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Sermons by Reverend Don Beaudreault

The Hardest Faith You'll Ever Love
Rev. Don Beaudreault
Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, FL
March 12, 2006

OPENING WORDS: “There Is a Time For Everything Under the Sun”

There is a time for everything under the sun –
This is the time for an in-gathering of our human spirits;
A time to reflect upon whom we are –
As these most complex, bewildering, wondrous beings, called “human.”
So let us, each in her and his own way, but together
Share one brief span of time,
Out of our week of busyness and bills,
Of getting ready and slowing down,
Of postponing and accomplishing,
Of enduring and resolving;
Let us each in his or her own way,
But as a community of like-if-not-same mindedness,
Be together –
To discover who we are and who we might yet become.
Come, let us share the celebration by
Asking questions, discovery possibilities, and committing ourselves to accomplishment,
Or just relaxing into ourselves, awaiting clarity of being and purpose.
Come, let us share the morning.

Don Beaudreault

NEW MEMBER READING: “Fine-Tuning the Art of being a Unitarian Universalist”

1. There are many more ways than THE ONLY WAY to be a UU – theologically or otherwise. Yes, we have a history, but also we have a present and a future. Did you know that more than half of UUs in North America have joined our movement within the last decade? What do you think this says about where our UUA, our Florida District, and our specific congregation are at present and where they are going? Did you know that despite the attrition of some members, around 260 have joined this congregation during the last 6 plus years? Indeed, ways of being a UU are vast and varied.

2. Most of us UUs (including me) have GREAT EXPECTATIONS for our church. We seem to have a communal restless spirit that is ever peeking around the corner for something more. I have said before, and I still believe it, that even if we UUs are not Calvinists with that pernicious sense of “guilt and damnation,” nevertheless, we are heirs to a work ethic (Protestant or otherwise!) that calls us to be hard on ourselves – and on others. Lest we forget, none of us is perfect, and all of us are in need of encouragement and compliment.

3. Being a Unitarian Universalist is a WAY OF BEING IN THE WORLD that goes beyond an institutional connection, a specific history, or a litmus test of positions held on social/political causes. All three things come somewhat into play, but ultimately, it is about a certain “style” or “attitude” concerning planetary if not cosmological existence. These are basic to being a UU: a questioning mind seeking authenticity and “truth(s),” a kind heart that reaches out in love to others and the environment and humbly respects one’s self, and a desire to make a difference in the world through actions, large or small.

4. We ALL OUR OWNERS. Ultimately what happens in our congregation depends on the will of the people. Consider our UUA “Principles and Purposes.” They did not come from a Holy See or from a few special wordsmiths or philosophers. All UUs were asked to contribute their thoughts and words to the process. That means that our beliefs are not carved in stone. Through the inclusive process of governance, this particular set of “Principles and Purposes” can be modified, as can our resolutions on a plethora of social justice issues.

5. Finally, Unitarian Universalism at its best is NON-JUDGMENTAL and FORGIVING. We are a progressive movement based on possibility, not on recrimination; on hope, not resignation. We can guide others, helping them to understand the consequences of their actions, but let us do so with loving intent. And when we make mistakes, may we seek forgiveness and know that those we have wronged will attempt to understand our shortcomings and seek to forgive us. We realize that these are ideals, but we are a people who seek to recreate the world afresh each morning. Finally, let me just say “thank you” for being such a wonderful congregation!

Don Beaudreault

MEDITATION READING: “A Unitarian Universalist Sermon on the Mount” (Based on Matthew 5: 3-14)

Blessed are you, the poor in spirit –
Those who stand in humility and awe before grandeur;
Who humble yourself before the un-answerables of the universe.

Blessed are you, the mourners –
Those who feel deep sorrow when you miss the mark of human connection;
Who seek repentance for your unjust acts toward others.

Blessed are you, the meek –
Those who cooperate with nature;
Who discover the joy of accepting.

Blessed are you, the hungry and thirsty –
Those who seek goodness and equity for all existence;
Who rail against the injustices of the planet by performing deeds of love.

Blessed are you, the merciful –
Those of you who help the suffering;
Who cultivate an attitude of caring toward those whose lives are filled with pain.

Blessed are you, the pure –
Those who have no ulterior motive;
Whose intentions are authentic, whose acts are genuine.

Blessed are you, the peacemakers –
Those who attempt to follow these beatitudes;
Who are able to blend feeling with thought, desire with action.

