I just saw on Facebook that our Congregational Resolution on Climate Change passed with a very strong affirmative vote - 123-1. I was sorry not to be there for the culmination of the hard work of so many. And now the hard work continues.
I was not with you because I am in England with my peer review group. (Though I will be home when you receive this.) For six years we have been visiting each others' congregations and providing peer review and support. I have learned more from this group than just about any other. The first visit was to UUCF. Since then we have visited congregations in Appleton, Wisconsin, Rochester, New York, the UUA (where one member is president), and the UU Ministers Association (another member is executive director).
Having made the cycle of our congregations and organizations, we decided to visit our member on sabbatical in England serving a small congregation. Having never visited England I was thrilled about this. And the experience has been even more enriching than I had imagined it would be. Just today we visited the new "Sunday Assembly," AKA the Atheist Church. What a fascinating new project with charismatic leaders. (Some from our humanist group are meeting with the founders this Wednesday.) Then for a little contrast, we attended an Evensong service at St. Paul's Cathedral.
The differences and similarities in the experiences were remarkable. In the morning the music was a little thrown together, charming. In the afternoon the organ was majestic and the boy sopranos sang with crystal clarity - beautiful. The messages were fairly similar. At the Sunday Assembly, the slogan is "live better, help often, wonder more." In the sermon at St. Paul's, the minister said that the highest reward for hard work is not what we get but rather what we become because of our work. And then there were the differences in the settings - a rented hall in a community building filled with joy and positive energy and a breathtakingly beautiful cathedral from the 17 Century.
My head is spinning with all I've learned and with the insights of my colleagues on my ministry and the larger ministry. All that I've learned and the ways I've grown are because of the commitment this group has to trust and honesty. I couldn't be more grateful for this.
As we engage the theme of honesty this month, I hope you will consider the places, people and groups that call you to your truest self - that demand honesty from you when it's not always easy. These places and people offer our best hope for spiritual growth and deepening.
Yours,
Mary Katherine
