From the March issue of the Pioneer

Excerpts from my latest UUSG newsletter column

This month, I thought I’d offer some random thoughts and observations that have been accumulating in my files.

— The National Institute for Health recently released infant mortality rates for this country for 2002, and for the first time in 60 years, infant mortality rates have risen. I find this a matter of some concern.

— In announcements in the Sunday morning worship services, I said Lindsay and I are ready to implement intergenerational worship every week if that is the pleasure of the congregation. The response to this suggestion ranged widely. A few people, including both parents and empty-nesters, said they’d like to give it a try. A few people said they’d rather leave UUSG than have regular intergenerational worship. Other responses ranged between these two extremes. (To give a wider perspective — one or two Unitarian Universalist congregations already have fully intergenerational worship services, while a handful of others have decided to actively discourage families with children from participating in their congregations at all.)

— I continue to be fascinated by the way this congregation refers to children and teenagers. The preferred word here at UUSG for these people seems to be “students.” Members of the congregation who are under 18 years old are referred to as “student members” in the UUSG bylaws. I have even heard two and three year olds referred to as students. I remain uncertain how to understand what it means to name people in terms of one limited role they may play. Personally, I prefer the term “young people” as it helps me remember these are persons who have inherent worth and dignity.

Requiring the “7 Principles”?

In the most recent issue of the UU World magazine, a letter writer states:

“…to me, if you don’t accept the Principles and consider life’s hard questions using them you are not truly a UU.”

It’s always worth going back to the original source when you want to test strong statements like this. So let’s go back to the original source for what the letter writer calls the “Principles.”

These principles come from section 1 of Article 2 of the bylaws of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Article 2 as a whole is titled “Principles and Purposes.” Unfortunately, most people seem to stop reading at the end of section 2.1, and forget to read the rest of the Principles and Purposes.

But it’s really worth going on to read section 2.4, which I quote in its entirety below:

“Nothing herein shall be deemed to infringe upon the individual freedom of belief which is inherent in the Universalist and Unitarian heritages or to conflict with any statement of purpose, covenant, or bond of union used by any congregation unless such is used as a creedal test.”

In other words, the letter writer has gotten a little mixed up — the Principles and Purposes explicitly state that individuals have freedom to believe what they wish. Furthermore, nothing like a creed may be used as a test to determine who is, and who is not, a Unitarian Universalist.

It’s not easy being a part of a non-creedal religion in a culture like ours which is so heavily dominated by creedal religions. We do have boundaries, but we don’t draw our boundaries using any statement of belief. It’s not easy, but it’s also our greatest strength. Let’s try to remember that, and hold on to that.