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The Circle, Not the Center: A Sermon to Mark the
Ordination of Reverend Frances Dearman
at the First Unitarian Church of Victoria, April
7, 2002
Reverend Brian J. Kiely, Unitarian Church of Edmonton We
live in uncertain times. Our troops are at war in a land we barely
know. The fuse has been relit in the Middle East. Our economy is
on a a disquieting roller coaster ride. It seems there is very little
we can take for granted these days. We live in uncertain times and
we are members of an uncertain religion. That's not necessarily a
good combination.
I say Unitarianism is uncertain. To be clear I mean that our larger
church has no creed, no central statement around which we gather,
no acclaimed deity on whom we rely in times of trouble. There is
no test of faith. But that does not mean we are faithless. Indeed
not! In this room tonight on this special occasion are gathered some
of the most faithful people I know. Each of us is fairly certain
of what we believe. I know where I place my faith and I'm sure you
do too. But they are likely not the same.
Some Unitarians and Universalists turn to God, some to Nature, some
to Science, some to Community or to ourselves. But as the members
of a national and international church, we have no single belief
that fills what Sartre named the "God-shaped hole" in every
human. Consider the person in front of you. Can you name their beliefs?
Probably
not.
Some might point to the UUA Statement of Principles and say, "That's
what I believe." Indeed, I often say something in that vein.
But if you have ever entered into a debate with another Unitarian
or Universalist, you'll know that those principles are vague enough
to be used to shore up quite contradictory positions.
So it would be easy to claim in these uncertain times that this
uncertain church of ours has no core - no center.
Our current Edmonton Intern Minister Meg Roberts put a positive
spin on this trait by suggesting that Unitarians are more focused
on process than content, on journey and not goal. We tend to celebrate
plurality and multiple approaches to truth. We are positively excited
by the way time, space and context change seemingly immutable truths.More
than most we are a religion willing to acknowledge that a church
is a cultural institution. Unlike some, Unitarians prefer to adapt
their beliefs and positions to keep up with cultural change and the
advancement of knowledge. We don't force culture to conform to our
beliefs. Instead, we surf the waves of culture with joyous abandon.
Some say that the lack of a center is a facet of Canadian identity
as well. Canadians, like Unitarians and Universalists are better
at articulating who they are not rather than who they are. We avoid
bold claims about our country, preferring the satiric comedy of, "I'm
Joe and I'm a Canadian". With the exceptions of hockey games
where the fans are often aided by Mr. Molson's favorite product,
we are not given to displays of nationalist enthusiasm.
A particularity of our nation and church is how we keep our pride
quite secret. We work hard at finding bushels under which to hide
our lamps. That doesn't mean we are not a proud nation or a proud
religion, we are. We just don't admit it out loud. We go about our
tasks quietly. We hide loonies under Olympian center-ice marks. And
sometimes with insensitive and passive aggressive remarks we make
our American friends feel unwelcome and uncomfortable.
Our U and U reluctance to claim and name our center comes with a
price. It makes change even more unsettling.When the world and its
challenges become burdensome, when we lose control of change, when
we are faced with hard setbacks, we lack a collective theological
post on which we can all lean. Most of us have long since abandoned
the traditionally understood fall back positions of, "God's
will," and, "God will provide."
Perhaps you experienced the unsettling feelings that accompany change
here in Victoria as you have progressed through your search for a
new minister. Certainly other congregations have noted how a church's
energy can ebb in such transitions, how the combination of grief
for what is ending and dread of the hard work of the search can drain.
I am certain Frances has felt that discomfort as she has spent an
uncertain year of preparing to earn her credentials and then entered
the grueling search process herself. I know she has been savoring
her time in Victoria even has she has worked to prepare to leave
again for an eagerly anticipated but somewhat mysterious future.
As a member of the Canadian Unitarian Council Board, I know that
organization has struggled with the major change it faces. We are
building a new national CUC. After several different consultations
with our congregations and individuals, a vision of a distinctly
Canadian association has emerged. Hundreds have participated in the
debate. We are creating a completely new model for delivering services
to congregations and for helping our churches relate to one another.
And we are significantly changing the long relationship we have had
with the continental UUA.
