1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,956 2 00:00:10,956 --> 00:01:44,032 [SINGING] 3 00:01:44,032 --> 00:01:46,323 Speaker 1: We gather each year as a powerful experience 4 00:01:46,323 --> 00:01:51,660 of corporate Unitarian Universalism. 5 00:01:51,660 --> 00:01:56,483 But let's remind one another that our faith doesn't happen 6 00:01:56,483 --> 00:02:00,364 because we gather together, it happens 7 00:02:00,364 --> 00:02:10,597 because love reaches out through us every single day. 8 00:02:10,597 --> 00:02:12,070 David Glasgow: Sing with us. 9 00:02:12,070 --> 00:02:14,530 Where is our holy church? 10 00:02:14,530 --> 00:03:37,325 [SINGING] 11 00:03:37,325 --> 00:03:39,494 Carrie Macdonald: In the back of our silver 12 00:03:39,494 --> 00:03:40,994 hymnal is a tune with a scary title, 13 00:03:40,994 --> 00:03:44,490 but with a very simple text, and a tune 14 00:03:44,490 --> 00:03:47,720 that is one of the most recognizable in the world. 15 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,030 Would you join with us in singing to Johann Pachelbel's 16 00:03:51,030 --> 00:03:53,520 famous melody, the Alleluia Chaconne? 17 00:03:53,520 --> 00:05:55,750 [SINGING] 18 00:05:55,750 --> 00:06:03,880 David Glasgow: What key am I in, Sean? 19 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,330 What is my first note, Sean? 20 00:06:07,330 --> 00:06:13,710 How much sleep have I had in the last six days, Sean? 21 00:06:13,710 --> 00:06:20,026 I have no idea what I'm doing at the moment. 22 00:06:20,026 --> 00:06:34,040 [SINGING] 23 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:35,385 Did I make up for it just then? 24 00:06:35,385 --> 00:06:53,241 [SINGING] 25 00:06:53,241 --> 00:06:55,116 Have you heard the Spirit speaking this week? 26 00:06:55,116 --> 00:06:58,104 Have you? 27 00:06:58,104 --> 00:07:01,590 Have you been listening? 28 00:07:01,590 --> 00:07:04,080 Are you ready to take the love you feel in this room, 29 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,072 and reach out with it? 30 00:07:06,072 --> 00:07:09,060 Are you ready to do, when the Spirit says do? 31 00:07:09,060 --> 00:07:13,542 I was just about to ask you to rise in body and spirit, 32 00:07:13,542 --> 00:07:18,522 but I think we got that covered. 33 00:07:18,522 --> 00:07:20,016 Let's start it from the top, y'all. 34 00:07:20,016 --> 00:07:22,506 You gotta do when the Spirit says do. 35 00:07:22,506 --> 00:10:18,650 [SINGING] 36 00:10:18,650 --> 00:10:26,210 Peter Morales: I know it's a lot to ask, but you can be seated. 37 00:10:26,210 --> 00:10:27,830 Welcome. 38 00:10:27,830 --> 00:10:32,710 Welcome to this celebration of our faith, a faith that 39 00:10:32,710 --> 00:10:35,850 challenges us to reach out in love, 40 00:10:35,850 --> 00:10:41,020 and to risk crossing new spiritual borders. 41 00:10:41,020 --> 00:10:42,740 As President, one of my privileges 42 00:10:42,740 --> 00:10:45,500 is to choose the preacher for his service. 43 00:10:45,500 --> 00:10:48,170 And every year I ask colleagues for suggestions. 44 00:10:48,170 --> 00:10:53,110 And every year, the Reverend Mark Stringer's name comes up. 45 00:10:53,110 --> 00:10:55,670 Mark, you have won the respect and admiration 46 00:10:55,670 --> 00:11:00,110 of your colleagues for your ministry that embodies love 47 00:11:00,110 --> 00:11:02,440 and reaching out into the community. 48 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:04,770 And I also want to acknowledge and thank 49 00:11:04,770 --> 00:11:08,200 the GA Choir, a legion of them up here. 50 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:15,490 [APPLAUSE] 51 00:11:15,490 --> 00:11:18,300 Under, as you will hear, the very capable direction of Mary 52 00:11:18,300 --> 00:11:18,800 Neumann. 53 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:24,930 [APPLAUSE] 54 00:11:24,930 --> 00:11:28,250 It is good to be together today. 55 00:11:28,250 --> 00:11:30,060 Let us open our hearts. 56 00:11:30,060 --> 00:11:34,280 Let us draw inspiration and strength from one another. 57 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:52,380 Come, let us worship together. 58 00:11:52,380 --> 00:11:56,360 Darihun Khriam: I light this chalice on behalf of the 10,000 59 00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:00,960 Unitarians in the Khasi Hills of Northeast India, 60 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:06,230 halfway around the world, but we value and share this faith 61 00:12:06,230 --> 00:12:08,940 with you. 62 00:12:08,940 --> 00:12:13,700 In my ministry, I serve eight churches. 63 00:12:13,700 --> 00:12:18,990 And being the first among the Khasi women to be a minister, 64 00:12:18,990 --> 00:12:20,160 I travel to the churches. 65 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:31,080 [APPLAUSE] 66 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:36,060 To us, our religion is not only a Sunday worship, 67 00:12:36,060 --> 00:12:44,870 but what we live every day. 68 00:12:44,870 --> 00:12:48,610 Our children, our youth, and adults 69 00:12:48,610 --> 00:12:53,650 are taught to live a good and righteous life. 70 00:12:53,650 --> 00:13:00,020 Our faith also teaches us to live a life full of love, love 71 00:13:00,020 --> 00:13:05,017 which is unconditional in spite of the many differences we 72 00:13:05,017 --> 00:13:15,580 have, because we value each other. 73 00:13:15,580 --> 00:13:18,570 We also value community. 74 00:13:18,570 --> 00:13:23,280 In the Khasi Hills, we have 33 Unitarian schools 75 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:29,130 that provide secular education to over 3,000 children 76 00:13:29,130 --> 00:13:39,300 from many faiths. 77 00:13:39,300 --> 00:13:43,260 And we also run one orphanage to help children 78 00:13:43,260 --> 00:13:48,290 who mostly don't have any close relatives. 79 00:13:48,290 --> 00:13:52,370 We also have this self-help resource group, 80 00:13:52,370 --> 00:13:55,490 working for people in the village communities 81 00:13:55,490 --> 00:13:58,840 to uplift their livelihood. 82 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:03,720 As Unitarians, we also pledge to preserve the environment, 83 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:10,370 because in India and beyond, much harm has been done to it. 84 00:14:10,370 --> 00:14:13,320 And lighting the chalice reminds us 85 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,920 of the connections we have with one another in our place, 86 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:21,010 and around the world. 87 00:14:21,010 --> 00:14:23,830 It reminds us that life has to be 88 00:14:23,830 --> 00:14:28,540 a source of joy and inspiration to everyone. 89 00:14:28,540 --> 00:14:31,340 The light reminds us of the divine 90 00:14:31,340 --> 00:14:36,910 spark that shines within and outside us. 91 00:14:36,910 --> 00:14:41,910 May the chalice flame continue to shine brightly. 92 00:14:41,910 --> 00:14:43,887 Amen. 93 00:14:43,887 --> 00:14:47,380 [APPLAUSE] 94 00:14:47,380 --> 00:14:54,903 [MUSIC PLAYING] 95 00:14:54,903 --> 00:14:56,861 Carrie Macdonald: If the words of our next hymn 96 00:14:56,861 --> 00:14:59,106 remind you of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, 97 00:14:59,106 --> 00:15:03,470 Jr. it may be because the hymn's author, Reverend Doctor Thomas 98 00:15:03,470 --> 00:15:05,660 Nicholson, is a noted scholar of King's 99 00:15:05,660 --> 00:15:07,655 theology and social ethics. 100 00:15:07,655 --> 00:15:10,280 Would you rise in body and/or in spirit and join us in singing. 