“Ride on the peace BAG (clap clap clap clap)!”

I thought I would take a stab at this, because it is a question near and dear to my own heart. My own heart that thumps a bit loudly in my throat as I read the stories of ex-UUs and wonder what it will take for me to keep my commitment to bloom where I am planted.

Well, my answer is this. Because although I am narrative-theology loving, Bible-thumping, Jesus-following disciplegrrl, I am (happily, joyfully) married to an ex-Catholic humanist and he and I have a Queer kid. There’s no place big enough for this family that we’ve found other than our wonderful UU congregation in Bellevue, WA. We tried Doing Church separately, and it just didn’t work for us. So, for the past 9 years, we have been fully active members of our local UU church, where the ministers are bold, the congregation is lively, and the parking lot is a lunar landscape. Here I find a place where my hope is renewed because I see us practicing the spiritual discipline of hospitality and modeling a kind of genuine religious pluralism. This pluralism seems to say that we aren’t about glossing over the differences that exist in our personal credos, but trying to understand and respect them. We’re not about assuming everyone’s a PLU (Person Like Us). I’m not saying we don’t have our crappy days.

In my heart of hearts, on my good days, I tell myself that this could be the gift we could be holding in trust for the church universal — modeling pluralism. It’s something that the church universal needs, something the world needs, I think. This is why I am a Christian and a UU.

On a separate note, it was a privilege to meet you, PeaceBang, at Ministry Days and the Hymn Sing. Even though I’m posting my comment here semi-anonymously, I was the starry-eyed seminarian from Seattle University who tried to act cool about meeting you. That would have to go on my list of Best Things that Happened in Portland, chatting about shoes and bags with you and a few other smart-looking ministers. In fact, I might even give my red and fuschia TimBuk2 bag a name in honor of the occasion having been the object of a compliment from your very own fabulous self. How about the Red Bag of Courage? Or the PeaceBag? Or PeaceBuk2?

I’m open to suggestions.

David

But if we all go off an join groups of people who agree with us, what happens when we change? Then we have to pick up and find another group of people who all agree with us. Nope, don’t like it.

I grew up among doctrinaire Lutherans, the kind who argue about whether Catholics go to Heaven. You didn’t dare question a doctrine, because people would tell you exactly which church you should move to if you believed what you just said.

But as a UU, I know that if tomorrow morning I get blown away by a vision of Ahura Mazda and realize that I had to become a Zoroastrian, I get to keep all my friends. I love the security of that.

Some densely populated urban/suburban areas have three or four UU churches within a reasonable distance. If you are lucky enough to be able to do so, drive a bit and try another.

It’s like dating. Not every “SWM, 6′ 2″, loves cycling and microbrews” is equal and neither is “UU church seeks seekers, room for all beliefs, including yours.”