A Place to Stand

Steven Mead

Steven provides Program Ministry services to UU Santa Fe―learning, small group ministry, connecting, and justice-making support. He has served congregations large and small in the East, Midwest, and now here at UU Santa Fe.

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​“Give me a place to stand, a lever long enough and a fulcrum. and I can move the Earth.”
― Archimedes

​Archimedes, the ancient Greek philosopher and engineer, has famously said, “Give me a place to stand, and a lever long enough, and I will move the earth.” Our Place to Stand is right here. In this Special Place. When you fall down here, as one of my second graders said when asked what they like about church, “When you fall down here, someone helps you up.” Gives you a place to stand.

We believe that a life of sacred purpose contains at its core, elements of reverence, right relationship, service, and lifelong learning. Thus, we offer here interwoven experiences of meaningful worship, opportunities for deep connection with others, engagement with the wider world, and spiritual practice and study—the levers that are critical to your wellbeing, the wellbeing of your family, and the wellbeing of the world. These levers—right relationship with self, with others, and the ultimate—are what we need as individuals to move through the world with grace, and to move the world as a community.

Now we need a fulcrum; something to lean against to give our lever power. We are covenantal here. We care more about belonging, behaving, and being than believing. Our fulcrum in this covenantal relationship is one another—working together. That’s where our power as a healthy community comes from—from leaning on one another. Working together.

The important question here is what difference will UU Santa Fe make in the world, for whom, and for how much? This is our work. Your job is not to be on the board, to run a committee, or go to a potluck—it’s to give back to this world your gift that someone else needs. And when you do, your life and the lives around you will never be the same. And it won’t be about you. It will be about us. All of us, together.

There’s work to do and we need to do it. Not to endure, but to transform. To make a difference for someone. To care about someone. To experience and embrace the world and ourselves.

Find your place to stand.

See you on campus (that is, when we can safely meet publicly again!).

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