The Importance of Community Service

The Importance of Community Service
By
Charles Huntington, USH President
August 27, 2006

First Reading:

James 2: 14 – What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action is dead.

Second Reading:

Hebrews 13: 1-3 - Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

“Love is the spirit of this church and service is its law. This is our great covenant: to dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.”

So reads our unison affirmation. We are a non-credal religion, so we have here instead a law and a covenant embedded within an affirmation.

A law is a rule established and enforced by the authority within a community.

A covenant is a contract or an agreement among members of a church to hold to points of doctrine or faith.

An affirmation is a positive declaration, an assertion. In legal terms it is a solemn declaration, but not under oath, permitted to a person who has conscientious objections to taking oaths.

A creed is a statement of religious belief and is often meant to mean a specific statement of belief authorized by a church.

Out of supreme respect for individual conscience, Unitarian-Universalism has no creeds, but it does have principles and purposes, and it has “sources,” one of which is the “words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love. I think community service is embedded in there somewhere.

Our own Unitarian Society of Hartford Mission Statement is a bit clearer and more direct. It envisions our providing and supporting services to the local community and calls on us to establish as an expectation of USH membership ongoing community service by every Society member. Furthermore, it calls on us to regularly communicate to the Society membership examples of the community service activities of individual members, emphasizing the relationship of community service to individual spiritual growth.

These are all odd juxtapositions of words. Whether they are called affirmations, laws, covenants, principles, purposes, vision statements, or strategies, they all sound like creeds. I was raised in the Episcopal Church, where I recited the Nicene Creed faithfully every week, without ever having a clue as to what I it meant or where it came from. But the words we recite together here in the Meetinghouse I understand, clearly, and I think we all stand by these words. But by asserting that we are a non-credal religion, we are stating unequivocally that those inspiring words have no sanctioned authority. It is up to each of us to decide if that is what we believe or not. Sometimes I wonder if we might be undermining our collective effectiveness by saying that in the end it is up to you, and you, and you, and you to decide if the words make sense and if they are going to inspire you into taking action or not. At other times I fully understand the supremacy of individual conscience and can accept a bit of a compromise in our collective effectiveness as a legitimate price. In the final analysis, of course, both are true. As Parker Palmer put it, the process coming to terms with life’s conflicting truths (in this case Unitarian Universalism’s conflicting truths, is fundamentally a spiritual quest.

By the way, there is a wonderful article in the current issue of UU World about the dynamic set of relationships between community, the individual, and our notions of freedom. I commend it to your attention.

In contrast to this never-ending battle of words stands the passage I read earlier from James, Chapter 2, wherein deeds trump faith and statements of faith every time. In all things Biblical, I am quick to seek help from my good friend, Doug, the Bible scholar. Doug and I have known each other for about 30 years, and even though over the span of distance and our busy lives we don’t talk very frequently any longer, we have that sort of friendship that when we do the conversation picks up right where it left off, no matter how long ago that might have been. So, when I asked Doug the Bible scholar about this particular passage he noted that from the Hebrew point of view, everything revolves around the congruence between word and deed. From the ancient Hebrew perspective, one always goes with what someone is doing and only pays attention to the words when they line up with that he or she is doing. In the ancient economy, there was no such thing as intentions. What mattered was deeds. If the words matched the deeds, that was fine. If the words and deeds did not line up, it was deeds that mattered; the words were dismissed.

This ancient way of thinking lines up pretty well with what psychology now teaches about how we formulate opinions. The conventional notion is that we act according to our beliefs; beliefs preceding actions. But, in fact, we formulate our opinions after observing and in a manner consistent with our own behavior; behavior precedes belief. The only exception to the this is when our behavior leads to secondary gain. In other words, we can be bought. If someone pays enough, we will act in a manner contrary to stated beliefs.

I am not sure when it was that our culture strayed from the dominance of deeds over statements of faith, when it was that intentions rather than actions became more important. But discerning intentions now seems to be pervasive. For example, many of our laws require the establishment of criminal intent. And, how often have I heard from my children, “but, I didn’t mean to do it!” As a parent those have to be among the grating words that I have ever heard. The retort that I developed is: “I know you didn’t mean to do it. The problem is that you didn’t mean to not do it.”

In this denomination and in this Meetinghouse we have a lot of words about being of service to others, but I am not sure that our deeds quite live up to our words. I know that I don’t have the deeds to match. There are notable and laudable exceptions to be sure, but are we known in this community for what we say about community service or for the community service we render? I am in no way denigrating our stated beliefs about serving our fellow human beings. I am inspired by our notions of living righteously and in the present. But if I am honest with myself, I cannot claim to live up to those words.

I can think of a number of reasons why our deeds don’t quite match our words; why my deeds don’t quite match my words.

