This I Believe was a five-minute CBS Radio Network program in the early 1950s, originally hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow. The show encouraged both famous and everyday people to write short essays about their own personal motivation in life and then read them on the air. The show became a cultural phenomenon that stressed individual belief rather than religious dogma.
For many of us, our “beliefs” are more about a journey we’ve been on. These very personal journeys toward better understanding may have been long, meandering and complex. And many of us may be aware that our ideas even now in our later years are still evolving. But this Sunday we take some time to sift through those efforts…that energy…through those many layers of schooling, of thoughts and experiences, of trying to make sense of things… to listen to some of our congregants who have prepared their stories to share with you about “This I Believe.”
Our Unitarian Universalist framework honors many sources of wisdom: our own direct experience of the mysterious, prophetic voices, world religions including Jewish and Christian teachings, humanist ideas, science, reason, Earth-centered traditions. But in the end, in our UU tradition, it is the responsibility of each of us to craft for ourselves a worldview that makes sense to us as an individual…that gives our actions some direction for making meaning in our life.
On Sunday, September 2 our worship service will be a celebration of this work each of us does throughout our lives–the work of making sense out of it all. Come be with us.