This summer a big thing happened at our Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregation’s General Assembly- delegates of our far flung congregations had our final vote on whether or not to change article two of our bylaws.
That sounds incredibly boring and dry, maybe. But this is the piece of our bylaws that is our covenant- the piece so many of us have pointed to for decades as the explanation of what defines us Unitarian Universalists.
This piece of our bylaws had been organized as principles and sources, and after this summer it is organized in the form of six values, with love at the center.
When I first heard about this proposed change, I had a lot of feelings- I had to make a lot of art about it. But I’m really excited about the change. Because we are a religious tradition that believes we have to keep evolving, keep transforming. Because we’re a tradition that centers Love- love we live out as Justice, Equity, Transformation, Plurality, Interdependence, and Generosity. Because I can actually remember six values that spell out Jetpig, and I could never remember what exactly our seven principles and six sources were- in fact in my whole life I have only known one person who memorized them, and he was a teenager who learned them as a joke because his father was a minister who didn’t know them by heart.
I am really excited for this year of centering our lifespan learning and worship and conversations around these values. I think they are a great articulation of our present day Unitarian Universalist theology. A theology that is a conversation, that is not about personal belief but about what we can do together, that is about centering a love we carry with us wherever we go.
Unitarian Universalism is a religion focused on Love is an explanation I’ve been using for a long time- especially when I was an interfaith chaplain who needed to explain what tradition I served to evangelical christians- and I know others have been using that explanation for ages, too.
The folks who crafted these values were just finding a way to make what was already true about our shared understanding of our faith more transparent, getting down who we already are on paper. This love we center is not about romance, but it is about relationship, right?
As Nancy McDonald Ladd points out, Love is an inherently relational enterprise. It does not require individual retrenchment into a place of defensiveness and self-protection. It does not care what you believe. Love cares how we can generate life-giving hope in concert with those around us….”
And Bell Hooks reminds us that love is no tame thing.
“The practice of love,” she wrote, “offers no place of safety. We risk loss, hurt, pain. We risk being acted upon by forces outside our control.”
We practice love even though it is risky. This is something I talk about a lot when I share the story of my home congregation, which was targeted in a hate crime because of our work for progressive causes and especially LGBTQ rights, and which chose, after the horrific hate crime of the summer of 2008, to put up a new banner, declaring even more clearly, LOVE is the spirit of this church.
This, again, isn’t new to us, right? These new values, this new declaration that we Unitarian Universalists are centering on love, this is an expression of a conversation we were already having, questions we were already asking each other.
We have our Side with Love campaign, which asks us to keep looking for which side love is on, that asks us to notice when love calls us to be on a side. We offer Our Whole Lives as one of our central ministries, which asks us to consider how we can love each other into healthier personal lives and better understandings. We sing about love, many of our favorite readings and statements about covenant center love, our prayers speak to the spirit of life and love. We have long been on the perilous path of listening to and being guided by love. Now we have six new ways to organize how we think about what love is asking of us.
I am so excited to continue exploring and living into these values with you!