November is an important month. There are two important federal observances, or holidays, this month…one just passed and one coming up. Who can name them? (Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving).
There are also lesser-known dates that are marked this month.
In addition to November being Native American and Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month, Transgender Remembrance day is Nov. 20th.
If we didn’t have one or two other hughly-important things going on in our church right now I would have devoted at least part of a service to remembering the names and faces of people we’ve lost, often senselessly, because of their gender identity.
Also, as we remember our beloved Judy Boudreaux, who passed away last week, we acknowledge that this is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.
Probably one of the least heeded, but most needed, observances is World Kindness Day, which was this past Thursday the 13th.
Also on Nov. 13th is the anniversary of U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that racial segregation on public buses was unconstitutional. That was in 1956. Let’s hope they don’t overturn themselves prior to reaching their upcoming 70th anniversary.
Many important things on the November calendar. This particular November is significant for us too, NCC.
Actually, it’s this coming week. Well, actually it’s this next one day (closer to 12 hours, really), that is going to be one for the record books for us.
Today in this gathering we’ll review our affiliation discernment process. Following our post-service discussion, we’ll finally conduct our vote which will determine which faith institutions we will call our own.
That’ll happen around, say, 12pm noon. And then at the stroke of midnight, 12 short hours later, that beautiful house of faith at 1219 E. Grove Street becomes our home.
This church knows how to make things happen!
Before we go any further, I want us to pause and take several moments of quiet to appreciate the bigness of this moment.
Let’s pause in stillness to offer a prayer of wisdom for our voting. Offer a prayer of gratitude for our new home.
Or perhaps just give thanks for the blessing of our beautiful, resilient, progressiveand progressing church. Please join me in a moment of quiet.
[PAUSE]
Now, let us ‘progress’ on to our call of taking one final look at our affiliation discernment that we’ve tasked ourselves with for monnnnths.
Two songs have been running through my head this weekend as our process is culminating….The Long and Winding Road and Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?
It has been a rather long process, and worth every minute because we’ve recognized that how we exist in this world, with whom and what we identify, matters that much.
There are several hardy souls that I’d like to acknowledge now…those who, despite their otherwise busy lives, and knowing from the start that this Task Group was not one for the faint-hearted, still said yes.
Each recognized the importance that this group have congregational representation from each of the denominations under consideration.
Thank you, thank you, to each of our affiliation ambassadors:
Margaret Rutter, from the Presbyterian tradition. David Hirst, along with some help from Mark Wyman, from UCC. Who other than Willemina Esenwein from Christian Unitarianism? Jean Harper from Disciples of Christ.
And rounding us out, acting as our glue, our overseeing perspective-giver from the beginning, none other than Karen Rousey.
With their in-put, early on the Community addressed the question of the need to be affiliated at all, and quickly decided that it is a need. Mothership guidance, fellowship, and resources (including ministerial candidates) are too important.
Several Sunday services were devoted to learning more about each of the faith traditions…the three we’ve always had, with the addition of Christian Unitarianism.
This was added when it became clear that there is alignment there that we hadn’t known much about before.
Our own congregants with backgrounds in these traditions spoke, as did several guest-speaking ministers.
Info sheets were disbursed, townhall discussion meetings ensued.
In those meetings we heard opinions that ranged all the way from “Why have any affiliation, let’s just be us!” to “Why limit the number of affiliations, let’s cast our net wide!”
And despite such diversity of opinion, two things never wavered. Not for one moment.
There was at least a kernel of wisdom in each and every opinion and angle and consideration that was offered.
And the love and respect that exists…no, thrives… in this Community never left the room.
[That, in and of itself, if worthy of another moment of grateful silence. But we’ll be here all day, and there is a vote to get to.]
A survey was conducted, designed to reflect our collective leanings about the three existing traditions and the one newcomer.
The varying theologies, what we liked and didn’t like about each of them, if we’d leave if the vote went a certain way – all these questions and more were asked of us.
Through this mechanism the voice of the Community was heard. It was time to release Presbyterianism and take a closer look at the other 3.
The Affiliation Group again rolled up their sleeves, this time to create a list of questions to be posed to each denomination’s regional leaders.
This was no easy email sending. No, these reps were cornered (I mean, connected with) on Zoom calls, where we could see the whites of their eyes.
We wanted to know what it is to be meaningfully affiliated, not just in name as we had been for over 30 years. We wanted to catch a vibe, if possible.
How would you assist and engage with us, and how would we with you? What does denominational fellowship and finances look like?
After these deep dive discussions were concluded a few weeks ago, it was time for our Fab Five to make a recommendation to the Steering Committee.
What options, what iterations or combinations of affiliation would make it to the ballot?
I started the ballot-content bidding by suggesting we have every option – combination or stand-alone – every choice possible.
The Affiliation Group then made a critically important (and wise) decision. They said, no, it’s not going to be a wide-open playing field.
They said, “We’ve done the work we got paid the big Task Group bucks to do. We are in a position to offer an informed opinion about what is best.”
They/we became in unanimous agreement about the ballot options.
Th recommendation was then presented to the Steering Committee, which also unanimously agreed.
Thus, without further ado, the options for our affiliation vote are:
- I accept dual affiliation with Disciples of Christ & Christian Unitarianism.
- I do not accept dual affiliation with Disciples of Christ & Christian Unitarianism.
One choice…either you embrace the Task Group’s recommendation and Steering’s decision, or not.
You’ll see that there is space for you to share your thoughts, if your vote is not to accept.
Steering decided that there must be a 66% ‘accept’ vote of voting members for the measure to pass.
The reasoning behind the decision for this singular option could be a lengthy monologue. However, it is blessedly summed up well in the words of Fab Five member David Hirst: (I have edited only slightly for clarification)
Unitarian Universalism and United Church of Christ have similar missions to the wider world and have collaborated in many ways. Perhaps having both would be redundant.
Enough people in our community aspire to staying closer to the Jesus teachings to merit affiliation with a more traditionally Christian denomination.
Going with one denomination would create the risk of losing people who miss the aspect that the contrasting denomination provides.
As a result, I think a yoke between UU and DOC is a good choice. We have a good working relationship with the Disciples [and we’re going to be house-mates with a DOC congregation] and UU is aligned well with many in our Community.
Yes, that pretty much sums it up.
I was tempted to revise his use of Unitarian Universalist (and UU) to Christian Unitarian, because that’s our adopted vernacular.
David is correct in naming this denomination UU because, well, that’s its name.
However, we all agreed in the Steering meeting that, while that is the case, we identify with name Christian Unitarian.
That specification captures us best, and that is the terminology we’ll use.
(Ah, the beauty of congregational polity, where the church – not the mothership – decides such things!)
And there, my friends, you have it.
I am proud of our process…our devotion to diverse representation, be it of Task Group membership or denominational discussions.
I stand by us taking the time to cover the bases thoughtfully and thoroughly.
And again, I am exceedingly proud of the spirit in which we danced with each other, to a song we had no prior reference to.
But one whose tune would carry us into our future.
I want to allow time for your voices, now that you’ve taken a ride on the Marrakesh Express to hear the fast-track summary of how we’ve arrived at this historic point in the life of New Covenant.
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