101 00:15:10,280 --> 00:16:54,550 [SINGING] 102 00:16:54,550 --> 00:16:56,690 Nancy Mcdonald Ladd: I live just outside 103 00:16:56,690 --> 00:16:59,310 of our nation's capital, which means 104 00:16:59,310 --> 00:17:01,120 that I have the pleasure from time 105 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:06,880 to time of driving down Embassy Row, past the flags of 100 106 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:12,200 nations, on my way to and from the heart of our democracy. 107 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,000 And one of the places that I pass all the time 108 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,630 took on a whole new resonance this year, 109 00:17:18,630 --> 00:17:22,270 with the loss of Nelson Mandela. 110 00:17:22,270 --> 00:17:25,339 Now just over a year ago, not long 111 00:17:25,339 --> 00:17:28,400 before his death, the South African embassy 112 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,440 unveiled a statue of Madiba, modeled 113 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,200 on footage of his triumphant stride 114 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:39,950 to freedom after 28 years of incarceration. 115 00:17:39,950 --> 00:17:45,960 That statue, it shows him there with his hand upraised 116 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:51,710 in an age-old gesture of defiance and of pride. 117 00:17:51,710 --> 00:17:53,350 His fist is closed. 118 00:17:53,350 --> 00:17:55,220 His eyes are bright. 119 00:17:55,220 --> 00:18:00,180 And on his face is an expression indicating that at any moment 120 00:18:00,180 --> 00:18:05,680 he may just break out in either protest or praise, 121 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,960 or both at once. 122 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:11,330 His is resistance paired with joy, 123 00:18:11,330 --> 00:18:16,390 standing firm and reaching out all at the same time. 124 00:18:16,390 --> 00:18:19,050 Here we are, friends. 125 00:18:19,050 --> 00:18:21,320 Look around you. 126 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,090 We are thousands strong. 127 00:18:24,090 --> 00:18:28,330 Here we have gathered, we who resist 128 00:18:28,330 --> 00:18:32,690 oppressions large and small. 129 00:18:32,690 --> 00:18:37,380 We who open ourselves to the act of shared transformation. 130 00:18:37,380 --> 00:18:42,430 We who seek partners always in the holy work that is ours. 131 00:18:42,430 --> 00:18:47,990 Resistance, transformation, community-- 132 00:18:47,990 --> 00:18:51,440 these are the tools of the Spirit that we have been given 133 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:53,630 to make this world more whole. 134 00:18:53,630 --> 00:18:56,560 These are the tools of the Spirit that change us, 135 00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:01,180 and that challenge us to grow so much braver than we already 136 00:19:01,180 --> 00:19:02,730 are. 137 00:19:02,730 --> 00:19:07,020 Inspired by courage such as his, I 138 00:19:07,020 --> 00:19:11,310 invite you to rise in body, or in spirit, or in both, 139 00:19:11,310 --> 00:19:17,760 to join me. 140 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:23,450 And when you are ready, I invite you to join me 141 00:19:23,450 --> 00:19:28,000 in raising that one arm high above you in pride 142 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,280 and defiance, in praise and in protest. 143 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,400 Feel the ages of resistance captured 144 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:39,340 in this gesture, the power to stand unafraid. 145 00:19:39,340 --> 00:19:43,250 And as you are able, open that fist. 146 00:19:43,250 --> 00:19:47,650 Bear a wide open palm to the space that surrounds you. 147 00:19:47,650 --> 00:19:50,100 In this equally ancient gesture, we 148 00:19:50,100 --> 00:19:53,330 show our willingness to be changed 149 00:19:53,330 --> 00:19:57,690 by everything we encounter, the freedom we all have, 150 00:19:57,690 --> 00:20:00,600 not only to resist, but to be transformed, 151 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:04,500 to be open to the courage all around us. 152 00:20:04,500 --> 00:20:09,150 And let your arms fall, knowing that while you are surrounded 153 00:20:09,150 --> 00:20:13,170 by companions, they will never fall far. 154 00:20:13,170 --> 00:20:14,560 Love reaches out, friends. 155 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:25,190 So reach out for each other, hand in hand, arm in arm. 156 00:20:25,190 --> 00:20:29,070 Connected, we each find more courage than any of us 157 00:20:29,070 --> 00:20:32,230 could find alone. 158 00:20:32,230 --> 00:20:34,950 And as you squeeze those hands next to you ever 159 00:20:34,950 --> 00:20:45,640 so gently-- nobody get crazy here-- carry those gestures 160 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,780 with you in your heart. 161 00:20:48,780 --> 00:20:50,630 Resistance. 162 00:20:50,630 --> 00:20:52,630 Transformation. 163 00:20:52,630 --> 00:20:54,720 Community. 164 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:58,400 With these forces, love actually triumphs. 165 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:03,140 With these forces together, we will make it through. 166 00:21:03,140 --> 00:21:03,640 Amen. 167 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:18,720 [APPLAUSE] 168 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,060 Mary Neumann: The message of our anthem, Hand in Hand, 169 00:21:22,060 --> 00:21:27,610 by composer Rollo Dilworth, is simple yet powerful. 170 00:21:27,610 --> 00:21:33,640 Together through singing, talking, working, shouting, 171 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:38,350 and even dancing, we can break down the walls that divide us, 172 00:21:38,350 --> 00:21:42,210 and lift up our call for unity. 173 00:21:42,210 --> 00:21:46,510 And just as the words we sing exhort us to sing and dance 174 00:21:46,510 --> 00:21:50,620 together, we have a part for you to sing. 175 00:21:50,620 --> 00:21:55,220 Please join us as we reach the last part of the piece. 176 00:21:55,220 --> 00:21:57,260 And these are the words. 177 00:21:57,260 --> 00:22:00,800 Hand in hand, we can make it through. 178 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:02,620 Hand in hand. 179 00:22:02,620 --> 00:22:08,818 Try singing that with us now. 180 00:22:08,818 --> 00:22:37,250 [SINGING] 181 00:22:37,250 --> 00:22:41,320 I'll turn to you, and cue you when your part to sing with us 182 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:57,219 begins. 183 00:22:57,219 --> 00:26:32,460 [SINGING] 184 00:26:32,460 --> 00:26:37,340 Peter Friedrichs: We can make it through, hand in hand in hand-- 185 00:26:37,340 --> 00:26:41,650 walking, talking, sometimes dancing, 186 00:26:41,650 --> 00:26:44,480 although our dancing might need a little work. 187 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:46,480 But always singing. 188 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,440 We reach out in love. 189 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:51,650 We reach out in love in Phoenix, Arizona. 190 00:26:51,650 --> 00:26:54,730 We reach out in love in Raleigh, North Carolina, 191 00:26:54,730 --> 00:26:56,860 on the steps of the Supreme Court, 192 00:26:56,860 --> 00:27:00,580 and here in Providence, Rhode Island. 193 00:27:00,580 --> 00:27:03,600 We reach out, hand in hand, across the globe, 194 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:08,700 in the Khasi Hills of India, and many places in between. 195 00:27:08,700 --> 00:27:12,530 In all these places, we stand on the side of love. 196 00:27:12,530 --> 00:27:16,550 We don't stand on the sidelines of love. 197 00:27:16,550 --> 00:27:18,620 We build beloved community. 