Race: Privilege and Prejudice, by Rev. Robin Gray, Unitarian Universalist Church of Tallahassee, March 30, 2008

The Smart Church #8

By Connie Goodbread

There is an article in the last “Congregations,��? the Alban Institute Magazine, entitled “Whatever Happened to Humility?��? I could not help but be thankful for the timely
printing of this article. I suggest that you read it. Do you lead out of a sense of service, honor and humility? Or do you lead out of a sense of arrogance and privilege?

In every country, we should be teaching our children the scientific
method and the reasons for a Bill of Rights. With it comes a certain
decency, humility and community spirit. In the demon-haunted world
that we inhabit by virtue of being human, this may be all that stands
between us and the enveloping darkness. – Carl Sagan

How often do we allow the wisdom of others to influence us for the good? How often do we shut out creative possibilities because we know the “right��? way? This is not to say that we should be blown off course by every emotion and whim that comes our way. This is not to say that we should never dig in our heels to uphold values and ethics. What I am saying is that far too often we find ourselves just wanting our way, wanting to win, not listening, getting emotional about the issue, taking and making things personal or thinking that we have the only way. When we find ourselves behaving in these ways we are operating out of arrogance.

Arrogance can lead us into a fundamentalism that is not Unitarian Universalism. The arrogance that says I have the right answer, the only right answer. I have found the one and only true path. All other paths are false or ignorant. Do you think that Unitarian Universalists ever do this? Arrogance puts us in the frame of mind that we are the only authority. Therefore, when someone differs from us they must be wrong, misguided or ignorant. We think we understand other people’s thinking and motives. We judge them without being in genuine dialog and relationship. We have a tendency to blame others for any failure or disappointment. There is little to no self-examination. There is little to no taking responsibility and figuring out how we can personally do things better or differently.

As Unitarian Universalists we value diversity. Do we? What happens when someone comes for the first time to your congregation and they are holding a Bible? Does your congregation have a Christian discussion group or The Teachings of Jesus class? What words offend you or others in your congregation? How does that keep you from genuine communication and relationship?

How much farther would our efforts get us if we entered into our relationships with honest humility? … If we took time to really understand situations and each other? … If we found where our gifts could be of service? … If we did what we can do in grace and with loving and generous hearts?