Seeing there is naught to fear, and bearing witness to what can never die, let us go forth into the world in peace. Each Sunday when I lead worship as a Unitarian Universalist minister, these words form the beginning of the Benediction. The Benediction is a “sending forth,” words to fortify souls that they might go into their lives with the hope of freedom and the charge to liberate the creativity and goodness of those around them.
On this web site is my lifelong devotion to the liberating Spirit that is life lived to its fullest, and a chronicle of my journey to live a spiritual life of service to what my Unitarian Universalist faith tradition declares. My life has been shaped by my Universalist theological heritage, summed up in the declaration that “God loves all souls.” It is a calling to live towards a broadening, expanding Affection originating in the Love that is the center of all things. And my life has been shaped by my Unitarian theological heritage of Spiritual Freedom and the individual’s “likeness to God.” This is a calling to regard human individuals as sacred, the capacity of human consent as holy, and the creation of human covenantal agreements as divine endeavors.
The Benediction, the "sending forth," concludes this way, serving as an introduction to my life of faith as a Unitarian Universalist:
Be of good courage.Search all things, and hold fast to that which is good.
Render unto no one evil for evil.
Strengthen the faint-hearted, support the weak, help the afflicted.
Love all men. Love all women. Love all children.
Love all souls, serving the Most High;
And rejoicing in the power of the Spirit. Amen.
