JETPIG Series: Interdependence & Generosity
Sermon from UUCGT's Service on Sunday, Mar. 30, 2025. Preached by the Rev. Alex Jensen, Senior Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Grand Traverse (UUCGT), Traverse City, Michigan.
Our third and final JETPIG service on the letters I (Interdependence) and G (Generosity). Let's bid our fellow jetpig farewell as we reflect on how Love is at the center of all we do.
With apology, we weren’t able to offer a video recording of the sermon due to unforeseen circumstances. In place of that, the audio recording of the sermon is included below.
Well, friends! Here we are at our final service in our JETPIG series! What a sow-journ (read: sojourn) this has been! I feel like JETPIG has really taken off here! I guess this might be proof that pigs sometimes do fly…
Last Sunday, you heard about two additional values to our JETPIG: the values of Transformation and Pluralism and how these values fit with the metaphor of mycelium.[1] How Unitarian Universalism itself is a mycelial faith with how we evolve, adapt, and transform while also welcoming one another to bring our fullest selves. Our different backgrounds, beliefs, identities, and life experiences. The Pluralism of being in community.
Well, I’ve got some more things to say about mycelium today and how this metaphor connects with our last two UU Shared Values of JETPIG: the values of Interdependence and Generosity… Some of you can already see where I’m going! But before we let this idea mushroom too much, I want to share with you a meaningful reading and passage to me. One of the most compelling views of Beloved Community that I’ve come across, drawn from the book Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment. These words come from the Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom, Senior Minister at the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee. She writes:
I hold a vision of Beloved Community beyond the horizon of my own knowing. In this community of human and nonhuman beings, we live in integrity with each other and the Earth. We work together to nourish and sustain life. We eat well, but do not take more than we need from each other or the Earth.
We have diverse, flourishing cultures that cooperate with, respect, and learn from one another without prejudice or hierarchy. We live free from violence or coercion. We celebrate every day and appreciate the joys of living. We dance and sing. We laugh… We use our minds to the benefit of life, not death.
We create art and music. We tell stories. We live in tune with the rhythms of the Earth; the seasons, day and night. We live in tune with each other. We live in tune with the rhythms of our own hearts.[2]
This piece comes back to me from time to time as I think on the current state of our country and world. The ways we can so often feel the furthest from this ethereal vision, as wars rage and violence continues across our world… In Gaza. In Ukraine. In many places touched by senseless violence and aggression.
And, for me, this Reading also reminds me of the world that is still possible. A world beyond our reach and yet right here in our midst, all at the same time. A world that we can glimpse from time to time in the small everyday moments of care and connection that show us this radical kind of community actually might not be that far from our reach. My own thesis work in seminary expanded on these sacred “glimpse moments”, as I called them[3]; the glimpses we get of The Beloved Community. That profoundly interconnected web of relationships between one another and all life. Relationships of mutualism and abundance. A Beloved Community known by many names: The Kingdom of God. Tikkun Olam. Heaven and Earth becoming One. The Land of Seven Generations. The Great Turning.
Today, we’re exploring our UUA Shared Values of Interdependence and Generosity and what the mycelium might have to say to us about these values. With all of our Shared Values in JETPIG, I still find that our other values of Justice, Equity, Transformation, and Pluralism are all expressed in the ways that mycelium functions in the natural world. This is especially true for the values of Interdependence and Generosity. Something I learned all about from a special episode of NPR’s Radiolab. Who else listens to Radiolab?
In response to my sermon from last week, my dad actually sent me this podcast episode delving into the hidden world of mycelium. The episode is titled “From Tree to Shining Tree”.[4] I hope you brought your appetite for more mushroom talk! Let’s get into it!
The value of Interdependence is a big part of our Unitarian Universalist faith and sense of being in the world. As we so powerfully articulate in the preamble of our Shared Values, Love itself is the power that holds us together and makes us accountable to one another and our wider world in living our values out loud.[5] With our value of Interdependence, we UUs honor the Interdependent Web of All Existence and hold reverence for the great Web of Life. Our own humble place in the great scheme of all things.
