There have been almost 400 of these rants "published" since 2006 and I'm pretty sure none of them have been about me. There are several good reasons for this: 1) I'm boring. 2) If I wanted to write about myself, there's always Twitter. Trust me, my entire life would fit comfortably in 140 characters with room left over for a really tasty meatloaf recipe. 3) My political/social observations are occasionally worth the time spent reading. Not so my personal adventures. The only thing I share with the Most Interesting Man in the World is face hair.
I bring this up because something happened on Sunday last that caused me to rethink, in part, one of my long-held beliefs-namely, that most organized Christian religions are as antithetical to faith as is Macaroni Grill is to Italian food. Nothing in my experience has shown me any of the teachings of Jesus Christ in what has become modern-day Christianity. Jesus spent three years preaching in public. His message was love, charity, humility, kindness, self-sacrifice. His first public appearance was the marriage feast at Cana. At no time did he use the opportunity to rail against divorce or homosexuality or contraception. At the Sermon on the Mount all the admonitions were positive: "Blessed are the peacemakers", "Blessed are the pure of heart". There was no "Damned are the nonbelievers", or "If you Jews don't wise up you're all going to hell".
So, armed with my trusty preconception against most things Christian, I was persuaded to attend a service at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax. I had a layman's knowledge of Unitarians: they are non-dogmatic, liberal to a fault and given to sermons, not preaching.
Clearly I was more aware of what they weren't. Cynically, I was prepared to be unimpressed. Note: I don't think of myself as a cynic. However, after 64 years of consistently pointing out the cloud around every silver lining, others have labeled me such. I will bow to that observation.
What I heard was a one hour service devoted to people. There was an announcement of a meeting in Washington to aid immigrant Muslims. Let me say that again: the Unitarian Congregation is meeting to help immigrant Muslims. WOW! How does that square with the anti mosque sentiments of 2010?
There was singing (the day's topic was diversity so the musical selection included a Jewish folk song and a Buddhist chant. I know this sounds like they're trying too hard but is was actually OK). There were prayers but they were universal and gentle. The congregation was asked to remember the sick and suffering but not to pray for them. The only way I knew I was in a religious service was the passing of the collection plate. Apparently even Unitarians have to pay the light bill.
The experience wasn't transformative. We're not talking St. Paul on the road to Damascus. It was, however, educational. Unitarians pay close attention to language. God is barely mentioned. Spirituality is translated into grassroots practical actions. Behavior matters more than belief. Apparently, your relationship with the Almighty matters less than how you act toward others and your environment. Having been exposed to a lifetime of Christian threats and admonitions the Unitarian service was inclusive... tranquil. There was no carrot and stick...just an olive branch. It seemed ...uncluttered. I think Jesus might have approved.
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