I thought I had a great pair of gloves. They had been comfortable enough in the past. They had kept my fingers as warm as they needed to be. But the first time I shoveled a little snow from our front steps, I felt like my fingers were turning into icicles. It wasn’t very enjoyable work to say the least.

Now, I have much better gloves. I can hold onto that snow shovel without feeling like I’ve plunged my bare hands into a bucket of ice. The work that needs to be done is a lot easier as a result. Since my fingers are better insulated, I can enjoy being outdoors in the winter weather.    

It’s kind of like what we hope for in our congregation. We know that there is work to be done. At the same time, we don’t want that work to be painful. Sure, it will be uncomfortable sometimes, but that’s not the same as outright painful.

We need a good pair of gloves. We need to know that we are safe and protected from harm before we can fully engage in the work our principles call us to do.

Plus, we can just enjoy our community more when we trust that we can be our full, authentic selves. It’s easier to play and dance with one another when we feel comfortable.

Maybe we are one another’s really great pair of gloves. We create the space that allows people to feel the warmth of community, to relax into a sense of belonging, to feel energized and empowered to do good work in the world. We create the space that provides refuge and refueling when people have been out in the world doing meaningful work, too.

We’ve been considering our Fifth Principle as Unitarian Universalists: We affirm and promote the right of conscience and use of the democratic process within our congregations and society at large. That can seem big and idealistic. And yet, if we create community that expresses the democratic ideal of co-ownership—a co-created environment characterized by justice, equity, and compassion—we have something to expand out into the larger world around us. Something amazing into which we can invite others.

That vision for community is complex. It involves intentionally creating space for mutuality. Space where we are deeply known, and where we also take responsibility for knowing others deeply. Where we are loved unconditionally, and where we also love others unconditionally. Where we are genuinely welcomed, and where we intentionally welcome others. Where we can speak truth and be heard, and where we also deeply listen to truth spoken by others. Where we are celebrated for the fullness of who we are, and where we unabashedly celebrate others.   

Maybe we aren’t one another’s really great pair of gloves. Maybe we each show up equipped with our own really great pair of gloves, and then we take one off and pass it along to someone else. Not because they happen to need our glove, but because we’re the kind of people that envision a specific kind of community. And at the end of the day, if everyone shows up and shares a glove, everyone winds up with two really great (mismatched) gloves.

Here’s where you ask: So, if everyone starts off with gloves and everyone ends up with gloves, what’s the point?

That’s a really great question.   

Rev. Randy Partain