Preamble

A covenant of right relations is a set of promises to one another about how we want to be in community. Through it we express our values, and affirm our intent to act according to those values. Our covenant is rooted in the past by the six Sources of Unitarian Universalism, guides us in the present to live out our seven Principles, and calls us to be unafraid of change in response to our future together. Each of us brings this covenant to life, and we all take responsibility for keeping it alive.

Rather than establishing a code of rules and the consequences for breaking them, we affirm a vision of how we aspire to be together as a community. We know full well that each of us will fall short of our ideals, and know that we will occasionally disagree. It is only by “staying at the table” that we can hope to transform lives and care for the world.

Our Covenant

We, the Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley, covenant to embody the seven Principles through:

• RESPECT—being patient; listening carefully; and communicating directly, speaking truth with compassion;
• ADVOCACY—challenging privilege, dominance, and majority opinion, wherever we encounter them; and
• CELEBRATION—working and playing together with enthusiasm and joy.

The call back into covenant is the essential act of a joyful community of faith. When we fall short of our ideals, we will seek forgiveness and call one another lovingly but firmly back into community, reminding one another of our shared mission and purpose.