Dear Ones:

Our ministry theme for May is Imagination. I’ve spent a significant portion of my research time in late April scanning through the available scientific literature on imagination, searching for studies on the benefits of living with a vivid imagination. I may have bit off a bit more than I can chew. This literature is extensive. And not only that, but scientific studies of imagination also overlap with similar studies in philosophy (both ancient and modern), religion (both ancient and modern), the arts and creativity, ethics, dreams, hallucinogenic drugs and more. I am not sure how I will narrow it all down for my May 4th sermon on imagination. Stay tuned.

A 2024 study on ‘collaborative imagination’ at the University of Albany caught my eye. It tracks with my experience of what happens in healthy congregations and spiritual communities. Collaborative imagination is exactly what it sounds like. Participants in the study were invited to imagine solutions to a problem together. Not only does the problem-solving process benefit from the surfacing a wider range of possibilities than if a single individual were working on their own, but the process of collaborative imagination strengthens the bonds of connection between the participants. I sum up the results of collaborative imagination as “better solution, stronger community.” Maybe this is obvious, but I think it’s worth stating. In healthy congregations, we rarely ask one person to solve a particular problem. We create teams, committees or task forces to solve the problem. Inevitably, the solutions are better and, yes, the people involved develop stronger connections to each other. I can think of no better argument for joining a committee at UUSE.

I’m mindful that we have some new opportunities for collaborative imagination coming up. The UUSE Policy Board is in the process of creating a strategic planning task force. A few people have already volunteered to work on this project, but we’re still looking for more task force members. Please reach out to me or Greg Dupuis if you’re interested in participating in this particular process of collaborative imagination.

The Policy Board is also in the process of creating a task force to design ways of integrating the older UU principles and sources with the newer UU values and covenants. We’ll be inviting people from specific committees to participate in this task force, but we’ll also be looking for some ‘at large’ members as well. If you have any interest in participating in this process of collaborative imagination, please reach out to me or our Vice President, Anne Carr.

I’ll leave you with two popular quotes attributed to the great 20th-century physicist, Albert Einstein. First, “Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.” And along the same lines, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

More to come. For now, I wish you an imaginative May!

With love,

Rev. Josh Pawelek

#MayNewsletter