Chalice Lighting (after larry’s planning minute)

Good morning! It’s wonderful to be back among you. Some of you are familiar faces, others are new.

Rebecca will light our chalice this morning.

We light our chalice this morning with these words from Reverend Jennifer Gracen

We come together every week Bound not by a creed, Or a mutual desire to please one God Or many Gods Yet we are drawn together By a belief, that how we are in the world, Who we are together Matters. We light this chalice, together in the knowledge That love, not fear, can change this world

Reading (after spirit of life) It Matters What We Believe By Unitarian religious educator, Sophia Lyon Fahs

Some beliefs are like walled gardens. They encourage exclusiveness, and the feeling of being especially privileged.

Other beliefs are expansive and lead the way into wider and deeper sympathies.

Some beliefs are like shadows, clouding children's days and fears of unknown calamities.

Other beliefs are like sunshine, blessing children with the warmth of happiness.

Some beliefs are divisive, separating saved from unsaved, friends from enemies.

Other beliefs are bonds in a world community, where sincere differences beautify the pattern.

Some beliefs are like blinders, shutting off the power to choose one's own direction.

Other beliefs are like gateways opening wide vistas for exploration.

Some beliefs weaken a person's selfhood. They blight the growth of resourcefulness.

Other beliefs nurture self-confidence and enrich the feeling of personal worth.

Some beliefs are rigid, like the body of death, impotent in a changing world.

Other beliefs are pliable, like the young sapling, ever growing with the upward thrust of life.

I’d like to introduce a member of my congregation, With us in a pre-recorded fashion, For our special music, one of my longtime favorite songs.

Sermon

As I said at the chalice lighting, It’s wonderful to be back among a congregation That is so near and dear to my heart, And to my journey and formation as a Unitarian Universalist minister,

The last time I preached here, Was just under seven years ago.

It got me reflecting, Seven years ago: I had just graduated from CNU, Hadn’t even applied to seminaries, though I was on the path to ministry, And while I was a dedicated Unitarian Universalist young adult -- I didn’t yet have my own personal theology fully articulated.

This is not an uncommon situation, I was very involved with my congregation and youth group, and youth conferences growing up, And while we did talk about different religious beliefs and perspectives on the big questions of life, and we had robust discussions and conversations, that didn’t mean we spent so much time articulating our personal beliefs.

It really wasn’t until I entered seminary, And was required to write spiritual autobiographies and write from my personal religious perspective regularly that I had to sit down and articulate something that would really stick with me.

Which wasn’t completely easy, And it also didn’t feel great to have been raised religiously, To have this strong identification with my home faith tradition, But at the same time to not have a language, a way of talking about the universe, spirituality, my beliefs and practices.

Let me be clear, though: What I lament, what I was and frustrated by, Was not that I was not handed a creed, A set of beliefs or practices to adopt and follow automatically.

I cherish the non-creedalism that is such an important and unique feature of Unitarian Universalism. In fact, it’s one of the most defining features of our shared faith. I am eternally grateful to have been raised in a tradition that holds a healthy skepticism of received tradition, that asks us to question why we accept or believe certain things, and demands that we articulate what is truest for ourselves, albeit that we do so in relationship and accountability to others and to the wider community.

But I think failing to have the proper understanding of what it means to be non-creedal, Leads to many UUs, both adult come-iners and those raised UU, to not have the resources or motivation to articulate their own personal creed. We have to not to throw the baby of articulating our individual beliefs, out with the bathwater of strict creedalism as a whole religion.

So let’s step back and look at the basics.

To answer what it means to be non-creedal, We need to know what a creed is.

A creed is a statement, usually written down and/or memorized and spoken aloud regularly, that articulates the beliefs of a person or group of people. So yes, the 90s pop jam that was our special music is a creed!

