This article is a reposting from 2019 written by Carol Dobbins

               At our Spring Congregational meeting (2019), the members of our congregation accepted a Covenant that had been submitted by the Committee on Ministries and the Board of Trustees.  This document was written many months before and shared with the whole congregation, revised, and revised and then it was submitted to the congregation for acceptance. 

               In our everyday lives, we accept and make covenants in many ways.  We sign contracts, we make verbal agreements, we take vows – all are promises that we will be responsible for our behaviors and choices.  Our congregational covenant has a similar meaning.  We made a promise to each other to be responsible to each other to create the kind of community that demonstrates our values as a Unitarian Universalist community.

               UU churches, under the organization of our national association using the principles of democracy, are charged with the power of self-governance that the UUA calls “polity”.  Each congregation has the right and responsibility to organize in the way they see fit for their unique community.  But governance is only a part of how we agree to be together as a community.

               Our relationships – all aspects of our connections as we live and work together – are as sacred and special as the methods we agree upon to govern ourselves. We come to this community with the highest of intention and expectations.  We come with our best selves and offer to this community the gifts and talents we possess.  But sometimes those relationships become strained. 

We all seek that “perfect” spiritual community. We want to find the best in others and want them to find the best in us.  We want to create and participate in a community where we are safe to explore our better selves.  We want a community where we can take risks, make and acknowledge our mistakes and be accepted, loved, and brought back into right relationships without judgment and harm.  This is a challenging expectation – but not an unrealistic one.  We agree in unison at Sunday Worship Services “Love is the doctrine of this church” and that’s what we mean. Love, even when it’s hard.

Sometimes our intentions do not produce the results we hope for.  Coming back into right relationship can be a difficult journey.  But in our church, there is a small group of committed volunteers who have many skills to support and help members with that process.  In the upcoming months you will hear and read more about the Right Relations Team of this church.   Our role is to support each other as we live out our values and our Covenant in an accepting and encouraging community. 

Watch for more articles exploring what we all can do to assist and support each other as we co-create this Beloved Community.