beings are an integral part of nature. We are not separate and distinct from the rest of the natural world. We are related to every living creature, both plant and animal. The elements of which we are composed - carbon, calcium, iron - are the same elements of which the rest of the universe is made. We are not dominant over nature; we are its stewards and trustees.

The second characteristic follows from the first: A religion for the future will affirm humankind's responsibility to preserve and sustain the natural world.

Third, any viable future religion must take seriously the implications for religion of the remarkable discoveries of the modern natural and human sciences. The world of modern science is a different world from that of our ordinary perceptions and that of the ancient peoples who gave birth to Western religions. The religion of the future should be a religion that learns from science and adapts its teaching accordingly. And since every religion needs a story, the story of religion of the future will be a scientific story with mythic significance.

Fourth, such a religion will recognize the importance of both reason and reverence. The human ability to think critically and constructively has made possible our many artistic achievements and medical and technological advances, but it is only reverence understood as feelings of respect and awe, that can save us from the hubris that would destroy all the good we have accomplished. As Paul Woodruff writes in his elegant little book, Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue, "Reverence begin in a deep understanding of human limitations." And he goes on to note that reverence keeps human beings from acting like gods. It is thus essential to our true humanity. I also think a strong case can be made that lack of reverence is a major cause of all forms of human violence throughout history and in family and community life as well as with respect to the natural environment. And while reverence is not only a religious quality, a religion without a profound sense of reverence is no religion at all.

Finally, the religion of the future must affirm those values that help to make our lives more fully human. In her spiritual autobiography, The Spiral Staircase, religions scholar Karen Armstrong writes,

In the course of my studies, I have discovered that the religious quest is not about discovering "the truth" or "the meaning of life," but about living as intensely as possible here and now. The idea is not to latch onto some superhuman personality or to "get to heaven" but to discover how to be fully human.
This is precisely what humanistic religious naturalism is all about. Becoming more fully human involves the transformation of the mind and heart from self-centeredness to a sense of one's self as part of a larger sacred whole and to a deep commitment to the human and natural worlds. It is about the transformation from a shallow life of fear, greed, hedonism, and materialism to a meaningful life of love and caring, gratitude and generosity, fairness and equity, joy and hope, and a profound respect for others.

To be fully human is to develop and use our minds but not neglect our emotions and intuitions... A fully human person has both an open mind and a warm heart as well as a social conscience. As Bertrand Russell suggested, 'The good life is one guided by reason and motivated by love.'"[3]

Let us journey together on this quest.


Many Blessings,


[1] Pope John Paul II
[2] Forest Church and John Buehrens, A Chosen Faith, Skinner House Books, Boston
[3] William R. Murry, Reason and Reverence: A Religious Humanism for the 21st Century, Skinner House Books, Boston. 2007.

 
Contact Information

Phone:

508-853-1942

Email:

office@uucworcester.org

Fax:

508-853-2065

Website:

www.uucworcester.org

 

 

 

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