What Are We Doing Here?

Sometimes it can seem hard to explain what this Fellowship is. It’s a religious community, but it’s a different kind of religious community. To a large extent, our focus is on questions rather than answers, differences rather than similarities, freedom to explore rather than conformance to proclaimed truth. We don’t seem to fit the standard model of a religious community, and when we fall into the habit of explaining what we are not, we can sometimes lose sight of what we are.

Because it’s hard to explain the nature of this community, it can seem intangible or even ephemeral. It might seem like it’s really not that important—but it is! There’s something precious here—perhaps even something unique! It’s tangible, and if it’s temporary, that’s only true in that it’s alive and dynamic. What is it, you ask? It’s the opportunity to discover and to express your true self, unconstrained by the strictures of conventional religion. It’s the opportunity to travel the journeys of life and self-discovery in authentic community with a complex and wonderful set of companions. It’s the opportunity to listen to many different voices, and to construct from their disparate wisdoms the elemental truths that give meaning to your own life experiences. It’s the call to the free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and it’s more than that. It’s the strong conviction that your life is not only about you, but also about the way that your life can make a difference in the lives of others. It’s the presence of caring friends and the touch of human compassion when you face the trials that every human life includes. Whatever else may be true of your life, I hope that the Fellowship is one place in your life where you find these opportunities, these challenges, and these resources.

Soon we will enter the season of our Fellowship’s annual fundraising drive. Soon many of us will begin to think about our resources and our ability to contribute in support of the Fellowship. It’s natural, as part of that process, to think about how important the Fellowship is in your own life, and in the lives of those you love. I am confident that you will think about those questions, but I encourage you to consider some other questions as well.

• How important is the community of this Fellowship not only to you, but to all of its members?

• How important is the future of this congregation to our children, and to the children yet to visit us?

• How important is the visible presence of this community to those who yearn for a liberal religious home, and have yet to find us?

• How important is the voice and the work of the Fellowship to Carbondale , to southern Illinois , and to all those touched by our efforts?

• And, finally, how important is example of this congregation to our larger Unitarian Universalist movement, including our neighbors in Mount Vernon and Cape Girardeau ?

Our collective generosity makes this Fellowship possible, and this Fellowship makes a difference. It makes many differences—a difference in each one of our lives, and in the lives of many, many other people. One of our offering readings expresses the impact of our support in these words: “In contributing to the life of this community, we support our own growth, we affirm this Fellowship, and we make possible its efforts beyond these walls.”

Please accept my sincere thanks, in advance, for your generosity in support of the Fellowship and the complex, wonderful, and important work that we undertake together!

In gratitude, Bill S.