"Playing Above What We Know"

by Ellen Germann-Melosh

With sincere thanks to Rev. Peter Morales for some of the content

Sunday, January 13, 2008

"I've always told the musicians in my band to play what they know and then to play above that, and that's when great art and great music happen." M. Davis

During my Junior year at college, a new competition was introduced for the sororities and fraternities during homecoming weekend - a "Greek sing" where they would compete in the presentation of a song. I have always loved music and it has been a big part of my life. I have sung and played many instruments. So this seemed like a good thing to be part of. One of our sorority sisters was a music major and she was chosen as our director. Theo chose Danny Boy for us to sing. We spent many evenings practicing - sometimes all together, sometimes in sections (altos, soprano, tenor - that's me). We worked hard, had fun along the way, and learned a little bit more about each other through the process. Now I will share honestly with you that we were NOT the most popular girls on campus - probably close to the opposite. Our house was the furthest from the campus and we were known as the "studious girls".

The night of the competition arrived. We had all made or bought long, dark green skirts which we wore with white blouses. Our alumni group had sent enough red roses so each of us could carry one, with a white bow tied around it. So we looked pretty classy up there on stage. And what happened that night was indeed an example of playing above what we knew. Who knows what the magic formula was. It might have been the excitement of a new competition, the natural energy of homecoming in Vermont during the October foliage colors, the beauty of that haunting song composed by the English lawyer and songwriter Frederic Edward Weatherly and set to the Irish tune of Londonderry Air, the opportunity for this little known group of young women on campus to be in front of everyone - perhaps all of these and more. But that night we sang way above anything we had ever reached. Our voices blended beautifully, our wrong notes disappeared, and our sound echoed through the hall like that of the angels. When we were done, there was absolute silence for what felt like minutes - but was really probably only seconds. And then there was thunderous applause. We were electrified - and we won. This small group of unknowns had wowed the audience and the judges - and ourselves as well. There was no doubt in anyone's mind who was the best.

There have been other times in my life when I or someone I know has played above what they knew - or tried to. Mostly, these times have produced awe in both the player and the audience. Occasionally they have produced something less than awe. But always they were worth the effort for what was learned.

It is my strong belief that now is the time for our Unitarian Universalist congregations to begin "playing above what they know - far above it - because what that might lead to might take us above the place where we've been playing all along, to the new place we find ourselves right now - and to the next place we're going - and even above that." It is time for this faith - this little known but powerful and wonderful faith - to let the world know who we are and what we stand for. You see, I believe, to the very depth of my soul, that we ARE the faith for the 21st Century. And the only way we get to be that is by playing above - far above - where we play now.

So what might that mean for us? For me it has lots of meanings - and it impacts absolutely everything we do and every part of our faith. It starts at the congregational level - as all things start in this faith - and it moves up and becomes visible and powerful at our district and denominational levels. But always, it starts here - with these few good, devoted people who gather each Sunday in our name.

Rev. Peter Morales, Senior Minister of the Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, CO, did some research on our growth. Peter loves this faith as much as I do. It saddens him to see it growing so slowly, although his church has grown in leaps and bounds - moving from 400 to 700 members in just over 5 years. Peter's research showed that 40% of our churches are growing steadily while 32% are declining steadily. These two figures pretty much cancel each other out, with a net result of 1% growth per year. Since the population of the US is growing significantly more than 1% per year, we are actually declining as a % of the population.

So what is it that is holding us back? How can we begin to play above where we are now and become that model for religion in this fairly new century? If we are going to move into the future that can be ours, we need to grab what is precious, what is essential, we need to leave some things behind, and we need to pick up some new ways of being.

Last year when we moved back to the United States, my husband and I each packed a carry-on bag with the essentials, just in case our luggage got lost. What might our congregations pack in their carry-on bag as they move forward and what might they pack away in luggage that hopefully will get lost?

As I have visited the many UU congregations in our nation, I am frankly appalled and a little ashamed at what I experience all too often. There is a culture of coldness in too many of them. On a visit to a church that will remain nameless, only one person made any effort to speak to me. And when this person learned that I worked for the UUA, he proceeded to complain to me about something that happened years ago. Ironically, the church proclaimed prominently that it is a Welcoming Congregation. It just didn't feel very - well - welcoming. How many thousands of potential members do we give a cold shoulder to every Sunday? Let's pack coldness into our lost baggage.

Another thing I observe in many congregations is a sense of elitism. How accepting are we of those with less education, with differing political biases or with differing world views? There's no room for elitism in our carry-on.

I too often see individualism out of control. I see individualism leaning toward narcissism that thinks I can say whatever I please no matter how hurtful and focus on my needs without regard to others. Extreme individualism keeps us from fully relating. It keeps us from being our best selves. Let's leave extreme individualism behind.

Some of our history is vital and a source of great inspiration. Some of our past is useless baggage. A living congregation needs to put the good in its history into the carry-on and leave the useless history behind. We will never find the promised land looking backward.

What do we take with us? What is essential?

At our best, we have always been open to new possibilities. It goes all the back to the early Unitarians and Universalists who were open to new ways of thinking about religion. We are the spiritual heirs of heretics, of people willing to take risks and to explore new paths - people willing to refute the trinity and believe in universal salvation. That searching, inquisitive and adventurous spirit goes in the carry-on.

And so does our evangelistic spirit. Evangelistic spirit? You bet. Our Universalist forbears were passionate about sharing their liberating message of hope with the world. We have tended to ignore that but it is essential. If ever the world needed a message of hope and acceptance, it is now. Let's dig our evangelistic spirit out of storage and put it in the bag.

