Perseverance: Green Sanctuary-We Can Do It!

Ponderings of the Spiritual Life Director

Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence. ― Ovid

I’m so grateful to all of you who came to the Town Hall meeting on Sunday afternoon (and if you missed it, keep reading for more info!). It’s a wonderful thing when we can talk and listen and agree to move forward, even if we don’t have a clear idea of what that’s going to like. What is clear, however, is that we all want to make a difference. And we are so fortunate to be able to do it together in our faith community. A faith community provides engagement and moral leadership along with comfort, compassion, and hope.

According to the UUA website, the Green Sanctuary accreditation process empowers congregations by:

• Calling us to simply do our part through small steps carried out consistently, with faith in our power to make a difference.
• Considering the long-term impact of our individual and communal practices and behavior. Green Sanctuary congregations learn how their choices can damage or enhance our environment, weaving related moral, emotional and spiritual issues into worship. This creates space to care for and help one another in challenging times.
• Identifying as a faith community with a historic and deep commitment to justice that respects the interdependent web of all existence. We understand that caring for the Earth and all of its inhabitants is a critical ingredient in building true justice.

Let’s focus on the small steps part- that seemed to be the consensus at the Town Hall meeting. I think it’s key to our perseverance, just like water hollowing out stone. And as we move forward, let us remember to give each other hope and care for each other as we make mistakes, because we will. It’s important to have high aspirations for how to be in this world, but it’s just as important to recognize that we are imperfect. We cannot let that get us down.

Let’s celebrate the success of our first small step- forming a team to move us into this process: Brandon Nuckols, Kelly Justice, Jane Eskenazi, Melissa Marshall, Keyno Hicks, and Sarah Drumm. Please express your gratitude to them and remember that it is our job to support and care for them as they do the initial work of exploration and education. Additionally, they will not be the ones doing all the work. The work is for all of us to do, they are just getting us started in the right direction.

Great job UUCL! We are headed into the future on the right path- one that supports and brings justice to all that exists in the interdependent web. Our values will be put into action and our theology of interconnectedness will unfold before our eyes.