There are some rituals that often move us to tears including weddings, child dedications, ordinations, and installations. All of these ceremonies include covenants: promises that people make to one another, to themselves, and sometimes to the Holy about who and how they want to be. There is something that moves us when we witness people courageously naming their humble and/or audacious intentions.

Some of us you may be familiar with covenants created by small groups, classes, committees, Boards, or families. Some are meant to last for a short amount of time, just the few months that a group will work together, while other commitments may last decades.

Unlike a contract, which generally lists minimum behaviour standards, with a corresponding list of consequences or penalties if the contract is broken, a covenant names higher aspirations. It is something entered into together, enforced by the commitment we make to it in which all are accountable, rather than enforced by those with more authority.

In a covenant we give voice to commitments and ways of being that we not only agree to with our minds, but that we will carry with us in our hearts, and that we make real through how we live. Covenants are about relationship.

As we explore covenant and community this month, let us be conscious of the radical, brave, and risky act of entering into covenant. Radical, because it defies common practice of authority, brave because we know we are likely to fall short, and risky because in living these promises we are bound to be transformed. Our Unitarian Universalist covenantal faith is simple but not easy and takes practice and commitment.

In faith~

Rev. Lynn & Rev. Wendy