Stewardship & the Salt of the Earth

Adapted from a sermon delivered March 1, 2026 at First Unitarian Church of Omaha. (Video available below or on YouTube here.)

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“The salt of the earth.” The phrase refers to a person or group of people characterized by kindness and reliability. To say “they are the salt of the earth” means they are hardworking, honorable, down-to-earth people. Another colloquial way of putting it is “them’s good people.”
 
This morning I take back up the sermon series on Our Midwestern Heritage that I began at the end of January. Midwesterners are generally “salt of the earth” type of people. As you may recall from the intro sermon, I traced several cultural patterns that apply both to the Midwest at large, and specifically to Unitarian Universalists in this region. Those four interwoven cultural patterns include an enthusiastic embrace of democratic norms, both politically and culturally (that’s small-d democratic); a belief in education and lifelong learning for all people; a more middle class society with less economic and social hierarchy than in other regions; and pragmatic, ‘get ‘er done!’ attitudes. Salt of the earth.

Hello from the Bonneville Salt Flats (Utah, 2005)

As historian Jon Lauck chronicled it, the 1800s Midwest saw many drives for reform, often led by people of faith and rooted in mainstream Christian teachings. Social uplift and community betterment were, Lauck writes, “organized via a dense network of civic institutions in the Midwest, and generally concerned with the forces that distorted the [small R] republican order they had worked so hard to build.”
 
Lauck contrasts community in those times with today, writing of a “social system that was bolstered by a strong civic culture, a common culture of books and reading, and a spirit of idealism and reform. In our own period of decay,” he observes, “an era of callow tweets, sensationalism, celebrity worship, extreme loneliness, and mass and manufactured and purposeful distraction, all of which is unleashing rampant anxiety and depression and devouring our young – this old culture [Lauck suggests] deserves a second look and not our condescension.”
 
Congregations were a core part of that old culture. Churches like this one were  central hubs of social life, character development and civic engagement. They were engines for the rest of Midwestern civil society. A congregation like First Unitarian can continue to serve such functions today, to the extent that we invest in it with our resources and our active participation.
 
Now as the region developed, another notable feature of the egalitarian, pragmatic Midwest was flexible roles for men and women. Lauck writes, “Midwestern agrarian life meant equal participation in many forms of work and community life.” In fact, the Midwest was the most pro-suffrage region in the country during the fight to get women the vote. Lauck writes, “[Various] advances [in the Midwest] would finally lead to women’s suffrage, a cause greatly advanced by women who were products of Midwestern coeducation and veterans of temperance campaigns.”
 
In a moment we’ll hear from one of the most notable of those Midwestern women, Mary Safford. Mary Safford was the catalyst for the Iowa Sisterhood, a network of female ministers who served Unitarian churches in the Midwest and beyond during the final decades of the nineteenth century. Safford served numerous Unitarian congregations, including churches in Sioux City and Des Moines; she also spoke tirelessly on behalf of women’s suffrage and was much in demand as a guest preacher. In fact, at the invitation of Newton Mann, Mary Safford once delivered a sermon at First Unitarian Church of Omaha. This was in a service dedicating an addition to the church building, when it was located at 17th and Cass streets.

Rev. Mary August Safford

I share here several excepts from another sermon of Safford’s. It was first delivered to the Western Unitarian Conference in Chicago in 1889. Words of Mary Safford, speaking to Midwestern Unitarians, calling them to INvest in their religious tradition and its institutions:
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​“… so beautiful is that vision which gleams upon our sight as [people] of the liberal faith that we marvel that any are indifferent to its worth… When is one sure that all things are rooted in unchanging love? We have organized this church, but are we doing all we have the power to do to help it grow, to make it a center of light and warmth in this community? A center from which there will constantly radiate the truth that liberates and lifts, the love that strengthens and consoles? Do we realize the obligation that rests upon us to carry forward our noble enterprise to larger and yet larger results?
 
“Are we alive to the fact that as ‘eternal vigilance is the price of liberty’ so eternal activity is the price of growth? That neither as individuals nor as a church can we make progress without effort and sacrifice? O friends, if we would only be obedient to the heavenly vision that we enjoy today, would only proclaim most earnestly in words and deeds the glad gospel of eternal love, what might we not accomplish during the next few years!”

Safford’s language may sound old-fashioned to our ears:  obedience to a heavenly vision. But the sentiment underneath her biblical turns of phrase is very similar to the one you will hear from our Stewardship Team this year:  there is so much we want to do to fulfill our mission and live out our values. All of us are INcluded in the joys and the learning and the bringing to life of what really matters, through this church. And all of us are INvited to INvest in its future – so that we can do that and even more going forward. Continuing “to proclaim most earnestly in words and deeds the glad gospel of eternal love.” Or in more contemporary lingo, putting love at the center as we support each other and the community around us – as we transform each other and the community around us.
 
