I covenant to listen to you and understand your perspective by asking questions.

In the covenant I wrote to you, the congregation (refer to last week’s newsletter for more info), this is the first line. It may seem like a no-brainer, like an obvious part of what I should be doing. But think about the potential amount of power my position holds. There are plenty of religious professionals out there who consider themselves religious “authorities” and thus, don’t consider the different perspectives of their parishioners (or anyone else, for that matter). I don’t think Unitarian Universalism works like that but the thing is, if those of us in positions of power are not aware of our power and are not deliberate about keeping it in check, things can slide. We can forget to listen. We can get stuck in a rut. We can forget that other perspectives open us up to the holy mystery of life.

Love and connection are the most important elements of my job. My primary responsibility is to cultivate and nurture healthy relationships. As UUs, we come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences and we hold a varied combination of spiritual beliefs. And while I’m here to assist you down your spiritual path towards figuring out what is holy, sacred, and divine, I am not here to tell you what that is exactly.

And so here we all are, wandering down our different paths. But different doesn’t have to mean separate. The way to community is through listening and considering other perspectives. This is how I, how we all, deepen our empathy, reduce judgment and criticism, and stay out of conflict. It is how we cocreate new possibilities for a better world.

I want to give a great big THANK YOU to all who participated in our Ice Cream Social Brainstorming session this past Friday night. This is one way I gain insight into different perspectives so that, together with your worship team, we can create worship services that are a reflection of the community, and not just a pontification of my own perspective on the divine. If you weren’t able to participate, it’s never too late to offer me your ideas for our upcoming worship themes: Heritage, Generosity, and Mystery. We will hold another brainstorming session for the first few 2024 themes in November or December (around a fire!).

Stay safe this week and we’ll revisit more of my covenant next week.

Heather