Getting Saved

 

Dear Friends,

I spent the day Monday fasting for a medical procedure. To take my mind off of my growling stomach, I joined Gail on the sofa to watch one of the many Superman movies that have been filmed over the years. This one was made in 2006 and had the same cast of characters I remembered ā€“ the nerdy and socially inept Clark Kent, the ambitious and unsuspecting Lois Lane and the sinister and sociopathic Lex Luthor. In this version, Superman returns to Earth after a long disappearance to find that Metropolis doesnā€™t need him anymore and that Lois has moved on with another young suitor.
ā€œYou wrote that the world doesnā€™t need a savior,ā€ Superman tells Lois after reuniting with her and challenging an article she penned about why he was no longer needed. ā€œBut every day, I hear people crying for one.ā€
Of course, we in TV Land know that Metropolisā€”and Loisā€”will eventually need Superman again, because evil never sleeps and true love never dies. But, perhaps, we in Real Life Land donā€™t need a savior like Superman as much as we just need saving.
To save is to set free someone or something from harm or danger. And, I believe that saving is one of the reasons we seek religious community. Iā€™m convinced that a place like Northwest has the ability to set us free from the harm of isolation and from the danger of comfort. Weā€™re encouraged to radically love each other and bring our ignited passion into the wider world for healing and justice. Ultimately, weā€™re saved by a life that finds its purpose in building the beloved community.
When I joined a Unitarian Universalist congregation more than 22 years ago, I had just ended a painful marriage and felt that my whole life was changing. My UU community not only helped me heal, they helped me discover that I was more powerful than I realized . . . and that I had the ability to create a ripple effect of positive change in two areas that mattered to me most: LGBT civil rights and child abuse prevention.
The business I owned at the time began doing more work for nonprofit organizations, and I began to find that my passions were with those agencies and people that were working directly for change in the world. The rest, as they say, is history.
I believe that Northwest has the ability to save us and create new focus and meaning in our lives. That may sound like a tall order for a small congregation, but I have felt it happen in my own life. And, Iā€™m seeing it take place in many of yours.
Thank you for allowing me to be part of your saving journey . . . and know that you are an important part of mine.

Warmly,

Terry