Dr. Mark Yount presents
“The Conscience of Democracy”
Kris Kines, Worship Leader
Sydney Crisp, Accompanist, and Special Music Performance

Our 5th UU Principle challenges us to balance two values in tension with each other. The right of conscience is to claim moral truth no matter how many others deny it. But the democratic process demands we accept the rule of the majority however vehemently we disagree. The more bitterly divided our nation becomes, the harder it is for “us” to relate to “them” on the other side. Perhaps we are called to find compassion even here, as we strive conscientiously for justice that is too often unpopular. Could we find in our 5th Principle a balance of healing for our fragile democracy?

About our speaker:

Since joining BBUUC in 1997, Dr. Mark Yount has given over 125 sermons, chaired several committees, served on Leadership Development, on the Board as Trustee and Vice President, and as Youth Advisor for most of the past 20 years (one of his great passions). Mark has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and taught college philosophy courses full-time for 12 years, before a second career in addiction treatment administration and helping homeless/at-risk people apply for disability benefits. He is now retired and writing a book entitled Wisdom on the Way: Seeing Ourselves Whole through the Worldview Wars.

Special Music by Sydney Crisp

Sydney is a third-generation Unitarian Universalist, and has been attending BBUUC for seventeen years. While she has been an accompanist at BBUUC for six years, she has been playing the piano for fourteen years. During the 2020 quarantine, she also learned to play the Irish whistle, the ocarina, and the lyre harp.