Central to our views on Interdependence are our relationships of care, mutualism, justice, and respect. Merriam-Webster defines Interdependence as “the state of being dependent upon one another… [in a state of] mutual dependence”.[6] Those of you who are familiar with the Seven Principles might recognize the language found in both the Sixth and Seventh Principles: “The Goal of World Community with Peace, Liberty, and Justice for All”[7] and “Respect for the Interdependent Web of All Existence of Which We Are a Part”.[8]
Respect for the Interdependent Web of All Existence of which we are a part. For how many of you is the Seventh Principle your favorite? Those of you that have been involved in UU for some time now might know that this Principle wasn’t added to our Seven Principles until the 1980s. Founded in 1961, our movement’s initial set of Principles had only six Principles, with many of them featuring theistic and patriarchal language. You might remember my sermon on this where we listened to the original 1961 version of the Six Principles, featuring the language of “brotherhood” and “man”.[9] In addition to our need for updated language, these Six Principles really didn’t have much in the way of ecological commitments for our movement. By the late 1970s, growing pressure from UUs encouraged the UUA to revise these Principles for more gender-neutral, inclusive, and environmental perspectives.
In 1985, the General Assembly approved the revised Seven Principles, with the Seventh Principle receiving broad support for both spiritual and scientific reasons. The scientific realities of how interdependent we are alongside all forms of life on the planet and its natural rhythms. How humanity itself has had an undeniable impact on our changing climate. How what we do affects the wider Web of Life for all beings.
There is no better example of this relationship of mutuality in all things than that of mycelium. You’ve already heard that punny name for mycelial networks, known as the Wood Wide Web.[10] From this Radiolab episode, you can hear all about how this network functions… and the answer is rooted in a function of relationship.
The trees have something that the mycelium needs, and the mycelium has something that the trees need. Trees takes sunshine and carbon dioxide from the air, or CO2, to make chemical chains of sugar. But trees need more than just sugar to survive. They need vitamins and minerals, many of the same vitamins and minerals that we need as human beings. Without these minerals, trees can’t grow tall or stand up straight.
Mycelium provides these vitamins and minerals along with water for all of the trees in the web, but they do so in an amazing way. Mycelium’s tubes, called hyphae, worm their way through the soil until they find these minerals. Mycelium is a completely natural mining and drilling operation! So you environmentalists don’t have to worry! They secrete acids that dissolve the minerals and rocks and break them down into tiny particles.
The trees and mycelium go through this ongoing exchange of minerals and sugars in order to survive. Remember, mycelium itself isn’t a plant! It’s actually more closely related to animals than plants, all because it can’t undergo photosynthesis. In plain terms, the mycelium can’t make its own sugars like trees can make. But mycelia need sugar to build up their bodies.
So, beneath the roots of trees exists this beautiful interdependent relationship. This exchange of resources according to each’s need. Beyond the practical aid that these relationships provide, the Wood Wide Web exists also as an intelligence. In a sense, a consciousness beyond any single species.
You see, the mycelium structures themselves actually resemble a human brain! A sort of nervous system of the forest. The trees are all connected and send signals to one another via this Wood Wide Web. Because of this, the forest acts as an organism itself, signaling for trees to send food to other trees in need and warning of possible dangers, like invading insects.
So, to recap this point, Unitarian Universalism affirms the interdependent web of all existence. Human beings are one, very important piece in this ongoing relationship and web of connection. Our value of Interdependence reminds us that we share a mutuality in all things with the entire planet. We do not and cannot exist in a silo. What affects one part of this web affects us all.
Now, on to our final value of JETPIG: the value of Generosity. I thank you all for being so generous in giving me free rein to make all these puns! You’re already off to a great start with Generosity! Our Shared Value of Generosity invites us to cultivate spirits of gratitude and hope. To freely and compassionately share of ourselves and our resources as we connect in relationships of care and mutuality.
Generosity itself connects us to one another. To call to mind our opening words from the Anishinaabe author and writer Robin Wall Kimmerer, Generosity is at the heart of a gift economy.[11] An economy in which all flourishing is mutual. Generosity is an important value for us because it’s how we can express our sense of care and connection beyond just ourselves. It feels good to be generous, and not just in terms of financial generosity.
