“Beloved Community” … what a beautiful vision. As our February theme, Beloved Community is a topic rich with meaning for Unitarian Universalists. It reflects our UU Principles – the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and the goal of world community. But as I prepare for my Soul Matters Covenant Group meeting later this month, I’ve been reflecting a little deeper on what Beloved Community means to me.
When I think on this term, my mind falls to the “Universalist” side of our faith. That all individuals have a shared beauty, and that all religions are connected with common, universal beliefs. We are a community bound in love – and thus committed to collective healing. When I look at the Soul Matters packet for February, these two quotes, and my resulting thoughts, struck me:
We are called to be persons who embody hope for one another. – Paul J. Wadell
… If I want to embody hope for others, it means empowering others. But what happens when a power structure is weighted to benefit one group, a group I am a part of? How can I shift that power?
What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other? – George Eliot
… If I want to make life less difficult for others, it means taking away embedded roadblocks. But what if those roadblocks are my current comfort zone? What’s the next step?
When my reflection is stretched in this way, I feel a pull toward the proposed 8th Principle. This proposal – which Susan Bennett wrote about in an earlier blog – refers to “journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” Susan and others at UUCF are working with a Potomac Partnership team to discuss adopting this 8th Principle in our congregations, as part of a larger effort to vote on it at the Unitarian Universalist Association level in 2023.
I’m grateful I belong to a faith community that will be exploring this proposal together in the coming months. Many Covenant Groups will be sharing their reflections on Beloved Community and the 8th Principle this month. UUCF’s 8th Principle team will be organizing sessions for individuals to learn, listen and share. And there is also an exciting online New Day Rising conference on Sat., Feb. 27, 12-8 p.m. (yes, I know – but they promise “plenty of breaks”!), which will offer many workshops, including a session on the 8th Principle led by Paula Cole Jones, the proposal’s creator.
I feel a sense of excitement and urgency for this journey, and I’m glad my beloved community will be surrounding me each step of the way.
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