What We Believe1
Rev. Myke Johnson and Members of the UU Theology Class
May 16, 2010
Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church
A person will worship something--have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is
paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts--but it will out. That which dominates our
imagination and our thoughts will determine our lives, and character. Therefore, it
behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are
becoming.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reflection
Rev. Myke Johnson
The early Unitarians and Universalists in America were liberal Christians. Around the turn of the
19th century, they challenged the prevailing beliefs of the Protestant churches of their day. They
called for an image of God that was loving, rather than punishing. They preached a view of
humanity as good and able to grow, rather than as evil and in need of a blood redemption. From
them we derive the roots of our common values.
But our modern Unitarian Universalism is more similar to a movement among Unitarians that
happened in the generation that followed those earlier forbears. I am speaking of people like
Ralph Waldo Emerson and his contemporaries, who were called the American
Transcendentalists. Next week we will celebrate the 200th birthday of Margaret Fuller, who was
a friend of Emerson, and very influential in the circle of transcendentalists. This coming August
will be the 200th birthday of another influential peer, Theodore Parker.
The Transcendentalists encouraged people to work out their own beliefs--not to rely on the
traditions handed down by others, but, as Emerson said, to have an “original relationship with the
mysteries of the universe.” They were also among the first in America to read the sacred texts of
Hinduism and Islam, and they were well-studied in the European scholarship that was taking a
fresh look at the Bible and philosophy. They expanded our understanding of the sources of truth,
and looked for truth wherever it might be found--not merely in the Bible, but in eastern religions,
scholarly study, the world of nature, and the direct mystical appreciation of the sacred.
Their movement flourished in the 1830s and 40s, but their writings have had a lasting impact on
American philosophy and literature. They laid the foundation for the diversity and
expansiveness of Unitarian Universalism today. While we share common values in our church,
we encourage people to work out their own beliefs. Our UU Theology class is a place where
people can explore perennial questions in the company of fellow searchers. We use the word
credo to refer to the personal beliefs that people name as they wrestle with the great mysteries of
life. Credo is from the Latin, for “I believe.”
Copyright 2010 by Rev. Mykel Johnson and the individual authors of each reflection, and Allen Avenue Unitarian
Universalist Church. Permission to reprint must be requested from [email protected], and is usually granted.
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During the class, we pondered together such questions as: How do we know what we know?
How do we account for our life’s journey? Are human beings basically good or evil? Does God
exist and what do we mean by God anyway? What do we do about suffering? What happens
when we die? What gives us hope?
By exploring these questions together, a marvelous depth begins to grow, in our connections to
each other, and in our thinking and feeling. The twentieth century UU theologian James Luther
Adams wrote that everyone has faith—our faith is that to which we give our greatest devotion.
One of the purposes of a free church is to help each other find a faith that is worthy of our
devotion. Today we will hear from members of the class, expressing some aspects of their
beliefs. I am sure that they would agree that what they have written would not be what it is,
without that listening ear, and the conversation of the group. And yet, each person’s expression
is uniquely their own.
Some of these are segments from longer personal statements, and all express their individual
beliefs at this particular time in their lives. One of the things we say in our class is that credos
are like a snapshot. We believe a spiritual journey includes growth and change throughout life,
so each person’s credo will change, as we learn from our experiences and from each other. I
want to thank them for being willing to share their reflections with all of us. (Credos are
included from those shared at both services.)
Credos
Tim Vogel
How is my spiritual journey going?
This is a work in progress. It includes the most important locations on my spiritual
journey: my wife Pauli Juneau, our daughter Selena, my birth family, and the Allen Avenue UU
community.
I have been journeying from the Roman Catholic Church in which I was raised to this
A2U2 community. In my 20’s I could no longer accept the Catholic Church’s claim to the
exclusive path to salvation, its disrespect for many persons—especially women, and its all too
fallible intervention into matters of human reproduction and sexuality.
To escape the Catholic Church, I became un-churched for 18 years. It seemed necessary
to reject all things spiritual and religious. However, I have found some spiritual and social
principles from my early days stayed with me in those years and remain the foundation of my
current beliefs: love, social justice, equity, reaching out to others, the duty to improve society.
