“Roots hold me close…” (Spirit of Life, Hymn #123)
What does it mean, this concept of rootedness? The UUA’s theme for General Assembly this year was “Rooted, Inspired, and Ready”. Perhaps it’s my background in anthropology, or my tendency towards the “big” questions, or my propensity to always ask “why”, but I find this concept of rootedness to be rather intriguing.
So, for this church year, we will dive into this theme, along with this UUCL community’s shared values of “connection, love, and transformation”. We will begin with connecting to ourselves and rooting into our personal theologies– the fertile soil from which we can live and grow.
We will ask ourselves questions such as: What do I really believe about our beingness? Why? How do these beliefs guide me to be accountable to the interdependent web of all existence? How do my beliefs call me towards a responsibility to inclusion, equity, and justice? And as we ponder these questions together, I will probably ask you “why?” quite a bit. You see, it matters what we believe- it influences our intellectual debate, our relationships, and it guides our justice work. Additionally, the UUA is calling for a unifying, liberatory theology for Unitarian Universalism. (You can read about it in “Widening the Circle of Concern”, Report of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change. All of your UUCL board members have a copy.) We must start an exploration of our own if we want to be a part of the conversation.
During the next few months, as we continue this spiritual journey of being rooted, we will also explore our relationships to each other and the history of this UUCL community, we will explore our ancestral roots, both personal and religious (the book club is already starting this with our reading of John Buehren’s “Conflagration”), and we will endeavor to understand our connection to the community in which we exist, honoring this land and all those who came before us.
I strongly encourage you to read this article (link below). Even if you already know this history, I think there are many “a-ha” moments to be had as we nourish our theological soil and uncover our roots and connections.
“Roots hold me close, Wings set me free”. We do all this so we can all be set free. After rootedness and connections, we will open up to the Spirit of Life and Love and inspire ourselves to keep transforming the world.