January: Living Faith

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!  “Living Faith” is the spiritual theme for January.  The Latin root for the word faith is credo. Credo has two elements, but in our public discourse we usually focus only on one.  First, faith involves what one believes to be true. Do you believe in God? Do you believe in love or hope? The second part of faith gets less attention. It involves dedication. What are you dedicated to in the living of your life?  When we embrace both elements of faith see how faith without works is dead.

Gandhi knew that faith needs both components: belief and dedication to have any value. He said, “I do not believe in people telling others of their faith, especially with a view to conversion.  Faith does not admit of telling.  It has to be lived, and then it becomes self-propagating.”

What does UU faith involve? A couple of years ago a group of colleagues got together to ask ourselves that exact question. We took our time. We told stories that are important in our lives. Together we came up with this statement, which we believe in and are dedicated to:

Unitarian Universalist Faith Statement

We base our faith primarily on experience. 

As humans, we suffer and are often broken, but our faith teaches that we can all find wholeness.

We experience God as a spirit that binds together all of existence and animates all of life, rather than a being that controls existence. 

This spirit of life is a mysterious force of love and grace, found in nature, community and within ourselves. 

We are all a part of it, and all exist within an interdependent web of life. 
 
We are limited beings, but we are responsible for one another, and we help create the future.  

When we practice our faith – through generosity, gratitude, humility and compassion – we help to make God manifest.

We do this not just for ourselves, but to serve others, promote justice and transform a hurting world.

As ministers our intention was to create a faith statement, which might provide grounding and strength for others. However, in no way do we believe or intend for these exact words to be appropriate for everyone.  What does faith mean for you?  This month let’s all reflect upon our faith.  Let’s also live it out!  Dr. King Day of Service is a cornerstone program for living faith.  This entire year we can claim more power than ever to embody our most sacred values. 

In Faith,
Kent