Sabbatical Minister’s Letter 9/1/2025
Covenantal Life: We Belong to One Another
“Human beings, individually and collectively, become human by making a commitment, by making promises. The human being as such, as Martin Buber says, is the promise-making, promise-keeping, promise-breaking, promise-renewing creature. The human being is the promise maker, the commitment maker.” from “The Five Major Ingredients of Covenant” by James Luther Adams
Naming and claiming our interdependence is a foundational value of Unitarian Universalism, with Love at the center. In congregational life, instead of focusing on required creeds or systems of belief, we invite covenant. Covenants are promises we make together with Love at the center. More concretely, covenants clearly establish mutually agreed-upon expectations about how we want to be together as we practice Unitarian Universalism. A covenant is only as good as how much it is put into practice. What I have noticed about being a lifelong UU is that most covenants invite kindness. According to the state of my adrenals, I will never turn down more kindness and compassion. We all carry hardships, whether a personal sadness or concern, a collective lamentation for the violence around the globe, or anger at the militaristic gesturing of the current administration in cities that choose to speak out against authoritarianism. Anxieties are running high. News headlines every morning stir a new sense of importance about what needs to be done, and ways that we need to show up as people of faith.
And, we can control the pace and take time to discern together how this congregation is called to meet the moment through its various ministries. We can make intentional choices together (through mindful covenanting) about how we show up what MLK names “the fierce urgency of now.”
I am inspired by our Chicago mayor who is Meeting the Moment by defending our city and its vibrant communities as a way to prick the conscience of the nation, reminding us of all who have gone before in la lucha, the struggle for human rights and people over profit. I believe that we meet the moment by doing what we do best: sharing the good news of Love at the center and pledging our loyalty to that Love. Lately I have been inspired by the way I have seen you inviting one another into creating a culture of collective grace, and as your leadership Council Chair Sean Connolly reminds us, a community of patience. We deserve one another’s patience and kindness, as we meet the fierce urgency of these times. In this way, we carry each other through so that how we are with each other becomes just as important as what we do together. This is how we belong to one another. Blessèd Be!
