President's Column: Widening our Circle

Dear Congregation Friends,

What does it mean to “widen our circle”? As a UU faith? a congregation? a person? We are given resources, many helpful, on the meaning of this term by our UU leaders. But let’s each one of us look at what this means.

I recall our family prayer every night where my dad would recite in split-second timing “Bless the sick, the poor and the needy”. Those words have always stayed with me, and curiously no other wording in his prayers (mostly rote) lives in my brain. I just looked up the phrase “bless the sick, the poor and the needy”, and not surprisingly many Mormon references popped up (the religion of my childhood and generations of ancestors).

This scripture from the New Testament was also displayed: Luke 14:13–14 (NIV)

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.

Is this widening the circle, Yes! But, there is more to it. We need to invite and assist the poor, disabled and all disenfranchised people to the table of wealth and power.

The amorphous, universal expression “The Golden Rule” is often attributed to being fundamental in every religious tradition, and it is albeit with different wording. For instance, the African “Ubuntu”, the phrase of respect and reciprocity, reminds us that "I am what I am because of who we all are' are examples, but perhaps none are more poignant that “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. (I do note, however, that in the 21st century, some are referring to “The Golden Rule” as being an "old timey," arcane expression. Well …. perhaps.

As a congregation, how do we reach out to individuals and groups “left out” and “left behind?" Each one of us needs to think about this, using our own powers of discerning with kindness, equity, justice, inclusion. We will likely benefit from the resources shared with us by the UUA and other charitable organizations, and we may have our own ideas.

Let me conclude with a quote from Barack Obama that I found hanging from the wall of our Legal Aid headquarters:

I will never forget that the only reason I'm standing here today is because somebody, somewhere stood up for me when it was risky. Stood up when it was hard. Stood up when it wasn't popular. And because that somebody stood up, a few more stood up. And then a few thousand stood up. And then a few million stood up. And standing up, with courage and clear purpose, they somehow managed to change the world. ~ 2008 Democratic Nomination Acceptance Speech

Let’s all work together to “widen our circle” with kindness, respect and intelligence.

Peggy Webbe, President

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