To Be Fully Engaged: Put Your Whole Self In
Membership Sunday, April 30, 2023
Rev. Diane Rollert
Today I’m going to preach to you in both French and English. For those of you who are 100% bilingual, I apologize for any repetition.
S'il vous plaît, si mon français est mauvais, dites-le moi, mais plus tard après le service. Cette ancienne Américaine fait de son mieux.
Many, many years ago, I introduced to this congregation the concept of wounded words. These are the words of religion that have wounded us or have been wounded by others.
Les mots blessés sont souvent des mots religieux que l'on choisit de se réapproprier en leur donnant une nouvelle signification.
There are no forbidden religious words here.
Il n'y a pas de mots religieux interdits ici. C'est un élément de notre culture unique en tant qu’Unitariens et Univeralistes.
This is part of the culture we’ve been trying to develop for years. If you want to talk about God, talk about God. If you like the words “sacred” or “blessing,” “prayer” or “faith,” more power to you. If you are allergic to any words that smack of spirituality, that’s OK too. You belong here. You are welcome here.
Comme nous le disons chaque semaine, que vous soyez athée, agnostique ou que vous croyiez en Dieu ou en des Dieux, vous êtes les bienvenus ici.
Just as long as you can stop and ask each other, “What does that word mean to you?” Or “What it is about that word that makes you uncomfortable?”
On vous invite à vous ouvrir à des perspectives différentes. À poser des questions et à écouter. Quels sont les mots et les idées religieuses qui vous challenge ? Qu'est-ce qui vous inspire ?
During our membership ceremony, I will not be asking our new members to profess a specific religious belief.
Mon job de pasteure n'est pas de vous demander de professer un ensemble spécifique de croyances, mais en même temps on partage des valeurs spécifiques.
I have to ask you, please, please don’t say that we can believe anything we want here, because that’s just not true!
What we share here is a faith, a way of being in the world.
La tradition unitarienne-universaliste est une façon d'être dans le monde. C'est une façon de partager ensemble notre amour pour cette terre, pour l'humanité, et notre espoir pour l'avenir.
We hold certain values in common that are very important to us. I won’t tell you how you must express your faith, but I will do my best to act as a guide. What I love about serving this congregation is how much I learn from you.
That’s what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist. We are willing to question and to sit with the answers even when they seem blurry or ill-defined. We are willing to try our best to have an open mind and an open heart. We are also willing to accept that being open-minded and open-hearted is really hard work.
L'ouverture du cœur et de l'esprit est une discipline spirituelle qu'il faudra plus d'une vie pour développer pleinement.
It’s been 38 years since I first joined a UU congregation. I know the exact number of years because my son, who just turned 38 this past week, was a baby in my arms then. I stuck my toe across the threshold and that first community pulled me all the way in. They welcomed me with love. I started teaching preschool in the religious education program and the next thing I knew, I was serving on the board.
La première congrégation Unitarienne-Universaliste que j'ai rejointe il y a 38 ans m'a aidée à me trouver et à trouver un sens à ma vie. Elle m'a aidée à comprendre comment partager mes valeurs avec mes enfants.
It was a homecoming for me.
C'était la première fois de ma vie que je me sentais vraiment à ma place.
I found a place where I could weave together the Judaism of my childhood with a deep spiritual thirst to know more about other traditions, including the Christianity of my one Ukrainian Catholic grandmother.
Je suis très reconnaissante à la tradition Unitarienne-Universaliste de me permettre de réunir la foi du côté juif et du côté chrétien de ma famille.
I’m here because this UU faith enables me to be myself, to be part of a beloved community, to share values and to take action in the world — Tikkun Olam, as it’s called in the Jewish tradition.
Before I studied for the ministry, I served as a religious educator at the First Parish of Concord, MA, in the States. For many years, that congregation ended its Sunday services with a benediction that has always spoken to me.
Lorsque je suis venu ici à Montréal, j'ai apporté avec moi les mots de cette bénédiction qui est la meilleure expression de cette foi que je puisse partager avec vous.
These words have been the touchstone of my faith, the compass that I use when I ask myself, what does it mean to be a Unitarian Universalist?
Go out into the world in peace,
Have courage,
Hold onto what is good,
Return to no person evil for evil
Strengthen the fainthearted,
Support the weak,
Help the suffering,
Honour all beings.
Allons dans le monde en paix,
Soyons courageux,
Retenons ce qui est bien,
Ne rendons à personne œil pour œil,
Renforçons les cœurs meurtris,
Soutenons les faibles,
Aidons ceux qui souffrent,
Honorons toute vie.
By being part of this congregation, we put our whole selves into beloved community, and we put our whole selves out into the world.
Mettez tout le corps à l’intérieur. Mettez tout le corps à l’extérieur.
That’s how we do it. That’s how we embody this faith, by getting involved as much as we can.
En faisant partie de cette communauté, on est pleinement engagé, pleinement engagé dans le monde. C'est ainsi que nous incarnons notre foi, en nous impliquant le plus possible.