"Busy Being Born"
by the Rev. Stephan Papa
At the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Lauderdale
March 26, 2006
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In the year 1887 in Manchester, Massachusetts something
very sad happened. Samuel and Elizabeth Bradford, twin infants
died. As a memorial gift, their parents gave the First
Unitarian Church of their town this silver communion decanter.
The Bradfords loved their children; they cared for their church
too. Unfortunately, that church no longer exists; it also died.
The only thing left is this lovely communion decanter, a lonely
vestige of the love of the Bradford family and the consoling
value of their religious community.
Many of the changes we experience in life are not changes we would choose; however, we do have a choice in how we respond to them. A positive response can begin to make things better though there are so many factors involved in most changes that a better future is not guaranteed through one positive choice-only through many. Some things die, like people and religious communities, but some things like love and commitment go on forever. Perhaps one reason the Unitarian congregation in Manchester, Massachusetts died is because they were not able to adapt to change. I'm glad you have. I am delighted to be back here. My last visit was when this building was dedicated--18 years ago. My memories of the Unitarian Church of Fort Lauderdale are from the old building on SE 3rd Avenue and SE 6th Street, right across from the Broward County Courthouse and jail. Most of the people I remember are long gone: Jack and Thelma Daniel, Jennette Jones, Annette Van Howe, Mary Smithwick, Harry and Ruth Pearl, Vivian and Harold Shoemaker, Dick and Barbara Boyce, Bobbie Yoho, Bud Whitney, Rachel Donelson, Eileen Davis. Some have died, some moved. What I remember about them is how much they cared for one another, this community, and me. They gave me a lot of things: an ugly Haitian painting, a beautiful flaming chalice mirror, a bomb, a bride, love and hope. They gave one another the benefit of the doubt, and had a positive vision of what the church could and should be. I was impressed with their vision, especially when they sold the old building and built this one. They changed, and through it all I was impressed with their commitment to one another, and to the growth of our movement. Thinking of them reminds me of the words of the great philosopher and humanist, Bertrand Russell, who wrote: "I have lived in the pursuit of a vision, both personal and social. Personal: to care for what is noble, for what is beautiful, for what is gentle; to allow moments of insight that will give wisdom to more mundane times. And social: to see in imagination the society that is to be created where individuals grow freely and where hate and greed and envy die because there is nothing to nourish them." Being a teenager in the 1960's the songs of Bob Dylan had a great influence on me. It was a tumultuous time of change, as Dylan sang, "The old road is rapidly fading. So, get out of the new way, if you can't lend a hand, for the times they are a- changing." For many, adolescence is a time to question the status-quo; it certainly was for me and my friends. We questioned everything: our parents, teachers, the government, the socio-economic order, the War in Vietnam. (Perhaps it is time to return to some of the questions and values of that time.) It was a time of idealism. President Kennedy asked us to consider what we could do for our country, and President Johnson invited us to imagine a "Great Society." We did; we marched and protested and eventually brought an end to that war, but with such high hopes reality inevitably brought us some disillusionment. Bob Dylan's songs acknowledged that disenchantment, but also gave me hope that love and justice, freedom and reason were the right values to affirm, so did my discovery of the First Universalist Church of Wausau, Wisconsin. Bill Beese and Brian Jehn were my two best friends at the time; we struggled to find ourselves, girl friends, and our place in society. It wasn't easy; often we found ourselves mired in melancholy, disconnected, and discontent. The temptation to fall into the slough of cynicism and the swamp of despair was ever present. Dylan's love and protest songs spoke to our souls, and held our hearts in the balance while the threat of military conscription affected our future course. Following high school graduation in 1967, we went in different directions. Some of our friends went to fight in "Nam," and were changed forever. Brian and Bill went into the counter-culture and never came out again, I went to college and continued to learn and grow. We all made choices that changed our lives. Another Dylan lyric declared: "You are either busy being born, or you're busy dying." At that time, I wasn't sure which I was going to be doing. Now it is clear to me, I was choosing life. The songs of Bob Dylan helped me do that, as did the Unitarian Universalist Church. They kept me "busy being born." That church accepted me as I was, a non-believer in traditional theology, but also challenged me to keep open to new possibilities in religion, society, and myself. It gave me direction, a sense of purpose, and hope. I chose to go into the UU ministry because I wanted to help make the world a better place, and to keep growing intellectually, morally, spiritually. They taught me about the possibility of registering as a conscientious objector. (My earlier religious community had not mentioned that possibility.) I cannot say for a literal fact that the Unitarian Universalist Association saved my life, but I know it has saved others, and that it encouraged me to choose life and to get busy-making it better. It is incumbent on me to be grateful for that First Universalist Church-and to support the growth of our liberating movement. It encouraged me to grow; in fact, growth is integral to our way in religion. Unitarian Universalists acknowledge human responsibility to save the world. Most of us do not believe in a supernatural omnipotent deity that will bring peace to earth whether we deserve it or not. The purpose of our religion is moral development more than personal salvation. Unlike other religions that claim they have the one and only truth, we say everyone has some and we come together to share ours and learn from others-we come together to grow. That opportunity is one reason most of us came to this religious community: we did not find the traditional answers efficacious, so we came to a community where we could be free to learn and grow. It's who we are as individuals and as a people of faith. We try to be open to learning from a variety of sources, and from one another. Personal growth is integral to our way in religion. Why not institutional growth? Why not share the faith and increase our effectiveness when in fact the world awaits us-needs us? Larry Peers, who served