198 00:27:18,620 --> 00:27:24,170 We help heal the wounds of hopelessness and despair. 199 00:27:24,170 --> 00:27:27,470 We are blessed this year to be able to support 200 00:27:27,470 --> 00:27:32,800 two local organizations-- Housing First Rhode Island, 201 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:44,390 a program of Riverwood Mental Health Services. 202 00:27:44,390 --> 00:27:46,780 Housing First Rhode Island serves the chronically 203 00:27:46,780 --> 00:27:48,050 homeless. 204 00:27:48,050 --> 00:27:51,610 In nine years, their 50-person pilot program 205 00:27:51,610 --> 00:27:55,620 has grown to operate 175 permanent housing 206 00:27:55,620 --> 00:28:08,150 units for more than 200 formerly homeless persons and families. 207 00:28:08,150 --> 00:28:09,840 And McAuley House. 208 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,550 McAuley House provides food, emergency assistance, 209 00:28:13,550 --> 00:28:15,250 and a sense of community to those 210 00:28:15,250 --> 00:28:20,200 who live with addiction, mental illness, and poverty. 211 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,120 McAuley House serves hundreds of meals a day, 212 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:26,500 in an atmosphere of love and respect. 213 00:28:26,500 --> 00:28:29,330 Together, Housing First and McAuley House 214 00:28:29,330 --> 00:28:32,570 provide ongoing support, healing, and engagement 215 00:28:32,570 --> 00:28:35,360 through daily programs. 216 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:38,200 I'm pleased to introduce to you today two Unitarian 217 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:41,730 Universalists who lead these vital ministries. 218 00:28:41,730 --> 00:28:44,740 Please join me in welcoming Reverend Mary Margaret 219 00:28:44,740 --> 00:28:47,490 Earl, administrator for the McAuley House, 220 00:28:47,490 --> 00:28:51,209 and Dan Kubas-Meyer, executive director of Riverwood Mental 221 00:28:51,209 --> 00:28:51,875 Health Services. 222 00:28:51,875 --> 00:29:07,590 [APPLAUSE] 223 00:29:07,590 --> 00:29:11,080 Mary Margaret Earl: Unitarian Universalism's first principle 224 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:15,930 recognizes the inherent worth and dignity of every person. 225 00:29:15,930 --> 00:29:19,020 We recognize this, too, at McAuley House, 226 00:29:19,020 --> 00:29:23,070 where we provide meals, emergency help, and hospitality 227 00:29:23,070 --> 00:29:25,830 to all those who come to us. 228 00:29:25,830 --> 00:29:30,420 We provide up to 45 breakfast meals, 300 hot lunches, 229 00:29:30,420 --> 00:29:34,070 and dozens of bag suppers daily. 230 00:29:34,070 --> 00:29:37,150 Many whom we serve are treated with disdain 231 00:29:37,150 --> 00:29:38,950 in the wider world. 232 00:29:38,950 --> 00:29:40,700 Some are homeless. 233 00:29:40,700 --> 00:29:43,100 Some are mentally ill. 234 00:29:43,100 --> 00:29:45,430 Some are struggling with addiction. 235 00:29:45,430 --> 00:29:48,810 Some have housing, but barely. 236 00:29:48,810 --> 00:29:53,760 Beyond the basics of clothing, medication, food, 237 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:57,960 we provide a warm welcome and respect. 238 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:13,380 What we give is not nearly so important as how we give it. 239 00:30:13,380 --> 00:30:15,770 We also partner with Housing First 240 00:30:15,770 --> 00:30:17,870 for enrichment activities-- arts, 241 00:30:17,870 --> 00:30:22,870 crafts, life skills, healthy living classes-- to those 242 00:30:22,870 --> 00:30:25,380 who are homeless and may be waiting for the shelters 243 00:30:25,380 --> 00:30:30,020 to open in the evening, or those who now have housing but still 244 00:30:30,020 --> 00:30:35,600 need what we have to offer-- community, engagement, support, 245 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:37,340 love. 246 00:30:37,340 --> 00:30:40,360 Thank you for reaching out today with love 247 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:41,970 in support of this work. 248 00:30:41,970 --> 00:30:51,619 [APPLAUSE] 249 00:30:51,619 --> 00:30:53,160 Dan Kubas-meyer: Our second principle 250 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:57,600 is justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. 251 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:01,190 We recognize inequality and seek change. 252 00:31:01,190 --> 00:31:03,800 The Housing First program seeks that as well. 253 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,120 We work with the chronically homeless-- people 254 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:09,650 for whom there seems to be no way out of their predicament. 255 00:31:09,650 --> 00:31:12,190 Housing First gives them a chance. 256 00:31:12,190 --> 00:31:14,690 Our pilot program gave housing to 50 people 257 00:31:14,690 --> 00:31:18,360 who had been homeless for, on average, more than seven years. 258 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:20,000 No strings attached. 259 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,860 Supportive services were offered, but not required. 260 00:31:23,860 --> 00:31:25,730 The results were stunning. 261 00:31:25,730 --> 00:31:30,630 Twelve months after entering the program, 87% were still housed. 262 00:31:30,630 --> 00:31:41,480 Three years later, 80% are still housed. 263 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:43,440 Lives have been put back together. 264 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:44,920 Families reunited. 265 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:46,800 Mental illness is treated. 266 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:50,380 Human beings experiencing healing. 267 00:31:50,380 --> 00:31:52,670 And now we're serving hundreds. 268 00:31:52,670 --> 00:31:54,840 When simply given affordable housing, 269 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:57,430 even the most disabled of the chronically homeless 270 00:31:57,430 --> 00:32:01,370 can make monumental strides for a better life. 271 00:32:01,370 --> 00:32:03,040 Thank you for reaching out in love 272 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:04,515 to make that opportunity possible. 273 00:32:04,515 --> 00:32:14,782 [APPLAUSE] 274 00:32:14,782 --> 00:32:16,240 Peter Friedrichs: All week long, we 275 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:19,230 have been reaching out in love. 276 00:32:19,230 --> 00:32:23,610 Now it's time to reach in-- into your backpacks, 277 00:32:23,610 --> 00:32:27,030 into your wallets, into your checkbooks. 278 00:32:27,030 --> 00:32:30,970 Now is our opportunity to join Dan and Mary Margaret, and all 279 00:32:30,970 --> 00:32:35,370 those who support McAuley House and Housing First Rhode Island. 280 00:32:35,370 --> 00:32:39,750 Your gift to support their vital work of justice, compassion, 281 00:32:39,750 --> 00:32:43,110 healing, and hope will now be gratefully received. 282 00:32:43,110 --> 00:32:46,030 Please make checks payable to Riverwood Mental Health 283 00:32:46,030 --> 00:32:59,724 services. 284 00:32:59,724 --> 00:42:15,320 [MUSIC PLAYING] 285 00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:17,522 Wendel Werner: Blessed are we who 286 00:42:17,522 --> 00:42:19,760 live from a place of gratitude. 287 00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:23,370 We have seen the meaning of life in one 288 00:42:23,370 --> 00:42:25,450 another's faces and hearts. 