William G. Sinkford

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A Pastoral Letter from the Rev. William G. Sinkford
President, Unitarian Universalist Association

October 2004

Since our congregations opened their doors for the new church year last month, they have been ministering in a deeply divided nation. The United States seems to have vanished beneath the battle lines drawn between blue states and red states, conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans.

Most destructive and divisive in this political campaign is its tone of fear and fundamentalism—the notion that there is only one way to be religious, only one holy scripture worthy of being followed. Only one way to be patriotic. Only one way to be a family. And, sadly, only one way to be an American.

We religious liberals share our pews with those who do not share our theology. Liberal Christian, Jew, humanist, Buddhist, Pagan -- all find a home in our UU congregations. We know pluralism as a blessing, and our lived experience, that our differences need not divide us, is a great gift that we can offer this campaign-scarred nation.

Jason Shelton, a UU minister and director of music at our congregation in Nashville, Tennessee, wrote a wonderful hymn this year. He reminds us that when we stand on the side of love, we embody healing virtues:

The promise of the Spirit
faith, hope, and love abide
And so every soul
is blessed and made whole
The truth in our hearts is our guide.
We are standing on the side of love.

My friends, after the wrenching divisions of this campaign season, we need that blessing and that wholeness. In this spirit, I offer a prayer, in the hope that we may each play a part in the healing we all need:

Spirit of Life and Love,
Be with us now in prayer.
We seek the blessing and wholeness that come
From knowing we are bound to one another.

Let faith, hope and love abide with us.
May we open our hearts, finding there the discipline
To avoid stridency,
Which deepens not understanding
But widens the chasms between us.

May we open our hearts, finding there the courage
To join our hands with other people of faith
With whom we do not always agree,
Knowing that to clasp hands with others is to extend our reach farther
Than we ever could alone.

May we open our hearts, finding there humility,
Knowing that many who disagree with us
Are grounded in a faith
As deep as our own.

May we always acknowledge and honor the humanity
of those with whom we disagree.
May we remember what religion is:
a binding together of that which has been sundered.
For in this remembering, we lay wide the possibilities for reconciliation and healing.

Amen.

Dear friends, as Americans, there is more that unites us than divides us, and there can be but one common destiny for this nation.

So let us stand purposefully on the side of love. The message of fear has been trumpeted throughout this election season. The message of love is quieter, but it is the antidote to that fear. Let us do what we can to help this quieter message be heard. And let us all do our part to bless and make whole a country wounded by partisan conflict and weary of division.

In faith,

Rev. William G. Sinkford
President, Unitarian Universalist Association

Unitarian Universalist Association
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