One of the earliest and most famous examples is the Nicene creed, which dates back to 325 CE, And was articulated to clarify the beliefs about the Trinity, In response to the teachings of the Bishop Arius, who many claim as an early Unitarian, although his actual beliefs lie somewhere between “one God” and “three-in-one” God. But I digress. The point is that this famous creed was created and then enforced for the purpose of clarifying group belief and doctrine, for standardizing belief and organizing who was “in” and who was “out.” It’s helpful to remember that in the early Christian church, there was an ample diversity of beliefs all essentially coexisting, until Constantine converted the Roman Empire to Christianity, and required unity of belief to support and back up the unity of the Empire. Spoiler alert - it didn’t quite work out, as the Roman empire fell a century or two later.

During Catholic hegemony in western Europe in the following centuries, Creeds continued to be written and clarified, Usually to resolve disputes and heresies as they cropped up. With the protestant reformation, Creeds became even more important as even subtle differences between the teachings of different reformers would lead to entirely different denominations.

Later on, in North America, Congregations in the English colonies and early United States would continue to articulate creeds to establish and enshrine the shared beliefs of each community.

But with the onset of the Unitarian and then Transcendentalist movements, Many liberal religious thinkers chafed at the imposition of creedal tests, And sought to express their individual religious beliefs regardless of creeds, and sought to establish communities free from creedal restrictions.

Cut to today, and looking at the bylaws of the Unitarian Universalist Association, You’ll find that one of the few requirements our associations bylaws spell out for member congregations, Is that they don’t have creedal tests.

In Article II of our bylaws

58 Section C-2.4. Freedom of Belief. 59 Nothing herein shall be deemed to infringe upon the individual 60 freedom of belief which is inherent in the Universalist and Unitarian 61 heritages or to conflict with any statement of purpose, covenant, or 62 bond of union used by any congregation unless such is used as a 63 creedal test.

I should note that there is currently an Article II revision commission underway, which will take some time to study, interview, collect data, and ultimately make suggestions for changes to our principles and purposes as a denomination. What that means is that the specific wording and organization of our principles and sources might change in the near future, Though I cannot imagine that there will be any real shift in the language around the ban on creedal tests.

But going back to the bylaws as they are today: Let’s make this distinction, between a creed, which is a statement of belief usually for a particular religious group, and a creedal test, which is the practice of a group requiring assent to their creed as a requirement of membership.

Being non-creedal means that we do not have creedal tests. You are not required to affirm a shared creed to be a Unitarian Universalist. We do not articulate any shared creed.

Instead, our religion is held together by shared covenant, shared promises about how we will be in community with one another and with the world. Our congregations articulate congregational covenants, but never creeds.

Allow me to share an excerpt from a reading by Rev. Lisa Ward. The full reading is focused on covenant, but what I’ll quote engages a compare and contrast between creeds and covenants.

A creed creates a static truth, something that does not incorporate new insights and realities. A covenant is a dance of co-creation, keeping in step with one another in the flow of our lives.

A creed seeks uniformity and a unison voice. A covenant seeks harmony and a shared voice. Sometimes we may arrive at a unison, but it is not required.

A creed gives authority to the statement. A covenant gives authority to shared intention.

A creed creates an “us” and “them.” A covenant invites relationship.

A creed is a prescription that must be relied on. A covenant relies on the treasures of shared truth.

Looking at these contrasts, I realize that another important distinction I want to make Is the difference between a Creed, and a Credo. Now, if you’ve studied Latin or a romance language, You may recognize that the “o” ending of the word “Credo” is what makes it a verb in the first person singular. Credo essentially means “I believe…” And indeed in English we derive it historically from the first word of the Latin text of the Nicene creed. Or the first lines of most of the lyrics in Affirmation -- I’ll revise my assessment that the 90s pop jam is actually a credo statement.

A creed is “we believe” A credo is “I believe.”

The takeaway for me, Is that what Rev. Ward sets up as a negative in that comparison, Isn’t the act of articulating a personal belief, But the act of requiring assent to a stale, unchanging, set-in-stone creedal statement.

My point is basically that when we mistake non-creedal to mean that we don’t do personal credos or shared creedal statements then we’re taking it too far and missing a huge opportunity.

Being a non-creedal religion shouldn’t mean that we have no credos whatsoever, it should mean we have a great multiplicity and diversity of credos! It should mean that each Unitarian Universalist has their own credo, no two exactly alike.

And we do have this, right?

