Reason, freedom of conscience, and uplifting our common humanity. These are the principles that drew me to Unitarian Universalism and still bind me to it. These were the principles that caused me to stop performing weddings fifteen years ago, in defiance of State laws prohibiting me from performing same-sex marriages, a decision that led to the loss of my job and income, and to much hate and anger directed at me from those who disagreed. These are the same principles, much older than the seven principles created by the UUA in the 1980s, that guided the founders of our church in the 1800s. They are the same principles that have guided me as a UU minister for the past twenty years, including the past eight years at UUCS. Reason, freedom of conscience, and uplifting our common humanity are the same principles that led me to research, write, publish, and give away The Gadfly Papers. They are the same principles that have held me steady in the wake of its aftermath. They are the same principles that will guide me tomorrow and during the years ahead. And if there ever comes a time when these principles are completely abandoned by the UUA, in which case I will no longer be a UU minister, I’m confident they shall remain the guiding principles of my life.