My spiritual journey has been shaped by life experiences: civil rights, peace actions, a
scholarship student’s duty to give back, low-income advocacy, justice work, the women’s
movement, and more recently men’s groups.
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I met Pauli Juneau 36 years ago when we were both in VISTA in Chicago. Our belief
continues to volunteer and help others.
We came with Selena to A2U2 in 1989. While I had known Unitarians for years, I only
became involved with UUism after coming to this congregation. It was “low church” with its
plain unpretentious surroundings, and its reputation as the most liberal congregation in town.
Through this church I have known spiritual growth, supportive community, work to
benefit the larger community, many paths to truth. I have benefited from small gatherings along
with spiritual discussions and growth in our SEG group and the Men’s Group.
My spiritual journey has led me to believe in a spiritual force within all persons and
throughout the universe, a duty to live a moral and ethical life, and an obligation to pursue social
justice.
My beliefs are evolving through my thoughts and experiences, as well as the writings of
others. On my journey I am now considering the experiences of men and how they have been
victimized by the patriarchy and society’s expectations of men. One path for men may be as
“Brother Spirits” learning to value community for the spiritual awareness and growth of men.
Thank you for the opportunity to share thoughts from my spiritual journey.
Carol Jenkins
My Credo
I believe in the inherent goodness of humanity. I believe in the love and purity of children, the
beauty of the earth and its capacity to heal, the wonder of the turning seasons, the importance of
forgiveness.
I have a vision of a great and powerful river flowing through the universe, a true and present
force for good. I have a choice to join it and swim with the current, or I can choose to swim
against this force. If this is so, then there must also be a force for evil. I choose to believe that it
is a smaller river with less who choose to swim in its waters. Although the force of evil may
often cover the land, I believe that the river of good will triumph in the long run.
In my journey with this river, I have come to believe that my job is to make change in my own
sphere. It is the small changes for good, the ones at hand, that are my responsibility in this
lifetime. I believe that all of us have a higher self which points us in the direction of our soul’s
highest growth. Whether we choose to follow that direction is akin to whether we choose to go
with the flow of good. We may grow or not, according to our free will. I believe that my purpose
on earth is to become the best that I am capable of becoming. I suspect that I have made this
journey before, learning more and more with each visit.
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I believe that we all travel in a community of souls, ones we have known before. Part of our
journey is to find and connect with this community. That is why I have searched until I found
such a community at A2U2. This meeting of the souls supports and stretches me as I attempt to
make the journey to my spirit’s best growth. Growing a soul is a task accomplished by the
actions of many, not just one. Difficult things will happen to me and to all others. Life can be
hard and arduous. It is the support of these communities of spirit that bring us to the other side of
the pain.
Barbara
Credo
My credo is similar to a spiritual quest for meaning in life that has central core values but
remains open to new insights. It differs from the religion of my childhood in that my beliefs are
more expansive than the Christian concept of God and the Bible as sources of divine authority.
My concept of the divine is more like a creative force in the universe which transcends all
cultural stereotypes and mere human attempts at definition. The “force” does not reward good
deeds or punish wrong doings. It is an “active verb” which provides life energy to all creatures
(both plant and animal ) on this planet and to all other life forms throughout the galaxy. As
humans we have the power or “free will” to make many different kinds of choices. Some
choices may unknowingly harm the planet or other life forms. Other choices are life enhancing
and support growth and development in both ourselves and others. There are natural cause and
effect consequences for all choices.
Although my beliefs have changed from the Christian religion of my family background,
there are many principles that I support in Judeo-Christian ethics. Social justice issues are very
important. My mother provided a positive role model for treating others with fairness and
respect. She practiced the “Golden Rule” on a daily basis and was active in community affairs.
From her perspective religion involved more than attending weekly church services. It was
about having values and principles. We could differ on theology but agree upon the importance
of working to eliminate social and economic injustices at both the local and national levels.
In attempting to clarify my beliefs and put them in writing, there are still many
unanswered questions. I do not know what happens after death or have any strong belief in an
afterlife. It is difficult for me to remain open to the mystery of what cannot be explained by
scientific principles. However, I have had spiritual experiences that have defied reason and
revealed another way of “knowing”. It is important for me to remain open to new insights and
have my credo as a spiritual quest for meaning rather than an established set of beliefs.
