Engaging Our Theological Diversity
Reading and sermon preached by Reverend Carolyn Patierno
November 6, 2005

So, last Sunday, when we were all singing “Amazing Grace”, and we got to that bizarre moment in the first verse where our Unitarian Universalist hymnbook slaps down an asterisk and a choice, what did you do?  Which did you choose to sing:  “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me” or “… that saved a soul like me”?

It probably depends on how you were feeling that day, how particularly wretched or soulful.  I know of no other hymnal in print that virtually stops the singing in mid-measure to poll the congregation, to call for a theological debate within the mind and heart of every singer.  And right there, quickly, because the pianist isn’t going to wait for you, the congregation isn’t going to wait for you, Sunday rolling on its way to Monday isn’t going to wait for you, you have to stake your claim, make your mark, testify – all the while wondering if the person singing next to you will take offense if you confess at the top of your voice your own wretchedness and even our common condition as a fallen, faulty species.  Or will your neighbor be annoyed, or maybe shocked, if you stand there warbling on about what a pleasant soul you are, what a nice, well-rounded, fully individuated, sin-free, guilt-free humanist soul?  There you stand, frozen in time, and the music plays on while you hastily cobble a theology.

We sing our song in different keys and cadences.  We are on our own to make a faith out of nothing, which is to say, out of everything we have.  That is daunting, lonely work, demanding and relentless work, the work of a lifetime, and I suspect it is the very scope of it that keeps our tiny movement small.  Not everyone wants to stop singing in the middle of the song and consider once again and all alone the nature of the human soul and God, infinity without and infinity within.
It’s a lot to ask of people on a Sunday morning.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a brief conversation with a new member of the congregation.  Like many UUs, this man was raised within another faith tradition – one that didn’t necessarily encourage living in the questions as does his faith tradition of choice.  He said to me, “You know, this is much harder, not having all the answers given to you.” 

Indeed.  In her meditation, Victoria Safford calls it, “daunting, lonely work, demanding and relentless work, the work of a lifetime” She goes on, “I suspect it is the very scope of it that keeps our tiny movement small.” 

I suspect that in part, she’s correct about that.  But this morning, I am going to reflect on a different point that she makes.  She alludes to the discomfort you may have felt when we sang “Amazing Grace” this morning - the discomfort in choosing and/or naming at least something about your personal theology right there on the spot.  Safford writes,

“You have to stake your claim, make your mark, testify – all the while wondering if the person singing next to you will take offense if you confess at the top of your voice your own wretchedness and even our common condition as a fallen, faulty species.  Or will your neighbor be annoyed, or maybe shocked, if you stand there warbling on about what a pleasant soul you are, what a nice, well-rounded, fully individuated, sin-free, guilt-free humanist soul?”

That tension.  I’m interested in that tension that we live in, we Unitarian Universalists.  The tension that comes with worry – will I offend someone else with my choice of lyric?  Am I offended by/ frustrated with / feeling superior to my neighbor’s choice in lyric?  Am I offended that that I was asked to choose at all?  Am I sick of worrying about offending someone?  Am I weary of my theological choices offending somebody else?  You see what I’m getting at. 

It is not a uniquely UU conundrum, the tension that difference brings or even the fear of being marginalized within one’s own faith community for there is no faith tradition that is theologically monolithic. But although not monolithic, most congregations within a particular tradition do stand on a solid doctrinal foundation.  What is unique here is that the center is harder to identify.  This is in part because of our commitment to pluralism and the fact that we draw inspiration from varied sources.   Our principles and purposes conclude thusly, “Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision.”   The Commission on Appraisal points out that this statement begs the question, “What is the substance of  ‘our faith’?  Just what is it that is enriched and ennobled by the religious pluralism for which we are grateful?”  In short, what holds us together?

This is precisely the question that the Commission set out to answer four years ago.  What they learned through hundreds of interviews and extensive study became their final report entitled, Engaging Our Theological Diversity.  Throughout the next months I will be taking up a number of issues the commission uncovered and considered.  But for today, I will be concentrating on this matter of tension – tension in sharing our theologies; tension in honoring and nourishing the diversity of theologies among us; tension in the current and evolving emphasis on theology. 

“Diversity offers the gift of wholeness” said UU minister, Frederic Muir.  In my column for October’s newsletter, I considered the matter of diversity in terms of the tension it brings.  Is the work always tense?  Yep.  Is the pay off worth it - the wholeness that we hope to achieve?  You better believe it.  That is, I hope you believe it.

I learned something that I’d never learned previous to reading this report.  When the Unitarians & Universalists consolidated in 1961, they focused more on merging their ways of governance and steered clear of the theological differences between the two denominations.  It was too tender a topic and there was a fear that the whole deal may well have been blown if the theological differences were openly discussed.  This Commission, now 45 years later, believed that we’re still experiencing the effects of the silence of our ancestors.  They wrote,  “Arguably, this is the underlying reason for this report, to address the issues left unresolved at the time of consolidation.”   This revelation made me wonder about this congregation.  We know that if this congregation was not the first fully Unitarian Universalist congregation, it was surely one of the first.  In 1906, Unitarians and Universalists made a decision to join their ministries in New London.  Did they talk about their differences when they made this decision?

