Notes from our second "Visioning Conversation"

Futures Team Parlor Conversation #2
3/11/2012

Why do we exist?

Form a community of open-minded people; expand awareness; include lots of people in
different ways; spiritual home for people who are questioning dogma and want to have
thoughtful conversations; provide a spiritual community for folks who need a community
but can’t adhere to the dogma; a place where people can have different beliefs; to let
people be themselves and who are free to bring their whole self; making known the idea
of a sacred power without the hierarchical structure; to learn how to be better people; to
make the world a better place; have no dogma allows us to be less hypocritical; to walk
our talk and talk our walk; to support individuals.

What do you get here that you can’t get anywhere else?

Ability to share as much or as little as one chooses; surrounded by like-minded people;
affirmed for being oneself; freedom to be authentic; appreciated for being authentic (not
leaving church with the feeling that “I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t);
sermons that resonate into daily life; chance to explore spiritual topics without being
corrected; open-mindedness with respect; intellectual and reasoned discussions without
someone beating their own drum expecting everyone else to follow; aesthetic and poetic
discussions; UU Principles to give us guidance; UU Principles are our creed; open-
minded acceptance; feeling of being valued, appreciated, contributing as part of a team;
at our best we can be passionate about our believes and still maintain relationships with
some who believes/feels differently; acceptance; support; kindness; open-mindedness;
contributing to the future by helping to develop youth who embody our UU Principles;
feeling at home; a place where one’s spirituality can be discovered and come out to play;
affirmation that deeply held beliefs are accepted here; acceptance; cared about; positive
feelings about being able to contribute; great feelings from giving to others; feeling of
pride; freedom to be “as is” and not having to dissect oneself before coming through the
doors.

What do you give here that you can’t give anywhere else?

Community Plate offering; my presence; attendance; my mind; my openness; my open-
mind; tolerance; my love; kindness; willingness to share my thoughts and ideas; sharing
what I think; outreach to others; relationships; presence to another person; out of the
ordinary gifts, such as a female being allowed to sing tenor; participate in diverse music
experiences; energy; enthusiasm; participation in events; outreach to people on the edge;
time; uncertainty; total honesty; confusion; chances to explore new things

Total Attendance: 30 (including all FT members)
Facilitated by Edie Daigle

What do we give here that we can't give anywhere else?

What do we get here that we can't get anywhere else?

Why do we exist?

"Beyond Belief" sermon

Here's an excerpt from a sermon given by Peter Morales (president of the UUA) at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Virginia a few weeks ago. The complete sermon can be found here: http://www.uucava.org/page/beyond-belief-by-uua-president-rev-peter-morales-feb-12-2012

Laurel sent us a link to this sermon because she thought that it connected to the vision work that we are trying to do in our church, and I chose to share this part that asks us to think about questions similar to the ones we've already started to discuss. What do you think?

Also, if you read something that seems connected to your vision of the future of our church, please share it with the Futures team so that we can post it here.

Now for Rev. Morales:

True religion is about what we love, not about what we think. True religion is about what you and I hold sacred. The practice of true religion is faithfulness to what we love.

The key religious questions you and I must answer are these: What do we love so much that we are moved to tears? What gives us unspeakable joy? What brings us peace beyond understanding? What do we love so much that it calls us to action? What do we care about so deeply that we willingly, joyfully, devote our lives to it?

When we focus on what we truly love, we ask life’s essential questions. We ask questions like, “How shall I live?” When we ask the question together in community, it becomes, “How shall we live together? What shall we do together?” When we focus on what we truly love, we discover something wonderful: we discover that we love the same things.

We realize that we need one another. We want to be compassionate and gentle with one another. We want to raise children who are kind, joyful and responsible. We aspire to create a religious community where we can come to know one another more deeply. We want to create a place where we can cry together, laugh together, sing together, learn together, and act together.
We want a place where we can come together to remind ourselves of what is truly worthwhile. That is what worship is—it is literally an affirmation of worth.

And we want to make a difference in the world. We are not content to be a club. We know there are hundreds, thousands, of neighbors who love what we love. And if they love what we love, they have the same religion we do. We open our hearts and our doors to them.

Religion beyond belief is the religion millions of people long for. It is religion that transcends culture, race and class. It is religion where we can grow spiritually, a religion where we can forge deep and lasting relationships, a religion where we can join hands to help heal a broken world.

The central issue before us as a religious movement is not to decide what we believe. That will just set us to arguing among ourselves until the theological cows come home. (Trust me, the theological cows have been gone for millennia and they’re not coming home in our lifetime.)

