Fellowship in Religion
Human Fellowship, in the broadest sense
of the words, rests upon the great fact of life that the things wherein men are
alike are greater than the things wherein they differ. Beneath all divisions
into class and color and race and condition we strike the bedrock of human
unity. Just as beneath all the multiform shows of Nature we strike, if we go
deep enough, a unity of law and substance. “The solidarity of the human race”
is the ethical phrasing of the science of evolution: and it is the modern
translation of the New Testament gospel, “We are all members one of another.”
Fellowship in Religion is the
recognition of the unity of mankind in its highest life. ... Fellowship within
our own Religious Home is that near and dear tie of those who believe so much
alike that they can be one in all things of word and deed. This Fellowship, to
be truly helpful, must be upon the large and not the small elements of belief
and of service.
Fellowship without our own Religious
Home is sympathetic understanding of those from whom we differ, constant effort
to join on with them, and keep company, where we can, all the more that at some
roadways we must unclasp hands and walk apart for Truth’s sake.
—
Anna
Garlin Spencer (born April 17,
1851)
With eyes bright with the vision
of the good life we seek; with minds alert and active in the search for the
truth that shall make us free; with hearts responsive to the call to serve our
neighbours in love; with reverence for all life—may we find true and lasting
happiness and fulfillment in our relationships with one another. Of all human associations, none is more
beautiful, nor more sacred, than the free comradeship of men and women drawn
together by their common devotion to a great cause. Such an association we would like our church
to be.
In a world where the channels of
communication are clogged with lies, we would seek the truth, fearing no
one. In a world sick unto death with
hatred and violence, we would bring love and conciliation and mutual
helpfulness. Into a world bewildered and
confused, we would bring knowledge and understanding, that people may find
their way to the necessary adjustments in a rapidly changing human world.
For these ends we seek divine
strength and guidance. May our bond of
fellowship bear much fruit, by bringing us closer to the promised land, the
land of our heart’s desire. Amen.
— Albert E. Kristjánsson (born April 17, 1877)
Freedom of Belief
We are resolved to protect
individual freedom of belief. This freedom must include the child as well as
the parent. The freedom for which we stand is not freedom of belief as we
please, ... not freedom to evade responsibility, ... but freedom to be honest
in speech and action, freedom to respect one's own integrity of thought and
feeling, freedom to question, to investigate, to try, to understand life and
the universe in which life abounds, freedom to search anywhere and everywhere
to find the meaning of being, freedom to experiment with new ways of living that
seem better than the old.
— Sophia Lyon Fahs (died April 17,
1978)
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| Anna Garlin Spencer (1851-1931) |
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