Universalist and Unitarian Balance

I was sure I must have been the only UU to have entered a Benedictine monastery while remaining a UU, but I recently learned at least one other UU woman has done the same.

I had an oddly mixed reaction to this news. My first response was "Waaaa! I wanted to be the only one." But almost immediately that was replaced by excitement. If there are others, my call to Christian monastic community was not some quirk of an eccentric personality, but part of something much larger.

Modern, American Unitarians seem to do a bang-up job of honoring our founding principles (from the Reformation on) of inclusive worship devoid of any gatekeeper creed, and using the mind as the primary instrument for spiritual seeking. We are also stellar at honoring our social justice and ecological principles. However, singularly Universalist perspectives have often been lost. I'm thinking of such practices as following divine inspiration, listening to the heart, celebratory and ritual-rich worship, and giving people hope instead of condemnation (to paraphrase John Murray).

At least from the time of the revolution, American Unitarians, such as John Adams, studied other faiths than Christianity. In the 19th century Emerson and the Transcendentalists brought understanding other faiths into the big time. After the 1961 merger between the Unitarian and Universalist churches, most of the newly UU congregations shucked their prior Christian identities for conscious inclusion of people of any faith or no faith. So UUs inherit a good century and a half of trying for faith inclusiveness.

It's not surprising that, as interfaith groundbreakers, some strategies we tried had unforeseen, negative consequences. One such was that, in a sincere effort to have inclusive Sunday meetings, we often got rid of "worship" itself. Everyone shared social justice concerns. Services designed around social justice lectures didn't exclude anyone. Unitarians love discussion; we were founded on respect for rational inquiry. By using scriptures and teachings from many faiths, but only as historical or intellectual references, we could include all without offending any.

In trying for faith inclusiveness, it seemed like we often removed faith all together. In essence our services became mostly Unitarian with only the odd dash of Universalism.

It was an easy mistake to make, but one that leaves me very unsatisfied.

The Benedictine monastery I entered had a liberal (and for Catholics, radically inclusive) Eucharist. This nicely balanced the Sunday services at my UU meetinghouse. The first was very monastic: full of psalms and ritual punctuated by long silences. The second was typically UU in welcoming any believer or non-believer by drawing on many faith and cultural traditions, and concentrating on social justice themes. It was also typically Protestant in wordiness: an hour stuffed with readings, reflections, stories and hymns.

Alternating attendance at these services provided me with a worship balance I needed. Now that I no longer attend the monastery's Eucharist, I miss this contrast.

I want a Sunday service that balances rationality with ritual and emotion. I like to hear about social/humanist concerns, but need hope-inspiring worship that supports my prayer life. Obviously I'm not alone among UUs. The tide has already turned. Many congregations and ministers are bringing more "worship" into our services.

Forty six years after the merger, it is high time for Universalism to come into balance with Unitarianism. Because Universalism isn't just a nice, liberal belief; it is an entirely different way of life.