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uuasheville_org

140608-Bouncing-Back-with-Meditation.mp3

Earlier this week there was a group of preschoolers in sandburg hall practicing for their graduation ceremony. You know what that means. It's summertime. Which means vacation and break time and relaxation right. It's not. You mean we still have to go to work. And you can't afford your dream vacation either. Waiter. But it's summer we're supposed to be able to take a break. I don't know about you but that sense of summer being free time with so ingrained in my experience as a school child. That the first few years i was out of college i would actually get really cranky at the beginning of the summer when i had to keep working cuz that's what i'm supposed to be on break. Even now when i have been working 12 months of the year for. A fairly long time. And i do enjoy my work a great deal i still have this illusion that somehow if i can complete the month of june. I'll get a break and somehow be able to rest catch up and maybe even get ahead of things. But though i do. Take some vacation time every year in july. It's never really that magic recalibration and catch up time that i dream of. I spoke about this frustration to a friend who's a parent and she echoed my feelings adding to the narrative she said i always think i'm going to have a break and summer and get all this extra stuff done but that's crazy i mean i'm still working full-time doing all the regular household life stuff and now my kid is home all day too and he needs to be entertained. I'm not sure where this expectation of all that free time comes from. But the school year schedule isn't actually my point today it's simply an illustration of the way we tend to over expecting of ourselves. Whether we're waiting for summer break. Or when i retire. Or after the house is built. Or when the kids are grown. We end up putting things off until we. And this is in quotation marks in my manuscript have time. And then we end up with this pile of regret a pile of unfinished business that. Holds us back and weighs us down. A few years ago my parents had a sabbatical in boston. My mother for some reason decided to dig out for their travels and your thirty-year-old knitting project. And try to finish it that year. She did in fact eventually finish it and. I know it was 30 years old because the balls of yarn and the partially knitted sweater pieces were being stored. In a plastic bag with the logo of the store that i first went to for a ballet shoe fitting. Patricia wild. So she took that project on sabbatical and with help and support from other neighbors in the family she finished it. It is a testament to my mother's general good taste the pattern with classic enough to still be in style today. But i know that she felt a sense of accomplishment and relief when she finish that project so many years later. What i don't know is how much she thought about it during those intervening 30 or so years. It could be. Did you put it away in the closet and only noticed its existence a few times when she had to move from place to place. Or she might have set it down because she didn't have time or energy to complete it. And carry the burden of its incompletion complete with self-flagellation and self-judgement. For all of those years in between. I don't know for sure of course because i didn't ask her. But i imagine. As with many. Such things that it was a combination of those two experiences. And these are the kinds of burdens that contribute to our. Inability to bounce back. When we are faced with adversity. I've often said that i only have one. Actual regret capital a capital r. In my life. Only one thing that i would do differently if i could go back in time. I had the opportunity when i was in college to. Be an intern for paul wellstone the senator from minnesota and i didn't take that. Opportunity. But other than that. I have always said. I don't carry regrets about my life i'm very aware that whatever choice i made it brought me. To where i am today and i might not have known. Then what i know now and that. That sort of armchair quarterbacking doesn't work very well for me. But if i'm honest it's not entirely true that i don't carry regrets. It turns out that instead of those big regrets. I carry lots of little tiny regrets with me. And for whatever reason this may be true for you as well. It's really hard for me to let go of those little things. I regret that i didn't take a walk that day when i was tired because it rained the next day. Or perhaps i missed an opportunity to reach out and hold. Cindy's hand. Are there small or large regret that you. Harry. With you. When we carry regret and worry and disappointment with us if we're buffeted by new challenges. We tend to respond from a place of frustration and disappointment. Rather than a place of. Creativity and curiosity. Are built our ability to bounce back like that bamboo. Is limited limited by our inability to let go. One of the most difficult things i ever get asked in questions i ever get ashton my work is some version of the. Why do bad things happen to good people. Question. Any questions i think come from a place of wanting to understand why. Because we seem to believe that if we know why things happen. Then we can change the behavior or circumstances and then. Those things won't happen anymore. The scientific pitfall. We learned from an early age to create a hypothesis. To test the hypothesis pacifist to draw conclusions. I changed the test. Until we can prove the hypothesis. So we naturally then focus on the y in our personal. And reflective live. The more i learn about resilient the more i realize that we're not asking the right question. Resilience isn't about the y. It's about the how. Not why do bad things happen. But when bad things happen. How do we choose to respond. There's so many catchphrases and motivational sayings out there. Life is a journey not a destination. Failure isn't falling down it's not getting up again. And i believe that many of those are true. But they don't give us any information about how to accomplish. To getting up again. Or the. Focusing on the destination. And the journey not the destination. How do you get up off the floor. When you feel that you have been knocked down so many times you have bruises on your elbows and your knees. What makes the difference between a person who commits a crime. Goes to jail. Served their time. Is released. And becomes a contributing member of society. And the person whose first four steps are identical. They commit a crime. They go to jail. They serve their time they are released. But they re-offend. And end up back in jail. What makes the difference. It could be a question of resources. It could be a question of support. It could be a question of individual attention. Perhaps it is a question. A brazilian. For some resilience is innate. If done a lot of studies and they found that some people are naturally resilience. Like the bamboo in the zentail. They naturally respond to difficulty with positivity. The exhibit and ability to be flexible. And they're able to see and interact with complexity. This research is coming fast and furious these days it's becoming clearer and clearer that while some people some systems are naturally prone toward resiliency. All people can develop their skills and abilities in this area. And i want to be clear when i'm talking about developing skills for resiliency and choosing to respond. In a particular way i'm not talking about those moments when we are in a clinical depression or when we are suffering from mental health challenges or things like that i'm not saying you can think your way out of that. But when we are. In. Estate of. Basic equilibrium when were in a state of basic health. We have the ability. To make. Choices about how we respond. Whether we respond. But positivity or whether we respond. With fear. And frustration. We can train. For resilience. We can practice. In the words of sarah lewis who wrote the rise which is a book about how failure contributes to creativity. She says. How do we stand in a place where we would rather not. And expand in ways we never knew we could. How do we stand in a place we would rather not. And expand in ways we never knew we could. What do we do. When we find ourselves in a situation we didn't for. And we can't really control. We can lament our bad luck. We can give up. Or we can choose to expand in ways we never knew we could. The hallmark of success in science and art. Husband said. Has been called the ability to keep trying even when it appears that you are failing. To keep working. Even when your experiments fail and we often use the example of penicillin and other things like that. That were. Failed failed experiments that led to other new discoveries. Mindfulness are staying present in the moment is a well-known strategy for managing many different parts of our lives. If benefits are touted by all sorts of gurus and experts. And have impact on our physical and mental health. It's increasingly understood that mindfulness meditation in particular is an extremely effective way to cultivate our ability to bounce back in the face of stress. And difficulty. That is what. The older monk was trying to teach the younger monk. About being in the present. Moments. That. The older monk. Lifted the woman over the puddle. And the younger monk. Held on. And with all the way back. However many. Miles down the road. And not. In the present moment. When we bring our attention to the present. In this way even for a short time each day there measurable changes in the regions of the brain associated with self-awareness. Compassion and introspection. And they're also reduced stress responses in the in the amygdala that reptilian brain. That is our stress response.. Our anxiety center. Psychiatrist in concentration camp survivor viktor frankl provided some of the most famous and useful reflection on resilience and survival we've ever seen. His findings remain relevant more than a half-century later. His hypothesis parallels the findings from the meditation studies. Frankel says everything can be taken from a person. But one thing. The last of the human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances. To choose one's own way. Lexi young postulant monk who worries about propriety the propriety of his. Collie carrying the woman across the road so many miles ago. We are held back by the worries and regret we keep holding onto in our minds. And in our hearts. The children in the graduation rehearsal. Last week have something to teach us as well. They haven't learned yet. To hold onto those regrets. And we have the ability to unlearn the habit. We have the ability to expand in ways we didn't expect. To test our own hypotheses. And lay our own burdens by the side of the road. Maybe so. When you came into the sanctuary this morning hopefully you were invited to. Stone. Usher's could grab a few stones and try and get. Over here. You can also imagine a stone if you. But i invite you now to take your stone. Summer,. Raise your hands again if you do. Is anybody over there then. So take your stone now and hold it. Our meditation today. Is intended to help you. Envision. And relief. A burden that you carry. Our ability to be resilient is impacted by the burdens that way ass down. And practicing letting go. Is the first step to improving that ability. Take a moment now. To find a comfortable position for you. Feel your feet. On the ground. But your spine stretch a little bit. Settle into a comfortable stance. Take a few. Deliberate. Deep breaths. In. And out. In. And out. In. And out. The holders. Pay attention to how it's. Laugh. Palm. Close your eyes and feel your stone in you. Is the stone small. Or large. The shape. Color of the stone bring to. Feel in your. You take a few more deep. Breath. Continue. Fiat. Serve your. Now. But the burden you would like to release. Float. To the surface of your consciousness. It may be. An old familiar burden. Or it may be something that surprises you. Allow yourself. To calmly. Take note of it. Begin to imagine. That the stone is becoming infused. With the essence of. Your burden. Hold the stone and one. Or both of your hands. And focus your attention. Hannah stone. Imagine. But the power of the burden. The weight. Of regret. And disappointment. The jagged edges. Of yourself judgement. Are transferred. To your stone. Remember to attend to your breath. As you continue to let your stone. Become. Your burden.

uuasheville_org

140601-Refulgent-Still.mp3

It was on in april. Morning 10 years ago. That this congregation gathered to get its first look at this. Middle-aged seminary graduate. Who your search committee was proposing as your next settled minister. If i had prepared for that service i learned that the chair of your search committee linda bear. If there was much amusement in the congregation. After other highfalutin word that i had tossed into the title of my sermon. This refulgent moment. Hellboy. What is the sky have in mind. On reflection it might not have been the best pack. Here i was waltzing out of seminary seating to flaunt and arcane vocabulary. Not a great way to win friends and supporters. Clearly. But you were kind. You listened with forbearance and decided that in the end i just might work out. And you gave me about confidence. For which i've never cease. To be grateful. 10 years later though i want to return to that fancy word. Born truth as you might imagine i had greater purpose and introducing it to you then simply hoping to impress you. Indeed to me that word represents the thread that has wound through my own ministry with you these ten years. And that guides me still. Even more i think it points to a center of energy that holds some hope for the future of us as a congregation. And for the future of our movement. So. Why refulgent. I think initially i wanted to signal to you some of what had most strongly influenced me in my development as a minister. Long before i entered ministry i was drawn to emerson's divinity school address. I'm not sure if i could have told you why in those early days. Other than the wonderful lyricism of emerson's pros hear the way he evokes the soul-stirring beauty of the natural world. And how it echoes in my own experience. Like many of you i have since learned. My first spiritual awakening took place in the natural world and i am renewed they're continually. It's certainly part that the what drew me to asheville. How could anyone living here help but be inspired by the glorious world around us. What it's worth remembering. Is emerson's biographer robert richardson put it. This opening sentence to emerson's address in this refulgence summer it has been a luxury to draw the breath of life. If not. In his words. A casual allusion to the weather. Or a clearing of the throat. It is the central theological point. Of the talk. Steer him for a minute. These words richardson says are a description of the religious impulse in human beings. Emerson says that the religious center. Religious feeling is universal. And that is your rhymes from or is awakened by the moral sentiment which hasn't even more fundamental perception. But the world. Catherine essential balance. And home. Excuse me. The feeling of veneration or reference that arises from this perception is the basic building block of all religion. There's a reason why emerson's address was received as scandalous by so many of the harvard faculty who heard it that day. In many ways he was contradicting the key teachings that they had offered these tenders seminarians in the audience. They were sending out into the world. The unitarianism emerged as a response to the. Puritan doctrine. Hellfire and damnation. A lot of it out there today apparently. Wow. Thank you. The notion that we are each born depraved stained with sin and that our only hope is appeasing an angry guy in the piecing an angry god is to. Is to give ourselves over to what the church declare that christ pot. The hope that he would enter into our lives and save us. Unitarians insisted that god was not so angry. And that rob has been left to faith. We each have a role in our own salvation and how we live our life. That we can use the minds that we are given to sort out our duties in life. Behind this. Reasonable approach to religion do remain some essential doubts about humankind. Yes we can be clever and kind. And we can also be deceptive and deceive. Jesus ministry alone they insisted offer the only sure path to right living. And it was the duty of a ministry to deliver it. And yet here is emerson. Think the source of religion is to be found. Not him. Putting our individual experience. Here is emerson saying go alone. Refuse the good models even those which are sacred in the imagination. As i said it's no wonder that he created a furor among his contemporaries. But what interests me more. Is that what i think he and others with similar views at the time we're doing. What open the door to a new understanding of religion. What it is what it does. Go to central to us today. Religion begins emerson suggest and i want to claim. In our experience of the fullness. A world around. The resultant that is shining brilliant reset resplendent world that breaks in on us every moment of our lives. About experienced awakens our sense of the wholeness of all things. We today articulate this as an awareness of the interdependent web of existence of which we are about. It also evokes enough essence of gratitude wonder and all that feed and affirm. Elemental capacity within us. The blossoms. Into. Low. Love that we are each born with. And that if nurtured. Deepen and grow. Phyllis. To overflowing. In that perspective we require no mediator. Nope influence outside of ourselves to experience this it is what living gives us. And it is available to us all. But what am i to do with all this. What consequences does it have for my life how does it help me live with meaning and intake. These are the questions of religion. The questions that tie us back to the original experience the fullness of wonder. Of joy. This is that stew which we bring her advil minds to their. Where we posit such notions as god the goddess. Redial the unnamed source of eternal mystery or simply that great moral center within. It is where jesus found the kingdom of god. We're siddharth. Goat wormer. Located the buddha nature. Where elijah. Heard the still. Small boy. And there was so much more beyond. The heritage of humankind is now to be found and how people have struggles and come to terms with that. Throw those history all that history and all those big thoughts are only the prompt. For our own exploration. Shelby speaker. Bring in the poets. The artists the dancers the musician. The theologians the astronomers the naturalist the psychologists. What shall we leave out. What show is shoe horn in. This it seems to me it's a project. Of liberal. Not to debate the terms of salvation at our death. But to learn the disciplines that make for a meaningful life. Before. Real living. Not going through the motions. Never losing sight of that referral jen's truth. That awakened that spark of awareness. Have our own worth. And that of our fellows. And all thing. Several times a year here associate minister lisa bovee kemper and aelita series of classes that we call beginning point and connecting points. For people who are considering joining this community. We walk them through the history of this congregation. And unitarian universalism. And we talked a bit about some of what goes on here. Our classes are small group ministry are social activities and justice work. What the my mind one of the most important things we do is ask them to take part. In facilitated small group. Where we invite them to share some of their stories. And some of their hopes. It is a privilege to sit in on some of those conversations. And i have to tell you that if you ever doubt the need for this congregation and this religious movement. You should listen in some. For those who come to us from other uu congregations it is a bit of a homecoming. You should know that these new arrivals are often quite complimentary of a congregation that you created. The way they feel welcome and all that you've done to make a strong home for liberal religion in the mountains. That's not to say we don't stumble sometimes we need to make improvements but as a rule you use arriving here are happy to find their tribe. Among you. The majority of people to attend our newcomer classes though our new to unitarian universalist. Beatrice move to the area or lived here for several years. But something in their life. Got them out the door and over to you you congregation. And sometimes some cases the first time they've darken to church door. By the time they made it to our classes of course they've done more than just scout us out. They seen enough to be ready to throw in their lot with us. Each person has her or his own story but among them i find a remarkable consistency. Essentially they want their lives to be about something. They want to make a difference. Many are quite accomplished. But they want some deeper connection in their lives. And they're hoping that we might be a part of that what's making that happen. My colleague tom shade who you just heard from writes a blog that often tweaks us you use for our foibles and confusion. I was taking with this essay though because it seemed to hit particularly close to. Impulse here we found consistently then we ask what the most important work of this congregation is the answer tends to be as tom suggest. Building religious community. That bad. Heavens no. You practice wonderful. The support the members of this community give to each other is inspiring. And it makes such a difference in so many lies. There are many occasions here whereas tom put it. What we do blossoms into the experience of beloved. Community. What is that enough. So let me take this occasion of celebrating my 10 years with you as your lead minister to offer you. What if we answered no. And what that my reply might require of us. I suggest that the place we would begin is by recognizing as tom says. Naming religious community as our main focus is to place our focus. What are cells. The work of caring for each other of listening of sharing of creating a village to help raise our children is crucial work. But as a community. It is crucial mostly for how it prepares us to karen terry the hope. The deep grounding that we find here into the work of creating a better world. Innocence our newcomers have given us our charge. They tell us what they see in this community that this is a place where they can make a difference in make deeper connections in their lines. I think that hope resonates with all of us. As individuals we affirm it and some of us take the time to dive into the task. Presa community. We struggle with making it real. It's easy to pack our busy lives so full. Do we take little time. For the slow work. Can feed us. The time we spend with others to create space and listen and open to each other. Listening and sharing is the groundwork for everything else we hope to accomplish. Swan invites you to find space. For this good slow work. And i will commit to working to create the opportunities that work for you and open the conversation. To help you grow. Once in conversation we began begin asking deeper question. What do we know about this community where we live. How might we even widen our understanding of who is part of that. Who are our neighbors. What are their challenges. The bay i'm we face. And how might we be agents of change for the better. Our justice work gives us an entree into this but we would be more effective if we were more deeply engaged. One-way on proposing to do that is that we begin to expand how we contribute to the work of just. Beginning in july we will expand our practice of sharing the plate. As we did this morning with the mountain learning and retreat center from once a month. To every sunday. All-cash. And any designated check that we receive will be dedicated to the outreach to the larger community. Of course just devoting more money to this work is not enough. If we are to shepherd these resources widely we will need to get more spend more energy getting to know the needs of this community and building relationships with other change agents across our community. Where would you like to connect. What opportunities away.. Help us find out. We are blessed with a strong congregation here in nashville but we know that there are many people who identify with us in this region who live too far away to participate regularly and many others who would but don't even know we exist. There are about a half-dozen uu congregations around the country who responded to this concern. With a creative solution. That i'd like to suggest might work for us. It's called starting satellite. These are groups that gathering distant locations that stay connected to a home congregation. Key portions of sunday worship are sent by the internet or satellite to create a common experience. The home congregation provides worship leaders and small-group coordinators as well as administrative assistant. To help these new groups get started. It's a system well-suited to the mountains where to travel long distances is challenging. I will be busy enough in the coming year with the capital campaign that i hope you will approve. At our annual meeting today. But afterward i invite you to join me in exploring this exciting option. We're growing liberal religion in the mountains. Meanwhile the internet and social media are offer opportunities for us to be in religious community in ways we've never considered before. We already know that most people make their first connections with us. To our website. How might an increased presence in cyberspace. Deepen and grow our work as a congregation. Butt stink. Let's explore. Extreme. I joined a half dozen of our members on wednesday. At our weekly meditation time. We gather here in this space from 8 to 9 a.m.. Lightheart rallison. Simply fit. People come people go. It took a while for the buzzing in my head to settle down all the busyness. Of this congregation and the many plans for this very full life. That i'm living right now. In time though i found some quiet. And then that quiet became reconnected to some delicious quality in that time and space. I guess the only way to describe it is to go back. To our opening word a. Refulgent. That filled me and reminded me. The peace we can find him. I stumbled on the rumi poem that sharon just read. Some months ago. And immediately i knew i would turn to it to help me close this sermon. Because you see i struggle to her how to explain what 10 years of ministry with you has done for me. And ruby's poem sums it up. I've never understood this image that some people have religious leaders as people who sit around all the time and some sort of wise imperturbable then stay. What are they crazy. Yeah sure there are these moments such as i experienced on wednesday where you can feel the currents of the universe flow through your being. And bam. There are those moments when you're itching to get out the door to a meeting on the budget which is coming up short. Put her on the phone with someone who's explaining why they were unhappy with the sermon last sunday while you're plotting in your head how to find time to meet with a family to talk about an upcoming memorial cir. It's not that i didn't anticipate the kind of juggling act. When i came here ten years ago it's just that i didn't know how it would feel to be in the middle of it. The difference as firmly put sifted between admiring wines and wondering. You misread world. You can't know ahead of time how it will feel when someone you've counseled rises out of despair. And how it will break your heart. When people you serve. People you love and admire. Die. And you must be present to gather their loved ones. And tell their stories. It's not infrequent that i feel more like a burnt. Kabob. And yet i am grateful. I've learned in so many ways that this work. My work our work is not about me. Not about ourselves as individuals. It is about letting go of ego. Letting go of expectations. Being pressed. That presents opens us as nothing else can. Opens us to the astonishing fullness of life at every moment to the wonders of our companions on this journey. What a gift. Our presence can be 21. What a rare occasion of meeting when we find it. Oh. These are the moments of meeting the comprised perhaps the greatest refulgence of all. The brightest most brilliant events in our lives. And the sources of hope that keep us going. My friends my time with you has been most refulgent. And i pray it will continue for some time. But let me close by telling you something that i don't tell you often enough. But it's always present to. I love you. And i am so grateful. Krowd.

uuasheville_org

140525-The-Lasso-of-Truuth.mp3

A few months ago i was at my uncle in-laws funeral. And so i was on a sort of double spouse duty. I was the funeral officiants spouse. As well as the spouse of a close relative of the deceased it was cindy's uncle and she was doing. Service. So. Indodana double-roll i was very intentionally a background player i paid attention to what was needed and tried to make it happen if i could. I touched water for cindy's aunt. I moved the truck when we figured out that it was parked in the wrong spot next to the funeral home. I provided a general support. So over the course of the two days we were in upstate new york i spent a fair amount of time entertaining uncle ed's two grandsons. They were five and eight. They were fairly rambunctious and it had been somewhat sudden death so for them it felt sudden and so they were having a hard time understanding and getting used to the absence of their beloved granddad. I am pretty good at building a rapport with children but this was a high-stress situation and they took a little while to warm up to me. The clincher moment was when cindy told them that we like superheroes. I was in another part of the room so i missed the first part but apparently they were skeptical. She said no really. Go ask lisa what ironman does. To the two boys came over and the younger one asked me the question. His head tilted in that way that telegraph's something like. You're a grown-up and i'm pretty sure you're not going to be end up you're not going to end up being very cool at the end of this. Joey asked me what does ironman do. And i said poopy poopy poopy poop. Cuz that's what ironman does. The boys shyly smiled and from then on they were happy to sit with me they showed me their little nintendo portable games and. They interrogated me with questions about what i thought about the hulk and. Which transformer was my favorite. If you want to know i like the helicopter the best. Now if you're not up on transformer lore he's a decepticon so he's a bad guy but. Seriously wouldn't it be cool to be able to transform into a helicopter. It was a minor thing this small connection we made. Predicated on the fact that cindy and i happen to own all three of the iron man movies and most of the rest of the marvel franchise. We're not the only ones i'm sure it's a multimillion-dollar industry with sequels and prequels and all kinds of registered trademark figurines and merchandising. Because superheroes are an archetype. And archetypes. Are potent. There is a powerful. Story there and we identify with the idea of this. Hero archetype. In a profound way. So why do we gravitate so towards superheroes. How many of you spent time in your. Recent or not so recent life. Wondering what it would be like to be superman or batgirl. Who among us has not asked or answered the question that do you know those party games with the cards where they have questions that you pull out of the beano and you admit ask the difficult questions. If you had a superpower what would it be. This question is usually phrased as a multiple-choice question asking us to choose between flying or invisibility or mind reading. And my experience is that they end up being more of an abstract exercise in morality and ethics. Most people i have talked to answer the question with some variation of. Well i'd really like to be invisible but. I'm pretty sure i'd end up doing sneaky stuff i wasn't supposed to so i'm going to pick flying. So we get into this moral and ethical discussion instead of a serious exploration about. What we are capable of. And how we might cultivate and embrace. Our own abilities even if they're not. Magical or imaginary abilities like. Flying or invisible. Generally. The superhero story follows the familiar arc of the hero's journey. In which the protagonist must complete a quest. In order to fully actualize his or her true self. We see the same story arc in other and other famous stories like the lord of the rings or star wars. But there are some essential pieces specific to the superhero that i'd like to lift up. The question i'm inviting you to consider today is what is your superpower. What is your. So. Mini superheroes. Begin their lives or their understanding of that superpower. With their family or their culture or sometimes. Their own self denying the power or the ability which defines that hero. Can result in challenges ranging from causing accidental harm to being ridiculed by there. Normal peers and in most cases the attempt to deny doesn't come out of a place of malice but a place of protection. The paradigm of the hero or heroine whose family or community tries to negate or protect. His or her superpower is common. To our individual experience in many cases. Joy mcconnell last week spoke about nonviolent communication. And talked about very eloquently about how we are buffeted by expectations and assumptions by others in our formative years. And so as he put it we have a lot of de programa to do. So we struggle to find the gifts that make us who we are. And we sometimes find ourselves unfulfilled. Or challenge to understand where we fit in the world around us. The founder of the hospice movement. Said. It matters that you are you. And it matters until the last day of your living. And this is true for each of us. At any point in our lives even if we don't have a life-threatening diagnosis or if we are not close. To the end of our lives it matters. That you are you. So when i say superpower. I want to invite you to think spiritual gift. Spiritual gifts as a concept are most commonly in my experience understood as being rooted in the biblical passage from 1st corinthians. And they range from working of miracles. Two-face. Just speaking in tongues. Initially i had a hard time connecting with that particular conception cuz it felt to me very similar to. Invisibility or flying those those particular gifts. Familiar to me and i and so i tended to write them off. But i began to understand the idea of spiritual gift different differently. A spiritual gift is that which helps us to express our most authentic self. That which is that which helps us to express our most authentic self. And the way we accomplished the call to authenticity is different for each of us. But it begins by identifying and understanding your particular gifts. The ones that you have the ones that you have identified. Or. Perhaps a gift that you. Wish you had. That you'd like to cultivate. Perhaps you are like superman and you have a gift that is innate. Or perhaps you are more like iron man. And you want to use your wits and knowledge. And your computer jarvis. To cultivate a particular energy or identity. Some superheroes of course are acted upon by an outside force and they. Like you know a gamma ray or a spider. Until they didn't innately have a power they acquired one and then. They had to figure out what to do with it. Others are encouraged to cultivate their power. But don't accept it themselves. In any case there is always in this story arka. of denial. Which requires the hero to go through a process of identifying understanding accepting and cultivating their ability. Many if not most superheroes begin their story as lone wolves. Batman only communicates with commissioner gordon. And nobody knows that he is actually bruce wayne. Clark kent of course must go into the phone booth and change secretly. Ultimately though most superheroes end up using teamwork as a strategy or even banding together with other supers to take down villains to save gotham or sometimes even save the whole universe. In the case of spider-man when peter parker tries to deny the abilities caused by the spiders bite. He becomes the evil spider-man and he has to figure out how to accept that part of himself and and be able to do good in the world. Bruce banner removes himself from his loved ones. And attempts to keep himself from experiencing any intense emotion. Cuz that's what causes the hulk to burst forth. But by trying to segregate and protect himself. And to protect others. That isolation causes him to not experience his full potential. For connection and self-actualization. If you get later on into the. Into the avengers stories. You see that. Iron that the hulk learns to work with the other superheroes and they help him. 2-channel. His. Uno rage. And help them to do. To defeat the bad guys. So the community is very important. Even though there's a time. In the in many of the stories where the hulk feels like he cannot be near anyone because he will. Harm them. So what if. What if. You don't have an invisible chat. Or a lasso of truth. What if you can't leap tall buildings in a single bound. You and i don't have these imaginary powers. Do we all have traits and abilities that make us who we are. Perhaps you are a listener. A creator. Or a healer. Perhaps you are. Eyemusician. Maybe. Like. My wife cindy you can do sudoku puzzles. Without thinking about the numbers and they. Appear to you and. And i say that like you know it's kind of random but. That way that her brain works. Is a kind of bike i think of it as a superpower ended impact. How she sees all of the rest of what's going on around her the way she sees systems and numbers building on each other. And that has a great deal to do with who she is as a person in the world. So i think. Sudoku. I really don't have that. Some of these. Gifts are well integrated into our identity into our daily lives. Others are more elusive. Summer concrete and active. Some are more abstract. As we learn and grow and live our lives we learn of new gift and we learn how to hone and sharpen our skills. Tony stark is always working. In his computer lab and he is always building and he periodically upgrades to a new and improved iron man suit. As he learns more about who he is and what he wants to accomplish. Spiritual gifts. Is that which helps us. To express. Are most authentic self. In the words of parker palmer our deepest calling is not is to grow into our own authentic self food. Whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so. We will not only find the joy that every human being seeks. We will also find our path of authentic service in the world. Our spiritual gifts are the traits or skills that make us who we are. They are how we connect with that authentic self. And they are the thing. That are particular understanding experience and skills combined to create an. Like the superhero. We must learn to use these traits to find our path. Of authentic service. The justice league. The avengers and other bands of heroes tend as i said to work together. And this too is a model we can emulate. We gather in community to help one another become our most authentic self. And we work together. In that community. To make the world around us a better place. Today's reading by rebecca parker is perhaps familiar. I have used it before i know mark has used it and i returned to its wisdom again and again and again. Today however i'm focusing on a slightly different interpretation of the words. Most often we read parker's words in the context of our outreach work. In the context of our work for social justice and social equity in the community at large and the world around us. We think of them as guides for how we help each other i hope i helped other people. It is equally true however that our powers. Can be used to help or hinder ourselves. We each have the potential. To inhabit our own personal prison. We each have the ability. To draw down the door and lock ourselves in. To refuse. Ourselves. It is equally true though that our powers can be used. To lift ourselves up. And when we can't because when we consciously or unconsciously deny our own ability. Our own identity or our own gifts. We are not as easily able to participate in that work of blessing the world. It's like that old adage about putting your own oxygen mask on first. We cannot fully realize our potential for changing the world. Until we understand our own heart. We cannot bless the world. If we are not able first. To bless ourselves. What is. Your. Superpower. What is. Your gift. Where do you find your authentic self. And what will you do. With those gifts. It matters that you are you. And it matters for your whole life. None of us alone can save the world. None of us alone can save ourselves. Together. That is another possibility. Waiting.

