Living with Intention… In a Faith Community
Reflecting back to my beginnings as a Unitarian Universalist 15 years ago, I ask myself what it was that drew me in. This month’s theme has certainly helped to clarify that. Often I would say, as a young mother, that I joined the UUCL community because “I just needed something for myself and a place for my daughter to learn and explore”. But, I couldn’t really put my finger on exactly what that “something” meant.
“Living with Intention” has helped me to realize that, although I was coming in as an atheist, I still needed a religious community to learn and grow from, a community which could help me shape my perceptions of the world and the universe we spin around in, and to set intentions for how to be in this world. I needed a community that accepted me for who I was and where I was at and would help draw me into their circle of love and care. UUCL was, and still is, that community. My hope, my intentions, are to continue to nurture this place of love and care and connection so that all who enter its doors can find a spiritual home.
Faith/religion isn’t just about worshiping a god. In our community, it is about perceiving the entire interdependent web of existence as sacred and divine. It is about honoring that through the intentions we set. It is about holding ourselves to the high expectations of our 8 Principles knowing that we, as humans, will fall out of covenant over and over again. It is about offering grace to one another as we do and calling each other back in with a fierce and radical love. It is a place to find comfort and a place to be courageous.
If you are new to UUism, or just need to be reminded, here is a link to our 7 Principles:
https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/principles
Here is a link to the 8th Principle:
https://www.8thprincipleuu.org/
And here is a link to more information about the work the UUA is doing to adopt the 8th Principle (it has been adopted in our congregation as it has in many around the country): https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/article-ii-study-commission/blog/8thprinciple-0
How do your intentions fit in with that of the UU Principles? How does this help you to “be about the work of building the Beloved Community”?