289 00:42:25,450 --> 00:42:29,840 We know that however long or winding or journey may be, 290 00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:33,580 love will guide us on our way. 291 00:42:33,580 --> 00:42:36,280 Would you please rise in body or spirit, and sing along with us? 292 00:42:36,280 --> 00:44:16,260 [SINGING] 293 00:44:16,260 --> 00:44:18,370 Melora Lynngood: Please join us in a spirit 294 00:44:18,370 --> 00:44:21,840 of meditation and reflection. 295 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:29,070 Breathe in, breathe out. 296 00:44:29,070 --> 00:44:32,450 Shana Lynngood: We have all done it. 297 00:44:32,450 --> 00:44:34,680 Melora Lynngood: Especially those of us 298 00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:37,270 who like to think of ourselves as 299 00:44:37,270 --> 00:44:42,880 intelligent, astute, well-informed. 300 00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:46,510 Shana Lynngood: We criticize and judge, 301 00:44:46,510 --> 00:44:51,170 convinced that we know the right way. 302 00:44:51,170 --> 00:44:52,850 Melora Lynngood: And sometimes we 303 00:44:52,850 --> 00:44:56,940 are right, especially when our object of critique 304 00:44:56,940 --> 00:45:02,482 is an injustice, an unfair law or system. 305 00:45:02,482 --> 00:45:10,200 Shana Lynngood: We clench our fists, indignant, righteous. 306 00:45:10,200 --> 00:45:12,910 Melora Lynngood: Take a moment to consider. 307 00:45:12,910 --> 00:45:26,430 In justice work, in life, what makes you clench your fists? 308 00:45:26,430 --> 00:45:31,200 Shana Lynngood: Sometimes that response is justified, 309 00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:34,850 the clenched fists understandable, even 310 00:45:34,850 --> 00:45:37,300 appropriate. 311 00:45:37,300 --> 00:45:39,210 Melora Lynngood: But if we remain in that 312 00:45:39,210 --> 00:45:43,390 pose, our posture rigid, our approach 313 00:45:43,390 --> 00:45:49,780 set, convinced of our own superior view-- 314 00:45:49,780 --> 00:45:52,650 Shana Lynngood: Then we miss the blessings-- 315 00:45:52,650 --> 00:45:57,490 Melora Lynngood: Steamroll right past the beatitudes. 316 00:45:57,490 --> 00:46:01,260 Shana Lynngood: To experience spiritual transformation 317 00:46:01,260 --> 00:46:05,090 in justice-making and in life-- 318 00:46:05,090 --> 00:46:09,000 Melora Lynngood: We have to unclench our hands, 319 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:12,530 open our fists. 320 00:46:12,530 --> 00:46:15,690 Shana Lynngood: Hands open, letting 321 00:46:15,690 --> 00:46:22,070 go of the need to be right, the urge to point the finger 322 00:46:22,070 --> 00:46:24,290 of critique. 323 00:46:24,290 --> 00:46:29,850 Melora Lynngood: Hands open signaling humility. 324 00:46:29,850 --> 00:46:33,240 Shana Lynngood: Hands open, receptive 325 00:46:33,240 --> 00:46:36,860 to the love that can guide us. 326 00:46:36,860 --> 00:46:42,250 Melora Lynngood: Hands open, ready to serve. 327 00:46:42,250 --> 00:46:48,220 Shana Lynngood: Hands open to grasp the hands of others, 328 00:46:48,220 --> 00:46:52,000 joining across differences, finding 329 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:55,880 their meaningful connection. 330 00:46:55,880 --> 00:46:58,530 Melora Lynngood: Hands open like a toddler 331 00:46:58,530 --> 00:47:02,410 stumbling with arms akimbo, awkward 332 00:47:02,410 --> 00:47:05,720 but poised to explore and experience 333 00:47:05,720 --> 00:47:14,380 new possibilities, new insights, new growth. 334 00:47:14,380 --> 00:47:18,290 Shana Lynngood: Take a moment to consider. 335 00:47:18,290 --> 00:47:24,090 If you were to open your hands, step 336 00:47:24,090 --> 00:47:31,100 into a more embracing stance than is usual for you, 337 00:47:31,100 --> 00:47:51,720 what blessings might you receive? 338 00:47:51,720 --> 00:47:57,080 Melora Lynngood: May our hands open to the Spirit, 339 00:47:57,080 --> 00:48:32,488 give life the shape of justice. 340 00:48:32,488 --> 00:50:37,130 [SINGING] 341 00:50:37,130 --> 00:50:38,650 Nora Collins: Our first reading is 342 00:50:38,650 --> 00:50:43,020 from Reimagining the American Dream, an essay by Marilyn 343 00:50:43,020 --> 00:50:47,160 Sewell. 344 00:50:47,160 --> 00:50:49,830 I am intrigued by words often attributed 345 00:50:49,830 --> 00:50:55,740 to Rudolph Therou, an East German dissident. 346 00:50:55,740 --> 00:50:59,940 When the forms of an old culture are dying, 347 00:50:59,940 --> 00:51:03,720 the new culture is created by a few people 348 00:51:03,720 --> 00:51:09,920 who are not afraid to be insecure. 349 00:51:09,920 --> 00:51:14,260 I think about us as Unitarian Universalists. 350 00:51:14,260 --> 00:51:17,330 This is who we are. 351 00:51:17,330 --> 00:51:20,460 We are not afraid to be insecure. 352 00:51:20,460 --> 00:51:25,250 We are not afraid to search, to go deeper, 353 00:51:25,250 --> 00:51:31,750 to find the truth, even when the truth is unpalatable. 354 00:51:31,750 --> 00:51:37,570 We are seekers who want to live out of that truth. 355 00:51:37,570 --> 00:51:41,430 Unitarian Universalists, though few in number, 356 00:51:41,430 --> 00:51:46,010 can be the yeast in the loaf. 357 00:51:46,010 --> 00:51:50,150 However, let us be wary of the usual distractions 358 00:51:50,150 --> 00:51:53,060 and follies of our movement. 359 00:51:53,060 --> 00:52:01,420 It is grown-up time now. 360 00:52:01,420 --> 00:52:04,980 We can no longer prioritize petty quarrels 361 00:52:04,980 --> 00:52:14,070 about how religious our language should be, 362 00:52:14,070 --> 00:52:17,350 conflicts between the humanists and the more spiritually 363 00:52:17,350 --> 00:52:29,880 inclined, or squabbles about who is in charge. 364 00:52:29,880 --> 00:52:41,020 The mission of the Church is not to meet our needs. 365 00:52:41,020 --> 00:52:53,540 The mission of the Church is to heal our world. 366 00:52:53,540 --> 00:52:55,910 It is to give ourselves to something 367 00:52:55,910 --> 00:52:58,110 larger than ourselves. 368 00:52:58,110 --> 00:53:03,160 Ironically, when we give of ourselves in this way, 369 00:53:03,160 --> 00:53:06,040 we find that our deepest needs are met. 370 00:53:06,040 --> 00:53:28,584 [APPLAUSE] 371 00:53:28,584 --> 00:53:30,000 Benen Elshakhs: This second rating 372 00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:34,670 is by David White, entitled Working Together. 373 00:53:34,670 --> 00:53:38,170 We shape ourself to fit this world, and by the world 374 00:53:38,170 --> 00:53:42,360 are shaped again-- the visible and the invisible 375 00:53:42,360 --> 00:53:48,110 working together in common cause to produce the miraculous. 376 00:53:48,110 --> 00:53:51,760 I'm thinking of the way the intangible air, passed 377 00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:57,130 its speed around a shaped wing, easily holds our weight. 378 00:53:57,130 --> 00:54:01,430 So may we, in this life, trust to those elements we have yet 379 00:54:01,430 --> 00:54:06,670 to see or imagine, and look for the truth in the shape 380 00:54:06,670 --> 00:54:10,550 of our own self by forming it well, 381 00:54:10,550 --> 00:54:17,872 to the great intangibles about us. 382 00:54:17,872 --> 00:54:40,192 [APPLAUSE] 383 00:54:40,192 --> 00:58:17,250 [SINGING] 384 00:58:17,250 --> 00:58:21,270 Mark Stringer: I'm chatting with a member of the Church I serve. 385 00:58:21,270 --> 00:58:25,280 The hymn, Be Ours a Religion comes up. 386 00:58:25,280 --> 00:58:30,270 A look of disgust crosses her face. 387 00:58:30,270 --> 00:58:34,740 "I do not like that hymn," she says. 388 00:58:34,740 --> 00:58:36,840 This is a member who is more engaged 389 00:58:36,840 --> 00:58:39,760 in the life of our congregation than most. 390 00:58:39,760 --> 00:58:42,480 She has a strong UU identity, and is 391 00:58:42,480 --> 00:58:44,650 active in the greater community. 