Barbara Murray
A quote from Hafiz:
I have learned so much from God that I can no longer call myself
a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew.
The Truth has shared so much of itself with me that I can no longer call myself
a man, a woman, an angel, or even a pure soul.
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Love has befriended Hafiz.
It has turned to ash and freed me of every concept and image my mind has ever known.
My Credo
I believe in the purity of love as expressed
by the divine entities whose names are
God and Jesus Christ.
I believe in being one with the love manifested by
these entities, unfettered by time and space.
I believe that I co-create existence and consciousness
with these eternal forces.
I believe We Are The All of creation.
Patricia Ellen
This I Believe
We are stardust
We are one and we are many- all part of the web of life, forming and unforming, weaving and
mending.
We affect and are affected by each other
Each moment each day I have a choice of how to respond to the life force – the divine
connection within. The more I pay attention the more I deepen in relationship.
I choose to be in service to life by tending and mending the web of life.
Even when ravaged by life, either by circumstances or by choice – no matter how diminished my
capacity or abilities there is always the possibility of creating and giving and receiving
I have many teachers along the way – nature, the ancient ones, voices in the wind, companions
on my daily walk. I need only open my eyes and listen with my heart.
Death like birth is a portal into a new dimension and way of being (unobserved but there--- like a
vibration I am not yet attuned to.)
I am called to tend the sacred fire with in me and within all I encounter. One way of doing this is
to look for the beauty in the “one” I am with.
And beyond all of this is mystery --- a resting place if I choose to see it that way.
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Sara Orbeton
Credo
My early childhood was spent living in Foster homes, where I was exposed to a variety of
Christian church experiences, all of which I couldn’t grasp. In my early adulthood, I fell into a
“black hole” where I wasn’t sure there even was a God. It was a dark time in my life and I felt as
though my own inner spirit had been destroyed. The energy that propelled me through life was
fear and rage. I felt love for only two people in my life at that time - my mother, who died when
I was 6, and my daughter, who was a growing child. Neither of them were able to help me with
my floundering spiritual journey.
At age 32, I went through a series of life-changing events, giving me the opportunity to
re-examine what God, or a “higher power” might be and I began to develop a sense of
“spirituality”. I also began to live my life according to newly defined personal values, which I
did not get in my childhood. This “higher power” became an ever bigger part of this process.
I began to see evidence of love and of God in other people, and felt this when I walked
alone in the woods, or walked along the shore or sat beside a river. I felt it deeply when in the
presence of my daughter. I began to feel and believe in the power of prayer. But, in the back of
my mind, I was still bothered by the things from the Christian church, such as the trinity, and
that we are born in sin. I wanted to believe in some of the lessons in the New Testament but the
Old Testament didn’t make sense to me.
Then, about 15 years ago, I happened upon a book written by Joseph Campbell, in which
he referred to all of the stories in the Bible as “myths”. Wow! They’re just stories to teach
lessons. Myths! Somehow, that seemed to help me to get “un-stuck”. I could let go of the inner
nagging that seemed to tug at me. I started church shopping, and tried UU, Quaker Meeting and
Congregational. As you can see, I have landed, quite happily at UU and feel that I have found a
spiritual community that I fit into. In the past 10 years, my spirituality and concept of God has
continued to evolve.
Today, my belief in God is like this: First of all, I believe there are angels everywhere.
They’re here in human or other forms to help us in our daily struggles. The God of my
understanding isn’t a human - not man nor woman; God is God. God is a spirit that exists in all
living things and is always here for me. Because all living things exchange much of our
chemistry over the course of our lives, we are all connected. That chemistry, mixed with love or Agape - is truly what connects us all. Maybe it is love that holds us on the earth, not gravity!
It is like a giant basket weave surrounding the earth. Those people who haven’t had the good
fortune to experience love are simply caught up in the basket weave. Maybe some people get it
from us and maybe they don’t. But, in the end, I believe God is in them too, they just don’t
know it. It is all still somewhat of a mystery to me, but then, mystery is the spice of life.
