I am still haunted by the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, which
I read in my early teen years. Among many other themes, the book wrestles with
the way White missionaries destroyed the heart of African communities by
importing and imposing “proper” ways of life and worship. I am revisited by
horrors from the text each time I hear tales from a mission trip.
Some tales come from dear interfaith colleagues. I’ll ask them the
nature of their mission. I listen to hear one truth—do they go seeking to
impose their ideals, or do they go as sojourners, hoping that their presence
will help others achieve the goals they have set for their own communities?
Basically the difference is this: a mission can be one of hate or one of love. A mission of hate is bred by the assumption that there is only one right way and that the work God calls us to reject the wrong and build up the right. A mission of love is lived when we recognize that there are many paths to God, to the holy, and to living as we are called. A mission of love serves life in its diversity of forms.
Rev. Howard Thurman famously spoke, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Although many specific missions have harmed life, the ideal of living into a mission is the ideal of fostering, creating, and enabling life. Ask yourself, “What makes me come alive?” By doing those things that make you come alive, you are living your mission. How has your participation at the Unitarian Universalists of Sterling enlivened your call and provided you the means to further your mission? A religious community is by nature mission based. If we are worth our salt, we will help the people who call our sanctuary home come alive!
This year, beginning at our congregational retreat, we will work to name our congregation’s Mission and Vision. Let it be heard that this is holy and necessary work. I hope you will give of yourself as we do this holy work together.
In Peace,
Rev. Anya
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