No, the central issue before us all is whether we will accept the challenge to become a religion beyond belief. We live at a time when religious tribalism kills people every day. Fundamentalists try to force their beliefs on others. Millions upon millions want no part of that kind of religion.

Yet the options offered by secular consumer culture are empty. People know that consumerism is a false god. Modern society, with its mobility, has eroded the network of relationships that gave people a deep sense of belonging and transcendence. Rigorous studies in social psychology show us that modern Americans are the most emotionally isolated people who have ever lived.

People, millions of them, seek a community where they can nurture relationships, raise children, deepen spiritually, and serve a mission that is worthy of their highest ideals.

What these millions are seeking is a religion beyond belief. We can be that religion. We can feed the starving multitudes.

This is our challenge here in Arlington and across our Association.

There is so much more we could be doing. Just think of the possibilities here. Just think of the possibilities across this land. You have an important role to play. I invite you to embrace new possibilities.

The possibilities for our entire movement are breathtaking.
This is our challenge. We must know what we love. And then we must let that love guide us. This, my friends, is true religion. It is not really religion without belief. It is religion beyond belief. It is a religion to be lived and felt. This is the religion our world so desperately needs. This, I am convinced, is what we are called to be.

Here's something kind of cool- I took the notes from our first conversation and put them into Wordle, which takes the text and makes a visual representation. If you click on the image, you can see a larger version. The bigger the word, the more times it was mentioned in our conversation. What do you think?

Community panel

As we continue our visioning process, we would like to have a conversation with a panel of members representing various groups in the larger community. Is there anyone that you would love to see included in such a panel? Representatives of different groups, local politicians, public service agencies? Someone we might not think of? Comment below or send an email to a member of the Futures Team with your suggestions.

Upcoming conversations

Our next visioning conversation is scheduled for Sunday, March 11th from around 12:15 to 1:15. Come talk to your fellow congregants as we think about the question: Why do we exist? What fuels and energizes us? What would cause us not to exist? What do you get here that you can't get anywhere else? What do you give here that you can't give anywhere else? Childcare and snacks will be provided during the conversation, and all are welcome.

If you can't make it on the 11th, or just can't wait to get talking, start a conversation in the comments now! What do you think- why do we exist as a church community?

Notes from our first "Visioning Conversation", 2/19

The big question was: Who are we? Here are the notes of the conversation that we had about this question. If you have more thoughts to add, questions to ponder, or insights that emerge from reading this, please share in the comments!

What do we value?

• Music; nature; art; meditation; beauty; our differences; justice for all; service to others;
• We value sharing varying beliefs; sharing a journey; opportunities to serve; a non-hierarchical community; a chance to develop leadership skills; our children; new ideas; have the chance to make a difference
• We’re proud that we are a Welcoming church; are inclusive; we have a handicap accessible church; we share our offertory plate with the community; new ideas are always welcome here; our church functions like an extended family for many; members are welcome regardless of what they can contribute of their treasure.
• We value individuality in thinking and believing.
• Following our own path is encouraged.
• Our congregation seems more ready to really grasp the idea of a shared ministry.
• We value our faith though we often don’t know how to talk about this with others.

How do we think the community views us now?

• Hippies; heathens; non-believers; far out in our beliefs; civic-minded people; we don’t believe in anything;
• Reputation as the church that does everything for everyone: the church that believes in social justice; leaders in “Love your Neighbor”;
• They don’t know we are here; we are invisible; we are non-existent;
• We are the circle church; we are the church with the gardens; we are the refugee church
• Those who have received our generosity through the community plate or our volunteer service are grateful to us but usually had no prior knowledge of who we are or what we believe (specifically when the recipient is within the Concord area).
• Why are we growing when other churches in our area are shrinking?
• We seem to be either too much church for some or not enough church for others.
• As we answered the specific question we also began considering why we are viewed as a “non-church” church?
• We so respect everybody’s right to make their own decisions about their faith that we don’t try to change what someone believes is true to them. This position makes our faith hard to talk about with others. We need an “elevator speech” for UUism.

How would your life be different if you had not found this church? (quickly turned into) What does this church bring into your life?

• I would feel alienated; depressed; alone; deeply conflicted; empty; have fewer skills; not feeling connected to a community; unfulfilled
• Deeply fulfilled; ways to be a better parent; diversity of thought and beliefs; ability to consider other ways of thinking and believing about spirituality; camaraderie with like-minded people; connection; awareness that disagreement is OK
• I need to be a part of a community so I will choose community over being alone. In this church I get to bring my whole self…..integrated. In another church I might have to hide some of who I am to be accepted without judgment.

Attendance total: 27

Facilitated by Craig Blouin