There being no creedal test, no single creed we must all assent to in order to be Unitarian Universalists, Means that we each are free to - and responsible for – articulating our own creeds, our own personal belief statements, our own credos. And, without a single authoritative homogenizing force, each person's credos will differ from the next!

But sadly these aren’t always articulated, or engaged with. We don’t always articulate our own credos, We don't always know how, we aren’t equipped to. We may hold a hesitancy or a fear about sharing them, if we even have them articulated. Will we be accepted for our beliefs? like the all my friends and neighbors game from earlier, we may be worried no one else will run into the circle with us, but also, I we don’t take that risk, we won’t find the people who do!

But it does matter what we believe, What we tell others we believe, How we respond to their beliefs.

And let me be clear on a few things about the work of articulating a personal credo statement.

The first is that it isn’t an eternal, unchanging thing. How you articulate your credo in one year or one stage of your life may be very different than the next. We are always growing and changing, and the words we use to describe our beliefs, values, practices, and experiences is always changing. So any written or spoken articulation of a credo is always a temporary attempt, not a final and eternal answer, like the creeds of hegemonic religions.

And also, a credo statement doesn’t have to be just about what one believes about God, or not-God, or the cosmology of the universe and ultimate reality. The etymology of the word ‘Creed’ and ‘credo’ points to an earlier translation than just “I believe.” It derives from the proto-indo- european root “kerd” for heart, like Cardio. In this sense, “credo” means “I give my heart to this.” Which means a credo statement isn’t just ‘my beliefs’ but “what I give my heart to.” what is of ultimate importance to me, whether that be a belief, practice, ritual, value, or approach to life.

So if you’ll indulge me in an exercise, To tease out the full meaning of this word “credo” Let me borrow the structure of Rev. Wards litany, And offer a contrast not with covenant, but with creed and credo.

A creed creates a static truth, something that does not incorporate new insights and realities. A credo is constantly shifting and reforming, reflecting the flow of our lives and responding to the context of each moment.

A creed seeks uniformity and a unison voice. A credo speaks from the authentic voice deep within oneself, which remembering the wisdom of Walt Whitman, may contain contradictions and multitudes.

A creed gives authority to the statement. A credo requires no external authority, and does not exercise authority upon anyone else.

A creed creates an “us” and “them.” A credo says “Here I am” and invites the question “Who are you?”

A creed is a prescription that must be relied on. A credo is an acknowledgement of what is already and always relied on.

We are a non-creedal religion, With no creedal test requirements for membership as a Unitarian Universalist. We do, each of us, have credos, Many left unspoken and unarticulated. In our search for truth and meaning, and our support of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth, We must take time to articulate our beliefs, our credos, share them with one another, and learn what our fellow Unitarian Universalists hold dear to their hearts.

If this conversation sounds intriguing to you, Even if it might also be a little scary I encourage you to sign up for the Adult RE class Rev. Andrew and Rebecca will be co-leading, That I developed with Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson Called sacred language and sacred translation,

The class will lead you through engaging your relationship with traditionally (and not-so-traditionally) construed religious or sacred language, Leading to articulate credo statements, And then to practice in pairs, the work of translating between personal articulations of belief.

The class is designed, basically, To shake Unitarian Universalists out of the way we often deal with our theological diversity by not engaging it at all, Not even working to articulate our own beliefs, Let alone put them in conversation with others we know and trust.

This is the work of progressive religious community. It is sacred work.

There’s a quote from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. She writes:

“To be fully seen by somebody, and then loved anyhow—that is a human offering that can border on miraculous.”

This is what we are seeking, In a Unitarian Universalist congregation, To experience that miracle of being seen, fully and in our entirety, with all our beliefs and values, And offering that miracle to others, and loving each other anyhow, regardless of whether we share the same beliefs and practices or not.

In the spirit of this miracle, Please sing with me our closing hymn, 1008 When Our Heart is in a Holy Place.

Benediction

May we trust the wisdom in each of us, Trust ourselves to articulate our credos telling our stories from deep inside, And listening deeply to one another, feeling the power of each other’s faith, As diverse and varied as they may be. May it be so