[UUA-L] Sinkford Pastoral Letter: We Are One People, We Can be Reconciled

[Unitarian Universalist Association]

Rev. William G. Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist
Association, has issued a pastoral letter to mark the spring religious
holidays.  In it, he addresses the complicated times in which we live,
marked by both fear and hope.  

He writes, "I believe we are living in a Kairos moment. Kairos is the
term used by the ancient Greeks to describe a critical moment, an
opportunity for change. It is an opening in the ordinary stream of
events when anything becomes possible.

"In this Kairos moment, we know that the old ways will not carry us into
the future. We know that the politics of divisiveness, the politics of
horse trading, the politics of name calling-in other words, politics as
usual-can't save us in these unusual times."

Sinkford suggests that "as religious people, our job-our calling-is to
challenge the possible, to hold up a vision of the Beloved Community, to
help stretch the public imagination of what can be...By envisioning new
possibilities and urging our leaders to reach further and dare more,
religious people can spur history. If we do our job, then when the line
of compromise is drawn, as it inevitably will be, it will fall closer to
the ideal.

Sinkford suggests that as one people, we can be reconciled to one
another:  "The beloved community requires hard work, patience, and
making room at our table for everyone. Can we do it? In the words of our
hard-working sisters and brothers, "Si, se puede!" "Yes, we can!"

To read the complete pastoral letter, visit
http://www.uua.org/news/newssubmissions/131154.shtml .  The letter is
available in two video formats:  WindowsMedia
(http://media.uua.org:8080/asxgen/misc2009/0903_Sinkford_Pastoral.wmv )
and QuickTime
(http://media.uua.org:8080/html/misc2009/0903_Sinkford_Pastoral.mov ).