“All of us know what it’s like to lose our faith. We’ve been betrayed by a relationship, let down by our church community or convinced that life just won’t get better.”
– From the March 2022 Renewing Faith Soul Matters packet
The poem below (author unknown) captures that sense of vulnerability when our faith is tested.
How do we renew our faith when so much is falling apart?
In these fragile days,
we, who assess life through “the fire of reason,”
find so little reason to trust
that everything’s going to be ok.
The climate is collapsing.
Racism so often morphs more than it is removed.
Politics divide more than they unite.
Don’t tell us it’s slowly getting better.
Don’t ask us to deny this feeling of despair that feels so real.
On so many days, we have lost our hope for a better day.
But we do long for it!
Don’t we?
Despite the setbacks and slowness,
there remains something inside that continues to say,
“It can be better!”
“More is possible!”
“I need to believe that goodness is real.”
It’s a longing that lingers no matter what.
Maybe that’s what the preacher meant
when he spoke of faith as a hunger for home.
Maybe faith is more about remembering
our longing for what we love and who we want to be,
more than it is an act of restoring our trust
that everything will work out well.
Maybe the peacenik was right:
We must remain faithful to the fight
not because change is guaranteed
but to ensure that we are not changed.
Certainly, our faith has been tested time and time again by headlines of invasions, insurrections, an ecosystem on the brink and incivility close to home. If ever there was a time to renew our faith, it is now. Which is why I was especially heartened to learn of this month’s worship and Soul Matters theme: Renewing Faith. The activities listed for renewing faith in the Soul Matters curriculum include “Your Faith in Six Words,” “Doubt Your Doubts,” “Picture Your Faith,” “Tell Them” and “Which Resource is Yours?”. Perhaps you also pondered these choices when preparing for your own March Covenant Group meetings. My own musings first led me to “Tell Them,” which proved overwhelming when faced with the welcome task of naming all those individuals at UUCF who make a difference in the world and renew my faith in humankind. (I hope you know who you are!). Instead, I created my faith list of all I know to be true. I’d like to share it with you.
All that I know to be true:
Spying the first spring flower brings me hope.
Eating a scoop of Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream will make me smile.
A snuggle with a furry friend will warm my heart.
The UUCF Youth Service will restore my faith in humanity.
My yoga practice will bring me back to my center point.
Watching children play will fill me with wonder.
Singing with the Community Choir will bring my soul joy.
And making UUCF my spiritual home will always make me proud.
Thank you to UUCF and its multitude of “faith renewers” for your gifts to our spiritual community and to humankind.
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