Rev. George Miller
August 10, 2025
UCC Statement of
Faith
It’s been a year since I’ve been here. The river flooding from Fall rains, freezing
toes of Winter’s snow, fresh scents of Spring’s rebirth, sweat-stains of Summer’s
celebrations.
The year coincides with one of the most stressful
times in any church’s calendar- budget.
Oh vey!
A Dios Mio! Ach du meine Gute! The anxiety, what to cut, what to keep.
Psalm 23 reminds us that we shall not
want, Jesus turns fish into plenty, yet budget time is difficult for our data-driven
minds to fully believe that God’s bounty can manifest in the goodness of folks’
generosity.
So what happens? Emotions come to the surface. E-mails get exchanged. People speak or even argue passionately.
Opinions can feel like battering rams rather
than ideas meant to seed the soil.
So what do we do that is the most creative,
compassionate way to approach budget time?
Conversation. Space to speak, to be heard. Dialogue to let multiple mindsets germinate,
pollinate in a productive way.
It is OK to have a multiplicity of thoughts,
convictions, as long as we see ourselves as part of something bigger, unified, like
a well-loved and managed garden that blooms and brings forth radiant life.
As the Rev. Dr. Mark Wilson told me- “No
one looks at a wheat field and says, ‘What a beautiful garden.’”
Think of the garden outside our Narthex
doors. The love Joan and Joan have shown
creating a welcoming oasis- two well-tended Pancile Hydrangeas with fragrant
white flowers, Coneflowers and Black-Eyed Susans in full bloom, a tall Plumbago
with blue flowers.
Ferns enjoying their favorite habitat. The added color of Wave Petunias planted
randomly, yet intentionally.
The result is a treat for the eyes and
nose, with bees about, sipping nectar.
The abundance this garden of rich diversity
demonstrates; each plant existing as it’s own self, yet unified as One.
Unification is the roots of The
Apostles’ Creed we discussed last week.
Today, inspired again by the inquisitiveness of Sarah, we explore
another piece of our UCC history- The Statement of Faith.
Overseen by Eden professor Elmer J.F.
Arndt and Harvard’s dean Doug Horton, the UCC Statement of Faith was prepared
by 6 women and 22 men, ratified at the Second General Synod in 1959.
Marty’s Dad played a role in the creation,
as President of Eden’s Board of Directors.
Remember how The Apostles’ Creed was
crafted to unite Christians all over the globe?
The UCC Statement of Faith was crafted to
unite the Christian, Congregational, Evangelical, Reformed bodies who came
together as one United Church in 1957.
Not a Creed that must be believed, it
is a grace-filled testimony of belief, designed to be heard across
denominational lines, embodying the UCC’s heart.
With a focus on a powerful God who is also
personal, a life that is holy yet meant to exist with others, the Statement is
not meant to make us single-minded chatbots, but to be our own unique selves
with an ability to reflect and connect.
The Statement of Faith was designed like a
garden- to dynamically grow, to gather and welcome, providing sweet nectar to
enhance the world.
Let’s look at 3 flowers we can gather from
this garden.
1)
God
as creating, 2) Jesus as the embodiment of God’s love, 3) our call to bravery.
We hear “God bestows upon us God’s Holy
Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ.”
This idea of God creating isn’t just about
the opening words of Genesis, or creation as something ancient and over.
It's about God still speaking, active in
our lives, sowing seeds, raining upon and breathing life into us.
This is God as eternal Creator who sees
St. Lucas not just as a monument, but a movement.
Our Statement of Faith sees God as setting
paths, seeking us out, sharing guidance.
Second, Jesus as the embodiment of God’s
love.
Here, we witness Jesus as the center of
our religion’s heart. “He has come to us
and shared our common lot.”
This means Jesus is not distant; Jesus was
never so fragile or completely other that he was untouchable.
He was the complete opposite. The embodiment of love that God shows through
Jesus is one who came to live in the full beauty and mess of our life; to enjoy
the scent of the flowers but also get in the dirt.
Through Jesus, God’s grace and mercy didn’t
arrive via an emperor or castle, but into our own neighborhood, in a way that
said “Hey neighbor!” to all, no matter background, finances, or tragic mistakes.
3rd- the UCC Statement of Faith
call us to bravery.
Notice we are not called to just believe
in something- it inspires us to act in faith.
The Statement calls to be brave. By mentioning God as one who liberates and
heals, it tuns to us invitingly and says-
“Now that you said these words, go and
live all that you know is true and truly felt.”
This means being Christ’s disciples who
find ways to bravely stand up when it is easier to sit down.
It means choosing not to be cruel, tell
lies, or spend time ruining another’s reputation, but doing what is right-
assist those you can when you can.
To make choices that bring forth the ways
of life, such as filling up Yellow Bags for Feed My people, to see the very
humanity of each person.
We witnessed that bravery when our Youth
shared their Mission trip. We get to
embody it during the Blood Drive on the 18th. It becomes sweat-in-action at September’s
Habitat for Humanity.
When it comes to Budget, that call to
bravery means choosing to act in dignity, being brave enough to speak, and braver
to hear without harm.
In closing, we once again thank Sarah for
asking a question that created a wonderful challenge.
We are thankful for the chance to remember
a piece of our UCC History and the thought that went into it.
We honor this as part of our heritage,
knowing it is meant to unify us as one with all UCC believers,
a way for us to remember the God who
creates, the Christ who reconciles, and the Holy Spirit who binds us together as
One, as United.
Amen.
(Flower descriptions came from Joan
Dalgaard, one of the women who tend to St. Lucas’s garden.)
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