Our spiritual theme of the 2022-2023 congregational year is “Rooted in Relationship.” It is an opportunity to explore formational questions, like: Who am I? and To whom do I belong?
As a human being, the question of identity, “Who am I?” or “Who are we?” is revealed through relationships. While there is value to looking at how I relate to myself, our goal is to become grounded and not self-centered.
Understanding who I am, or who we are as a family, community, institution, etc. moves quickly to questions of with whom we are in relationship and how we are in relationship with them – family, community, neighborhood, nation, world, all creatures, all that is holy.
One way that Unitarian Universalists examine our relationships is the spiritual practice of covenanting, which I spoke about in my sermon on Sunday. (You can listen to that sermon here: https://youtu.be/iTnDeIebH9Y?t=3200)
Covenants are directly connected to the spiritual question of, To whom do I belong? We have a practice of making promises about how we will ground ourselves in relationships rooted in love as we live out our lives together as Unitarian Universalists and as members and friends of First Unitarian Portland. This practice has the power to change who we are becoming and how we relate to all that exists. It is a path of deepening and growth.
For a covenant to be meaningful, we must revisit it from time to time and reflect on how we are doing at fulfilling our promises. We also revisit our covenants in light of both the healing and the heartbreak we and others have experienced. We ask ourselves which promises are moving us towards love and what remains to be promised or fulfilled. The practice of returning to our covenants and asking ourselves how these promises have translated into action is vital.
Covenants are living documents, not meant to be cast in ecclesiastical concrete, but rather open to change and to the expression of what we view as right relations today. We have at least two covenants that guide our congregation, and they represent our efforts to express the path of life, love, and liberation at the time they were created. But, we must also ask, what do we have to say now that might be different than before? And, what remains our steadfast commitments?
Our UU 7 Principles adopted in 1985 at a UUA General Assembly are a different expression than the principles adopted at merger in 1961. And, now, a growing number of congregations (including ours) have adopted an eighth principle stating our commitments to dismantle racism and other oppressions and to build the beloved community.
By the way, here is one opportunity you might consider joining now to deepen and grow around the 8th principle. We are hosting a “Seeing White” series, and both sections have spaces left. Our facilitators: Frank Filz & Bill Yasnoff and Saranna Weller-Filz & Jody Feldman. To find out more info and to sign up, check out this form.
The members of First Unitarian Portland also passed a covenant together in the 1990s. You can find the full text here: https://www.firstunitarianportland.org/about-us/our-beliefs/our-covenant/. Let’s explore in what ways we might update our covenant to reflect the promises that will uphold our community’s wellbeing into the future.
May our practice of covenanting allow us to co-create relationships that are grounded in healing and wholeness.
In faith,
Rev. Alison