Newton’s first law says objects in motion tend to stay in motion in a straight line unless outside forces act upon them and our congregation is certainly in motion. The sanctuary buzzes with excitement and hope each Sunday as we work together toward our individual and collective truths. Our hearts swell with the message of hope and we cry tears of joy and sorrow together as we move forward. I can barely keep up with the opportunities at UU Asheville and my experience only scratches the surface of what is available and possible.
As a scientist, I appreciate our faith influenced by the lived human experience, secular humanism, Judaism, Christianity, to name a few. Tracing the trajectory of our religion, Christianity was in motion when an outside force acted upon it altering its course. Each time an outside force altered the trajectory of our religion, the result was forward momentum forging a unique path unlike any other. From our Unitarian and Universalist roots we have arrived here now.
This is also true of ourselves as individuals, each of us with our own unique trajectory. Many of us were raised in a singular faith tradition, but when we learned about a different faith tradition in which we saw value, our bearing was forever altered. The straight line of our momentum was forever altered.
Newton’s first law also says objects at rest tend to stay at rest unless an outside force acts on them. Coming to a service on Sunday is frequently exactly when I need to get back in motion.
Adam Griffith, UU Asheville Board Vice President