Hoarding brings images of heaps of stuff in one’s home. There are entire television shows about the suffering of hoarding, or less severe, addressing our clutter. But I’m talking about a different kind of hoarding, the non-material kind. I’m talking about hoarding the warmth of our spiritual home, at the UU Church of Studio City, all to ourselves!
It’s tempting, I know, to want to segment or compartmentalize our community of family and friends. We may think, “this friend is good for taking walks with, while this friend is good for seeing movies with, and this one good for having lunch with.” We probably don’t think, “I’d like all these friends to be part of my community at church!”
But why not? If you value what you are a part of here, why not share this love with your friends and family? Maybe they need this love and authentic connection in their lives, too. What a great gift you might give them!
I know, I know, we religious liberals are squeamish about “evangelizing” our faith. We’re like 12 steps, “a program of attraction, rather than promotion.” Balderdash, I say! This is a hoarding type of attitude that we should wrestle with, question, and challenge.
Aha! There is an annual, built-in way to challenge this! February 10th, always the Sunday before Valentines’ Day, a holiday that celebrates love and friendship, is 2019’s UU Day / Bring a Friend to Church Day / New Member Sunday, (OR for short, UU Day Cubed? Nah, we’re not that cheesy!).
You can entice your friend, or a couple of friends, with this: free lunch after the service! It will be a fun, feel-good morning that supplies that which is so needed in our world: face-to-face interaction that is authentic, warm, and informal. That’s what we’re about here at UUCSC – real community that grapples together with the real challenges of modern life.
If you’re like me, you worry about the problem of social isolation in our society. Bring someone you know – maybe it’s just an acquaintance! – out of that isolation, and into the sunshine of a community that is non-judgmental, curious, creative, and giving. Help people find their humanity again. Bring a friend to church on February 10th!
– Rev. Hannah