Does my life align?
During this course, I wondered if--upon inspection--I would find that my life in the community and the organizations I support would align around a common moral perspective. I wondered if I would find a common moral agenda in the organizations I choose to affiliate myself with. For the purposes of this reflection, I will focus on an organization that plays a significant role in my life: my church.
According to Wikipedia:
The United Church of Christ is a historical continuation of the General Council of Congregational Christian churches founded under the influence of New England
Puritanism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC.
Throughout my teens and early adult years, I followed my family in and out of church ministries including at American Baptist, Assemblies of God, and non-denominational evangelical churches. When I had my son, I found myself deeply called back to the UCC and the church community of my youth. In the past several years, it has become evident to me that my affinity for the UCC is deeply connected to my personal faith and to social justice.
Yesterday, I picked up the bulletin as I walked through the doors of the United Church of Bakersfield and Fairfield, my home congregation. The cover was a statement that clearly illustrates the UCC vision of social justice and purpose. Our benediction also reflected these statements of intent and purpose.
The UCC website includes these statements about "WHO WE ARE:" [I have highlighted points of interest connected to this reflection]
Our faith is 2,000 years old. Our thinking is not.
We believe in God's continuing testament. This is why we are committed to hearing God's ancient story anew and afresh in our lives and in the world today. We try to remain attentive to God's creative movement in the world. Religion and science are not mutually exclusive, and your head and heart are both welcomed into our places of worship. We prepare our members and leaders to be engaged in ministry in the present and future church, and we embrace all kinds of communities and new modes of thinking. Why? Because God is still speaking,
No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here.
We believe in extravagant welcome. This is why we insist that God's communion table is open, not closed, and God's gift and claim in baptism are irrevocable. We advocate justice for all. Our congregations extend hospitality as a sign of God's inclusive love. We teach that evangelism — offering bread to those in search of it — is God's mission. Our perspective is global, not provincial. We work with — not against — people of other faiths. Why? Because God is still speaking,
Never place a period where God has placed a comma.
We believe the church's mission is to change lives — individually, systemically and globally. We work to make transformation possible, but trust in God's grace. This is why we insist that churches must be places of vitality in worship, learning and advocacy. We are committed to working for justice, and we believe that lives are changed through global experiences and friendships. Why? Because God is still speaking,
We believe in God's continuing testament. This is why we are committed to hearing God's ancient story anew and afresh in our lives and in the world today. We try to remain attentive to God's creative movement in the world. Religion and science are not mutually exclusive, and your head and heart are both welcomed into our places of worship. We prepare our members and leaders to be engaged in ministry in the present and future church, and we embrace all kinds of communities and new modes of thinking. Why? Because God is still speaking,
No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here.
We believe in extravagant welcome. This is why we insist that God's communion table is open, not closed, and God's gift and claim in baptism are irrevocable. We advocate justice for all. Our congregations extend hospitality as a sign of God's inclusive love. We teach that evangelism — offering bread to those in search of it — is God's mission. Our perspective is global, not provincial. We work with — not against — people of other faiths. Why? Because God is still speaking,
Never place a period where God has placed a comma.
We believe the church's mission is to change lives — individually, systemically and globally. We work to make transformation possible, but trust in God's grace. This is why we insist that churches must be places of vitality in worship, learning and advocacy. We are committed to working for justice, and we believe that lives are changed through global experiences and friendships. Why? Because God is still speaking,
Last month our small, rural congregation voted on the following "open and affirming" statement:
I believe that the moral philosophy most reflected in the UCC is the Social Justice of John Rawls:
(a) Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all.
(b) Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both:
(i) The greatest benefits to the least-advantaged, and
(ii) Attached to the offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equalities of opportunities (Rawls, 1972).
Embedded in the tenets of Christianity are also moral principles of care, charity, and virtue, as reflected in the UCC Testimonies of Faith: [I have highlighted points of interest connected to this reflection]
We believe in the triune God: Creator, resurrected Christ, the sole Head of the church, and the Holy Spirit, who guides and brings about the creative and redemptive work of God in the world.
We believe that each person is unique and valuable. It is the will of God that every person belong to a family of faith where they have a strong sense of being valued and loved.
We believe that each person is on a spiritual journey and that each of us is at a different stage of that journey.
We believe that the persistent search for God produces an authentic relationship with God, engendering love, strengthening faith, dissolving guilt, and giving life purpose and direction.
We believe that all of the baptized 'belong body and soul to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.' No matter who – no matter what – no matter where we are on life's journey – notwithstanding race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, class or creed – we all belong to God and to one worldwide community of faith. All persons baptized – past, present and future – are connected to each other and to God through the sacrament of baptism. We baptize during worship when the community is present because baptism includes the community's promise of 'love, support and care' for the baptized – and we promise that we won't take it back – no matter where your journey leads you.