In each of these cases there is a "moving on" quality,
which means someone or something is being left behind. Names and
relationships will change. The familiarities of the past will grow
golden in memory, especially on the days when the present and future
seem so difficult. It would be so nice in challenging times to feel
the strength of a shared leaning post in our middle. But for Unitarians
and Universalists, there is no center.
Instead we are a faith that gathers in a circle - that is, in community.
In the middle ground of that circle there are Principles, there are
shared ideas and ideals, there is a common hymnbook. But there is
nothing so solid as a pillar of faith. And if we look for it in the
center, we won't find it. We may only see a hole and be cast into
a crisis of faith.
But friends, I want to suggest a different way of seeing that hole.
Now to look at me, it may come as no surprise that I consider Tim
Horton's to be our most significant national symbol. It may even
be our greatest triumph since the completion of the CPR! And I am
proud that the CUC office in Toronto has a branch of that great Canadian
institution right in the same building!
Now, a donut shop is full of holes. If you pop in and order up a
double chocolate (my favorite!) you will note that in the middle
is absolutely nothing, a complete void. But that's not why you ordered
it. You ordered up the circle that surrounds the hole.
In times of trouble and strife, I would suggest the solution to
our crises of faith won't be found in our center, but in the ring
of community which surrounds it. When the tragedy of 9-11 hit, Unitarians
and Universalists all across the continent went to church. On that
day and on the Sunday which followed we gathered in circles small
and large, to mourn, to rage, to speak our fears, grief and pain.
And you know, we found no answers that week. We didn't bring the
dead back to life or come up with a surefire way to stop terrorism.
But we did find a reason to hope.
We took comfort from the words and tears and hugs of others who
share our uncertain faith. The hole in the center did not matter.
It was the circle that gave us strength, the ring of community.
For Unitarians and Universalists it is the circle that gives us
power. Even in a ceremony like this, it is not the ministers or even
the Board President who will ordain Frances. It will be you - the
circle of the congregation who does the job, who will give the power.
In a few minutes you all we be asked to participate in a laying
on of hands of the Reverend Frances Dearman, "founding toddler" of
this church. When that happens, friends, take time to feel the energy
flowing in and out and around the circle, for that is the strength
of our faith made tangible in a glorious single moment.
Fran, your transition is nearing completion. You soon will head
up to Alaska and I have no doubt will be called to minister there.
Victorians, you will soon meet the Rev. Jane Bramadat, an old friend
and very respected colleague. I have no doubt you will be as enthusiastic
about the match as the rest of Canadian Unitarians are.
And in July, Canadian Unitarianism will begin the next phase of
its transformation. We have created a model for that change that
builds on this philosophy of community. The RiNG plan will ask Canadian
Unitarians and Universalists to join in regional communities in a
way they have never done before. We will build that structure on
the good relational work already done by the Pacific Northwest District
of the UUA, and the BC and Vancouver Island Unitarian Councils.
We will have volunteers whose task will be to keep neighbouring
congregations in relationship with one another. We will have other
volunteers who will be trained in the skills you think are important
to the good running of churches large and small. And some of those
volunteers will come from right here in this room. And we will hire
new staff people who will coordinate your feedback and your concerns
and turn them into the kind of growth and religious education programs
you say you need to continue as a strong and healthy congregation.
The ring of community is a fluid and flexible thing. But it is also
one of the strongest shapes we know. The circle can survive great
stress and challenge as long as we stand together, shoulder to shoulder
looking inward at each other's faces. It is in those faces that we
find the courage to continue and to do what we need to do.
Feel the power of that circle when you lay hands on Frances. Frances,
carry the power of that circle with you in every moment of your ministry.
Trust it and rely on it and recreate it wherever you go and you'll
do well.
Victorians, make room in your circle for your new minister, embrace
her and welcome her and together you will make your circle that much
stronger.
And if we take those two lessons and apply them with will to the
recreation of the CUC's RiNGS over the next few years, those circles
within circles will all grow stronger.
We can thrive in an uncertain world with an uncertain faith if we
keep building strong circles of community.
May we all be blessed with the wisdom to recognize the strength
that our hole-y community brings us.
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