Worshiping at Democracy’s Altar

A proud moment for all of us occurred last Sunday when 10 of the 12 youth who participated in our Coming of Age program signed our Membership book. Key to this was the experience some of them had in witnessing the democratic process at one of our forums. Attending as a group as part of the Coming of Age program, they were able to see how a community deals with discussion and hard decisions, even across difference.  One of our youth even spoke into the discussion and saw that the community was willing to listen to the younger members of our community who face so much uncertainty in their future.

When the community convenes on June 4 for our annual meeting, we will once again be demonstrating that commitment to democracy. Though like other aspects of what we do together, our patterns of engagement are4 changing, the democratic process in our congregations remains a laboratory for the democratic process and it is a beacon of hope for those of us who watch our larger systems struggle to remain democratic.

Though our truths may be different, we still ground our discussions in truth. Though our lives may be different, we still understand the value all our lives. Though our times may be changing, we are a community that has shown the courage to face those changes. Though we are cancelling regular worship to hold the Annual Meeting at service time on June 4, in many ways it will be just another variant on worship.  Etymologically, worship means “considering that which has worth” and in our democratic process, led by volunteer leaders who have given so much of their time and talent to the decisions before us, we will light our chalice for democracy. A convening of worth, indeed.