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160814-Out-Of-Time.mp3

So i'm here to tell you that. Sabbatical is an odd thing. One thinks of it largely the way ministry i think used to be thought of. I don't know if you have this image to but somewhere i got this is vivid mental picture. Of someone very much like. The impeccably dressed but slightly sickly in a little bit lawn william ellery channing and his starched collar and embroidered waistcoat sitting in a high-back chair in a room lined with dark mahogany shelving and books upon books upon books. He was. Daddy yankee. He was parsing theological treatises and preparing three-hour-long sunday sermons. This image is so different. From what my day today ministry looks like that i shouldn't have been surprised that my sabbatical looked a little bit different to. Luckily i have a few colleagues who have gone on sabbatical with small children in the house. So they early on warned me to adjust my expectations little bit. And so instead of long hours of uninterrupted painting reading and writing or some sort of. Retreat in ecuador. I did a lot of stepping on legos. And building trains. We had some great trips. Got lots of extra snuggles. We need a bushel of peaches. Went on a road trip to ohio for general assembly. And harley who's now three and a half. Got to go on a plane for the first time. I'm not sure if the plane was the most exciting part. Or the fact that he got to watch a movie with. We don't watch a lot of tv. I got some good downtime some good rest. Some good time to step out of the roar and rumble. I've dated a church life. I took a course on second chair leadership. I got out the paint. Dusted off my spinning wheel and had some good creative time. And we said goodbye to my trusty blue 98 honda civic. And gas. Bought a minivan. It was time out of time in a strange way. I was in the same setting my home didn't change the kids daycare is still right up there on graceland. Went to the same angles. I just stopped driving up charlotte street. Well. Until maybe 3 or 4 weeks in tru confessions. I did do a little quick little drive by. Just to get a glimpse of where i had left. I'm here to tell you that it was good to be away for awhile. And it is good. To be back. I'm on you. And yet one particular aspect of being away. Was difficult for me. As you know this summer was a challenging one in terms of violence and the impact of white supremacy and patriarchal culture in this country. The escalating and ongoing violence never stops really. But for me this year there was a spike of awareness that began with the sentencing in the stanford rape case. Continue through the deaths of philando castile alton brown. The police officers in dallas. So many others who were killed. And the orlando shooting. Course because my role here is so heavily social justice focused i am used to being quite active. And engage when things like this happen. I'm never sitting still. I often have the. Luxury of using my voice in sermons on social media and in public witness. I organized vigils and protests and help other people process these things emotionally. And this summer i was away from that roll. I was away from you my people. My community. It was hard. It was difficult to stay away from the vigils and the gathering. Unsettling to wonder how you all were feeling about it. And hope. That your hearts were okay. So hard to have no place to speak or reflect except inside my own head. When the orlando shooting happened late on a saturday night. We got up the next morning. Brighten early to take the kids to dollywood and we're away from our devices until about. 8 that night. So. Settled in on the couch and opened up my. Apsin was shocked to discover what happened. Heard of having it come in all at once instead of the incremental unfolding of a breaking news story. I'm not sure which is. Better or worse. Summit shock to discover what it happened and do the intersections of sexual orientation and gender identity and race were. As always complicated in that suit situation. I do still remember the first time. I went to a gay bar. This one oddly located. Off a dirt road. Way out in the country in east texas. Play remember the feeling. Of being in that. Particular kind of safe space. I remember viscerally the witness and mentoring i received. I'm so why had a particularly personal. Sense of violation in the news of that particular shooting. For three days i struggled through feeling angry and broken hearted and confused. I took the kids to daycare. Sin city after work and chat in my house and stood. I made some art. That helped a little. I tried to write but i didn't get very far. Eventually i had a good cry and. Felt. A little better. But what really really did it for me what really helped. Was a week later the next sunday. When cindy and i sat together in the pew at the service of lament at land of the sky. Ucc church that's where. Our family went when i was not here. We wept. Together. We cried out together. We pray together and then we danced together. Coming together in community was the only thing that. Truly begin to heal my broken heart. From the ongoing violence and hurt around me. As a result. I realized in a deep and visceral sense what both. Manish mishra mazette marzetti. And marge percy. Are trying to tell us in the two readings. Realized in a deep and visceral sense that the work of supporting one another while we engage in our day-to-day lives. But we try to change the world. This work simply must be done in community. We need one another. Very. Very. It matters that we come together and lament. That we work toward healing. Together. If there is one thing that i felt deeply in my own time out of time these past 3 months. His that we are out of time. In terms of our work for justice and equity. In our community. And in our world. If we ever did have the luxury of waiting to be a part of the solution. We surely do no longer. As always. I'm not suggesting. That i expect each and everyone of you. To block traffic or risk arrest or quit your job to become a community organizer. We know that there are so many roles that need to be filled. But today i'm not even talking about the overt. Working for social change the advocacy the witness the community service. I'm talking about the ways in which we impact the system in our day today. Lives. Talking about the ways we learn about our own baggage. And learn to work through it. The ways we engage with people who are different from us. The ways we take care of ourselves and each other. Enabling more depth. And brett. Of engagement with the issues. When i say we're out of time. I mean that those of us who are relatively comfortable in the system. Need to choose to step out of those that comfort zone. In small and large ways. It matters what you say to your bigoted relatives. It matters what stories we tell. And how we engage in that circle. How we cross that tiny space. Between us. One of the most important things i realized while i was gone is how very very worn down i am. Particularly by the insidiousness. Inconstancy of misogyny. I have a relative amount of power and privilege within the system. So i am somewhat able to push it aside. And of course it's so ubiquitous like the water official swimming in me. Forget. To notice. Again and again and again we see it just yesterday the olympic swimming article had the usual to headlines the nice big block main headline. And a little tiny just a point or two. Bigger than the text. Every article sub-headline. The top one. A big unmissable block letters that said. Phelps wins silver. And the tiny tiny letters that said. Ledecky breaks world record. Really. Really. It hurts my heart. Again and again and again and that's my personal example right you all have your own. It matters when someone who does not look like me. Who has more power and privilege than i do speaks out about that headline when i know that they understand why it hurts my heart to see that. To hear female olympian success attributed to the hard work of her husband. Again. It matters when we interrupt the dominant narrative. As marge piercy suggest. Two is better than one. But three are better. Then to. 13. 20. 100 it matters that we work. Together. It matters that we interrupt the status quo. One of the most important things that the we do campaign accomplished here in the south worcester retell the story of lgbt people in the south. Before that campaign started the story of lgbt people in the south was simple we did not exist. And if we did exist we were stupid. Because we didn't just move to a big city or a coast where people wanted us to be. The most powerful moments in that campaign were the ones in which a well-known member of a small rural southern community. A business owner or teacher military personnel or someone whose great-grandfather had been the mayor. Stepped up to that counter and requested their marriage license. And the person behind the counter new them. They didn't know they were gay. They knew their uncle and their grandfather and what was in the in the left you know a backup side field whatever and they knew the crops that were planted and where they went to get the tractor fixed and whatever it was. They really knew them enough to ask about that father or sister or uncle. And mean it. Charlotte more than once that johnning look of realization. What it meant. That this person was standing in front of them. Asking. The question. Sometimes it was followed by a look of disgust. Sometimes it was followed by a polite forced smile. Sometimes it was just glossed over and occasionally it was followed by kind. Engaged customer service. But the look of realization. Is vicki. To think that you don't know one of those people. And then suddenly in a flash of recognition. Realize that you do. The ability to other people is core. All of the things that are wrong in modern society. And they're not the only ones who do it. It's easier for us. Display. Those people who vote differently than we do one way or the other. Are stupid. Or bad. Or wrong. It's an entirely different thing. To try to understand. What it is that causes them to be. Thanks. The ability to other people is core. Do all of the things that are wrong. In modern society. The ability to say i don't know about that i don't care to know about it and because i'm not choosing to understand that i can and will. Vilify it. Can and will vilify. Them. Again and again and again. I see how much more we have in common. This congregation has a long history of standing up against the status quo. You have been a part of most of the major justice issues in this town. Something. Proud of. There is another piece of this puzzle. Got the banners and the rallies and the sound bites on the news. It's not even the yellow shirts. It's the relationships. The day-to-day relationships that space. Between us. As our country becomes more and more polarized both politically and socially. And it's social media simultaneously gives us access to more information. And makes us less likely to engage with people who think differently than we do. It is the local. In-person conversations that will save us. What does that look like in practice. It means refusing to accept the story we have been told. Refusing to stop at the sound bite. It means stepping out of our comfort zone again and again and again. An interrupting. The dominant narrative. Whether we are seeking equal pay for equal work. Or systemic change in our own city or policies that honor the health and preservation of our natural resources. There are so many ways we can interrupt that dominant narrative. We are out of time to allow ourselves to feel comfortable about this. It could mean. Choosing to wear a black lives matter button. Replace a sign on your lawn or in your car. Being willing to engage in conversation with people. Who asked you about it. It could mean asking your bigoted relatives to stop telling racist jokes at the thanksgiving table. It could mean confronting misogynist reporting in media. It could mean telling a story of your own oppression. That you've never told before. It could mean examining your place in the system. Finding ways to leverage your privilege or confront broken systems in which you have power. Mission hospital the largest employer in asheville just adopted a living wage for them their employees. The little change. For them. And it didn't happen out of nowhere. Someone had to stand up and ask for it. Not a lot of other someone's had to fight for it. It goes one at a time. It starts when you care to act. It starts when you do it again after they said no. It starts when you say we and know who you. Mean. Each day. You mean one more. Our unitarian universalist faith calls us to seek. Common ground. It calls us to find the places where we think there is no common ground and insist. Insist. Our humanity. Is our common ground. It calls us to stay in relationship when things get difficult. You know i think that's our superpower. It is the thing that will save us. And our unitarian universalist faith. Call aza. To always. Always. Always. Choose. Love.

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150719-Follow-Your-Desire-Lines.mp3

In our lifetimes we are constantly making choices about the paths that we will take. I grew up in south carolina and i have to say hi y'all how you doing. I live in wisconsin and whenever i say y'all everybody just kind of looks at me in that midwestern serious way than not quite sure what to do. So well and hearing to get sweet tea grits and other lovely southern things. But we make choices you made a choice to follow the call to ministry. I watched both my stepmother and my father take that difficult pass as they were ministers in south carolina. And i ran from it as hard as i could but it kept knocking. At my door. Uber sunpass that we take because we're stubborn. Even though we know and are good sense that we should not take them. I think back to when i was about eight years old it was a hot south carolina summer day i was. With my daddy said julie you really need to wear shoes when you're riding your bike but i was 8 and i knew everything. So i was riding my bike and of course i tore up my my little toesies on that hot. Hot cement so. When we make choices they're not always going to lead to the rainbow or. Lead to beautiful nepal or or leave the seminary. They might lead us in a direction that takes us. To a positive point. That takes us to a point where we need to say hey wait a minute. Is this the road that i want to be. Describe what desire lines are you know those this places that we. Stray from the path. You might be familiar with patty. she's a local writer and if you familiar with her. Check her out she raped wrote a fantastic book. It's called life is a verb. 37 days to wake up. Be mindful. And live intentionally. And this particular book has lots of pretty pictures and collages and nice little short essays if you. Want to have something for the summer. My particular she talked about. Desire lines. And when i saw that phrase of course. Desire lines that sounds. Telefund. I like to follow my desires. So when you go deeper. When you go deeper when you say i'm going to leave that well-trodden path. That place that has been set up before me. Gets a little bit scary. It's a little bit hard. Think about the folks that decide to leave. Say mexico. Orsay. Cross the desert. True that border fence in the arizona. What's your desire lines track across that desert. So that people can go to a better life. Risking their lives to find something better for themselves or for them their family. What desire lines have you cross to. To get a better education. Or two maybe choose happiness even at the cost of. Of something. Did did you choose to go back to school even though you had to leave a good-paying job or did you choose to move. To this beautiful city of asheville. For whatever reason to choose happiness we all make our choices. And yet all of our paths have obstacles. Whether they are some financial reason. Some screaming boss that gets on her nerves or own inner critic. Patty died right in her book. Peter marshall's founder of adaptive path. Wrote about berkeley's attempt. To circumvent rather than accommodate desire lines on campuses. Instead of allowing and if i knew desire line to remain and become an established. Purpose path. They created these oddly out of place metal barriers. To keep people on the real path. What do you expect people walked around the barrier. And it's not always the other people put these obstacles in our path we often put them. In our own paths don't we. Self doubt. Inner critics. Saying that. I can't do so-n-so. I'm not good enough. That reminds me of the gift of brokenness the guests that come. When we accept that in all of our imperfections. The way does lead on. Bashar just a brief story for you. Rihanna little bit more. Alright. Is you're going to hear about this nice cool water story okay. A water bear in india had two large pots. He's hung on one end of a pole that he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it. At the end of a long walk from the stream to his master's house. The crackpot only arrived half-full. Well the other part was perfect. And always delivered a full portion of water we know people. Perfect portion of water. And for 22 years went on daily. What's a beer or delivering only one and a half. Pots full of water to the master's house. Of course the perfect hot was very proud of its accomplishments. Perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor crackpot was ashamed of its own imperfections. And miserable that it was only able to accomplish half. Of what it was made to do. And after two years of what it perceived. Be its bitter failure. It spoke to the water bearer monday by the stream. I am so ashamed of myself. Pot set. And i want to apologize to you. Why ask the bear. What are you ashamed of. I have. Enable for these past two years to delivery only half my load because the crack in my side. Causes water to leak out. All the way back to your master's house. The water-bearer felt sorry for the crackpot and his compassion he said. As we return to the master's house. This afternoon. I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path. Indeed as they went up the hill the afternoon the old crackpot. Took notice of the sun. Warming this beautiful wildflowers on the side of the path. And it sure did up some. But the end of the trail it still felt sad because it kept leaking out all this water. And so again. The pot apologize to the water bearer. Bear said the pot did you notice that they were flowers only on your side of path. Not on the other pot side. That's because i have always known of your flaw. And i took advantage of it. I planted the flower seeds on the side of the path. And everyday. As we walked back from the. Stream you watered those flowers. And i took them to my masters. Table each day. It was only because of your crack. That we had this beauty. He said we all have our own unique claws. We are all cracked pots. In the great web of life nothing. Goes. Two ways. I want you to think about that nothing goes to waste. Do not be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them. And you two can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness. We find our strength. I just have to sigh after this. That takes a big load off doesn't it you know. When when you think you have to be perfect. You find yourself standing. With your. Detroit stand up tall but it feels like you have a big weight on your shoulder. You feel like you have to make the perfect choices. The perfect path. When i graduated from school i was an international studies major. I was sure i was going to go off on some grand adventure and be a journalist for cnn or. Maybe work for the government for the peace corps. I became a stockbroker. After also doing a couple of other jesus. As i tried to figure out what i wanted to do. How did i become a stockbroker. I answered an ad in the paper to be a customer service representative as many people do after getting their ba. You tried. Trying to earn a living. If i worked my way up the ladder and i found out i was good this i can i got my series 7 by 363 my for my three. And man i was. I was good. Yeah i was going to be a supervisor supervise 75 people i thought. I was with. Do you know how many hours i worked a week. 80 hours a week. Play did have fun. But it was not. Something that felt. And i know many people find great joy and financed for me it was a way. Prove that i could do it. I had always been told pay truly you're the creative one. You will you're going to go off and write books or go to the peace corps and i said well show them i'll be successful. Well. But all of that. All of that was fodder to make me a better medicine. Alright i can read the budget and understand it. Talking about money isn't quite as scary as i probably would have been scared of. Doing the waters bears garden we heard about the gifts we give even in our brokenness. The story was the idea that. Along the way we give gifts when we least know it. What have you. Chad just in passing to someone. To cause them to smile i got here and the coffee hour. You said that. Tattoo maybe a child you have gotten. So big. And you didn't know that that child the past week maybe had lost a grandparent or. Or you didn't know maybe that the child had gotten an f on his math test or whatever it was but those kind words those little gifts that we give. Which other. They help us move. Along the way. And then. When you're thinking about path. We think about cross. It's right there. Big points in our lives where we make a choice. Will the poet robert frost. Years of 1912 to 1915 in england. And he was with one of his friends the writer edward thomas they took many walks together. After. Frost had returned home to his new hampshire home in 1915 he sent his friend a copy. Of the road not taken. The coin was intended by frosted. A gentle mocking of indecision. Cuz his friend on their many walks at often. You know. Not. Really sure when they came to pass but i don't know if we should go that way or this way. And robert frost lamented that many readers often. One more seriously than he had intended. And that's the way gifts are too right. Once we put a gift out into the world we don't know how it'll affect. Someone else song i word. His friend definitely took it to heart and. Took it very personally. Poem with the last straw and his friends decision. Twin list in world war 1. He do it as a call to. Defend his country and to stand up for freedom. Thomas. Till 2 years later. In that war. This is not robert frost law for writing a poem. This is not thomas's fought for. Can a path. All our paths lead in ways that we do not always. Sometimes we take the road and we cannot. Backtrack. Much like something you release out into the world you have a child. You give birth and now my child is almost a teenager and i'm i'm i'm excited to see what he will do but i do not have the. Control. Or what i perceived. When he was a toddler right he's going to go out and make his own decisions. I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence. Two roads diverged in a wood and i. I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all. The difference. Yeah i could look back. And say. I wish i hadn't gone. An answer that add to work for. The company what if i gone. To nepal with a fade. Become a peace corps volunteer. What if i had written a book when i was 30 like i was supposed to and now i'm 40 and i still haven't written that book. We can't always. Backtrack. We can look back. Acai. And bless the roads that we did not take. But then we have to choose right we have to figure out what the way is ahead. I asked on facebook. Because. That's what i like to do. I asked on facebook. What hasn't made a difference. You took the left. Traveled road. Uu minister rev virginia woolf and yes her name is virginia woolf she said you you america. Minister in my congregation. She said coming out as a feminist. A lesbian a person with bipolar disorder. Are unitarian universalist. Not. Hiding myself. Another person i know named jennifer blakely mode she said. I left the career path. We're headed doctorate to find my true vocation. To the veterinarian. They left the safe job to start my own business i left a comfortable but unfulfilled marriage. Regain troy in my life. And i left mainstream religion behind. So that i could feed my spirit. The funny thing is i really hate saying goodbye. But i keep finding myself. How many of you came here from different paths. Yeah we often make choices that are hard. Maybe we grew up in a religious faith that was beautiful. What are questions. Picking up stone roads that we didn't miss really even want to travel but we kept on going. We kept on seeking in. I'm looking for the answers. Some of us took desire lines exploring native american spirituality. Mystical christianity or humanism. Some of us never had a concrete path we grew up with. The church of mpr or the church of saturday morning cartoons. People come to this place as. Sometimes russia. Cheese sometimes speakers. But we come along are different desire lines. We leave behind dogma. We leave behind. Onesource. And there's many people in mini progressive face that do that and that's what we have in common with many of our liberal brothers and sisters. Follow a mystical path. How many of you have been on a pilgrimage. Are we claim to have been on it. You do a pilgrimage sounds very high and mighty and perfect pottash. But. I'll tell you that crackpots can go on pilgrimages to. And i would say the each one of you here sitting in this uu congregation waving your lovely fans. You are on a pilgrimage. You are on a questioning. Moving place whether you have looked back. At what you have. Done before with joy. With a little bit of sorrow. You have come to this place this morning. As a path. Know what happens from this point. Do you go deeper. Do you go into a place where you join book groups. Do you go to japan and and open a school or teaching. What pathway lies before you. It would i want to say to you this morning is be not afraid. Be not afraid of your imperfections your crackpot anise. We are all. Imperfect tonight and i left and crackpots to you use. You kind of get it. You know. If you're in a information technology. You appreciate that we are not a one source religion. We we talked from mini mini books many sources many traditions. Don't you just think about. That in your spiritual life you go and desire lines feru you. But what about the rest of your life. Are you following your desire lines. For your relationships. Or are you being safe. Are you. Not willing to take risk and make friendships. Are you isolating yourself. Maybe in depression. Have you come out. As a geek who like star wars. Have you come out as someone who's willing to take a chance. And bring up flowers along the path. The journey and the pilgrimage. Is just as important as our destination. All those stub toes and those. Many hours working for a company that worked me to death. Are those times when i would take off. To the north carolina mountains and be fed by them. All of those. Experience has made me who i am. Think about the many things that have made you. Who you are. The way leads on. With choices may our desire lines make beautiful patterns across the planets. Across our lives. The bears said to the pot. Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path. That's because i have known all along about your flaw. And i took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds. There's a river flowing. Eiffel. There's a river. Anastasia. That i'm somebody. There's a river. Flow and. Through my soul. You are somebody. And the way the. I'm in.

uuasheville_org

161127-The-Act-of-Being.mp3

It is so good to be here with you all this morning. I don't believe we're here a few years ago and didn't talk called five happy things and i don't know if anybody was here when we came that time. But just said just a little bit about us i am a social worker. And i work with care partners hospice. And and i have done work in hospice and end-of-life care for. Most of my career so that's. Over twenty years now. And todd besides being a singer-songwriter it's three cds and working on his fourth. Is a nurse with. The hospice down in hendersonville. And he works at the inpatient unit at elizabeth house there. And. But we do this coming around and talking to various. Fellowships. Also and so it is our pleasure and honor to be with you all this morning. The reading this morning is from. The novel siddhartha by hermann hesse. That deals with the spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man named siddhartha during the time of the buddha. And after leading a life of great luxury the man realizes he is dissatisfied with life. And. Goes to the river to drown himself. And instead he finds enlightenment. And so the excerpt is from the moment that he realizes. Comes to great realisation. Tenderly he looked into the rushing water. Into the transparent green into the crystal lines of its drawing. So rich in secrets. Brightpearl he saw a rising from the deep. Quiet bubbles of air floating on the reflecting surface. The blue of the sky depicted in it. With a thousand eyes the river looked at him with green one with white ones with crystal ones with sky blue ones. He would understand this water and its secrets. So it seemed to him. We also understand many other things. Many secrets. All secret. So like i said the last time that we were here todd know we did this talk called five happy things and since i'm very sure that all of you weren't here for that talk i'm going to just review for for a moment here. 5 happy things is the practice of paying attention to the world around us to what is going on and remembering it. Sometimes realizing that the what might be going on might be challenging or distressing. But that it has there might be some positive aspect to it. And then sharing those things with each other. Everyday. The five things might be simple like the birds at the feeder a good night sleep. That warming cup of coffee. Or it might be a more significant accomplishments or poignant moment. It connects for us in our hospice work. As we support people who are dying. As well as their families and see the love. Care. Sacredness and other humanist that is always there in some way at some time. We have shared this practice with many groups other you use other church groups and even done hospice in services in sharing about it has become very clear to me that although the practice is a simple one and on the surface seems rather shallow the main happy things you think of balloons and butterflies but as we dealt dealt deeper into it happiness is this the shallow end of the pool is part of a whole pool and there has to be an entry point to get to deeper water and their feelings about what is happening at that time in their life one day i went to visit a woman i'll call her francis. In some way when i visited. But on that day she wasn't really responding i would i try to engage her talking about the cards that were on her bedside table or the flowers that were in her window but. She was looking at me but not really saying saying anything. And so finally i turned to her and i just asked. What can i do for you today. And she reached out and touched my sleeve i was wearing a bright red jacket. And she reached down and she touched my sleeve and then she reached up and touched my hair and my hair was really long that was them down to here so. And so she touched my jacket and she. I ran her fingers on my hair. And then she looked right at me and she said. Just. Look at me. Until i did i took her hand and i just sat there and looked at her and smiled a little bit and she did the same until she just dozed off to sleep that was all she wanted that day for me to be there with her looking at her and knowing she was there. Except for tony. Tony was just a little monster. The smallest thing could set him off and he would leave on another kid and just start pounding away. You had to watch tony. One day the counselor and i had taken the kids to a park about a block away from the rec center. And we have forgotten something and so as i got the kids into a circle the other counselor went over to. To get that. I got him in a circle and they started to play and one thing led to another and tony jumped up and started to well on this other child and so i left up and i had to grab tony and. Get out try to get the other kids to settle down and i i grabbed him up in a basket. And if you don't know what that is that's me and you. Come to the back of a child and you wrap your arms and legs around them coming to a seated position. You move your head away so they can't bash you in the face. But you have your arms crossed and your legs crossed around them to basically trying to get them in mora mobile. And so as i sat there struggling with tony tony the other counselor came back and got the other kids taken away. And so i sat there trying to call myself and i realized that somehow my arm. Instead of being over his arm over his chest was actually right up against his chest. And i could feel his heartbeat. On my. On my wrist. And it was beating so fast. And i became aware that i can feel him breathing. And he was breathing so fast. And of course i couldn't see his face there. So then that became my connection with him as i tried to call myself. And hold him so that he could calm himself. Feeling his heartbeat. Feeling his breathing. I could feel his emotions. Through him. And realize his being. Through his heartbeat. And each bro. And so we sat there together until his breathing slowed and his heart had calmed and we could talk a little bit. I took him back to the rec center. So he could have a. To the supervisor's office so you can have his time out as per protocol. But later. I saw for myself. Stars from the burns twisting all over his chest and back. From where he had been doused in boiling water when he was just a very small child. And i thought of how excruciating that must have been not only to have experienced those burns but have been betrayed by a parent who would inflict such pain on a child and i thought of that heart beat of the heart of that child and who that child might grow to be knowing that the stars he bears goes so much deeper than his ripple skin moments of just being. But being totally and completely aware of the great depth and complexity. And at the very same moment the simple truth. Of blood. And breath. These are moments when against the backdrop of the river flowing by a single drop stands out. Reflecting all that is surrounding it. And yet having its own singular identity before dropping back into the flow of. It is not just observation. It is immersion into that moment. It is not passive. It is action. I'll be at action of the spirit in mine. And not body. Mark mullinax is a professor of religion at mars hill college up the road. And he often speaks at our fellowship den in hendersonville. The first time i heard him speak he described the dual idea of everlasting. And eternal. Everlasting being the quantity or length of time. From the pre universe to the prehistoric to before our birth and stretching forward into beyond our lifetime beyond the time of humanity beyond the universe. Expressing the quality. Or depths of time. When there is no limit to any single moment. Because there is no limit to any single moment when we are fully conscious. Fully alert. And fully present in that moment. It blew me away this idea of infinite depth. In a single moment. And so it went around for awhile. Trying to experience that. And so i noted sunsets and i listen to birdsong and i paid attention to my breathing. But i found it really quite impossible. I mean i shouldn't really be moving around in my life and experience that kind of death just any old time. But every now and again. Something happen. As in those two stories i told. That brings my attention to that particular moment in time. When i am able to bring myself to focus completely on the person in front of me. And connect in a deeper way. On a deeper level that recognizes their true self. And glimpses the depth of it. In my own real self. My computer sits by a window overlooking the backyard where we have a large hemlock tree. And there is no grass under that tree just dirt and twigs and hemlock needles. And i can usually hear birds but when i glanced outside i rarely see them. I have to pay attention. To see them. Stop and look. And then. There's a wren there's another one. Up there's a robin up in the in the branch. And so on and so forth and of course they are there all the time. But i have to go beyond lansing. To really look at. In order to see them. And so it is with people. Everyday i interact with people as cashiers wait staff co-workers patients. And i live a lot of my life through out here. In the space in which were interacting the sort of throwing myself out there to make someone smile or offer brief comfort. But to really connect with a person. To really realize and honor them. I have to take a breath. Or two. 43. I have to pull back into myself and be aware. Myself. I have to become aware of my body. And only then can i clear my mind enough to really focus. On the other person. There is often a physical sensation that accompanies that sort of focus for me i feel it as a relaxing a warming of my chest it only lasts a moment or a few moments but those moments often feel as if they are of the eternal when my dream is gone now i'm just a memory i hope you'll smile and all of this thing because it may but that to a life of other stories and of the whole of humanity. It may just be a moment of tenderness with a child. But that moment of comfort is connected to the depth of relation of love of family however it may be it may just be a single drop of water but that drop bring from a whole river. And we are all part of that river. I started this talk with the reading about buddhist philosophy. But my own background is christian. My understanding is that jesus went into the desert and sought god so enlighten mit. Connection. But then he came back. Came back into the river of humanity. And for me this whole focus on the personal connection on the act of being with myself and with others for the act of. It's about the realization that we are all blood and breath. That we are all precious. And so it is not in me to stay in that quiet place. It is from that connection that i find my purpose my voice my reason for speaking out. If i understand that my fellow human being and yes the other animals and all of creation is precious life. If i can. In the act of being. Find that quiet place that connect me to that flow. Then how can i continue to be quiet. I am compelled to act in a more outward way also do use my power and my voice to speak for those like frances so they can get adequate care and attention and their final days to speak out for those like tony so that other children are not abused or so we can better care for children who have suffered trauma to speak out for the impoverished the oppressed and the week because we are all one we are each of us beautiful and unique like those water job green ones with crystal ones with sky blue ones white brown or rainbow colored ones and that is a very happy thing. So this song that i'm going to play i hope you'll sing it with me it's sung it a lot of times without you and i feel certain it's going to be better with you. No obligation of course. And the the chorus it's it's actually on my wrote it as a sing-along so for the more adventurous. Among you you can sing all over it up there some song you were hoping to hear today that you haven't heard feel free to it's in the key of d so make sure you're somewhere in there and it'll all be fine but the the refrain is a do remember me oh lordy heihei remember me. So are most of the words are printed there in the bulletin you got three out of. At the joe kidd morgan the first service ider. I just thought i'd try thought you're a little more awake but it turns out it's me it's not you it's me anyway this song for me is about those times when we're. In a dark place in the shadows are deep in the ones are chili that community that we carry in our hearts to keep us warm and dry. Safety there's a man that i know..

uuasheville_org

150208-Where-The-Heart-Rests-Sermon.mp3

For most of my life it wasn't anything i thought much about. Yes from an early age i was a pretty regular church at enter. I told you about growing up in the unitarian church of princeton new jersey. A booming young congregation in the 1950s and 60s. I felt safe and welcome there. And even more young as i was i felt like i mattered. But. Faith water really wasn't the word that was used to describe woodbound us together. We might have used words like shared value. For a sense of community. In fact i think if you'd asked him many of the people attending that congregation would have told you that. Faith. Was something they come to that church. To get away from. Freight in their eyes was something that they associated with the churches of their childhoods. We're catechisms and bible stories laid out a belief structure that was pretty much beyond question. Good doubters that they were though they asked question. Amprobe seeming contradictions. And at some point by some person were admonished that they simply needed to. Have faith. That reply they would have told you. Prompted a cascade of thoughts and feelings but the net effect. Was it in time they drifted away from that community. And often from religion entirely. Still something plugged. Perhaps it came with the birth of children. Or restlessness sitting with the sunday paper. Or a query of a friend or a particular book or movie. Somehow the big. Questions of life started pestering them. Or perhaps that. Dark night of the soul arrive. And they thought. Well. Maybe there's something else out there. So they made the rounds and ended up eventually at a unitarian congregation. Nice people interesting services. Not a lot of talk about faith. Perhaps the story is something like your own and if so you may be feeling a little nervous now. I don't know what are we doing talking about faith. So let's begin by clearing the decks here. In my understanding of faith i am informed by one of the great liberal theologians of the 20th century. Paul tillich. In a book published in the 1950s heat lamented how the word faith have been misconstrued. Almost all the struggles between faith and knowledge he said. Are rooted in the wrong understanding of faith. As a type of knowledge which has a low degree of evidence but is supported by religious authority. We're left with the idea that faith is something that we get from someone else and we adopt by a kind of active will. If you don't have it you haven't tried hard enough. This sets up the traditional conflict of faith and reason. In fact i said there is no contradiction between reason and faith. As it's rightly understood. Beatty said is not about what we know. But how about how we feel about what we know. Not about how i mind engages the world but about how our heart. It is highly personal. Something that arises in each individual and responds to her or his own experience. It is that felt sense that connects us to the world around us into the deepest way. Until it's world's it is the state of being ultimately concerned. Ultimately concerned. Pretty abstract idea. But it points to an intimate. Experience. Essentially faith is what underlies our sense of well-being. It is what we hold to because we can't possibly not. Hold. It is what gets us out of bed in the morning and lets us settle into sleep at night. It is what's a sauce. Amerilife super knock. Off-kilter. All of us have had our moments of feeling alienated or disconnected it is the kind of existential despair that makes our lives suddenly seen abson. Hub meaning. It does no good at those times to say buddy you just got to have faith. But we need instead it's a way of connecting back with that original sense of wholeness that we were born with. Altima seat to my way of thinking is that. Information that felt sense that we are bound up in it all. The vast mysterious beauty of all things. That we are now and ever will be. Home. I remember an incident many years ago when i was a senior in high school. I'd apply 25 liberal arts colleges. All of them competitive but within my grasp. Then the day came when five feline blokes were arrived in the mail. And i learned i'd been rejected by all five. That was it. Neither my parents was home. All i can think of to do was to launch out and walking tree nursery across the street just walk and walk brooding. For sometime in recalling that episode i told myself that's with that walk in the woods i was getting some air to take my mind off that crushing news. And yes it did help in that way and of course i did find a way to college and all the rest. But i realize now that something else was going on out there in the paths of that nursery. I was in fact getting in touch with the ground. Of my faith. I found something that they that i've come back to time and again. I meant my despair something in the world called back to me. Back. Tejon. It's 7 in the fraction of a second before we process our perceptions into discrete elements sites sounds and so on we are first. Flooded with an ineffable sense of being alive in the world. It isn't something we articulate it's preferable and yet it is us. Gave me. A grounding. Place to begin. I'm in raging emotions and conflicting thoughts it is a place of peace of floor from which to build the foundations of a living. I find at the center of our first principle affirming the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We are each of us enough. And we have the capacity to discover how to realize our best selves and live into the promise that we are. Sharon salzberg in the book faith comes to a similar conclusion she says. Faith is not a commodity we either have or don't have. It is an inner quality that unfold as we learn to trust our deepest experience. The password you heard from annie dillard comes after she described watching us. older eclipse. She writes that she was surprised at how disturbing she found the experience. The whole landscape. Washed out of all color. Racine we all happy. The sun itself for being disintegrated. And yet beneath her fear. What she found calls the substrate. The matrix the buoys the rest the unified field our complex. An inexplicable caring. Ferrari each other for our life together here. Some decades ago. James fowler made a study of what he called the stages of faith very famous book. That is how faith is born within each of us and grows over the course of our lives. He noted that people commonly identify faith with a code of beliefs say that. Cradle of the latin mass or their creeds of the protestant reformers. But he says that's an error. Belief may be a way that faith expresses itself. The person doesn't have faith. In a proposition or concept. Instead he says faith involves an alignment of the heart. Seriously this notion stretches across cultures. In hindu the term is thread. Your translators decept 11's heart on. The religious life they say begins with finding in one's own life something to which one can give one's heart. Credo itself from the latin mass has a similar route a compound route for heart. And upward. For place or put. So the accurate translation is not i believe. An intellectual affirmation. But i set my heart on. I give my heart. The writer diana butler bass argues that people often misunderstand some of the most famous words attributed to jesus you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. But those words she says he was not speaking of a philosophical idea or set of doctrine. Instead that he was saying with the disposition of the heart. Is the ground of truth. She says spiritual freedom results from a rightly directed heart the self as it moves away from fear hatred and isolation and greed. Toward love. Buddhism offers a similar view it's earned sharon salzberg puts if faith is the capacity of the heart that allows it to draw close to the present and find there the underlined thread. Connecting the moments experience to the fabric of all life. Giving one's heart of course it's a risky proposition. Our hearts are tender. I'm easily broken. And so we had good cause. February. At the same time extending the metaphor. Remember that hearts are made of muscle. And grow stronger. With use. So here's the conundrum of faith it is possible to drift through life. Taking the safe route. Trusting in few things. Exposing little of ourselves. It offers no assurance of safe passage but at least we reduce the risk of injury. And yet what a pallid exist. What is doll-like. The life of faith though. Scientist. Opposite different. Risky to be sure. Because we can't know if what we put our trust in will merit that gif. Likely we will overextend ourselves at some point. I need to regroup perhaps nurse our wounds. But we learn. And a heart grows stronger. And wiser. A moment will come when our risk pays off. With the most glorious waking the most amazing meeting of kindred souls and we are filled as we never thought. Yesterday in our connection points class we invited people who were thinking about joining this congregation to reflect in small groups. On our worship theme this month what does it mean to be a person of faith. Trump said there was something a little scary in that text. Shaming scripts from their past emerged in their minds and they weren't really sure how to reply. But others helped open that conversation. Sharing their own experiences their own sense of deep connection. The kept them centered and grounded. It was a microcosm of the key one of the key things that this congregation exists to do. To listen each other into spiritual growth. To give each other courage to open an explorer. We all know the experience of having been smackdown emotionally. Having our hearts wounded and feeling that we need to protect ourselves. We shelter ourselves but sadly in sheltering ourselves. We. Turn from our hearts. Become stoic. Impassive. It's a place we can live for a surprisingly long time. But not happily. Away i've seen this present itself in our churches sometimes that we process the work of religion as the wrangling of words. Where's a good. Without bringing the heart into the equation they can be empty. Sometimes you can see the heart pushing itself to me made known in the heat. How would it be if we let the words be for awhile and paid attention. To the heat. What is that. Can you name it. Can you own it. May sarton poem that i read for our meditation has been a favorite for mine for some years. Precisely because it is rooted me. And speaks to me of that moment in our lives when the heart makes itself known. It is the moment when we know fully know ourselves. When all she says fuses falls into place from which to action from word. Silence. My work. My love my time. Myspace. Gathered. Antoinette chance gesture like the growing of a plant. What does that look like for you. And how might we invite you. To explore it. Brother is vitality in your life. There is. That is where certain says all we can give grows in us to become song. Made so and rooted so by love. So let us hear a firm and sharon salzberg puts. That we all have the absolute right. To reach out without holding back. Toward what we care most about more than anything. Whether we described the recipient as god or a profound sense of indestructible love. For the dream of a kinder world. You send the act of offering our hearts in faith. Did something changes within us. Something that gives us courage to act from the center of our lives in fully live r-truth. It is the journey of faith. A journey whose destination is an ever-deepening awareness. Of how entangled we and all things are. And how deer in the. We truly are.

