Heavy Questions in a Light Season
A friendly reminder that there will be no post next week to make space to attend the UUA's week of Professional/Ministry Days and General Assembly. Hold My Chalice will return on June 24th.
One of my favorite services of the year is one I typically do toward the end of the church year, as we head into summer. It's the Question Box sermon, where ministers collect questions from the congregation and attempt to answer them. Some collect questions in advance, but I love a bit of improv, so I collect them in the first part of the service, sort through while the choir sings, and then spend about 20 minutes answering as many as I can.
In most years that I've done this, there are some heavier questions about the state of the world, but many are focused on what I think of as typical questions of faith and meaning - questions about foundational theologies, the afterlife, covenant, etc. are often the hallmark of a question box - there are often a few lighter questions too, about belonging, popular culture, and even once about my cats. It's often a good range, and even if there are questions about weightier topics, they can be easily bracketed to form what is typically a hopeful and joyful sermon.
This past Sunday, I read though the cards, and while there was one light question about Star Trek versus Star Wars, pretty much every question was focused on one of three topics: how to understand the removal of over 100 religions from the Department of Defense's list of recognized faiths (including Unitarian Universalism); our response to the evil we see in the world (discrimination, oppression, totalitarianism, etc.); how we make sure we don't fall into the same traps. All of which, of course, is kind of the same topic.
On one hand, I was a little surprised that there were so many that were so singularly focused. And then I had a wave of "oh dear, have I been remiss in talking at all about this"... but then I realized that even though I've been equipping this congregation with ideas, values, and perspectives to ground them for these questions, the questions are still so big, they have to be addressed head on.
So I talked. Longer than I should have, but no one seemed to mind. I shared thoughts from one of our military chaplains on what the DoD list means (and doesn't) and why it matters that we pay attention. I talked about the way the administration's actions these last 18 months have been largely an exercise in style over substance (which by and large continues to fail in the courts), and our role is to stay vigilant and resist the style becoming the substance. I talked about our constant need for empathy, knowing that humanity has survived because we cooperate and collaborate (Darwin's notion of survival of the friendliest). I reminded them that anger is needed, and righteous, and important for resistance, but that we need good avenues for our anger so that our compassion can lead the way. I talked about the ways we must remember our echo chambers aren't spaces of perfection, and that discrimination, racism, misogyny, ableism, etc. show up in sometimes damaging ways even within our walls - and how we must practice these inside our walls if we have any chance of getting it right outside our walls. And I chose Star Trek over Star Wars because I love the nearly 60-year old, overarching story of exploring the strange new world of being human and becoming a little better every day despite the perils and dangers we face.
I tell you all this because I know sometimes here at Hold My Chalice, I'm talking about annual meetings and fiscal policies and congregational shenanigans™ while the world is burning, and it might seem Pollyanna-ish and at the very least inconsequential.
But I think it matters that we look at how we are with one another, how we understand our liberal faith communities, how we build stronger institutions to help us resist the rise of fascism and reclaim democracy, freedom, and liberation for all. And that work to strengthen our faith communities isn't just about the big stuff - it is the little stuff. The policies. The behaviors. The ways and whys of gathering. We must be strong, together, to do this work - and it matters that we address the small stuff that keeps us from being strong. So many times our faith leaders are so busy with the picayune that they don't have the time or energy to do the big stuff.
So... yeah. Our questions are heavy. Hope is hard to find. But I'm pretty sure that as long as we keep talking, keep being empathetic, keep vigilant, and keep strengthening our communities, we will make it through.
See you in a couple of weeks.
Hey folks! I have an essay in the upcoming book Defiantly Joyful: Unitarian Universalist LGBTQIA+ Histories! It's available for pre-order, releasing June 16.
