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8 November 2023
Beloved Saltwater Church Community,
I'm looking forward to sharing my first Sunday morning message with you this weekend on November 12, the first day of my monthly visit to Des Moines, which runs through the November 19 (and I still have in-person meetings available, sign up HERE). I hope you'll come to Sunday's From You I Receive, To You I Give: The Generosity of Beloved Community service (whether in person or via Zoom) prepared to give and receive gifts, both spiritual and tangible. One gift that I hope to both give and receive on Sunday morning is the gift of covenant.
20th century Unitarian Universalist theologian Rev. Dr. James Luther Adams, whose birthday is this Sunday, wrote in From Cage to Covenant, “Human beings, individually and collectively, become human by making commitments, by making promises. The human being as such, as Martin Buber says, is the promise-making, promise-keeping, promisebreaking, promise-renewing creature.” Covenants are the mutual promises we make to each other about how we will be together in this human community, and these promises that we give and receive are more important to us as Unitarian Universalists than the particulars of our individual beliefs about the nature of Divinity or what happens after we die. And, because our faith is free, we each get to choose if we want to make those promises or not.
I'm writing today to offer you the words of the covenant I'll ask you to share with me on Sunday, so that you can freely choose if you want to join in. One of the reasons I am a Unitarian Universalist is because there is no expectation in this faith for me to speak words that don't ring true to me, and the same is true for you. I'm grateful for Board President Aida Sanchez-Vela and lay minister Debra Valpey, who helped me craft these promises that we will speak on Sunday, and that will shape our journey together this church year. These words borrow a phrase I learned from Rev. Dr. Cornell West at the first UU General Assembly I ever attended, words that have become central to the practice of my UU faith: “Justice is what love looks like in public.” You don't need to memorize this covenant for Sunday, but I encourage you to read it over before the service, so you'll be ready to give and receive these promises in Beloved Community, as you choose.
In Faith,
Rev. Alison
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Covenant Between Saltwater Church and Rev. Alison, November, 2023
Rev. Alison:
As your minister, I have all this and more to give to our shared ministry:
Leadership grounded in our Unitarian Universalist faith, Saltwater's mission, the priorities established by the board, and the creativity and inspiration that flow from the Spirit of Life.
Partnership with staff, lay leaders, community partners, members and friends of the congregation to co-create our vision of Saltwater Church's vibrant present and resilient future, and to live them into being.
Accountability to our covenant of right relations, the contract I signed with your Board, the guidelines of the UU Minister's Association, our UU principles and values, and my own conscience that is the voice of the Spirit of Life within.
And at the center of these is Love, Love for this community and the people in it, Love that is the Spirit of Life that flows through me, Love that leads me join you in your good work for justice, because justice is what Love looks like in public.
Congregation:
As the Saltwater Church community, we have all this and more to give to our shared ministry:
Sustenance in the form of time, talent and treasure devoted to the mission, work, and future of Saltwater Church.
Openness to learning new things, to trying new ways, to making new connections, and to our spiritual growth as individuals and as a congregation.
Accountability to our covenant of right relations, our UU principles and values, the commitments I've made to this community, and my own conscience.
And at the center of these is Love, Love for this community and the people in it, Love that is the Spirit of Life that flows through us all, Love that leads us as we work together for justice, because justice is what Love looks like in public.
ALL:
I give my gifts and receive yours. Together we join in this covenant in the spirit of Beloved Community.
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Please feel free to connect with me!
Phone: 206.627.5119
Email: minister@saltwaterchurch.org
(This email may reply with an error, if so you can try minister.swuuc@gmail.com. I should be able to receive email sent to either address.)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RisingMom/
Personal Website: https://www.durensutherland.com
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