“Imagine A World”
Rev. Tim Temerson
UU Church of Akron
September 15, 2013
Good morning and welcome to Ministries Sunday here at the UU Church of Akron. Right
after the service you are invited to join us for our 3rd annual Ministries Fair in Fellowship Hall.
The Ministries Fair is a celebration of all that we do together here at the Unitarian Universalist
Church of Akron – all that we do to live the values that are the heart of Unitarian Universalism –
love, compassion, acceptance of one another, and a deep and abiding respect for the dignity
and worth of all human beings.
I must say that I love the fact that we call all that we do together here at the UU Church
of Akron “ministry.” That definition of ministry was coined by our Emeritus Minister, Gordon
McKeeman, and Gordon certainly got it right. Sometimes I think we associate the word ministry
exclusively with professional ministers like me. But as we are experiencing here at the UU
Church of Akron, ministry is so much more than simply what a minister does. When you greet a
first-time visitor and help them feel welcome, that’s ministry. When you offer a word of
sympathy or sign a card of support for someone who is struggling, that’s ministry. When you
help with coffee hour, work in our community garden, teach a child or youth in our Sunday
school, help an immigrant learn English, participate in any of our wonderful social action or
environmental programs, sing in the choir, lead a worship service, and so much more – all the
many things that we do together to live our values and our principles, and to be connected to
one another and to the world – that’s ministry.
And I think what makes all that we do together at the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Akron ministry is the deep place within each and every one of us from which it comes. You see,
although we often associate ministry with doing things, first and foremost ministry is about
listening – listening to a voice, a passion, and inspiration that is deep within ourselves, within
this church community, and throughout the world – a voice calling us to lead lives of meaning
and purpose and to be part of something greater than ourselves. More than anything else, I
think ministry is about being called – called to serve, to grow, to share, and to love.
This idea of being called can be hard to understand and I know that in thinking about
what it means to be called, I have been helped immeasurably by the writing of Parker Palmer.
Palmer argues that being called is at the heart of what it means to be human. Each and every
one of us is called by what Palmer terms our “inner teacher.” And the roots of that voice, that
inner teacher, are found in what Palmer sees as the basic human need for wholeness and unity
and for living undivided lives – lives that reflect the essence of who we are and what we hope
for ourselves and the world. As Palmer so beautifully puts it, people hunger to lead lives in
which soul and role, spirit and vocation, are in harmony, not conflict, with one another.
And once we find our calling and begin to lead lives that are undivided and whole,
amazing things begin to happen. For one, we begin to experience a rising tide of joy in our lives
– a joy emerging from leading lives that are whole and undivided – a joy that spiritual writer
Frederic Buechner, calls, “deep gladness.”
And when we listen for and then begin to live our calling, our yearning for unity and
wholeness becomes a creative force for unity and wholeness in the world. Our vocation, our
ministry, our yearning connects to a deep need and yearning in the world. That’s why I am
especially drawn to the rest of Frederic Buechner’s definition of ministry. Ministry is, according
to Buechner, “that place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” Ministry is
that place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.
I want to spend the rest of this morning’s sermon thinking about our calling here at the
UU Church of Akron. What is the deep need that we are we called as UUs and as the UU Church
of Akron to meet in the world? What does the world need from Unitarian Universalism and
from the UU Church of Akron?
And that question leads me to John Lennon’s extraordinary, his extraordinary hymn to
love, peace, and unity – “Imagine.”
John Lennon first recorded and released “Imagine” in 1971 and the song soon soared to
the top of the charts and became one of the bestselling singles of all time. Since it was first
recorded, “Imagine” has consistently been named one of the most important, influential, and
popular songs of the last century and its popularity only seems to grow as new generations
discover its beautiful vision and sound.
