May '10
End of a Year
As we approach the end of the church year we also begin to look forward to the next. But, before we do that we might think about what is immediately ahead. This is the month of the annual meeting and the flower communion. I like the word “communion.” We Unitarian Universalists have no sacraments but we do have ideals. I wonder if sacraments came from our earliest yearnings made manifest in symbol and story. Our story is told in our covenants.
If we look at covenant as something we hold with everyone whether we are a member of a community or not, we quickly see that covenant is what holds us as members of the human race. Our covenant gets expressed in two ways this month. First, there is the flower communion and second, we will hold our annual meeting. Both are on the same day. There is a significant difference though. One expression of covenant is our coming together to share and exchange flowers just as we bring our gifts and exchange with the congregation at large during the year. The other is an expression of governance and one must be a member to vote, but not to participate. Everyone is welcome at both events.
The Flower Communion a communion in the truest sense for Unitarian Universalists because everyone is the priest and everyone serves the communion host. Each flower represents the beauty of the earth, the renewal of the spring, and the wholeness of our gifts. Jesus said the sun rises and sets on the wicked as well as the holy and our Flower Communion is certainly a fine example of that because no single flower is served (given) to any one person. When we bring our flowers and put them together we bring our gift and give it to any or to all. The flower we walk away with might have come from someone who may have bothered or annoyed us in the past. The exchange of Flowers is completely egalitarian; each is as important as the other. All are equally beautiful whether a rose or a daisy.
The annual meeting is when we decide where we are going. It is a time to review the past year and ask ourselves if we want to keep doing what we’ve been doing or do we want to change anything. How wonderful, our business meeting is a form of communion. Again we come together with our thoughts and ideas and make an exchange. Isn’t that what covenant is all about?
I’m asking for a change in the mission statement back to the old one because it is more descriptive and colorful than the new one. Don’t get me wrong, the new one says pretty much the same thing but it is a little too efficient for me. I’m not sure we need all that efficiency in an organization devoted to spiritual development and transformation. I find poetry and story far more engaging than computer manuals or bicycle instruction manuals.
Both statements are printed below. By the way, the old one has been set to music.
Old Mission Statement:
We unite to create an accepting, religious community which fosters lifelong learning, diversity, and spiritual growth. By reaching out to the larger community, by nurturing one another and the Earth of which we are a part, we live our Unitarian Principles of justice, reason and compassion.
Mission adopted June 5, 2005:
Our mission is to make manifest our presence and voice in this community through our commitment to each other and to the web of life which we are a part.
