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I May Not Get There With You

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I offered a prayer for the city, state, and country at the Black Legislator’s Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer breakfast. It was a wonderful event, there was singing, dancing, and lots of talking. But what struck me the most was the air of celebration and contemplation interacting through a subtle dance of words and gestures. After my short two minute prayer I returned to my seat, hands shaking from the experience. An experience that I did not expect to be as emotional as it was.

I drove home from the prayer breakfast listening to Dr. King’s last speech in Memphis Tennessee, and because of my experience at the prayer breakfast the words became more to me, in fact I drove home in tears repeating the phrase, “Though I may not make it there with you.”

I may try to recapture that emotion in a later blog or sermon but I make no promises. In stead, I post the words of my prayer. If at anytime you read this prayer and the syntax doesn’t make sense, just imagine the words in my voice.

 

Spirit of life,

Thank you, thank you for blessing us in days of distress. Thank you for loving us, when we cannot love ourselves, and thank you for giving us this holy opportunity to work in this world to bring peace and love to those who surround us.

We ask today that you bless this land in which we live, that you open your heart and hands, that you reach down to touch Jackson Mississippi, our home.

We struggle here, we fight what feels like an uphill battle but we know that you have not forsaken us, you have not forgotten us. We know that daily you bless this place, that you rain your love upon Jackson, Mississippi. We ask that you anoint us to work, and that you anoint Jackson and the leadership. Especially because of the special place that Jackson holds in Mississippi. There is a lot done in this city that would benefit from your touch. And help our city to become a light, a beacon for this state.

And for the state of Mississippi we ask your blessings. For the leadership not just in our little burgh but also for the towns and cities on all the highways and bi-ways. That your holy spirit flows to all the homes and empowers us all to justice, peace, and equity. Help us to build a Mississippi that can lead this country, a Mississippi that can breathe love into this world.

And for this land, so beautiful for the United States of America, we ask your forgiveness for our past sins, and we ask that you work with us, to not just right our wrongs, but to build a better place, a holy place. Help us to be the light to the world, to once again become leaders in our world community. So that we rest always in faith, hope, and love, and truly know the greatest of these things.

Amen.

 

                                                                                                                                                    – Justin

A Principled Life

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Let’s Take Some Time to Reflect

When I was a New UU or a NU-U, I struggled describing the ideology of our religion. I would say, “On any given day I might sit next to a Buddhist, Christian, Atheist, Witch, or Jew.” People often wondered how we could meet every Sunday without constantly arguing and being at each others throats. Over time, I came to understand was that we can meet in our manner due to our agreement to uphold seven guiding principles.

We come together at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jackson, agreeing that we will abide by these principles. These aren’t beliefs so much as just assertions about how we agree to be together. We don’t hold these ideals as a creed, we don’t recite them for every service, in fact many UU’s just know them by generality. If I were to ask UU’s to quote the principles I might very well be met with absolute refusal and cries of injustice and oppression. But that doesn’t diminish the strength or importance of them. Nor does it diminish our agreement to abide by and uphold them.

If fact after becoming a UU, the seven principles became the core of my explanation. I would say, “We are a non-creedal church that agrees to fellowship in community based on our seven principles.” These principles serve as a basic set of ground rules so that when we come together and want to know whether or not we are being faithful to our community we can ask ourselves, “Are we abiding by our principles?”

As we go into our new year, lets take some time to reflect on our principles.

We are a community of people who base our associations on these seven things:

  • The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
  • Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
  • Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
  • A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
  • The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
  • The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
  • Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

-Justin