Sermon

The question, "Why are we here?" sometimes comes to me in the middle of a round of "ain't it awful" that happens periodically during our Tuesday morning free discussion group Conversations Among Friends, as we pick at the world's problems, the depravity of human nature, the terrible job parents today are doing raising their children, the idyllic nature of the good old days and the hopelessness of reforming the evil ways of the world. While I appreciate the need some people have to vent their fears and frustrations about the difficulties of the modern world like the ancient Hebrew Prophets condemning us for our sinfulness and warning us to change our ways, I do not think and deeply hope this is not why we gather ourselves together here as the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Charlotte County.

There are many positive reasons why each of us is here today. Many are drawn by the intellectual stimulation found in our Sunday morning service. Some are going through difficult times in their lives and seek inspiration and spiritual uplift. Some seek healing here for wounds of the spirit inflicted by authoritarian and fundamentalist religious traditions. Many have found satisfying friendships here and cherish our sense of community. Some are here because they have spent a lifetime involved in Unitarianism, Universalism or both. Some are here because they enjoy singing and our music program. Some are here to further their own personal growth and inner transformation. Some are here because they wish to learn more about religion and philosophy. Some are here to give their children a spiritual foundation with religious education. Some are here to find a safe, supportive place to serve others. Some are looking for a refuge of liberalism in an increasingly conservative nation.

This is just a sampling of the many different reasons why we are here and not at home worshipping with the Sunday New York Times. What is important to note here is the diversity of the individual reasons. We can all answer the question "Why I am here?" but defining the collective reasons we are here as an institution is more difficult.

If we were a Catholic Church we would clearly know exactly why we are here - we would be the visible body of Christ. Why we would be here is to serve God while we are on earth saving souls and gathering converts into the fold and preparing for an eternal life in heaven. Everything would come down to us from the Pope, the bishops and the parish priests.

Because each Unitarian Universalist church, society and fellowship is unique and independent of all the others, the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston which serves as the link between us can't tell us what to do on Sunday morning, can't tell us how to spend our money, can't tell us what community services to support, can't tell us what programming to use in our religious education classes and generally can't tell us how to run our congregation. This Fellowship has almost complete freedom to do as it chooses under the banner of Congregational Polity.

There aren't many free religious traditions like ours. We are not bound by anyone's revelation, be it the Bible, the Quran, the Talmud, or any edicts from some semi-divine authority figure. Most of us are in this congregation because we believe in the value of free religious inquiry as the road to a personal grasp of the great truths of existence. We believe in the use of our own reason rather than turning off our thinking and conforming to irrational doctrines of faith.

This great freedom we have is not without difficulties and the question "Why are we here?" will quickly bring it up to the surface. Being unbound from everything makes it much harder for us to form a collective identity to guide our collective actions. Lack of collective identity is a strong hindrance to growth of congregational size.

Long before I was called to be your minister, this congregation made a significant commitment to growth when it established a ministerial fund betting the congregation would grow after a few years of having a minister. We invested in building our deck and these beautiful new chairs as a way to accommodate growth. We have made changes suggested by the membership committee to welcome visitors more effectively. We are doing a number of the right things the experts say will increase our membership and we are having some success, of which we should feel proud.

We are an attractive congregation; however, there are some bumps which I see in the road ahead for us that concern me. Lately at minister's gatherings, General Assembly, the Florida District Annual Meeting last spring and our Fall Cluster meeting, UU's have been encouraged to become intentional about growth such as our congregation has done. A number of strategies and methodologies have been presented to us. In particular, Rev. Scott Alexander's book about UU congregational growth called Salted With Fire is much talked about. My concerns that motivate my words this morning come from reviewing the material presented here and elsewhere.

I came to this congregation knowing that we would have to grow or I would be out the door in a few years. And we have had some growth over the last two and one half years of which we should all feel good. Eleven people signed our membership book in 1995 which is close to a record. The problem is we are losing people too, and a big chunk of our congregation is over 80. To achieve significant growth we must not just draw in the new retirees who have been the staple of our membership growth in the past, we must diversify.

This congregation formed its identity now almost 27 years ago as a lecture and discussion group for people who have retired to this area. This format met the needs of the participants who fit this congregational definition. And it made sense when the average age of the Charlotte County population was 71. Now the average age here is in the fifties and a new generation of retirees are entering our doors with different needs and wants.

It is a commonly-quoted growth formula that the culture in a congregation changes every 20 years or so with each new generation of leaders. I see this in the interests of the members in their 60's which are different from the interests of those in their 80's. We also have yet another new group in this congregation, with children who also have different concerns and interests. And with new blood and ideas comes change.

What often happens in any organization which has a significant growth of new members is conflict. New people enter with new ideas which challenge the way things have always been done. Because we have a wide range of age diversity in the congregation which I think we all realize needs to continue to grow, we have at least four different generational perspectives shaped by the events and experiences of our times.

What holds us together and lubricates the intergenerational friction of differing needs and desires is collective agreement about our institutional identity and purpose. The clarity with which we can articulate this not only assists in resolving competing desires but also is of great assistance in attracting new members of all ages. Clarity of identity and purpose is of great guidance to me as I move in our community advocating for our UU ideas and principles.

Being unified in identity and purpose also assists us in becoming a positive force in our community for the liberal religious values of freedom, reason and tolerance, the precious family jewels of our UU heritage. We live in a time of resurgence of religious views that do not affirm the individual search for truth and meaning. We live in a time that does not respect the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We live in a time when many do not see women as equal to men and would have them return to being home slaves to their husbands. We live in a time when a deluded fundamentalist minority would impose their beliefs on this nation as a solution to growing social disorder. Environmental laws are being gutted not to make them better and more efficient but rather to serve the corporate bottom line at the expense of the people living next to the polluters. Right here in Charlotte County we are platting our way to environmental devastation if we don't find a way to change course. Without careful regulation, we will endanger the precious Peace River estuary by our liquid wastes and storm water runoff.

