From the minister:

How Do We Reconnect?

Seeking Creative Answers

Can we be part of the solution? That’s the question that came to mind as I was listening to Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Deep Economies, talk about the problem of global warming. He said the technology we most need to fix is related to how we create our communities. We live in an age of isolation and consumption, leading to greater unhappiness and the destruction of our planet. How do we turn this around to be about connecting to the real world rather than a cyber one? How can we arrive at a place where we value the earth enough to seek to live in harmony and to understand that this is our salvation? As I had hoped to say on Sunday, Feb. 25, but will describe on Sunday, March 4, this seems to be the most important theological project of our era: reconnecting to what will genuinely bring satisfaction to our lives, deep connections to other people and to the places we love. Can we be part of the solution? Can we help to establish these ways of being in our community?

We are about trying to establish relationships— among each other, across the generations, within and outside of our congregation. Do we provide adequate opportunities to foster such relationships? There are potlucks, but are there family events of quality and consistency? There are classes, but are there enough opportunities to deepen our knowledge in such a way that we are transformed? There is religious education for our children and youth, but are there the resources for parents to be part of shaping how our children understand themselves as Unitarian Universalists?

My first reaction is to form a committee—that’s the UU spiritual practice. But I don’t think another group of meetings is the answer. Instead I want to issue an invitation to each of you: If you want to be part of the solution, contact me—send me an email, give me a call, stop by my office. Let me know what you are thinking. Share with me what moves your heart to want to make a difference. I can call a meeting, and people may or may not show up. But instead, I want some ideas as to what direction we could go. What matters to you? What will help you reconnect? We are all busy, too busy. The last thing we need is another thing. That busyness is a symptom of the problem, a product of our dislocation. I don’t know how to step back from this abyss—will you help?

Here are a couple of steps we’re taking in the right direction. We will offer Parents as Resident Theologians, beginning in April. This will be an opportunity for parents and others who want to understand their theologies better so they can be comfortable being what they already are: their children’s primary source of religious education.

Also, there will be an event April 14 to call attention to the need for our nation to wake up to the global warming crisis. Watch our local paper and the Around Ames column in the Sunday order of service for more information. That weekend I will be with our delegation at the district meeting in Minneapolis. I hope to find an event there that my family can attend.

As you can tell from this column, I have more questions than answers. We have always been in this creative process together; I hope that you will join me in seeking creative ways in which to be the answer to the issues facing our world today.

-- Brian