I find it a gift to be able to be in community! The gifts of companionship, questioning, company, presence, deep listening … all of these are available to me each time I decide to be a part of a community! And wonder of wonders! Do we ever have a wonderful community! We live out mission statement out well with each other!
We are a connected community in so many ways! It’s evident in the way people spend time lingering over coffee after the service, providing rides to others so they can get to services, and the joy on our faces when we greet each other. All of these give way to the way in which we form meaningful relationships! We grow personally and spiritually each time we attend a service, each time we enrol in one of the Thursday evening programs or take the time to deeply listen to each other. And we care for each other as we work for a just and sustainable world! It is hard work being an activist and so many of us are busy in the community living this part of our mission statement out – from being active in the White Rock Social Justice Film Society, working in hospice, or working towards reconciliation.
And now that we have settled into a new chapter of South Fraser Unitarian’s story with having a settled minister, it’s now time to begin looking forward to our vision. This thematic package starts off a year-long process of exploration looking at:
- Where do we come from?
- What are we?
- Where are we going?
We know that no one person can hold a vision for South Fraser Unitarians that is perfect – and in fact for us as Unitarian Universalists, that process would be flawed and limited. Every vision distorts even as it clarifies. On top of that, life changes. Some doors close, new ones open. If we stay true to the vision of what’s behind a closed door, we’ll just end up spending our time banging our head against the wall. To see the entire view, we need everyone’s vantage point.
So clearly being a people of vision is hard work. Figuring out when to keep your vision front and centre and when to de-centre it and make room for others intimidates the best of us. And maybe that’s the most important vision of all this month. Not that of a stern-faced people sticking to their single vision through thick and thin. But that of playful people exchanging visions and helping each other encounter new and larger worlds. A people who don’t just ask each other “Are we staying true to our vision?” but who also say with a smile, “What new vision is calling to us?” What new way are we being invited to share our gifts with the world?