“Unitarian Universalism: The Un-Un Religion” Nov. 13, 2020
On Wednesday night (Nov. 11th), after our second post-election discussion, I shared a benediction I had written that uses words that begin with “un” (in honor of our religion’s name). Someone suggested printing it up in case others might be interested in seeing it, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
An Un-Un Benediction:
Go forth today and …
unearth your potential,
unleash your own power,
unfurl all your beauty,
unfold your own love.
Unravel your “ravels,”
unscramble your scrambles,
un-hang all your hang-ups,
and unbolt your door.
And after you do that,
then go out into the world and…
unmask the unrighteous,
unseat the unjust,
unveil the untrue,
and unbind the bound up.
Unbias the biased,
unnerve the unkind,
unburden the burdened,
what’s wound up, unwind..
And I’m not saying it’s going to be easy.
Far from it.
They’ll call you all kinds of names.
They’ll call you unruly,
unpleasant, unfair;
unfriendly, unsocial,
unstable, unaware.
They’ll say that your plans
are unsuitably long,
untried and untrue,
unequivocally wrong.
But you know what?
You won’t care what they call you,
unsound or unwise,
ungodly, unreasonable,
unsuited, ’cause “Surprise!”:
You go forth undaunted,
unflinching, unafraid,
uncowed and unfailing,
unselfish, unscathed.
You go forth in courage–
loving the world as it is,
but too much to want it to stay that way.
So you’re…
unsettled, unrestful,
until and unless
the unsung are sung
and the unblessed are blessed;
the unemployed are working,
the unequal raised up,
the uneasy win courage,
the unprincipled give up.
‘Cause YOU are a U-U
(and so are you, and you, and UU):
Unitarian Universalist,
the Un-Un religion.
Unusual,
unparalleled,
unconventional,
unrepeatable;
unlimited,
uncanny,
untame,
unbelievable.
Unwary,
understanding,
unthinkably blessed.
Amen, Blessed be,
Go with peace and UNrest!
peace and unrest,
tony
