To escape the trap of public acclaim, an authentic church should advertise as follows:

Second Reading"I Call That Church Free"
by James Luther Adams

I call that church free which enters into covenant with the ultimate source of existence, that sustaining and transforming power not made with human hands. It binds together families and generations, protecting against the idolatry of any human claim to absolute truth or authority. This covenant is the charter and responsibility and joy of worship in the face of death as well as life.

I call that church free which brings individuals into a caring, trusting fellowship, that protects and nourishes their integrity and spiritual freedom; that yearns to belong to the church universal.

It is open to insight and conscience from every source; it bursts through rigid tradition, giving rise to new and living language, to new and broader fellowship. It is a pilgrim church, a servant church, on an adventure of the spirit.

The goal is the prophethood and priesthood of all believers, the one for the liberty of prophesying, the other for the ministry of healing. It aims to find unity in diversity under the promptings of the spirit "that bloweth where it listeth… and maketh all things new."
 
 

Sermon "What We Choose is What We Are"

Introduction, Duane

What you choose is what you are. Judy and I are both strong believers in the power that your choices have to shape both personal and institutional lives. What you choose is what this congregation will become.

Later today members of the congregation will vote on the question of whether or not to call us to be your settled co-ministers and to stay beyond July of next year when our current appointment ends. It’s a very important choice.

You and we have been engaged in a process of discernment over the past several weeks. In early April, the Rev. Dr. Richard Speck told you about called ministry, and a month ago Judy and I described our visions of ministry. Today we’ll address our visions for the congregation.

You’ve asked about our goals, but the real question should be what are your goals for the congregation? For whether you call us or not, we hope and expect that the congregation will endure long after we’re gone — long after all of us present here are gone. So it seems better to ask what are the goals that will serve the future well? What it is that you have passion about? What do you choose now that will become the future of your congregation?

Part of our role is to help imagine a possible future, to help you make choices about it, and to coach you as you move toward it. So today we’ll share some of our imagined future — as ways to begin the next phase of a larger conversation about our collective vision for the congregation’s future.

What’s foremost for us is not the size of the membership nor the quality of the building nor particular programs and social action projects. What matters most is that this is a religious community, a community whose foundations are relationships that last over time and through life transitions.

Above all else, this ought to be where you learn and are reminded that you are held in love, that you have the power to change the world, and that you have a responsibility to find and answer the call that invites you to use your power to bless the world — to bring more love.

Judy and I have urged the board of trustees to propose a long-range planning process that will revisit our vision for the congregation and our mission statement. More than that, we’ve suggested setting goals and developing a strategic plan to accomplish them over the next five years.

Your leaders have anticipated a second capital campaign as soon as next spring. A five-year plan would provide guidance for setting specific goals for the campaign. Preliminary estimates suggest that you could raise well over $300,000 in the second capital campaign, including some matching funds that will be probably available from denominational sources.

That would allow us to retire the current mortgage on the building and make some improvements, freeing up the nearly $25,000 we pay every year in debt service payments. That additional money in the operating fund represents a significant resource that could be invested to implement new programs and for staff compensation.

You have the resources to serve more people, to start new programs, and to continue current ministries. For the rest of our message this morning, we want to suggest some things that might be in that five-year plan. We’ll organize our ideas into four types of growth that Loren Mead offers in his popular book on church growth, More than Numbers.

He talks about numerical growth, the numbers of us who are members, who attend Sunday worship, and who are enrolled in programs for children and youth. Certainly those are ways to measure growth. But he mentions three other categories that are not as readily quantifiable, but represent other kinds of growth. There is maturational growth — growth in depth of the soul and height of the spirit. This is what our search for meaning calls us toward. There is organic growth — growth in leadership and the organizational structure that provides a framework for programs. And finally incarnational growth — growth in the ways we make our faith manifest through our lives and outreach to the world.

Numerical Growth

You’ve asked "How big?" and have offered some concerns about growth in numbers and the implications of getting bigger on the sense of intimacy and community you experience here. Some suggest that we’re already too big, while others have said they imagine growth to the point that we need to have two Sunday services.

