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Covenant
Reverend Brian J. Kiely,
Unitarian Church of Edmonton, April 29, 2000
Why are we in this church? When we become members, what exactly
is it that we join? What is it that binds us together in this congregation?
These are not questions most of us think about often..if ever. Like
a family secret, they're something we just don't talk about. If we
do, we might find out that we don't really like the ideas of that
person sitting next to us today. We might worry that when we try
to identify the core of what draws us to this place we could find
ourselves in conflict with someone else. And if there is one thing
of which we are pretty sure, it's that we did not join a church to
become embroiled in conflict! And since we are Unitarians who try to be open to a broader range of ideas than most,
that possibility of disagreement and worse is always there. So we cautiously
choose to not ask certain questions, like, "What is it binds
us together in community?" Or at least, we don't ask them out
loud.
When it comes to what makes us different from other religious groups,
Unitarians can be wonderfully clear and detailed. But when we brush
up against naming what we are and what unites us, many of us become
as shy as a four year old in her first school play.
Now this is not so surprising. To look at our 500 year history Unitarians can find numerous instances where the act of defining religion has
drawn a circle that left us on the outside. Many of our personal stories
reflect the same feeling. Some (but not all) grew up in churches
where we found their creeds and statements of belief too limiting
for our own evolving religious perspective. Before we knew it we
were on the outside looking in. That's certainly one reason why Unitarians
and Unitarian Universalists tend to reject any statement that might
put a restriction on personal belief or opinion. In fact we reject
them so strongly that it's almost a heresy to even bring up the possibility
of such a declaration.
Now that's fine, but it does make the defining of who we are a tad
more challenging.
A few moments ago we shared words with our newest members. We promised
them our care and concern, and stated that we expected the same in return.
We offered them the rights and the responsibilities of membership,
and they accepted. What are those rights of responsibilities? Pretty
loose really. We ask that they attend church regularly. That's a
vague term since visiting annually can be termed regular. We ask
that they contribute to the well being of the church, through financial
donations and by giving time and energy to programs and activities.
Again, pretty loosely defined. No dollar amount is set, no minimum
volunteer expectation announced. And there is no follow up.
And as far as beliefs go, our bylaws only ask that new members be
in general sympathy with the purposes of this congregation. In the words we
spoke we mentioned joining together on the religious journey.
To me these expectations are far from onerous. For the most part
that's good. For those of us who are refugees from the doctrinal
purity of past faiths, it is precisely that openness that makes it
possible for us to be here. But again, it's a negative definition.
Most of the time defining ourselves by what we don't believe or what
we don't do is an okay thing, but every now and again some event
comes along in our personal life, our congregational life or in the
life of the larger association that asks us for something more. When
conflict arises, sometimes the non-defintion won't do.
At those times we must get more explicit about the unwritten agreements
that keep us together, the covenants that bind us in religious community.
Covenant, n. 1 an agreement; a contract. 2 Law a contract drawn
up under seal 3 Bible an agreement between God and a person or
nation.
(Cdn Oxford Dictionary)
That word covenant has a long history in the religions of the western
world. Indeed the story of the first covenants between YHWH and Abraham
have been retold for over 6,000 years in the Jewish culture. They had several
dealings over a lifetime, for Abram had become YHWH's main man in
Palestine and YHWH was much more willing to keep in touch in those
days. I want to highlight one of those agreements. For most of his
99 years Abram had been a faithful servant of YHWH but he lamented
that he and his wife Sarai had never had a child. Now as the story
begins, Abram has just defeated the armies of Sodom and Gomorrah
in YHWH's name. Having passed this test of faith, YHWH promises him
a miracle son, Isaac. He then renamed Abram to Abraham which means
father of nations, for in the promise was the pledge that Abram's
descendants would become the people of Israel.
I give this brief recounting of the story, for it holds the four
basic elements of a religious covenant.
First, there is the call to change which for Abram has actually
happened many years before. In this classic story it is YHWH's direct dialed
call to Abram. But that call can come from anywhere. For some of us it is
the sense that there is a spiritual emptiness in our lives. We start
looking around for a way to fill that void, to satisfy that hunger.
We seek out meaningful connection. We may try some activities like
meditation or journaling. Perhaps it works, perhaps it doesn't. Some
keep looking and try various churches. At some point, if we are lucky
we find a place that feels like home. Today, some people declared
that this is that place in their lives.
The second aspect of covenant is the act of faith or the test of
faith. YHWH called upon Abram to risk his life and his family and
his fortune in defense of the faith, and he did so willingly and
without hesitation. Even here in the Unitarian church where things
are as open and loose as possible there is still a test, if you will.
New members are asked to apply for membership, to sign on the dotted
line and to state that they are in general sympathy with the purposes
of this church.
