By Shawn Ultican, Board President
Illustration by Robert Neubecker (uuworld.org)In the Spring issue of our UU World magazine, there was an interesting article called “Who Owns Your Congregation?” Although the piece was thought provoking, what really caught my attention was the illustration a church with beams of light streaming outward like a lighthouse.
I know the concept of religious values acting as a beacon of hope and guidance is a common metaphor, but this image really got me thinking about our own fellowship.
I’ve wondered how we at KUUF serve as a beacon to our community. How do the values we share guide our community, or each of us as individuals, through the storms and turmoil of life? Once people are motivated to visit us, do we greet them as a welcoming congregation? Do we share the light and warmth we feel ourselves?
Historically lighthouses used flame as a source of illumination, focusing it through a lens designed to carry the beam far out to sea. Like the flame of our chalice, the light of our shared values guides us as individuals and reaches out to those in our community. Even the name of our newsletter, The Candle, fits within this theme.
In our daily lives, we each carry the light of our own candle, and many of us work to spread that light in different ways; through social justice, community service, political action, or charitable giving.
Sometimes it can feel as though we‘re holding lone candles in the darkness. But I much prefer the image of those individual flames standing together, hundreds of them, bright and warm and strong. Focused through the lens of our faith and mission, we connect with other places of worship, creating a string of navigational beacons along rocky shores.
Another question that’s come to mind is who’s the equivalent of our lighthouse keeper? Who tends the lamps, shines the lens, and keeps the bricks and mortar standing strong against the waves?
It seems like we’ve often relied on an individual, our minister, to keep the light shining for us. As Reverend Liz wrote in her column last month, this can cause uncertainty during a time of transition. Who will hold us together?
The concept that we are all ministers of our faith, both in our church and our community, implies that we are the keepers of our lighthouse. Working together, it’s up to us to keep our beacon shining bright.
This becomes even more important during try- ing times, and we’ve certainly been through some stormy weather over the last few years. With the challenge of our finances, and the transition to a new minister, we have more change ahead of us.
Just like a lighthouse, we are brighter and stronger when we share our strengths, and remember to stand together.