Love Is the Why, Love Is the How

A chalice with word Love over the flame, surrounded by three interlocking and elliptical orbits of color resembling the stylized motion of subatomic particles. As orbits intersect, colors shift from dark pink to red, aqua to dark blue, and goldenrod to bright green. Within open spaces formed by each interlocking orbit is text for six UU shared values, clockwise: transformation (aqua), equity (bright green), pluralism (red), interdependence (dark blue), justice (goldenrod), and generosity (dark pink).

Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love.

–Article II (Purposes and Covenant) of the Unitarian Universalist Association Bylaws

Over the past several weeks, as Amy has introduced each of the six shared values recently affirmed by the delegates to the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly, we have contemplated interdependence, pluralism, justice, transformation, generosity, and equity. Today we turn to the power that holds them all together. If “love is the why,” in the words of UU minister and poet Diana McLean–if love is at the center of our shared values and is the hoped-for center of our lives–is love also the “how”? What kind of spiritual discipline is Love?

Worship leader: Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern

Special music: The Season of Us: Bill Stanfield, guitar, and Stephanie Greivell, flute

Follow along in the order of service: bit.ly/uucpa_oos_20241020.

If you prefer to attend online, there are two options. One, join the service via Zoom bit.ly/uucpa_service_1015am_v3. To get the passcode, email sundayservice@uucpa.org or call UUCPA’s outgoing voicemail message, 650-494-0541. It is also included in the Weekly Update emails. Two, to watch the service live on our Facebook page (no passcode required), visit UUCPA’s live Facebook feed.

Atom Rainbow Shared Values graphic created for Unitarian Universalists by Tanya Webster

What’s the rocket-powered flying pig all about?