392 00:58:44,650 --> 00:58:48,950 So I'm curious why she doesn't appreciate the sweeping call 393 00:58:48,950 --> 00:58:53,700 of this hymn that asks us to live our religion boldly, 394 00:58:53,700 --> 00:58:58,520 and to cross lines that divide us more frequently. 395 00:58:58,520 --> 00:58:59,820 What's not to like? 396 00:58:59,820 --> 00:59:02,040 I ask. 397 00:59:02,040 --> 00:59:05,160 "It's so saccharine, " she said. 398 00:59:05,160 --> 00:59:17,940 "Be Ours a Religion, which like sunshine, goes everywhere. " 399 00:59:17,940 --> 00:59:20,040 Do the origin of those words? 400 00:59:20,040 --> 00:59:21,700 I ask. 401 00:59:21,700 --> 00:59:31,280 "Have you told us?" she countered. 402 00:59:31,280 --> 00:59:35,160 So let it be known by all who have not yet 403 00:59:35,160 --> 00:59:39,150 been told, the words are from Theodore 404 00:59:39,150 --> 00:59:43,130 Parker, the 19th century Unitarian 405 00:59:43,130 --> 00:59:49,960 minister, abolitionist, reformer and activist, 406 00:59:49,960 --> 00:59:53,910 who preached the prophetic imperative as much 407 00:59:53,910 --> 00:59:58,360 as any other minister in our liberal religious history. 408 00:59:58,360 --> 01:00:01,900 It was Parker, after all, who first 409 01:00:01,900 --> 01:00:04,670 spoke about the moral arc of the universe 410 01:00:04,670 --> 01:00:14,950 being long, but bending toward justice, words that 411 01:00:14,950 --> 01:00:17,840 have been echoed by many from Reverend Doctor King 412 01:00:17,840 --> 01:00:20,140 to President Obama. 413 01:00:20,140 --> 01:00:23,940 When Parker proclaimed be ours a religion which 414 01:00:23,940 --> 01:00:26,780 like sunshine, goes everywhere, he 415 01:00:26,780 --> 01:00:29,410 was not preaching saccharine. 416 01:00:29,410 --> 01:00:32,080 And he was not being hippie-dippie, 417 01:00:32,080 --> 01:00:40,770 as another member recently described the hymn to me. 418 01:00:40,770 --> 01:00:46,070 He was encouraging us to let our religion infuse everything 419 01:00:46,070 --> 01:00:50,820 we do, so that we will better serve the common life that we 420 01:00:50,820 --> 01:00:53,050 share. 421 01:00:53,050 --> 01:00:59,390 Be ours a religion which like sunshine, goes everywhere. 422 01:00:59,390 --> 01:01:02,180 Its temple, all space. 423 01:01:02,180 --> 01:01:05,090 Its shrine, the good heart. 424 01:01:05,090 --> 01:01:07,930 Its creed, all truth. 425 01:01:07,930 --> 01:01:14,880 Its ritual, works of love. 426 01:01:14,880 --> 01:01:20,290 When I found Unitarian Universalism at the age of 29, 427 01:01:20,290 --> 01:01:27,480 I confess I didn't need its sunshine to go everywhere. 428 01:01:27,480 --> 01:01:29,940 I mostly just needed it to illuminate 429 01:01:29,940 --> 01:01:34,150 the possibilities of my own life. 430 01:01:34,150 --> 01:01:38,630 I'd spent most of the previous decade avoiding religion. 431 01:01:38,630 --> 01:01:41,740 I still held many of the values I had received growing up 432 01:01:41,740 --> 01:01:45,650 in Christian congregations-- the importance of loving 433 01:01:45,650 --> 01:01:48,110 my neighbor, the need for compassion, 434 01:01:48,110 --> 01:01:52,250 the necessity of forgiveness. 435 01:01:52,250 --> 01:01:58,050 But I had come to see that ideas about God held too tightly 436 01:01:58,050 --> 01:02:02,520 were often divisive and sometimes dangerous. 437 01:02:02,520 --> 01:02:04,920 Could there be a religion that would 438 01:02:04,920 --> 01:02:08,760 leave space for believers and non-believers alike? 439 01:02:08,760 --> 01:02:14,330 A religion that would leave space for me? 440 01:02:14,330 --> 01:02:18,090 Well, I found that space in my first UU congregation, 441 01:02:18,090 --> 01:02:25,670 the Community Church of New York. 442 01:02:25,670 --> 01:02:28,130 I remember my first Sunday there, 443 01:02:28,130 --> 01:02:32,040 how moved I was by the banners representing world religions 444 01:02:32,040 --> 01:02:34,360 hanging throughout the sanctuary, 445 01:02:34,360 --> 01:02:37,710 how delighted I was by the evidence in the hymnal 446 01:02:37,710 --> 01:02:41,320 that theological diversity was welcomed. 447 01:02:41,320 --> 01:02:44,790 Unitarian Universalism clicked with me. 448 01:02:44,790 --> 01:02:47,970 It clicked because I knew that I had the freedom 449 01:02:47,970 --> 01:02:51,940 to believe not on someone else's terms and with their terms, 450 01:02:51,940 --> 01:02:54,400 but on my own, with my own. 451 01:02:54,400 --> 01:02:57,350 And I knew that others had the same opportunity, 452 01:02:57,350 --> 01:02:59,520 and that it was better for us all 453 01:02:59,520 --> 01:03:09,440 that we were doing it together. 454 01:03:09,440 --> 01:03:12,060 A year after walking into Community Church, 455 01:03:12,060 --> 01:03:18,910 I enrolled at Meadville Lombard Theological School . 456 01:03:18,910 --> 01:03:21,540 And these 13 years since graduating, 457 01:03:21,540 --> 01:03:23,470 I have served the church, where we 458 01:03:23,470 --> 01:03:26,510 have done much of what I was called to do. 459 01:03:26,510 --> 01:03:29,030 Together we have grown the presence of our religion 460 01:03:29,030 --> 01:03:30,150 in Des Moines. 461 01:03:30,150 --> 01:03:34,020 Together we have helped welcome hundreds of new UUs 462 01:03:34,020 --> 01:03:35,790 into our congregation. 463 01:03:35,790 --> 01:03:43,600 Together we have changed lives. 464 01:03:43,600 --> 01:03:47,240 We've had to take some bold steps. 465 01:03:47,240 --> 01:03:51,630 We've had to let go of some of the old ways, ways 466 01:03:51,630 --> 01:03:53,890 that we're not helpful to our mission 467 01:03:53,890 --> 01:03:56,690 or welcoming to newcomers. 468 01:03:56,690 --> 01:03:58,880 We've made decisions so that ours 469 01:03:58,880 --> 01:04:04,440 could be a religion that could, like sunshine, go everywhere-- 470 01:04:04,440 --> 01:04:09,820 or at least go more places than it used to. 471 01:04:09,820 --> 01:04:13,080 But I've come to understand that we have just 472 01:04:13,080 --> 01:04:18,460 begun to live what this religion really asks of us. 473 01:04:18,460 --> 01:04:21,920 And I'm guessing the same may be true in the congregations 474 01:04:21,920 --> 01:04:23,930 that you call home. 475 01:04:23,930 --> 01:04:28,740 We tell ourselves we want to be a religion for our time. 476 01:04:28,740 --> 01:04:31,600 But mostly, we play small. 477 01:04:31,600 --> 01:04:33,350 We self-deprecate. 478 01:04:33,350 --> 01:04:36,110 We make excuses for ourselves. 479 01:04:36,110 --> 01:04:38,500 We're just a tiny religion, we say, 480 01:04:38,500 --> 01:04:41,780 as if that's all we're called to be, 481 01:04:41,780 --> 01:04:46,250 satisfied with welcoming just a few members each year. 482 01:04:46,250 --> 01:04:49,060 We shrink from taking risks, fearing 483 01:04:49,060 --> 01:04:54,070 that not everyone will agree, as if anything worth doing has 484 01:04:54,070 --> 01:05:04,410 ever received universal agreement. 485 01:05:04,410 --> 01:05:13,420 We quibble over logos and buildings, 486 01:05:13,420 --> 01:05:16,460 and which names for the holy belong in our services 487 01:05:16,460 --> 01:05:18,950 and which names don't. 488 01:05:18,950 --> 01:05:22,090 And our greatest stumbling block-- 489 01:05:22,090 --> 01:05:27,070 we say we promote religious freedom, yet too often 490 01:05:27,070 --> 01:05:30,190 we don't want to be in the company of people practicing 491 01:05:30,190 --> 01:05:39,180 faiths other than our own. 492 01:05:39,180 --> 01:05:44,410 I know that last one well, because I've lived it. 493 01:05:44,410 --> 01:05:46,570 At the end of my first year of ministry, 494 01:05:46,570 --> 01:05:49,520 I was invited by a leader of AMOS, 495 01:05:49,520 --> 01:05:53,650 our local congregation-based community organizing effort, 496 01:05:53,650 --> 01:05:56,600 to attend a three-day training in the principles 497 01:05:56,600 --> 01:05:58,620 of organizing. 