I offer you two answers to the question of how big ought we to be. The first is a pragmatic one: big enough to sustain the ministry you want the congregation to have. Big enough so that a few people don’t feel burned out by being called on again and again to provide leadership. Big enough to raise enough money to support the budget after the outside subsidies end next year, including staff compensation, care of the building, and a variety of programs that address the congregation’s mission. Big enough to reach out and make a difference in the Cumberland Valley. That’s probably 200 or more adult members, and I believe we could easily reach that number.

My second answer is more visionary: big enough to serve every person in the area who longs to experience being held in love and to know that they have the power to transform the world. To include all those who find themselves in alignment with our values and mission. I suspect that number might be several hundred or even thousands. When it makes sense to start another congregation to serve them, we could do that. It would be great if eventually there were healthy, full-service UU congregations in, say, Wormleysburg, Mechanicsburg, Shippensburg, Chambersburg, and Gettysburg.

If our growth in numbers continues, we’ll find ways to maintain the sense of intimacy and community. Judy will tell you about some of the things we’ve been studying and considering.
 
 

Maturational Growth, Judy

Whether or not a congregation grows numerically, it has the potential for maturational growth: growth in wisdom, in depth, and in spirit. Regardless of numbers, a healthy religious community should be able to "challenge, support and encourage each of its members to grow in the maturity of their faith, to deepen their spiritual roots, and to broaden their religious imaginations."

This aspect of growth at UUCV is one of the most exciting elements that I can imagine. It has implications not only for us, the adults here in the sanctuary, but also for the children and youth who will be maturing into adulthood among us in the future — some already here, some on their way toward us, and some who haven’t even been born yet!

One of the ways you have heard Duane and me talk about the work we all do together in this community is to refer to it as "shared ministry." Perhaps you recall that when the Committee on Ministry conducted its congregational evaluation process a year ago, it emphasized the ministry of the entire congregation, as expressed through all of its programs. The ministry of our congregation is the work of the whole community, professional and laity together.

I think it’s helpful to understand how the congregation helps its members mature in their faith if you think of the church as a kind of seminary where everyone is in training for the ministry. There are some ways in which this is happening already here at UUCV; there are other ideas and visions that we have for its future.

The most visible way this is happening already is with the Worship Associates Program, in which trained lay people participate with one of the ministers in the planning and presentation of almost every Sunday service, and present lay-led services on many other Sundays throughout the year. The careful attention and depth of planning involved in creating worship develops an increased sensitivity to the worship experience, so that as our cadre of Worship Associates and former Worship Associates grows over the years, the entire congregation will benefit by a fuller appreciation of the power of worship to enhance our spiritual lives.

At some future time, we would like to introduce a Pastoral Associates program as well, in which selected and trained members provide some of the pastoral care to members who need sensitive personal attention during difficult times. Of course Duane and I will continue to be very involved in providing pastoral care, but having others participate in that aspect of church life will mean an increased understanding of one another’s struggles, and again, a widening circle of people who have gently touched each other’s lives in the tender places.

Beginning this fall, the concept of "church as seminary" will come to life in a series of small group discussions variously called "small group ministries" or "covenant groups." These lay-led groups of seven to ten people will meet regularly for in-depth discussions of spiritual topics contained in a curriculum that Duane and I will create over the summer. With the help of a lay member, we will select and train the leaders of the groups, and will meet regularly with them to help counsel and guide the groups’ experiences.

The practice of Small Group Ministries is taking off like wildfire in UU congregations all over the country, because these groups provide resources in the areas of worship, community-building, learning, and service that help us better realize our mission as a religious community. Even as the congregation grows larger numerically, the small group ministries can meet people’s needs for intimacy and personal connection that might seem more difficult to achieve in a 200 member or 300 member church. Be on the lookout for more information and opportunities to get involved in a small group ministry later this summer and fall.

No discussion of "church as seminary" would be complete without addressing our Religious Education program. Up until now, we have tended to think of R.E. as the children’s program, but we would like to shift that concept to an understanding that people’s religious education goes on for their entire lives. You will hear us using the term "Lifespan Religious Education" now when we talk about the children’s program, the youth program, and the various offerings of adult religious education.

