Elizabeth Culmer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
edenfalling) wrote2017-07-07 12:25 pm
edenfalling) wrote2017-07-07 12:25 pm
on covenants
For my own reference, I want to make an electronic copy of the covenant my congregation voted to adopt at our annual meeting last month. I am dissatisfied with it in numerous ways, but it is a living document so I hope at least some of those can be changed.
(I also wish I had been able to attend some of the previous discussion meetings about the covenant, but alas, work and other things got in the way.)
Also, yes, the preamble/explanation of what a covenant even IS is part of the document. That is probably the part that annoys me the most. Dictionaries exist! And sacred promises should sound like sacred promises, not like assembly minutes. :(
-----
A Covenant is a set of sacred promises that Unitarian Universalists make with each other to guide and support their communities.
First Unitarian Society of Ithaca adopts this covenant to sustain our commitment to each other, affirm our connections when we struggle, and form the foundation of our respectful relationships with each other and the world.
We covenant to:
Be together in community, guided by love and respect.
Be open, friendly, and welcoming to all.
Be engaged in congregational life.
Communicate compassionately, directly, and honestly.
Listen deeply and kindly to each other.
Believe in others' best intentions.
Support and inspire each other's quest for truth and meaning
Acknowledge, respect, and value our differences.
Work to serve our community's shared goals.
-----
(The missing period in the final trio is copied faithfully from the original document.)
-----
The covenant I grew up with (and adored) is a variation of a common UU covenant, which my childhood minister introduced for communal recitation early in each service as follows:
"Knowing that neither this nor any other form of words will ever be used as a creedal test, I invite you to join me in the covenant:
"Love is the doctrine of this church,
The quest for truth is its sacrament,
And service is its prayer.
To dwell together in peace,
To seek knowledge in freedom,
To serve life in fellowship
To the end that all souls shall grow in harmony,
Thus do we covenant with each and with all."
...
I think you can see why I am dissatisfied with my own church's new covenant? It does not fill the same emotional/ritual slot AT ALL. And if you're not going to fill that slot, why call your thing a covenant? You could just as easily call it a preamble to the bylaws and put it there, where its dryness would be a much better tonal fit.
*grumps ineffectively at the universe*
(I also wish I had been able to attend some of the previous discussion meetings about the covenant, but alas, work and other things got in the way.)
Also, yes, the preamble/explanation of what a covenant even IS is part of the document. That is probably the part that annoys me the most. Dictionaries exist! And sacred promises should sound like sacred promises, not like assembly minutes. :(
-----
A Covenant is a set of sacred promises that Unitarian Universalists make with each other to guide and support their communities.
First Unitarian Society of Ithaca adopts this covenant to sustain our commitment to each other, affirm our connections when we struggle, and form the foundation of our respectful relationships with each other and the world.
We covenant to:
Be together in community, guided by love and respect.
Be open, friendly, and welcoming to all.
Be engaged in congregational life.
Communicate compassionately, directly, and honestly.
Listen deeply and kindly to each other.
Believe in others' best intentions.
Support and inspire each other's quest for truth and meaning
Acknowledge, respect, and value our differences.
Work to serve our community's shared goals.
-----
(The missing period in the final trio is copied faithfully from the original document.)
-----
The covenant I grew up with (and adored) is a variation of a common UU covenant, which my childhood minister introduced for communal recitation early in each service as follows:
"Knowing that neither this nor any other form of words will ever be used as a creedal test, I invite you to join me in the covenant:
"Love is the doctrine of this church,
The quest for truth is its sacrament,
And service is its prayer.
To dwell together in peace,
To seek knowledge in freedom,
To serve life in fellowship
To the end that all souls shall grow in harmony,
Thus do we covenant with each and with all."
...
I think you can see why I am dissatisfied with my own church's new covenant? It does not fill the same emotional/ritual slot AT ALL. And if you're not going to fill that slot, why call your thing a covenant? You could just as easily call it a preamble to the bylaws and put it there, where its dryness would be a much better tonal fit.
*grumps ineffectively at the universe*