The monthly theme this month is “invitation” which is, for me, at the heart of Unitarian Universalist worship. We don’t have creeds or dogmas that “tell” people what to believe. We have people sitting in our pews that have all kinds of different beliefs – theists to atheists and everything in between. So it’s important that we respect the pluralism of our faith by making everything inviting.
You might have noticed that I always “invite” people to meditation or to a “spirit of prayer.” That is very intentional. It’s something I feel strongly about – Unitarian Universalism should never be about “musts” or assumptions that someone wants to do something in worship. It’s always an invitation. For me, this way of both preaching and worshipping allows people to make up their own minds about what is important and how they want to interact with what I’m talking about.
For me this is respecting the dignity and worth of every person, it’s putting love at the center. This month we have a lot going on! We’ve got the Groundbreaking and a Climate Justice Revival. New programming is coming with World Religions coming back, and a Building Your Own Theology course. We’ve got other wonderful things in the works for Leadership Training and issues around end of life. You are officially “invited” to all of them. It’s up to you whether to accept.
With love,
Rev. Sian
Rev. Sian Wiltshire is Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church's minister. Please feel free to reach out and say hello! She can be reached by email, revsian@ocuuc.org, or by church phone at (714) 556-2882 (x302).