We believe that all people of faith are invited to join Christ at Christ's table for the sacrament of Communion. Just as many grains of wheat are gathered to make one loaf of bread and many grapes are gathered to make one cup of wine, we, the many people of God, are made one in the body of Christ, the church. The breaking of bread and the pouring of wine reminds us of the costliness of Christ's sacrifice and the discipleship to which we are all called. In the breaking of bread, we remember and celebrate Christ's presence among us along with a 'cloud of witnesses' – our ancestors, family and friends who have gone before us. It is a great mystery; we claim it by faith.
We believe the UCC is called to be a united and uniting church. "That they may all be one." (John 17:21) "In essentials–unity, in nonessentials–diversity, in all things–charity," These UCC mottos survive because they touch core values deep within us. The UCC has no rigid formulation of doctrine or attachment to creeds or structures. Its overarching creed is love. UCC pastors and teachers are known for their commitment to excellence in theological preparation, interpretation of the scripture and justice advocacy. Even so, love and unity in the midst of our diversity are our greatest assets.
We believe that God calls us to be servants in the service of others and to be good stewards of the earth's resources. 'To believe is to care; to care is to do.'
We believe that the UCC is called to be a prophetic church. As in the tradition of the prophets and apostles, God calls the church to speak truth to power, liberate the oppressed, care for the poor and comfort the afflicted.
We believe in the power of peace, and work for nonviolent solutions to local, national, and international problems.
We are a people of possibility. In the UCC, members, congregations and structures have the breathing room to explore and to hear ... for after all, God is still speaking, ...
I wonder if there may be evidence of Schlosberg's Environmental Justice embedded in the UCC moral stances as well. From a review of Defining Environmental Justice:
'Defining Environmental Justice' breaks important ground not only in advancing political theory’s engagement with nature but in crafting a theoretical and political framework that draws together moral consideration for nonhuman nature with environmental justice concerns. In fact, Schlosberg builds from the discourse of the environmental justice movement to extend justice to our relations with the natural world—in his own terminology, he moves from environmental to ecological justice. He also offers a powerful critique of liberal theories of justice and their often singular focus on distribution, offering a more inclusive notion of justice that embraces recognition, capabilities, and participatory democracy.
Moral Philosophy and Professional Ethics provided me with opportunities to explore frameworks and lenses and to understand more fully the historical development and context of moral thought and action as well as the implications in our daily personal and professional lives. I was challenged by our readings, cases, article reviews, and weekly deliberations in class. Taking this course simultaneously with Creativity and Creative Problem Solving allowed me to make personal and academic connections between creative capacity and moral philosophy. I was able to clarify my personal position about my own life as result, as reflected in the following excerpt from a paper I wrote for Carol Gargon's class:
'Defining Environmental Justice' breaks important ground not only in advancing political theory’s engagement with nature but in crafting a theoretical and political framework that draws together moral consideration for nonhuman nature with environmental justice concerns. In fact, Schlosberg builds from the discourse of the environmental justice movement to extend justice to our relations with the natural world—in his own terminology, he moves from environmental to ecological justice. He also offers a powerful critique of liberal theories of justice and their often singular focus on distribution, offering a more inclusive notion of justice that embraces recognition, capabilities, and participatory democracy.
Moral Philosophy and Professional Ethics provided me with opportunities to explore frameworks and lenses and to understand more fully the historical development and context of moral thought and action as well as the implications in our daily personal and professional lives. I was challenged by our readings, cases, article reviews, and weekly deliberations in class. Taking this course simultaneously with Creativity and Creative Problem Solving allowed me to make personal and academic connections between creative capacity and moral philosophy. I was able to clarify my personal position about my own life as result, as reflected in the following excerpt from a paper I wrote for Carol Gargon's class:
In his poem, Song of Myself, Walt Whitman (1892) proclaims, “I am large, I contain multitudes.” This idea resonates with me and my image of my own creative diversity. It also aligns with Robinson’s claims about our creative capacities as human beings. In his book The Path (2016), Michael Puett puts it this way, “there is no one true self to uncover--in ourselves or in others” (p. 45). Puett also says, “we could think of ourselves as complex arrays of emotions, dispositions, desires, and traits that often pull us in different and contradictory ways. When we do so, we become malleable” (p. 43). Do I believe it is essential for me to promote my own creativity? In the most literal sense, the ways that I have promoted my own creativity have enabled me to explore life more richly and made vocational and avocational opportunities accessible that I might not have noticed or explored.
I don’t see myself married to a sole calling, career, or life work. Though I see and feel a common pull toward certain activities, I see my life as having purpose in a broad sense. I find spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical affinity with the idea my life has purpose when I am mentoring and facilitating growth in my students, and also when I am helping to realize a vision in flowers and aesthetic design, and when I am writing a paper, and when I’m designing a logo, and when I’m cooking with my child, and when I’m singing to myself in the car, and when I’m just sitting and being still. I would not have said this twenty years ago, maybe not even two years ago. My professional journey in the last five years has been largely about unlearning old ways of thinking and identifying myths as well as learning and exploring new ideas grounded in academic research, including in the realm of creativity.