uuasheville_org

161203-Wading-In-Mystery.mp3

uuasheville_org

PoetrySundaySegment17-25-10.mp3

Every year for the last four years as we've had poetry sunday the number of. People submitting forms his grown. And one of the things that i found over the years and again this year. Is that when i start looking at the points as a whole i'm surprised. And how well they all fit together. How they tend to echo each other not just because of the theme. But all these poets writing. Alone. Tend to come up with. A. The booklet that you have in your hands that seems to be almost seamless. With the way the points flag. Our first year. Someone was a little skeptical and said what. What if somebody submittal limerick. Thinking that might not be really appropriate. Well someone who values rhyming poetry very much. Has submitted a limerick. And alton williams. Reminds us. The humor really is part of our spiritual growth. Good morning. Limericks. Limericks. Pics of the poetry world. And so with your indulgence i will cash three of these swine in front of the. Pearls of true poetry we're enjoying today. Cool prophets. Moses. Out of the bulrush came moses. Two promised jews sweet wine and roses. Ten commandments. Aubrey's. Moses parted the seas. Leaving pharaohs troops holding their noses. Jezebel. A feminist icon named jezebel was tossed out of window in jezrael. For her worship of baal. She was last heard too well. I shouldn't have let jews down the road to hell. Joshua. Joshua fought the battle of jericho. With canaan brought low. Israel's good2go. Who's all the cool stunts. He parted c1. World news. Moses pulled them off years. Well he makes it look easy. Writing a poem though it's not always easy. As rachel + discovers. With her poem. How to write a poem pretty. All the write-up home pretty. They say writing a poem is it really so hard just harder than stones thrown at my nose. It hurts my brain to write so darn well. So now both nose and head cry out in pain. I thought if i could get the words to rhyme make the words prettier than pretty. The rhythm of verse the m symbolism. Language that dances and lingers and time. I wrote about lost love. About aging about kitty cats and raveled minds. I searched deep inside to grab the feelings to write from the depths. And make it sound so right. I listen to others oso right. Height and wondrous. I love them could i borrow them make them mine i'll pretend just once maybe twice. Oh heck forever. You have plenty. My poetry my poetry come pretty and sweet. Make my readers happy sad and weak in the sea. I want to stun them and shock them make thinking obscure as feelings aroused and tears street the cheek. Don't we all envision our great poem one day. Being marked in the book. By god herself. On the throne all covered with velvet and silk. So palm i'm waiting and waiting till dawn. Please come fill my heart with words like hell. Till then chocolate sued my dreamy aching parts. Metrovibe poetry comes from family from family relationships. Those relationships in the lessons that they teach are often not easy as cecil boswell. Reveals in his poem. A viking funeral. I never knew my paternal grandparents my grandmother died two years before i was born. Her baby grand piano soon came to live in our home. Perhaps there were too many memories hidden beneath its broad lid for my grandpa to bear or perhaps. None of that mattered. I played with toy trucks and dolls beneath that resonant item. Furniture. I bumped my head and learn chopsticks. And called grandpa. Papa. When march my father and i paddled a canoe to the middle of a little lake and scattered papa's twelve-year-old ashes. Spaceworld catching the sunlight in the clearwater. My father had waited twelve years to say goodbye. I've never heard a tear in his voice before. I tried to get to know them both for awhile in my 30s is resistance matured letters from new england arizona alaska north carolina. Went unanswered. Or nearly so when october a few months before papa died he sent me a birthday card with almost two dozen words written in his shaky hand. 10 of those syllables quoted lowell. And what is so rare as a day in june. As for dad his notes widely-spaced rarely reach 2000 words usually scrawled on the envelope flap of moms letters. Once they sent me a photo copy of robbie burns. The baron you start all gone. Last night i burn papa's boat. Come to me that i might find time to patch it to make his dream float again and to sail i remember once as a small boy being thrilled and frightened is he he'll be healed over in a squall that pushed us together for a short spell in that flying dutchman. My grandfather. My father. My brother. And me. It strikes me this morning the papas choice of sailing class. What's another line of poetry. But i found little time to patchen unto sale. And papas dream simply rotted. Last night i held a viking funeral discovered that a 20-foot boat. Makes a long fire. I waited longer than dad to say goodbye. His ashes scattered. From the selfsame canoe. This morning i am studying the classifieds. Keyboard instruments. It is well past time to set this poetry to music. Our families also include not just our biological families. But the families we choose. And then those families are not just human beings as. Keith her and reveals in his poem read by cleve matthews. Let me take just a minute i'm in earlier to call your attention to a work of art that we have that is so appropriate to what we're doing today. Little blue. Play something by the flowers. And it's a work of art by rumi. Who's the poet. It was brought to us by bonnie hollow. Maidenform by keith heard who is sitting out there with his wife. Over there in the corner. In the field of spring grass the cow and her calf move slowly toward me. Step by cautious step. Where are they inspecting me. Stopping to sniff my scent inching closer. But always ready today nashua. Their unblinking eyes rivet. Cavs black nostrils flare. Then relax she tries to identify my smell. Hanging from one ear is an orange plastic tag. M300 is written on it in black. Her female calf. Has a blue ear tag. Hey 21. She bravely ventures closer is kids will. Inspirus back behind mom just in case. Hi stan motionless. Try not to spook them. When i boost. They now know i am not part of the shoulder high granite boulder beside me. Play post-rock closure. Until they are 6 feet away. Softly i speak. Good morning friends. Eyes fixed on me. Epinephrine. How are you in 300. What is your real name. These strange sounds are too alarming so she bolts. Her cat pounding behind. Stop not far away. Turn to face me. Lisa. Lisa's my name and they both will arrive. Raceway. Early morning sun. The natural world provides much of our inspiration for poetry. And a lot of that poetry comes from very close observation. Virginia bauer offers us a way of looking at the world. And some insight. If a shell could talk. If the show could talk. I'd ask you to tell me it's story. What lies beyond the scene expanse of sea. What's echart brought it here. Navigation. If it's shell could talk. I'd ask if its losses attainments discoveries. What goals did shells aspire toward. What perils lie between its sandy destination and it's setting off point. Are some shells rich. Or something. Are some shells famous. Do shells hope for heaven. Is there a shell hell. Are some shells name. Michel. It's a show could talk. I tried to trick it into unlocking the mystery. What does it all mean. Why are we all here. The shells like beer. It's a show could talk i'd like to compare stories. In shell realm must loved ones die. Do shells practice mindfulness in order to achieve peace of mind. Is there a shell master from other she'll seek out. In order to know the bliss of this shell moment. It's a shell could talk i'd ask it to tell me. All everything now forever at once. If a shell could talk.

uuasheville_org

140223-Wonder-More-Rev.-Mark-Ward-Sermon.mp3

The past began on a pack. Done colored soil leading into a grove of eucalyptus trees. Winding along the edge of a suburban development than into a narrow ravine. As we hiked we looked into the trees and occasionally spotted a bit of. Lottery motion up in the highest branches. But it wasn't until we reach the kind of gland at the center of the grove on the edge of the ravine. I'm fat quietly on the trunk of a fallen tree. Have you really began to see them. Clustered on branches and flitting lazily between them. Where. Hundred. Of monarch butterfly. They were soundless as they dived and sword or simply perched in the cool shade of a massive trees. Redolent with their primal. Debbie and i have spotted the coronado butterfly preserve just north of santa barbara california one of the largest wintering sites for monarchs on the west coast in our guide book. But we have no idea what to expect. What we found somehow was both less and more. Then what we expect. We'd watch those nature specials on tv about monarch wintering sites in mexico where millions of butterflies coat the branches of trees. And we had experienced butterfly exhibits at museums where dozens of butterflies dance around you in the air and even land on your clothes. This was nothing like either of those. The butterflies to be honest had no interest in us at all. And their numbers were far from overwhelming. And yeah. I found i wanted to hold my breath. Not quite believing what i saw. In fact i think it was the fact that this spectacle had been had not been jammed up for our benefit. Other than the town choosing to preserve the space and. Blaze a trail into it added to its magic. The human impulse to wonder we know is easily trip. Entertainers across the ages have perfected many ways of making that happen and we play along. It feels good to experience up wow every now and then. But we also learn to calibrate our responses. When that impulse is stirred. In the movie theater the chase scenes and special effects make our blood race but in the end we know we're being manipulated. Be careful though because there's something. Credulous about our impulse 21. Something in us that unconsciously wants to believe. What we've just seen. Parents are often surprised. Define battlefield me remember is heartwarming and fun contains a scene that strikes terror in their child. And i too have learned over the years to avoid certain kinds of films that i feel are likely to contain images i just as soon not have. Imprinted on my memory. What are increasingly visual culture we seem to be going the other way. With more and more graphic and heart racing images. Thrust into our field of view. Some people seek shelter from the assault on their senses while others increasingly seek it out. Finding in the stimulation away of enlivening. The dull routine of day today. Whatever our response it takes its toll on our impulse to wonder. Something our culture teaches us either to distrust. Or to exploit. Into this maelstrom comes mary oliver with her musings on a summer day. She begins her poem with these questions. Who made the world. Who made the swan in the black bear and the grasshopper. These are the questions not of catechism. With foreordained answers but of craigslist wonder. They're open and opening. They set their mind to meandering. A specific. At least the last one. Because it's addressed with an eye to the grasshopper that oliver has lured into her hand with a few grains of sugar. The one who. Look at that. It's moving her job back and forth instead of up and down the way we do. Wonder why that is. And. Ignore missing complicated eyes. I wonder what that must be. And then those. Pale legs that she uses to wash its face and the wings that. Carried away. She says i don't know exactly what a prayer is. But then she goes on to offer a suggestion. Strolling through the fields. Falling down into the grass. Lazing. Lively. Pain. Jeff lockwood. Knows a bit about grasshoppers. A member of a uu congregation in laramie wyoming. He's also an entomologist. An expert on insects. At the university of wyoming. In his book grasshopper dreaming. You know the grasshoppers are a topic of great interest for the farmers of the west. Primarily because they want to kill them. Grasshoppers after all can decimate crops. Tamaqua tells of a project he undertook shortly after arriving at the university of wyoming to learn more about how grasshoppers behave. The strategy was not very different from mary oliver. Assassin shortgrass prairie not far from laramie. And simply videotape to particular species of grasshopper. And not just on a sunday at summer afternoon. But for hundreds of hours. From june through september. As you might imagine spending that much time with grasshoppers gave him a keen insight into how they spend their time. Her behaviors their interactions and so on. In scientific paper he wrote afterward he was able to conclude categorical. But the main thing that grasshoppers do each day is. Nothing. That's right nothing. 443 minutes out of every hour lockwood found grasshoppers up did not appear to be doing anything. I simply sat there. Perhaps taking and scenery. Bratz digesting their food puts perhaps in zen meditation who knows. In his paper he called this. Resting. This of course makes no sense in our present-day theories of ecology. After all he said he discovered that the daily mortality rate of these insects was 2%. That means that only about a third of those born in the spring will survive to reproduce as adults. Wait a minute. Isn't survival supposed to be the prime instinct. What are they doing just sitting around. Jedi eating meeting whatever. Times a-wastin guys. But no. As lockwood puts if grasshoppers are incredibly blase about reproduction and feeding. No big fight for survival. Hey. Chill dude. Where lockwood goes with this is not to rewrite aesop's fable. Or maybe the grasshopper hit it right over the ant to begin with. But to invite the move to wonder. Looking over the landscape we humans can become so intoxicated with our ability to define and describe that. We can fail to acknowledge how much. Mystery island. Randomness surrounds our lives. As he puts it. Unable to manifest humility or reverence we conquer the void by dint of language and faith. Me to repeat that cuz that's a turkey. I'm able to manifest humility. Or reference. We conquer the void. By dint of language. And faith. Lockwood explains this by pointing to our proclivity to assign names to things. As in genesis where god invite adam to name the creatures that he has made wii fit what we experience into a framework that we create. Which enables us to explain it. This really has some utility but we fool ourselves if we miss the circularity of this process. And what it leaves out. Like make barn houses uncle. Who assigns a hand of providence to every event we can tie ourselves into not. When we insist. I'm jamming everything we know into a box of our own creation. The fact remains that every explanation we make is limited by the information we have. And the imagination we can bring to the task. Both are always finite and incomplete. In the end most of us learn to hold our conclusions lightly. We're even expecting that they will be adjusted if not contradicted in time. I've always felt that isaac newton made this point back. To myself he said. I seem to have been only a boy playing on the seashore. The first one myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or prettier shell than ordinary. Well. Great ocean of truth lay undiscovered. Performing. It occurs to me now that newton's observation really is not a lament. A ball he hasn't been covered but a declaration of wonder. At the beauty and mystery of the world. Jeff lockwood to finds a great sea of wonder in the resting grasshopper. Remembering as he puts it that in the great scheme of things. The grasshopper exists for no particular purpose. Just is. That's enough. So mary oliver would say. So i found myself saying about the monarch butterflies tracing loopy flights over my head. The sun at high noon stars in dark space from the him we sang earlier. Big just for no purpose. They simply are. The glad joys that he'll. Tears in our eyes. Belongings we feel the light. Price. Exist for no purpose. But to enliven us. Awakenings. I've been intrigued in the last year or so to follow the emergence of a group that has chosen to promote wonder is one of its founding principles. The sunday assembly. Which describes itself as a global movement of wonder and good. Has been gathering what it calls godless congregation. Mostly in britain and the us. The group was started by a pair of british comedians. Inconvenience with a call sunday events then include talks and music that they say. Celebrate life and seek to make the world a better place. Their motto. Live better. Help often. Wonder. More. The group's debt to unitarian universalism is easy to see we've been using the phrase celebration of life to describe worship since the 1950s. Do they also offer the twist at least when the founders were leading emerging worship with improv. Together with pop songs in the light. It's a fascinating thing to watch. I'm not especially concerned with the sunday assembly is a potential competitor. Organizing congregations its founders will discover his challenging work. Whatever you're grounded. But they do have some interesting ideas and perhaps a few things to teach us so let a thousand flowers bloom. Ian that do i appreciate how they are joining us and holding up wonder as a religious value. 30 years ago when our association came together to identify the sources of the rich and living tradition from which we arose. We began here. Direct. Experience of that transcending mystery and wonder. Friend in all cultures. Which moves us to a renewal of the spirit. An openness to the forces that create and uphold. The move to wonder is essentially the first step in our spiritual or religious lines. It is bad enough that steps away for a minute from the quotidian details of our daily comings and goings. And reaches for a vision of a hole. That opens us to a sense of a larger context in which we live. Thing about wonder is that it doesn't take. Diligent work to achieve it. In fact the opposite is usually the case. Strolling through new england meadow on a summer day or. A grove of you eucalyptus trees on a california suburb. It's the kind of thing that we all don't always give ourselves permission for. Good. Ants. That we are. Bisley checking things off our lists. But mary oliver doesn't let us get away so easily. Call me. She says of her rump through the meadow. What else should i have done. Everything died. Too soon. Do we have time maybe 2. Wander and wonder. A little more. Tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild. Precious.

uuasheville_org

150412-Counting-on-Chaos.mp3

My wife debbie has become a new practice whenever we go out on our walk. Periodically shields. Stop and jump. She's not jumping over or onto anything in particular just. Jumping. For the sake. Jumping. Come down real hard. She started this after reading that she might be able to reduce the gradual loss of bone mass in her hips and legs. By mildly stressing. Jumping. Something like 20 times a day it seems. Can hope the loss of bone density. Sometime something that's a particular concern for women. And in some cases even improve it. No of course i need to caution that i'm not prescribing this technique for you. You need to decide for yourself what your own physical capacity is a nomad. But. When west introduced this topic for the sermon he hoped i'd write. It occurred to me that debbie's jumping had already anticipated. It's an interesting idea that i find challenges some of the ways we think about how we organize our lives. So i welcome you to open your minds as you consider it. And reflect with me on what some of its implications might be for our own religious life. As well. So is wes said the notion will be working with the day is anti-fragility invented by nassim nicholas taleb. One-time financial trader who now teaches in a field he calls risk engineering. How it begins with the premise that the way we thrive and world full of uncertainties is not to flee from risk but to work with it. As i said it's counterintuitive for the way most of us like to think. We work to make our lives predictable and so protect ourselves against risk. But the lab argues that risk is not only unavoidable it can actually be a spur to grow. And make us. Stronger. So what is anti-fragility well. Beginning with the idea of fragile things that are fragile break easily. So that would seem to imply the opposite ought to be robustness things that resist being broken. But ellipses it a different way. Things that are anti fragile he says don't resist forces that try to break them they gain from them. So debbie's jumping is a good example. Our bones are strong but they're also at risk of breaking. A risk that increases as we get older. Our bones get more brittle to the point where. Any fall might result in a serious break. We can do things to reduce the risk of breakage we can keep ourselves fit. Make ourselves rebuff. Unlimited activities to avoid circumstances that put us at risk of falling. Maybe no parachute. Some of you have already discovered surprisingly serious false can happen just about anywhere. And even if we eat well and stay healthy. Our bones will still lose density over time. Apparently though. One way to slow or reverse that is to put this let's give our bones a little stress. Small jumps now can reduce the impact the big falls later. This is true of other systems in the body as well we know for example that exercise that works our cardiovascular system. Strengthen. Collab goes as far as to say that stress is how our bodies learn about their environments. And when we deprive ourselves of stress. The right kind of stuff. Something that we usually think of is stimulation. We increase our own fragility and imperil our health. He pushes to our inner lives as well. All of us he says need some stressors to make us wonder and think. Some pushback against our pat certainties. And ways to engage our hearts. If you are alive. Something deep in your soul likes a certain measure of randomness. And disorder. Indeed anti-fragility claims this is big playing. Looks like the secret of life. Or how it is that living things have injured across the millennia despite all the assaults from one extinction event after another. The trick of course is that wildlife maybe anti fragile. Individuals are tall. So for example the dinosaurs didn't enjoy the circumstances of their extinction but life. The perspective at 11 wants to see if they want to urge on us is to see randomness and uncertainty as inherent to anything we do. If i framed it today we should count on finding chaos everywhere. Again this is contrary to how we like to organize our lives we like to create nice islands of stability in our lives where things are predictable. We look for things that we can count on and organize what we do around them. But 11-cis this grasping predictable outcomes. Is an illusion. The parable of the chinese farmer that pat red is a good example of. Farmer's horse runs away the villagers consoled him. What a terrible thing. Farmers not so quick to make a judgment. I'm sure enough the next day his horse returns with many others. But this blessing turns out to be mixed when his son breaks his leg trying to train the horse bad luck. Thought maybe mop. Lisa sun out of the fighting that's suddenly erupts and back and forth. Terrible teaches that we need to be cautious about who how we assess. The implications of events in our lives. That means steering away from catastrophizing. Oh no we're doomed. Or smugly congratulating ourselves. Well we're in clover now. They do not. Another way of looking at the stories that we need to be careful about what we assume is predictable. For example none of the incidents in the parable were things that the chinese farmer was likely to predict. They are what celeb cause black swan. Events that are surprising and rare. Couldn't have been easily predicted from the. When such things happen. We're inclined to discount them is flukes. We need we don't need to attend to. But we want to pay attention to what appears to be predictable patterns in our experience. That we know from our own experience that many of the most important events in our own lives. From to from. The people we meet. How we make our way in the world. Are inherently unpredictable. What we tell ourselves otherwise going about planning lives as if we could control them and all this worries to lamp. He argues that acting this way blinds us to the variability in the world. And when we adopt this way of thinking which insists most of the world has. Major institutions say in it's the economy political life education and so on we get ourselves into difficult. We look for strategies to reduce risk to make our lives more predictable. How many possible within limits. But in the end there's no escaping the randomness and volatility. By seeking to remove the uncertainties the stressors that impinge on us. We in his words. Fragile eyes. Arline. We increase the chances that some black swan event will bring us closer to peril. So how does he suggest we respond do we simply leave ourselves to the whims of fate. Here's where he introduces another tournament came from his work in the financial markets. He calls it. Optionality. Essentially as i understand it. This means seeking out circumstances where there's a good chance that good things can happen. And taking advantage of them when they do. Self example. We can't map out the circumstances that might bring us the person who will be our life partner. But we can place ourselves in a situation where it's more likely we meet someone who would be. For example if you like hiking you might join a hiking club. You like. Music you might go to a jazz club or the symphony. You can't be assured that it will work out. What you improve your chances of a good outcome by your choices. Strategies that rather than fighting the randomness of events seeks to take advantage of it. We put ourselves in a situation where the number of positive options. Hoping that in the end we'll get something close to what we want. The trick to using this strategy though is we have to be comfortable about making mistakes. Play a string of loser dates until we find the right person. But what's important in this scenario is that what that the mistakes be small ones. Bad dates rather than say bad marriages. So that we have an opportunity to adjust our strategy. I don't know that club was a little sleepy let's try a different one. It is the tinkerers approach to making your way in the world rather than that of the master planner. And whether it appeals to us or not still having cysts. It is the way of things. We stumble around in a world we don't really understand. And through experience put together ideas of how things work that we continually tweet. Text. It's a viewpoint that sees mistakes or bad and outcomes simply has information. Bumps we find along the way that we have to overcome. But in the end each one makes us more adept at navigating the world around us. Stop course this is all fine. When we're aware of our mistakes and upfront with others about them. But what if we're insulated from our mistakes. Or able to keep them quiet. The negative affect our decisions doesn't go away it just gets passed on someone else. An example of this that wes mentioned is that that collect points to his that 2008 financial crisis. It was an episode brought about by people who made risky deals that brought them great gain at little personal loss. When they collapsed all the pain was passed on to others and it endangered our entire financial. So in any endeavor. Collab says we need to look out again to make sure that weird working with someone who is invested in the results. Who has what he called skin in the game. If i put myself at risk to some degree. I'm more likely to work for a positive outcome. And in doing so i reduce the fragility the overall riskiness of the endeavor because i'm helping. To share the load. Indeed in some cases i may go even further and sacrifice something of myself or my situation for the greater good. That itself would be an anti fragile act since it would take the pain of an individual to strength. The whole. So. What does all this have to do with the religious life. Well in keeping with our monthly worship theme of revelation our dance within for anti-fragility does offer up some truth that offer new ways of thinking about what we hope to accomplish as a congregation. First it seems to me that religion itself can be an intensely anti fragile enterprise. That's because through activities that take us out of our comfort zone it helps us grow. We come here and find a diverse community of people with different backgrounds different beliefs. Timber challenge in worship. Classes and small-group ministry injustice work that takes us into the community. To think about things that wouldn't have crossed our minds. Reflect on them and consider new ways of looking at ourselves and each other and the world. That is when religion is doing its job. It is changing us. And inviting us deeper into lives of compassion. Integrity. Service. It is also anti fragile and that we share the risk that we encounter. We care for and support each other. We attempt to the work of racing each other's children. We. Work with each other and illness or crisis. We celebrate each other's successes. And more each other's death. We affirm it in the covenant that joins us and reminds us of the part we each play in this enterprise. And like exercise. The more deeply we are committed to it. The more deeply we involve ourselves in it. The greater benefit it will bring us. Also our unitarian-universalism has some particularly unique anti fragile qualities. Our community is centered not in the fragile monolithic face steamer. To which we are directed to it here. A pass intended to guide us toward spiritual maturity. That is we are invited to reflect on and develop practices that help us know and name our core values. And our sense of purpose. It is work that we begin by going deep inside ourselves but that we complete in our interactions with others who join us in a similar spirit of exploration. Abnr service to the larger world. We do it in different venues that surah suit our own particular mini needs but each is grounded in a larger purpose. To say that we might count on chaos. Volatility uncertainty is merely to say we need not fear. As beings of inherent worth and dignity. Resourceful anti fragile creatures. We have evolved to cope with a changing world. In fact not only cope with it but employer to our advantage. It gives us enough confidence. So that we perhaps like the figure on the cover of our order of service. Might look into the abyss of uncertainty. And offer each other. A few notes.

uuasheville_org

mward100926.mp3

In the past couple of years as we have been weighing the notion of whether to change our name. We have turned repeatedly to this famous quote from shakespeare to reference our conversation. It was a clever choice. The phrase is literate. Provocative and catches people's attention. So today as we explore and worship how we might approach. This decision. I want to begin by exploring that passage from romeo and juliet where the phrase appears which. Diana red so capably. And consider how the quandaries that shakespeare opposes. Might inform our own. Discussion. The quote appears near the start of the famous balcony scene. The second scene of act 2. So far the future lovers children of feuding families. Montagues and the capulets. Have only spy to each other from a distance. But the spark has been kindled in each of. And romeo who rashly climbed the wall to the capulet family garden secluded below juliet's window hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Juliet's appearance brings us wound up a speech from romeo. But soft what light from yonder window breaks. It is the east and juliet is the sun. And so on. But juliet unaware of romeo's presence is vexed and anxious. Romeo romeo. Wherefore. Why. Art thou romeo. Why should that title which divides us be your name. Why should it be that the names we have been given the lineage we carry should separate us. Oh give up your name or let me give up mine that we may be sworn to the love we share. Greater than any name we are given. What's in. My name. Why should the names we give. Make such a difference. That which we call a rose is by any other name. Sweet. Oh romeo. Dorf vines. Give it up. And as recompense. Take oil. At that point you may recall romeo burst his hiding place. Going to accept juliet's offer and in his words. Being newly baptized. And so begins the tryst as we know that ultimately. It's worth reflecting man on what shakespeare might have meant to imply by his artful words. Recapture all the petty conventions that divide people from one another. The ways in which people often unfairly label or dismiss others or needlessly fear them. Naming cumbia way that we close our minds and cement are prejudiced. Yet it is also telling the shakespeare place these words in the mouths of a young person. Starry-eyed and inexperience. In the world. What's in a name. Much. Our names reveal who and where we came. They give us context for our lives. Family ethnicity nationality these things may not be controlling but they do matter. Face shape our identity what we care about and how we present ourselves to the world. These themes emerge in our discussion here as well. As a group of unitarian universalist gathered under congregational polity. We have the prerogative to call ourselves whatever we like. And what this religious body in asheville has called itself. Cuz actually changed over the year. So as to naming. Generally our predecessors followed what was prevailing practice. We were founded in may 1950 as the unitarian fellowship of asheville. That title marks us as among the early pioneers. In a movement promoted by the national unitarian leadership in the late 1940s. To start leyland groups and promising places that didn't have unitarian churches. It is said that planners struggled over what to call these groups. Call sling around the ideas of. Lodge. Club. And even sell. The title they finally hit upon. Was. Fellowship unit. Go fairly quickly the unit part feliway. And the groups were known simply as fellowship. Initially at those a headquarters had intended that this designation be transitional. Has the group began getting organized but then in time it would quote move up to becoming a full church. The leadership of this congregation certainly held that position. But there are others who disagree. For example in durham just east of here you can find the eno river unitarian universalist fellowship. A 44 year-old religious body about the same size as we are. In any expand. The writers of our history record that in 1960 to our growing congregation was. Awarded. Church status. By the unitarian universalist association. Becoming the unitarian church. In 1968 we embraced our universalist heritage and changed her name to what we know it has today. The unitarian universalist. That title puts us in the plurality of uu religious bodies. According to association statistic. Of the 1048 religious bodies in our movement. 476. About 45%. Use the word. Church. In their title. 269 28% use. Fellowship. 140 about 13% use. Congregation. 103 about 10% use society. 58r about 6% use the word parish. M33 or about 3% use the word community. And even that summary doesn't cover everyone. There are chapels. And meetinghouse isn't even a temple unity temp. Outside chicago. Some don't use a word to describe the religious body itself. For example our neighbors in brevard call themselves unitarian universalist. Transylvania county. Has paula robbins of our congregation mentioned in her article in our newsletter. Sample of east titles have history. Mostly call themselves parishes. Are the successors of early churches that serve serve geographical area. Often established by purity. New england. On the other side societies. We're often formed by groups seeking to distinguish themselves from the established church. Remember that even with the first amendment there was an established church in massachusetts until the 1830s. And parenthetically off in the church holding that privilege. What's unitarian. The society title also proved especially popular in the midwest. We're progressives unitarians sought to distinguish themselves from the stage church's bakkie. And of course weather week they call themselves churches fellowships congregations or whatever. Not everyone uses unitarian universalist in their title. Some maintain historic identities as just. Unitarian or just. Universalist some switch the order to universalist unitarian to emphasize their historical affiliation. To the universalist sign. Some choose different descriptors there are such as famous people. Thomas jefferson olympia brown ralph waldo emerson are all found in our names. Others favorite theological reference. Unity. Also. Gaia even existential. Still others raised up unique geographical reference. Fly. River of grass or spindletop and north carolina's on outlaws bridge. Universalist church. In debating how we name ourselves of courts. We must decide what it is we are naming. Is it. Ar building. Is it the corporate entity that holds are tax-exempt status. Is it the people who join and take part. In a sense it is all three but how these name how does it our name reflect. What are how we focus our energy. What do we hope to achieve to communicate. To fight for. By choosing the name that we do. Got the title church predominates i'm on unitarian universalist. Strongly reflects our christian heritage. The word traces back to the greek. Kuryakyn. Which translates as the lord's house. From the greek word kurios or lorde. The word church enter the bible when the new testament translators used it the stand for the greek word iglesia. Which in other contexts simply translated as assembly or gathering. So for example in the famous passage in matthew 16 where jesus says of peter on this rock i will build my church. The word translated as the greek iglesia. In the earliest days the churches of christianity were not so much distinctive buildings. Gatherings of people committed to a particular religious. And indeed many people still speak of the church. As a general way of describing the many denominations that are centered on the washer. Jesus. While each of our two threads unitarian universalist arose from within that path. It is clear that we left this. Christian consensus. In the 20th century. There are people's in our people in our congregation. Who identify their spiritual center as christian. Heading our purposes and principles. We are identified one of the sources from which are living tradition drawers as. Jewish and christian teachings with carlos to respond to god's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves. What has a religion. We are not. Christian. We embrace many different perspectives as well then include atheist pagan buddhist and more. So does that mean we can or should no longer be a church. Again no one has the right to tell us what we call. 4 summers. Church. Resonates. It is how we've always known this place to be it's how we want to describe our religious home. Besides here in the south it can be reassuring to relatives unfamiliar with this long name. Unitarian universalist. Just tell them i go to church. Some of us feel just the opposite. They like this community and what goes on here but if asked they would tell you that the very word church. Great saint mary. It may bring to mind dreary childhood sundays were parents forced march them into the pews. Or perhaps a rift later in life that alienated them from the religion they grew up with. Others were raised in different traditions like judaism where the whole culture around at church. Seemed alien if not outright hostile. They enjoy the community and put up with the name. But would prefer to see a change. So what's in a name. Again march. That's part of why this process of evaluating our name has taken so long. We've had a task force invite thoughts from the congregation and make a report to the board and the board has committed that at its october meeting it will decide on a process to complete this task. And bring the issue to a congregational vote. All this matters. Because as mark pellatini suggested in our reading. What goes on here is more than a few like-minded people gathering on a weekend morning to spend some pleasant time to. In our worship services on sundays. In our classes are covenant groups in everything we do. We are trying to accomplish some. We are hoping to awaken that spark of hope and compassion within each of us. To invite each other on a path to spiritual maturity. To help each of us open ourselves to the beauty and wonder of the world and see ourselves as deeply connected to all life. To all of that is. To help each of us see the work of justice for all people. S h word. There are many different ways we might name the building where this happens. The corporate edited committed to that work. The people who are doing it. But whatever name we choose. It should embrace the task that we set for ourselves. The hope that we embody. I want to conclude with one more point something that brings us back to romeo and juliet and carries us forward to my topic next sunday. Juliet may have been naive in dismissing the significance. Of how we named thing. But in the end it is not the naming but who we are and what we intend. That makes the difference. We come here from many different places and perspective. As the unitarian minister kenneth patton put it we arrived out of many singular rooms. Walking over the branching streets. But we gather with common purpose. To nurture the search for that which can have meaning in our lives. Interacting community for freedom justice. And love. Might. That which we now call a church by any other name. Bsweet. It's interesting to note that even among christian groups. The title church is falling out of favor for some. Just here in asheville i think of the jubilee community. A group with eclectic spirituality but still severed in christianity. Or the rock. An evangelical organization pitch. Too young adults. Or might we choose to hold on to a historic historic title long associated with this place. Each of these and many others are options before us. It's okay here is where i point to stand next week. We're at opick is. Covenant. Each time we welcome new members or friends into this congregation. I invite us to read together the covenant that you created for this congregation. This covenant lays out the promises that we all make in joining this group of people. Among the promises are that we will care for and support each other. That we will welcome the diversity of views and backgrounds here. That when we disagree. We will be open compassionate and trusting the. And where we find ourselves in conflict we will create healing by listening and speaking in the spirit of love. And be steadfast in support of our commune. However we name ourselves. More important will be how we act with each other. How we carry out our mission and the hope it embodies. This is the magic trick. Liberal religious community. Community we enter each week when we come to. Play. A place where time. Once measured by memories and worries. Instead is measured by each breath. By 8. By each heartbeat. Of those that are here. In a present.

