#206 | Lisa Fuller | Keep Sources & Blend Inspirations Into

Submission 206
Lisa Fuller
Berrien UU Fellowship (Saint Joseph, MI) 5423

What is your suggestion or idea?

Section C-2.3. Inspirations. As Unitarian Universalists, we use, and are inspired by, sacred and secular understandings that help us to live into our values. We respect the histories, contexts and cultures in which they were created and are currently practiced. These sources ground us and sustain us in ordinary, difficult, and joyous times. Grateful for the religious ancestries we inherit and the diversity which enriches our faith, we are called to ever deepen and expand our wisdom.

The living tradition which we share draws from many sources:

  • Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;

  • Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion and the transforming power of love;

  • Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;

  • Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

  • Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;

  • Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.

What is the reason for your amendment idea?

Keep current Sources and blend the new Inspirations into. I really like being explicit about our sources, even if we can’t name them all.

Have you discussed this idea with your congregation or other UUs?

Yes. Many agree.

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I would like to see a blending that does edit the Sources as they stand. I hope to have my proposed amendment here soon (waiting for final results of congregational input).

Of the items missing in the current Inspirations section, the folks in my congregation miss science the most.

PS: Folks are welcome to connect with me on Facebook.

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