We have a better understanding of what happens when matters of tension are swept under the rug.  These issues certainly don’t go away.  No, they are more likely to fester and make for unhealthy relationship, and / or patterns thereafter.   The pattern that emerged and has remained firmly rooted in the decades since consolidation and in many UU congregations today, is that personal theology is rarely discussed among us.  Perhaps we’re still afraid that to do so would blow the deal.  However, there are signs that change is afoot.   I was encouraged that when asked to consider the following statement:   “We deepen our wisdom in community when we share our stories and engage in dialogue across our differences.”  82% of laity and 91% of clergy who responded strongly agreed with this statement.   I have a feeling that this strong agreement is reflected in the growth of small group ministries in our congregations, this one included. 

The first sermon that I ever preached from this pulpit shared the same title as this morning’s sermon.   I had chosen this topic because I wanted you to know my passionate commitment to our third and fourth principles as well as to the hospitality that each of these demands of us. I wanted you to know right out of the gate.  I hold this commitment for a number of reasons.  Within this context we share, we are more fully known to each other when we share these stories.  We are more likely to pursue our faith journeys when we feel the active support of our companions on the journey. 

And yet, the journeys are likely to be distinct from one another.   This distinction is something in which we take great pride.  But the Commission noted that, “… a healthy diversity requires common ground.”  I understand that if this faith tradition does not have an identifiable center we will lack a certain depth, the ability to communicate effectively about our faith tradition, and in turn, the ability to grow our tradition. 

We covenanted with fourteen new members this morning.  Each brings differing theological perspectives and questions.  These fourteen join us at an exciting time in our history.  We are poised to expand and with that physical expansion I hope comes the expansion of our welcome.  I hope that we welcome 20 and 30 new members  - twice a year.  Such is my love of this tradition.  Such is my confidence that we have something of vital worth to share.  Such is my love of this congregation and your ability to turn to the stranger with open hearts to learn from the “something different” each one will bring.  All kinds of people around our table – and we need to make all of them feel welcome – the “wretch” singers and “soul” singers both.  But we – all of us here and our brothers and sisters in congregations all over the country and the world - need to be able to say what it is the seeker is stepping into.  To this end, Articulating Your UU Faith will be offered again this spring as well as Building Your Own Theology.  I hope that each of you will consider participating in one or both of these excellent programs.

The conclusions that the report shares are encouraging.  In addition to the suggestions for next steps, the report does indeed share some found commonalities.  I’d like to share these with you.  Through interviews and study, the commission found that Unitarian Universalism holds these qualities and pursuits at its center:

Caring congregants valuing love and community; curious folk seeking truth who cherish wisdom, intellect, and logic; concerned individuals balancing freedom and choice with service to others and a vision of justice; courageous risk-takers pledged to integrity and honesty; creative appreciators of inner harmony and a world of beauty; covenanted people honoring the interdependent web and affirming human worth; compassionate companions who accept one another and respect themselves; and open-minded people learning from dialogue in diversity –

The report concludes: 

UUs aspire to be all these and more.  These aspirations, rooted in UUs’ own experience, in their dialogue with one another, and in their history as a people and undergirded by an implicit theological world view – these aspirations describe UUs’ common ground as a religious people.

This reflection was shared by a UU humanist:  “If we get beyond our fears about expressing our diversity without either giving or taking offense, that’s the work of peace & justice in the world.” 

This is what I hope: I hope that this congregation will offer the kind of spiritual hospitality that makes it safe for any one of us to sing about the sweet sound of an amazing grace that saved either a wretch OR a soul.  A place where on any given night there may be a gathering of UU Humanists, UU Christians, UU Pagans, or UU Buddhists and that that makes sense to and is celebrated by each and all of them and the rest of us.  Further, I hope that All Souls will be a place where these groups may at times come together to consider issues of common concern and interest.  For what these groups share is “Unitarian Universalist” as their defining identification. 

It matters what you believe.  In the words of religious educator Sophia Lyon Fahs, from whom the title of this sermon was borrowed  “… beliefs are pliable, like the young sapling, ever growing with the upward thrust of life.”  The young sapling must set down tender roots and then work its way through the mud in order to see the light of day.  So must our faith journeys be subjected to the same kind of determination and hard and sometimes lonely work. It matters what we believe as individuals and what we believe as a religious movement.   It matters that we share those stories with each other whether in a small group ministry setting; or for a credo service or over coffee after worship.  In fact, if you’re someone who finds coffee hour to be a tough gig, if you are uncomfortable with small talk why not ask, “What do you believe?”  True, it’s a lot to ask of someone on a Sunday morning.  But you all chose a faith tradition that asks a lot of its faithful.  You covenant to stay in the search for meaning.  I believe you’re all up for the task and ready for the journey.  I believe that you believe in our shared mission and commitment to hospitality – a hospitality that makes safe all the ways that your theology is expressed.  Prove me right.  We’re going to sing that first verse of Amazing Grace one last time this morning.   Let’s sing and proud, without worry and with hospitality.

How sweet the sound!  Go bright  and shining as the sun!  

Amen.

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