uuasheville_org

151129-Tales-From-The-Borderlands.mp3

What is very good to be back in my home congregation again. Even if it feels. A little a little different because of many of the changes. They're wonderful. Even the very bright lights. That are in front of me right now. I thought for a moment it was the sunrise and then when i realized they weren't moving. Decided well. I can go with that. This morning i do have some stories to tell you. And i hope that i can do them justice. But i think. I won't be able to. Because there are stories. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands of people out there. That i don't even know. Trying to make their way. To a better life. In this country. Trying to escape. War and violence. Of course trying to make their way not to just this country. But any country that would have them. The stories i'm going to tell you this morning. Are about people trying to make their way. Across our southern border. And specifically across the border of mexico with arizona. But in some ways. As we know as we now know. The difficulties are universal. And. And it's tough. Tough for us here in asheville north carolina. I think. To turn our attention. And yet turn our attention we must. Even though we hear in this congregation. May be able to go about our lives. Without having to focus day in and day out. On the struggle to survive. We certainly know from the news headlines. For some of us from our work. For some of us from relatives. From people that we know. The struggle that migrants and refugees are facing. It was just a week and a day ago today just one week and a day it's hard for me to believe that i was sitting in a borderlinx dormitory. In tucson arizona. Arizona. I was with a group of people and we were generating a list of next steps. That we might take. After we had spent a week together. Learning about the immigration situation along the us mexico border. It was a truly amazing experience it was my delight to get to accompany 12 unitarian universalist who mostly held from the marion county unitarian universalist fellowship in florida. But also. 2 people from this very congregation one of whom is sitting here cindy threlkeld. As well as thomas blandford who's on our board of directors. And one very brave catholic woman who originally from the dominican republic with a friend of the congregation in florida. Unlike the 12 people who i was a cart 13 people that i was accompanying on this trip. I did not. Go. Thinking i'm going because i want to learn more about this immigration situation because i'm going to do something about it. I went because it was a job. Good job nonetheless. And yes i did want to learn more. But i did not go expecting to be transformed. In any particular way. When i've laid trips with a college of social justice before. My attention has focused on the country of haiti. This was new for me i didn't know what i would find. I knew it might be difficult. I'm difficult it was. But my life. Has been transformed by what i saw there. And by some of the stories i learned. I said this morning. Thank you for coming here to hear them. I will share just a few of them with you. Now i know that we have different opinions about legal and illegal immigration into the united states. The one thing that i think we all can do. Is learn a little bit more about the situation. Because i was flabbergasted by what i found. Give me your tired your poor says that poem at this base of the statue of liberty. Well not really. And you probably had an inkling of this. But it's one of my participants said it was up close and in our face there. Not really your tired and your poor not. If you're tired and you're poor or from the south. Not if it's 2015. Not if this country is caught up in a scarcity conversation. But others will come. And take our wonderful way of living away from us. Not. If we are afraid. Sitamun. The hundreds of thousands of people seeking asylum. One or two. Might be a terrorist. While we were in tucson. On friday night. The paris attacks occurred. And now we hear a different scarcity and fear conversation. I leave that to another sermon now and turn to my stories. And it's really tough cuz. I got a lot of stories from that week. It was an intense week. I'm going to try to get four out. I'll start with the story of the courtroom. The prisoners filed in. They were about sixty of them. They had chains around their ankles. Chains around their waist. That attach to the change around their wrists. They had on headphones. Through which translations were given to them of the proceedings. This was a district court. In tucson arizona. Judge markowitz presiding. These. Or people who have been caught. For a second time crossing the border. They've been caught a first-time sometime in their lives i don't know how long ago. And on this second time. They were now being charged with felonies. In return. For being willing to accept a sentence. In a plea bargain. That yes. They had committed this crime. They would be given a misdemeanor. And never be allowed to set foot in the united states again. Here's how this streamline trial happened. These 60 people were there. They would stand up in rows. Rows of 6 or 7. Their lawyers would accompany them to the bench. Behind the lawyers that they had just met. An hour or so ago. Some of whom could not speak a common language with these people. And they were asked questions. Like. Have you been coerced into pleading guilty. Do you come here duke accept this sentence freely and without pressure. Generally they were very polite. Even calling the judge sir. And in some cases. Even thinking when they received their sentence. Oven 32 180 days. In a privately-owned us detention center. After they hit each plead guilty. They filed out of the courtroom. Some of us in our group tried to catch their eye. Is this. As if we could somehow communicate in that short moment. Our sorrow. Our helplessness. I feeling that we wish we could do something for them. Some of these people have been found right at the border. At the cross. Some of them. Have been brought in from the desert. Would they have been struggling for who knows how many days. Before they had finally given up themselves. The border patrol. This was streamline justice. And it took about an hour and a half. The process 65 people. The justice of the united states of america. From there. I learned that they would go on. To be housed in a for-profit detention center. And while this is something that i've committed to learn more about we did not go to visit any detention centers. What i understood. With these detention centers. Are housing tens of thousands of migrants. And that we have seen. A travesty of justice in the united states because the government has guaranteed contracts. With these. It's a for-profit detention centers. As i recall some 80,000 inmates are currently housed. Detention. Now. And even more so at a cost to the taxpayers of $150 or more night. Billions of dollars are being spent. The house. People. Who are only trying to escape who largely trying to escape. Grinding poverty. Trying to create opportunity for families. Another story i'd like to tell you about is the wall. You look on the front of our order of service. You'll see a picture of part of the board of the border wall. This is the fence that we have built with mexico. Keep them out. Doesn't really keep us in so well there's there's a long line. Do you want to cross into mexico. There's some of our delegation including sunday. We're on the mexico side of the border wall what you can't see in this is not the black where the black ends that's not the top of the wall there's another five feet of solid metal above it that's that bright. Part that you. We went to agua prieta. Which is a small border town a little bit southeast of tucson. Used to be kind of one town. With the town of douglas arizona. And now this. Town has been bisected. On the south side of the wall. Define. Instances of grinding poverty. A lot of trash blown up against the wall. And of course. A large border crossing and apparatus. The wall itself is almost complete except for the water border. Which is two-thirds of the border with mexico the rio grande river. And even there there are things in the river. Keep people from crossing. But this. 25 ft high wall. Built a taxpayer cost. I'm almost four billion dollars not to mention ongoing maintenance. Is what keeps people. Largely from the south. I'm coming into our country. You can't get through those slats in some places it's actually a solid wall. And not only through human tragedy there but one of the things we learned is that the wall. Prevents animal migration of all sizes because in some places the wall is solid. As well as migration of flood waters. Which has led to catastrophic flooding through tampa and the town of nogales mexico where they had floods of 8 ft. Two years ago which tore up houses and streets. Cause a lot of economic damage. That we did not bother to pay for this is why they've now switched to having more of the. Deporres walls. Over 600 miles of it are completed. And i think there's about 40 miles left to go. As you can imagine four pieces of metal that high they have to be rooted in the ground. Concrete some five or six feet deep. The largest concrete manufacturer in mexico simek's company. Decline to bid. I'm pouring the concrete. For this very loud large project. This wall. Nunnally keeps my would-be migrants. From coming into our country. It separates families. It also separates friends. The holiday season is coming. Read the stories that we were told. But people on the mexican side of the border. Was. That they will gather at places along the wall. It's in christmas. Christmas carols. To one another. And in places where the wall is solid. They will alternate. Singing back and forth. Places where it is slatted like this. W able to sing in unison. Sing this wall reminded me. I'm another wall that we as americans were so eager to tear down. Not so many years ago. The berlin wall. And i wondered why it was that we have been so eager. To build this one. And so willing. To put money into it. Outside of tucson. As some of you might know. There's a lot of pretty nice places. To retire. In one of these. Fairly posh. Retirement communities. You know you can picture the place. Southwestern pueblo style architecture. Sand colored concrete nice xeriscaping. Beautiful. Are cacti various sorts and succulents in the yard. In one of those houses. Lives a couple. Named bill and kathy. Are there reasonably well-off. They left the computer industry a few years ago in california to live out here in the desert. In the desert of arizona. Hover with an hours of moving into their well-appointed home in 2005. There came a knock on the door. And there they found. Two latinos. Probably mexican they weren't sure. Dirty. Grimy. Barely able to speak english. Half-starved. Asking for water. Food. Which they promptly brought them in and gave them. They learned that in their new home. Out in the desert away. Tucson. Such visitors would not be uncommon. And i found other people. Like them. Who were sympathetic. I'm formed a group called the green valley samaritan. To this day. The samaritan. Patrol in the desert. They leave water in the desert. Believe boxes. With supplies. A blanket. Blankets. Isn't it hot in the desert it's hot in the day but incredibly cold as i just experienced. Incredibly cold when the sun goes. The green valley. Sanctuary are samaritans. Have a cup of coffee. Four-wheel drive vehicles. They go off road. Occasionally. They have found not people. The bodies. They also have found boxes. Of. Things left behind. By migrants. Trying to make their way north. Baby shoes. Prayer booklets. Rosary beads. Little slips of paper with addresses. Phone numbers. It was bill. Who took us deeper into the desert. On foot. We walked about a mile. And he took us to two places. Two places where crosses have been erected. They're on the ground. And stones laid around them. And in spanish said no name. Cuz the remains that they had found there were never identified. But the remains were of a teenage boy. And of a middle-aged woman. In the desert. Apparently it's not uncommon for people to perish. As they try to make this long long crossing. Made longer and more difficult. But ever tightening border. Which pushes people further and further to the remotest areas. And the friend. These small shrine. Have been erected by volunteers. The family. Do not know that they exist. Somewhere out there in mexico. I'm leaving guatemala. Honduras. For el salvador. Families. Are still wondering what happened. Or maybe the fam families or are are in california. North carolina. Still wondering. What. Some migrants. Have lived in this country. Can years. 20 years. Maybe 30 years. They started businesses. Had families. Work hard. But always there's a shadow of fearfulness if they are undocumented. I've learned it right now in north carolina there's about 350,000. Undocumented. Mostly for. These undocumented people. Have to be careful. Only the most. Foolhardy risk-taking when's i don't know what you call them. Pay taxes. But they do pay their taxes because they hope that if and when they are caught. Their history of paying taxes. Will count in their favor as they seek asylum here. One such person living in tucson. A couple of years ago was going through she was on her way to pick up her children from school. And as she was on her way she encountered some traffic cones you know how it is for this construction on the highways like which way do i go which way do i go. Well she did that. And immediately there was a patrolman behind her. Pretty soon. She found herself with a final deportation order. Rosa had to young children. No husband. In tucson. And so. Indica and she had many. Citizen friends. And. She knew that were churches that there were churches in tucson offering something called sanctuary. And so in consult her lawyer went and talked to the southside presbyterian church in tucson. Who just had someone in sanctuary. Where he would not be deported. Safe from federal agents and entering. The grounds of the church. I had just had someone in sanctuary for a month. And although they were reluctant to take somebody else. When they heard roses story. They decided okay we can do this again. We will take you in another person under our wings and get offer them sanctuary. Safe from being deported. Deported. And they steal themselves for a long months of waiting and. Having somebody live in the church. Showers and cooking family coming and going exedra. And doing a nightly vigil. For her safe. Released guaranteed not to be deported. Well it wasn't one month. It wasn't 2 months. It was actually 15 months. Aurgroup. Was slated to go and talk with rosa. And the pastor. The southside. Presbyterian church. About their experience of giving and being in sanctuary. We were slated to visit. On thursday of the week that we were there. However on wednesday. Of the week that we were there. Rosa. Locked out of sanctuary. With assurances from immigration and customs. Enforcement. That she would not be. Deported. We went and talked with the minister on friday morning. She meant she told us. What an experience it had been. To be part of such a community. That would stand with rosa that would stand with their small church. 100k. 100 people. That would offer sanctuary not just for rossa. But would raise their voices about the inhumanity. Of the immigration system. What was happening. But you said it was hard for her we were the first group. We were the first group that the pastor had spoken with. Since she hadn't had rosso by her side. Roasted. Speak for herself. Rose that's a translate. Asked. If they would be ready to take. Another person into sanctuary again. She was thoughtful about it. Barry maybe. But give us a few. When we were on the mexican side of the border. We were taken. The something i was very excited about. Which was a coffee roaster. I know sharon wood. Into. Tia coffee roastery is called. Cafe justo. Cafe justo. Was started. As a way. Help. At least a few migrants. Find work on the south side of the border. So they wouldn't feel compelled. The crossover. What we found there was a thriving operation. This operation has been helped by micro-grant. A micro loans from the united states. And it turns out of all things. A missionary from greer south carolina right next to where my conch. They are buying coffee from the southern part of mexico at a fair price. Which is necessary. Was necessary to start cafe schuster because the founder who started it came from chiapas. One of the great sources of northern northern migration. She coffee prices have plummeted in the 1990s there. Plummeted. Because of world trade. Agreements. And they can no longer make a living there with farming. He himself came to the united states experienced what it was like to be a landscaper. In florida. And eventually realized that this was no life. He came back to the bordertown. And in consultation. With the missionary. Started. The coffee roastery. The coffee roastery is growing by leaps and bounds. And it offers hope. And a way forward. And they have set up several cooperatives and caught in chiapas the buy coffee from the south. It's a very different model. The maquiladora factories. That we saw. On the south side of the border. As part of the 1994 nafta trade agreement. Trade was opened. This was sold as an agreement that would even the environmental playing field. Require. Other countries in north america namely mexico. To step up to the plate with regulus regulatory practice. In reality. At least here in north carolina we know a lot of our manufacturing with southward. In factories that are certainly less regulated than here in the united states. And factories. Which take advantage. A people from very impoverished regions in the south coming north. And pay them a wage to be sure. Go to very low wage. We spoke with a family who had moved north to get work in one of the families. We also went to a local supermarket. And did some of the math. We found out. That. Equivalent to the pay there and the hours worked. It would cost someone living along the border there and i'll go 382. $9 for a dozen eggs. $40. 4 box of diapers. $12 for a gallon of milk. And yet this family. Welcomed us into their home. The husband who had been working in the factory. I found another job. Doing the night shift at a local grocery store. And this boded well for the. I could tell you some more stories. But i think you get the idea. They're difficult stories there. They can be backed up with the statistics. But it helps to know that there is a human face. On everything that there is going on. While i'm speaking here this morning at my congregation in spartanburg. Dr. james hands jason hanson who's a professor of history at furman college is giving. The service they're the sermon there. He's talking about the syrian. Crisis in europe. Having received a preview of his talk i know he begins with. These refugees have a heritage of hate. They could never become loyal american. Let us not be modeling our sympathies as charity begins at home. We must protect our own children. This is not a quote out of the mouth of a recent politico. Response to. The question of syrian refugees. This is a quote from 75 years ago. Arguing not to accept a boatload of 987 jewish. Refugees from hitler's germany. Into the u.s.. And as we all know. The boat. And so many others was turned around. I'm not sure that it's a good idea. To conflate. The immigrants situation. Assyria. The refuge is refugee situation. With the one. From our southern border. I have a lot more to learn. But what i know i need to do. Is this. To learn about the plight of these refugees. Small places. Seeking a home in this kind. What i have already learned is. Situation is a gordian knot. So many facets. And the political calls. Fearful calls to build a wall. To the very real economic interest. Companies who would profit by imprisonment. To our economic system in the us. Which relies on cheap labor. And cooperates with an illegal system. Decriminalization. Which plays on the fear and the exception. But gets people whipped up in a frenzy. They're all the humanitarian reasons i can think of that i need to learn more. And finally admits it all. Pharmaceutical place. I also reflect that the people who have my coloring. My history. My language. May just be sitting on a powder keg. It won't blow up necessarily underneath us. But underneath our children. These immigrants that would cross into. Our country now. For the cross. And live their lives here. Or to cross and find work. And go back home. Will remember how they are treated here. Immigration. Population in north carolina. Has more than doubled. In the last. 15 years. And i expect it will continue to grow. What will these people remember. About how they were treated. When they came here. What will the syrian. And your remember. About how they were treated. When they were barely hanging on. Hoping so. For survival. As one of our participants. Actually thomas. Arizona said. We are concerned about so many is. How do we possibly prioritize. I don't know the answer. But what i do know. Is having seen. More about the immigration.

uuasheville_org

140420-Out-Of-The-Ordinary-Easter.mp3

Power. Sense of place class had its april field trip this last week. To the north carolina arboretum. It couldn't have been a pretty good day for a tour of the gardens and a walk through the woods. We had an eye out especially for those ephemeral spring flowers. Here and there we found a few. Yellows paint white. Tiny flowers that pop-up briefly out of the leaf litter. Before dying back without a trace. Before the tall trees overhead leaf out and blanket them. In shadow. This time of year. Wife leaves last falls leaves are drained of color and. Things in general have a beaten-down. Snow's winsome. Frigid temperatures. We know of course that outside of our site there is a lot going on. Traffic is running in the trees and tiny trend rolls everywhere are reaching out as the daytime temperatures rise. That's the thrill of a walk in the woods at this season. Each day something new emerges sauron foal. A seemingly dry and colorless landscape is shot through with the electricity. Half-life. Out-of-the-ordinary the blah the unexceptional. Something. Structure. Amazing. Fresh. Is entering the war. And so with that image before us once again we enter into the easter story. That great tale of death and resurrection that centers the christian tradition. It's a story that lives with us as unitarian universalist as well. By virtue of our historic roots in that tradition. Although our practice is to give that tail up different take them christian churches. As frederick may elliott. Historic unitarian leader put it more than a half-century ago. When i go to church on easter i expect to be reminded of the elemental truth. 30mm this universe of ours. With all its hesitancy and timidity and tragedy. The tides of life are flowing. Fresh manifold and free. What speaks to us isn't the magical story of bodily resurrection. Which is dominated the christian narrative for. The past millennium or so. As much as the need for reaper. Just like the forest floor in early spring we find x in our own lives when we feel beaten down. Circumstances some of them of our own making. Shut us down and caused us to draw in on ourselves. Weekend. Quarrelsome. And cynical are just. Stock. Easter serves as a reminder that there are stores within us. Within the world around us that can lift us out of our funks and offer a way forward. No throw those who will say that this is just those you use again messing with a established religious tradition. Picking and choosing the parts they like and leaving the hard parts behind. Seriously though. Thanks to recent scholarship. We've learned that our take on the easter story connect an interesting ways with the perspective of early christian commune. Several years ago rebecca parker president of starr king school for the ministry one of our seminary. And a colleague rita nakashima brock. Rocephin and studying early churches they found that for hundreds of years. The image of jesus was very different from what appears in many churches today. Instead of the crucified christ whose death is recompense for humanity's thin. They discovered a figure with welcoming arms. Inviting followers into a luminous. That was strongly reminiscent of the mediterranean landscape where they were situated. Parker and brock realized they were looking at a vision of paradise. But not as a distant heaven. As a world of those people's experience that was infused. With brilliant energy. Paradise in other words was not another world. It was a way of looking at this world. They had been lost to its peak. The purpose of worship and other dimensions of community life then we're to restore just lost connection to a sense of that sacred. And it was communities who sought to live by teachings of justice and compassion. Probably dwelling on jesus death. They're offering.. Parker and brock argued that there was a strong parallel to our work as religious communities today. Communities that celebrate the beauty and wonder of this world while seeking the cultivate practices of what they called ethical grapes. That is living in such a way that is attuned to what is beautiful and good. I said and responses to legacies of injustice. Concurrence of harm. With this view in mind easter could offer us the opportunity to praise that which upholds life than to call forth that enough that awakens hope. Encourage. To act in such a way that we might bring such a world into being. And learn to live rightly with the earth. Candy shop. Okay okay sure sounds great. But i often a whole lot easier to say. Then to do. Again back to that funk. Praise life awake and hope live rightly with the earth and each other. It's just a lot of words. Unless something connect with us directly. So here's where this business a blessing. Is john said earlier this traditional meaning of blessing isn't packed for in the name of god. I'm weary though if anyone who presumes to speak or act on behalf of god or any other image of divine authority. For we fragile fallible sort. The source of our authority. He's our own authenticity. We speak for ourselves and only ourselves yet if we are fully present. And true to the best within us. We are capable of conferring on each other gift that might awaken us to the wonders of the world around us. To life abundance. To the ethical grace. Appliance together. The author barbara brown taylor who is also an episcopal priest and professor of religion. Right step for many people the prospect of conferring a blessing is daunting. Who am i to do such a thing. So she invites them to begin with something simple. Say. Lying on the ground. The first thing to do she says has to pay attention. Did you make the stick she asked no you did not. The stick has its own story. If you wouldn't i have the time to figure out what kind of tree it came from the night would be a start to showing the stick some respect. It is only a stick in the same way that you are only human after all. There is more to both of you than that. Is it on the ground because it is over because it has suffered damage. Cuz i've been lying there for a long time or did it just lamp. Is it fat enough for you to read the growth rings. The stick has a history you can't know did a bird once make a nest on. What was it like. Three part of that deep mystery of drawing water up from the ground against the pull of gravity. Call whatsapp to launch green leaves from his buds. In the spring only to have them drop off and float to the ground in the fall. It has artery. Not so very unlike yours. And tissues that su stand there are breaking down returning to the soil from which it sprang. What might you say. Bless you stick for being you. Bless you for turning soil and water and sunshine into. Wood. We only need to remember. Barbara brown taylor footsie. The 52 blessing things. Is to realize that they beat you to it. Blessing is ultimately an act of deep appreciation and once you are in the posture of doing it. The act redounds to you. The respect the care that comes from a blessing speak. Turn on plum death depth. Within you. It is the place from which this path to plenitude. The john donahue spoke of in our reading. Also connect this in another way to the easter story. The scholars are john's almanac crossing has examined much of the historical record around the stories of the bible and he notes that as lyrical as the death and resurrection narrative he is. There is nothing historical in the finding of the empty tomb. The most that we know from the record he said is this. There was a movement of people organized around a man named jesus. He was exercise executed by 40. What's the movement continued and spread. This final point. Crossing argues is the key one. And how it did that is the subject of one of the final episodes on the gospel of luke. In the story of the walk. To emmaus. Inner tube. disciples are on the road leaving jerusalem shortly after jesus death. Talkin about all the happen. At some point without their knowing that they were joined by a figure they don't seem to know. But later identified as jesus. Who talks with him and tells him to continue his teacher. Crossland argues that the story is intended not to be his store. But apocrypha. In his words a metaphoric condensation of the first few years. Of christian thought. And pratt. All-in-one parabolic afternoon. Nsmt says jesus opened a path of plenitude for his followers. A blessing to help them see the world in a new way. 5th waves on in the gift the easter gives us the reminder that death is never the final answer. There are as frederick may elliott put it. Tired of life. Flowing. In french. Manifold & free. Just look at that greenpoint's poking through the soil in your garden. All. Ready to be employed if we can imagine ourselves as agents of bringing the future about. A many of us this is perhaps the greatest reach of all. Who am i. Pretty small. Butt face. Life abundant living with ethical grace wow yeah. But. I mean well we all have our own reasons why we think that path is a bigger lift. Then we're capable of. But more or less they all fit under that classic facebook facebook post. Today you scribbled a few words on a slip of paper. Crammed it into a paper plastic egg drop the egg in a basket intending it for one of our children to find and read. What was that. How was it to imagine your words being read or perhaps read to. How will that child receive it. I don't know. But i can tell you from what i've been told in past years that our children are kind of amazed. By this gesture. We may not understand the words. But they get the gist. A step or two above the blessing of us. It is a moment of meeting. The communicate abiding. Hear that everyone of us is in the position to offer each other in many ways. You may not be able to move mountain. But you can communicate. Abiding care. And hey. Remember there's another one. Flushing. Waiting for you. I'm a colorful plastic egg that are children. Secreted somewhere in san. Appalled. How will you read that. What will you do with it. How will you let it. Annie dillard painted in stark county. Nobody here but us chickens. No one else to do all that heroic work that needs doing. Remember the image from wendell berry's poem that i offered us a meditation amid our fears and tormented dreams there is within us. The capacity to see beyond our outcast state. To make ourselves available to that well of abiding care within us that connects us with each other. A source that if we will let it can. Bathe. Like a quiet summer rain. It is a weakening and discoloring. Idea. The rustic people knew god personally once upon a time or even new selflessness or courage or literature but. Too late for us. The absolute the ineffable however we might understand that unfolding possibility that moves like electricity. In us in all things. Is available to everyone in every age. And we can go about our busy lives. Knowledgeable and important. Fearful and self-aware. We well-meaning folks who nonetheless sometimes cut corners. Who promote and scheming to see. Weehoo long to flee misery and escape death. We are all that we have. To bring it into being. Our destination is not clear. But it's john donahue put. We can trust the promise. Of this opening. And unfurl our spell. Into the great.

uuasheville_org

150419-The-Soil-Of-Life-Earth-Day.mp3

So where do we come from. We. Funny querulous. Fragile human beings. One of the oldest questions on earth. The people have been asking as long as there's been people around. They looked around at this world of ours that all the things in it. Plants the animals. And they became telling stories that helped them in matching. How they might answer that question. Did you know what's an interesting thing that. The more we look back at the stories we find similar themes in them. And one of them has to do with soil. Our neighbors the cherokee imagine that the world began by an animal swimming to the bottom of the ocean and grabbing bud and bringing it up and starting the world that way. Yoruba in africa imagine that the sky-god gathered some soil on a shell somehow and brought it down to earth. What's the story that we know best most of us. Comes from the hebrew scriptures. Imagine to beginning where everything was dark and kind of confused there was no substance no nothing just somewhere in there though was god whatever god maybe. And suddenly god whoever it was said let there be light and boom there was light everywhere from the darkness. Emily said well i think i'm going to sit there but let there be land and water to separate things so he separated the land from the water. And then you decided that was fun. And then all kinds of different animals put the animals. I wonder what i can do with this. Dantdm playing with it and manipulating in different ways. Maybe give it arm saying. Chatham. Home from work so i can make it kind of like the way that thing looks. Blew into its nostrils and suddenly it was alive it was a human being. Amazing story. Now we tell the story to each other in english but if you were to read it in hebrew. You would learn some interesting things. To begin with you discover that adam the name that we give to the first man is also the hebrew word for. And the dust of the earth the hebrew word for the dust of the word earth is. Adam. Someone offends the words of the story also repeat the story. Just as a man was made from the earth. Adam came from adamo. Even though this is just a story science tells us that it is essentially right about where we came from. We humans came from the earth. Billions of years ago and there was nothing but rock and water on the earth was no living thing. But over time the rock began to break down and chemicals. Favorable to life. I'm in from somewhere in there somehow we don't know how or where or why. The first living thing microbes too small to see a rose up and they in turn your volume into more complex things and it's those things die they became part of the soil and fed other things. Plants and animals in. In the end. and who knows what follows right. And when you look back at the story of life. You like to talk about all the amazing things that are found there were dinosaurs. Burns biggest trees woolly mammoth saber-tooth tigers right. And all of this we can look at their bones in the museum. But i'm even greater thing is that everything that ever lived. That's given to us is something that we don't see in the museum. The soil is what carries their gift to us because it holds all the nutrients that living things take into their bodies while they're living. And if they give back when they die. It's another part of that song remember from the lion king the circle of life. Life is a circle not just because each generation passes on to the next. What we get from our moms or dads and give to our children. But also because each living thing passes something onto the future just by living. Just like being here. And of course i wasn't important place where that gift is held and passed on so that's a good reason to protect soil to keep from being poisoned or washed away. So. Who knows what we might find in soil like this. All kinds of stuff. They say that. One teaspoon of healthy soil. Remember those tiny microbes so small that you couldn't see them. One teaspoon has about 50. Google space. And here's the amazing thing we don't even know what most of them are. We haven't been able to identify. we're not even sure what they do. But we figured that mainly what they do probably is chew up organic matter. If the plants and animals and by doing that release things into the soil so that the plants and animals can use them. Frankly we don't like to talk about. Part of what enters the soil. Jesus. All of us are going to die. Sooner or later our bodies will join those of the dinosaurs. And every other living thing that has ever existed. And you know that's an interesting thing cuz that's something that we take note of here in our memorial garden in the back back there. Yeah she's a people in this congregation who died we put in the soil. And we speed ongoing life. We say that one of the ways that we as a congregation think it is good to live. Is with respect for the interdependent web of existence of which we all are apart. This is a part of how we are in that web. Billions of years ago our tiny ancestors in the chain of life arose from the dust of the earth. Eventually evolved into us. In our lives we take advantage of all the earth gives the plants the animals with beautiful world around us that is our home. And then one day. He returned to it. How amazing to be park. Great circle. And here it is in the soil. It's a part of our lives. The feeds us that makes flowers grow. Recycles all things and makes them available to the next generation of living thing. Like surfing life. Into. Well. Eternity. As far as we can tell. How about the fort worth holding on to. Any minute i want invite you into a time of silence so we can be together. And reflect on all the earth day is with us. Invite you to. With that as you can. Think about where it takes you. And after we're done when the when the music comes on i invite you to come down and pick a candle and we can. Light a candle of jorah concerning our earth talus that we. Created here today you'll see we're going to use that alinta. In a different way in a little bit. But for now let me invite you to to be there with us. Reflect on how to our very bodies we are connected to all things. This is where we came from. This is where we belong. We are now. And ever will be. Home. Azmark share the oldest stories tell us we came from the dust and to dust we will return. But dirt. Different. Dust is fine sometimes it's even sterile. Dirt on the other hand is made up of messier stuff. Cedar is mostly bits of weather rock broken down to dust. Who played and san. The most important part of dirt. And what keeps it from being just bits of clay and dust. Sand is life. And death. Organic matter from dead things like leaves and roots and bugs and yes larger animals to make up the actual good stuff in dirt. That might be the breath of life that god gave dust. Nothing would grow in it otherwise without organic matter from once living things. As they decay and breakdown they release vital nutrients and they make what we call. Soil. And living creatures play another role. Animals like malls and earthworms move dirt around putting air and more organic matter let's see. Have a car that has the scientific definition on it that's okay. Here it is. Make sure i get this right. Poop. That's right. Poop into the dirt. And that makes even more of the good stuff that makes things grow. Don't like all this messiness. We can accept that we came from dust and it will go back to it. Ashes. Stone the sound mythical and the biblical and storied they sound. Symbolic. It's just so. Common. All that messy stuff is in dark makes us a little uncomfortable to get dirty and if we did sure not stay that way. Tell me the truth. Who is mama got mad when you came in from outside and we're all dirty how's your hand. And did any of you or do any of you have parents who now say something like. Get out there and i don't want to see you back in this house until you're good and dirty. I see the kids of the hippies raising your hand. And parents little compassion i've got three. What does it mean when you show up somewhere with an unclaimed child. What did i say. Bad parents. You didn't care enough. You let your child be dirty. Dart means more than mud or dust we say someone has a white-collar job if they don't get dirty when they work and we say someone has a brown collar job if they do and guess who gets paid more. We say dirty diapers and soiled clothing when we met stuff we don't even want to go into the details. Someone has a dirty mouth a dirty mind or dirty hands that means they said something thought something or done something wrong. Really wrong and if you have the dirt on someone that means you know what it was and if you dish the dirt on someone that means you tell about it exposing them. Are words reflect a deep discomfort with soil and dirt. We have some work to do around those moral values. And we know values change. Our shared hunter-gatherer ancestors might be rolling in their graves here allen comfortable we are but the victorian part of our shared american social culture is happy. Badar strain psychological resistance. Tudert. Way to get comfortable. As comfortable as a pig in mud my granny would say. With dark. You see it needs us to get over this whole obsession with clean thing. Only a few feet of dirt on this whole earth you don't have to dig down far to find solid bedrock and that won't grow anything. Maybe volcanoes. Yet every terrestrial plant from moss and ferns to potatoes and carrots from dandelions and roses to kale and strawberries to read with all depend on those few. Inches really. After. It's been called the ecstatic skin of earth. And yet. We treat it like. We sprayed with pesticides and we dress with antibacterial chemicals that. Kill the parts of the soil that are actually alive. But i don't want to scare you cuz all that can change. We just need a new story. We know the old story about dark not the one marked talked about the city people came from it or it's cleaner first cousin duh. But the one we've heard from the cradle on about how dark is bad. What about the news stories. Easy scientists are still learning all the time and we unitarian-universalist like that because we say that revelation is not sealed. We're always learning more. And we also talked about our seventh principle this says we're all connected somehow so when scientists find out new things about dirt that gets us pretty excited. What are the new things scientists are learning is that dirt is good for us. Not just because it grows our food and keeps down the trees roots. I mean good for us like sunshine blackwater like vitamins. Back home cooking. Turns out that children who get dirty or have less allergies and less asthma as they grow. True story. Toddler eating dirt when you put them down outside the people still put babies down on the ground maybe in asheville. Turns out the tiny bits of ancient dead creatures some of those microbes that mark talked about. Funny pics of ancient dead creatures in soil create something called endotoxins that when ingested. That means eating. Stimulate our immune system you know we're starting to think about microbiome. Immune system lives in our guts and it turns out that the human evolutionary blueprint seems to be some dirt. Needs to be added into the mix to make the immune system strong. Would your mother-in-law believe this. And then what about gardening having if you love gardening love the process of gardening. How do you feel when your garden aid. Feel good. We get done gardening you feel good to have it if you wear gloves when you're gardening. But you might not want to answer you hear this. It turns out that there's something inside well we're still learning about that increases serotonin levels. Soil is a natural antidepressant. So maybe that helps to explain why it makes you feel so good to garden. Like i said dirt can make us happier and healthier it's good for us. Church. We have some very nice communion this denomination. No we don't all trap with transubstantiation where we believe that bread and juice is turned into the blood. And the flash of christ. But we can all agree that our unitarian universalist ceremonies of water communion and flower communion and it's some churches bread communion. That is so nice aren't they. Everyone bring something in and they share it and you feel like something's happening some kind of transubstantiation we bring all that together. Without all the blood stuff complicating the niceness. And they are beautiful and they're lovely and their fee logically meaningful in our faith. But i think it's time that we laid the way as the heretics we unitarian universalist are known to be. And creating. A dark communion. We know dirt happens. We know that dirt is what happens when you live a life joyfully voraciously authentically when you are too busy cooking food and loving people and dancing and making things to keep every corner spotless every moment of the day. We knock it off our shoes we wash it off our kids faces we sweep it off the floors. But it's a part of us. And it should be. It's a powerful thing to forget and dismiss. Dirt. Is foundational. The ready or we are to put down roots and to grow. It's a bloom and let ourselves go to seed in a world that needs a. The red ear we are. Define. A nice pot of dirt. And work. A fight says. Tomtom whoever-you-are. So i want you to know that today you bring your imperfection. You bring your truest most authentic self to this face. And today i hope some of you. Also brought your darts. We've all got it it's part of what makes us human beings. So. Yes that some of you have brought a little bit of your dart. Little bit of the store while you where you find your peace where you find your power where you find your joy. Happy from your garden maybe from your playground maybe from your favorite hiking trail maybe from near the resting place someone or something you love. And maybe if you forgot someone reminded you took it from the grounds of this church this morning. And that's okay too because this too should be a place that brings you power and peace. So i'd like you. Now. Come on down bring your dirt. Share with this community of faith and trust that we will do something miraculous and transformative with it. Please join us now in our very first. Start commute.