When we do church well, we are champions of justice. We have a long tradition of working to end oppressions based on fear, hatred and exploitation. Unitarians and Universalists have fought hard for women's suffrage, for elimination of racial bias, for the end to child labor throughout the world, and, most recently, for acceptance of people regardless of their sexual orientation. Without that passion for justice, we lose an essential piece of who we are. We must be absolutely sure to pack our justice seeking selves in our carry-on.

We have always been a hopeful people. Sure, at times we can slip into being a little naïve, but we have a strong tradition of seeing the good in people and the good we can create together. Hope weighs less than nothing. Hope lightens the load and gives us strength. Hope goes into our carry-on.

And, of course, our principles, our purposes and our diverse sources for spirituality go in our carry-on. These are the fundamental tenets on which we build this exceptional faith. They don't prescribing what we should believe but rather how we should act as Unitarian Universalists. They guide us, they inform us and they help us celebrate. They go beyond the ten commandments, and urge us to consider teachings from the bible, the Torah, the Koran, the Sutras of Buddhism and all other religions as we define our spirituality.

Now, it is fine to take all of these philosophies and ideals with us. It is good that we preach them from our pulpits. And it is healthy to leave behind those things that hold us back. But holding high ideals in our hearts doesn't let us play above where we are. In fact, holding them in our hearts and paying homage to words on paper only exaggerates our elitism.

It is by living our principles and by acting as a true community of believers - even better, a community of diverse believers - with common goals and a love for humanity that we will get beyond where we are. It is by letting people know who we are and what we do as a religious community that we become known and others who have long searched for our way of being will join us.

Let me share with you some of the ways I think our congregations can play above - and some examples of congregations that are being better than they knew they could be.

I said earlier that I believe deeply that ours is the faith for the 21st century. When we look at this world where religion and politics are so intertwined and where wars are fought and terrorism reigns based on religious beliefs, however misguided, our message of pluralism is the only one that makes sense. In our churches, people define their faith expression in a way that works for them - in an personal way. These definitions range from traditional Christian/Jewish/Buddhist to earth centered and pagan to atheistic and humanist. And yet these same people gather to worship side by side and share in community together. We believe strongly in this pluralistic model - so strongly that it is part of our principles and purposes. It reads "Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision."

Unitarian Universalism requires us to live out this purpose - to truly give witness to our pluralism. It requires that those who define in some pagan faith and those who define their spirituality in more humanistic terms are able to work together in community and worship together in love. It requires that we each define our unique spiritual needs without pushing them on anyone else or asking that others even agree. In many UU churches you will find displays of a multitude of religious symbols. In Albuquerque, NM they are found on a stunning backdrop behind the dais. In Las Cruces, NM they are found in each window of the sanctuary. In Cheyenne, WY the service begins with a statement about our diverse beliefs and our need to honor each other.

We need to play above where we are in another part of our faith that is very important to us - the social justice efforts that mean so much to so many. In Alamagordo, NM a small UU congregation of only 50 members was so outraged at the insistence of a local fundamentalist preacher that certain books should not be read - and, in fact, should be burned - that they gathered, wrote letters to the editor of the local paper, and mobilized over 1500 citizens in the area in protest to this act. And they were able to stop the book burning.

In Salt Lake City, Utah, our congregation and its minister took on the Church of the Latter Day Saints in declaring that land with public access should not be limited in what speech can be used there and what sayings people can have on their T-shirts when there. The LDS had stated that certain words and actions were not to be allowed - our church took them to court based on the first amendment right of free speech - and won.

There are so many significant issues in the world - at local, national and global levels. Issues of environment, of gay rights, of war and peace, of censorship, of education, of immigration - the list goes on. We UU congregations need to play above contributing money and participating in walk-a-thons. We need to get active on an issue and make a difference in our community.

And lastly, we need to play above where we are in letting the world know who WE are. Emerson set the example when he preached to the conservative faculty at Harvard about getting beyond the need for the divinity of Jesus Christ - a talk that "startled them more than if he had set their pants afire" according to the author of a recent biography. The UUA is leading the way with their media campaign in Time magazine where our faith is being advertised in full and half-page spots with brief words that hopefully will attract people who might find our faith exactly what they are looking for. This campaign, while not setting the world on fire, does play above what we have done before - and it is producing results. People are more familiar with our sometimes cumbersome name. People know more about us and feel more accepting of us.

You can do something similar here in Glendale and in the greater Phoenix area. You can get the word out about who we are and what we stand for and where people can find your churches. Of course, before you do this, I'd recommend spending some time learning how to articulate our faith in fewer words than most of us take. We need to let people know that we are a real faith - that we have principles and purposes and that we have acceptance - that concept so needed for the 21st century.

In playing above what we know, we will make some mistakes for sure. We need to make those mistakes - we need to make more mistakes. Because making mistakes shows that we are taking risks. We can stay safe and unimaginative and pretty much do everything OK or we can be passionate and take risks and try out new ideas and from time to time be embarrassed.

If you put us in a place where we have to do something different from what we do all the time, we can do that - but we've got to think differently in order to do it. We have to use our imagination, be more creative, more innovative, we've got to take more risks. We've got to play above what we know - far above it - and what that might lead to might take us above the place where we've been playing all along, to the new place we find ourselves right now - and to the next place we're going, and even above that! We've got to play what we know and then play above that. Because then anything can happen. Great Art, Great music, Great Churches, Great Unitarian Universalism.