This month in our Soul Matters groups we are reflecting on love.  As Unitarian Universalists,  love is at the center of our theology as reflected in the new proposal for our Principles and Purposes (Article 2 of our bylaws).  You can see the graphic below and reading these words from Rev Tess Baumberger:

“At the center of this image is love – that heart of Universalism – that eternal and all-conquering force.  Around it and from it flows values that express that love.

This love that sits at the center of this image is not sentimental love or romantic love. It is the love we grow in our communities, a deep and abiding love that affirms our worth no matter what we do or don’t achieve or believe. This love is a belief in ourselves and in one another that nothing can rip apart.  This love affirms our interdependence.

It is a love that says we all deserve to be loved, whether we have been hurt or have hurt others. For some of us, the love at the center of this image includes a divine love that holds us tenderly and tightly. It is a fierce, protective, and liberating love.

It is a hopeful love, a love that inspires people of good will and sacrificial spirit to overcome evil and to make this earth as heavenly as possible – just and equitable, pluralistic, affirming all people of all nations, all races, and all creeds.

Ours is and always has been a heretical faith, a courageous faith, a covenantal faith, and a faith that calls us to work with that all-conquering, liberating love, to make this earth a heaven.”  

Jan Liberating Love (PDF)