At the bonfire/s’mores feast last Friday night at Live Oak, we had a good crowd. And what I heard over and over again was, “I just needed to be with my people.” Significantly, we had several people new to Live Oak at the bonfire.
I have shared before about an idea from Stephen Colbert that I don’t entirely agree with, but there’s enough in it that mirrors some of my experiences that I also can’t just dispense with it. He says, in talking about a terrible family tragedy that happened when he was a child, he came to realize he had gratitude for it: “I love the thing that I most wish had not happened.”
I don’t believe I will ever come to a time when I can say that about the 2024 presidential election. Like most of you, I am in grief, I am afraid of what is to come and who will be most hurt by it. And also …. there is an opportunity in this moment for Unitarian Universalism, and specifically Live Oak, to find our people, and to become even more of a force for good in our corner of the world.
How did you hear about Unitarian Universalism? Practically everyone I know has a story. Even if you grew up in the faith, your parents have a story of happening upon this faith through a happenstance conversation, a class that mentioned one of our pioneers like Emerson, just some kind of random incident. Because we are not well-known.
I was talking to our member Larise B. today and asked how she found us. Well! She has always been passionate about social justice and because of that, she was at the Capitol when we happened to be there, holding up a giant pride banner. She said she knew then that she’d found her people.
Just think of that.
Our people are out there, looking for their “chosen village.” How can we make it easier for them?
We got a boost this week. The Washington Post ran an article by Perry Bacon, Jr., titled “Don’t doomscroll about Trump. Do these five things instead.” #2 on his list? Join a UU Congregation!
2. Join a Unitarian Universalist congregation.
If you’re part of a Christian, Muslim, Jewish or other religious group that meets regularly and engages politically, skip this. But there is a growing number of Americans, particularly on the left, who are religiously unaffiliated and not regularly congregating with people who share their values.
They should consider the Unitarian Universalists. I recently started regularly attending a UU service in Louisville. It’s much more political than the Christian churches I have previously been a member of. That turned me off at first. Since politics is essentially my job, I try (usually unsuccessfully) to avoid discussions of elections and government in my off-hours. And I was leery of a church whose openly liberal values would clearly turn off Trump supporters and therefore ensure a congregation that didn’t include many Republicans.
But before the election, church members engaged in politics in a practical way, encouraging congregants to go canvassing in opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment here to create a school vouchers program. (It failed.) So at least on Sundays, I was in a community of people working on a concrete, discrete local issue, as opposed to nervously speculating about Vice President Kamala Harris’s poll numbers.
Post-election, I was relieved to be in a space where we openly discussed shared values and ideals we felt had been rejected by America in electing Trump, such as support of immigrants and LGBTQ+ people.
UU congregations across the US are having an exciting influx of visitors right now. The election was a reminder to all of us that we need community, we need each other. People with similar values, who prioritize ethics, compassion, and equity. People who want to make a difference. And people who want to be together.
Right now, I need to be with my people. Including the ones I haven’t met yet.
