"Submission 17 John Townsend All Souls Unitarian Church (Tulsa ) 7111 ( Everywhere Member)
What is your suggestion or idea?
Add the quality ““Integrity”” to the six qualities circling the central quality of
““Love””.
What is the reason for your amendment idea?
Integrity is not only ““honesty””, but also the quality of deep reflection
which leads, allows ethical and spiritual qualities to be threaded
equally through the whole cloth of congregations and the larger denomination of
Unitarian Universalism.
Integrity is the quality that searches for the most truthful principles and practices.
Integrity promotes the self-reflection necessary for self-correction and the removal of illusions and delusions.
Have you discussed this idea with your congregation or other UUs?
I have talked extensively with a former Unitarian-Universalist about her very
negative experiences at a certain UU congregation. Something was beyond belief, but it wasn’t ““Love””.
I have also attended several UU congregations where hypocritical practices regarding income were carried out."
Integrity is a central value to me in my own ministry, so I’m interested in this thought. But I think this is more likely to succeed if you write out the whole value and covenant, not just the word.
This post brings up a large concern. Are these seven values our only ones? Integrity is not one that immediately sprang to mind, but what about gratitude, wonder, forgiveness, freedom, and many that others might come up with. Why just these seven?
You have just articulated why choosing “values” instead of “principles” is so limiting and wrong. Values like integrity, courage, compassion and hundreds of others support “principles”-- broad statements of purpose. Just look in the back of the Grey Hymnal in the pages where the hymns are grouped and you will find many values. They all in one form or another support the seven principles in the front of the hymnal.