Dear Ones,

I appreciated the opportunity to present a Question Box service with the Fellowship on April 16. And I did not get to all the questions. So, here is a stab at some of the ones I did not answer in person.

 

Here is one question: “Given the Easter season, Pilate’s question, ‘What is truth’ comes to mind–especially in light of the chalice extinguishing we used to use on Pohl Rd—’May this flame be enough to guide us, as we seek the truth that no one lives without, and no one completely comprehends.’” And here is the answer I have in this moment: Truth and facts are not the same thing. Facts are the details of a happening. Truth is the meaning that one makes of it. And I see the question here, as I understand it, is not so much “What is truth?” but rather “What is the truth I cannot do without?” or “What is the truth that must guide my thoughts, feelings, and actions?” Yes, such truth will be incomplete and fluid, as are we humans. And we have Unitarian Universalist values to guide us into knowing, feeling, and doing the truth that we cannot live without.

 

And a second question, which connects to this first one: “How might I talk about UU in a way that welcomes people and shows the principles practiced in daily life?” And here is the answer I have in this moment: The principles can be summed up as a truth about a good shape for human relationship—loving diversity, encouraging connection, struggling our way to compassionate companionship with faith and hope. I am sure you can find a way to put this into your own words. If we each remind ourselves on a regular basis of about being Unitarian Universalist is fulfilling and important—how it is a truth to each of us—then we can each more easily speak this aloud to others and examine our daily lives for the evidence that we practice what we preach.

 

May you resist your impulses to remain quiet when you have a question, and may you know that in asking questions together we find our own yet compatible answers, as you remember that you are loved, you are worthy, you are welcome, and you are needed. May you feel it so and may it be so.

 

Blessings and warm wishes, Rev. Rita