Imagination: Weaving Our Lives Together

Ponderings of the Spiritual Life Director

Listening is a creative force. Something quite wonderful occurs when we are listened to fully. We expand, ideas come to life and grow, we remember who we are. Some speak of this force as a creative fountain within us that springs forth; others call it the inner spirit, intelligence, true self. Whatever this force is called, it shrivels up when we are not listened to and it thrives when we are. — Kay Lindahl

As we did last year at UUCL, every month this year will also have a worship and programming theme. In addition, I’m working on an overarching idea to tie it all together. I’m still working on what the exact wording should be, but it’s something like this: We are weaving a tapestry of faith from the wisdom of our experiences.

That’s right. We all have wisdom. Each one of us has experienced this matter of being human in very different ways. Each one of us has had unique experiences of that transcending mystery and wonder “which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life”. We can inspire one another by sharing our stories.

So, I imagine that as we listen to each other, and others outside of our walls, we will start to weave together our own unique tapestry of humanity’s wisdom. Why a tapestry? A tapestry can be colorful and it’s texture can vary. The multiplicities of fabrics are interconnected and each piece is dependent upon the other to create something bigger, bolder, brighter, and more beautiful. Within a tapestry, each unique piece must support, and be supported by, the other pieces in order to reach the vision. There must be a faith in the vision of this bigger thing that is being created by all these individual pieces. That faith will carry us forward.

I’ve previously mentioned that I am going to set aside several worship services this year in which we will share and listen to one another. We did some of this last year and these turned out to be intimate, deep, and inspiring moments that pulled us all in and tightened up the fabric of our community. And just last week at Dinner Worship, we practiced an even deeper form of listening as we discovered the concept of “Spiritual Partnerships”. This practice requires one-on-one listening in which questions of our deepest spiritual yearnings, struggles, challenges, and joys are addressed. As I walked around the room and watched and listened to the pairs of folks that were participating in this, I could feel the Spirit of Life stirring and weaving and creating something big, and bold, and beautiful. I yearn for more of this and I imagine a community in which connecting in this way is a regular practice. And I imagine these deep connections that we make to become the foundation of a community that is able to move ahead into the future towards a great mission that embraces love and transforms the world.

If you are interested in this concept of “Spiritual Partnerships”, please come talk to me so we can figure out together how to put this practice in motion. In the meantime, I look forward to the next few weeks of worship in which I hope to inspire you to start sharing the yearnings of your imagination and your wise insights into the experience of being human.