Mostly that is symbolic. The truly important aspect of this simple
action is the decision of the heart each new member has to make. To sign
that card is a declaration that, "Yes, I feel I belong here and wish to
make a public statement to that effect." It can be a big step.
The third aspect of religious covenant is the promise. For his faithfulness YHWH promised Abram a son and that he would become the father of
an entire nation. For Unitarians, unsure about god and certainly not in complete
agreement about any single religious question or theological point,
it's a little more tricky. Here we promise one another respect for
one's ideas and beliefs, be they humanist or theist, Christian or
pagan, Buddhist or atheist. We promise one another a hearing and
a chance to speak in safety. We pledge to care for one another as
we are able and we promise to work to make a better world.
What's interesting in our promise is that unlike the pledge between
YHWH and Abram, we make our promises not to a god, but to one another, to
our fellow pilgrims on the religious journey.
And then there is the final aspect of covenant: the renaming. YHWH
tells Abram his new name will be Abraham, meaning father of nations. I
mentioned earlier that a covenant begins with a call to change. The renaming
of the person or the relationship recognizes that the transformation has
taken place. The parties are now different from when they began,
changed by the interaction, never exactly the same as they were before.
Those of you who were recognized in our little ceremony here today
are forever changed. No matter how long you stay with this faith,
no matter where you go in the world, there will be a time in your
life when the name Unitarian was yours. For some it will last a lifetime,
for others - a shorter period. But whether it remains a part of your
permanent present or becomes some past affiliation, it will always
be with you, and you will have been changed by your time here.
In 20 days our association of congregations in Canada and the continent
will be forever changed and a new covenant will begin. How we will change
and what the nature of that new covenant will be is not certain,
for first there must be a vote. But either way, our national association
will be different.
On May 19th the six delegates we will elect later this afternoon
will represent us at the Canadian Unitarian Council Annual Meeting
in Montreal. On Saturday the 19th there is a vote scheduled on a
controversial motion. It would see the continental Unitarian Universalist
Association transfer a substantial amount of money to the much smaller
CUC in order that the CUC take on delivery of services to Canadians.
In return we may be asked to sever our membership ties with the UUA
I say may be asked. A week ago I would have said that more definitely,
but the UUA Board met last weekend and may be backing away from that
demand. Right now there is not enough information to say definitively
what will happen. For those of you who will be delegates, expect to hear the latest from CUC and UUA representatives
at the meeting.
My purpose is not to debate the agreement here. If you want more
detail, ask me and I will answer your questions or provide you with a small
hills worth of information and web sites.
My purpose is to speak to the idea of covenant. For 40 years Canadian
congregations have been a very small part of the UUA. Alongside that
the CUC has grown and developed not so much as a parallel organization,
but as one which filled the gaps in service. We served specifically Canadian
needs for social justice information, for Canadian tax and licensing data
and other details specific to Canadians. But for a long time there
has been a widespread, but by no means universal sense that Canadian
Unitarians need to stand on their own, that it was time for us to
control our own affairs. In the language of covenant, there was a
call to change.
Over the last four years the CUC has polled, presented, talked and
listened. CUC representatives have made three separate in person
visits to each congregation and mounted a large telephone survey
to discern
Canadian desires. And we have presented to Annual Meetings and negotiated
with the UUA. And we got a deal And now we face a vote.
The vote comes down to a choice between what we have had all along
(although at a greater financial cost) or a new and autonomous vision of Canadian
Unitarianism that is as filled with uncertainty and risk as it is
with promise. If that's not a test of faith, I don't know what is.
If we take this new road, there is a promise. The teams negotiating
on behalf of the CUC and UUA hammered out a covenant to govern future
relations:
The CUC and the UUA Boards intend to interrelate as strong and trusting
peer organizations in order to promote Unitarian Universalism across North
America and to nurture and grow our respective member congregations.
In this spirit and with this vision we do covenant.
And whatever way the delegates vote in Montreal, things will never
be the same again. If we vote in favor the CUC becomes the primary voice
for Unitarianism in Canada and we distance ourselves to a degree
from our continental connection. If we choose to oppose it, the CUC
will surrender most of the strides it has made over the last 40 years.
Either way, the Canadian Unitarian Council will have a new identity,
if not a new name because on May 19th there will be a new covenant binding
our congregations in a larger association.
My only prayer is that delegates across the country will do their
homework, listen to the debate with open minds and serious intent and then
use their best judgment when they come to vote.
In the end, religion is a fragile thing, especially a liberal non-creedal faith like Unitarianism. All we really can promise one another is
to listen with open hearts and to care for one another in good times and bad,
in challenge and triumph. That is why the CUC and UUA teams covenanted
to interrelate in a trusting way. If we ever lose those qualities
of trust and compassion, then how we shape our national and continental
bodies will be irrelevant, for our faith will be dead.
So, congregation, choose your delegates well and delegates: vote
with the best judgment you can muster.
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