We Need Not Think Alike

Dear Friends,

As if First Church had not had enough excitement of late, a whirlwind of energy and enlightenment is headed your way. Perhaps you thought that after Thandeka led a spiritual awakening, there would be a time of calm. Not likely.

Dr. Judit Gellérd, energy personified, arrives in the pulpit Sunday and leads exceptional classes that afternoon and on Monday and Tuesday.

How can I begin to tell you about ‘Zizi’, as Dr. Gellérd is known to her multitude of friends around the world? She has given such gifts to liberal religion, including the now frequently quoted expression of our faith: “We need not think alike to love alike.” Yes, it is a translation from the sixteenth century founder of Hungarian Unitarianism, Francis David, but it was Judit Gellérd who discovered this gem and gave it to us gift wrapped in language we can cherish.

I met Zizi more than twenty years ago, shortly after she had married an American professor of Asian religion and immigrated to California. With the oldest Unitarian churches in the world, those of her native Transylvania, threatened by the bulldozers of a mad Romanian dictator, Zizi flew into action, organizing sister church relationships that played a big role in saving Unitarian villages and bringing new hope to a troubled land.

She is a medical doctor with a specialty in psychiatry, an accomplished violinist, and after completing theological studies with mentor Ellie Wiesel, was ordained to the ministry by the Unitarian Church of Transylvania in 2002. She is an amazing woman who travels the world raising consciousness of our global connections, introducing people and congregations to one another, and inspiring young and old to ‘love alike.’

Most important to me, I suppose, is that Zizi changed my life, transformed me by way of inspiration and introduction. Be advised that she might change yours as well.

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In more traditional churches, and even here, many must be asking: When much of Haiti was leveled and tens of thousands died, where was God? My answer is that God is present in the outpouring of compassion from all around the world, including here at First Church, where the collection for Haiti relief last Sunday was more than $8,000. It is good to be a part of this community, moved by the spirit of the holy.

Best,
David