The first, of course, is the time commitment involved. It is one of the sad facts of our modern society that all the gizmos that we have to increase our productivity, to give us more time, have only increased the expectation of productivity. This is going back to the 1950’s and 1060’s, but I can remember predictions that new technologies and the rise in the use of the computer would allow the work week to continue to shrink, as it had during the first half of the twentieth century. I only wish those predictions had been accurate. I recently spent two wonderful weeks in Vermont clearing my head and my soul, but while I was away and unable to defend my in box it seems that two months worth of work accumulated. But, as I have gotten older, I find a bit easier to be honest with myself about the importance of that work. Not much of really is. Can the time to voluntarily serve others be found? For most of us, the answer is no. But, for me and I expect for many of you, the time could be made. It’s a matter of choice.

Some community service opportunities involve unfamiliar places and unfamiliar faces. Initially the situation can be uncomfortable and require some risk taking. When I think about this I am immediately reminded of the journey that Bev Praeger took this summer. We don’t often see Bev in the Meetinghouse, but she is an devoted participant in small group ministry. This summer, Bev went on a solo pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago de Compestella in Spain. For over 6 weeks she joined other pilgrims from all over the world in walking 460 miles along the Camino. Bev is a reserved and introspective person, and she took a great personal risk to put herself in a position of having to relate to complete strangers in a foreign country and in a foreign language. The bravery that she displayed is an incredible inspiration. Her experience puts my reluctance to do a weekly stint of community service in Hartford in perspective. Relatively speaking, there is really not much risk taking involved at all.

It is pretty easy to become overwhelmed by the needs in our community. You’d have to be pretty insensitive not to see the egregious disparities in education, income, housing, health, and a variety of other dimensions. As idyllic as this Meetinghouse often seems, we are within earshot of the gun violence that racks the North End. Many of these problems have existed for decades and seem entrenched and intractable. How can the volunteer efforts of one person make even a small dent in the problems that pervade the city? I find it easy to throw up my hands and say that it is too big and way too complicated for me to do anything worthwhile.

I have come to recognize that embedded in my fatalistic excuse-making is an arrogant and highly unrealistic expectation that I will be able to witness in very short order the clearly positive effects of my community service efforts.

The first of what are for me two of life’s most important lessons that I will discuss today is that the overwhelming majority of the impact that we have on other people is beyond any possibility of knowing. I can cite numerous examples, many involving my own children, where years later someone mentioned something that I did or said years earlier that had some positive (or negative) effect on them and that was really important to them, and I have absolutely no memory of the incident. I have done the same thing to my friend Doug the Bible scholar. And I can clearly remember a number of things that he said 20 years ago in one of his fascinating sermons that stuck with me all these years, and he has no recollection of it at all. It’s a real let down when that happens. What I have come to learn is that people are watching, our children are watching, all of the time. Even as teenagers, when they appear aloof and totally in their own world, they are watching us like hawks. And, everything that we do and say matters. Everything that we do and say affects other people profoundly, and 99+ percent of that impact will never be known to us. It is as in the reading earlier from Hebrews: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”

This realization gives me reason to pause. While I am far from consistent in my ability to keep this in mind, I do try to be a lot more careful about how I conduct myself. And, of relevance to my bit part in doing community service in the face of overwhelming need, I have faith that if I conduct myself with some degree of concern and integrity, it will have a positive impact on someone in someway that, in all likelihood, I will never know. Learning about a few instances when I unknowingly had a positive influence on someone gives me faith, faith in myself and faith in the power of relationship. Individually and collectively we can make a difference, and we can expect to never know how that plays out. Furthermore, the legacy of our community service work lies not in what people remember about us and about what we did, but rather in the good choices that those who we have influenced make about how to live their own lives. They may in fact have no recollection of our influence on their choices, and we will never no about the choices they made, but that is how our influence is passed on through generation after generation.

Another way of avoiding community service that I have frequently employed is to use the trick of redefining what I am already as community service. I mean, aren’t I already doing enough work with non-profits? Don’t I already attend enough meetings? The response to this little mental manipulation requires some pretty deep soul searching. Is what I am already doing intended to serve the community or is it intended to meet my own needs?

The second of the two of the harshest of life’s lessons that I have made as an adult was coming to understand the extent to which I engage in service-like activities in order to meet my own needs. At a point in my life about 25 years ago when I was still practicing as a physician assistant I was heavily involved in the my professional organization, the American Academy of Physician Assistants. One of the most difficult things about my leadership responsibilities was dealing with colleagues who I thought were involved in the organization primarily to advance their own careers rather than to further the profession. Well, I got my comeuppance when I was confronted with the fact that I was doing exactly the same thing. I am a fairly typical oldest child. I define myself in terms of what I do rather than who I am. The problem with depending on accomplishments for my sense of self is there is always more to be done. One can never be satisfied with yourself, because something is always left undone. This is formula for burnout and for complete exasperation for everyone around you. As my friend Doug the Bible scholar puts it, “You can do things for love or you can do things from love.” The problem with doing something “for love” is that there is never enough love. It’s kind of like money: no matter how much you make, there is still more to be had; there are still people who make more than I do. Whatever the positive feedback, its never enough.