Over they coming years, we’d like to see the position of Director of Religious Education gradually expand to full time, with responsibility for staffing all aspects of Lifespan Religious Education. Stephanie and I are already in conversation with the Youth Advisor and the Religious Education Committee to explore how she can take on some staffing responsibility for the youth program in the coming year, and bring it more closely into the sphere of Lifespan Religious Education.

As the number of children and youth in our programs increases, we’d like to see more regular attention given to rites of passage such as a "Coming of Age" event, and a Bridging Ceremony for high schoolers as they enter young adulthood. These activities will necessarily involve a lot of you; I can’t think of a better way to show our children and young people that we honor and value them, and want to be instrumental in their journey to adulthood.

"Church as seminary" also means that we adults continue to learn intellectually and experientially. Many of us have areas of expertise and talent that would benefit the entire congregation by being shared as adult classes or workshops. Look for more emphasis on adult learning as our Lifespan Religious Education program evolves. In addition, serving the church in leadership positions helps people develop skills that they can then take out into the world and apply in their work settings or in other activities. This is another way that service to the church results in service to the larger community.

Organic Growth

"Organic growth is about the task of building the community, fashioning the organizational structures, developing the practices and processes that result in a dependable, stable network of human relationships in which we can grow and from which we can make a difference. It is not inevitable that organic growth will accompany numerical growth, but if changes in structures and practices aren’t made to accommodate a significantly larger congregation, the church will be in trouble. You simply can’t run a healthy congregation of eighty the same way as a healthy congregation of two or three hundred.

One of the advantages we have here at UUCV is that we’ve grown so steadily and so rapidly that there hasn’t been any opportunity to get stuck in "the way we always do it." We’re fortunate not to have an "always" getting in our way and stifling our creativity as we have already accommodated to our rapid growth.

Here’s what we see ahead in terms of organic growth… Staff will probably increase. I’ve already mentioned the gradual evolution of the DRE position to full time. Our Office Assistant is currently funded for just ten hours a week, but that will need to increase if the job is going to entail more of the data entry, building management, and bookkeeping which is currently done by volunteers. And wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a paid music director to work with the choir and build our music program?

The way we conduct our business will probably change. Already the Board is considering reducing its size from nine members to six, thus freeing up some leaders to become involved in a leadership group that would parallel the Board and be responsible for overseeing all of the programmatic aspects of church life. You’ll hear more about this in the next year or two, along with some proposed by-law revisions that will smooth out the glitches in our current systems, and a personnel committee to oversee the fair treatment of our growing staff.

We’d like to see UUCV become a teaching church, which means that it could be the site of an internship program to assist in the formation of new ministers. With Lancaster Theological Seminary, Wesley in Washington D.C. and Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem, there are always Unitarian Universalist seminarians looking for nearby church internships where they can experience hands-on ministry in real time. Duane and I are both qualified to supervise an intern, and we believe that this congregation, with its vitality and freshness, would be a wonderful place for a wannabe minister to get his or her feet wet. The congregation would benefit as well, by the infusion of new ideas, fresh vision, and additional programming that a bright and motivated intern would bring.

The organism of the church includes its physical plant too, so we look ahead to ways of making the meeting house fit our needs and our activities even better. We’re dreaming of a completely accessible building, with an inside lift or elevator and a handicap-accessible bathroom. It’s not impossible to air condition the sanctuary, and while we’re dreaming, how about remodeling the kitchen so that we can orchestrate major food events in a space designed for such efforts?

Another way we’d like to see the organic growth of UUCV expressed is through a stronger interweaving of its activities and leadership development with activities at the District and Continental level. Every year the Joseph Priestley District conducts many workshops and training opportunities where we have much to offer as well as much to learn. For example, as a result of a Membership workshop that Duane and I conducted a few years ago in Bethesda, other congregations in the JPD are now welcoming their visitors with goodie bags like ours. Several have instituted get-togethers like the "Getting To Know You" sessions that we held when we first arrived.

