Love Boldly

Jesus said "Love your neighbor as yourself," telling the story of the good Samaritan to illustrate that extending oneself beyond one's own class is difficult, as difficult then as it often is now. Isabella and Ferdinand were still undecided about funding Columbus' expedition when, Transylvanian Unitarian Bishop Francis David said-"In this world there have always been many opinions about faith and salvation. You need not think alike to love alike." About 400 years later, on the east coast of the land Columbus discovered, John Murray, acknowledged father of Universalism, began preaching of God's Love, espousing a loving God and rejecting the then accepted concept of original sin.

Forward through the ages in unbroken line, move the faithful spirits, at the call divine. Sometimes frayed, sometimes stretched thin, the line that runs through our Universalist and Unitarian history, our call to the divine, continues to be what William Ellery Channing named "love towards one's fellows". Channing who, because he was a strong voice and organizing mind of the fledgling Unitarian movement, is considered the father of Unitarianism said, "true holiness is love to God, Love to Christ, love toward one's fellows". Love of others was extended in the spirit of the good Samaritan by Joseph Tuckerman who, in the early 1820's, pioneered an innovative ministry-at-large in Boston. It was an effort to take liberal religion to the new class of urban poor spawned by the rapidly urbanizing society of the early nineteenth century. Tuckerman's ministry involved meeting needs of the poor and the difficult task of educating sometimes obtuse Unitarian clergy and laity about the nature of urban poverty. The Benevolent Fraternity continues to provide ministry the urban poor of Boston.

"Forward Through the Ages in unbroken line move the faithful spirits at the call divine. Gifts in differing measure, hearts of one accord" - - -What looks retrospectively like one accord doesn't tell the whole story. Those who spoke out as prophets and urged loving boldly often found themselves, not martyred, but outside the circle of fellowship. Theodore Parker, who achieved icon status in the 20th century, was ostracized by colleagues after his Transient and Permanent in Christianity sermon - which marked the beginning of Unitarian separation from Christianity- and was further exiled by being an outspoken abolitionist. Slavery was the moral issue of the first half of the 19th century. Bank presidents, textile mill owners, Boston Brahmins, Unitarians had more to lose. As a group they were more tepid about working to end slavery than were the Universalists who condemned slavery as inconsistent with their theology and its idea of an all-inclusive human family, considering it a social evil and perhaps because its membership was overwhelmingly working class.

Acting, urging others to act despite the risk of being out of favor because of their actions. Yet the line of Universalist and Unitarian reformers is long and illustrious:

Mary Livermore
Thomas Starr King
Antoinette Blackwell
John Holmes Hayes
Horace Mann
Dorthea Dix
Susan B. Anthony
Clara Barton

are only a few of those who established the heritage James Luther Adams referred to when he wrote, "our responsibility is to maintain the heritage that is ours, the heritage of response to the community forming power . . .that calls us to the affirmation of that abundant love which is not ultimately in our possession but is a holy gift. It is the ground and goal of our vocation."

It wasn't until the Civil Rights movement that UU's again, moved into a public leadership on a social issue. Individuals and congregations responded to the need to register voters in the south, teaching at freedom schools, risking, and sometimes losing, their lives, attempting to insure equal access to that basic right of citizenship: voting. Yet, at the 1968 GA in Cleveland delegates did not vote to fund moneys previously promised to the black power movement in our own ranks, a watershed decision which continues to affect us. Anyone who wonders why the emphasis on Diversity, the focus that anti-racism efforts have taken, needs to know that we choose not to love boldly in 1968. Three decades later that decision continues to echo.

I joined People's Church in Kalamazoo in 1965 and began a life of social activism. We moved to Yakima after dissension between members who supported or opposed the Vietnam War had scarred that congregation. Not having fully integrated Francis David's maxim "we need not think alike to love alike" it pulled back from social action rather than risk further conflict. The UU Church of Yakima is not the only congregation with this history. Fear of conflict kept many churches from being the social and moral force they could, should be. Yet, as I said in the first sermon of this series, world changing is what religion is ultimately about. And while many of us do good, wonderful work, I'm increasingly convinced that doing the same work in the name of a religious movement has more impact than our personal efforts.

For three decades I was a social activist. My paid and volunteer life was caught up in issues of justice and service. While always supported, often inspired, by the church none of it was done in the name of the church. And I have come to believe that Loving Boldly means we seek meaningful institutional involvement in social and economic justice movements.

Rev Marilyn Sewell is a ready witness to the impact of strong social action on the life, and growth of a church, once First Church Portland, Oregon became known as a church that walks its talk. In a few short years it grew from a 600 to a 1300 member congregation. Reverend Sewell's comments speak to the message in our second hymn this morning, "and have not love my words are vain." In a recent interview Rev Sewell says, "My advice is to continue to deepen spiritually and then follow the dictates of your heart. You will reach out-you will have to if you really, truly deepen spiritually. That will be the natural, the inescapable result of your spiritual growth. Then look at the resources of the church and consider its values and ask yourself, 'Where does the money go?' In our UU churches we say we're supporting social justice but by and large, we're not putting much money there. How many of our churches have social justice committees that are on the periphery of the congregation? And how many are spiritually grounded? If you're not spiritually grounded, you may very well be acting from negative emotions and projecting them. Without that Spirit grounding you, you lose focus, and can even become violent in support of the good. Its the spirituality that under girds everything and that sustains you when the going gets tough."

Fifteen years ago the going got tough for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. Just when it was most needed, just before incarceration became the prison industry complex, they ended their Prison Moratorium program. I was one of the Board members who voted to end the program. We did so because there was not support, from members/congregations/or foundations, to continue the program. It was a pragmatic but not spiritually grounded decision. Since then the prison industry has become a growth industry, one of the United States' fastest growing, even though the crime rate is down 18% since 1980. Due to changes in sentencing laws, the US prison populations has quadrupled since 1980. This expansion has come at enormous social and economic cost. Currently incarceration is more expensive than private college tuition.

Being part of the UUSC decision has weighed on my heart for years. This year at General Assembly I saw a way to return to the issue. Prison Reform (How can UUs formulate and advocate humane and ethical ways of dealing with the ever-growing challenge of our prison population, the prison industry, and methods of detention and rehabilitation?) was one of five study/action Issues presented at General Assembly. In the final balloting Economic Globalization (How can UUs respond to the unprecedented opportunities and potentially dangerous environmental, political, and quality of life challenges accompanying economic globalization?) was selected as the study item for the next year. I was disappointed, it feels like NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) to me and I plan to work to be certain Prison Reform is one of the choices at GA 2002.

I believe UU involvement can make a difference, that it will be an opportunity to address situations as disgraceful as those the mid 19th century reformers tackled. This is one of the wrongs to be righted. I am not saying rush out to act for the sake of actions. I am urging us to embrace appropriate actions. I am urging us to follow Marilyn Sewell's advice "To continue to deepen spiritually and then follow the dictates of your heart." I believe that we will have a deepened sense of purpose and accomplishment, find greater value in our time on this earth if we love boldly,.and, in the words of John Wesley:

Do all the good we can,
by all the means we can,
in all the ways we can,
in all the places we can,
at all the times we can,
to all the people we can,
as long as ever we can,
This is were we begin.

Fran Dew August 19, 2001