Our generosity with our gifts of time, talent, and treasure help to connect us to serving something larger and greater than ourselves. We serve and give not because we’ve been promised rewards for doing so. Unfortunately, there’s no UU point system for Sainthood, or for getting into heaven. Though, I’ll instruct our marketing department here at UUCGT to give that some serious thought… Might be a good revenue stream! Joking!
We serve and give to others because it’s the right thing to do. Because, in doing so, we acknowledge the truth that all of us are bound up together. That what we’d do for the least amongst us, for those at the farthest margins of our society, is what we would want to be done for us, in our times of greatest of need.
Generosity is an outpouring of our deepest faith in our Universalism and Universal Salvation… Or perhaps I should say collective liberation. That all of us are loved beyond belief, and that none of us are free until all of us are free. Unitarian Universalists affirm a relationship and culture of Generosity. One that is extended to everyone, not just some.
In talking about mycelium and how it shares and distributes water and resources across the Wood Wide Web, there’s an even more amazing aspect to how this network functions. You can think of this web of generosity functioning almost like Robin Hood: a web of reciprocity in taking from the rich and giving to the poor.[12] Mycelium essentially redistributes the wealth of sugars amongst the trees, ensuring that no tree goes without.
This architecture of generosity is further shown in how the mycelium also acts as a sort of banking system. When times are good, a tree might have a surplus of sugar and stores that sugar away in the mycelium for when it might be needed later. And, when times are hard, the fungi will actually give the tree some sugar back so that it can continue to heal and grow. Some go as far as to say that mycelium itself is “socialism in the soil”! There’s actually a lot of debate whether mycelium is truly socialist or capitalist…[13] It’s amazing to me how these trees and mycelia interact in this gift economy relationship. How resources are freely and compassionately shared so that all life can flourish in this Web of Life.
To close out our time together, I invite you to examine the relationships you find across your own life. The ways you are connected with others as well as with the natural world. See if you can think of one or two relationships that are truly mutual in all things. Where abundance and generosity are free flowing in a relationship of care and respect.
And after that, think about your connections to this congregational community: this fungal fellowship of like-hearted people who come together to share in our abundance of faith and hope. How can we support this organism of spiritual community, this congregational network that binds us together and holds us close? This vital place of nurturing support that reminds us that none of us stands in this world all on our own.
Friends, I invite you to be like the mycelium! Go forth and reach out so that all of us are geld in this web of care. But likewise, don’t be afraid to dig down deep to find and share from your well of water and resources… Those pieces of hope and abundance within yourself that you alone can share.
Through leaning into our connections and this greater covenant with one another and with all of life... The Beloved Community might just be possible. All we might have to do is dare ourselves to glimpse it.
Amen.
[1] “JETPIG Series: Transformation and Pluralism”, a sermon by the Rev. Alex Jensen preached Sunday, March 23, 2025, at the UU Congregation of Grand Traverse, Traverse City, MI, Substack.
[2] Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment, by Revs. Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Jennifer Nordstrom, Skinner House Books, p. 164.
[3] “Beloved Glimpses: A Unitarian Universalist Theology of the Beloved Community and Implications for Our Shared World”, by Alex Jensen, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University.
[4] “From Tree to Shining Tree”, by Radiolab, WNYC Studios, NPR.
[5] “Article II: Purposes and Covenant”, by the Unitarian Universalist Association, UUA.
[6] “Interdependence”, Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
[7] “6th Principle: The Goal of World Community with Peace, Liberty, and Justice for All”, by the Unitarian Universalist Association, UUA.
[8] “7th Principle: Respect for the Interdependent Web of All Existence of Which We Are a Part”, by the Unitarian Universalist Association, UUA.
[9] “A Changing Faith: Revisiting Article II”, a sermon by the Rev. Alex Jensen preached Sunday, May 21, 2023, at the UU Congregation of Grand Traverse. (Watch) (Read)
[10] “From Tree to Shining Tree”, by Radiolab, WNYC Studios, NPR.
[11] The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, pp. 32-3.
[12] Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions.
[13] “Socialism in soil? The importance of mycorrhizal fungal networks for facilitation in natural ecosystems”, by Marcel G. A. van der Heijden and Thomas R. Horton, Journal of Ecology, British Ecological Society.