Several people asked me about the closing words I shared at platform service this morning, and at least one person asked that I post them here. So...
Here is the beautiful reading from Kenneth Patton, a Unitarian Universalist minister who is sometimes referred to as the Humanist mystic! I just love what he says about what a religious community is. And a huge thank you to the three amazing WES members who shared their thoughts this morning. Their moving and thoughtful remarks will be posted online in the next few days.
This house is for the ingathering of nature and human nature.
It is a house of friendships, a haven in trouble, an open room for the encouragement of our struggle.
It is a house of freedom, guarding the dignity and worth of every person.
It offers a platform for the free voice, for declaring, both in times of security and danger, the full and undivided conflict of opinion.
It is a house of truth-seeking, where scientists can encourage devotion to their quest, where mystics can abide in a community of searchers.
It is a house of art, adorning its celebrations with melodies and handiworks.
It is a house of prophecy, outrunning times past and times present in visions of growth and progress.
This house is a cradle for our dreams, the workshop of our common endeavor.
2 comments:
I think that last line may be the elevator speech we've been searching for.
(from Barbara Searle)
I've just started reading American Grace by Putnam and Campbell, a discussion of religion in America. The authors include vignettes of churches, and I happened to read the first descriptions, of three Episcopal churches in the Boston area, right after attending the amazing platform yesterday. (Three members described their passions and how they are nurtured by WES.)
The contrast was palpable -- in all three churches the clergy yearned for a nurturing community and couldn't succeed in building one. It brought home to me what an extraordinary achievement the WES community is. I'm not sure how it started, but once started, we seem to have got the knack of keeping it going, and so it continues to grow in depth and acceptance. I feel so fortunate to be part of it!
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