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151004-Learning-From-A-Watchman.mp3

The voice is a familiar one. Like that of a relative who surprises us every once in awhile with fascinating chatty phone call. Updating us on the family gossip. Relating some slightly scandalous old stories. And puzzling over all that we lose in the relentless passage of time. I recognized harper lee from the moment i opened her newly-released novel go set a watchman. To be honest i wasn't sure at first that i wanted even to buy the book. Given all the controversy over the circumstances of its appearance. Apparently some fifty years. After it was written. Did she really write it. Did you really intend to release it. What was she bullied into it by relatives seeking to enrich. Tri-state. I played they plead ignorance to all those questions. Step one intrigued me. Were the disclosures from its first perfumers that the book would tell us something new and disturbing. About atticus finch. The iconic figure at the center. Of please towering master p. To kill a mockingbird. I might as well admit up front that i am among the devotees of atticus finch. At least the part of it i think comes from my admiration of how expertly gregory peck. Realize that role in the movie. But really harper lee gets the credit. For the leveling lovingly drawn portrait of the small-town lawyer who against the council of his townsfolk to friends and african-american man wrongly accused of raping a young white woman. It's not just atticus's courage that makes him such a compelling figure. But also his decency and humility. Mockingbird. When everleigh's narrator. Atticus's daughter jean louise known as stout. Gets worked into a fury over the guile and narrowness of her townsfolk. Atticus is the voice of compassion. Always inviting her to walk in another person's shoes and be slow to judge. At the same time when principal law duty are on the line. Atticus is a tower of strength. And rectitude. It made him a widely-held figure of respect. Probably no scene in the book speak to that more powerfully than the one that closes the trial. And what's the black man he defended so expertly. Is nonetheless convicted. Atticus was among the last to leave the courtroom after the verdict was handed down in his client is led back to jail. Among those remaining are dozens of african-americans who were relegated. The courtroom balcony. Athlete elephant in mockingbird from scouts perspective. Sitting in the balcony next to reverend sykes the african-american preacher. Someone was punching me. I was reluctant to take my eyes off the people below us and from the image of atticus's lonely walk down the aisle. Christine lewis. I looked around. They were standing. All around us in the balcony on the opposite wall the negroes are getting to their feet. Reverend sykes voice was distant. Jean-louis. From the beginning of watchmen. It's clear that things have changed. Beginning with jean-louis. Some 15 years after mockingbird. If she's in her twenties. Living in new york city. She says that her father suggested the move after she graduated from college. She's not sure though whether it's a place you can make her home. At the same time on the train ride back home she's doubtful whether alabama holds much promise for her future either. Witty banter back home. About the state of the world we learn a few things about her hometown of make them. Tragically. Jean-louis is older brother jem has died. Sudden heart attack. Same way that they both lost their mother some years before. Astrogems death atticus sister alexandra moved in with him and help hernia. The african-american housekeeper who watched over scout and jem. Left. Meanwhile atticus is starting to feel his age. No still practicing law at 72 years of age. He's also showing early signs of rheumatoid arthritis. Disappointed in this hope to see jim take over his practice he has been cultivating another young man in town. Henry clinton. To help out in his office. Henry internecie zion jean-louis. She is flattered enough by his attention to return it. But she discourages any talk of long-term or. One saturday afternoon do everything change. After atticus and henry leave for some undefined meeting. Jean-louis discoveries in the stack of radicals was reading material a pamphlet. Full of racism. Call. The black plague. Sure it must have landed there mistakenly she asks her aunt. But alexandra confirmed. Not only that but the meeting that he and henry have left to attend it's a load so local citizens council. Jean-louis has paid enough attention to the news to know that these councils have cropped up all across the south to block. Racial segregation integration. Disbelieving. June louise parties downtown to check all the sound. Indiana courthouse. The very courthouse that is the center of the action in mockingbird she discovers atticus henry. And most of the prominent men in town listen to a speaker giving a sterling racist. Kyrie. Her stomach teething. She stumbles home. Persuaded that is harper lee puts. The one human being should ever fully wholeheartedly trusted. So how is it that we understand. Letting go. To be a spiritual discipline. After all this entire spiritual center that inner place of trust and love where our hearts rest. Grounded and things we deeply. Affirm. Courts. But we also find that to discover those things requires a good deal of choosing. Casting aside or pruning away. All those beliefs are ways of looking at the world that no longer servants. Check my notice he's calling forest church put it when constant to the depths. Survive we must first let go of things that will not save us. Any must reach out for the things that cat. But how we choose. It's tricky business. The sad truth is that we are disappointed them disillusioned in so many ways. When we grow up. Especially as hard as how we disappoint each other. And perhaps nowhere is this harder than between parents. Enough for part of growing up after all is to come to idealize our parents. But untimely all proved to be fallible. Cumin. How we cope with that dissolution inexperience has something to do with how we grow to become more mature self-reliant. Short person either one way to look at the kill a mockingbird and go set a watchman is two ends of a coming-of-age. Harper lee's first book is told through the eyes of a nine-year-old girl. Who idolizes her father as her role from moral behavior. It is a measure of the power of her prose that so many of her readers close the book with that same idyllic image in their heads. Perhaps one reason for this is the context. For harper lee's store. In a country so conflicted over race she has offered mike peep. Please come image. Father-figure acid wash. Who could calm our fears and show through principal living courage and compassion. To help lead us through the toils and snares of the legacy of racism. That we each inherit. What we discover and go set a watchman is the other side of that. The dissolution we feel when we are confronted with a side of that father figure we didn't know. The clay feet. The show us his frailty. Limitations. I was intrigued to discover that the great african-american writer and theologian howard thurman. Wrote the book i quoted from earlier. The luminous darkness. At about the same time. The harper lee wrote go tell a watchman. In the early to mid 1960. In that book thurman observed that there is a shift in race relations underway at the time. The old practices of violent reprisal that kept white people over black people were being questioned. I supported the negroes actor fear of violent reprisals is rapidly disappearing and being replaced by an increasing sense of personal and inner freedom. But also he said that there is an inactive fear among white people. That is increasing. That fear he said spring. From our deep unconscious guilt. Because of weight. Treatment of the negro on his way. And his genuine anxiety about the security of his own position and status. We see what that fear looks like. Indostar watchmen. When gene lejeune louise finally confronts at. Presented with her discoveries. He receives jean-louis is complaint with lawyer lee. Crawling out her concern. Until finally. He lays his own position outside. Did louise have you ever considered that you have. You can't have a set of backward people living among people advanced in one civilization that have some kind of social arcadia. Brick by brick he argues his case for why he believes black aren't ready for their ride. Paul and his words in their childhood as a people. I've been bamboozled by the n-double-acp to bring lawsuits that he said we'll only rec southern culture for all. Jean louise won't have it. She's not interested all these fine arguments instead she digs into her memory and throws his own words back at him. Her outrage over his remarks has its origin. She reminds him. In what he himself taught her. About her every person had worth in deserve to chance. Atticus she says. I grew up right here in your house and i never knew what was in your mind. I only heard what you said. You neglected to tell me that we were naturally better than the negroes and that they were only able to go so far and so far only. You sold the season me atticus. The mouse come home to you. I'll never forgive you what you did to me. I'm going to do man playing now. Good. There's no place for me any morning make them and i never be entirely home in the world anywhere. It was the african-american writer james baldwin. Who wants said if his wife to tractors. You must accept them and accept them with love. For these innocent people have no other hope. They are in effect still trapped in history. Which they do not understand. And until they understand if they cannot be released. Steve had to believe for many years for innumerable race. Set the black men are inferior to white. Many of them indeed know better. But as you'll discover. People find it difficult to act. Unless they know. I remember when i was around 16 years old my parents. Told me of a call they received from my grandfather. Correlate a complaint he received from his neighbors have a house he owned in point pleasant beach. New jersey. The weekend before an african-american friend of mine at joined us and stay at that house. The neighbors were apparently alarmed. To see a black boy on the neighboring beach. A my grandfather informed us that we were not to bring him again. I couldn't believe. He would say such an outrageous thing my own grandfather. And i wrote him an indignant letter protest. I don't know what he thought of it. He never made any comment about it. Instead in time each of us in our own ways. Let it go. And instead returned to our roles in family gathering. And someone offense does jean-louis. Once the bitterness of her disappointment phase. She's able to hear her uncle jack tell her that despite what she seen. There are many people in town who share her. Not to forget he tells her. Every man's watchman. His conscience. She must follow her. And once we reader. Get offer. Let go of our disappointment. This is the uplift that awaits. Whatever limitations atticus may have had. Harper lee suggest that through his life's example he was able to teach his daughter. Who made yas2. Not to carry forward the prejudice that had privately weighed him down and fed his fears in his declining years. In that sense one could say that his gift to the future. Together with all the good he did with his life. What's the sim for one child. Unshackled by that prejudice. So that as howard thurman put it. A new way of life might open for all. So maybe the legacy that harper lee leaves us. Yes there is much we must learn to let go of. But not each other. Not the possibility every damn. For us all. We fragile fallible human beings do a lot of stumbling. Stephen sondheim puts it in his. Musically. People make mistakes. Holding to their own thinking. They're alone. We are ever learning and growing. And then invited to. Prune. And discard. It is the way of things on this path. Wonder.

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141214-Yo-Bear-Facing-Fear.mp3

I have a quirky old vcr tape. That's still a favor. Something i plug into the player. Yes we still have one. About once a year. The films called. Defending your life. Anyone else knowing. It appeared back in 1991 the written directed and starred in by a young albert brooks with. Meryl streep and rip torn in it. It's one of those existential comedy. Full of clever lines while at the same time brooding on the quandaries of existence. Yes i know just the thing for a minister. Brooks plays a kind of schlemiel. Marginally successful but divorced from an unhappy marriage and unsure what he wants in life. Cool after buying a status symbol of a car. Bmw. Crashes it into a bus. He comes to a consciousness of sorts being wheeled with dozens of other mostly older others. It's what appears to be a convention hotel. In a place that is announced as judgement city. The group is told that they have just died and have come to have their lives way. To determine whether they are ready to move on. We're never told exactly what that is but it's clearly a good thing. Kind of like a moving up the escalator of existence. The alternative is not a trip to hell. Good universalist that they are. But from the film's standpoint perhaps is that. Being sent back to earth for another try. This doesn't go on forever though brooks's character daniel. Learn faster being that getting sent back a certain number of times you may eventually just get thrown away. After all the universe needs some quality. Over several days daniel undergoes a trial complete with judges and prosecutors and defense counsel. Where his life is examined. And what they attempt to is what progress he has made at 3 himself. Of his feet. Fear he learns is the central hazard to our earthly eggs. Something we must rid ourselves of to move on. Of course there are also fun touches there to like being able to eat anything he wants and never gain weight. Visiting the past lives pavilion. Hosted by shirley maclaine. We're daniel season self as an african man being chased by a lion. It's clear early on that the odds of daniel moving on or slim. Well the character chances of streep's character julia are a seeming sure thing. Yet somehow they connect. And even in judgment city. Fall in love. Is this coupling doomed. Or could it be saving for them both. I won't tip my hand except to say that the film is a comedy. It's just a plot device but still listen interesting notion. If our lives truly were judged. Wouldn't it be based on how we responded to our fears. When i think of all that i've done or not done that got me into trouble. Or that i most regret. I have to admit that fear was at the heart of it. Something that either kept me from action or propelled me into a foolish response. Look at the world around us isn't fear what lies at the heart of our greatest pele. War. Prejudice neglect. Abuse. Beer locks us up and shuts us down. We become reactive. The old responsive fight. White. Free. If niceties like reason consideration and compassionate response are thrown out the window. It's not that we can avoid fear entirely there are times when it's good. To be wary. And faced with immediate threats we need to have. Problem comes when fear becomes a miasma. Colors are living. His daniel puts it in defending your life it's like a knot in your stomach that never goes away. Today i want to suggest one path that might help releases from some of these. Enterprise us in with our worship in small group theme this month. Imagination. When we engage our imagination we relax the dread fear of circumstances that we feel and find ourselves. We're become aware of new possibilities. We remember after all that the major. Set among the religious traditions fear is a great spiritual teacher. For example in the stories of both jesus and buddha. Encounter with fear is a. Pivotal moment in the evolution of their ministry. In the bible you'll recall the moment comes when jesus is baptized by john and we're told his lead into the spider spirit into the wilderness. 40 days. Where satan tempts him in several different ways to abandon his calling. Each has an encounter with jesus's imaginative response. Turn so temptations away. South first. After many days of fasting satan appears and says why be hungry if you are the son of god you could turn that stone into a loaf of bread. Jesus deflects the question of his. Theological. And nearly replies. One does not live by bread. Inciting texting to the top of a temple and demands if you are the son of god you can throw yourself off and not be hurt. Play angels protect you. Again jesus. Deflect and says he will not put god to the. Text to the top of a high mountain and shows him all of the kingdoms of the world and seth i will make all of this yours if you'll worship me. But jesus won't be moved. No i serve only god. Thereafter he begins teaching. Accutime of enlighten. Delta also undergoes series of tests. Free trial. At the hands of mara the demon king. His first test is not food. Butt sex. Morrison's is beautiful daughter is to seduce god, but he will not be moved from his meditation. Tamara sent an army of horrid demons to attack them with swords and spears and. Clubs narrows in. Delta mitchell sees them as not weapons. Flower. And they fall harmlessly. Finally morrison whirlwinds and earthquakes that howell around him and shake the ground beneath them in from the middle of it all mara calls up prove that you are worthy of enlightenment. Delta reply for simply putting out his hand. And touching the earth in front of him. The earth. And after that he sinks into a meditation of some. 40 days. From which she emerges as buddha. The parallels in these stories are fascinating in many ways. Before our purposes today i'd like to direct us to a larger message underline them both. Before either of these teachers could begin his ministry he had to confront. A few thing. There are embodied in fearful demons and accusers but. It's plain that they reside in themselves. Indeed. First has the temptation of sensual pleasure. Which in assassins represents really the fear of never having enough. Is a craving for sensation that can be addictive. The more we feed it the more we need. And we're never sent. The s the fear for our own well-being. We received threats to our self that are in fact. Empty. We give energy to our critics or that those who take speak to take from us through passive aggression. Resistance here is simply the refusal to engage. Is the fear embodied in the bully's threat. The puffed-up challenge to our eagleville drive to be a player to impose our will on the world. Remember those high-flying figures from the 1980s wall street masters of the universe. Who tom wolf lampooned. Such an inflated image of our own importance is a fanciful dilution. Got disconnected from the real world from who we really are. Passing the buddha's gesture we need to be grounded. To embrace with humility our own deepest knowing. Something it takes time to find. Something that we achieve more through listening. Speaking. More through compassion. Something to which we might have many names. Perhaps one of them. God. They're all kinds of responses to open to us when we use our imaginations to disconnect from the electric charge that fierce and sound. We see that what pizza from living into who we are often is the fierce clutching of our own hat. The quaker rider parker palmer. Take note of the fact that. Many spiritual traditions hold out the hope that we can escape the paralysis of fear. And come to encounter others and even challenging situation. In ways that don't threaten us but instead serve to enrich our work and our lives. This hope he says is embodied in the frayed phrase be not. Freight. This race is not suggesting that we should not have our fears. Here's our inevitable perhaps necessary. What is palmer. We do not need to. Be. Our fear. In his book the courage to teach. He tells the story of a shop teacher in a group that he once worked with. The man was an impressive figure. 6 ft 6 240 pounds. What's an athletic build and. A deep voice. But the shop teacher and his principal have been going on for several years in an escalating arguing. Principal wanted the teacher to attend the training to modernize the shop. What the teacher insisted that all that stuff was just a fad. Back. One day palmer says the teacher arrived at the group to say that the cycle had been broken. The principal had made his usual demands but this time the shop teacher responded differently. I still don't want to go to the institute. But now i know why. Unfreight. Afraid i won't understand it afraid my field has passed me by. Afraid i might have been. There was a silence in the principal. And promises they did. And the experience reclaimed and deepen their friendship. And revitalize the shop.. We inhabit a universe where the smallness of our little eye. Often makes us feel dwarfed against the vastness of the knot. Where we can feel like isolated adams bouncing against unyielding walzwerk through unending emptiness. It's a sobering picture and maybe with the winter setting in and troublesome reports of war and prejudice topping the news it can feel all too real. But it is. Andalusia. The truth behind our fears it is one of deep and abiding connection. We can see it when we look for. But we're not always inclined. If parker palmer puts it the way we move beyond the fear that destroys our connectedness. History claim the connect with this that takes away our fear. Circular. But that's the way spiritual life is. The initiative lies within us. You remember back in november. In chicago there was the. Tightrope walker nik wallenda. The flying wallendas seven generations of daredevils and type rope walkers. And he announced that in chicago he would walk across a tightrope. Between two skype. 600 feet above the ground. Not only that he would walk across one. And then walk across the second one. Blindfold. Now i have to tell you something about myself. I'm not afraid of heights. Put on the top of those skyscrapers i would be like a limpet against the wall i wouldn't want to move. Extractinator. Playing with my d. I decided to look it up and went on the internet and they had a box where you could click. A video of nipple ender walking that pipe. 5 minutes. Pick up the courage just to click that box. Because i was i sure i could not handle watching him going over that and it does show the video of him. Across the fastest. That's an interesting. Research that a little bit further and i found out. Begin with. Nick says you need to you're not depending just on yourself you need helping your balance so he he has this great big long rod. But he carries it. That is balance. Epsom salt. Feel his way find a center-of-gravity so that's what they do. And only that but he practices. Months before the chicago walk. He set up something in his own florida home where he put he had a. Cable size and dimensions of the one he'd use in chicago. I think act exact inclination. And even emulated the weather conditions here so we had wind turbine. Stripper blowing to help knock them off because he needed to deal with the chicago win. It's so he was prepared. For this walk. A couple of other things about that walk. You notice that when you see the wire. It's not just some sort of wire hanging in space it's got guy wires to it bites can be and it's in fact he says on the way over its got the surface that make this kind of sticky the hold them. They'll help him to. He's trained. And he's ready. It's got all the things. But then i discovered 100. Nick doesn't want me. Rehearse for walking. He rehearses what just happened. If you should fail. Incomprehensible how could you possibly could you do. If you were falling. Call nick. Only she practiced walking across he practices. Falling. So if. If the wind should become too strong or if he loses his balance what will he do. If he's going over he will grab. Dwyer. He practices holding onto the wire. For 30 to 40 minutes at a time. Amount of time it would take. For his staff. Come help him and get him off.. So it's not quite as scary as it sounds. So here he is on the wire with his pole. You watch him getting near he starts getting confident talking. And looking for. Get it right just like that. So. It's true. Our fears do not need to lock us in. Indeed the most. The coldest place. Fourth round of icing. Call metro train missin otherwise person who's written about this. She says although we have the potential to experience the freedom of the butterfly. We mysteriously prefer the small. Fearful cocoon. Avigo. Figo. That's your full 425 fortified place where we hide a place that we persuade ourselves is safe. Get that shelters us from what we most want and need. Connection. This isn't just an intellectual construct it's something we feel in our guts. Our hearts pine for. Even when we fool ourselves with a pretense of indifference. Participate. Pema chodron and 5th. It is in fact a blessing. Direct us where we need to go. Outside of our cell. Into communion with others into a place where we can come to know the great unity of all things that we inhabit now. And ever will. So from time to time you may be inclined to acquaint yourself with the vast plenitude of being in which we find ourselves. You may say cut out for a nice walk in the woods. What's the glory of these mountains on display before you. And yet as lovely as it is. There are those of our fellow beings out there. Who may not welcome your company. In whose poor eyesight larger creature like us appear as threats. Given that windflight invade to maybe threats to us it's wise to keep your distance. But rather than walk with dread. During each turn in the path why not bring your imagination to bear. Why not enter into an imaginative conversation with this fellow being. Nothing fancy because it's understanding is limited. But perhaps we can imagine ourselves reaching across that seemingly unbridgeable distance between species. Beginning simple awareness. A meeting. Respect. No pare. And so it's a way of completing the circle of reminding ourselves of the connections that we each make. Each other once you rise answer willing or able in the singing of our closing hymn. Number 1018 come and go with me.

uuasheville_org

MichaelCarterSermon8-15-10.mp3

Before i begin i just want to. Again. Mark ward. For inviting me here we've been planning this for a while and he's actually come to speak. Call dr. king celebration at the hospital. So this has been a while coming but if you know things do happen. When you're supposed to when it's 9. Brother frank valenti and the worship committee for inviting me here. I want to thank you for being here i know you know it's summer. Rapidly drawing to a close you have other things to do. I have your names and addresses and so i'm glad you showed up. I'm just joking. I'm just joking. I had two readings that were very lofty. And i do believe those things with all of my heart. And and we're going to talk a little bit about. This is universal emotion called love but we are going to focus on. Romantic love. And so we're going to bring it down a little bit. And i don't know who wrote this but this is a for a philosophy of love. If you love something. Set it free. If it comes back and will always be yours. And if it never did never comes back it was never yours to begin with you we've heard this right. But if it just sits in your living room and watches tv. And it messes up all your stuff. If it disrupt your home and eats all of your food. Uses your telephone takes your money. And doesn't appear to realize that you actually said it free in the first place. You either married it or you gave birth to it. Twilight work. I want to bring it down a little bit. That's terrible. The second quote is from. The burlesque entertainer gypsy rose lee. And she said that god is love. We get it in writing. So i set the tone. The title of of my sermon is from the poem by elizabeth barrett browning and it was chosen intentionally. And she goes on to write in her poem how do i love thee. Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach. When feeling out of sight. For the ends of being and ideal grace. I love you to the level of every day's most quiet need by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely as men strive for right. I love you. lee as they turn and praise. I love you with a passion put to use in my old griefs. And in childhood faith. I love you with the love i seem to lose with my lost thing i love thee with the breath. Smiles tears of all my life. And if god so choose. I shall but love thee. After death. Even better. That is beautiful. How many people tell you that when you get up in the morning. Not that you had i mean i mean that what makes people write and say these things love is a many-splendored thing right where is it. How do i love thee. Contemporary scientist would answer miss brown inquiries very differently than she does. New research in the field of love and attraction showed that romance. Long domain of poets and philosophers and even some theologians. Maybe world as much by molecules. Abay motion. Scientists now believe that the impulse that drives us to mate. To marry and to remain monogamous if not a result of mere social convention. It is also a complex mix of natural occurring chemicals and hormones. Cupid's elixir. If you will. Researchers say that when you fall in love. Or not. It isn't merely an emotional event your body's hormones got involved as well. Do doctors have long known that even the most primal impulses have a chemical basis. How do i love you. American scientist might say that elizabeth browning may have initially smiled at her beloved. And he or she smile back. Her midbrain. The part that controls visual and auditory reflexes releases the transmitter the neurotransmitter dopamine. I'll bring a brain chemical that gives you a rush. And the motivation to begin a conversation. Her beloved farmer-owned reach elizabeth hypothalamus eliciting a. Yes. Come closer look. Of course there's free will. Both body send out attraction send signals. Pupils dilate. Heart pump faster so that the face flushes. Both begin to perspire slightly which gives the skin a little extra glow. Glands in the scalp release oil for that extra shine. But don't sound so romantic i mean i mean i don't want to know all that's really going on but. But but it's fight or flight except no one wants to run. Anywhere they don't want to run away from each other you want to run to each other. But don't sound so dramatic romantic. In fact. Dr. james h fallon he's a professor of anatomy and neurobiology at the university of california irvine. Says that in 10 years maybe laugh. There could be a brain chemical nasal spray. To enhance love between a couple. In that wonderful. Undoubtedly. The last decade discoveries in neuroscience. Let researchers predict even control that has a word. We use would love a lot in the control in love some people think that's the same thing. But for the first time. In a limited way. What would one start to be uncontrollable we now will be able to control. Love. How do you define love. None of you remember the flip wilson show back in the 70s. How many how many raise your hands it's okay i remembered. Not remember flip wilson played geraldine right he came out and drag and he was this buck some kind of chocolate blonde woman. And he comes out as i could just curvy maywes type of figure and with all the sassiness he could muster wilson became geraldine. Do you remember his definition of love. Heard definition. Love is a feeling. You're about to feel. When you ain't never felt the you ain't never had this feeling. Before. Okay i mean that's that is eloquent but this is what he said. It kind of raunchy anyway when i kind of think about. Love is a feeling you feel when you're about to feel the feeling you ain't never felt before. Can you relate to that. Okay. Okay good we are in a church. Arthur m scott peck however with disagree with geraldine. Right in his best-seller the road less traveled that genuine love implied commitment and exercises with. When we are concerned for someone spiritual growth we love them and we extend ourselves with the spiritual growth of another human being that is a definition of luck there's many definitions of love that there are people here. But inside and i just want to preface this by thing in some ways love is beyond definition. Srp. When we put people in boxes. However i find it when talking about the word love. The english language is insufficient dr. king talked about returning to the greek language for a moment and he talked about the greek language in their three words that describe the first one is air off. This is a beautiful is that a type of love play-doh talks about this extensively and it dialogue. The yearning for the soul for the realm of the divine. And it comes to us as a sort of romantic love that we all have experience at one time or another, maybe you'll even read about it. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds. Or bandwidth it's remover to remove. It is an ever-fixed mark. That looks on tempest and is never shaken. It is the star to every wandering bark. The greek language also talks about celia. Which is another level of love it's a reciprocal type of love i wear one love because. He or she is loved in return. The love of friendship make me come to mine. The greek language talked about another love which we're familiar with. Call agape. Agape love is more than romantic love for the love of friendship. Agape love is understanding its creative it's redempt. It's a goodwill 22 human beings. It is a law that seeks nothing in return. Theologians would say this is probably the love of god if you will. However and this is the type of love that jesus was probably talkin. However it's the love that the natures of the world have labeled as weakness. An end is also the love of self let's not forget that we know how to take care of ourselves we put good food in our bodies we exercise. We meditate we pray we forgive ourselves we forgive our enemies. The great sages and mystics of the agents of always told us that they're really only two emotions is love. And this beer. Beyond the myopic view of their timing hours these sages were able to see beyond the illusions of this earthly existence. To see beyond that we're really separate from one another. Quantum physics. Not true and of course there's the buddhism and and other isms another religion facts like this this this whole notion that that that i'm human and you're not i'm blocking your wife. You're gay and i'm straight and that these boundaries they really really don't exist but it's difficult to remember those as we go through our daily lives. But we get to choose this day whom you will serve when we start love over fear. Talk about romantic love for mama. The sonic. By shakespeare. Do i compare thee to a summers day. Fallout more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of may and summer's lease. Have all too short a date. But the internal summer. Do not pay. So long as men can breathe. As i can see. Live this. And this gives life. Tv. What what makes people buy things like. Housatonic number 57. Being your slave. What should i do. Pretend to your desire. I have no precious time at all to spend. What services to do. Do you require. No dear i charge the world with without end hour. While i my sovereign watch the clock for you. Northlink the bitterness of absence h. When you have been your servant wants to do. Nor dare i question with my jealous thoughts. Where you maybe. Will your affair supposed. I would like a sad slave. Say and think of naught. Stay where you are. And how happy you make those. So true coolest love. That in your will. Do you do anything. I think. Noel. I mean i mean it when i was coming up people just a manual whipped. The following quotations may not be as poetic as mr. shakespeare but i find that they do resonate with me on some level. Woodrow wyatt says that a man falls in love with his eyes a woman for years. It is margaret mead's opinion. Sesame's opinion that monogamous monogamous heterosexual love it's probably one of the most difficult complex. Demanding of human relationship. Human love. can fit that category. David o selznick on proposing to irene mayer has this to say. I snore loudly. I drink exuberantly. I work excessively and my future is drawing to a close. But i'm full. And i'm jewish. And i do so love you. And then there's the comment by nelson mandela on breaking up. With his marriage to winnie. She married a man who became a myth. Return home. And proved to be just a man. After all. Love to be mysterious and painful i'm sure some of you remember that they hit song by the spinners. Love don't love nobody. And and they say they go on in the song to say it takes a fool to learn that. That love does not love anybody nice and you put it well when he he said. This is called the love again blues. Eddie and he gives witness to that life and love can be a low down dirty shame. My life ain't nothing but a lot of god-knows-what. I said my life ain't nothing but a lot of god-knows-what. Just one thing after another. Added to the trouble i got. When i got you i thought i had an angel child. Said when i got you i thought i had an angel child. But you turned out to be the devil. That mighty nigh drove me wild. Tell me what makes love such an aching pain. I have to get what make love such an aching pain. It takes you and it breaks you. But you got to love again until we've all been there i mean you you keep going people use you and abuse you sometimes it hurts so good but you keep moving on until you kind of find that that some people call their folded i had a friend in college you every weekend for me. Oh i meant really i mean i was like. It was it was it was the big bang it was a primal thing there i love play-doh. Calls love divine madness. And i suppose you and it seems to me that he's trying to describe the powerful feelings of the erotic. However being in love is not the same as love. Love takes work. But when you see the very being of the other person was so cute their eyes like you the noses do the little button ears i mean it's it's it's it's some people talk baby talk to one another. Now this happens before marriage. I just want you to know that it dims a little bit. Its range is a little bit. It is great and it's wonderful and we need it but we can become addicted to those feeling because love takes work. Uticaod i love. It goes like this. You see that this is an adult mature love i think. You see that eventually after a while. You learn the subtle differences between holding a hand. Assault. You learn that don't love doesn't mean leaning. And company doesn't mean security. You learn that kisses are not contracts. Impreza. Compromises. You begin to learn to accept your defeat with your head held high. And your eyes open with the grace of an adult. Not the grief of a child. You learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow the ground. If you want certain for playing. And after a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too hot. So you plant your own garden. You decorate your own soul. Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. Can you learn that you really can endure. That you really are strong. And that you really have were. Ain't that something shoot for. To be in love usually had the erotic attached to it and sex is a powerful drive and any committed couple. Gateway to otherwise we'll tell you. That. This don't happen to some extent but. After after that diminishes the work of love begins when i grew up people didn't tell me that love took work. I didn't know that i thought you know you'll get married and you have some kids and you know it's like i thought you're supposed to love all your your relatives because they relatives. Sometimes he'll do you win faster than strangers. But you have to learn that. A committed relationship is an opportunity for group before growth if you are willing to be vulnerable. Because you see in the meantime there's the daily miss of two people living together in the meantime the potala and tells us that there are bills to be paid machines to repair. Irregular verbs to be learned. And the time being to be retreating from insignificant. How do i love thee. By giving up my illusion for there to be harmony without conflict. I think you just can't have it. You can't have you can't have love without conflict. But there could be pleasure without paying. Conflict is the essence of love because both through trying to have it we must learn to fight fair. We will comment. But we're learning to fight fair. We were learning to fight fair. And growth brings intimacy and i'm not just talking about sexy weekend intimacy and intimate. What would you mean that's died have sex with someone. But that's what they mean is erotic but they're different ways to be. Intimate interview voluble. Song song song of solomon 930 bce. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. For your love is better than wine. You anointing oil to fragrant your name is poured out. I am black and beautiful o daughters of jerusalem like the tents of cedar like the curtains of stalin. And if you read that you going on and on and on that gets to be pretty rowdy. But i got news for you probably after that's over there at each others throat. But we learn to be we learn to be vulnerable. We learn to be vulnerable we can be intimate in times of crisis we can be intimate worshipping with one another. Love has polarity or healthy love at flarity. I have friends who thought that unless. You were blowing my mind on demand if it was no drama in the relationship then there's something terribly wrong. Something has gone wrong in our relationship because we're not fighting we're not arguing. Conflict can up the ante. And of course we cannot talk about love without mentioning the shadow side. The possibility of betrayal. Love has that shadow side you know you can hurt me in ways. Because i've risked i've invested time i've risked getting-to-know-you i've shared with you and so you could hurt me in ways that other people can't. The courage to love this painting love someone dies. Am i going to die first in a relationship. These are very real thing. Out of africa. Affairs app. And sometimes they're they're mutually agreed on unconsciously. Sometimes people are working out their sexuality. I'll bet they do happen and they can be very painful. And they can be worked out. But this is the shadow side. The most wonderful mom i can also be the source of the greatest. Painting in our lives is what plato talks about when he says love is the child of fullness and emptiness i'm almost done. The apostle paul speaks of the gift of love in his letter to the corinthians. In the new testament scriptures. Paul said that if i speak in the tongues of mortals and angels and i know you know this but bear with me. But if i do not have loved i'm a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if i have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge. If i have all faith that's the move mountains but if i do not have love i am nothing. If i give away all my possessions. If i hand over my body so that i may both and do not have love i gain nothing. Uncle c's knowledge will come to an end. When i was a child i spoke like a child i thought like a child i reasoned like a child. When i became an adult i put childish things to an end and now abideth faith hope love. And of these three. The greatest of these is love. So how do i look. You figure it out. Fortunately. It's up to each and everyone of you. To count the way. Without it.

uuasheville_org

mward100912.mp3

Our topic today gives me an occasion to share with you one of my favorite unitarian universalist. Jokes. It seems that this one uu minister was driving to work one day when she saw a young girl on the sidewalk standing outside the nearby methodist church. With an open cardboard box next to her shoulder and a sign that read free methodist kittens. Well the ministry thought that's certainly clever. The next day she was driving to work the ministry saw the same girl with the same box. Standing outside the presbyterian church down the road. This time holding a sign that read free presbyterian kitten. Again the minister chuckle to herself. Child certainly is entrepreneur. Today after the minister was surprised to see the same little girl. With the same box. Standing on the sidewalk outside of. Purchase. Define she was holding a sign reading free. Unitarian universalist kittens. Intrigued the minister parked and walked over to the girl. Like she said. You know the past two days i've seen you standing outside the methodist and presbyterian churches. Giving away your kitten. How do you know the fees are unitarian universalist. Well the little girl replied. Now their eyes are open. So for those. Methodists and presbyterians among us lights out of fairplay i agree to hear your jokes at our expense. In this church year when our association of congregation celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding. I want to send her our worship lights on some of the key values that have distinguished us that's a religious body. And that remain central to who we might hope to become. To do that over the course of this year i plan to range far back. Before the joining of our to historical streams. Unitarians and the universalist. 19. The one. The origins of these religious movement. In the waning days of the 18th century all the way up to the present. Looking at people and events. Controversies and achievement. Illustrate how these values informa. Concentra. And how they have helped us evolve and grow. Today we begin with a virtue of courage. That's the joke i told earlier suggest a central thread running through our history. Is our insistence that our religious life we can rely on our native equipment. Our eyes our ears are hands. Armine. To make sense of the world. Truth is not something hidden away in some arcane place or singular sacred book. Not the exclusive province of any particular teacher or profit. Truth is discovered in the world around us. In the way that we engage with it overtime. There is wisdom to be learned from many sources. There are disciplines to be explored text. To be studied mentors to be sought. But in the end we each judge for ourselves. Call we frame our faith. How we name the holy. How we lead our lives with integrity and purpose. I'm so central to our tradition is the hope that in our churches we might create a crucible. Where people are given the courage to set out on that journey. To ask the deep questions of themselves. To engage with others in the search to identify what gives meaning to our lives. And you acting the way that puts our values into practice. The courage we seek to instill leads us to be forthright. About what is in our minds and hearts but also to remain open to being changed. And that way we seek to avoid cultivating the fear and rigidity. The divide. From one another. We seek to remain true to our humanity while staying connected with the larger world. Set to begin this journey i go back to the earliest days of our unitarian stream. Jonathan mayhew who you heard quoted in our reading. Died several decades before anything like the unitarian church began to take shape. But he was one of the central voices and an emerging liberal movement in boston congregational churches. In the 1740s in 50. Who laid the groundwork for it. Arguing against the prevailing calvinist orthodoxy among the puritan preachers. It held that people are born depraved and that god's ways are inscrutable. Mayhew insisted that each of us. Has the potential for goodness. And that it isn't seeking that goodness that we come closer. To god. He had no use for the creed's of a conservative churches. Let us despise the frowns and sensors of those vein conceited men who set themselves up for oracles of truth and tell their nate call their neighbors hard names. We are giving hearts and minds to discern what is true when good. And so make you said let us take pains to find out. It is what our native equipment exist. And then he said after we are settled in our church. Concerning any religious tenets or practice. Satisfied that we have followed our observations and the chain of reasoning to where they logically and. Let us have the courage to adhere to it the constancy of mine. Let us not allow ourselves to be cow. Buy bullies or demagogues or others seeking power over us. I think of that line from a marx brothers film. What are you going to believe. Me or your lying eyes. So let us be settled in our minds. Until. For most of us there inevitably is any until. We are convinced of our error. In a rational way. Each of our visions is limited. We do ourselves no favours by asserting our own infallibility. No matter how righteous we may feel. Instead in community. We find our way toward truth. This was a revolutionary approach to religious faith that the time. Not unique. For the thread of free faith wind its way through just about every religious tradition. What is ever emerged. Put in colonial america. He offered a new way of understanding religion. Religion that leaves room for quest. 4 dial. For personal insight. For change. It's true that for mayhew in other proto unitarians like charles chauncey. The range for free religious thought remained fairly limited. For them the bible in biblical revelation remains the unquestioned center of faith. But they opened the door to what was to become a key focus for the unitarian and universalist church. Free belief. Guided by human race. But we have to be careful how we frame. We unitarian-universalist bear the onus at having been branded a head centered religion. And with some jobs. In raising of rationality as central to faith we risk diminishing the other dementia. A religious search. Some decades ago as he was joining a unitarian universalist congregation in berkeley california. Bernard loomer. One-time dean of the university of chicago divinity school was asked to tell the congregation. What such a step meant for him. Joining that church he said. It's a living testimony. That we live in the context of a mystery. It's far transcends. We are born in mystery. And we die. A sense of value without a sensitivity to mystery. It's one way of reducing the meaning of life for us. Part of the courage of religious faith then it's accepting that which is and will remain. Beyond our ken. We are challenged to name not only what we can claim to know. But also that to which we will give our hearts. Absinthe. Sure empirical certain. That is the origin of the notion of faith. Fides fidelity. It is not adhering to some formulaic present prescription of the nature of the world. It is owning and being clear about that which expresses the very source of meaning for one's life. Laughing which we can place our trust. This is what this is what our churches exist to foster. Beer places loomer said for speaking as well as speaking the truth in love. They are places that seek to give us the courage that encourage us. To open our hearts to that which feeds. To each other to the possibility of being transformed in community. We trip over the discussion of heart versus head and realize the distinction is a false one. There is passion. Woven into the most deeply argued position. And careful discernment. Immature emotional engagement. Knowing helps us make the connections between ourselves in the world. I'm feeling. Invest that knowing with. Valence with. Wait. And so we come to this. Created and sustained by our purpose. By our intent. We seek to make space for our full being. For every dimension in which we seek to engage each other and the world. Those liberal ministers mayhew and chauncey were marginalized by many of their eighteenth-century colleagues. Man who insisted on fixed and unchangeable paths to salvation. But in the meantime they touched an emerging sensibility in the young colonies. People who are making their way in the land. In a new land chased at the strictures of the established church. The high bars step by church leaders to joining the electric company of visible saints. Some left for the 10th for the tents of the new evangelist. But other is nudged their clergy for a more liberal understanding of the religious life. One that is jonathan mayhew preached. Call did we humans have the capacity to make moral decisions. Impact on those. This in turn inspired others like william ellery channing who proposed the notion of salvation up by character that there is good within us. And on discovering if we can be guided to good and righteous living. And so a new religion was born. One that has the reverend harry schofield described it in the late 1950s. In the manual preparing. The two congregations unitarian universalist. To join. He said that the highest authority in religion now ceases to be a book. And instead becomes the experience of living men and women. Belief in the dignity of humankind in the validity of the democratic process in the oneness of the human family. Sensitivity to suffering and beauty. Are seen to be true or witness of religious growth. Them. Correct. A few logic. Believe. This broad statement of course glosses over many difficult controversies and debates in our history. Arguments that at times split this liberal movement into factions. With people of principal on both sides against each other. But throughout like. Clay on a potter's wheel. It's found its center in mayhews assertion of in his words are right to think and act for ourselves. In matters of religion. Asserting that right takes no small amount of courage. Four religions over the years have been shown to have the most peculiar fascination with power. Withdrawing line. Enforcing orthodoxy. Declaring sheep and goats apostate. Heretics. Just made our religion embracing a diversity of belief a bit of an outlier. Nr200. Plus year history. Not quite fitting in. But equally it positions are. If we would be courageous. To open the door to a new way of living that religious impulse that yearning for meaning that abides in every human being. It is one that unseats us humans from that. Throne of power imagine by our ancestors. The favored souls around whom the universe spins. And brings us into mutual relationship with all being. One that in maya angelou's words rightly sees us as people of a small plan. Traveling through casual space past aloof. Stars. Both makers of meaning and agents of destruction. We ourselves will do the choosing. Of which it is. We will recognize that in our lives and with each other we are in angelou's words again. Neither devils nor divine's. We are capable of great destruction. In a twinkling sapping life. Humble living. But also. Touch healing and irresistible tennis. Dr. hadiyah. Mac. If happy to buy. And the proudest back. It's glad to bend. Again the path we take his hours. To choose. We will recognize that forbetterorworse we are the shapers of this earth our home. And our mother. We can fashion a climate where all people might live freely without fear where the web of life is cherished and given due respect. We are capable of looking at each other. And seeing in each face. I wonder. Being of irreducible value that by her or his very presence. Bids us to enter into the work of building beloved community. When we come to it. We see that in this anyway. We truly have. No choice. We are involved with each other. In all life. In the vast universe of being. It is here with a holy resides. It is here. Or hope. History found. How to speak together and filing.

