February 2015 - Love

Our theological theme for February is Love.  Every Sunday we say in our Covenant: “Love is the spirit of this church.”  One of our mottos is that we love beyond belief.  Our national campaign for justice is “Standing on the Side of Love.” I’ve read newspaper articles where Unitarian Universalists are referred to as “those love people in their yellow shirts.”  Indeed, love is the cornerstone of our faith. Almost always, we aim to weave the theme of love into our lives, worship, studies, and work for justice. This month we will apply love to some specific topics, as you see in the worship schedule. But what kind of love are we talking about?

The Greek language distinguishes at least four different words for love: agápe, éros, philía, and storgē.

• Agápe means brotherly love, charity, the love of God for man and of man for God, feelings for one's children and the feelings for a spouse. It can also be described as the feeling of being content or holding one in high regard. 
• Éros means love, mostly of the sexual passion. The Modern Greek word "erotas" means "intimate love." It can also apply to dating relationships as well as marriage. 
  
• Philia means "affectionate regard, friendship," usually "between equals."  It is a dispassionate virtuous love, a concept developed by Aristotle.
  
• Storge means "love, affection" and "especially of parents and children." It is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_words_for_love
  

This month is Black History month, and as you have noticed by now, we have a sign outside of our church that says, “Black Lives Matter.”  That is in response to a proposal I made during my sermon on January 18.  You can listen here:  http://www.greeleyuuc.org/sermons/active-hope

My proposal, in the context of love, was that we offer Agápe and Philia Love to the black community - to let them know that we hold them in high regard and offer them sibling love. I also hope that our sign reminds the rest of Greeley to offer that kind of love to their black neighbors. (Thanks to Jim Shearer and Dennis Francen for donating money for the banner)

I know some of us talked about rotating banners that say things like “Immigrant Lives Matter” or “Gay Lives Matter” or “All Lives Matter.”  I reached out to other ministers and most importantly, our black partners, to hear what they thought of that idea. Rev. Kierstin Homblette pointed me to these two articles that speak to using the “_____Lives Matter” slogan on other issues.
http://thefeministwire.com/2014/10/blacklivesmatter-2/

http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/10/facing_race_spotlight_organizer_alicia_garza_on_why_black_lives_matter.html

An excerpt: “When you drop “Black” from the equation of whose lives matter, and then fail to acknowledge it came from somewhere, you further a legacy of erasing Black lives and Black contributions from our movement legacy. And consider whether or not when dropping the Black you are, intentionally or unintentionally, erasing Black folks from the conversation or homogenizing very different experiences…..When you adopt Black Lives Matter and transform it into something else (if you feel you really need to do that–see above for the arguments not to), it’s appropriate politically to credit the lineage from which your adapted work derived.”  

To the same point, Rev. Mike Morran at First Unitarian in Denver wrote this in his newsletter:
"What we have heard consistently from the African American Community and the coalitions that are forming is that “All Lives Matter,” is perceived by the African American community as another example of white privilege, attempting to change the conversation, denying the reality of black lives, denying the history of black marginalization, and attempting to control (whitewash) the path forward rather than being supportive allies."

Kierstin suggested that we reach out to communities and ask what slogan they'd like us to use to show our love and solidarity. For example, we could ask our immigrant friends what phrase they use and get a poster made with that on it.  Maybe it's "We Walk with Immigrants."  Let’s ask our gay and lesbian friends and members how they'd like us to represent our solidarity in poster language. How about our Native American friends?  What would they like us to proclaim in public about our love for them?  Let’s keep listening to our partners. And let me know what you hear.  

This month, consider this:  Which kinds of love do you offer and receive?  To whom and from whom?  Tune into Facebook for quotes, suggested readings, spiritual practices, and more.

With Philia Love,
Rev. Kelly