It was exciting to hear Rev. Christine Robinson express very clearly an analysis of the way we have been and the way we need to be, thoughts that crystallized some things I have thought and expressed in bits and pieces, all laid out for a large gathering to take in. Why couldn't I have been so clear? But I hope I have been clear enough for the congregations I have served. She used the story of coyote, a story I have used myself because I am a fan of Lewis Hyde, and coyote appears provocatively in his book Trickster Makes This World. It's a story about adapting to changing circumstances. Coyote is thriving because she has adapted to a new environment ("dining on poodles in Beverly Hills," to quote Lewis Hyde). Wolf, in contrast, is on the edge of extinction, having stayed in packs and not converted to a solo strategy. This photo is desert coyote, because Rev. Robinson is from Albuquerque. We have them here in Colorado, and I knew them also in New England when I was there. Their presence in Beverly Hills I only know by rumor.
Rev. Robinson went on to describe how our environment has changed from one that promotes church attendance and membership to one that does not. From one in which it was suitable for us to be the thinking person's alternative to traditional church ("I respect your religious freedom") to one where that makes no sense at all. Younger people these days are likely to think of themselves as "spiritual but not religious," (SNR) while our older way of being church might best be described as "religious but not spiritual." That's exactly the opposite of what SNR's are looking for. Extinction, or at least a need to be protected by an Endangered Religions Act, will be our fate if we keep on in our old way.
A new way that might suit us is to offer a gathering that is "spiritual but not dogmatic," according to Robinson, and I agree totally. My experience with welcoming new people into our congregations is that they are hungry for company on their spiritual journeys and eager to be challenged to bring their best selves to the world. We can make a way that is authentically Unitarian Universalist by affirming our spiritual roots and our long heritage of appreciating the spiritual truth in all religions, a way that is spiritual but not dogmatic, lifting up a beacon to show a religion that is not like the ones they had decided they didn't want. Having company on the journey, a community of support in times of challenge, people to lean on and be leaned on by, that's the important benefit we can offer SNR's. I believe this might be our moment if we can seize this change and make it ours.
One important thing I've noticed, though, is that people don't know about us. Conservative Christians have given religion a bad name, and people think we are like them. When I visited a religion class at the local community college to talk about Unitarian Universalism, they were surprised to learn about our active role in promoting LGBT rights -- how could a religion be for love relationships in same-sex couples? Makes perfect sense to me, coming from the inside of our faith, but these young people had tarred us with the brush of what they thought about "church" in general and crossed us off their lists. We really need to be out there explaining ourselves to the world, and in a way the SNR's can understand. I'm wondering how we can do more of that, more efficiently, more effectively, but we can surely start by telling people one to one, or daring to stand up and do it in front of a group of people who don't know us, or by just being who we are and saying "this is what Unitarian Universalism looks like."
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