uuasheville_org

150104-Having-Enough.mp3

It may be a time of life kind of thing. But i've been feeling and we supposed to shed. In recent years. Bring pipe and carrying around for a long time i've taken a second look at. And think to myself. Do i really need that. And more often than not when i'm being really honest with myself. Filter is now. So how'd it goes. The turning of the new year is a great time to do this. Clothes gadgets you can books. Toss toss toss. It becomes a spiritual exercise of sorts. I make peace with the bits and pieces from my past. Try no longer need to hold onto so tightly. Fascinations locations. Seems so interesting for a time. I realize no longer hold my interest. That's okay. By paring down my possessions. I remove distractions. Easier to focus on what matters in my life. What was it that henry david thoreau said was the key to more peaceful centered way of living. Simplicity simplicity. In one way or another the question we're asking in the midst of all this sorting is what is enough. For me to me to feel. If i'm whole is if i am who i need to be. The question with deep roots. Purchase existential aspects of our identity. For example. I own a good number of books. And while some of them mean a great deal to me. Many i hold on because they have some utility. In my line of work i'm dipping into lots of sources for many different things and it's helpful to have them on hand. Indy part of the professional expenses you provide for me let's go to add to that collection. But some of these are valued resources that i'll keep. I'm ready to pass on when i'm done with them. If the discipline that helps me think. Carefully about. What i want from each book and why. Am i holding onto that book because i foresee using it. Or because somehow i feel as stuff sort of book that someone like me should own. The fun kind of badge of identity or something. It's easy to get tangled into this kind of not. And we do it with all kinds of things not just books. Close cars home. Technology. Allsorts. There's a dance we do with the things we own. And for the sake of our own peace of mind we want to make sure that we. Not bay. Are calling the tune. Because otherwise there's something unhealthy. Driving our lives. Robbers and crew needs these things feed our appetite. Appetites for approval for status for. Pleasure. When pleasure is in the driver's seat after. Singing its siren song. Excuse how we relate to the rest of the world. And it makes it hard for us to talk about. Enough. You recall those experiments from the 1950s when scientists identified what they call the pleasure centers of the brain. Operations on rats plant electrodes in their brain and set it up so that they could press a leaver so that they would feel that would step place would be stimulated. And rats would sit there pressing that leave her over and over again food would go by didn't matter until they're absolutely exhausted. After a holiday season when you may have found yourself pressing that pleasure reliever. Few more times than was good for you i thought it might be helpful for us to reflect on some. Useful way of thinking about. Now i'm betting at this point as you reflect on whatever your holiday excessive makeup then. You've already been through the drill than anyone raised in this culture learns at an early age. You've been beating yourself up over it. Oh no i did it again yeah i was bad i need to be good. Yada yada yada. The great american guilt trip. We've all been there and we know a little bit about how ineffective it tends to be. So in the hope of finding a better strategy to grapple with all this. Let me invite you to consider a different way of reflecting on this notion of enough. I'll begin with a big word. Did you may not have heard before. Safra samee. Expelled soph like sophomore. R0. S y n. So frosty. It's one of those greek virtue. The word without precise translation into english but essentially it implies something like healthy mindedness. An approach to life of balance in moderation. It's better tommy idea. That we can find joy in discovering what's good for ourselves what's good for our minds and bonnie. Pleasure of course is part of it but only part. We can get pleasure for example from eating a delicious meal. What part of our enjoyment of that meal. Comes with ending it when our bodies tell us were full. The pleasure we get from eating too much is diminished. When we go to access. The indigestion the increased wait all the rest bring our bodies to stress. It's not a matter of self-denial. We don't deny ourselves when we end our meal. We're rather we reach. A balanced harmonious place where we feel the we've consumed. Enough. To find that place though takes some attention. So instead of roaring through the meal as fast as we can. When we take our time to recognize that feeling of access at us faction. We can read we can achieve it without except. From this perspective there's nothing especially satisfying about overindulging. There comes a point for example as we tuck into that second pint of ice cream. That we are no longer feeding our physical need. We are instead feeding something else. More unhealthy. Hungry. Say a desire to draw attention to ourselves or to. Impress others. Where to seek their acceptance or to pacify our own happy and unhappiness or disappointment. An important dimension of safra synagogue as i understand. You better just not enough practice of enforced discipline against our wishes. It begins with the assumption that harmonious living is a natural state. What is best for our minds and bodies. How we are naturally inclined. But it's not always easy to learn and it can take time. And so the ancient greeks argued that people should adopt an attitude of humility curiosity and open-mindedness. It going about their lives. Worked better able to appreciate others since we're living from a place of joyful appreciation of who we are. Every time we come to know ourselves as well as those around us more fully. Our joy in the end is bound up with the joy of others and the joy of the community as a whole. Somehow though we seem to have the notion marbled into our culture here that another person's joy come to power. Sprouts. We organize our lives to protect our own prerogative. Hold others at bay. So that we can. Get while the getting. It's good. Wendell berry's vision that you heard james reid earlier. Emerge from his experience as years on a farm in kentucky. Barry has been an advocate for what he calls the localist point of view. It comes from the perspective of a farmer who measures the state of the world by the state of the earth. Kind of. Factory level farming he says that predominates. Today in america. Degrade soil poisons waterways and dangerous wildlife. Promotes. The kind of patterns of development that are unsustainable. Yeah it is outside. The purview of most people we go to the grocery store have no idea where the stuff came from we just taken. All of this he says creates a disconnect. That in dangerous the health of our communities and serves to drive all of us apart from me. The corrective that he recommends. Is that we are all to learn to live as he puts it closer to the ground. This means not only that we getting closer touch with how or where our food is. Grown or produced. But it also that we get in closer touch. With each other. It is of course a challenge in our busy lives. But it is also true that our busyness is part of the problem. We take on work or activities that like all the rest is in excess of what we can reasonably achieved. Or maintain. In a healthy and balanced way. We organize our lives for efficiency. What the writer gerald meade calls. The cow of life. How we get things done how we survive from day today. But he says that they make me fail to make room for what he calls. The y. And that he says it's simply. Wow. Or as he puts it. Why we are functioning at all. But we want to be efficient. 4. If it's true as throw says that most men lead lives of quiet desperation. And go to the grave. With the song still in them. It is likely because they've lost track. A bear why. So we need to get back to the ground to be grounded and who we are and the joy of knowing what that is. When we trying to berry's poem we can see that it is in essence a him to. Prosser prosser me. It is the joy of finding balance in a recipe for enough. Damage that he paints of our lives in reaching the earth rather than depleting it. It's not as he says a paradisal dream. It is instead a vision of us living in a balance and harmony that is natural to the earth. The fields rivers the forests the mountains. It is a way of finding ourselves in closer harmony with each other as creatures. In tune with those other things in a kind of music. That we live in harlem. Something that brings with it abundant health. And wisdom. So that we might come to see ourselves in this sleepy backwater of the universe as guests of a district firemen's ball. Dancing snoopy. Oompah band. Other than people. Wanting. 12 some years ago there was a poem that was bouncing around the internet some of you might have seen it. That makes berries point of view in a different way so i'd like to. I'd like to share it with. It's called a lost generation. It was written by jonathan reed. So there is a you youtube version of a young woman reading this poem. And i like to read it to you. This with michael. I am part of a lost generation. And i refuse to believe i can change the world. I realize this may be a shock. But happiness comes from within. It's a lie. And money will make me happy. So in 30 years i will tell my children they are not the most important thing in my life. My employer will know that. I have priorities set straight because work is more important. The family. I told you this once upon a time family stayed together. But this will not be true in my area. This is a quick-fix society. Experts tell me 30 years from now i will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce. I do not concede that i will leave in a country of my own making. In the future environmental destruction will be the norm. No longer can it be sad my peers and i care about this earth. It will be evident that my generation is apathetic and lethargic. It is foolish to presume. But there is hope. And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it. There is hope. It is foolish to presume that my generation. Is apathetic. It will be evident that my peers and i care about this. No longer can it be said that environmental destruction will be the norm. In the future i will live in the country of my own making. I do not conceive that 30 years from now i will be celebrating the. Anniversary of my divorce. Expert tell me if a quick this is a quick fix society. But this will not be true in my area. Families stay together once upon a time. I tell you this. Work. To say the work is more important than family. I have my priorities that straight because my employer will know that they are not the most important thing in my life. Some 30 years i will tell my children. Money will make me happy is a lie. And happiness comes from within. I realize this may be a shock but i can change the. And i refuse to be. To believe that i am parked. Shuffle lost generation. Different sides of the question. How we choose. Sabrina. And so neither are any of us part of a lost generation. Friends i wish you well in your new years shedding. Along with the clutter why not toss out a few other outmoded things that may be lying around say. Disillusionment. And cynicism. Point with guilt or despair. Instead find joy in coming to know. So good. Coming to know your community. Come to know. Yourself.

uuasheville_org

140427-Towards-Collective-Liberation.mp3

Good morning. Beautiful. Be here with you all and i. North carolina. State of moral monday movement. Faith is helping to inspire people. Around the country. I know you all had a. Moral mondays in the mountains. In the capital. All over the state. As want to say thank you. Not just for myself but for people around the country who have talked with who know. About the organizing us not just more on monday. It's the work of. This church. Social justice organizations of individuals and african campaign. Over many many years. That are coming together to help change. The future. Of your state. And help inspire us to change the future of our society. That sound good. Change the future of our society and ones at lions with our visions and values of unitarian universalist. Are people who believe in. Freedom and social justice. That sound good. Penguin a man. Alright well. I speak a lot in a secular institutions. So whenever i have the opportunity to be the home of unitarian universalism i like to start with prayer so let us join in prayer for a moment. To give gratitude for those who've come before us. Our ancestors those we know and those who we've only known. Through study. True stories. The ancestors who helped to create legacies that we build from. As unitarian universalist. As people of faith. As people who believe. In a better world. Let's open our hearts to each other. But our souls be nursed and sacred space. Gratitude for this. Community. For this church. For the leadership. The helps move us all forward. Hey man. So i first met. Reverend lisos as he settles in phoenix. Arizona in the summer of. 2010. And in arizona they recently passed one of the most. Repressive anti-immigration. Legislations in the country. Alabama now has that designation. But there's been a wave of anti-immigrant legislation throughout the country in arizona. Was that the that the front. Right-wing reaction. With sb 1070 and anti-immigration. Bill art you know around the country is the show me your papers of basic leave if you are. A brown skin. You must have papers on you at all times be able to prove. That you're a citizen. But you have some kind of documentation to prevent you or your family from being deported. It's on the summer of 2010 unitarian-universalist around the country. Came together in response to a national call. For summer resistant to summer of non-compliance or summer of standing up for human rights. And it was one of the most powerful spiritual moments of my life. My primary objective during that summer was to get as many unitarian universalist as possible arrested. And in that. Brings many unitarian universalist from around the country. Not just as individuals but as members of congregations as members of our faith as representatives of our values and our principles. To bring the unitarian universalist association as a movement and as a faith into direct conflict and confrontation. With the forces of right-wing reaction in arizona. Just as you all are doing here now in north carolina. And was incredibly spiritual experience and for me throughout my life. Growing up with both the subtleties of spirituality in terms of my parents being dedicated to giving me a magical childhood and values. The more profound explicit momentous spiritual. Experience within the social justice work. Play for me spirituality and social justice have always gotten so hand-in-hand that's why when i first met the unitarian universalist youth. In 2003 as a result of doing social justice work i was like who are these unitarian universalist youth. On fire. On-fire for social justice spirituality. I knew that i found a home. And the unitarian universalist faith. But some of those really profound moments of spiritual. Opening a really. Moments when the divine shows itself. Have, these moments. Bacchus challenging oppression. But working for a different world. Of opening our hearts and our minds and our souls the possibilities liberation. And often times it can be quite uncomfortable. Play never felt uncomfortable. An experience of working for social justice. Couple times here there. Well for myself one of those moments of profound uncomfortability but also of divine openness. Was in the early nineties i grew up in los angeles and orange county. Right-wing hotbed ronald reagan's bass. So very conservative homophobic basically anti majority of humanity. I can't place. And. Environment came into activism. And you know i think for a lot of us when we come in to activism there's a real clearsense all these right and wrongs out there in the world and it's like we got to do something about it but at a certain point in doing this work it's become a lot more complicated. If not just those things out there that you changed your things in here that need to change your things in here that need to change. It's on the early 90s or was the rodney king. Police brutality beating a brutal beating of african-american motorist. Who is speeding brutally beaten by four white officers. Prison acquitted all charges. Is videotape. Televised. Around the world unbelievable example of police brutality. The echoes about acquittal. Of those officers was felt when trayvon martin's. Trial george zimmerman's acquittal i could feel the echoes. Abby's acquittals is brutal acts of violence against black life. The perpetrators being acquitted. Over. And over and over again. Donut verdict came out i was in the suburbs of orange county and so 30 minutes from my house in the mostly white middle-class suburbs of simi valley. The acquittal came down. 3 minutes from my house another direction was the multiracial working-class city of los angeles that erupted. In mass demonstrations at the police station mass demonstrations of. Corporate offices in the la times that the main newspaper and civil unrest broke out. And. Are mostly white group of us. Social justice activist. You know we live in a deeply segregated society. Do policy through housing. Not necessarily always by choice. But by design. If i grew up in a mostly white. Cultural antenna social milieu. Or group and social justice activist our friend. Terrence priester the one african-american person in our group. He came over that night. And he said. In order for me to be with you. On this night of the rodney king verdict. A verdict. Speaks volumes. What black lives are worth in this country i need to talk with you about my own experiences. Of racism. And conversations about race. Particular monks white folks don't happen a whole lot in explicit way. Unless it's racist. Only white people ever heard talk about race growing up were explicitly races who blamed every problem in this country on black women on welfare. Are undocumented immigrants. Terrence wright talking about his experiences of racial profiling his experience of being on his way to his high school graduation. In a mostly white neighborhood. On his way to his high school graduation being. Honor is the valedictorian of his class going over his speech. Wingstop. By white police officers. Who assumed he was there to break into the cars of the parents were there to see their kids graduate. And when he didn't have his student id on him. They began searching him is the class valedictorian is standing in front of his high school on his way to his graduation. Reflecting on his speech and he's standing being humiliated nothing believe being told he's a liar being searched patted down. Experience of the classmates walking by classmates who is known for years walking by and kind of awkwardly making eye contact with him but then looking away quickly. No one speaking up for him. No one asking him. What was happening. He said he could see all the eyes of white parents. Looking at him and although no instead it. I'm feeling this. Send. Thank god they got any free broke into my car. And you talk about his experiences over and over and over again of this. Info for me growing up. A good white person meant to be color blind or post-racial. We hear that a lot after the election of president. Obama. Post-racial. Oftentimes from those. Who have the most to gain. Are deeply committed to preventing any possible effort towards racial justice. First having any conversation about racism. actually help us move forward as a country. Post-racial and colorblind off and prevent us from being able to have any kind of positive movement forward. Answer my color blind. Framework was up in flames just like los angeles. I didn't have anything to replace it with. Out of this. It was just a really powerful moment of someone. Bearing witness. Then whatever had that in their their lives. Experiences of someone opening up and sharing deep pains connected to historical. Legacy the trauma and oppression people opening themselves up and taking a profound risk to share something. Oftentimes women sharing about experiences of sexism. Or lgbt folks opening up and sharing experiences about homophobia either profound moments. And i think are you turn your virtual space helps us. Not always not feel uncomfortable in those moments when we experienced privilege based on those things. But to stay in the uncomfortability. To expand our capacity. For discomfort so that we can break out of what is comfortable which is often times is going along with the flow. To be uncomfortable enough. To be apart of. Movements to change history. If you're out of that. I start getting involved in multiracial organizing. In orange county. Around immigrant rights in around ethnic studies. And. Out of these experiences when we would work on broad-based no 10. Working against students heights. We would having tremendous support. Hundreds and hundreds of people would come out including lots of folks from different backgrounds different racial backgrounds. But then we start working around immigrant rights in around ethnic studies in chicano studies. Information i'm trying to figure out you know how does race work and. Yeah it's racism really as like profound is like my friend parents told me. There's an experience when we start working for immigrant rights all of the support that we had built up. Particularly in a month white students. Amongst white folks. In the community. Vanished. They start referring to us as advocating for hate education. Tammy wanted to learn have more education about the history black history chicano history women's history this was described as advocating separatist hate education. What hadn't experienced it was again a very profound spiritual moment. Of being part of a demonstration in orange county for chicano studies and immigrant rights. However it was much different. Then we had six 800 people together for student fee hike. Protest. Where do your beautiful rainbow different people this time the protest was much smaller there's like 30 or 40. All latino latina folks. With signs for immigrant rights in for chicano studies. And at first i thought i was walking towards this. I thought wow that's a lot of white people out there supporting it. But as i got closer i realized it actually what was happening was always about to 300 white students surrounding that protest. Yelling. Go home. Go home go back to your country. Go back to your country and even though the signs were all in english people yelling speak english speak english speak english. Reminding me of these scenes from you know. Eyes on the prize documentaries of martin luther king in the civil rights movement marching in chicago. And white neighbor white neighborhood throwing rocks. And yelling go home go home. If i'm walking towards this. Rally. Start feeling so scared. I knew that i needed a join. Also terrified of joining i'm if you ever spirit mean just think of experiences when you've been. Afraid. Step forward to put yourself out there. And your personal life in a conversation in a public way. Try join the demonstration. And a student the white students. Just lost it lost it. If i yelling. Race-traitor. Race-traitor. Race-traitor. And branson at the time i actually was reading a journal called race-traitor. That is about the social construction of whiteness how historical and social forces of created a white identity divorce european people from their ancestry from their culture to connect to the pain of monolithic white culture that deeply. Committed to a superiority racial superiority and uniting white people across different classes and social background to an agenda that is deeply right-wing and deeply committed to. Structural inequality. But for working-class and middle-class white people to see their self-interest not in people around them in their communities. But towards a racial superiority. Agenda. That sounds familiar. That sounds horrible. However i don't think the students were referring to that journal when they called me race-traitor. In some ways that kind of were but a different way. All all this theory and history and he'll complex things like in a multiracial movement for collective liberation all this heady words and all came really crystal clear home when there's one white student came. Look me right in the face and start yelling what color is your skin. What color is your skin. And i was just really clear moment that got just really slow. Penelec not this. Everyday time but divine time. When might be truth about the world in the universe like open up but also the gift of spiritual commitment. And spiritual faces be present in the painful moment of what color is your skin. Which is basically him saying. You are on the wrong side i am calling you back to your place on this side of the line i am calling you back to this side of history. History of the lynchers. Of the paul ryan i'm calling you back to the history. Of white supremacy you are out of line what color is your skin you have lost your sense of place and i am calling you back. I was just like. My heart was. Broken. But that what color is your skin made all that theory and history. Boom right there there it is why i divorced my mentors got david rojas. He was a. Latino organizer who is part of this coalition. He said. You need to start organizing the white people. What. I hate white people. I hate white people have ever had that experience restart coming into consciousness about something like a man around feminism and you hate men like a man or. White people around shame and guilt and likes hate white people. He's like what you need to figure it out. Because we need a lot more white people to join and be a part of this movement and to understand why chicano studies why ethnic studies why immigrant-rights white racial justice is so critical to them and then i remembered the conversation i had with my friend terrence. After rodney king. Poster of all these black leaders. W.e.b. du bois ella baker september clark langston hughes. Frederick douglass sojourner truth i don't know who any of them were set martin luther king. I barely understood him at all i just thought he had a dream. But colorblind world. Ask him who are these people and he'll explain. Really you in great detail two weeks later i be like okay i forgot everything you said what it will who are these people again. And it's two weeks later i do the same thing it eventually he was like look. This isn't about you trying to learn more about black people so you don't feel so bad. About the racism after rodney king. This isn't about you trying to have black friends or know some black history like throw out there. This is about you. Connecting to your leaders these aren't just my leaders. Ella baker. Martin luther king malcolm x. These are your leaders. And one of the ways that white supremacy hurts you. White supremacy hurts me. He's like yet one of the ways that white supremacy deeply hurt white people. Is the convention that they have nothing to learn from the legacies in history vision in poetry and culture and tradition of communities of color. The deepest movement for democratic struggle in this country have come from communities of color. Working-class communities as well and included lots and lots of white folk before most of them. Were considered white. But you need to understand that that history has been taken from you not because you're consciously choosing to ignore it but because you were raised in a society that teaches you that there is no history to learn from there are no great contributions to gain. From our communities and our tradition. You need to understand that white supremacy deeply hurt you as a white person and you need to work to figure it out. I figured out. Thinking about what aaron said about white people being hurt by racism. And later having conversations with women about how men are hurt by. Sexism. I came across this quote to quote. One for the suzanne far long-time 7 organizer. Who says the right wing is united by racism sexism and homophobia. Social justice forces are divided by racism sexism and homophobia. Historically in today but i came across another quote by bell hooks. Incredible long-time black feminist theorists. Intellectual. Who said. But yes racism sexism all these different things. The deeply hurt and divided people are interconnected they come together. But so is our liberation. She talked about collective liberation. Which is where the concept. As a young person just to help set my mind free and started nurse my soul if not just howard divided. Historically institutionally culturally. Put that through understanding and going through some of the pain of trying to understand these different thing we can start to realize the ways that we can reach out to each other and hold on and learn from. Histories i. Is a white. Middle-class guy. We're told we're not my histories. We're not histories i should be learning from we're not communities i should be. Connected to. Other than thinking that i'm supposed to help those communities deal with their problems. But i'm supposed to learn from those community that we can overcome these divisions and create something beautiful powerful and visionary. To embody the democratic. Belief that we have. That sound good. Out of that. You got to figure out how to organize white people. I started up a group with a bunch of other folks hall catalyst projects to help support and develop the leadership of white folks not from a place of i hate white people but from a place of. I love. I love people and white people. We need to ask the ghostbuster white in this room but he sets free of white supremacy. But we need to work to reclaim our humanity as whole people and it racism and sexism they different things are deeply. Destructive to our souls. He felt that. Air felt that sense of destruction that pain is store i mean the history lives in us in our bodies trauma. Division. Awkward silences and painful space between us in different ways at different moments. Work is when i found the unitarian universalist and it brought me to phoenix arizona and phoenix arizona. For those of you who don't know hundreds and hundreds of unitarian universalist convert just like they did in the masmorra monday march. Not too long ago here. A powerful coming together of our faith. I want to think it was a powerful about that is that you know you can get a unitarian universalist to show up for any kind of demonstration for social justice any day of the week was in a five-minute notice right. You can get a unitarian universalist admit to doing civil disobedience. You know you can just make an announcement right now okay i need a unitarian universalist to do civil disobedience after the service just join me out here and then we'll go and i could feel i could feel pretty comfortable knowing someone's going to join right. But this wasn't about that this was about arizona and the struggle for immigrant rights and the unitarian universalist association of congregation does a faith making a commitment not to show up as individual progressive unitarian but to show up as a face as a community as a wii. And for us as a face to show up not just to do civil disobedience. But for the hundreds and hundreds of people that each person represents in their home congregations in their home communities to provide support to be in direct confrontation on the sidewalks in the street against anti-immigration measure. A lot of people are really afraid. A lot of unitarian universalist verbally of understandably. And radical you use are always like the other unitarian universalist that it don't never do anything in that book is always right. It's harder to see the beautiful possibilities and strength subtle. Daily the each of us has easier to see the critiques right. In phoenix arizona it was a moment to bring our faith into the street to have church. In the streets. And you can feel all these fears a past mistake of using universal studio with these issues. Beer to making mistakes the fear of not doing it right the fearful who are we. If it when we did have nonviolent direct action civil disobedience training originally was supposed to be out somewhere in the community and andino a handful of you use we're going to come and see what we said was no no no no. We need to have this in the sanctuary of the main church in phoenix we need to have this and sacred space we need to have a civil disobedience training but if church. They're calling for dar souls not just our bodies to be in the street and get in the way but to bring forth the power of our souls. To come together and create a face. Action. That sound good. If you're out of that we said. Let's bring our songs. Bring our chalices. But if bring our faith. But it's not retreat from being public. Religious. L. Public religious community. What is phil ford and represent our congregations in our community let us go forward and represent our faith and we did in the hundred when previously. The idea was at 8 or 10 unitarian-universalist we're going to do this and the rest were going to go to the suburbs and do something else. But we said no we need the immigrant migrant community of color base struggle. In the mostly white with also lots of folks with color unitarian-universalist contingent to all be together. Because what happens when we come together as we might be scared out of our minds at first. I'm making this mistake or saying the wrong thing. But then we start to be together and share space together and create sacred space together. In defiance to injustice and our relationships to each other begin to change. We have a power far greater than we know when we come together and we start to. Pick uncomfortable wrists to reach out and connect biondes divisions. If you're out of this experience in arizona. Incredible relationship 440 was a beautiful thing to be. Talking's i was a part of a whole multiracial organizing crew around this it was incredible to hear young. Activist of color. Who would say things like why don't know about all these unitary that's a lot of white people coming from all over the place i don't know about them being in our community. They're going to try to take over. You know why people always try to take over and like you know make it there thing and don't support our thing. I'm not sure about all these unitarian-universalist those same folks after 4 days of all being in the streets together of working together of. Relating to each other. Started telling people in their community. Throughout at demonstrations were going getting arrested for civil disobedience. The word started becoming if you need help look for a person with a yellow standing on the side of love shirt. They will help they will they will they will try to bring you water if you need it they will try to help raise money for your bail if you were arrested for civil disobedience they will. I'll give you a ride to back to the meeting. So not helping the sense of these are the people that are going to help us solve our problems. But these are the people who understand. But our struggles are connected. These are the people who have come because they want to support our leadership not undermine it and assume their own. These are people who have come. Because they believe me inherent worth and dignity of all people. And now. No one's perfect. But they're really trying. Enter showing up. So as a face. Add experience. I love the possibilities that we have. To be in our power. Are solar power. Individuals. In the community in the world we are and we do important work but to also have opportunity the moments when we come together as a we. Before i went to arizona. That summer i asked my home congregation which was them to oakland church in california i asked the justice minister. Reverend jacqueline dehart. If she would pray on me. Give me the courage and strength. You go to arizona. And she was like yeah i'll do it and i'll make an announcement in church and see if anybody else wants to pray on you. Private little thing me and you like it up just a little blessing powerful experience. In this deeply this society that fries isolation anxiety depression is anybody ever felt any of those things. Double x. Spray tan. Reverend jaqueline her hands on me and pray on me to go to arizona and a have 20-30 other people from the church all putting their laying hands on me and praying. To go forward and help our faith be powerful. It was beautiful because it was a moment i was terrified after you pray on i was like oh my gosh what am i doing here what am i getting myself into but i'd like to do. But it was amazing to come back from arizona and have people who had prayed on me today. How did we do. Not how did you do yeah you're that social justice guy who does that thing. But how did we do. If that's the thing i want to leave on is the power of. Us and we in action for justice aligning our faith aligning our vision and values aligning our congregations aligning our hearts and souls. With our minds on freedom. Doesn't mean we all have to do the same thing but to act in a way that embraces and encourages and sees ourselves as deeply connected and representing our faith. If i want to echo the call for more pledges. For this church. Not just about what we do and sundays or even on days during the week in these sanctuaries. It's about what this space create. Nurtures and fuels for us to be leaders in society. This is a hotbed of possibility. A hotbed of hope. A hotbed. Abyssal power for justice. That sound good. It's what we need to fuel our congregation we need to make sure our leaders i have salary we need to make sure our youth have religious education so i asked not just that we contribute to our churches and our congregations in our organization because of what they can do for us which is incredibly important and valuable but through this space we become a wii. A weed that can bring leadership in society. Don't not just our kids learning religious education butts to help my son my two-and-a-half-year-old toddler grow up in a society where he has incredible role models of anti racist white people. Incredible role models of men who are feminists. Of communities who embrace. The possibilities the joys the pain. The difficulties. In the divine. A social justice efforts in creating beloved community. Thank you for having me. Innespace powerful in our own individual ways. Our own individual contributions in our families are churches or organizations. The different things that were involved in our church committees but for us to also be powerful as a we going to even when it's not me who's there. We can support in. Be apart. Changing the course of north carolina. Changing the course of the south. And helping to contribute to a world in which we have collected liberation. Amen.