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Judith Moll
Credo
My credo could be summarized by William Blake’s lines “We are put on earth a little space, that
we might learn to bear the beams of love.” These words describe for me our purpose – to be
bearers of love and to be receivers of love from others, including the divine. Another quote
which speaks deeply to me is from the Dalai Lama, “My religion is kindness.” The older I get,
the more such simplicity and clarity are what seem to have meaning for me.
In my search for spiritual understanding I encountered Buddhism over 20 years ago and found its
teachings resonated deeply with my own experience and continue to be a source of daily spiritual
support. Just as I want to be safe, free from suffering and at peace, so do all beings. Compassion
naturally arises when we are awake to the non-separateness of all life. This is for me the greatest
teaching.
James Luther Adams’ writing about faith being what we give our devotion and allegiance to
helps me identify what I have faith in. My highest intention is to use my time and energy to be a
bearer of love, to be a vehicle for the transformative power of love. Despite often allowing
myself to be distracted, this is my goal. It manifests in believing in personal responsibility to
work for social justice, care for all of life—the natural world and animals, to foster loving
relationships, to assist others in achieving their greatest potential and well-being, to promote and
appreciate beauty in all forms.
Recently I heard Rabbi Harry Sky say he did not believe evil exists, but fear profoundly does. I
agree that fear is the driving force of actions of destruction and harm. I believe people are
innately good, but conditions cause them to act in ways that bring others tremendous hurt. The
seeming randomness and “unfairness” of life is beyond my human understanding. So, too, is the
stark contrast of my life of privilege and wellbeing with the lives of others who have so little.
The best we can do, I believe, is to support one another and strive to relieve suffering in any way
possible. To commit to caring for, respecting, and aiding others while forgiving ourselves and
others when we fail, is what matters most in our time on this earth, in my view. Rather than to
search for answers, my hope is to do as the great writer Rilke suggested, to learn to live the
questions and to continue learning and evolving in the process.
Harriet Hill
Credo
I BELIEVE THAT I CAME TO THIS INCARNATION TO CONTINUE LEARNING
LESSONS ABOUT LIFE AND HIGHER POWER THAT I HAVEN'T LEARNED IN MY
SPIRIT'S LAST INCARNATIONS. MY CREDO IS BASED UPON THE GOOD STROKES,
THE BAD BLOWS, AND MY OWN PERCEPTIONS OF WHAT MY SPIRITS ARE
IMPARTING TO ME.
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I AFFIRM THAT LIFE WASN'T MEANT TO BE RECESS, BUT A CONTINUAL
SCHOOLING. I CAN EITHER ENJOY MY SCHOOLING AND ACCEPT MY LESSONS, OR
FIGHT MY SCHOOLING AND BE MISERABLE.
MY STANDARDS REQUIRE THAT I BE THE KINDEST I CAN BE TO ALL CREATURES,
WHETHER HUMAN, ANIMAL, OR INSECT. MY KINDNESS DOESN'T JUST MEAN
GOOD MANNERS, BUT MEANS THAT I WILL EXPECT AND SEEK OUT THE BEST IN
ALL HUMANS AND ANIMALS - AND I WILL ACTIVELY ENCOURAGE IT BY
ACKNOWLEDGING IMMEDIATELY WHEN I EXPERIENCE IT.
DAILY I WILL TRY MY DARNDEST TO MAKE ANOTHER LAUGH, AND I WILL HOLD
STILL AND BE QUIET WHEN THEY OFFER THEIR LOVE TO ME.
I PROMISE MY CREATOR TO TRY TO SET A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR KINDNESS AND
LAUGHTER BY MY ACTIONS. I WILL NEVER KILL FOR PLEASURE IN THIS
LIFETIME AND WILL TRY TO THWART ANY OTHER CREATURE'S HABIT OF DOING
SO IN AS KIND A WAY AS I POSSIBLY CAN.
EACH DAY MY FIRST ACTIVITY WILL BE TO ASK MY SPIRIT GUIDES AND MY
CREATOR HOW I SHOULD LIVE THE COMING DAY, AND I WILL TRY VERY HARD TO
HEAR THE ANSWERS PROVIDED. I WILL NOT REFRAIN FROM CRYING OR
LAUGHING ABOUT MYSELF BECAUSE THAT IS HOW I LEARN MY LESSONS.