498 01:05:58,620 --> 01:06:01,120 At that time, no one from our church 499 01:06:01,120 --> 01:06:04,870 was participating with AMOS and its more than two dozen member 500 01:06:04,870 --> 01:06:06,940 congregations. 501 01:06:06,940 --> 01:06:09,390 The first day of the training, I introduced myself 502 01:06:09,390 --> 01:06:12,360 as a Unitarian Universalist minister. 503 01:06:12,360 --> 01:06:16,900 One long-time AMOS leader, a respected Methodist colleague 504 01:06:16,900 --> 01:06:20,220 in town, ribbed me in front of everyone 505 01:06:20,220 --> 01:06:26,270 saying that UUs aren't sure why we are a religion. 506 01:06:26,270 --> 01:06:29,250 I tried to take his teasing in stride. 507 01:06:29,250 --> 01:06:33,010 He just didn't get it, I assured myself. 508 01:06:33,010 --> 01:06:35,010 As the training continued, I learned 509 01:06:35,010 --> 01:06:37,240 what it means to be a citizen. 510 01:06:37,240 --> 01:06:40,780 I learned about the importance of public life. 511 01:06:40,780 --> 01:06:44,420 And I was reminded of the prophetic imperative, the call 512 01:06:44,420 --> 01:06:49,240 to live in service to the vision of beloved community of love 513 01:06:49,240 --> 01:06:52,530 and justice-- the call I recognized 514 01:06:52,530 --> 01:06:57,310 at the core of our UU principles and history. 515 01:06:57,310 --> 01:07:00,410 I was also invited to pray, probably 516 01:07:00,410 --> 01:07:02,530 just a few times during the three days. 517 01:07:02,530 --> 01:07:06,690 But even that felt like a lot. 518 01:07:06,690 --> 01:07:10,010 I pushed back, telling the organizers, 519 01:07:10,010 --> 01:07:12,480 I'm not sure how this is going to go over 520 01:07:12,480 --> 01:07:14,420 with the congregation I serve. 521 01:07:14,420 --> 01:07:21,540 Do we have to pray so much? 522 01:07:21,540 --> 01:07:25,900 These good people just looked at me funny, 523 01:07:25,900 --> 01:07:38,250 like I was a vegan expecting to be served in a steakhouse. 524 01:07:38,250 --> 01:07:40,700 I had to do some soul-searching. 525 01:07:40,700 --> 01:07:45,840 Mark, I thought, you can't claim to value religious freedom 526 01:07:45,840 --> 01:07:49,250 and crossing the theological lines that divide us, 527 01:07:49,250 --> 01:07:52,970 if you're going to be put off by other people practicing 528 01:07:52,970 --> 01:08:01,450 their religions. 529 01:08:01,450 --> 01:08:04,700 Can't you leave them some space? 530 01:08:04,700 --> 01:08:11,670 Why does this have to be about you? 531 01:08:11,670 --> 01:08:15,640 At the end of the training, I had much to think about. 532 01:08:15,640 --> 01:08:21,720 Maybe my colleague, my Methodist colleague, was right after all. 533 01:08:21,720 --> 01:08:26,960 Maybe I, too, was one of those UUs who weren't sure 534 01:08:26,960 --> 01:08:30,160 why we were a religion. 535 01:08:30,160 --> 01:08:35,390 I returned to the church agitated and inspired. 536 01:08:35,390 --> 01:08:37,300 The congregation had told me that they 537 01:08:37,300 --> 01:08:40,040 wanted to be more known in the community, that they wanted 538 01:08:40,040 --> 01:08:42,850 to be more active, more visible. 539 01:08:42,850 --> 01:08:46,560 I saw involvement in AMOS as a way to do that, 540 01:08:46,560 --> 01:08:48,460 so I started bringing members with me 541 01:08:48,460 --> 01:08:50,740 to actions and trainings. 542 01:08:50,740 --> 01:08:53,660 And each time we began or ended a meeting, 543 01:08:53,660 --> 01:08:57,890 we were invited to pray, usually by a Christian minister, who 544 01:08:57,890 --> 01:09:02,979 would use words like Heavenly Father, and include lines like, 545 01:09:02,979 --> 01:09:06,260 Lord, help us do your will. 546 01:09:06,260 --> 01:09:09,050 I could see the discomfort in the faces 547 01:09:09,050 --> 01:09:11,300 of many of my friends. 548 01:09:11,300 --> 01:09:15,140 Afterwards, they would tell me how awkward they felt. 549 01:09:15,140 --> 01:09:18,020 I told them the same thing I had told myself. 550 01:09:18,020 --> 01:09:19,580 Give those of different faiths who 551 01:09:19,580 --> 01:09:22,149 share our interest in working for justice 552 01:09:22,149 --> 01:09:24,640 and building the beloved community the space 553 01:09:24,640 --> 01:09:26,310 to be who they are. 554 01:09:26,310 --> 01:09:28,600 This isn't about you. 555 01:09:28,600 --> 01:09:34,330 This isn't about us. 556 01:09:34,330 --> 01:09:47,340 This is about the work we are called to do. 557 01:09:47,340 --> 01:09:50,590 Some couldn't get beyond hearing religious language that 558 01:09:50,590 --> 01:09:54,820 stirred up complicated emotions and past trauma. 559 01:09:54,820 --> 01:09:56,550 I understood. 560 01:09:56,550 --> 01:10:01,390 But many of us did not have to work quite so hard to stay, 561 01:10:01,390 --> 01:10:03,310 and so we did. 562 01:10:03,310 --> 01:10:05,800 More than a decade later, our congregation 563 01:10:05,800 --> 01:10:09,880 remains a vital, active member of AMOS. 564 01:10:09,880 --> 01:10:12,010 We are no longer known in the community 565 01:10:12,010 --> 01:10:17,770 as the people who don't pray, or the people who aren't sure 566 01:10:17,770 --> 01:10:20,370 why we are a religion. 567 01:10:20,370 --> 01:10:38,030 We are known as the people who show up, 568 01:10:38,030 --> 01:10:41,400 the people who get things done. 569 01:10:41,400 --> 01:10:44,180 Along with the member congregations of AMOS, 570 01:10:44,180 --> 01:10:46,130 we've contributed to improvements 571 01:10:46,130 --> 01:10:49,210 in our local justice and mental health care systems. 572 01:10:49,210 --> 01:10:51,370 We've challenged the institutions of the labor 573 01:10:51,370 --> 01:10:53,520 market to work for the underemployed. 574 01:10:53,520 --> 01:10:56,040 We've launched school mediation programs. 575 01:10:56,040 --> 01:10:59,860 We've expanded the charity care agreements of area hospitals. 576 01:10:59,860 --> 01:11:02,980 But perhaps most importantly, we've 577 01:11:02,980 --> 01:11:07,350 learned how to focus more on growing our own faithful UU 578 01:11:07,350 --> 01:11:09,860 commitments than on being put off 579 01:11:09,860 --> 01:11:13,620 by the commitments of others. 580 01:11:13,620 --> 01:11:16,850 We have found that our works of love 581 01:11:16,850 --> 01:11:20,620 include staying in relationship with those 582 01:11:20,620 --> 01:11:30,760 we might otherwise avoid. 583 01:11:30,760 --> 01:11:36,040 We have seen that when we live our UU faith in public 584 01:11:36,040 --> 01:11:40,440 with generosity and compassion, when we set aside 585 01:11:40,440 --> 01:11:44,340 our theological differences long enough to discover what 586 01:11:44,340 --> 01:11:49,125 we share, we can be difference-makers. 587 01:11:49,125 --> 01:11:59,470 We can be the yeast in the loaf. 588 01:11:59,470 --> 01:12:02,910 Mark, that person is a member of your church? 589 01:12:02,910 --> 01:12:05,730 That person, too? 590 01:12:05,730 --> 01:12:07,670 Our AMOS partners have been shocked, 591 01:12:07,670 --> 01:12:11,220 not only by the talent and commitment that UUs bring 592 01:12:11,220 --> 01:12:14,770 to the table, but also by our influence. 593 01:12:14,770 --> 01:12:19,000 Our membership does not just include the grass roots. 594 01:12:19,000 --> 01:12:24,480 We often have the grass tops, too. 595 01:12:24,480 --> 01:12:27,310 We have not only those impacted by the decisions 596 01:12:27,310 --> 01:12:31,850 of the powerful, we have decision-makers as well. 597 01:12:31,850 --> 01:12:36,880 And with this privilege, even in our relatively small numbers, 598 01:12:36,880 --> 01:12:40,610 comes great responsibility. 