Charge to the Congregation at the Blessing of Co-Ministry
UU Church of Annapolis, January 22, 2022
Given by Fredric J. Muir, UUCA Minister Emeritus
I am honored to be with you so as to give this “Charge To the Congregation” as part of such an auspicious, unique, and historic event, the “Blessing of this Co-Ministry.” As you have done in the past, this is yet another milestone, another groundbreaking transition in the life of a much broader Unitarian Universalist context. It’s with two legacies in mind—those of this church and the UUA—and their trajectories that I challenge and charge you, the members and friends of this congregation, with a trinity of responsibilities.
First, I charge you to partner with each other and, of course, partner with Revs. Anastassia and John — I charge you with creating here at UUCA a Fear-Free Zone because it’s not an overstatement to say that we in the US are living with a fear epidemic. A colleague has noted that “Swapping stories of fright has become our national pastime.” Included in those stories are the private fear of COVID infection, the national fright of a divided and wounded nation that feels far from healing, and internationally we watch the successful performances of autocrats who show no regard for human rights. All of these are very real and very close. To repeat the once-comforting words that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” does little to no good. Learning to live in the geography of fear looks to be the “new normal.”
It’s quite understandable then, even predictable, that a common, even expected response to the “new normal” is to shutdown, as in to live a more limiting life, becoming more guarded, drawing your circle smaller and keeping the stranger at a distance. We’ve seen where this goes; it feeds the fear and makes your world smaller. This was what was so counter-intuitive in the message of Universalism, our theological legacy that now more than ever has to be shared. Universalism was taught and preached at a time when people lived with the terror of being marginalized and ostracized because they didn’t affirm orthodox religious and political creeds; they feared losing their loved ones because of their faith, they suffered when told that they were unloved by their God. How liberating for so many to hear the message of Universalism which taught that all people are welcome into the fear-free circle of love. It was the Universalist poet Edwin Markham who cleverly cast the message like this:
He drew a circle that shut me out —
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!
Markham titled his epigram “Outwitted.” Likewise, we address the epidemic of fear, we shape a fear-free space, by outwitting the enablers and realities of fear and drawing the circle larger.
Second, I task you with the responsibility of making good on the sacred commitment you made when you agreed to affirm and promote Unitarian Universalism’s 8th Principle which compels us to “journey toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community with actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” This is no small task, not simply a box to be checked when somebody declares that the journey is completed. This is a generational journey which is to say a journey that will take time. Partnering with your ministers, commit to giving each other the time you need to keep moving forward while never taking your eyes off the prize. Here too there is a fear-filled tension best described as a fierce revolutionary love, words that we might not think of complementing each other. But here is what I mean:
Our first Principle speaks of the inherent worth and dignity of all. Most will think of this principle as a basic birth right. Yet, it gets confusing because everybody is talking about rights; we love our rights and the news and social media are overrun with those who believe that their birthrights are endangered. So, maybe we need a reframing; maybe this reframing is something that could happen among us here. A colleague offers this: “If society is built only on the notion that we possess rights given to us at birth, why bother to express thanks? Gratitude becomes completely superfluous … Why feel gratitude or a deep sense of obligation to others if you have only received what you deserve?”
As you, with Revs. John and Anastasia, live into the 8th Principle, remember that this is a journey toward spiritual wholeness, to be augmented with deep gratitude and thanks. It seems important to remember that it was Gandhi’s spiritual mindfulness that proved overwhelming to British hubris; that it was Rev. King’s spiritual humility expressed as thanks and gratitude that helped to humble Jim Crow racism; let us recall that behind Bishop Tutu’s clarion and radical demand to end South African apartheid was a posture of spiritual thoughtfulness and humility. As you continue your journey toward a spiritual wholeness expressed as anti-racism and multiculturalism, I charge you to hold each other accountable with a fierce revolutionary love.
Finally, I entrust you with the joy of resistance, which I know might sound like an oxymoron: The joy of resistance. I’m asking you to think about the joy of resistance in the context of these words from E.B. White: “It’s hard to know when to respond to the seductiveness of the world and when to respond to its challenge. If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between the desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
I so enjoy White’s reflection. I’d like to believe that on most mornings we all must struggle with the dilemma he describes. But there’s a fallacy in his thinking, in the false dichotomy he creates. It’s not one or the other, it’s not improving or enjoying. The joy of improving, the joy that comes from meeting the resistance of improving, especially when shared as a community of faith, this is a pathway to meaningfulness and happiness far beyond what our material world teaches. It was Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard who wrote: “If I were to wish for something, I would wish not for wealth or power but for the passion of possibility, for the eye, eternally young, eternally ardent, that sees possibility everywhere.” So, third and finally, I charge you to partner with your ministers in sustaining a faith community shaped by the possibility of embracing and improving our world with the joy of resistance.
My charge to you? Create a Fear-Free Zone by means of a fierce revolutionary love shaped by the joy of resistance. With these, your possibilities are endless.