UUFSMA: “The Last Shall be First and the First Last”

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Online Service

“The Last Shall be First and the First Last”

Speaker: Reverend Walter LeFlore

Sunday, February 14, 2021

10:30 AM CTZ

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/414604040 

Password: 294513

By Joseph Plummer

UUF Secretary

The foundation of Unitarian Universalism is a “covenant to affirm and promote” seven principles. In this Sunday’s UUFSMA online service, the Reverend Walter LaFlore explores this unique basis of spiritual life and its contemporary meaning.

Unlike the adherents of most religions, Unitarian Universalists do not expect each other to “believe alike” in a common creed. Rather, they share a covenantal relationship among themselves and other UU congregations. UU principles thus encompass an arc of values that begins with individuals and extends to communities. From the First Principle, which affirms “the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” to the Seventh Principle, which promotes “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part,” the UU Covenant provides a guide for an inward-searching and outward-facing spirituality.

Some 60 years after the adoption of these principles, Rev. LeFlore explores a remarkably interesting question. Do the principles have the same meaning today as understood six decades earlier? Are they as applicable in our age as they were when first espoused? Has their meaning and impact in making the world a better place changed with time?

In many ways, Rev. Leflore’s thinking on the Seven Principles is also a reflection on their power in first attracting him to Unitarian Universalism in 2003 and, after earning a Master of Divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School, his subsequent ordination as a minister in 2009. After that late-in-life embrace of the UU Covenant, he served as minister to the UU Fellowship of Poughkeepsie, New York, from 2011 to 2019. Currently he serves the Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke, Virginia, where he and his wife Yvette now live. Before entering the ministry, he was the head of an organizational consulting practice engaged, primarily with Fortune 100 clients, in providing coaching and training for managers of diversifying workforces.

He is also a trustee of the Unitarian-Universalist Ministers Association and in 2016 co-chaired its Committee on Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression, and Multiculturalism. He served on the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Association from 2017 to 2020 and on the Board of the UU Minister’s Association (UUMA).

To participate in our online Sunday Service, visit the Fellowship’s website at www.uufsma.org and click on the Zoom Service button displayed on the home page. If requested, enter password: 294513. Sign-in from anywhere Sunday mornings between 10:15-10:25 am CST.

Through grants and awards, UUFSMA donates at least fifty percent of its budget to support nonprofit organizations that provide health, educational, and environmental services for underserved communities in the San Miguel region. Please support this work by clicking on the website home page Donate button. Now more than ever, your support is essential.

Due to the coronavirus, UUFSMA has suspended in-person Sunday services and other gatherings. A growing collection of previous online services and other features can be found on the UUFSMA’s YouTube channel. Go to https://www.youtube.com/ and enter UUFSMA in the search box. The UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.