a few years ago in our extension department wrote, "We live in a time that has the largest number of unchurched people than in any previous time. When this unchurched population is interviewed, it is discovered that many of them would be interested in a faith much like that of Unitarian Universalism, if they but knew it." (Salted With Fire, p. 70) Don't we have a responsibility to let them know we exist? The liberal religious community accepted me and helped me develop. Unitarian Universalism encourages us and challenges us not only to accept one another, but to reach out to others. Our country and our world today seem even more turbulent, conflicted, and dangerous than it did in the 60's. A religion that encourages a rational reaction to diversity and conflict is needed now more than ever. The religious right has organized and influenced our political process; we are "missing in action" compared to them. The world does not need more partisans who proclaim the supremacy of one ideology over others. It needs more people like us who acknowledge the value of diverse viewpoints. I believe the world would be a better place with more people affirming the values and principles of Unitarian Universalism. I imagine you believe it too. So there are several reasons why we should all work tirelessly to develop and extend Unitarian Universalism: One, because we are all people who believe in learning; two, because growth, spiritual and ethical, is integral to our understanding of the purpose of religion; three, because there are people who need our supportive and empowering community; four, because the world needs us if it is ever to become more peaceful and just. And, fifth, because as Bob Dylan put it: "You're either busy being born, or busy dying." Which are you? The First Unitarian Church in Manchester, Massachusetts was also the last. This silver communion decanter is all that remains of that community, which poured out its hopes and dreams, its love; but didn't renew their vision. I am glad the First Universalist Church of Wausau, Wisconsin was still there when I needed an inclusive, liberating, and caring religious community. However, they had over 500 members in a town of only 33,000 people in the 1960's, but now have only 220 members. I checked and UUA statistics indicate almost every congregation in Florida has fewer members today than it did twenty-five years ago. I'm glad you are still here. But, there are fewer Unitarian Universalist today than there were one hundred years ago. In the 1850's there were more than 500,000 Universalists, by the time of merger in 1961 there were only 68,000. At that time there were 151,557 Unitarian Universalists combined in 1035 congregations. Today there are not many more: our 2006 UUA Directory shows 159,383 adult members in 1042 congregations. For about the last 20 years our numbers have been increasing slightly, but deceasing as a percent of the burgeoning population. The average size of UU congregations is 145, about half the size of other affiliations. The average UU is over 55 years old; and we only retain about 10 percent of our children. If we don't get "Busy being born," we will remain "busy dying." This is evident, and yet we don't grow. Why not? Let me briefly mention some possible reasons, and then share a story. As religious liberals, we do not give our religious communities as much commitment as other groups give theirs; as people of the word, we talk more than we act; we argue, complain, instead of agree and support others; we won't focus on a mission, prioritize, and pursue it thoroughly; we don't do enough service to our communities nor the outside world; we look at our congregations as personal support groups but not as communities that deserve our support; we seldom reach out to others to help them nor to invite them in; we want others to respect us more than we want them to join us; it's as if we are people of little faith, as the Evangelical Christians say of us; our focus in inward, and our trust and vision limited. Now, for the story. It is one of my favorites from my time here. It was the custom then as it is now at the end of the service for the minister to stand in the back and shake hands as people went to the social hall next door. And it was the custom of a certain young woman, who shall remain nameless, to come up to me on many a Sunday and complain to me that I was wearing the same blue suit. I would explain to her that they didn't pay me enough so it was my only suit; but she insisted it was a sign of my Roman Catholic past and that I was sneaking ritual in the form of vestments into our worship services by wearing the same blue suit. This happened many a time. Until one Sunday, seeing her coming I prepared myself for the onslaught to my integrity, but this time instead of yelling at me, she threw her arms around me and cried. When she stopped she said, "Everything in my life has changed this week. I lost my job, my boy friend moved out, and the school principal told me I had to come in Monday because he was going to expel my daughter. Everything in my life has changed this week. The only thing that is the same is you and that damned blue suit!" Things do change, and to manage the changes we need a vision that includes more than our own sometimes narrow views; we need to care for one another, for our religious community, and world. We need to be honest, direct, manage our differences so our congregations will be welcoming communities for those who need them. But, we also need to remember we can't be everything to everybody; we need a vision that is inclusive but we also need to be focused on its priorities, and clear in our perceptions of what is real, effective, central. The 1960"s was a time of change. It was a time of idealism; we believed in the human potential to help build a more just and peaceful world. We need to believe again. Unitarian Universalism changed my life; it opened me up to a new life of freedom, purpose, and confidence where reason and inclusiveness are part of spiritual development. I was almost lost, but I was found; certainly there are many others with similar values and beliefs waiting to be found, to find us. Once again "the times are a-changing," and we must change too. Our supportive, inclusive, learning community, our values and principles, our liberating, loving, and rational voices are needed. Welcome visitors warmly as you have me, and share with them something of your past, but even more something of your vision of the future, your purpose. For as Arthur O'Shaughnesy wrote in a poem: ".Each age is a dream that is dying or one that is coming to birth.." What is Unitarian Universalism, "a dream that is dying or one that is coming to birth?" What is this congregation? It is your choice. I pray you will "choose life." Let us get busy, being "born-again" Unitarian Universalists; chose life, love, commitment to your community, its vision and purpose. So may it be. Amen. |