Skip to main content

Stewardship: A Bridge to Belonging

By

Our church on Court Hill is where we practice our beliefs and actions – crazy as they seem to others. It is where we take risks. It is where we can leave our comfort zones.  It is a place to humbly try to live outside of one's self.   That is why I'm here. That is why I support First Unitarian. Please join me in this important work. -- Jay Lavelle


At the Prudential Committee retreat in June, we came up with a set of goals for the year 2020. The first was “Create a diversity of modes of spiritual experience for members, friends, children and youth."
My own path is relatively diverse: austere New England Trinitarian Protestantism based on service, charity, and being of good will, a dash of Charismaticism, and a heaping spoonful of Tibetan Buddhism. And that is not that uncommon. I know Catholics, Jews, Buddhists of all denominations, and Sufis in my ken, all of whom find a home at First Unitarian. There are agnostics and atheists living by the light of reason. And there are some who just don't know what they are.
So how do they all fit into a church – an institution usually defined by specific beliefs and practices that everyone agrees to? How does this private, internal quest fit within a large group of people, within an institution that is 231-years old? And why is this important?
The French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil talked about “experimental certainties.” An experimental certainty is something that can be only known through practice; something that can be only known when used in the presence of others. And those places of presence are churches. Our church on Court Hill is where we practice our beliefs and actions – crazy as they seem to others. It is where we take risks. It is where we can leave our comfort zones.
A church is a place of safety where one needn't fear. It is a place to humbly try to live outside of one's self. It is a place where, to paraphrase Robert Frost, they have to take you in. But there are some who haven't realized that yet, some who may have come from more rigid traditions where a diverse, fluid approach to faith and worship is not appreciated. Or maybe they never thought of that question before, but only know something is gnawing at their core. They have a place with us, and we owe them the opportunity for growth and self-expression.
Our church is a place where the life of the spirit is taken seriously. It is also a place of content, comfort, and camaraderie. The goal of the Prudential Committee to expand that to include and welcome diverse spiritual experiences will make our church a more personal place, uniquely vital to everyone involved.

That is why I'm here. That is why I support First Unitarian. Please join me in this important work.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Member Stories: A Conversation with Linda Tartaglia

By
A conversation with Linda Tartaglia about joining First Unitarian and getting involved in the church community. Brian Shea: How long have you and your family been members of the church? Linda Tartaglia: About 2 years now. My husband Jim attended first, and then I started in the spring about a year later and by the end of the summer/early fall, that’s when we became members. Brian: A few months ago I was ushering and Jim was the welcome person in the front of the church. So we were just kind of chatting and it was funny because I think our family joined around the same time your family did, but I just assumed you had been members for a long time. You know when you go into a new place you assume that everyone has been there for a long time? So he was like, “oh yeah, we just joined relatively soon”. And he had mentioned, that he was brought up in the Catholic Church. Linda: Yeah. Me too. Brian: My wife and I as well, so we were kind of chatting abo
Post a Comment
Read more

New Member Stories: Emily Miller and Jim Burakiewicz

By
"We wanted to be part of what made the Church a place we were drawn to." This week's post is an interview with Emily Miller and Jim Burakiewicz about their experiences as new members of the First Unitarian community. Before you began attending First Unitarian, had you been attending another church or other faith community? No, not since childhood. Emily had explored Unitarianism before, but had not found a place that fit. Jim had been brought up Catholic and had not attended church for years. How did you hear about First Unitarian and what made you decide to visit? Emily had initially found First Unitarian and was interested in its history. We were both looking for a deeper community here in Worcester and decided that First Unitarian was a place to look for it. Why did you decide to become active participants in the church community? We found that everyone was so welcoming and friendly that we wanted to become contributing members of the church. As a path of
Post a Comment
Read more

An Outstanding Day One for the Annual Pledge Drive

By
" It is rare indeed that people give.  Most people guard and keep. "  If this observation from James Baldwin, one of our contry's most respected philosophers and novelists, is true, then the opening Sunday of our Annual Stewardship Pledge Drive was a rare one indeed.  Consider these day one  statistics : Total amound pledged: $96,628 (32% of our $300,000 goal !) Number of pledges: 62 (6 of these were first time pledges !) A whopping 56% increased their pledge over last year ! Let us keep the momentum going!  If you have not yet sent in your pledge, do so today.   This is truly a wonderful beginning, and it was made even more special by our interim minister's homily.  If you missed Tracey's message, what follows are a few of her memorable and moving insights.  We come through these doors in search, in need, in hope, in prayer. We come looking for something to make our lives better; to make the lives of our family, our friends, our neigh
2 comments
Read more