As we continue trying on a reframing of our values as Unitarian Universalists, we’re spending the month of March considering the role of Transformation in our faith tradition. The concept of transformation might hold different meanings for everyone in our community, and our individual perspectives will hopefully enrich a broader meaning we can embrace as a diverse faith tradition.
The specific definition and commitment that we’re considering recognizes that, as Unitarian Universalists, “we adapt to the changing world.” This is the basic way we’re inviting the value of Transformation to shape us.
Based on that broad definition, “We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.”
When I read these words, I interpret them to mean that I never have to have the final answer. I can release attachment to certainty. And I can release any expectation that I’m going to be complete in my understanding. Or perfect in acting on my limited understanding. There will always be an opportunity to continue evolving toward integrity with my life-affirming guiding principles.
That being said, our values are really about who we are as a larger community. As a community of communities. So all of that can be expanded beyond who I am to a sense of who we are. We never have to have a final answer as a community. We can release our attachment to certainty about what is or what will be. There’s no reason for us to ever expect that we will collectively have the perfect way of doing anything for all time. We are always in the midst of growing and becoming.
More than that, we can be mindful of who we need to be and what we need to do in each moment, willing to let that be something different than who we needed to be in the past and who we may need to be in years to come. In that dance, we can allow our values to be guideposts that keep us centered and grounded despite changes in the world around us. So that our transformation and evolution is intentional, not reactive. We are still the same people, the same community, the same spiritual tradition. We just learn how to respond in new ways to our needs and the needs of the world around us as they change.
With all of that in mind, we welcome Rev. Josh Snyder to the pulpit this Sunday, March 10, to explore the personal side of transformation. Afterward, we’ll have an amazing potluck provided by all of you as we practice care for one another as a community that knows how to share a good meal. There will also be some conversation around stewardship, facilitated by our phenomenal Stewardship Team, where you can have some of your questions answered, or at least explored.
March 17, worship will be led by the Senior High members of our community, exploring the transformation they are experiencing in their lives and how they are responding to it in meaningful ways. We’ll follow that up on March 24 with a deeper exploration of the covenantal promise that accompanies this value, and we’ll conclude the month on Easter Sunday with a conversation about the transformative power of redemption from a 21st century Unitarian Universalist perspective.
May we find freedom and inspiration in this value that invites us to be open to possibility and release that which no longer serves us, as individuals, and as a community of care and hope.