Don Beaudreault

SERMON: “The Hardest Faith You’ll Ever Love”

OBITUARY: Mr. Thomas Jefferson Emerson Channing Parker Adams Lincoln Washington passed away last night surrounded by his beloved community of friends who toasted him adieu with a full-bodied Australian Cabernet Merlot, amidst ritualistic candles and the strains of a Compact Disc recording of a 1962 performance of New Orleans’ “Preservation Hall Band” – those grand old African American men of the French Quarter. It was, to say the least, a festive exit for Mr. W. who entered the unknown but supposed kingdom of the Great Divine Conductor of our universe and its musical sphere if not of all universes. Being but human, the decedent (when alive, since no one has heard from him after the stroke of midnight last night when he breathed his last) oft’ remarked: “I’m a Unitarian Universalist – you know, that’s THE HARDEST FAITH YOU’LL EVER LOVE. In fact, these were his last words, as if trying to introduce himself to St. Peter at THE gates. At least we sincerely hope that was Mr. W’s final destination!

Truly, the way he “went out” to wherever he went out to upon his death, was typically Unitarian Universalist – not that such people necessarily desire to expire – but that when it is “their time,” they do so with a celebrative air, aware of the natural processes of life and of – well, “non-life.”

His friends and family (since some family members were not his “friends”) described him as an ardent “UU” – an odd way of referring to anything, really, but most especially so to an entire religious movement. Still, “UU” he was, right to the very end – meaning, of course, Unitarian Universalist. Suffice it to say, with such advocacy of this religious perspective on human existence, Mr. W. attached his philosophy and his checkbook to subsidiary organizations within the larger context of UU.

And what an extraordinary litany of acronyms accompanied these organizations!

For instance, as a UU, he was at one time or another also a member of the UUCS (his local church in Sarasota, FL), the UUSC (the domestic and international arm of the UUA – that is to say, the Unitarian Universalist Association - involved in human rights endeavors, economic development, disaster relief, “ETC.”), the UUBF (that would be the Unitarian Universalists Buddhist Fellowship), the UUJA (Unitarian Universalists for Jewish Awareness) the AHA (American Humanist Association), the UUI (Unitarian Universalist Infidels), the WPM (World Pantheist Movement), the UUUNO (Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office), the UUWF (Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation – although Mr. W. was a man – of sorts, of various sorts to be specific, the YRUU (with or without a question mark, but in short, the Young Religious Unitarian Universalists, although similarly to not being a woman in a woman’s organization, he was no longer a youth in a youth’s organization), the UUMN (the Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network, dedicated to enlivening the performance of the mostly impossible to sing UU hymns because UUs are always reading ahead of the actual music to see if they agree with the words they are expected to sing), the DRUUMM (pronounced “drum” and referring to the Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries, the Latina/Latino Unitarian Universalist Networking Association (LUUNA, although similar to his not being a woman or a youth – although he was once was one of the latter, Mr. W. was never Latina or Latino, but nevertheless was in sync with their multicultural strivings within the predominately Anglo UU fold), the UUCF (Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship, his association with that being within the realms of Jungian and otherwise archetypal and metaphorical connotations), the UUMN (the Unitarian Universalist Men’s Network, although as a gay man with a great deal of estrogen, he was a softer man than most), the UUPS (not United Parcel Service, but the Unitarian Universalist Psi Symposium, a group that delves into metaphysics, holistic health and healing and parapsychology – which, in a way, is kind of like the United Parcel Service, meaning that somebody is attempting to send messages to someone else, somewhere else in the universe or beyond), the UUPC (the Unitarian Universalist Poet’s Cooperative, for those who prefer a less prosaic way of interpreting the processes of the planet, the SPP (Seventh Principle Project – those Unitarian Universalist who are addressing the issues of ecology – through an understanding of ecospirituality and fostering their individual congregation’s “Green Sanctuary” programs, UFETA (Unitarian Universalists for Ethical Treatment of Animals, promoting “a spirituality that encompasses our beloved community of mixed species”) – and many many more affiliated groups within the Unitarian Universalist ranks, that are, in fact, far more numerous than this obituary has room to list.

Indeed, just by naming a few of Mr. W’s UU associations, we can readily affirm that this is “The Hardest Faith You’ll Ever Love” – or at least, the hardest faith you’ll ever be able to understand because of all the acronyms illustrating the plethora of organizations supporting the movement’s foundational principles.

Despite that, these groups are all quite wonderful in demonstrating the diversity of the Unitarian Universalist faith – or, non-faith – a term more appropriately utilized by members of the Unitarian Universalist Infidels.

And yes, by being a member of these numerous slants of the UU pursuit of “truth” and purpose, Mr. W. illustrated his most eclectic, diversified strivings.

But let us get to some of the nuances.

Especially for some of you who have not had a clue as to what this obituary writer has written so far!

In short, why is this The Hardest Faith You’ll Ever Love according to the comments of the late Mr. W.?

“Because you gotta’ work at it!” he would often say to his friends. “And you gotta' know from the get-go that what you think about something is not always what some other Unitarian Universalist is going to think about it.”

He would then add a flourish to his comments by exclaiming: “Remember, you are not being a Unitarian Universalist when you make a statement that you believe speaks for all who profess Unitarian Universalism. Obviously, we have our general “Principles and Purposes”. But when you preface your statement about a specific issue by saying something like ‘All Unitarian Universalists believe that ….’ you are not being a Unitarian Universalist! You are being a Unitarian Universalist when you say, “As for me – an individual who is a Unitarian Universalist - I believe…”

In saying this, Mr. W. was holding up the keystone of this movement: “individual belief” – one that is, however, fashioned within the communal context.

