By Reverend Rebecca Bryan

Thank you, Julie, and thank all of you who participated in helping to articulate the values, mission, and ends of our beloved congregation.  

Thank you for believing in and caring about this congregation and its future. Thank you for loving one another, listening to one another, and sharing your truths, stories and dreams for our beloved community.  

Our next step is to trust and embrace this work we did, to walk together boldly, with courageous love, into all it will call us to be, as individuals and as a liberal religious community.  

Here at the First Religious Society, Unitarian Universalist in Newburyport, we value: wonder, authentic connection, love, and courageous action.  

Those are rich words. They are our words. I have already leaned on these words over the last several weeks. 

I turned to them in considering how to respond to the letter to the editor that defamed our banner on the front of the church. And again, I turned to them in deciding how to respond to the coronavirus and its threats.  

Both times I asked myself, “What response will uphold wonder, mystery and beauty, rather than give into fear and hatred?  

What nurtures authentic connection, neither cutting off nor blaming? What does it mean to be loving in these situations? Love isn’t always the trendiest thing to do. Love is about values, not popularity. What is the courageous action to take? What works toward justice, takes everyone into account, and seeks to protect, especially those who are vulnerable or marginalized?  

Wonder. Authentic Connection. Love. Courageous Action. We will return to these values again and again, in small ways and big.  

For our values guide our priorities and decisions. Values form the scaffolding of our days.  

And then we have the proposed mission statement which explains why we are here and whose lives are going to be different because of it. 

Come as you are, 

Journey together in love, 

Act with courage, 

Transform our world 

The statement itself is a journey. It leads with our commitment to openness and inclusivity. Come as you are. Whoever you are. Whoever you love. Whatever you believe. Come.  

Here, we journey together in love – bold, embracing, gentle, love – the doctrine of this church; love with room enough for everyone, for laughter and tears, for contemplation, and justice.  

Then, as we come and journey together, we are called to Act with courage. We will learn all we can, will use both reason and faith, and will act with courage.  

We will not be perfect. We will make mistakes. We will need to forgive each other and ourselves. We will be changed for the better for doing this together.  

Our ends emerge out of the mission and encompass all of us! They are a bunch of “both/ands.” They are also focused, not attempting to be everything to everybody. They are not created by a cookie cutter or just any Unitarian Universalist church. They are us.  

Hear us. See us. Imagine us. Feel us.  

Together we, across the lifespan: 

Connect to joy and wonder in diverse worship 

and music experiences that develop lives of courage, 

meaning, hope, and love. 

Articulate our individual and congregational 

Unitarian Universalist identity, teach it to our  

children, and live it in the world. 

Foster an authentic intergenerational church community. 

Welcome people in all their diversity and create 

belonging for one another. 

Support one another in the joys, sorrows, and transitions 

of our life journeys. 

Work in partnership, as individuals and as a 

congregation, to advance justice and put courageous 

love in service to our community and our world. 

Honor our FRS and UU heritage as we journey together. 

Beautiful, right?  

When we shared these in the staff meeting, you could have heard a pin drop. It was spectacular. “They are all I could have asked for, and more,” said one staff person. “I feel proud … hopeful … rooted.” “They are us – who we’ve been, who we are, and who we are becoming.” So saith the staff.  

How about you? I wish that we were together so I could see your faces, feel your hugs, and answer your questions. I wish I could delight in your responses as you take these in. I can just imagine the furrow of your brows, the crinkle of your noses, and your fist pumps in the air. I wish I could hear your “Amens.” 

We will have time for all of that, and more. We want to hear from you! We look forward to grappling together with you and discerning what living with the guidance of these principles will really mean for us.  

Susan B. Anthony, who was born a Quaker and later became a Unitarian and was one  of the most important leaders in the women’s rights movement of the 19th Century, said this: “Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, can never bring about a reform.”  

Now, I’m not calling for a reform, necessarily. Or am I? We’ll see. I am calling for us to come as you are, journey together in love, act courageously, and see how we transform our world – within ourselves, among each other, and beyond these walls.  

Amen