Thursday, September 2, 2021
Unity in Connectedness
Dick Rozek
Unity in Connectedness
Bricks and mortar soon will “connect” St. John’s people from the church to the parish hall … and back, free from the elements and full of safety and togetherness. It’s been years in the making. It’s cause for great celebration!Nothing surpasses human connectedness. It’s what makes our church family.
Unity in Diversity transcends the notion that an ideal nation should be comprised of a certain ideology or ethnic group. It suggests that far from being weakened by different contributions made by its constituent parts it is made stronger. Unity in diversity seeks to connect, to move beyond intolerance to becomes a mighty contribution which strengthens the whole.
In these trying world times, what if we humans make a concerted effort, however tiny or great yours or mine might be, to expand into unity connectedness? Through the centuries enlightened humans considered this same towering question. Let me offer just a few.
“Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Zoroastrian,…stone, ground, mountain, river…each has a secret way of being with the overall mystery…unique and not to be judged.” -Rumi
“There are but a few musical notes, yet the combinations of them give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are but a few primary colors yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever be seen. There are but a few cardinal tastes yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.” -Sun Tzu
“Peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity in the conciliation of differences.” -Mikhail Gorbachev
“Difference is the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth and should never be the source of hatred or conflict. The answer to difference is to respect it. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity. -June Hume, 1998 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
“This is my country, that is your country, these are the conceptions of narrow souls; to the liberal minded the whole world is a family.” -Virchand Ghandi (a Ghandi before Mahatma Gahandi!)
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I am not an Athenian, nor am I a Greek. I am a citizen of the world.” Socrates
“We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams. -Jimmy Carter
“The great lesson is that unity is behind all. Call it God, Love, Spirit, Allah, Jesus, Jehovah -- it is the same unity that animates all life from the lowest animal to the noblest human.”Swami Vivekananda, 1896
“Unity in diversity is the highest possible attainment of a civilization, a testimony to the most noble possibilities of the human race.” -Michael Novak
“Even if the whole world becomes convened to one religion or another it will not enhance the cause of unity. Unity in diversity is the plan of the universe.” -Swami Adiswaranda
As St. John’s physically connects its home of spiritual worship with its place of more “family” togetherness let’s all be mindful of our world and strive…really strive…for global human connectedness.