Antoine de Saint-Exupery teaches us that “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” Yearn for the sea. That’s what this Special Place is for: to cultivate our yearning. To so transform our character that we must needs transform the world. Our church is not some fortress where religious liberals gather in like-minded community to protect themselves from a conservative wilderness. We are no fortress here, but a harbor where you are refitted and restocked to go back out onto the high seas of life. That’s what boats are made for. Yes, it’s safer for boats to remain in the harbor. But that’s not what boats are for. Our First Unitarian harbor is full of community and friendships. And that’s a good thing. But your life wasn’t made for some placid existence, but to move over the water. Here, we must learn to yearn for the sea. You are challenged to answer the vital question of “What is this church called to do?” “Do” is an action verb. The question is not what are we called to be, but to do. And that’s the hard work of the church. To do. We are here for something more than friendships: to change ourselves and then the world. Transformation not sanctuary. Action not respite. Yearning not complacency. Now is the time to express your yearning for endless immensity of the sea. It matters not if yours is the God of the Revealed Word, the Consciousness of the Divine Light, the Integration of All Things, or even the Blank God of the atheists. What matters is that you stand in the presence of your God, yearn for the sea, and move over the waters. And now you know what I am here for—together we will learn to yearn for the sea—time to cast off! See you in church. Steven Mead Interim Director of Children and Youth Ministries
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Steven Mead
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