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160529-The-Third-Reconstruction.mp3

My first experience of the moral monday movement. Came in july 2013. I've been reading about the growing numbers of people showing up on the grounds of the state capitol in raleigh to protest the flurry of regressive legislation that have been emerging from the legislature. I'm feeling sympathetic with her complaints i figured it was time. To join them. So i rose early one morning monday morning and drove the four hours to raleigh so that i could be present. For organizing meetings at days at things that these protests. Add an african american baptist church near the capitol. I got a signal of what was in store for me from the church's overflowing parking lot. And once inside from the hundreds of people jammed in pews and corridors. But as much as anything. What struck me was the extraordinary diversity of the group gathered inside. Roughly half white and half black. Young and old suits and jeans and clergy collars and stoles. The diversity was reflected in the speakers to. Doctors teachers and church ladies and ponytailed activist it looked something like what you see on the cover. Your order. The combination was a blessing in call-to-action from the reverend william j barber jr. President. Of the north carolina naacp. He spoke in the rhythms of the black pentecostal tradition with the words he used. Far more expensive and inclusive. Well the numerator in the many grievances that were present. He also invited each person there to look beyond the issues that it brought them there. There's a recall him saying was a moral fusion movement. Whose goal was nothing left to accomplish what he called a third reconstruction in this country. One that might dismantle structures of discrimination and injustice that underlie our nation's deepest wolves. I remember at the time being struck by the vastness of barbers vision. Even if i struggle to get my arms around all that he was asking of us. So. Today. As we linger in a luxuriance memorial day weekend. Wanted to take some time to tease out something of what i understand barbers vision to be. In the hope that it may serve the vision of a larger piece. To which. Our remembering. Call office. We need to begin with a bit of history. The word reconstruction. Refers to one of the most tempestuous periods of american history. Covering the time roughly from the end of the civil war around eighteen. 5 to the mid-1870s. When the southern states were being reintegrated into the union. The key to this transition was how the former slaves would be recognized as full citizens. Many southerners opposed the move. Using tactics ranging from legislative action to brute intimidation to block it. So eventually southern states were placed under military rule. They require them to grant african-american citizens full citizenship rights. In north carolina for example constitutional changes adopted in 1868. Resulted in the election of our first african-american governor. William holden. He wasn't the last. Five years there were many many more. In the 1870s there were. 30 black state legislators. And one black member of congress. Histories in the early 20th century claim that those first years after the civil war were rife with corruption. With. Carpetbaggers from the north and radical southern scalawags. Taking advantage of both black and white for their own game. Recent historians now have turned those charges. On their heads. They argue that while the transition time was difficult. Rather than being taken advantage of. Southern blacks. Emory creation of a more democratic government structures. In schools and economic opportunity. Barbara sykes the collaboration of both blacks and whites in recreating creating north carolina's expansive new constitution. As the first incident. A successful fusion politics that brought people together for the benefit of all. But as we know the changes didn't last long. The ku klux klan had moved into north carolina shortly after the civil war and its reconstruction advanced its influence spread. They called for white supremacy. And you was murder and entertainment intimidation to suppress the vote in future years. In 1871 clan supported legislators gain the majority in the legislature and voted to impeach. Governor holcomb. They then went on to amend the state constitution. Limiting who could hold political office and banning interracial marriage and integrated public schools. North carolina later joined other southern states in implementing laws that limited blacks right to vote. Even though the 15th amendment. When we haven't heard much. Adopted an 1869 forbade deny anyone the right to vote because of race. Good man. It wasn't until the voting rights act in 1965 the voting rights were restored to all. William barber asked that we attend to this history. For the patterns that he says that played out across the history to the present day. Once fusion joins two peoples who were once divided. Those who benefited from the division. Will use fear and intimidation to re-establish. Jim crow legislation introduced across the south after the demise of the reconstruction era. Is an ample fenestration. But he also insists that despite setbacks there is reason for hope. Hope centered in the truth deeper than politics. It's hope frames in different ways but it comes down to this. Oppression of one people by another will not endure. Because it is centered in the moral lie. 1 people is superior to another. That 1 people is entitled to prosper while another to suffer. It is not just morally wrong it's not just unjust eased ally. Contrary to our very humanity. And the truth that is the flip side of that lie. But all people have worth that all people are entitled to dignity. It's something that works on p. Like an itch. They can never seem to scrap. It troubles their sleep. It disrupts in the strut. And for those who can no longer abide the denial. Did shelters that lie. It forces them into action. Well before the civil rights marches of the sixties barber notes this was happening in the south. Whites were reaching out to blacks and working to bridge the gap between them. And these people began to gather and organize and pockets under the radar. Outside of a disapproving community until they were ready to act. One of these centers in the us was the highlander folk school in eastern tennessee. Started in the 1930s. In the morning early initiatives what's the bling ring union organizers together for interracial residential workshops. Drink one of those workshops the schools music director zelphia horton caught a song she learned from labor act. Call. We will overcome. Pete seeger change the lyrics to we shall overcome and target toccata to martin luther king jr at the highland school in 1957. Three years later highlands next music director guy carol and introduced it to the founding meeting of the student nonviolent nonviolent coordinating committee. In raleigh north carolina. Anticipating mortal monday marches they're 50 years later. And it became the central anthem of the civil rights movement. An event. But barber calls. Americans s. Reconstruct. Like the first reconstruction he says the civil rights movement was centered in fusion politics. Exemplified by snakes only logo a black and white hands clasped together. Nba lines by the working together a blacks and whites for the liberation of all. It began with key events likes the supreme court's brown versus board of education decision. And the montgomery alabama bus boycott. Started by rosa parks. Who is trained. At the highlanders. But it was powered and organized. Buy small-scale initiatives have hundreds of locations across the. It resulted in stunning victories like the civil rights act and the voting rights act. But not without cost. And the death of people like medgar evers. Jimmie lee jackson. James reid and violet. The wolves howl. And many others including martin luther king himself. Again in the first reconstruction. Hansen's the first reconstruction. Push back with strong. Ingenious. Unrelenting. The movement head advanced far enough that its opponents in their public remarks could no longer use explicit racist language so instead they learn to speak in code. Southern strategy targeted the fears of southern whites with faith races like forced busing and states rights. And support for tax cuts. That stunted the ability of government. To enforce equal rights. That strategy barbara says have the desired effect. At least from a political perspective. By slowing reform agenda especially in the south. The fusion coalition he says was cheered by the election of barack obama but legislative stalemate has stalled most efforts at reform since then. Enter. The third reconstruction. Barbara's participation began with his election as president of the north carolina naacp in 2005. Which quickly became the center of a broad coalition of progressive causes. Ranging from. Affordable housing in affordable healthcare. The criminal justice reform. Electoral reform educational reform. From immigrant immigrant justice. Environmental. But more than that they toured the state and organize what they called people's assemblies were they invited people to tell the stories of their suffering that came to inform the coalition's. From the beginning they were tested by what barber called divide-and-conquer tactics. Initiatives ranging from school desegregation to same-sex marriage. Striking seeking to peel off members of a coalition. In his book the third reconstruction. Barberitos of a time when a woman from the thumbprint planned parenthood asked the coalition could support women's rights and access to healthcare. Barber said he could. And that would be helpful if they had a white woman. Who would speak up for black women's right to vote. She said she could do that. On a national talk show. The to surprise the host. When asked about planned parenthood. The woman replied. I'm actually here to talk about voting rights. And barber asked about voting rights replied. I'm actually here to talk about women's rights and access to healthcare. Barbara says he got a glimpse of how broad this coalition could be in the summer of 2013. When they took it here to the mountain. O'reilly hearings pack square drew around 5,000 people and it was strong evidence of it. But why what might have been even more encouraging. Was that the night before people gathering at a church in mitchell county. Whose population is 99% white. Told barber they were so frustrated with the trans and state governments that they were planning to start a branch of the n-double-acp. Barbara says it's been challenging to navigate a course for this movement without getting drawn into partisan politics. To do that he said people had to learn from what he calls the freedom movement history. It is a history he said whose success was grounded not in achieving political advantage. Fun and advancing immortal vision of freedom and justice. And it was the proven power of that vision. Pheasant persuaded politicians to push for legislative changes. Barber put it. Lyndon johnson didn't say we shall overcome. While introducing the voting rights bill in a sudden moment of inspiration. It was a moral fusion of the civil rights movement. Cuz it moved. And so it was true of barberton self. Is he retarded in the reading you heard earlier. The racism heat experienced in childhood made him wary. Of whites. But experiencing time taught him. Bat in his words jesus insistence that we love our enemies is more than an ethical ideal. In the struggle for human freedom is also a practical necessity. It's an awakening that we are each invited to experience in our own way. Whatever our source of lorong source of illumination maybe. I have learned that each step i take building relationships across race and culture i take another chink out of the wall in race system of my own. It's part of why i find barbers metaphor of the movement he seeks to build as one of fusion so powerful. We've talked in the past about cooperating or collaborating or reaching across a building a bridge to peoples of other races different from our own. But the fact is something more. We must recognize that in the end our destinies as white yellow black brown red are fused. Any separation that we can see between ourselves and others is a fiction. That's why i say there is only one race the human and all that we do to diminish others eventually only diminishes ourselves. Or conversely all the we do to raise up others in time races up ourselves. Even more accepting that fact. Opposite way finally to scratch that itch that troubles are sleep. To release ourselves from the weight of a pressure. The burton's our heart. We give up the denial of at shelters the lie of our separation and jointly join forces in the work of liberation. Dr. barbara offered us a key when he preached in this pulpit last september. If you work all he took as his topic. Hope when things fall apart. And isn't that an experience we all know well. One way or another we have seen our own hopes for ourselves. For the future for the moral vision we affirm in this community stumble and fall short. We are extravagant. In our ambitions. And humble. In archie. But barbara suggest that perhaps we mistake. How we approach our task. The prophetic churches said doesn't ask if hope can be implemented. But only how hope can be imagined. What is required of us is not that we win the prize. But that we don't take our eyes off the goal of achieving it. That means we must lift our eyes from what howard thurman calls. The bleak. Desolation that surrounds us. Life. That impelling 4th. The drives us forward seems unaware of what he calls the smell of death or the fear that lurks within the shadow of the mind. Brawley says forces in the world are reaching toward renewal. Steve still die and live again in answer to their car. Fledgling birds awake to life from the prison house of shell. Flowers bloom and blossom as harbingers of a fruit. To come. Renewal. Transformation awakening are all around us. Why not. Within us. Behind are fretting and fear thurman argues our dreams of tranquil days and peaceful years. What would it take. What time is 2 time with the vision of a time when love unfettered will keep the heart in mind in ways of life. The crown or days.

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160131-Can-We-Grow-Up.mp3

May remember last. Springwood. Hbo series mad men was ending. The writers had their fingers on the pulse of american culture at that time the late 1960s. If you saw him a remember they began the first installment of the show's final season with that old peggy lee hit. Is that older it. If you remember the song by jerry leiber and mike stoller walks us through one story after another of the narrator's life. Fire in her home. A visit the circus. Finally a failed love affair. Each experienced intensely but ending in discipline. Is that all there is. She asks. Fire to the circus. To love. And her smoky voice things out. If that's all there is my friends. Let's keep dancing. Let's break out the booze and have a ball. The song nicely fit the state. Of life of don draper. Main character of it.. But it also echoed the times in which the show was that. Call the social disruptions of the late 60. Left. Widespread dissolution. And the response of many people was something that echoed in that song right. Frickin frogs. Behavior that cross boundaries of all kinds. Is that all there is. Is a question that occurs the most of us at some point. The wonders of childhood have been brought to earth. Play appear on our parents on our heroes. Our mentors. I'm so we learn to cultivate the cynical laugh. And the world-weary psy. And it's true that. Some of us to respond with something like the songs. Suggestion. Looking for satisfaction by. Pleasure and however we may pursue it. Others go off seeking something new that we can throw ourselves into with boundless enthusiasm. And the rest of us. Well i guess we just. Look for a way to muddle through. What choice do we have. I want to suggest a day that there is. A choice. An alternative to simply zoning out with pleasure-seeking. Hitching our wagon to somebody else's star. Or planning ahead with no particular end in mind. I think of it as a middle way of sorts. When they could be hard to navigate because we're blazing much of it on our own. One that i want to argue is ultimately more fruitful and more satisfying. I want to describe it as spiritual maturity. Spiritual. Mature. It is spiritual in the sense that it has to do with. Core values that gives our lives meaning. And a sense of purpose. And since we're talking about maturity we're focusing on something that is. Developmental. A way of being an approach to living that we come into overtime. Watch physical maturity it's something that we are each capable of achieving. Something that amounts to a full flowering of our nature. Yep like emotional maturity. It's something that takes work and attention to achieve. And not everybody can. It's not exclusive to any faith tradition or necessarily to religious faith at all. Although its qualities can be found at the center of all great religious traditions. I like the observation of my colleague kathleen rowland. Who says that. The word maturity is related to the latin root word. Maine. Which means early in the morning. Spiritual maturity involves waking up. Coming to awareness of what it is to have a more real and realized self. And yet at the same time it is no finished steak. Throughout her life there's always room to go deeper to see wider connection. But we need to be careful not to dress this process process up. Flowery language. And fall fails to take account of all the challenges it poses. The philosopher philip susan diamond who we heard from earlier emphasizes this point. Growing up she says it's no panacea. Quite the opposite. It's a matter she says of acknowledging the uncertainties that we threw our lives. Often the worst of living without certain teeth while recognizing that we will invariably continue to seek it. It's worth remembering she says that often. We choose. Immaturity. Because we're either lazy or skin. How much more comfortable it is. Let someone else make your decisions. And it's true there is no lack of people. From curbside preachers to self-help authors. Ready to offer us their programs that they say are sure to bring us enlightenment. Eminem those spiritual maturity isn't about finding somebody else's pony to ride. It's about coming to terms with the way that is ours. I sometimes think that this yearning for certainty may be a greater threat to spiritual maturity today. Unlike the 1960s. It's not personal indulgence that seems to be. Driving. Proper. Here as much as an elemental fear. Fear of a changing world. Fear for our safety and that of our families. Fear that is born. Applause. And when were afraid we don't respond well. A first response often is out ring. So is there any wonder. The early in the presidential campaign it is the candidates peddling outrage who are seeing or strong response. That look familiar. You seen that on the campaign trail at all. Yeah that's susan lyman points out outrage is enervating. It wears us out. We can't stop singing. I'm sewing time we slip into something like numb disengagement. We'll leave from time to time by magical thinking. Is it any wonder she says that the book. Peter pan. Was published shortly before world war i. In such a grim time who could blame people for being charmed by the story of a gifted child who refused to grow up. When the world is falling apart around you. Who would want to. The parallels that susan lyman finds between that time and ours are bit unsettling. A culture that increasingly abandons the social safety net while celebrating material indulgence. And the fantasy of the self-made man or woman. How else to explain she says that instead of treating each other as adults we support moves to build increasingly sophisticated electronic surveillance. Or praise the market's ability to as she says give us comfort through a range. A toy. By contrast she says ideas of a more just and humane society. Are portrayed as childish dreams. To be discarded in favor of finding a steady job that places are fitz's are placed in the consumer economy. What is that sell. Wellfleet judgment may be a bit heart. There are still a few holding out hope for what she calls ideas of them or just inhumane world. So it's true that they are risk being drowned out. In the den. Of our consumer culture. Today i want to argue that cultivating spiritual maturity is a way to place ourselves among those holding out that hope. Cultivating spiritual maturity we come into our strength. Our best nature. And from that position we can learn to recognize that strength in others. And ally ourselves with it. Once we come into our strength the focus of our life is no longer the distractions we sought. Call more anxiety. But the values that give our lives meaning. We reach a place. Where we no longer simply proclaim our values. The lip. Mycolic forest church in his book life crack. Tell us the story of the director of a spiritual retreat. Who has an exercise invited his students over several days to enter into a room. Sit for a time on a cushion. And meditate. I'm a blue vons if you put in the room. I'm leaving it was to write down her or his reflection. At first the students focused on the form and function of the vas. I followed the contours of the vaz. Unreported. Another said the imagined is a container holding some blossoms rather. The director told them they were doing too much thinking. Just meditate. Has it where on the body of the bus. Some students tried again. Reported. Deeper spiritual and. I seen. Emerge into the volume. What's the sort of comment. At the end of the week the director removed the vas from. The students arrived as usual and respond to discover that it was gone. Where's the boss. Surely you don't need the boss now. So let's explore this. And cultivating spiritual maturity our aim is a settled and secure sense of self. Deeply integrated into the world around. It's over his grounded to begin with in a willingness to accept every person and all things just as they are. But also as distinct from ourselves. With spiritual maturity we see that there is. Irreducible. Ambiguity. Confusion paradox. And complexity in the world. There are things we will simply always possible. And we can't make everything right. We still hold on to what we hold. Parker true value. And bring compassion and empathy toward interact. With other people and ourselves. At the same time we are capable of experiencing and taking pleasure. Computer. As well as moral traits like justice and mercy. Experiencing them not in judgment. But in humble appreciation. And all. Spiritually mature people are comfortable with metaphor. I'm the power of ritual making themselves available to and even creating expressions of deepest felt truths. Spiritually mature people recognize the limits of their own understanding. They are accepting of others and differing backgrounds. Perspectives and life experiences. Not needing to impose their own way of thinking. They claim no privileged perspective. Instead they submit their own beliefs to evidence. Steer clear of wishful thinking and leave themselves open to learning. From many different. Through it all they remain open to wonder. Astonishment. Enjoy. They frequently offer praise. They also resolved to recognize and take responsibility for their own power. Their own agency. They seek out and dedicate themselves to the work that they are called too and they accept leadership when it's asked. They recognized the need for service. And they gladly and humbly offer their aid. Dislike submit is some of what it means to grow up spiritually. Some of how we. Make rc darcel yourselves our way in the world. But as i said let's be clear about the challenge. The fear that i spoke of earlier doesn't respond well to maturity. That's mature responses can threaten the bubble of magical thinking that serves to protect. A fearful heart. Susan diamond is right to observe. How important courage is to the process of growing up. Courage in the face of what can be an onslaught of fearful anger. Trump up with all sorts of claimed authority that service in the end. Except. It is easy to be drawn in. Highfalutin argumentation. That serves merely to distract. It's not even put it. There is a rift in our lives. Between our ideas of what is right and good and the way things are. And that can be hard to square with what we want from the world. What is required of us then. Is a good deal of humility and compassion. For ourselves and each other as we struggle with the many consequences. Affected. And it is here that rabindranath tagore speech. I see says all things rush on they stop not. They look not behind no power can hold them back they rush on. So it is. Time. Gallops ahead the pace of our lives accelerates and so much remains i'm done. I'm still here. Is it beyond us to be. The clap. To be tossed and lost and broken in the world of fearful. One of the legacies of our western culture is this intense drive to know everything and nail everything down. And so we cringe at the least bit of chaos and uncertainty. Tagore coming from much older people. Reminds us of another viewpoint. One that in many ways makes more room for spiritual maturity. It is one that embraces a deep mystery. Where he says. Seasons come dancing and pass away. Has we must pass away. Interfaith we cannot know. And yet. While we live. Colors tunes and perfumes. Poor in embolus cascade. We find ourselves in a place. We're abounding joy scatters and gives up. Every moment. With john lennon. We are invited to imagine ourselves into a way to be present. To this astonishing world. Without projecting our fears. Cherishing our companions in offering ourselves in service to the flourishing of all. Well living with ready hearts. I'm open mind. Water park.

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160214-Fanning-The-Flames-of-Desire-Passion-Transformation-and-Sustinence.mp3

I love this congregation. I also want to mention. The disc wire. I don't like purposely did not look. At all of the people because i wanted to hear. That beautiful love song. Ar-15 human beings sing it. 15. And if whole sanctuary. It's filled with that gloria sound. That is why we come here. Thank you. Let's talk about. Coming alive. Chocolate passion. Howard thurman. You'll see this quote. In multiple places. Facebook. The land of quotes. You'll see it in uu sermons and hymnals. All over the place. Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people, the hive. That why we're here. We are not here. The place mall. We are not here to pretend. That desire and passion are these tiny little things that we put in a box right back here. That somehow gets moved to here. When we reach a bedroom with somebody really like. Desire and passion are the reasons that we get up in the morning. They are the reasons that we choose to go out and do the work that were meant to do in the world. And they are the reasons that we choose. To enter interrelationships of all stripes. Because we have the desire for connection. Desire and the passion. To be seen. For who we really are. And to offer that gift to someone else. Now i realize that we are a very intellectual group. And i really glad because sharon is one of the smartest people i know. And i want to seize our brains. But i want us to use our brains alongside our hearts. And alongside that fabulous second chakra of creativity. I want us to come alive. I'm here. The here. And all the way out to her edges. So what does it mean to come alive. How do you know when you are alive. Feel like in your body. When i was thinking about this fabulous topic because mark asked me to do the sermon. We have to do this this date. In august of time. And believe me i can overthink things cuz i'm a libra. What i generally do is things come up and i write them down and i pretended they don't exist. Because i know that somewhere back here my really fabulous leave remind is marinating. Profoundness jewelry. I'm a man named ted shawn. We don't know that anyone in this room is old enough to have seen ted shawn. And his wife dance on broadway. But. Ted shawn was born in missouri. In 1891 so he's a little older than me. I need a little better than me. Quite frankly. He was going to become a minister. He went to the university of denver to be a methodist minister. In fact the university of denver was at that point methodist affiliated. But why would there be contracted diphtheria. And during his physical therapy. He was introduced to dance as a way to build his muscle strength. This was in 1910 when men did not really dance. His dancing. Was it discouraged by his university. Because again. Methodist. Not really what you were supposed to be doing their very conservative people. We actually got expelled because he wouldn't give up his passion for dance. He wouldn't give up the thing that made his body come alive. It's a rather than being a minister. He chose. To do what he was really called to do. And dance. And then he met the woman. They married. Who also had a passion for dance it made her come alive her name was ruth st. denis. And they got married in 1914. And she was not only his. Partner wife. Compact.. All those wonderful things but she was. Part of his creative outlet. Together they formed. The denishawn school of dance in los angeles they taught dancing choreograph their own routines for their vaudeville shows. They created. Movements. But people repeat it. I think that's amazing cuz you know meg dancing is more of the interpretive variety. It's more of the what feels good in the moment variety not. Executed and taught. In secret so that other people can do that. It's not my passion. Do i do like to dance. Pigeon had this line that he talked to talk to his answers. And he said when in doubt. Twirl. What is a really good metaphor for all of us i will take that to heart when is outsworld. When you are alive. Fire happen. Fire inside of you. Sometimes it feels actually like fire not the heartburn kind i don't think that's what we met. That's fire in your belly. That fire in your soul that this activity this person. Feels great to me. Fire can be hot and passionate. It is one of those things that we seek out. Cuz we like to feel those yummy feeling that feels like fireworks. Deposit to my kids do you feel fireworks in your belly. Sometimes they were going to throw up but. You never can tell the children. We can be passionate about relationships we can be passionate about at work or are hobbies. We did have that big football game saying a couple weeks ago and. I think there were a lot of people passionate about that. I went hang out with a friend. Fire can also be transformative. So once we start feeling that passion which we feel that fire. We have changed. We are no longer the same as we were. Before even if it was two minutes before. Fire and passion and desire. Changes who we are. And change of how we show up in the world. And fire is also. Sustaining. It is warm. And comfort. Is that bonfire. The campfire. The heart. Cookeville. That lets us share with other. Is wonderful food. That we all love. In the beginning. Because she carries all of those energies with her. She carried. The trap the fire of passion. And inspiration. She carry. The fire. A transformation. She carries the fire. Appealing. And comfort. To what does it mean to come alive. What do we do to encourage ourselves to come alive. Cuz sometimes you know. Especially in february. I'm feeling a little stagnant maybe that's why they put valentine's day here. Maybe we need a little. Lyft. In the middle of february. Fisherman's cold. Especially when we're lonely. You know i often thought years ago that that this holiday was specifically designed to be these shame holiday. The holiday. you're so alone and no one loves you. But i think in fact it can be. A repurposing. For the desire to fall in love with ourselves. Cheridet reading from giving children. We already have everything we need. Inside. We already know. Deep within. What it is that we are here to do. And that may be the thing that makes you money. Craps. But there's so much more. The thing that makes you money. Could be. Your greatest passion. Or could be the thing that allows you to do your greatest fashion which is. Base jumping. Which fascinates me. It could be. What happens. When we finally reach the point of loving ourselves so deeply. That we can truly love another. Because that doesn't happen overnight. We're not being taught self-love. In this culture. We're not really taught how to. Fall in love with all of who we are. I have great hope for the. Children of this congregation. Butts. I know that wasn't part of my growing-up experience in the catholic church. We are like sea. Received. Hide inside us. A seed that sprout before we even know what's going on. Someone says something. Someone gives us a compliment. I'm one of our activities and we do. I think i'd be good at doing that more regularly. We carry everything we need inside us. I needed the love and the passion. Who we are. Allows those seeds. We think we might be. To take. Take route. Let me tell you one more story. This one you're chrissy talk about the whole. She might not want to tell you about the baptist church thing well. I will tell you that when i was a teenager i wrote poetry. And it was really awful. I am. Not a poet. I better at it now sort of. If i really try. But i found years ago. Begin my thirties i found some poetry that i'd written when i was 15. Before i burned it all. I reread them. And. I just found a line. That still sticks with me today. And i'm not going to share with you because it's profound. I'm going to share it with you because i realized in my thirties what i was trying to say in my teens. The line. The blue the blue of the sky was penetrated by the needles of the pine tree. Did it hurt. No it was necessary. Obviously i would really really desiring. Sexual interaction on some level. Text we hadn't had sex in 15 but i knew that that's where my body was leading. That's why i put all that imagery in all of these really bad poem. And i was the person who fell in love kind of every two weeks. You know i'm. Would be somebody in. Clouds with hard and there would be angel singing in. And i would fall in love. And two weeks later i would realize that they were a person. And i would fall out. But i wanted that. That desire to continue. I wanted that desire. For the connection. To be something. Drew me on word. Although not exactly that i thought. What i've learned over the years. Is that my desire for connection sexual or otherwise arises out of my desire to connect with my own inner divinity. And from there. Define that connection with others. I have learned. But everything we need and want and longed-for and desire. It's already within. Legacy. I would ask you to say yes. To what makes you come alive. Say yes to the adventure that calls you for. Out of complacency. Out of. Here. Out of your comfort zone and out of your limited vision of what could be. Aeneas is what allows the fires of passion. To transform our lives. When we come alive and use that heat. We will survive. Because of fire inside us. We'll burn brighter than the fire that is a ram. May you all be blessed.

uuasheville_org

101017Sermon.mp3

Racine comes at the climactic moment in the film 2001 a space odyssey. Astronaut dave bowman. It's flipping one switch after another. To disconnect the circuits that control the brain of a supercomputer how. After how has just attempted to send the astronaut to his death in deep space. Has bowman works through the panels in front of him hal's disembodied voice first calmly urges him. Dave. Stop. Stop. Will you. After a few more switches are flipped. The computer observes. Dave. My mind. In his recent book. The shallows. What the internet is doing to our brains. The writer nicholas car sites this seen as a cautionary metaphor. For the impact that the internet and all this attendance programs and features are having on our lives. In something like four decades the internet has evolved from a technical tool developed by scientists to stay in touch. Into a ubiquitous presence in our lives. One of the most important drivers of the world economy and a critical vehicle for linking people and gathering and transmitting information. From the spewing of oil into the gulf of new mexico to stupid pet tricks and p***. It's all on the net. From obscure academic journals to best-selling novels it's on the net. Whole communities virtual and real are centered there. Blogs twitter's social networks and share digital music threatened to render whole industry. Newspaper. Recording companies in moore. Obsolete. Meanwhile the blistering speed of events in cyberspace asher is that anything that happened in even the most out-of-the-way location. Has the potential to. Go viral. The metaphor itself hints at the ambivalence that this capacity often awakens in us. On the one hand that has played a role in toppling tyrants. There is a reason why oppressive societies dedicate so many resources to trying to monitor and control it. An effort that is usually in vain. But at the same time the next infectious capacity can do great damage. A wired world is like the telephone game in the musical bye bye birdie on steroids. Whether it's half breaking news or vicious rumors. Both move at the speed of light. Hand damage done is hard to repair. In the new fictionalized film about the invention of facebook social network. The one-time girlfriend of the main character mark zuckerman tells him. Step one of the main reasons she cannot forgive the cutting remarks he wrote about her on his blog was that just about anything posted on the net. He is in her words. Forever. That remarks persist not in anyone computer but in a cloud of computers that connects everyone on the net. Lately schools especially have been concerned about the phenomenon of what's been called cyberbullying. Where students single out a particular student then essentially gang up in cyberspace to post vicious and demeaning comments about him or her. Were some of the impact of the scoring is overwhelming. And at least eight or 10 cases recently it has resulted in suicide. Nicholas cars concerned always a little different. Even when were using the internet at its highest capacity he says there are signs that long-term extensive use seems to result in a kind of shallowing of our intellectual capacities. Car takes himself as an example. For more than a decade he says much of his life professional and personal has been centered on the net. Surfing i'm researching and searching for all his work thing with his writing assignments but also shopping paying his bills downloading music sending greeting card making appointments keeping in touch with friends. And yes he says in recent years. I've had an uncomfortable sense. Someone or something has been tinkering with my brain. Remapping the neural circuitry reprogramming the memory. My mind isn't going. Car says but it's changing. It's most noticeably says when he's reading after i pay you for two he says i get fidgety. I lose the thread begin looking for something else to do. Accustomed as they use to hyperlinks a rapid-fire pace and soundbite culture of the net. All this is a bun in many respects but it has a cost. Vanessa says is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. Once i was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now i dip along the surface like a guy on a jet ski. My car is not alone. The media is full of worried reports about increased stress and difficulty in concentration linked to our time on the internet. If our days from rising in the morning to retiring at night are centered on powering up and logging on we become distracted and unfocused. In the middle of multitasking from email to twitter to texting to cell phone apps to facebook we feel like we are getting so much done. When in fact we are just. Exhausting ourselves. One study at the university of michigan found that with life spent online. Even when we think we're refreshing ourselves would say podcasts while we exercise or catching a quick video clip at the bus stop. We are actually fatiguing our brains. The toll paid for this is that we become impatient impulsive. Forgetful. Narcissistic. In some cases people show signs of true addiction. A need for novelty and stimulation not unlike the hit. The drugs provide. Downtime away from the blinking cursor and the flat screen of whatever size it turns out. Is not only a good idea. It is essential to our mental physical and emotional health. And perhaps our spiritual health as well. Being connected can feel glorious we are part of the mixed out on the breaking edge. But it also puts us almost always in a receiving or reactive mode. There isn't time or space to reflect to ponder to ruminate. The virtual reality of life online takes us away from the rich and challenging reality of the real world. Family. Community. But also the time to noodle with our own thoughts or walk in the woods. Henry david thoreau though famous for his cabin in the woods distance from the townsfolk of concord with no luddite. In fact he was drawn to technology. He was a surveyor and among other things he designed what at the time was the most successful recipe in america for pencil lead for his family's pencil. But that's our reading today suggests he was also critical of the many ways that we thought lessly distract ourselves. It's not the railroad or the telegraph themselves that he questioned. But the ends that they serve. We may be enchanted with are pretty toys in his words. But are they. But improved means to an unimproved end. When the development of the world wide web made the internet accessible to most people. There was much talk about how this technology would free the flow of information link communities and spark a new explosion of creativity in many fields. It's true that much of that have happened. But looking over most of the cool apps and blazing-fast devices that have emerged in our online world recently. So many are little more than vehicles to serve our consumer culture. In many ways the android internet took off as a medium when people. Figured out how to make money. No i'm not about to denigrate the making of money it is part of the give-and-take that makes society work. But if the internet turns out to be principally a means to amplify and accelerate commerce. It raises the rose point. Is this the best that we can do. Do we have nothing more important to communicate. In his new book you are not a gadget. Jaron lanier pioneer in virtual reality and one of the early developers of the internet. Argue that since it's heady early days the internet has gone sour. From the nearest perspective this has its origins in the work of some who see the internet as evolving into a kind of collective consciousness that emerges from all of its users. Advocates of this idea he says envision this integrated intelligence as an overarching presents that someday will solve all these problems that are beyond our current abilities. Wow this. Idea may have promised eventually he says in the short-term it is both restricting creativity and denigrating our very humanity. Because of the way the key software decisions have been in lanier's words. Locked in. To the fundamental architecture of the web. People required to organize their interactions with the web. As the web. Demand. In essence he says that treats people as gadgets. Who provide input to the web. Probably creative contributors to the web's development. In such a scheme humans have no unique. Play. Their role is simply to make the digital system that runs things. Function at ever-higher levels. This is an image that science-fiction films in recent years like the matrix have drawn upon. We are some ways from being slaves to digital masters. But lanier says that the way that the web encourages the smashing together of information. And diminishes authorship. The recognition that specific people create information. Reduces our own creative identity. It also feeds the image of our needs can be defined. By what we consume. We have apps available that send us the nearest burger joint in a flash. But little to serve our need for say beauty. This isn't to say that the internet is a nefarious tool. But linear is critique ought to give us pause as to how we use it. Instead of getting us to the mall. How might we use it to feed our creativity in the hopeful spark of compassion within each of us. Ask anyone how the internet has made their life better. And to a-1 they will tell you of the ways that is helping make. Can keep connection. With others. People track down long-lost high school classmates on facebook. Or stay in touch with email with their grandchildren. Because of the internet my wife and i are able to have regular video chats with our daughter and granddaughter in wisconsin. And talk with another daughter in the peace corps in malawi africa. June harold a member of the uu church in arlington virginia with been working with uu congregation to increase their online presence. Argue said what happens on the internet. The holy work. When we go online we are connecting in the ways that has never been possible.. And that adds a new dimension to our life in community. June points particularly through social media like facebook is a way for churches to share not only their message but also the spirit of their community in a wider world. Kirith uuca our communications coordinator susan yost has been exploring some of these off. The we might explore to make our own website more interactive and supportive of social media. To help us stay in touch. Mile further developments there. But you only speak on a project called you you connect that she hopes will be encouraging the building of networks that communicate hope and wisdom among congregation. Echoes vincent silliman words from our affirmation. Religion. Uniting us with all that is admirable and human beings everywhere. Holding before our eyes a prospect of the better life. For humankind. Which may help to make which we all may help to make actual. For all the ways that the internet distract. There are also moments when it opens new vistas. Perhaps the most recent and vivid example of this. Is what emerged on the web after reports that i mentioned earlier of day teens committing suicide after cyberbullying. After searing of despairing. Media reports outpouring erupted on the web of gay and lesbian adults who in heartfelt videos. Told of their own struggles as you. Pointed to themselves as evidence that. That's a tagline goes. The video has prompted a parallel campaign among gay and lesbian youth. Who posted videos arguing that harassed teen don't need to put up with abuse. And offering ideas for how to in there line. Make it better. These campaigns to head gone viral. Infecting the interconnected link. With a dose of hope. The counter fear.. In the end these efforts show where the strength of the internet lie. Anthony. Levertov suggested in her poem. Like the interdependent web of life. Of which we are a part. The web of fiber space with design. Beyond all spider lee contrivance. To link. Not. Edit esm linking that we realize our best hope and our best selves. Intricate and untraceable. Weaving and interweaving dark strand with light. Elation. Grief. Joy. Contrition. Call antoine. We are. No gadgets. We are hopeful be. Have inherent worth. Born from mystery and destined to return to. But during the period in between gifted with such time as we have to add our strands to the web. That. Tremulous cancel. Gossamer fabric. Shaking. Changing forever forming. Prince. All praise. All praise.

