| Spiritual Vitality |
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Caring and intelligent people want to live more deeply, with integrity in their values, with care in their relationships, with peace in their hearts, making a meaningful impact in the world. When our congregations become places where experiences of the holy are taken seriously, and questions of ultimate meaning are addressed, then we have the power to make this kind of difference in many lives. Through participation in regular personal spiritual practices, the intimacy of small group ministry, and shared experiences of uplifting worship, we grow together in spiritual maturity.Unitarian Universalism is unique in recognizing the metaphorical nature of all religious vocabularies and traditions. The discipline of pluralism presses each of us to reach more deeply toward the shared realities that transcend, but do not dissolve, our differences. In my own life and work, I have learned the value of deliberate deep attention to the images and stories that give meaning to our days. When my rigid, highly integrated fundamentalist world began to crumble in college, I had no guidance for growing into a new self-understanding. Marriage and motherhood did not resolve my emptiness of spirit. It wasn't until I read the bulletin board filled with letters to the editor written by various members of my new Unitarian Universalist congregation that I realized the kind of person I now had permission, and energy, and a profound desire to become. The freedom of our faith, together with the example and encouragement of our covenant community, called me into a new being. Increasingly, inexorably, that transformed purpose manifested itself in roles of leadership. As my spirit came more and more alive, I was drawn toward active service. In turn, the life of active service has taught me the importance of spiritual practice to maintain my balance and resilience. Week after week, people still come to our congregations looking for that same sense of purpose, and those models of wholeness, that once had a saving impact on me. Part of leadership means making decisions, and meeting challenges and disappointments, with skilful discernment that is grounded in the life of the spirit. Our communities must offer models for these ways of being in the world, as well as resources to give people who come to us for help and encouragement. All leadership, in the shared ministry of clergy and laity, in our action in the larger world, and in the staff and administration of the UUA itself, is a form of spiritual practice. The vitality of our movement is a reflection of the spiritual depth and maturity that we nurture in one another. I promise to lead our Association of congregations into that spiritual depth and maturity, for our own sake and for the sake of the world. |
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