The third principle calls us to accept one another and encourage spiritual growth. This is the first UU principle that brings a “spirit” into discussion and we will dive into what that can look like if we don’t have faith in an other being. We will discuss other motivations to do good other than fear and the promise of an afterlife, and other questions that arise when one charts their own course.

Maura Collins has been a member of MMUUF for the past six years. She works on affordable housing issues in the state and speaks publicly on that topic regularly, but is otherwise wholly unqualified to give a sermon at a church. That said, she is working towards accepting her Humanist beliefs and trying to understand how she can covenant to encourage spiritual growth when she struggles with the “spirit.”

In this sermon we will explore how our society — and how we, personally, — show justice, equity, and compassion for people with mental health challenges. It will challenge us to explore if we are really living this principle when things get uncomfortable. We will discuss why and how living this principle can be harder for mental health than physical health. And it will examine how much are we comfortable with, and what many do when we reach our limits.