The comment that Doug the Bible scholar had about the passage from Hebrews was that the New Testament is fundamentally about hospitality. Notwithstanding all of the theological trappings that are laid on the New Testament, it really boils down to the innocence of welcoming others without an expectation of anything in return. If some sort of secondary gain is involved, then it isn’t welcoming. Calculated goodness, that is, doing community service with the expectation of getting something in return, may in fact be the greatest evil of all.

The challenge that I had to face and still have to face is how to give up my dependence on accomplishments. It felt like if I stopped doing things, that absent those things there would be nothing left. Well, it took a lot of work, it still takes work, and I have come to accept the notion that it will always take work, but I now have at least a shaky faith that I have more to offer by doing from something rather than for something. This is another one of those conflicting truths that defines my spiritual journey. When I engage in community service I am both meeting a community need and I am meeting my needs. Community service is not a purely selfless act. I need to do this. Somehow, acknowledging this up front helps keep the selfishness of it from undermining the integrity of the act. So when I urge you to engage in meaningful community service, I am not just saying that the community needs you to do this. I am also suggesting that you need to do this.

There are a myriad of ways in which you can be involved in community service, and through our Council on Social Justice we mean to make it easy for you to get involved. I suppose it really does not matter that you do community service in the context of the Society, but it is important to the Society that you engage in meaningful community service.

Society members can be involved in social justice efforts by:

Becoming a member of the Council on Social Justice or one of its Sub-councils. You can bring your own “justice” passions to your work with the Council. The Council of Social Justice oversees all of the our community service and helps to educate the congregation on social justice efforts and concerns.

For example you can join the Greater Hartford Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice, which is a faith based interdenominational organization devoted to systemic changes, such as universal healthcare, early childhood education for our most needy, civil rights for immigrants and anti-violence efforts in our urban areas.

By joining the Disabilities Sub-council you can work with fellow congregants to expand the ways in which we welcome folks into our congregational life. This active sub-council spear-headed the addition of the 12 new handicapped parking spaces, the creation of pew cuts and arms chairs, and the enhancement of our sound system. Over the next year, we will be testing a system to translate speech into text so that folks can see the sermons, stories, and hymns on a screen (much like at the opera or concert), and they will also be looking at a mental health curriculum, which focuses on educating congregations on the best ways to welcome folks and families who deal with the many forms and impacts of mental illness.

You can volunteer for Center City Churches, which has many volunteer opportunities available in Hartford, from serving meals in one of the soup kitchens, to helping as an office volunteer. Tutoring and mentoring opportunities with Hartford elementary students are available through its Center for Youth.

You can join the Welcoming Congregation Sub-Council and help continue the work of public education, civil rights and community support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their families. From the celebrations of our families to the on-going efforts to ensure equality and basic rights, the Welcoming Sub-council is looking for members, both straight and not so straight to join in our mission.

You can serve as a tutor or mentor at the Noah Webster School on Whitney Street in Hartford- Tutors and Mentors for students in grades kindergarten through eight are needed for 1 or 2 hours a week. This program will start in the fall.

You can join CUREJ, which stands for Congregations United for Racial Equality and Justice. CUREJ is an interracial, interfaith group that meets monthly for informal discussions on current issues of racial and cultural prejudice . The Reverends Josh Pawelek and Alvan Johnson serve as facilitators for these discussions.

You can join Tom and Joan Kemble and Peter Magistri on the Information and Advocacy Sub Council. The Sub-council has an information board downstairs and is involved in a wide variety of important social justice issues. By joining you can help support the Environmental Justice Coalition or the West Hartford Peace and Justice group. By joining the Healthcare Task force you can represent Unitarian-Universalists at Healthcare for All. You can join with the Connecticut Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, participate in the May "Walk Against Hunger," sign up with Habitat for Humanity, teach English as a Second Language to refugees, and you can donate furniture, good linens and clothes. You can do something as simple as bring one canned food item to church each and every Sunday you attend. You can join People's Action for Clean Energy and promote for renewable energy sources. You can become active in ICEJ's Taxes and Education task force.

Here in the Meetinghouse, you can participate in the religious education program. RE currently needs 3 teachers for 9am Spirit Play, 3 more for 11am Spirit Play, and 3 more for Middle school. We also need volunteers for the Coming of Age program to meet with 8th graders one Sunday each month as a mentor.

Within our walls and in the community that immediately surrounds the Meetinghouse exist innumerable unmet needs and boundless opportunities to serve. As Unitarian-Universalists we believe that men and women are born with the capacity to do both great good and great evil. Which of these, good or evil, gets played out is a matter of choice. Environmental influences, that is how each of us was raised, has a lot to do with it. But, in the final analysis and regardless of how unfair it might be, no one is going to rescue us from our upbringing. Once we come to understand the influences in our lives, it becomes a matter of how we choose to respond to those influences going forward. We can talk endlessly about what ought to be done, but I think it matters mostly that we do something – something of service to others. My wish for this congregation and for myself is to be known for our deeds. Whether our intentions are known, whether I even know my own intentions is pure ornament.

To use a trite and overly commercialized expression, it is time to just do it.

Let us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 08/27/06)