But we certainly don’t know it all yet, and we’d like to see more of our folks sharpening their leadership skills and deepening their UU identity by attending Leadership Schools, summer camps, General Assembly, and the myriad district events that are available to us. In the years to come, Duane and I will be doing more coaching and training of the congregation’s leadership, and stepping back a bit from the hands-on activities of program planning as more and more capable lay leaders take on those tasks. Just as with the Associates programs that help us to grow spiritually, there are opportunities to develop a ministry of leadership that will strengthen our institution and allow it to reach out to the world it inhabits from a position of power, knowledge, and skill.

Incarnational, Duane

Most of what we’ve said so far has focused inwardly, on how big the congregation might be, on individual spiritual exploration and growth, and on organizing and maintaining an effective institution. And indeed, during these past few years much of our attention has appropriately gone inward.

Despite that inward focus, we have already begun to claim an important role in the interfaith community, to let people know that we’re an inclusive and welcoming congregation, and to position ourselves to be agents of social change.

Loren Mead suggests that the way we live, our actions in the world, represent the incarnation of our faith. Developing that, learning to walk our talk, and transforming the world is the manifestation of incarnational growth.

Most of us aren’t, as they say, ‘from around here.’ Not long ago a long-time Carlisle funeral director was in the building. As he stood in the foyer and looked at the list of donors to the building fund, he remarked that he didn’t recognize any of the family names and asked if we were mostly newcomers.

A very few of us do have multi-generational roots in the valley, but indeed most of us have come here from somewhere else. That gives us both the appreciation of place that comes from having chosen to be here and sensitivity to the depth of the xenophobia — the fear of anyone who is different — that drives the particularly hostile local racism and heterosexism.

It would be easy for any of us to make a list of opportunities for social change. Mine would surely include ending the horrible oppressions of racism and heterosexism. It would include working to provide basic needs to those who are hungry and in need of shelter, and then finding ways to help them move out of poverty. It would include support of efforts to end domestic violence, to give every child a chance to succeed, and to protect the fundamental rights of choice in matters that relate to our bodies. It would include working for universal access to health care and quality mental health services in our own communities, and an effective drug policy that offered hope and recovery rather than punishment. And it would include care for the environment, energy conservation, and effective land use planning. And that’s just a start.

We aren’t likely to take on all the issues on our lists. I hope we’ll continue our efforts to prepare ourselves for a vote on declaring ourselves to be welcoming of all people regardless of their affectional gender preference. I hope we’ll continue to be involved in support of Project SHARE and Habitat for Humanity. I hope we’ll actively support the anti-oppression efforts of the Unity group that has formed in response to the Klan rally in Carlisle a few months ago.

But I hope we’ll do more. That we’ll become a vital force for social change, choose a focus for our efforts, and become known in the community for our advocacy and support of a cause.

Our sister congregation in Reading is considering joining with other congregations there to form a community organizing coalition, following a particular model of organizing. I experienced a similar effort during my internship in Palo Alto, and there are good resources available to support it.

The basic tools in community organizing involve interviews with people in the community to seek to understand what issues matter most to them and to encourage them to join in change efforts. Once a focus area is chosen, an action plan is developed and implemented to effect the desired change. We could do this if we chose to.
 
 

Conclusion, Judy

We have said that we would stay if you vote to call us, if there is still work for us to do in this ministry, and if you will allow us to do that work with you.

Now the choice is yours. We have told you about our call — our passion — for ministry, and how we are nurtured by our ministry to you and with you. We have laid out for you our vision of some of the work we might do together in the coming years to strengthen our lives in religious community and grow together in spirit and in power.

Now, at the conclusion of the service, you will be asked to decide whether you share that vision, or parts of it at least. Our invitation to you is to listen carefully for the voice of discernment in your own hearts. Do you hear the dreams, the dares, the sighs, the prayers? Do you hear a call that you can respond to with the fullness of your own hearts, your own passion? Let us be in silence together for a moment as you listen for your own heart’s call.

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