Sixteen years ago my husband, Christian, was laid off from his job as a newspaper reporter. As more and more people began turning to the internet for news, journalists like Christian began to lose the jobs they’d gone to school for, and dedicated their lives to. The fourth estate was reduced to a shell of itself, and it impacted the lives of thousands of people.
Losing a job he loved in a field he believed in was tough. This was not just the loss of a job, it was the loss of a part of his identity and the future he had dreamed about. What’s more, this loss brought him face to face with the same questions many around the country who’ve been recently laid off are wrestling with as they consider what comes next.
Since I can’t do what I was doing before, what should I do now? What is my life’s purpose? What was I made for?
Print was dying a slow death just about everywhere, but he knew he wanted his work to mean something, to serve a cause larger than just providing a paycheck or making some business owner richer. So, in Christian’s case, he decided it was as good a time as any to follow his love for his church and go into the Unitarian Universalist ministry. Had he not made that choice, we never would have met, so I’m glad events unfolded as they did. But even when change eventually leads to a positive path, the loss along the way can be painful.
We in the United States and especially here in the DC metro area are experiencing political and economic shifts and a whole lot of loss on a massive scale. The reach of the current administration is proving to be very long indeed, causing disruptions in everything from education to health care, HR to banking. The lives of entire families are being turned upside down, and it’s causing a lot of people to take stock and ask themselves: What should I do now? What is my purpose? What was I made for?
Some people are choosing to retire early. A few are leaving the country for places where they will be more safe. Others are going into different lines of work. But even some people whose employment hasn’t changed have been making changes of their own. They are changing their spending habits to align with their values. Target stock alone has experienced a sharp decline since they dropped their DEI initiatives, falling a whopping 28 cents on its worst recent day of trading. It will be interesting to see where the Target and Walmart, Coca Cola and McDonalds boycotts lead. I think in part they’ve decided that their purpose is broader than being a consumer and enriching the billionaire class in the name of convenience.
As we’ve been preparing for today’s Annual Budget Kick-Off, this has made me wonder about this congregation and its future. We’ve been through a lot in the last several years, from pandemic lock-downs to rebuilding congregational life afterward. This congregation has experienced a lot of loss over the years, and has learned real resilience along the way. Now, we find ourselves in yet another challenging political and economic moment. In this new context, what is our purpose as a congregation? What was UUCSS made for?
My colleague, Rev. John Gibbons, used to tell a story come stewardship time. In the 1840s his historic Massachusetts church had installed wood stoves so that parishioners would no longer have to suffer through wintertime services without warmth. So, people stopped bringing individual foot warmers with them to church and instead began contributing firewood to the piles for the woodstoves.
Years later, the woodstoves were replaced by a furnace, installed in the basement, out of sight. This was a big shift. No longer could people only bring foot warmers for themselves, or firewood for the woodstove closest to their pew. To have a furnace that heated the entire church was a symbol that all were welcome here. You don’t have to bring your own warmth with you; all can come in and be warmed. As Rev. Gibbons writes “the heat shall rise on the just and unjust alike. The good news is that you can come here as you are, shivering perhaps and still you will be warmed. The bad news, in a way, is that the furnace is out of sight.”
The Annual Budget Drive is the time we drag out the metaphorical furnace for everyone to see. It’s a yearly reminder that however visibly or invisibly, we are in this together. Our gifts serve far more than just ourselves. What one contributes benefits all.
So, what were we made for? We were made to care for one another, each according to their need, whether they are able to contribute a lot or a little at this particular time in their life.
What were we made for? Well, a congregation isn’t made in a moment. Yes, we were established in 1952 by thirteen founding members at the height of McCarthyism, another deeply threatening time in this nation’s history. But a congregation is always being remade, always changing, ebbing and flowing as people move or pass away, as new members come in, as the intersection of our values and the world around us makes claims and demands upon our lives.
What were we made for? Hebrew Bible scholar, Walter Brueggemann, writes that “The prophetic tasks of the church are to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion, grieve in a society that practices denial, and express hope in a society that lives in despair.”
As we begin this year’s Annual Budget Drive, as we all grapple with what dollar amount to pledge for the 2025-2026 church year, let us begin with what it means to us to be part of a community that promotes our values of freedom, diversity, and inclusion in this time and this place. Let us start with the understanding that this community was made to care for one another. Made to provide warmth to all who need it. Made to tell the truth, grieve together, and express hope. These are all worthy purposes for UUCSS, and they are more important now than ever.
And in order to serve them well, we need everyone to make a financial commitment to sustain this important work not just in our lives, but the lives of those who haven’t even come through our doors or logged into our Zoom rooms yet.
Today, and in all the days to come, let us remember that we are not alone, we are in this together. We, each and all, have both power and purpose. May we find the faith and courage to live them out, because both are needed, now more than ever.