President’s Message

June!! Yes it’s been more than a year! An interesting year!!! Isn’t that sorry of like the old Chinese blessing/curse? “May you live in interesting times?”

I’ve been told that disagreements at other times in the past have led to a schism and member breakaways. Yes! And members have said “good bye” to the congregation! Yes, if it’s not “My way, then the Highway”! And we’ve read about it in politics, business, families, social groups, religious, and lay institutions.

As Unitarians we can be pretty independent. Are we only committed to our own thoughts and biases? Is our commitment to our institution so fragile that we’re ready to abandon it because of a policy or vote we disagree with?

Unitarians can be a cantankerous group! Look at last year’s Unitarian Universalist General Assembly! A splinter has occurred over the Seven Principles vs the Seven Affirmations, with congregation’s as a whole breaking away from UUA.

My Yankee background says “don’t eff with me”! I get it! I also l love the old concept of accepting the majority vote, working together, and working for a compromise. That’s Yankee, American too.

Where else can we be “cranky and contentious” and still be accepted as our cranky and independent selves? Here!

We are Unitarians!! We may be relics from “back in the day”, when things were not so splintered (if that ever was). Our covenant, the NCUU covenant, is to agree to work together with / via the democratic process.

Let’s gather together, all us cranky, independent, free thinking, individuals, and celebrate our “cranky, independent” selves! For we risk being splintered, marginalized, ignored by the world. That’s a dead end!

Do we have the courage to stick together, work together, collectively?

It’s about Our choices, Our future! Think on it.

Namaste! Chas