-What did you think?
-How do you think this compares to a "regular" service?
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A reflection of our visit to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Providence by Nina Carriero, Lauren Santiago, Alicia Hartley, and Michelle Un.
Because I was raised Roman Catholic, I’ve come to expect church services to be a solemn time for prayer, reflection, and reconciliation. Needless to say, the lightheartedness of the Unitarian Universalist service surprised me. After a series of announcements and songs, ministers James and Cathy stood before the congregation to read “Night ‘Fore Thanksgiving--A Kitchen Tool Story,” which depicted the competition between kitchen utensils during Thanksgiving preparations, all in rhyme. Hearing them read the witty take on “The Night Before Christmas,” I laughed and smiled. It was a cute story, but I wondered, was every week like this? When I was certain that the story was coming to an end, three young girls came dancing down the aisle, holding wooden spoons, ladles, and whisks, and motioning along with the words read aloud.
ReplyDeleteThe sermon was almost equally as blithe. Minister James began by telling a story of a trip with his wife to Chinatown in Vancouver, where he found the perfect wooden spoon. His excited moment of discovery, however, was tainted with the memory of other people in the store who, because of drugs, were confused, disoriented, and oblivious to what was happening around them. Minister James was saddened by the sight of these people, thinks of them whenever he uses his wooden spoon, and is thankful for his many blessings. Minister Cathy continued the sermon by recalling the times when her grown children moved back home, and everyone shared one kitchen. Kitchen utensils and supplies were communal, and joyous kitchen memories, bountiful. Cathy was thankful for her children and the time they shared together during moments of transition. The sermon built on the story of the kitchen utensils and focused on family and thankfulness during Thanksgiving.
The entire service emphasized the importance of relationships and sharing, but communicated those messages in new ways. Rather than referring back to Scripture, as priests might do in a Roman Catholic mass, the Unitarian Universalist ministers told witty and personal stories to which children could relate. While this at first seemed quite silly to me, I began to realize that, had Roman Catholic mass been similarly lighthearted and kid-friendly, I might have a stronger commitment to it and respect for it than I do today. It was nice to see so many generations involved in the service, and I think it will lead to even greater involvement in the future.
Though I am still not completely sure what a “regular” Unitarian Universalist service might look like, I have a general idea, and imagine that it would balance the serious with the joyful quite well. Maybe I will go back sometime in the future and find out for sure.
Lauren’s description of the service that we attended was quite accurate. I was curious about what a “regular” service might look like, so I did a little research on the Unitarian Universalist of Providence website. I found an online catalogue of all of the sermons. The sermons do not tend to closely adhere to scripture or the readings, as they do in Catholic mass, but instead they use the reading as a jumping off point to explore an important topic in more detail. The minister often tells many personal anecdotes, and does not pretend to be perfect. He or she shares knowledge and information with the congregation that will help each and every member to grow as a person. I was particularly inspired by a passage from Reverend James’ sermon on November 8, 2009. He lectures on how to be more accepting in a changing world:
ReplyDelete“And there should be no doubt this is a prophetic call to be transformed by love. So, of course that means there’s a hard part. It isn’t about how they, someone else acts so much as how we, you and I, respond to the call. And the call of mercy and justice, of our deepest possibility brings questions for each of us, for you, and for me. How deeply have you looked into your heart about these things? Really? And when you have looked, looked deeply, what discomfort do you feel about gay people, whether you’re straight or gay yourself? How do you really feel about people of color, whatever the color of your skin? Where do you think women belong in this life, should a woman have a gun and use it? What tasks do you think women should not do? And why? Then stretch it out, follow the thread. What are your assumptions about people and how they are supposed to relate to each other? And, please, don’t settle for easy answers. Not what you would like to be. But rather, look at yourself naked and full, as you really are.
In the secret place of your heart, can you look honestly and think about it? Can you see something you’re uncomfortable with? Can you admit it, not to anyone else, just to yourself? If you can, that would be enough; self-honesty opens the way. It is the universal solvent.”
To me, this sermon is very inspiring. However, it is not about a reading from the Bible, and it is not closely linked to another religious text. It is open-ended—there are no specific things that the minister is telling congregants they must do if they want to get into heaven, for instance. The Unitarian Universalists take a more relaxed and all-encompassing approach to their sermons than, say, Roman Catholics.
One thing that bothered me about the service was the amount of time that the announcements took up. There were at least four announcements throughout the service about various different fundraisers or events going on in the church. While these announcements are certainly important for building a community, I don't think that they belong in the service. The first half of the service felt much more like a town hall meeting than a religious service. Additionally, these announcements really interrupted the flow of the service. Did you guys feel the same way?
ReplyDeleteWhen we asked Reverend James what a "regular" service was like, he stated that it was the general format of what any Protestant service would be. As I've only been to a couple Protestant services, both Baptist, to me this means it would generally probably start out with singing, then transition into the priest's sermon, and then finish with some more singing and announcements. I actually think that there is some general outline to the Unitarian Universalists "regular" service is probably a good thing. I don't think that every service needs to be exactly the same, like I experienced going to a Catholic church, but they need to have some general outline so that the congregation members will have a general idea of what is going to happen that day in church. I think going in every Sunday not knowing what is going to happen could be interesting at first, but that it might become unsettling over time.
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