599 01:12:40,610 --> 01:12:42,380 When I've asked Unitarian Universalists 600 01:12:42,380 --> 01:12:45,370 around the country why their congregations are not 601 01:12:45,370 --> 01:12:47,750 members of their local interfaith organizing 602 01:12:47,750 --> 01:12:51,830 efforts like AMOS, I've heard lots of responses. 603 01:12:51,830 --> 01:12:54,910 Well, the local groups are too Christian. 604 01:12:54,910 --> 01:12:56,970 Or they're not diverse enough. 605 01:12:56,970 --> 01:12:59,890 Or intentionally anti-racist enough. 606 01:12:59,890 --> 01:13:05,080 Or they won't work on LGBT issues or reproductive rights. 607 01:13:05,080 --> 01:13:09,050 These differences can be challenging and painful. 608 01:13:09,050 --> 01:13:11,070 This, I know. 609 01:13:11,070 --> 01:13:14,210 Still, I don't think they should keep us from the work 610 01:13:14,210 --> 01:13:17,790 that we can do together. 611 01:13:17,790 --> 01:13:20,700 We can't be the difference-makers 612 01:13:20,700 --> 01:13:32,350 our religion asks us to be, if we won't show up, 613 01:13:32,350 --> 01:13:35,950 if we won't leave space for others 614 01:13:35,950 --> 01:13:40,250 and respectfully add our voices to the mix. 615 01:13:40,250 --> 01:13:43,320 We can't be difference-makers if we won't generously 616 01:13:43,320 --> 01:13:46,510 engage with those who don't agree with us on all matters. 617 01:13:46,510 --> 01:13:49,330 We can't be difference-makers if we are only 618 01:13:49,330 --> 01:14:02,470 talking to ourselves. 619 01:14:02,470 --> 01:14:04,760 I remember the first one-to-one meeting 620 01:14:04,760 --> 01:14:08,570 I had with a nondenominational Pentecostal pastor, 621 01:14:08,570 --> 01:14:12,700 whose congregation was just getting involved in AMOS. 622 01:14:12,700 --> 01:14:16,430 I anticipated he might not share my very public support 623 01:14:16,430 --> 01:14:24,690 of same-sex marriage, so I brought it up. 624 01:14:24,690 --> 01:14:28,680 I said, we may have different views on marriage equality, 625 01:14:28,680 --> 01:14:31,900 but that's not a subject that AMOS is working on right now, 626 01:14:31,900 --> 01:14:34,890 so I don't want it to come between us. 627 01:14:34,890 --> 01:14:38,040 He agreed, and so it hasn't. 628 01:14:38,040 --> 01:14:40,350 Over the years since that first meeting, 629 01:14:40,350 --> 01:14:42,680 I have served on a team with him, 630 01:14:42,680 --> 01:14:46,410 along with pastors from Seventh-Day Adventist 631 01:14:46,410 --> 01:14:49,980 and African Methodist Episcopal congregations, 632 01:14:49,980 --> 01:14:53,900 building together from scratch a workforce development 633 01:14:53,900 --> 01:14:57,430 initiative that has helped nearly 100 Iowans 634 01:14:57,430 --> 01:15:08,390 move from dead-end jobs to living-wage careers. 635 01:15:08,390 --> 01:15:12,780 Along the way, I have been humbled 636 01:15:12,780 --> 01:15:18,540 by how these pastors have put aside their differences with me 637 01:15:18,540 --> 01:15:20,820 to work toward the common good. 638 01:15:20,820 --> 01:15:23,030 How they have made their own compromises 639 01:15:23,030 --> 01:15:24,580 to stay at the table. 640 01:15:24,580 --> 01:15:27,400 How they have modeled, for me, what it 641 01:15:27,400 --> 01:15:30,200 means to be in community. 642 01:15:30,200 --> 01:15:32,800 Collaborating with them has actually strengthened 643 01:15:32,800 --> 01:15:36,800 my faith, because I have seen yet again how 644 01:15:36,800 --> 01:15:41,080 our different views of the holy matter less than what 645 01:15:41,080 --> 01:15:51,640 those views lead us to do. 646 01:15:51,640 --> 01:15:54,510 My experiences with them remind me of something 647 01:15:54,510 --> 01:15:58,760 a church member shared not long after we joined AMOS. 648 01:15:58,760 --> 01:16:01,460 His words have stayed with me, because they 649 01:16:01,460 --> 01:16:04,470 echo the same discovery that many of us 650 01:16:04,470 --> 01:16:08,550 have made in this interfaith work for justice. 651 01:16:08,550 --> 01:16:13,540 He said, "I used to think that Christians 652 01:16:13,540 --> 01:16:21,420 were good people despite their faith. 653 01:16:21,420 --> 01:16:34,070 Now I know they are good people because of their faith." 654 01:16:34,070 --> 01:16:37,590 But this isn't just about what we have learned. 655 01:16:37,590 --> 01:16:39,980 The members of other congregations and faith 656 01:16:39,980 --> 01:16:42,820 traditions in town have come to know much more 657 01:16:42,820 --> 01:16:47,050 about who we are as Unitarian Universalists, too. 658 01:16:47,050 --> 01:16:50,060 They can see ours is a religion committed 659 01:16:50,060 --> 01:16:52,540 to bringing about a better world. 660 01:16:52,540 --> 01:16:56,560 They can see that ours is a humble, open religion, 661 01:16:56,560 --> 01:17:00,960 less focused on a specific understanding of God or no God 662 01:17:00,960 --> 01:17:05,670 than on what we can do and become together. 663 01:17:05,670 --> 01:17:09,210 This is the religion that clicked with me so many years 664 01:17:09,210 --> 01:17:11,630 ago, the religion that leaves space, 665 01:17:11,630 --> 01:17:13,880 that reaches out in love. 666 01:17:13,880 --> 01:17:17,350 This is the religion I believe we must be more often, 667 01:17:17,350 --> 01:17:20,600 if we are to stay relevant in a world 668 01:17:20,600 --> 01:17:24,570 where we can no longer afford to remain cloistered 669 01:17:24,570 --> 01:17:39,040 in the so-called comfort of like-minded people. 670 01:17:39,040 --> 01:17:43,260 I know that some may be hesitant about participating 671 01:17:43,260 --> 01:17:46,100 in interfaith organizing, fearing 672 01:17:46,100 --> 01:17:49,220 that we may be distracted from acting on behalf 673 01:17:49,220 --> 01:17:54,370 of the causes for which we may not easily find partners. 674 01:17:54,370 --> 01:17:57,980 I understand that time is a limited resource. 675 01:17:57,980 --> 01:18:01,290 There's only so much a congregation can do. 676 01:18:01,290 --> 01:18:05,490 However, I have found that my experiences with AMOS 677 01:18:05,490 --> 01:18:10,120 have led me to be bolder in my other justice commitments. 678 01:18:10,120 --> 01:18:14,980 My AMOS work has helped shape my public voice of faith, 679 01:18:14,980 --> 01:18:18,750 and taught me how to navigate the tension that 680 01:18:18,750 --> 01:18:21,470 comes when I don't know what to do, 681 01:18:21,470 --> 01:18:25,810 but I know that something must be done. 682 01:18:25,810 --> 01:18:28,160 One example. 683 01:18:28,160 --> 01:18:31,730 After marriage equality had come to Iowa, 684 01:18:31,730 --> 01:18:35,380 I attended a subcommittee meeting at the Iowa State House 685 01:18:35,380 --> 01:18:40,630 on a proposed ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions. 686 01:18:40,630 --> 01:18:43,280 In order to secure a seat in the small room 687 01:18:43,280 --> 01:18:47,890 where the meeting was scheduled, I arrived 90 minutes early, 688 01:18:47,890 --> 01:18:52,290 requiring me to sit for a nearly 90-minute long prayer 689 01:18:52,290 --> 01:18:56,800 meeting held by a nondenominational group. 690 01:18:56,800 --> 01:18:59,640 I took my seat in a chair against the wall, 691 01:18:59,640 --> 01:19:02,800 along with some other marriage equality supporters who 692 01:19:02,800 --> 01:19:07,210 also wanted to be sure to have a seat for the meeting to follow. 693 01:19:07,210 --> 01:19:10,430 The dozen or so members of the group doing the praying 694 01:19:10,430 --> 01:19:13,340 sat at a big table in the middle, 695 01:19:13,340 --> 01:19:17,520 and traded off extemporaneous prayers for our legislators, 696 01:19:17,520 --> 01:19:23,140 for our country, for our state, for each other, 697 01:19:23,140 --> 01:19:27,060 for unborn children, confessing their love 698 01:19:27,060 --> 01:19:31,160 for all people and their desire that the meeting that 699 01:19:31,160 --> 01:19:36,980 would follow would be civil, and that all voices would be heard. 