One of the chroniclers of Unitarian history in our region, Charles Lyttle, once served this very congregation. In describing the spread of Unitarianism westward from Massachusetts, he notes that in some areas our liberal tradition was met with some resistance. Extensive efforts to bring Unitarianism to Minnesota, including a Norwegian mission, for example, met with considerable success - but they also faced pushback.
 
In contrast, Lyttle writes, “There was no … opposition to liberal views among the Nebraska pioneers of New England lineage who settled in Omaha.” Lyttle names the Joslyns among a number of others.
 
Lyttle sees “an alliance of culture with religion” reflected in First Unitarian Church Omaha’s Bond of Union, which dates to 1890. Here's an excerpt:

​Basing our union … on moral and religious purpose 
​rather than upon any dogmatic statement of belief,
and emphasizing the religion of character and daily life
above all creedal confessions,
we invite to our membership
all who are seriously drawn to us in spirit and aims.

Lytte tells of how Unitarian churches in this region took up literary, educational, and humanitarian activities. They increasingly zeroed in on “true religion” as being “primarily Jesus’ spiritual and ethical teachings.” The region embodied (quote) “a rational faith, yet intensely rapturous and lyrical; science and philosophy were fused in it with genuine religious fervor.”
 
I learned something new about First Unitarian from Lyttle – that during a period when All Souls Unitarian, as the church in Lincoln was then called, was “limping along,” not exactly thriving, this church’s minister at the time, Newton Mann, supported them with “neighborly ministrations,” presumably some guest preaching and perhaps encouragement to lay leaders. This pattern of generous sharing and collaboration among area UU churches continues today. Being in relationship not only within this congregation, but across neighboring congregations, benefits all of us.
 
I turn back now to Jon Lauck, historian of the Midwest in general. He writes, “Dissenting religious groups, with the exception of the Mormons, and utopian reformers found a home in the Midwest. [He observes that] one historian linked this openness to the ‘joyous pantheism of the frontier’ and noted a strain of religious skepticism …” as well. The historians seem to be pointing to characteristics of Unitarian and Universalist religion:  embrace of wisdom from many sources, and welcome of rational thought and humanism as positive forces in religion.
 
That kind of breadth of inspiration may seem unremarkable to us today, certainly in a Unitarian Universalist church, sometimes even a bit in other progressive traditions flowing out of the Jesus heritage. But it was quite new when Unitarians and Universalists began expressing such broad-minded ideas in Midwestern congregations. Let’s hear again from Mary Safford:

“… We are entering upon a new era of religious thought… The old creeds are rapidly being outgrown. But there is danger that in the strong reaction from many old time beliefs, men and women may lose sight of those saving truths, those eternal principles of morality, without which life is not worth living. There is danger that in throwing aside the superstitions of the past, they may also lose that reverence and moral earnestness that are indispensable to real progress…
 
“Hence the work of the liberal church today is to be obedient to its heavenly vision. Not only must we proclaim the saving truths we hold, we must also strive to build up these truths in our own lives and in the lives of others… But for the loyalty to the truth, the heroic self-sacrifice, the unfaltering devotion of those who in loneliness and anguish of soul were true to their convictions in times past, you and I would not enjoy that religious liberty which is our priceless heritage… We must realize our debt to the past, a debt that we cannot pay save by being brave and true and helpful in the present…”

I agree with Mary Safford. Even still today, as new people find Unitarian Universalism, and those of us already in the tradition continue to grow and develop in our faith, hanging onto the heart and soul of Unitarian Universalism is a worthy challenge. Not only high aspirations for a more just society, a greener world. But also the “reverence and moral earnestness” and commitment to shared life that enables us to live out those beautiful dreams.
 
Our Unitarian forebears knew about this. They knew about heeding the spiritual example and ethical teachings of Jesus with continued fervor and dedication, while welcoming in the new knowledge brought by science and the arts – from Newton Mann and others arguing that “true religion” had nothing to fear from evolution, to our wrestling today with artificial intelligence and its ethical place in our society. As long as we stay clear on our purpose as a congregation, as a faith, we will have positive contributions to make to all of the challenges of our time.
 
The salt of the earth. Midwest Unitarian Universalists, at our best, are the salt of the earth.
 
The phrase has more than colloquial meanings. It appears in the Bible as well. 

The first part of the selection, “You are the salt of the earth,” is a variation on similar language found in Mark and Luke about salt that has lost its saltiness. Only, Matthew’s twist seems to point specifically to people who are part of the Christian community as that community was then defined. But the Jesus Seminar, whose counsel I value, observes that insider/outsider discriminations were rejected by Jesus himself. So the writer of Matthew is taking editorial liberties with that part. I’ll stick with our contemporary, Midwestern understanding of “salt of the earth.”
 
