by Senior Minister Rev. John Morehouse
Welcome, you who come in need of healing…
Welcome, with your problems and your pain.
Welcome, too, your joys and your wonderings…
Instead of answers, here may you find safety for your questions.
Instead of promises, may you find community for your struggles.
—Rev. Maureen Killoran, “In Need of Healing”
After the darkness of these last few years, many are feeling at least a momentary sense of relief. That relief comes to us just at the right time. As the days grow darker and the weather grows colder, we need to know there is a bit of hope as we face the world.
Last Sunday, I said that our church is like a daily prayer. We are granted love even if our lives are full of struggle and broken promises.
When love is at the center of our values, healing begins by wanting to be healed, whether or not we can be. And it happens when we ask for help, when we have faith that we can be healed, if not in body, then in soul. Healing begins when we embrace the faith of our community. This is what it means to belong to a church. You come to be healed, and to heal.
We have launched our congregation-wide Common Read of Love at the Center: Unitarian Universalist Theologies, edited by Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt. In this collection of essays, fellow Unitarian Universalists (UUs) explore why proclaiming a larger love is an act of faith. I encourage you to get a copy either at church or through the UUA. Later in the year, we will be discussing how to put these values into practice.