700 01:19:36,980 --> 01:19:40,470 At one point, the state representative 701 01:19:40,470 --> 01:19:44,950 who was chairman of the subcommittee entered the room. 702 01:19:44,950 --> 01:19:48,860 It seemed the prayer group had invited him. 703 01:19:48,860 --> 01:19:53,510 They put their hands on him and they prayed. 704 01:19:53,510 --> 01:19:57,980 Then he shared his position that the people of Iowa 705 01:19:57,980 --> 01:20:04,380 should have the right to vote to take away the rights of others. 706 01:20:04,380 --> 01:20:09,400 Soon he left, and the group continued their prayers. 707 01:20:09,400 --> 01:20:13,320 I remained silent, taking in the scene, 708 01:20:13,320 --> 01:20:16,870 thinking of my time in the room as an opportunity 709 01:20:16,870 --> 01:20:19,820 to meditate on the complicated humanity 710 01:20:19,820 --> 01:20:25,480 and inherent worth and dignity of my neighbors. 711 01:20:25,480 --> 01:20:29,230 Just past the one-hour mark, one of my fellow marriage equality 712 01:20:29,230 --> 01:20:34,110 activists leaned over to me and said, "Mark, 713 01:20:34,110 --> 01:20:51,640 I'll give you $5.00 if you offer a prayer." 714 01:20:51,640 --> 01:20:53,820 I brushed off the offer at the time. 715 01:20:53,820 --> 01:20:58,380 I didn't think it was my place to invade their prayer meeting, 716 01:20:58,380 --> 01:21:02,770 when my theology was so clearly different. 717 01:21:02,770 --> 01:21:08,260 But just a few minutes later, after one of them 718 01:21:08,260 --> 01:21:12,420 offered a prayer for those perverting the Lord's 719 01:21:12,420 --> 01:21:30,560 sexual intentions, I couldn't help myself. 720 01:21:30,560 --> 01:21:38,070 I broke a moment of silence with a prayer 721 01:21:38,070 --> 01:21:43,700 for all the couples I've had the privilege to marry. 722 01:21:43,700 --> 01:21:46,360 For their families. 723 01:21:46,360 --> 01:21:49,850 A prayer of celebration for them receiving 724 01:21:49,850 --> 01:21:52,710 the rights and benefits and equal treatment they 725 01:21:52,710 --> 01:21:56,100 have deserved for so long. 726 01:21:56,100 --> 01:21:58,780 I offered words of gratitude to live in a state 727 01:21:58,780 --> 01:22:00,510 where this is possible, and to be 728 01:22:00,510 --> 01:22:04,170 able to be at the state house that day in support. 729 01:22:04,170 --> 01:22:08,420 And I prayed that we could all be inspired and motivated 730 01:22:08,420 --> 01:22:21,630 by the spirit of love. 731 01:22:21,630 --> 01:22:25,639 I didn't get that $5.00. 732 01:22:25,639 --> 01:22:29,630 Oh, but I got a lot more. 733 01:22:29,630 --> 01:22:33,400 Even with my friends beside me, I felt really alone 734 01:22:33,400 --> 01:22:36,480 in that prayer meeting until I was 735 01:22:36,480 --> 01:22:42,120 able to respectfully participate on behalf of my faith. 736 01:22:42,120 --> 01:22:45,370 I felt alone until I lived my religion, 737 01:22:45,370 --> 01:22:50,450 so that it could, like sunshine, go everywhere. 738 01:22:50,450 --> 01:22:54,350 Did my prayer alter the thinking of the prayer group? 739 01:22:54,350 --> 01:22:57,360 Probably not. 740 01:22:57,360 --> 01:23:01,070 But it did change the energy of the room, 741 01:23:01,070 --> 01:23:03,980 and lift the spirits of those who were present 742 01:23:03,980 --> 01:23:16,320 on behalf of equality, including me. 743 01:23:16,320 --> 01:23:19,740 Many years ago, a retired minister 744 01:23:19,740 --> 01:23:22,980 shared with me that her interfaith work 745 01:23:22,980 --> 01:23:29,610 in the community had saved her. 746 01:23:29,610 --> 01:23:36,870 At the time, I thought her testimony was a bit dramatic. 747 01:23:36,870 --> 01:23:40,130 I assumed maybe she had been frustrated 748 01:23:40,130 --> 01:23:47,100 with her congregation and just want to get away from them. 749 01:23:47,100 --> 01:23:51,760 But I believe I now know what she meant. 750 01:23:51,760 --> 01:23:56,610 She was saved by her interfaith organizing and public witness, 751 01:23:56,610 --> 01:24:00,700 because it is the work through which we shape ourselves 752 01:24:00,700 --> 01:24:05,500 to fit this world, and by the world are shaped again. 753 01:24:05,500 --> 01:24:09,320 It is the work through which the visible and the invisible 754 01:24:09,320 --> 01:24:14,870 come together in common cause to produce the miraculous. 755 01:24:14,870 --> 01:24:18,770 It is the work that can save us, too, 756 01:24:18,770 --> 01:24:22,500 for it is the work through which we can give ourselves 757 01:24:22,500 --> 01:24:25,010 to something larger than ourselves, 758 01:24:25,010 --> 01:24:32,550 finding through this giving that our deepest needs are met. 759 01:24:32,550 --> 01:24:35,710 So let's give ourselves more often 760 01:24:35,710 --> 01:24:39,050 to the possibilities of collaboration. 761 01:24:39,050 --> 01:24:44,650 Let's be witnesses for our faith in this troubled world. 762 01:24:44,650 --> 01:24:48,270 Let's put aside our discomfort with difference, 763 01:24:48,270 --> 01:24:50,770 taking the risk to work with those 764 01:24:50,770 --> 01:24:54,970 who are willing to work with us, and letting that work agitate 765 01:24:54,970 --> 01:24:59,390 and inspire and transform us. 766 01:24:59,390 --> 01:25:05,600 Let's choose to be the religion we know we are called to be. 767 01:25:05,600 --> 01:25:08,990 The religion whose love reaches out. 768 01:25:08,990 --> 01:25:14,010 The religion which like sunshine, goes everywhere. 769 01:25:14,010 --> 01:25:16,730 Its temple, all space. 770 01:25:16,730 --> 01:25:20,350 Its shrine, the good heart. 771 01:25:20,350 --> 01:25:23,470 Its creed, all truth. 772 01:25:23,470 --> 01:25:27,987 Its ritual, works of love. 773 01:25:27,987 --> 01:26:12,410 [APPLAUSE] 774 01:26:12,410 --> 01:27:34,786 [SINGING] 775 01:27:34,786 --> 01:27:38,440 David Glasgow: We need to go everywhere my friends, 776 01:27:38,440 --> 01:27:40,680 like sunshine. 777 01:27:40,680 --> 01:27:48,650 We are called to reach out in love, until all space is holy. 778 01:27:48,650 --> 01:27:53,172 Until all hearts are blessed. 779 01:27:53,172 --> 01:27:57,215 Until all truths are cherished. 780 01:27:57,215 --> 01:28:03,437 And until the work of love is our ritual day to day to day 781 01:28:03,437 --> 01:28:04,890 to day to day. 782 01:28:04,890 --> 01:28:06,431 Are you ready to work for that place? 783 01:28:06,431 --> 01:28:09,797 Are you ready to go? 784 01:28:09,797 --> 01:28:10,922 Let's sing it all together. 785 01:28:10,922 --> 01:28:12,297 There'll be freedom in that land. 786 01:28:12,297 --> 01:30:35,320 [SINGING] 787 01:30:35,320 --> 01:30:38,780 Peter Morales: I invite you to take the hand of the person 788 01:30:38,780 --> 01:30:44,190 on either side of you. 789 01:30:44,190 --> 01:30:50,710 Feel, really feel the connections that bind us. 790 01:30:50,710 --> 01:30:53,570 We are one. 791 01:30:53,570 --> 01:30:55,700 One with each other. 792 01:30:55,700 --> 01:30:58,160 One with all humanity. 793 01:30:58,160 --> 01:31:04,746 One with all creation. 794 01:31:04,746 --> 01:31:07,440 May we go from here back to our communities 795 01:31:07,440 --> 01:31:11,020 across this land with a renewed commitment 796 01:31:11,020 --> 01:31:15,140 to make ours a religion that reaches out, 797 01:31:15,140 --> 01:31:17,320 that goes everywhere. 798 01:31:17,320 --> 01:31:25,630 And hand in hand, let us walk toward trouble together. 799 01:31:25,630 --> 01:31:29,040 And together we will get through. 800 01:31:29,040 --> 01:31:30,560 Go in peace. 801 01:31:30,560 --> 01:31:31,990 Go in love. 802 01:31:31,990 --> 01:31:32,490 Amen. 803 01:31:32,490 --> 01:31:37,233 [APPLAUSE] 804 01:31:37,233 --> 01:56:45,120