Global Church in Theory Only

I lived in Oklahoma during the early 80’s. When I first moved there, I was so lonely I would try to strike up conversations with wrong number callers: “it’s ok; it happens to me all the time,” I’d say. “Where are you all from, anyway?” I also kept on my desk at work the picture of a family that came with the frame. About this time, the pastor of a local pentecostal church found out that I considered myself a Christian. He and I visited several small-town churches where I gave testimonies. Long lines would form at the end of the service to greet the exotic visitor. No matter what they said, whether it’s “God bless you,” “I’ll keep you in my prayers,” or even one or two “you are a credit to your race” was ok with me, because I was building bridges and connecting with humanity. That was my introduction to evangelism.

As a Hindu teenager, I was most curious not about Christianity, but about Buddhism. Buddhists believe in evangelism whereas Hindus seem to equate evangelism with crass proselytization. And many Hindus think of Buddhism as Hinduism lite, anyway. You probably know that the Buddha himself was a Hindu the same way Jesus was a Jew. But the Buddhist way of evangelism is neither crass nor holier-than-thou. The Buddhist word “Bodha” comes closest to evangelism. And “bodha” is defined as one beggar humbly sharing with another beggar where the food is. Anyway, the Hindu and Buddhist approaches to evangelism have had two major consequences:

1. The Buddhist circle of influence is much more widespread than that of Hinduism.

2. By opening itself up to new cultures through evangelism, Buddhism lent itself to reform and change. In spite of its belief in rebirth, Hinduism itself has not been reborn, so to speak, as often as it should have to make itself even better.

Let’s bring this home to Unitarian Universalism. We have a good message, but unless we are willing to spread it, it won’t reach the four corners of the world and the message itself won’t have the opportunity to get even better unless we’re willing to share it.

Even within the United States, we have a lot of work to do. For example, we UU’s believed in integration when integration wasn’t cool, but we have little to show by way of practice. Our churches for the most part are what I’d describe as chocolate-chip cookie churches with a person of color here and there. The Census projections tell us that the US will be 50% people of color by 2050, but we have done little to prepare for the future and the ever-changing present. That’s a problem.

Now here’s a solution. In the Inclusiveness and Diversity Committee of this church, on many occasions we discussed why our church, in spite of being an urban church, does not have many people of color. Several reasons have been suggested, but the one that I like is that our church “under-involves the heart.” People come to church for various reasons, but in a world where a sense of community is disappearing fast, people come here to be part of a community. And a community involves not only the sharing of ideas but the sharing of smiles, handshakes, hugs, joys, and hard times.

I still remember the few people who smiled at me the first time I “darkened” the door of this church. It’s a scary experience when you’re surrounded by so many white people, probably similar to you as a white person going to an all-black church, except your race has not been ruled and terrorized for centuries by theirs. The main reason why I love this this church is that I’ve been able to connect not only mentally but also at the “heart-level” with some good people here.

So my suggestion for preparing for a global future is this: every time you meet someone new, especially a person of a different color, in church or not, pro-actively introduce yourself and, if possible, become their friend. Dine with them, laugh with them, cry with them, and model for them the UU principles of reason, tolerance, and love. This is not easy. But it’s far better to share the great message of Unitarian Universalism than just get angry when you hear about an African American dragged to death in Texas or a gay man crucified on a fence in Wyoming or a woman murdered for not wearing a veil in Afghanistan. At a time when hatred and fundamentalism are spreading like wild fire, we can’t afford to be silent. It’s time to shout from the rooftops.

(July 2000)