Tending the Imperfect Church - 9/9/2012 UU Church of Meadville

Perfection Paralysis

I begin with an age-old philosophical question:  “How many Unitarian Universalists does it take to change a light-bulb?”
"Actually, we choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb.
However, if -- in your own journey -- you have found that light bulbs work for you, that is fine.
Indeed, you are invited to write a poem, throw a pot, or compose a liturgical dance about your personal relationship with your light bulb, and to present your poem, pot or dance at next month's annual Light Bulb Sunday Service, during which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including: incandescent, compact fluorescent, 3-way, LED, long-life, and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence."
This is funny because it so accurately depicts our Unitarian Universalist desires to be completely open, inclusive, and tolerant.

       And it is poignant because it so accurately depicts our misguided desires to be all things to all people -- in other words – our desire to be a perfect church. 

       This desire for perfection scares me – NOT because I believe it to be an unreachable goal, but because I believe it to be a completely unworthy one!

       If we mistake the political correctness of those "light-bulb" punch lines for a welcoming and inclusive religion, the joke is on us because that “being-all-things-to-all-people” perfection has a way of paralyzing us:  remember that the first punch line is, “we choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against…”

       And worse, such political correctness and perfection paralysis can morph into the apathy of righteous self-satisfaction -- can fool us into believing that nothing more is expected of us, and that we need not expect more from one another...

       ...we can simply keep coasting along, doing what we’ve always done, being who we’ve always been, surviving as we've always survived, satisfied and mildly surprised that people are not knocking down our doors to become part of our exclusive inclusive club.

Daring to Be Imperfect

Rather than settling for perfection, I ask you to reach for the more worthy goal, I ask you to raise our expectations and to answer the call to be an Imperfect Church. 

Indeed, let us make a sacrament of being an Imperfect Church, together.  Let us be “perfectly flawed”, to quote our music director, Aimee Reash, “…oozing with real, gritty, honest, human life”;

Let us welcome the ritual of falling as we surf the chaos of living;

Let us reject the nice and the familiar, and instead observe a living liturgy of depth and discovery;

Let us make a sacrifice of our judgments, blame, bitterness, and rightness, that we may find meaning in what remains;

       Let us teach one another not with our answers, but with our questions, and let us encourage one another not with our certainties, but with our doubts;

       Let us comfort one another not by saying just the right thing at just the right time, but with our most attentive silence;

Let us heal and help one another not with our expertise and advice, but with our reverent presence;

Let us covenant to create connections so deep that we eagerly come to expect nothing less than imperfection from one another;

And then let us have the grace to forgive and love ourselves just as we are so that we may have the grace to forgive and love one another in the same way – let us love ourselves, one another, and our community so much that we all cannot help but be transformed.

Answering the Questions

       In this morning's reading about "The Church Where Everything Goes Wrong," the minister imagines God witnessing an unplugged worship service and asking, "What in the world are you doing over there?  This is what you call church?  What were you thinking?"

       I do not know how a Perfect Church might answer those three questions...it might be surprised that they had even been asked.

       But when I envision our Imperfect Church being asked the same three questions, the answers seem ready, and true:

       What in the world are we doing over here?  We're daring to be fully human, daring to live into the original blessings of our imperfection, daring to see the holiness in the struggle, in the beauty, and in the messiness of it all. 

       We're leading with heart by trusting one another, presuming good will, communicating often and thoroughly, asking questions that lead us toward understanding, and disagreeing in ways that still offer respect to the person with whom we may disagree.  Sometimes we fail at all of this; often we don't.

       We are celebrating the journey by bearing witness and being present to each other's joys and sorrows.  We do this by listening, singing, eating, worshipping, working, and playing together.  We do this by showing up.

       We are exploring the possibilities of life unfolding, learning with and from one another; experiencing moments of awe, wonder, hope and revelation as we witness the holy in the ordinary and then risk sharing the sacred stories and moments of our lives.

       We are loving our fellow travelers on the journey -- striving for deeper understandings of ourselves and one another, and trying to love so strongly and boldly in response that within these walls and beyond these walls we are creating an unbridled transformation of ourselves, our church, and our community.

       That's what we're doing over here, and yes, this is what we call a church.  And for most of us, this is the place where our imperfections make us more loveable, not less so. We have nothing to prove here -- and certainly not our cleverness or our worthiness.  This...this is the place where we can practice being fully human and beautifully flawed.

       This is the place where we are learning to open our hearts and expand our minds because we are encouraged toward discovery, and because we are expected to offer something of ourselves to the greater good by connecting and engaging with one another. 

       We get it -- we know that we each owe life a death; but in the meantime we each owe life a life and we are helping one another with that -- it is our most privileged work here at the Imperfect Church.

       And what are we thinking?

        We are thinking that none of this is easy.

       We are thinking that it is important to keep trying, especially when times get hard, because knowing that we can depend on other people...and that they can depend on us...this is knowledge that makes a difference.

       We are thinking that we have something vital and vibrant -- not perfect -- to offer to those who are seeking a safe place to critically examine all of life.

       We are thinking that it is okay to ask for help when we need it because we're not going to be judged as weak or incompetent, but simply in need -- a common condition of our humanity. 

       And finally, we are thinking that as important as thinking is to us, there is more to religion than thinking and believing -- that awe and wonder; inspiration and action; gratitude and compassion; intuition and feeling -- all of these are also a part of faithful living in the Imperfect Church, and what a privilege it is to practice our religion, together.

Answering the Call

       The great thing about being an Imperfect Church is that each and all of us are called to serve, and that our intentions and expectations of being imperfect, together, pave not the road to hell, but the winding path of understanding and transformation.    

       We do not need to be perfect -- we should not aspire to or be satisfied with perfection…if the "Perfect Church" is what you are hoping for, what you have settled for, then you may be disappointed as we continue our evolution into the Imperfect Church…

       ...I hope you will not be disappointed but excited and committed as we boldly answer the call to be a real, gritty, honest, falling, chaotic, deepening, discovering, sacrificing, teaching, expecting, encouraging, comforting, healing, attentive, connecting, graceful, thoughtful, forgiving and loving community of faith -- an Imperfect Church ready and able to transform the world with our steadfast commitment to a strong and abiding love.