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Minister's Monthly Column
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September 2010 Monthly Column - "May the Force be With You" by Rev. Allison Farnum
This summer I have been hearing a lot about Unitarian Universalists. Friends and colleagues who went to support the struggle for human rights in Arizona sent news back of Unitarian Universalists showing up in full force. And “full force” means doing what we do best- being loving, peaceful, and keeping spirits up in the face of challenging moments. In the Arizona jails, those arrested for acts of civil disobedience were buoyed by Unitarian Universalists who engaged in meaningful conversation and sang songs to keep up morale. On the streets, we brought a multi-generational liberal religious presence that made an impact in by witnessing on the side of Love.
I also heard reports about Unitarian Universalists showing up for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ mid-Atlantic and New England summer tour of the mobile Modern-Day Slavery Museum. Reports are in from New York City and Boston- area, with congregations’ members and ministers returning to their home congregations inspired to incite participation in the Campaign for Fair Food. (The very same one that continues locally here with Publix Supermarkets).
Friends, I write these reports to convey to you that our Unitarian Universalist congregations and community ministries make a difference. And though we are tucked away in a corner of paradise, our congregation has historically stuck its neck out in its leadership and willingness to take risks to further the Unitarian Universalist liberal religious voice in Southwest Florida and beyond.
This year, I invite you to articulate for yourself how you can bring Unitarian Universalism “full force” into your life. This year, the church leadership and denominational leadership will provide ample opportunities for spiritual growth, religious enrichment, and leadership development. My hope is that our leadership development will continue to push the question: how might this particular and unique congregation bring itself full-force into the larger community, enlivening its mission as an engaged, unified entity? Moreover, the congregation has the opportunity to be WILDly* loving and caring with one another in the process. I have also heard these to be your hopes for the future of this congregation, anchored in a rich history of achievement. I hold great faith that a full-force community-oriented congregation is already in the works, made possible with the force of your commitment, participation, and trust in the transforming reality of love in the world.
May the Force Be With You,
Rev. Allison
*Welcoming Involved Loving Diverse |
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August 2010 Monthly Column - "Unity & Humanity" by Rev. Allison Farnum
As I write, friends and colleagues are headed to Arizona to witness the enactment of SB1070. Immigration has turned into a politicized, polarized issue. Yet friends and colleagues answer the call to Arizona, not to divide, but to hold up our unity and our humanity.
Once a month I get to bask in the hope that our future may not be so divided. I get to relish hope for humanity. Once a month I meet with clergy and senior lay leaders of most denominations (Muslim, Catholic, and various Protestants) to get to know each other. From various class and ethnic backgrounds, we spend 15 minutes at each monthly meeting having one-on-one conversations with each other, sharing some juicy tidbt about ourselves and what matters to us. Once a month, our relational power grows. More clergy and religious leaders come and more money gets contributed towards the hope that this congregation-based community organizing (CBCO) group can hire a full-time organizer. Someday we become not the Lee County Interfaith Sponsoring Committee, but a legion of a thousand who give yourself a new name.
And what is CBCO- Congregation-Based Community Organizing? According to the Unitarian Universalist Association:
Congregation-Based Community Organizing (CBCO, also called Faith-Based, Broad-Based, or sometimes Institution-Based) is a movement that seeks to establish inter-faith, cross-class, multi-ethnic and multi-racial grassroots organizations for purposes of increasing social integration and power in civil society and for making civic, regional and state-wide changes for social improvement.
So what is the Lee County Interfaith Sponsoring Committee? At this point it is a group of clergy (or senior congregation leaders) who are planting seeds for a congregation-based community organization in Lee County. We are working and receiving support from DART. DART stands for Direct Action Research and Training Center. On the organization’s website they say the following about themselves:
The Direct Action and Research Training (DART) Center is committed to building powerful, diverse, congregation-based and democratically-run organizations capable of winning justice on issues facing the community. Since 1982, DART has built and strengthened over twenty locally affiliated organizations in six states and trained over 10,000 community leaders and 150 professional Community Organizers.
How Unitarian Universalist is this? Justice work? Democratic organizing? Community caring? Building relationships- yes! This is a place to work in solidarity with a diverse group of people and get the chance to see each other as fellow human beings who care about Lee County. What better movers and shakers than people of faith? Hopefully many congregations will make financial commitments to this organizing coalition so that great work can be done in our larger community. More importantly is the investment of belief and energy that we can come together, in spite of theological and political differences, and work for common goals of justice in Lee County.
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July 2010 Monthly Column - "A Faithful Response" by Rev. Allison Farnum
We bear witness to a controversial and stirring summer. a gulf coast oil spill; a bill vetoed by our Governor that would have given legislators undue power in the realm of women’s reproductive health; a continuing debate over the legislation in Arizona- its intentions and its realities.
The response? More blaming, more argument, less searching for common ground. Each issue, which weighs deeply in our national conscience in one way or another, becomes polarized- politicized- playing on human fears and dichotomizing the human family into “us versus them.”
