First Unitarian Church of Baltimore

Corner of Charles and Franklin Streets in Downtown Baltimore

Mailing address:
1 West Hamilton Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
P: 410-685-2330
Fax: 410-685-4133
Office E-mail

MORE SEATS AT THE TABLE

by the Reverend Phyllis L. Hubbell
at the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore
on the 30^th of September 2001

Without a table, where are we to eat?
Where shall we sit if were deprived of chairs?

These last few weeks have been hard. We have learned that we are imperfect. Our country is imperfect. It is the human condition. Many of us find ourselves asking if we are to blame. Not exactly to blame, because only those involved in the attacks are responsible, but still Isnt there something that we could have done or not done that would have prevented this from happening? Oh, don't you wish we could turn back the pages on our calendar to September 10? Oh, that we could start September 11 all over, warning our friends not to go to work, whispering to the airline pilots to keep those planes on the ground, calling together the terrorists and asking them if we couldn't sit down and reason together.

The reasons behind the attack are complex and difficult for us to grasp. We read avidly, trying now to understand this kind of rage. If we understand, perhaps we will know what to do now. Perhaps we will figure out how to feel. Perhaps we will discover how to stop this horror from ever happening again. Or perhaps not. This is not the first time we have resolved "never again." Still, it seems clearer than ever that we need to try to understand one another. We need to learn who our neighbors are. What matters to them. If they have enough to eat and if they have shelter. What makes them angry. What makes them afraid. What feeds their spirits.

Despite much evidence that challenges us, one of the core principles of our faith is a belief in believes in the inherent worth and dignity in all people. We are not alone among faith traditions in holding that belief, but it is perhaps more clearly at the core of our religion. Our dream is that one day there will be enough seats at the table and food enough for all. Our dream is that one day all will have shelter, schools, work, health care. We want all to have respect. We want all to have freedom. We want all to have justice. Then perhaps that which was merely inherent may thrive and grow strong. Perhaps that which was merely inherent will not wither and die.

It is not enough when someone crashes airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to begin building ties to Muslims. It is certainly clearer, however, after September 11th to see how important those ties are. We are beginning to reach out to the Muslim community. We will be studying Islam this fall. But all along we need to stretch out our hands to all people everywhere, walk and worship side by side. We need to continue andin some casesbegin to build ties to all people, everywhere, as imposing as that task sounds. That is why our service today is still important. Why it is more important than ever. We musts not wait until the bell tolls to reach out.

We want to bring all people who love justice and compassion together to work for this beloved community. But not only do we wantwe need to walk and work and worship together. My intern church was given a small sum of money for its homeless program. I asked one of our homeless guests what he would do with the money. This man smelled. His clothes were filthy. He replied that it would be nice to have a washing machine. The last answer I expected.

Alone, isolated, we do notcannotknow one another's gifts and weaknesses, joys and sorrow, faith and fear. Alone, isolated, we do not, cannot, understand what justice and mercy require of us. We are still continuing to discover whether that means even greater diversity in our sanctuary or joining in solidarity to support others outside this sanctuary.

We are far more diverse than we were 7 years ago. We are far more accessible than we were 7 years ago. But we have miles to go. Today marks one more tiny step. All of us have read in recent months of the increasing numbers of Americans from Spanish- speaking countries. Most of them have not found their way into Unitarian Universalist churches. But we have not reached out to them either. Over the last few years, I have begun to notice a significant number of people in the congregation with interest in and connections with various Spanish speaking communities in Baltimore. At the same time, John and I have begun talking with our guest, Beltran Navarro, about how we might work together with Baltimores Latino and Spanish-speaking communities.

We dont know the answers yet. We reordered our pamphlets in Spanish. We are starting a Spanish conversation group. Today, we have a service. But that barely touches the surface. How can we take on one more diversity? One more social justice initiative? Both take time, money, and change. How do we still serve our long-term members who have given so much to the church? Must we forget our commitment to racial justice, to the Campaign for Fairness, to equal access for all? John and I and some of you are trying to learn American Sign Language. Do we now take up Spanish? Is this simply the minority flavor of the month?

Part of the answer lies in the growth of the congregation. For years now, we as a congregation and the Board have been talking about our hopes to grow, so that we might increase the number of programs and services we might offer. So that we might be more effective in the programs and services we already have. Wed like to make a difference in this city. Wed like to be a stronger voice for justice. More people could help us reach those goals.

Part of the answer lies in a creative concept of ministry. If we are all ministers here, then John and I can move to focus on new areas, as all of us continue specific ministries to which we are called. That does not mean that John and I abandon our long-term members, or equal rights, access, or justice issues. It does mean new that leadership emerges to extend and expand the ministry of this congregation. It means that all us need to find our ministry in this church, whether it be community building, pastoral concerns, spiritual nurture, worship, teaching, some justice issue, or learning American Sign Language, Spanish, or even Arabic. One of the tasks of membership is listening to where we feel called. What excites us? What are our gifts? One of the tasks of membership is answering the call. Not only serving but leading.

John and I will still be here. One of the most satisfying parts of ministry for both of us is the phone calls and the visits we make. But we cannot make as many as wed like.

At the same time, we care passionately about diversity. But we cannot bring it about alone. We all long for the day that we will be one. One and yet many. In a world where all have cups, and seats, and a voice. And a vote. We cannot be the only leaders of this church. But while we have always had splendid leaders, we now have the strongest, broadest base of leadership we have had since we arrived at this church. Now, we must support the new programs. Now, we must add new leaves to the table.

Now, we must consider together when and where we are needed in the existing programs. Now, we must all learn to minister to one another. You must tell us when John and I are especially needed. If we are to growgrow spiritually, grow in our influence, grow in membership, grow in visionthen we all must be open to the spirit wherever it leads.

I dream that one day we will not be the white church, or the black church, the gay church, or the deaf church, the Spanish Church or the whatever-comes-next church. We will be the church of all souls. The church where all are worthy, all are welcome at the table. The church that changes the world.

We have all paid our passage through this world. Let us sit down at the table together and eat and drink and talk through the long night. And when the sun at last rises once again, let us be at peace.