Jennifer Krumper
Credo Statement
I believe I am surrounded by love, and I believe in the sky. Squinting up through pine needles at
miles of blue above or watching a dark grey fog bank advance in the evening, I notice that I am
alive. I feel a rush of gratitude. I believe that to be alive is a very special and lucky thing.
Bringing my gaze down from the sky to look around, I notice that I am not alone. Hills, trees,
and sparrows are nearby. They are with me. I believe I am a member of their team. I believe
you are too, and all other people. Together, we are “the good guys.” There is no opposing team,
however. We are the “good guys,” but there are no “bad guys.”
I believe I am a member of a team, and that my choices matter to it. I believe it is my job to drop
my arrogance and pride, to get quiet, and to listen. To let it go when things don’t turn out the
way I want. I believe it is my job to be honest, to pitch in to help, to follow through on my
commitments, even when I don’t want to, and sometimes I don’t want to. I believe all of this is
God’s work, and that I am lucky to have a life that lets me attempt it.
Speaking of God, I believe in things that can’t be proved. A friend of mine died a few years ago.
I don’t know if there is an afterlife, but I know I will see my friend again. I know it as surely as
I see your faces in front of me. Knowing without understanding is the closest I come to seeing
God’s face.
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I do not know if God exists, but I believe in Him. For me, God is the ocean. A breeze. Laughter.
Human voices raised together in song. This is my understanding of God. I believe I am
surrounded by love and I believe in the sky.
Michael Crosby
Sum
For me, the word God always means the old man on the golden throne in the sky who
job is to “mete and dole unequal laws unto a savage race.” Even if you say God is love or God
means love, I still cannot help seeing that old man behind the curtain pulling his leavers and
making smoke and noise. God is a word that I cannot use. So what word can I use the all, the
everything? , I will call it - IT. A neutral term that I can and will use for the everything.
Fourteen billion years ago, the great POP, everything that is, was. The first stars came
and went and left behind stardust from which everything substantial has been made ever since.
As the universe is everything, stars are a function of the universe and planets are a function of
stars and therefor of the universe, and life is a function of (some) planets and so of the stars and
so of the universe. And I am a function of life and of this planet and of this star and so of
the universe.
A whirlpool is a function of moving water. We call it a whirlpool as if it were a noun, a
thing, but it is really a verb, the action of the water as it swirls around in a circular pattern,
whirlpooling. No molecule of water is in a whirlpool for more than a couple of seconds. The
pattern remains for a time but the water that forms it changes from second to second but is
always stream or river or ocean, whirlpooling.
I am a verb, a slow whirlpooling. My pattern is DNA but my atoms are different from
year to year, day to day, even moment to moment. I am an illusion of solidity. By rough
calculation, what you see here is only about one quarter of one percent of all of the atoms that
have passed through this pattern. The ninety nine point seven five percent of the atoms that have
already flowed through the pattern are spread around the planet as rain and worms and birds and
trees and even you here. I breath out, you breath in, now part of me is part of you. You breath
out, I breath in, now part of you is a part of me. But yet there is no definable me, there is
nothing here but a constantly changing swirl of atoms in a pattern, that is also slowly changing.
No definable Michael, rather a function of the atoms of the planet, of the star, of the universe.
The universe is Michaeling. I AM universe.
For a more concrete example, let’s say I am at a restaurant and I say “I’d like a glass of
water please.” and the waitron brings a glass and an ever normal pitcher of water. The glass is
my pattern and the water is the atoms of which I am made. He proceeds to fill the glass, and
fill the glass, and fill the glass. Always I have a glass of water, never is it the same water.
Soon most of the water is spread all over the table. And then the glass slips from my fingers and
crashes to the floor. The pattern is broken but the water is still there, only spread all over the
floor.
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If you were to ask for universe you might get the swirl of atoms that is shaped just like
what you have grown accustomed to calling Michael, but still,
This
Is
Universe
and it is changing all the time.
I AM
function of the all.
I AM
dancing of life.........And of death.
I AM
universe.
I AM
IT!
I AM
IT living and dying.
I AM
IT creating and destroying.
I AM
IT Laughing and grieving.
I AM
IT playing the game of hide and seek.
I AM
IT playing catch me if you can.
I AM
IT!
And, Tag! You are IT!
Namaste.
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