In addition to this, Mr. Thomas Jefferson Emerson Channing Parker Adams Lincoln Washington often referred to the fact that UUs are non-this-and-non-that – meaning non-creedal, non-dogmatic, non-doctrinal – or expressed differently a no non-sense way of looking at the human dimension. And by that Mr. W. meant that he personally could not have believed or acted upon his belief if it made non-sense. Reason was essential to his belief – but then again, being the complete UU – he did not throw out the natural and effulgent nature of his emotional expression. This counterbalance within him of mind and heart were crucial to the man – and to the movement of which he was a part.

Why? Because both were necessary to the fullest possible expression of his humanity. Furthermore, he would talk in terms of his “mind-body-spirit” – running the three aspects of our humanity together to form one word. Indubitably, Mr. W. strove for a holistic expression, not limiting himself by category.

This applied also to his desire to be fully engaged with the world. His expression of Unitarian Universalism was pragmatic and charitable. He attempted to deal with the real problems of the planet with real solutions – not to merely talk about what needed to be done, but to walk his talk.

He eschewed classifications of himself or of others – whether such distinctions were in regard to one’s sociological class, educational attainment, color of skin, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, economic holdings, or professional status.

He also railed against those who limited any Unitarian Universalist’s attempt to meander both the theological mainstreams and tributaries. He loved to call himself an admixture of beliefs, by saying “I’m a “humanist mystic” (or a “mystical humanist”) – I go both ways, sometimes at the same time!”

He loved English Romantic poetry of a couple centuries ago as evidenced by two other Unitarians, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In poetic “cahoots” with one another, these gentle purveyors of the poetic word, decided that Wordsworth would depict the everyday event of human striving while infusing it with larger-than-life (indeed “mystical” or “meta-physical” meaning), while Coleridge would do the reverse: view the extraordinary event as a common, ordinary reality.

Our Mr. W. recently demised, saw the Wordsworth-Coleridge attempt to connect the extraordinary with the ordinary as a humanist-mystic quest. He saw the same thing in the writings of the Reverend Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Bard of Concord, and a Unitarian minister. When Emerson spoke of the necessity to understand the divine impetus within each human individual, he used the terms “immanent” and “transcendent” – that spark of “divine” intuition/intention within us that sparks with its connection of the “divine” beyond our understanding. For Mr. B. this interweaving of the “mystic” and the “human” was basic to his philosophical belief – and was nourished by his affiliation with the Unitarian Universalist movement.

In truth, however, Mr. W. often explained the UU movement to those who might not have heard of it, as not so much an institutional or organizational structure, as a way of existing in the world. “You are a UU or not, the minute you walk in the door of a UU church. You evolve into one long before you sign the membership book. You cannot be instantaneously converted. There is no road to Damascus for UUs – we often have had to grope in the darkness along a long and winding pathway to come to the light of understanding as to who we are and what we really believe. But that once we find we are not alone in our struggle - that a community of like-but-not-necessarily-same-minded people are waiting to welcome us – we beam ourselves!

Of course, Mr. W. realized that every living being had its own destiny – whether or not there was a divine force behind it. He dubbed himself a “hopeful agnostic” not knowing but hoping that there was a higher purpose and meaning for being alive. He loved to attempt answers to this conundrum by extensive reading, wide-ranging experience, eternal dialogue, absorbing activism, and occasional quiet contemplation.

But he took it all with a sense of humor, realizing that the Eastern spiritual traditions probably had it right: that life is an illusion; it is “play.” So we might as well attain a somewhat detached perspective on it, knowing that we ultimately do not know why we are here in the first place, what we are doing while we are here, and where – if anywhere – we are going once we have shifted off this mortal sphere and back to the elemental nature of star stuff.

And yet, Mr. W. late of Sarasota, FL, never lost his sense of wonder at the mystery of it all. Indeed, his ride on this spinning ball of wax we call our mother-father Earth was well with it.

So may he continue to ride “it” out – wherever “it” might be for him and all others whose candle has been extinguished – even unto the edge of time.

Mr. W. is survived by nearly 7 billion people, many of whom are hungry and thirsty, and are unacknowledged by those who could help them – their potential benefactors of human love being more absorbed by their own extravagant attempts to find purpose in possessions, rather than in service.

CLOSING WORDS: “Wonder at the Miracle of Life”

Wonder at the miracle of life:
Joy, exceedingly great joy;
Sorrow, beyond measure -
The gamut of human expression
In the brief time we have between birth and death.
It is all here, in this spiritual community that cherishes the paradox of life:
It is all here among these people that we live the hardest faith you’ll ever love.

Don Beaudreault