The next part appears only in Matthew: “But if the salt loses its zing, how will it be made salty? It then has no further use than to be thrown out and stomped on.” Scholars from the Jesus Seminar believed that Matthew’s version aligned, in sentiment at least, with the known teachings of the historical Jesus. This feels authentic.
 
Another version appears in Mark (10:50a):  “Salt is good (and salty) – if salt becomes bland, with what will you renew it?”  With what will you renew it?
 
What is this aphorism communicating?  The saltiness, the zing, is good. If it becomes bland, it must be renewed, the zing restored. 
 
I hear in this that our sense of purpose as a religious community, our passion for making a difference in the lives of our members and the world around us – that is critical. It’s not enough to just go through the motions of being a church. We need to know why we are here. We need to be motivated by a deep and abiding love for one another and for all those around us. We need to take pragmatic actions to keep growing, and to express that love in concrete ways.
 
Like working to preserve democracy in our society, as our social justice team gives us ways to do. Like supporting members of the congregation through illnesses and new babies and other occasions, as we do through our caring ministries. Like coming together as a bunch of households in the church are doing, to provide support for food for an immigrant family, in collaboration with Restoring Dignity. Because we recognize the inherent worth of all people, and the absolute necessity of good food in people’s bellies. Coming back here, week after week, to fill our hearts with love and amazing grace… to breathe in peace and breath out love… to rekindle our connections in community.
 
Let’s hear one more time from Mary Safford, who knew something about how to maintain or restore the zest of this faith:
 

“… if there are any here today who rejoice in the great truths of the liberal faith but are doing nothing to support this faith, let me urge you for your own sake as well as for the sake of others no longer to be disobedient unto the heavenly vision. If you have money to give, give it freely, give it gladly. If silver and gold you have none, give time, give thought, give work, give anything you have the power to give that will strengthen this church and help to make it a beacon light to storm tossed souls. If you can do nothing more than simply come to church, be sure to come each Sunday. Come not merely for your own sake but also for the sake of the noble cause that is strengthened by your presence and your interest.
 
“Ask not, is it a fashionable church? Is it a popular church? Is it a wealthy church? Ask only, is it a church that proves the right to be by the grand truths it proclaims, the good work that it does, the noble lives it helps create. Heed no ignoble questionings about popularity, wealth, or fashion, but obey your heavenly vision, be loyal to the truth you see, bravely stand by your convictions, and work for the human good. Then life will grow divine.”

One of the noteworthy things that happened in Unitarian congregations in this part of the country, historically, was a cultural shift toward shared ministry rather than more top-down model. The “Iowa sisterhood” of women ministers on the frontier in the late 1800s contributed to that shift, bringing a different leadership style that built community and developed others’ leadership.
 
Later, the Fellowship Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which planted more congregations, to serve more communities, continued that trend. Fellowships were originally lay led, and as such they developed lay leaders more extensively. This period again saw many women enter into leadership in UU churches, bringing with them more egalitarian and collaborative approaches. Holley Ulbrich, writing on the Fellowship Movement, notes how it “facilitated the emerging pattern of shared ministry” between lay leaders and professional religious leaders. The model of shared ministry eventually spread from fellowships to more traditional churches that had long had ministers, like this one – and is now the norm in most UU congregations.
 
I bring forward shared ministry because it is so consistent with the can-do, pragmatic, egalitarian spirit of both the Midwest in general, and Unitarianism in this region. And our ministry – all the ways we support connection, learning, care, justice – it is shared not only in terms of talent and leadership, but also in financial support.
 
To echo Mary Safford, this pledge season, I invite you to “Bravely stand by your convictions.” With your pledge and your participation, you can declare “I’m in!” You are included here. I hope you are regularly inspired here. And I invite you to generously invest in our shared future.
 
As a salt of the earth people, a people of kindness, reliability, and pragmatism, let’s get ‘er done! Let’s secure our shared future, with pledges this stewardship season. May it be so. And blessed be.

This is the full service in which the above sermon was delivered. The sermon begins around 38:40. Music appreciators may also wish to catch the choral anthem, "Measure Me, Sky!" It begins around 18:40 and is followed by the introduction of the annual stewardship campaign by lay leaders.

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Key sources:
     1 - The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest 1800-1900 by Jon K. Lauck (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2022).
     2 - "Obedience to the Heavenly Vision" by Mary Safford (1889) in A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism: Volume 1, from the Beginning to 1899 edited by Dan McKanan (Boston: Skinner House Books, 2017).
     3 - Freedom Moves West: A History of the Western Unitarian Conference 1852-1952  by Charles H. Lyttle  (Providence, RI: Blackstone Edition, 2006; first published in 1952 by Beacon Press).
     4 - The Fellowship Movement: A Growth Strategy and Its Legacy by Holley Ulbrich (Boston: Skinner House Books, 2008).