Not only are there challenges for us to meet at the community level, so there are spiritual challenges to meet in families and individual lives that we can respond to. Michael Lerner, publisher of Tikkun and Jewish social commentator writes:

Most Americans are in deep pain about their lives. They face stress and alienation at work and often find it difficult to maintain friendships and keep families together. They are haunted by the sense that their children are growing up without any moral foundation, and a sense that their lives are isolated, directionless, and without larger purpose and meaning. All these feelings are typically refracted through the dominant meritocratic ideologies of American society, so that most Americans become enmeshed in a deep process of self-blaming. As a result, many Americans feel terrible about themselves and find themselves in need of some way to cover up their pain and depression.

We have good news for the person sunk in the deep process of self-blaming. We have good news for the person suffering from societally-induced pain and depression. Our good news is the radical affirmation of the inherent worth and dignity of the individual. Our good news is an affirmation of individual particularities within the context of a religious community. Our vision of beloved community affirms and celebrates unity in diversity. It is when we deeply listen inside as only each one of us can uniquely do, that we find our direction, meaning and purpose. For us, it cannot come from outside authority.

The people who might be helped and healed by the ministry of our religious tradition may not know who we are or what we stand for. They may not even realize that a liberal faith such as ours is the answer to their questions. One aspect of my ministry here is to reach out into our community to find these lonely lions. Ours is not a faith for sheep, for it requires great courage to take responsibility for one's religious journey. Not everyone will be comfortable here, especially if they are followers. This is a church of leaders. We are captains of our own ship and hold our own rudder. Yet we also know we cannot sail our own ships without help and mutual support. We gather together not to judge or to control but to learn, to share and to affirm. This is the great value of the Unitarian Universalist Faith that makes its home here and we carry out into this community.

Some here this morning, upon hearing this minister become intoxicated with what is possible and what we can do, may now be saying to themselves, "Sounds good, but we can't do that! We are too old, too tired, too poor, too stressed out, too depressed, too involved in our own activities." There is, of course, truth that white hairs outnumber all others here. Yet this congregation has some great advantages over younger congregations. If you want to, you can put aside time. If you want to, you have resources to share. If you want to, you can make a positive difference right here. What I'm suggesting is possible doesn't require any heavy lifting or long hours.

Even so, we may not really have the people in our congregation to do everything we want to do. Some would say if you can't do it yourself, shut up and let the people who can do it, do it if they feel like it. The truth is, dreaming big dreams and acting in limited ways with the resources at hand do make a difference, and this is attractive to future potential doers. If we become known because of our book as the Environmentalist Fellowship of Charlotte County, we will attract doers to our congregation who care about this issue. If we provide leadership in race relations in Charlotte County, we will attract doers who want to join our efforts and carry the dream forward with us. It is ultimately a paradox. When we care for each other and our community without expectation of reward for our caring even in limited ways, we can be rewarded beyond our imagination.

The vision of making a positive difference brings energy and motivation. Dwelling as we often do on the sad state of today's world does not. Yes, it is vital to fully comprehend the difficulties and make course corrections based on reality, but love doesn't grow in the cesspool of hate and disappointment where yesterday's optimism decays. To serve the cause of love, we need some detachment from the cruelty of the world so we might dwell in the inspired vision of human possibility. The potential return for bringing more love into the world is tremendous and the evidence of the value of love is already within us. An important part of what I do here every Sunday is to remind you that love matters and has great value even though the drama of our daily lives may not always reveal it.

No matter how old or young we are, no matter what the condition of our health, no matter what our financial status, every one of us can find ways to practice love within and outside this congregation. When we join together to practice love, we greatly magnify it. Even if our ability to do this is limited, we can support those who do have the energy and resources to do it. All of us can give praise and appreciation, which is a precious energizing gift. If we all gave each other praise and appreciation, our ability to do this as a congregation would be greatly magnified. Thankfully, this is already a strength of our congregation which supports the work we are now doing.

When we are doing a good job of loving each other and our community, this congregation will grow effortlessly. Paradoxically, by being ministers of our faith, we can meet our most fundamental human need for love ourselves which brings us to this place. We can find satisfaction through giving ourselves away. Love is really like a magic penny. Hold it tight, you don't have any. Lend it, spend it and you'll have so many, they'll roll all over the floor.

This is ultimately why we as a Unitarian Universalist Fellowship are here. We are here to learn how to love each other. It is that simple and, as all of us know from bitter experience, that hard. Loving each other is very difficult. Difficult, yes, but I don't think there is anything else worth doing; for all that is of ultimate value comes from love. Learning to love isn't something you can figure out only in your mind. It is something you learn by doing.

This is an important reason why we will be gathering next Saturday at 8:30am to discuss future directions, projects, improvements and changes in the life of our Fellowship. I strongly encourage you to attend so we might find the ways we can love each other better and take that love out into our community more effectively. We will not solve all our problems in three hours, but we can make a good start and build enthusiasm and energy.

Jesus is reported to have said "whenever two or more are gathered in my name, I am there." Well, if we can get 75 UU's together in the name of love, watch out, for something great is about to happen. May the work of love be the real work of our Fellowship and the gift we give the world.

Closing Words

Love is the doctrine of this Fellowship,
The quest for truth is its sacrament,
And service is its prayer.

To dwell together in peace,
To seek knowledge in freedom,
To serve human need,
To the end that all souls shall grow in harmony.

Go in peace,
Make peace,
Be at peace.

Copyright (c) 1996 by Rev. Samuel A. Trumbore. All rights reserved.