In light of recent events in Arizona, my colleagues and I are asking for a faithful response. Perhaps that is the call of summer. Summer is a time when there might be more space to slow down, collect one’s thoughts, and respond faithfully. For Unitarian Universalists, a faithful response is a thoughtful response. Clinton Lee Scott, a Universalist minister and author of Religion Can Make Sense wrote in 1949, “To a Universalist there is no conflict between faith and reason. A New Testament definition of faith is ‘confidence in what we hope for.’ How simple it is! To be confident of the desired outcome of some enterprise for which we are working is to have faith…”
Therefore, to respond faithfully requires having a strong sense of what it is in which you place your confidence in, and a focus upon what you are working toward. In our tradition, we are working towards moving beyond a time of “us versus them,” while honestly assessing our participation in these divisions and the changes wholeness requires of us. This congregation’s mission is to minister to each other and the community at large. Our faithful response is to make connections outside these walls in ways that are successful for the whole congregation. For instance, a faithful response to divisive controversy is to deepen engagement with the Lee County Interfaith Sponsoring Committee by developing relationships with other people (not necessarily like-minded in all ways) who yearn also for a faithful response to the pressing issues of our time. Interfaith community organizing is an opportunity we thoughtful, faithful justice-seekers should not miss.
We need not think alike to love alike- Frances David
If we agree in love, there is no disagreement that can do us any injury, but if we do not, no other agreement can do us any good.- Hosea Ballou
A faithful response is to take our talk out onto the streets and glory in and struggle with how it changes us. I have faith that it will. |
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June 2010 Column - "General Assembly 2010"
Our yearly meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Association, General Assembly (GA), will be hosted in Minneapolis this June. General Assembly is an opportunity for networking, sharing resources, and leadership development in Unitarian Universalist congregations. Thousands gather to worship and restore their spirits. Invigorating, inspiring, and creative worship services show the diversity of our living tradition and inspire us to bring this quality of worship into our own sanctuaries.
One of the challenges about General Assembly is its cost. After fees for registration, room, and board- not to mention time off of work- GA can cost a pretty penny. GA Planners have been utilizing online streaming, recording and sharing workshops online to their best abilities. But it still does not match the special feeling of the Unitarian Universalist convergence that is GA. We take over the restaurants, the cafes, and the bookstores. As I walk down the street, I look at everyone and think, “You might be Unitarian Universalist!” Actually, I do that all the time anyway.
The Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees established the Fifth Principle Task Force in 2007. The Fifth Principle of our Association reads, “We covenant to affirm and promote the right of conscience and the use of democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.” When many Unitarian Universalists cannot afford to attend the plenary sessions at General Assembly, one might conclude that the 5th Principle that many hold dear is not being honored as it could be. Moreover, when I am using nearly a third of my professional expenses to attend the General Assembly, it is a loss to not have a lay-person from UUCFM to conspire and collaborate with upon return, brimming with ideas and inspiration to bring into our own local governance and leadership.
One of the recommendations of the Fifth Principle Task Force is that GA be held every other year. The Fifth Princple Task Force is also putting forth recommendations that ask for more accountability from delegates. One recommendation is that delegate numbers be reduced from 5,000 to 2,000, and that delegates be voted for and subsidized by their congregations. If congregations were willing to make this line-item commitment, the worries over elitism might be eased. If the delegates are willing to make this commitment, congregations will benefit from the increased resources and connections forged at General Assembly in a more intentional way.
New intentions are being formed for General Assembly. To stay up to date, read the UU World, or stay connected through www.uua.org. |
 May 2010 Column - "Arms 'WILD' Open"
Welcoming Involved Loving Diverse
I love how this church is getting wild! The congregation has embraced a new vision: “Our congregation will grow each year because we attract families, friends, and young people by offering rich and varied opportunities for creating community and for ethical and spiritual development; providing a space which meets our present and future needs; welcoming and reflecting the diversity of our region; and expanding our social and environmental justice and outreach initiatives.”
Your church leaders are guided by this vision and putting our mission into action. How WILD is that? I’m telling you...this is gonna be fun!
Now, I am sad every year to know that the congregation’s seasonal friends and associate members are leaving for their northern climes. For those of you that are heading out, I ask that you stay in touch. If a milestone or pastoral concern is happening in your life and you want the congregation to know, call me or send an email so that the gathered congregation can hold you in their hearts in your joy, sorrow, or milestone. Stay connected and read the newsletter, The Communicator, read the weekly e-news, and stay in touch with this dynamic congregation. Why? Well, the culture of the congregation will change as the congregation continues to follow the vision where it leads us, so staying in touch keeps the relationship flowing.
Friends, this is church getting WILD and wonderful. I continue to be honored to be your leader, your companion, your cheerleader. I am continually moved by how caring, honorable, generous, and insightful you can be. I have learned from you that the Unitarian Universalist church is no social club- it is a church whose arms are opening wider and wilder to those who are seeking free religion who do not yet know such a faith exists. And all who know the embrace of this free religion have the joy of being connected with one another, the challenge of staying connected in times of conflict, and the promise of building communities of peace and justice- one changed heart at a time.
Yours in the WILDerness,
Allison
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