For a song that so obviously resonates with many people, “Imagine” has certainly had its
share of critics. I took a look at a few accounts of John Lennon’s life and was surprised to learn
that when the song first appeared and even in the years since then, “Imagine” has consistently
drawn sharp criticism for being too sentimental, too simplistic, too communistic, atheistic, antireligious, and even totalitarian. One of Lennon’s leading biographers dismissed the song for
advocating a world of sameness and uniformity in which all of humanity’s differences would be
eliminated in favor of a world in which everyone lives and thinks and feels exactly the same
way.
I have to say that such criticisms seem way off to me and I hear nothing resembling
tyranny or totalitarianism in “Imagine.” What I hear is a marvelous dream of unity, not
uniformity, difference without divisiveness, peace rather than war, and loving one’s neighbor
rather than fearing or judging him.
And as John Lennon says, you may say he’s a dreamer, but he’s not the only one. The
continued popularity of “Imagine” over 40 years suggests that its call for universal unity and
brotherhood speaks to something deep and abiding in the human spirit - something that yearns
for a world that is healed and whole – a world of dignity and respect for all in which the human
family, in all of its diversity and variety, truly lives as one.
And let me say a word about the song’s vision of religion. I know it may sound strange to
celebrate and draw inspiration in a church community from a song that dreams of a world in
which there is no heaven or hell and no religion too. I mean, isn’t John Lennon trying to put us
out of business? Well, I think the answer is most assuredly not because what Lennon is calling
for is not the demise of religion but rather an end to all the negative and hurtful things religion
has done in the world. Religion, in Lennon’s vision, ought to bring people together, not divide
them into the saved and condemned or us vs. them. Religion, in Lennon’s vision, ought to be
about love and inclusion rather than judgment and exclusion. What John Lennon is advocating
for in ‘Imagine” is the transformation of religion, not its demise.
And as I reflect on the vision and the beauty of “Imagine,” I am convinced that what this
broken and hurting world needs from Unitarian Universalism and the UU Church of Akron is
exactly what John Lennon pleaded for in his amazing song. We are being called to build a world
in which the dignity and worth of every person is recognized and respected. We are being
called to build a world in which our differences are seen as a reason to celebrate and love
neighbors rather than as a reason to fear or harm them. And I am convinced that we are being
called to build a world in which religion can truly be about love and inclusion, rather that
judgment and exclusion. That’s our calling, that’s our mission, that’s what the world deeply and
urgently needs from us.
And I am so proud to say that here at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron, we are
beginning to live that vision and to answer that call. In so many of our wonderful ministries, I
can see and feel those places where our passion, our joy, our deep gladness are meeting the
world’s deep needs.
Before you head off to the Ministries Fair, I want to leave you with one brief story about
how this church community is connecting to and living John Lennon’s vision of a world of
universal love and compassion that truly lives as one. Last Spring, the UU Church of Akron
hosted a Prom for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth and their straight
allies. The Pride Prom, as it was called, was attended by about 40-45 youth. While some of the
youth came from our congregation, many others did not.
There are moments in the life of our church community that so clearly point to what
Unitarian Universalism and the UU Church of Akron are ultimately all about and the Pride Prom
was one of those moments. I can’t begin to describe what a privilege and a joy it was to witness
those young people being welcomed and celebrated for who they are. As I’m sure many of you
know or may have experienced in your own lives, LGBTQ youth so often face fear, hate,
bullying, and so much intolerance. That night I was so thrilled that they could come into our
community and feel safe and accepted and free to be themselves. And how amazing was it that
those young people found welcome and acceptance in, of all places, a church!
And as I watched these wonderful young people celebrating their love and their
friendship, I realized that what we witnessed that night right here in our church community was
a glimpse of the world as it ought to be. For those few hours in our Fellowship Hall, there was
no hate and no fear, no treating someone as less than simply because of who they are. There
was only love, only friendship, and only joy. That’s the world John Lennon imagined and that’s
the world the Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron is called to build.
Come with us as we make this journey. Come to the Ministries Fair. Learn about all the
ways we are seeking to make a difference and to live our calling. To paraphrase John Lennon,
I hope this day you will join us so someday the world will live as one.