Some 50 years ago, when I thought my two year old was ready for a social experience with her peers and no organized pre-school was possible I turned to the RE program of the Unitarian Church of Staten Island. Little did I know what that would lead to, joining, supporting and participating in that congregation as teacher, RE Director, president, member of a women's group, and always, through all of these, an active member of the Social Justice committee.
As I found a religion I also found a community of friends. We had fun together. We created RE curricula. We cooked together. We combined family picnics with craft projects for the holiday bazaar. We camped together. With the covenant as the starting point we shared opinions about how they should be lived, not as an argument but as a conversation, without having to own those opinions forever after.
So why did I join the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence? Because all those years ago I had stumbled on a religion that I could understand, could believe in. No religious inconsistencies. The search for truth, action based on truth as we see it now but subject to change as our search opens new doors. That seems to me what we are all about, or should be. Searching for what seems right and doing something to make it happen. For me it brings the religious experience full circle, joining with others who agree on basic values, giving and receiving from each other, then joining together as we reach out to the larger community.
I have held fast to my membership in and my participation with this congregation not only for what it gives me but also because it is important in this community to have a religious presence where all are welcome, where reason is respected, where salvation is not gained through ritual and prayer but by what we do with our lives.
What happened in this building last Sunday felt really special to me. First, there was the service, where we celebrated our historical past, with the Flower Communion started by the Unitarians in Transylvania, each individual joining in fellowship, each one giving, each one taking, regardless of differences, it was a beautiful communion.
Following that, a commitment to social action (we'll see how real that commitment is) then a really thoughtful discussion of the budget. I felt that each person was really heard. She may have meandered from the topic, he may have taken more than his share of the time, she was given a chance to speak after the discussion was closed, but people were patient. No, more than patient. They listened. They were not restless. They did not look at their watches. They did not leave when the scheduled time was up. They cared. They cared about the people who spoke. They cared about the outcome but even more they cared about the future of this jewel of religious freedom, the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence.
Last modified 18 August 2007.