Out of long experience, I have come to expect the increase in energy in the church as the inevitable end of summer approaches and we look toward the beginning of a “new church year.”
I wondered, this year, what that energy might be like. I wondered whether that energy would even be present…at a distance.
I think I have part of an answer. In the past week, I’ve reached out to members of our community and others have reached out to me…with questions and concerns, with the need for reassurance and the need to express uncertainty and even fear.
“When will we be able to worship again in the sanctuary?” “Are people staying connected? “ “How can I help?” “How is the church doing financially?” “Downtown looks like a war zone.” “Are we going to have religious education this fall?” “How is the church changing?”
When I scheduled my annual “Question and Answer” service for this coming Sunday, I had no way of knowing that I would be speaking into this gathering energy, fueled by uncertainty about the future and need for the church in these difficult days.
In the coming weeks, I look forward to sharing our plans for the fall. We will continue to be “at a distance.” That decision has been confirmed by the trajectory of the pandemic. The staff and volunteer leaders have worked hard to imagine a variety of ways for us to stay connected. The many facets of our justice work deepen by the day. In my connections with other UU (and non-UU) ministers over the summer, I believe we are doing this about as well as any other church.
But the questions remain: How can we sustain connection and community while we have to remain at a distance? What would help nurture your spirit and help you feel part of a Beloved Community?
This is a time of change. The pandemic, the economic dislocations and the uprising for justice in our streets have created an opening. They have created an opening in which change is possible but they do not guarantee the nature of that change.
There are two thoughts that I would urge you to hold now and as we move into the fall.
First, the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed white women the right to vote, was a flawed but revolutionary move toward fulfilling our national promise. Guaranteeing the right to vote remains, to this day, a challenge. Remember, a revolution is almost never a “one and done.” Revolution, real change, requires persistence and resilience.
Second, during this time of openness, one critical discipline is the discipline of “seeing.” Blinders have been removed from some of our eyes. It is not possible to un-see George Floyd’s murder. But can we take the clarity of that sight from the streets of Minneapolis and make the connections that allow us to insist that new structures and priorities for public safety (“defunding the police”) can no longer be delayed here in Portland? Can we sustain our ability to ”see” that rethinking, reimagining and reallocating resources for public safety is a needed next step toward Beloved Community?
“The secret of seeing is, then, the pearl of great price,” writes Annie Dillard. She describes the seeing and feeling of connections as a mystical experience. “Although the pearl may be found, it may not be sought…although it comes to those who wait for it, it is always, even to the most practiced and adept, a gift and a total surprise.”
This is such an open question for me. I, too, value the sense of connection and sight that comes unbidden.
But I also believe that it will take intention to hold ourselves open long enough and wide enough for any truly new imagination to emerge.
Revolutions require resilience. Perhaps the “seeing” we need to do cannot be forced. Perhaps Annie Dillard is right. But perhaps it can be encouraged.
Perhaps that is one role for our church and for all religious communities that will accept the challenge.
I believe we need some active “seeking” and the sharing of the multiple truths we are beginning to see. The sharing of our truths is one way to understand accountability. If we can keep the right voices in the conversation… If we can keep our ears as well as our eyes open…
There is no guarantee. But if we can…I believe there can be reason to hope.
Send your questions for me by tomorrow/Friday morning to:
Q-and-A@firstunitarianportland.org.
“See” you in church this Sunday.
Blessings,
Bill