In Unitarian Universalism, we are called to build the beloved community. Sometimes, this means we subscribe to a perfect vision for how human beings should live and be together. However, life is messy and so are people. The only time a house stays neat and tidy is when people don’t live in it. It’s ok to be messy and imperfect, and to say to ourselves, pardon the mess but we live here.

Rev. Jon Coffee works for Meadville Lombard Theological School a Unitarian Universalist seminary based in Chicago. He was an intern at TVUUC for two years and was ordained by the congregation in 2018. He works remotely here in Knoxville, where he lives with his husband Keith and their big fluffy cat named Cookie.