uuasheville_org

150329-The-Elephant-in-the-Room.mp3

Some years ago. The taiwanese-american artist name candy chang. Created an interactive art installation on the side of an abandoned building in new orleans. It was a chalkboard wall that invited passers-by to anonymously complete the sentence before i die i want to. The wall became an international phenomenon inspiring people in the cities around the world to create these interactive and anonymous articulations of what is most important. To them. The answers range from the pedestrian to the humerus to the existential to the fantastical. They are away for a community to interact. Do engage in deep questions in a public forum. I'm always inspired by the poignancy of the answer. Whether they are deeply vulnerable. Or a little bit flippant. The anonymity of the wall creates a new and different kind of experience. A way to observe our interconnectedness in a powerful way. The before i die wall is an opportunity to open the door to a conversation about what is important to each of us. As individuals. This can also serve as an entree into the conversation about what we want the end of our life. To look like. I hope that you will take a moment to interact with the wall and right. Your. Hopes and dreams on it. After the service. The goal of advance care planning is to give you a voice in your end-of-life care. Even if you lose your voice. When we are small and can't speak. When we haven't yet found our voice we haven't learned to talk. And are still learning how to express ourselves we try and different ways to express what we need and if we can't make ourselves understood we kick and scream and rage and act out. This is a natural part of learning and growing and eventually we find our words and learn to use them. But i need to be heard doesn't diminish as we grow up. It just changes as our experience and location changes. Our need to be seen and understood is it nate. And it is essential. And as we grow and change the world around us does not always hear us. We don't always fit in. We are challenged to find our voices in a system that tries to dictate who we are. And what we need. That is why it is so important for each individual to find their own. Boy this is what we do in religious community. We try to create space for exploration and digging deeper into our personal landscape. We work on becoming ourselves on finding our voice and then we work to help others do the same. The goal of advance care planning is to give you a voice in your end-of-life care even if you lose your ability to speak. And this is the objective of the jlc initiative. Jlc stands for jill cindy and lisa. In january just two months ago. Almost to the day. The three of us still prior my wife cindy and myself met in the mission hospital cafeteria coffee shop to discuss the possibility of helping to broaden exposure to advance care planning in western north carolina. Jill has been inspired by the story of lacrosse wisconsin where the local medical leaders created a systematic campaign to get medical personnel. And patients to discuss their end-of-life wishes. Cindy and i are both passionate about this topic as well and so. Just two months later we have launched our own ambitious campaign to make documents available to all adults over 18 in western north carolina. In lacrosse the campaign was top-down it was initiated by the medical establishment and by 1996 5 years after it started they had increased their document completion numbers from 15%. To 85%. Ours is more of a grassroots effort we are trying to improve access in asheville and the surrounding communities by making simple document. Available to all adults over 18. So what am i talking about when i say the words advance directive. For the purposes of our initiative i'm talking about two documents. The first is a health-care power of attorney. And the second is a living will. A health care power-of-attorney is a document. That appointment at legal document that appoints an agent who will be called upon to express your wishes for medical treatment if you are incapacitated or unable to communicate. A living will which is also called a declaration of a desire for a natural death. Allows you to specify. Which life-prolonging measures such as breathing machines artificial nutrition and other things you would like to have or not have should you be determined to be close to death. And unable to be cured. End-of-life planning as a whole encompasses more than just these two documents your will your estate plans your funeral service wishes and any other plans that have to do with what happens when you die. Are part of the conversation. But our workshops specifically cover the power of attorney and living will. We are working with a form called in north carolina practical form which is accessible to anyone who can read at a middle school level. I can be filled out without the assistance of an attorney though it does require notarization and witnesses to be valid. You may have different needs you may need to go to an attorney the practical form is only one option. Our goal is to make this form and therefore the conversation about your end-of-life wishes accessible to the general public through free workshops across western north carolina. We begin here. In the religious community because we believe that it is most effective to introduce this conversation in a place where people feel connected and supported. We're better to talk about what is most important to you than in your faith community. Who better to discuss this with then your minister and your friends and loved ones who share your faith. It is essential as joe mentioned to get the conversation out of the crisis setting. Because the more prepared you are going into a crisis the better off you will be once you find yourself in a in an acute to tuition. The book being mortal by atul gawande is a critically acclaimed book that came out recently and explorers in depth. How the medical establishment for hospitals and nursing homes. Tears for. Terminate terminally ill and aging patient. The main conclusion is expressed in today's reading. In which doctor who one day says we've been wrong about what our job is in medicine. We think our job is to ensure health and survival. But really it is larger than that. It is to enable well being. In the book. Dr. gawande outlines numerous case studies of elderly and terminally ill patients who have varying success at living out their last days in the ways that they planned. He stresses the importance of advanced care planning. He says if to be human is to be limited in the role of caring professions and institutions from sturgeons to nursing home. Ought to be eating people in their struggle with those limits. Sometimes we can offer a cure. Sometimes only a staff. Sometimes not even that. But whatever we can offer our interventions and the risks and sacrifices they entail are justified only if they serve the larger aims of a person's life. When we forget that the suffering we inflict can be barbaric. When we remember it. The good we do can be breathtaking. That's why. You and i must confront the elephant in the room. And begin these conversations about our end-of-life wishes. Sooner rather than later. What are your larger aims in life. What is most important. Do you. Where does your well-being. Why. In the book. The best deaths were not the ones that were exactly planned and managed beforehand. The best deaths were the ones in which the family began with a sense of what is important to the patient. And were able to remain in conversation throughout the person's decline and eventual death. I know that there are many barriers to this conversation. I avoid it myself. When i can. There are generational challenges. I've heard of people whose parents simply refused to talk about their end-of-life plan. That is not something we discuss. Thank you very much and just story. There are other challenges like fear that talking about our death. Will bring it closer to us that talking about death will make our death more likely to happen. We know that these are difficult conversations. We don't like to think about losing our loved ones and we certainly don't want to imagine what it would be like. Imagine. Get to die of a painful terminal illness. But the only way the only way to change the experience of dying is to talk about it. Less than one-third of american adults. Have advance directive. 80% of people when asked say that they would prefer to die at home. But in reality. Almost 75% of people die somewhere other than home. 80% of us want to die at home 75 of us 75% of us do not. Actually diet. 82% of people say it is important to put their wishes in writing but only 23% have actually done it. Here's what i know. You will. Die. Whether or not you discuss your end-of-life plans. And if you do not talk about them ahead of time. I can almost guarantee that you will not experience death in the way that you want to. So. How do we embark. On this conversation. How do we confront. The elephant. Focused on self-care. Be kind to yourself and to your loved ones. Give yourself space to engage the questions and challenges. Think about what is most important to you. Then write it down. Choose an agent. And complete your documents. And know that even when you begin the conversation early even when you talk early and often. You will be speaking about abstract possibilities and unknown eventuality. Later on once you have received a specific diagnosis or once you. Br a certain age you will begin to see more concretely what is actually likely to happen. As you move closer to death. Once you know what path you are likely to follow you can make more specific determinations about what is important to you in the moment. If you have alzheimer's you will have a different set of possibilities and wishes ahead of you then if you have cancer. If you are a person with aging family members and you want to engage this conversation. Make sure you approach it from a compassionate and gentle standpoint. Start the conversation and take it in small pieces. Remember that old riddle how do you eat an elephant. One bite at a time. Try to approach the conversation from a place of collaboration remember that you are all on the same team. Tell your family that you want to tell your family member that you want to do everything in your power to fulfill their wishes. But you must know what those wishes are in order to do so. If you are a person who is in the midst of a terminal diagnosis or who is that a precarious place in the aging process. Enlist your family or loved ones to support you. Be clear about what is important to you and ask for their help and support. One thing i know for certain. We are better together. We are better when we stay in relationship. And we stay in conversation. Dr. gawande tells the story of his own father's demise and death. After being diagnosed with a large but slow-growing spinal tumor. There are two things that i find most compelling about the story. The first is that doctor gawande his father and his mother were all doctors. They knew intimately what could possibly happen as a result of this diagnosis. Between them they had over 100 years of medical experience. And they still had to walk step-by-step through the process of understanding what was important. Both to the patient. And to his family. The second is that the process of dr. gawande seniors death required a series of conversations assessments and course corrections over a long. of time. Years. Each time the disease changed they made a new assessment and came up with a new plan. And this process was not made easy by their experience it was made easier by their engagement in the process. What made it a manageable and life-giving experience for the family was that they remained in relationship throughout and they allowed the conversation to shift and change as the actual progression of the disease unfolded. This is not easy work. These are not easy conversations but they are possible. And communicating early and often can greatly improve your experience of dying how and where you wish. One of the questions you may have heard me ask when trying to solve a problem. Is this. What is your highest value. When attempting to solve a problem. There is not necessarily one right answer. Instead we understand that our highest value and solving a problem will bring us to a different outcome depending on what that value is. If my highest value in solving a problem is relationship. I will come up with one solution to that problem if my highest value is efficiency i'm going to come up with another solution to the same problem. Dr. gawande observe sit in the medical establishment of nursing homes and elder care the highest value of the institution is safety. If you ask the patient's if you ask the people. They are willing to sacrifice safety for agency independent and quality of life. When you ask yourself what you want to do and be before you die. Explore your own highest value. And when you were working to figure out where the end of your life will take you explore that highest value. It is possible to have a good day. But there are so many variables that it may not happen exactly as you plan. If you have a plan to start out with. And if you name a trustworthy agent and embark on an ongoing conversation. You will be able to remain in control of what is happening to you. Even if you cannot speak. Your experience matters. You. Matter. Putting your end-of-life plans on paper will make it possible for your voice to be heard. Until the end of your life even if you lose your ability to communicate. What do you want to do. Before you die. Who. Do you want to be. Before you die. Who. Can you ask to speak for you. If you are unable to do so. Will you begin the conversation.

uuasheville_org

150920-Dr-Barber-sermon.mp3

Good morning good morning good morning good morning good morning. I told. Your. Pastor pastor ward. That i am. Convinced. That. I'm supposed to be here today. The late walter wink talked about. Times when you have to. Thank god for your enemy. And so i've been looking at all of the hindrances. They're coming. And i recognize them as a prophetic sign. That i must need. Ikea. I got on the plane yesterday and got in a fight. A guy was having a bipolar moment. Told me to put up my phone. Which is a cardinal sin. Even though the. The students had not said to do so. And then i question who he thought he who was he and he told me. He was a member of the. United airlines board of directors. So i said i'll help you want i'm a member of the n-double-acp board of directors and so. He got quiet i put up my phone. We landed. And then he stood up and he began to put his hand towards me. And i thought i was going to have to engage in non non violence. My wife was with me and she's here this morning and. You know i can be pretty violent but you know if you mess with me around my wife my little macho stuff kicks in here. And then he said but he did stretches hand he said i apologize he said for being so grumpy. He said i have these episodes sometimes. And i actually know who you are. And i want to thank you for fighting for my wife who's the school teacher. And i said well. You know we all have our days. And we all have some moments. And then this morning we got up at 5:30. And the. Driver. Went to the started headed toward the wrong airport. I was sleep. But after being sleep for about 40 minutes i knew we was supposed to be at the airport in 20. Faster and then so we got on the airline. And then we got off in charlotte. And i contacted. Oh my good friend lisa and west sydney. Sydney. Wishy in here. She's in the hall. Sydney what's your last name. Bobby kimball but sydney's last name is sydney. Richard petty. Cuz i don't know how she got us here i just went to sleep i didn't want to see it so i didn't have so i could claim ignorance. I do but we got off and and we got off the plane. And me and my schedule got enough us this morning cuz i was. Defending her i was saying no i know she said cuz the people had put on the plane on the i was supposed to go to nashville. Airport. Well they are those that don't call. You know we called national airport what was really reagan. Airport. But anyway we get to charlotte i lost my wife. My wife was still need to go to the restroom and she's in there somewhere. She's back there with my children and all but she was supposed to. Go to this part of the sermon. I'm past the normal white people's hour you might as well stay. We are. I lost her she she went on she was going to rest or not i took my father and then i got to find a conscious at least i can help us i got a golf cart i couldn't find it. And the young lady i should go in the bathroom she went in the harris and rebecca rebecca. And then some other people said and i said no that she was for my wife and then the lady said he was just lying you just don't want us up here. And so of course when my wife couldn't be produced. She said free nature slide into slide he's preachers they just lied else is going to happen. So finally we get to the to the. Baggage claim. I told lisa my wife and i start walking to the bathroom. Of course i'm tired. And i'm have my eyes partially closed. And i know that some people are all about these trans bathroom you know with some of us a cool but damn come to that in the airport yet. So i go in the women's bathroom and i go straight in the stall i didn't even paying attention wasn't in the urinals in there and so i'm in there you know and this lady says oh my. And then another lesson what the hell are you doing in here. If they had come to arrest me i was going to say. Mom and they had decided to take up the calls. What's it called trans. Transgender bathroom at this what the first act of civil disobedience. You know. Turn this up just a little bit my voice is little bit weak outback off of. But you know. You got to live life. Where you keep hope. When things fall apart. I'm so serious with all of the. Facetious kind of twists and turns. Somewhere in that it said but you going to make it. You want to make it. 2. This church this morning. Congregation. You'll make it through twist you going to make it through. You going to make it. And when you get there. Everything is going. This morning i want to talk a little about bit about hope. Things fall apart. Because if movement people don't have. You can't run. The marathon.. In order to see justice. Justice is not a sprint. Justice is not. Even america. Justice. Is a journey. We must run until i dying day and hope the. Can past. Someone else to run. Until everything has been constant. And the rough places have been made. The crooked places in. The mountain. Brought low. The valleys of the. And the glory of the law. And so until then. We must have. Call talks about. Enrollment. Debilitating rejoice even in the midst of. Knowing the tribulation work. Impatient music. And in the midst of character and patience somehow. God ^. Spirit. Gives us. Will not ultimate. Everything we do. From mary. If you don't have a sense. If you don't have. Cello suite. You don't have a. Telescope. That somehow can see farther than the. You won't make it. Hope when things fall apart. I want to come to a scripture in a minute but i want to. Tell him more serious. I was in charleston. Where. Things. Right there. At the door. Daylin ruth walked in. On june 7th. June and july. June 7th. The same day. 71857 denmark vesey. And black sewer planning. For slavery will also grant. Around the same time. Same. Goodwin south carolina. Decided to succeed from the union. They turn cannon. Towards mother emanuel. Because of the history of that church. Rebellion. The same. Well. The blood. Steel piercing. And staining the app. Where the week. Of death. Still be felt. In the. In the spirit. In the in the business.. They used to be the place that house. Play zydeco. This now. Ben gent retire. All the blacks and poopy. Been run-out which means when they learn ruth. Went into that church. Tehachapi. Honduras. We went in. Some say now that. His intentions. The killraven pikmin. Alonetraveler picnic. Family came off the picnic plantation. The plantation owners traceback. Depict. Sign the declaration. Independence. And then later on the constitution of this united states and who demanded. That there be no discussion about sleigh. Picnic. Reverend picnic. Sam has been a thorn in the side of south carolina politics. There is some belief down there that he was. Touted as possible. The next governor. Or maybe you would run. In that area. That his family had a long history. Beating the cyst. Daily routine. Chose that day. To go in. Reverend pinckney was late because he was. On the floor of the. Legislators in south carolina fighting. For more money for public. And some say that if he had not been late email. And it's somehow. Daylon roof was possibly. There's a lot of discussion.. Like the mechanic venturian. Yeah candidate that he's been programmed in plans. But anyway. He went in the shutdown. You killed him down the reason. His wife and picking his wife lives cuz she. With the daughter. I even. Say to my own wife. Need you close to me. Always understand that. When moments. Pete the fact that she was in the sky. Amy killed. Your hope can. Horribly. Lyndale and ruth league. And goes to. The same. City. Weather off. Oh. Novel with. Came a movie that woodrow wilson listen looked at in the. Oval office. Birth of a. Birth of a nation. And he was caught i understand someone on the street does named. The author. Why june 17th. Watch. Sheldon has a higher rate some sale. White supremacist groups. Bringing north carolina. And yet a few weeks ago. I was down there. And the family. Despite the fact. Yahoo. Head falling apart. You can't. Imagine i can. Todai. Church studying. To die from the hand. Someone you welcome in but. You're trying. And yet a few weeks ago. The family has decided to join up with the. And hosted a. They let the margin essence to say to america listen don't misinterpret off forgiveness. I forgiveness was prophetic forgiveness. Forgiveness we've learned. In the face. Christ. H2. Founder was crucified even while he was saying lord for. What they do. We forgave daylan route because we recognize alien rufus. What the problem is. Their forgiveness is kind of like. Doctor king's speaking when he preached. In 19. 23 september 19th. A few days after my birth. And he preached at the. Death. Two of the young ladies. Who were blown up. On september 15th 9th. In the birmingham. Bombing by the way they were blown up after the victory. A lot of people don't realize the number of people were killed in the civil rights movement. After. Viola russo was killed a unitarian was killed one hour after the selma-to-montgomery march was success. Dr. king was killed after the passage. 64650 drive. Those girls were killed because. Birmingham was successful hope fell apart. And dr. king said. To the nation at that time. Which is why one of the reason i was so troubled by the way. Reverend pinckney funeral went. Cuz it wasn't enough morning. There wasn't enough. Dr. king still with that casket. Cannibals of the nation heat. Sadie's girls dying. Get on their way to heaven. He said they did. noble it but we must rest. And then dr. king said. Sometimes life. His heart is hardened steel. Painful but even in this moment these girls have some. This 80s you want to know what killed them. Every politician who is fed their constituent. The stale bread of hatred and the spoil m race. Every creature. Who has stayed behind this. And refuse to get involved. The chooser. To merely pray for. Will not protest. And the family is in essence by having this day of grace and favor few weeks ago was saying we know we forgave daylin roof because we recognize he was created by a society still too much permeated and pushed by. The very powerful and penetrating force. Homophobia. And then they wouldn't answer saying to the government a power structure there. Even though. Things are falling apart we have to tell you, cuz we still hope have hope for something more and i hope ultimately it wasn't for a flag to come down there should have never been up that really we're not ho. I hope. Was not to get 9 pins. When you sign the bill about aflac coming. i hope. With more than that because our family members are worth more than 9 pins. And a flag of a. Lost cause. If that we don't we don't even agree with that now because if it's government if this is what you say we get for our family must die then what you're really saying is only black death. And then it only matters if you die. A certain way. And then if you'd react to it a certain way. Then we may give you something. But black lives don't matter because for 15 years living black people. Indianapolis ep black and white and others protested the flag and you never took it down but now. You going to have a ceremony and say that these nine died nobly and because of that death now we're taking the flag guy actually that's a terrible insult. And i'm ugly now.. That we cannot allow. To go on. And so even in a place where things are falling apart. I saw hope. Play march 4th. Public education they said governor. If you want to do something to take one of those pins inside medicated. You want to do something take one of those pens and. Nnm signed legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15 if you want to you want to do something you want to do something take one of those pins and signed legislation. That's that that stops attacking the lgbtq community if you want to do something take one of those pens and and provide the money that's necessary to braise the corner of shame and south carolina to a standard we're all children can be educated properly that's what reverend picnic and that's what. Evanescence they march i had the privilege to ask me to be the keynote speaker and in the midst of all of that pain and all of that hurt. Feeling the bear weight of the of the hate in the hurt and and literally seeing the stain of blood. Covering the personalities of the people that have been. Apart of all of the struggle that happened in the past few weeks when i looked at those family members and when one of them text me and said go up there and say what needs to be said. I saw hope. Even when things. You don't like the prophetic role pastor. Picture of a body. Is to help people discover the internal truth about hope. Only those who mourn will be comforted. That's why any prophetic churches walter brueggemann says has to know the language of grief. Heard you talkin about it earlier. Which which tells me that the holy spirit had us hooked together. Listening out there. The rhetoric that engages a community in mourning for a funeral we do not want to admit in america has a lot of funerals that needs to have that it doesn't want to admit. The prophet the prophetic church. Cannot deny suffering that's the hope the hope that did not suffer. It is the hope that actually in gauges the suffering. The dead play with people's burning. Murder. The hope. That comes up out of. The hope. That walter brueggemann says somehow. We understand that imagination must proceed in. And often the imagination for something better. Have to happen in the miss. Epistocracy. Of despair. And that is the task of the prophet. The task of a church to to criticize and energized at the same time. It is to nourish and to invoke a consciousness. Apperception. That can somehow despite the real miss of domination. And see possible. See a real prophetic church does not ass first. If the hope can be implemented. That's the wrong question. The first question is can the hope be imagined. Because the imagination must come before. About 4 before implementation. Is the refusal to accept the reading of reality which is the majority opinion and this kind of hope that grows out of all about scriptural text is subversive. Which is why i can get you killed. If you get takeo force daring to stand up in front of a powerful nation and simply say these words steve the nightman. I see you continually claiming that the vaults of this nation are bankrupt i see you reneging on promises that were made 100 years ago i see the startling realities of racism. But i still have a dream. Hope cancer. The greatest power was that whole can free people from the burdens of this path but it is the kind of hope. Did this world. And yet. Buffet. Good unitarians and disciples. After dad to announce. To the present. We call all about commitment. The domination. The question. And hodges. To keep alive. The ministry. The cheat conjuring up. And proposing. Alternative future to safe there is higher ground there is a better way. Now. Jeremiah. The cry baby. He wasn't a bullfrog. I know y'all unitarians but in the bible. He was a prophet. Is a terrapin. And in the first chapter of lamentation. Facebook. The book literally mean. The book of lamentations mean. When you know things are so torn apart and hope it's so fallen and broken that you live in. How did north carolina get. How did we get like this in america 50 years after the signing of the voting rights act. How did things get more racist after elected a black president. Imitation is. When you've actually seen hope happen and then hope. So in the first chapter of. Of limitation listen to what jeremiah. Oh. Caught. Empty the citizen the message about how empty the city once teeming with people are willing this city works in the front ranks of the nation. This city wants the queen of the ball she is now a drug in the kitchen. Biolife. Rebellion massacre. Salvation is in. Jeremiah. Was question. Jerusalem. 586. Methodist city hall. How could the. People god.. From bondage. Turn on the. How could the people who were immigrants and strangers turn on immigrants and strangers. I mean this text this text is about 586b what it could be read in. 2015-18. In america. Limitation says. You don't play with that. You don't just try to have meditation sessions and act like it's not real. It'll be fine hope in the midland theater fall apart. Sometimes you got to recognize. The pulsating pain. Dr. moon parker says it like this. There are times we next need to be real that some people. And some things that happen in this world. Calls people not to have posts. Traumatic stress syndrome. They have daily ongoing traumatic syndrome. It's not post-its.. Daily ongoing traumatic. And we have to tell the truth. Dr. king warned about it in a speech speech actually called the meaning of hold it was priest. 67 but less than five months before he was killed. king preach the sermon doing christmas called the meaning of hope. But listen height. I'm worried about him. Sounds like he's going to get the whole body did he said i'm worried about to make he said i'm worried about a schizophrenic america there to america one is beautiful one the people have plenty of milk and prosperity in the hundred of equality. What happened another america that has a daily ugly that's about it that transform the buoyancy of hoping to the fatigue of this path where millions need housing where millions have no food where millions cannot find work what millions are uneducated. Not was out of this sermon that he came up with the idea. Of the world of the people. But he had to deal with the dispatch. Well my friends. I don't have time. To go through it. I'm worried about. We're the richest nation on the earth. And yet we. Child poverty rates are worse than. Other. So call. First world. The first one. Right now. A new study. From the mailman school of public health at columbia university find out has actually empirically shown that low levels of education and poor social support in america. Causes more death. Then heart attack stroke signs lung cancer every year. Derek wanted me and people died in the united states. In one year from the lack of from low levels of it. The 200,000 people died because of racial segregation. And the lack of access to oportun. Almost 200,000 people died. Because of income. Income. Text fourth-and-one in the book called the cost of of inequality talked about how far. In this country make what is equivalent to $95,000 an hour. While we fight paying working people $15 an hour i'm worried about america. I'm worried about north carolina and iona state from the mountains to the coast. We have 1.6 million people living below poverty that number is higher than it was in 1968. And that's not even counting a living wage. Who got 20-some counties. Where the pop do rate is over 30% and has been that way. So we've got a legislature. Trying to privatize medicare. One got this sent me a note this morning i almost perished. I didn't cuz i was coming here. But it's. But the note was went like this i just finished talking to a legislature. Legislate when he says he has a plan for poor people to get medicaid plan is as he wants to get the blue cross blue shield and give the port before people the same thing that the general assembly has a part-time and and they pay a little something even though i'm glad to know that. Healthcare associates will talk about that next time we have mom monday. But but but i still want to just. Expand medicaid he said well wait on this man i said so here's what he saying to you. He sent for two years 5,600 people have died in north carolina. Because harbor says 2800 people die for every 559. So 5,600 people have died while he's waiting to develop a plan when since the war on poverty we had a plan and it's all medicaid. And he's all right with that. For every five. About america. I'm worried about north carolina when people think political power gives them the power. To play russian roulette with. I'm worried about america. One of us has 5% of the world's population and 25% of the world's prisoners. And over a million of those in prison and african-american if you had latinos. Over 50. 15 l v6. And most of them. You know one of the things that sounds like a joke but it's not. The reality is we got people now. Selling marijuana for what some of my friends went to jail for just. Only we put in jail. For selling marijuana and now. The government is legalized. How many lines. And then we got the reality of race. Me and you can listen that you can go read. George wallace is 90. 68 presidential speech. Takeout. Blacks putting latinos and you got truck. Thanks babe. But i'm not. I got a like him cuz he says what. Jimenez says it out loud. I'm mad at the fact that i'm mad at him that he's telling them what they really say behind door. But at the same and called southern white people to vote against this on your own. Stone self-interest so they came up with the white southern strategy thesaurus. And here's how it goes don't talk about and don't talk about black talk about neighborhood schools. Talk about social engineering talk about welfare talk about food stamps talk about forced busing and talk about. But do it in a way. The pits black and white against each. And you never sound say the n word. You sound racially banaye. While all of the time you're pushing policy. That are racially. Divisive. I'm worried about. Mirror. And i know sometimes it would say what what pasta. But you know why bring all this up in the pulpit because. Cannot. Play with the spare if you going over. What am i i'm parked pentecostal my granddaddy said you can't cast out a demon to you. Detective call it by name. Oh and we got to understand that we ought to have a level of despair. When people. Literally run. Office and when and this is that campaign in let me. And i will deny money for public education and attack teachers. Elect me and i will deny healthcare to the working poor i will did not unemployment benefits to the unemployed i will i will take away earned income tax if you elect me i will take you to a better america and this is the way we will we will we will deny rights to the lgbtq community. That doesn't make you cry. God dammit you sometimes say what in the hell is going on. Hope. Your hope doesn't fall apart. You must not. And there are times that. But that crap. Because of the new testament let me be a little pentecostal here and suggest that yes there is profound and yes there is punctuated pain but there is also a penetrating pentecostal hope it is the hope that jesus talked about in his first sermon when he knew he was sending his disciples out. Blessed are you when when the hairdo is alright blessing of you who can't see the world faster than you walk around with rose-colored glasses off he says blessed are you that much. In other words only those who know how to mourn right. Can rattle the cage of god. And get assistance from the holy ghost. Knowing that somehow that tribulation will work cadillac. And sometime that character will bring perseverance and somehow in the midst of that you will get ahold of that is beyond jeremiah. And my hope is paris from the lord. Remembering my fiction of my misery the wormhole in the gold my soul have them steel in remembrance and i'm humbled. He said but then. I recall to mind. And therefore i have hope. This is what i can remember. It is of the lord's mercy. Because his confession compassion's failed. God compassion's anuel. Good morning. Great. In other words you can't say this enough. First of all. I remember the pain in the hurt i don't run from it i own it. But then you said what if you got up this. And if you got this morning and you're not this. By the dispatch. If you got up this morning and you still believe that something better than the reality if you got up this morning and you didn't ghost change your party to sign up with extremist if you got up this morning and my grandma used to say closed in your right mind. If you got up this morning peter believing in love despite how things are falling apart still believing in justice if you got up this morning then you receive mercy from god mercy of a new day he said. And in somebody ought to admit here not that that that you are here because of the mercy of a greatest fear. That you sing the dispatch personally and politically but but somebody ought to admit here that god's love. Comfort you the spirit of god has kept you close in your right mind that you haven't gone crazy with hate and crazy with this pattern cornel west in his book on hope says that really what what it is he said hope is hope on a tightrope. Piece of pizza we need as much hope and courage as we do vision and analysis we must accept the best of each other even with as we point out the vicious effect about racial divides and four nations consequences of our mail distribution of wealth and power we simply cannot enter the twenty-first century at each others throat even as we acknowledge the way your forces of racism patriarca economic inequality homophobia and ecological abuse crossword in history and we've a hang together by combating these forces that divide and degrade or we will hang something let me translate that for you. I don't belong to the domination in pain i may be in a tough place i made the begin just passed but i don't been home to dispatch all of this i still have a dream. Power at work. Glass that the folk in raleigh don't have the last word i don't think you would be in the unitarian church this morning if you believe that they had the last. Might be long but it always bends toward justice the message the message the message bible translation of limitation 3 says jeremiah. He's got it all in his hands god's got it all in his hands that's my hope. god damn things may fall apart but i know who god has got to remember. Good trouble. I seen nobody knows but my teeth but they didn't stop there no but that's only that's only that's only the respect but then they said. Glory hallelujah you still believe glory hallelujah. Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah. We might suffer. But we still believe in hope. That's the kind of hope that gives you the power. The standup. And still fight for what you believe in everyday. And let me close here with two analogies of hoping i'm finished. God's. i know that's the third one this black church i told you you got you just keep hope alive i'm going i'm going to stop in a minute. God church if you're sitting at your booties hurt to stand up it's alright in black church. First of all is like water. I never walk again. Triple rolling walker for 15 years. But then it was a it was a therapist from asheville. Water. that's weird is not what you see when you in the water you are facing death. Swallow. Water go down the wrong way. But if you learn. The water. Best buoyancy in the water. Now when you get in the water you will sink first. But if you don't freak out. So that the water will lift you back to the top but you can't fall apart. Baltimore you start flying lyrics. Is that water is real that's the kind of water that coretta scott king was in when a three weeks after the death of her husband she went to new york. To preach. Springs at paulina park. Put on april 27th she went there and she said i come to new york today with a strong feeling that my dearly beloved husband who was snatched suddenly from i miss slightly more than three weeks ago for they wanted me to be here today she said through my heart. my heart is heavy with grief from suffering and in reparable personal off. In the redemptive will of god. Is stronger today. Just lost my. But my face. In the redemptive will of god's not by going around the paint but not going through the pain is stronger today than ever you who have worked with in love my husband so much. Uuuu who are still fighting against the war you who still march even though the gun killed him. You. You who keep alive the worm. You. Kohl's. You got to get around. Inside the. Then. The last thing about. Laughter. She pushed. Go to school. Pushed all of our. Grandmother came up into the. He was offered money. My daddy. Doing the depression. Back then some black women. So bad. Financially they sold at. She was also. He said no. Husband died in the middle of the. Dream as husband.. Never had an. Love the word of god. Show me hope. Long before i knew about dragon ball. Long before i knew about. Bruggeman. Long before i knew about. My grandma will get up. Saturday morning. In a few other women. She put an old 8. And one pocket. Put some oil. In another pocket. Put some money. And one morning. My grandmama was leaving the house. I said grandma. Where you going. She said bro i'm going to hope some. No. How's about 6 grade. And i knew that was. Not proper english. But. I know some of you all believe in letting your children talk to you any kind of way back then. You didn't talk back. I want no way i was going to say grandma you mean you're going to hell. Then i got this. I was reading in jurgen moltmann house. We schoppe. Every time we do something kind. Every time you stand up for right against. Oppression every time you commit civil disobedience. Against injustice. You actually. Hope. I have to go back to apologize my grandma. By this time she was dead and gone. But i had to say grandma. Cuz in the morning when she got up to reach you put those rags and help. If they were sick. And i couldn't clean the house. They take those rags. Clean the house in. If they went to a house and they didn't have any money because of whatever the situation she would take what little bit she had a say here and put it in the hands folded up wouldn't let anybody see it but just put it in that as up as a gift as an arm and hopes. If they were sick and they couldn't come to church for people to pray for me they take out the oil and they put it on the head and it was safe but you still mad at you might be sick your body might be wracked with pain but you still a part of our community. That's why we got to keep standing. That's why we got to keep fighting you. That's why i'm on mondays got to keep on that's why we got to stay together because god has called us. S o n in it in an honor my grandmama there's an old helmet says if i can but i want to check if i can help somebody. As i pass along. Did melissa. Shall not be in vain if i can help somebody. If i can show somebody if i can bring some beauty to an ugly world if i can help somebody then my living. Not be in vain i'm tired today my body's rundown we've had all kinds of trouble getting here i'm glad i can't cuz i want to say one thing to the universalist church here in ashfield we don't keep marching as we face the system. Even when.

uuasheville_org

150712-Going-Through-The-Motions.mp3

The taste and smell receptor cells are located only in small areas of your body. The receptor cells for touch your located. In your skin. Your skin is a complete. Independent oregon. In fact the largest organ of your body. Where there are many receptors where the cells are more concentrated your sense of touch is heightened. When scientists list the body areas in terms of sensitivity. Your lips. And your fingertips. Are ranked at the areas with the highest concentration. I've receptors. Prayer. Has exploited the sensitivity of lips and hands. For countless eons. Across multiple religions and cultures. And surprisingly common form. If you will join with me we can sample together some of these common hand gestures. With our new proprioceptively awakened tan. Each gesture may elicit a slightly subtly different sensation or experience. Palms pressed together in front. At the heart. Palms raised to touch the third eye. Palms raised above the head. Hands clasped with fingers entwine. Then raise to touch the lips. Hands cupped with thumbs inside. Fingertips. Preston. Hands covering your eyes. Hands crossing your chest. Hands outstretched. In benedict. There are also many gestures with lips. If you choose. You may simply close your eyes and visualize these scenarios and magically engaging with a proprioceptive quality of the embody action describe. Kissing your fingers and then touching an icon or other. A sacred object foresight. Kissing the hem of a holy person's garment. Receiving. Communion wafer. Receipt. Of wine. Silently mouthing prayers while counting rosary beads are mollusks. Battling the head and directing the lips towards the earth. Kissing the ground. We're a saint. But secular life is certainly employed lips and hands for countless eons as well. I don't think we need to demonstrate any of those gestures here today. We do have a classic example in all senses of the world word of the ongoing tension between the sacred and the secular as far as lips and hands are concerned. In this piece of well-known scripture. 1:5 lines 93 2110 from the book of. Romeo and juliet. If i profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine. The gentle sign is this. My lips two blushing pilgrims ready stand to smooth that rough touch. With a tender kiss. Good pilgrim you do wrong your hand too much. With mannerly devote which mannerly devotion shows in this. For saints have hands that pilgrims hands do touch. And palm to palm is holy palmers. Have not seen slips and holy palmers too. Yes. Pilgrim. Lips that they must use. Oh then dear saint lips do what hands do. Fake prague ranthal faith turned to despair. Saints do not move the grant. For prayers. Then move not. What my prayers effect i take. Thus from my lips. By yours. My sin. Then have my lips the sin they have took. Sin from my lips. Ultrastar sweetly urged. Give me my sin again. U-kiss. By the book. When i was in high school i used to participate in what were known as dramatic interpretation competition for you had to play both parts. I did a scene from george bernard shaw's pygmalion and i played eliza doolittle and henry higgins. Like riding a bicycle clearly this is a skill when does not forget. Lips of course also play a part in shared sacred and secular practices involving sounds. Both speaking and singing. Some religious practices include chanting mantra such as own. Will ulation the rapid opening and closing of the throat while singing on a steady sound. Native american rhythmic singing while drumming. And dancing. The muslim practice of reciting the 99 names of allah. Repeating over and over again sometimes for hours simple songs of praise. Woody ecstatic state of spontaneously created language known as speaking in tongues. It's part of my theater training i spent countless hours on speech exercises working on the nuances of vowel sound. The tongue vowels. I a. The lip vowels. Oh. The most open vowel sound any human can make. Is the vowel sound. As in father. Ethanol. Yahweh. And depending on what part of the country you come from. God. Also in the more reverential form of amen. Which also has a satisfying nasal buzz of the resonators and. It's also. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Just feel with me now this bowel sounds if they travel in our mouths across our throats tongues and lips. First all the way back of your throat the open sound. Been traveling to the middle of your mouth or tongue widening sound. Hey. Then extending as far forward as possible to the front of your mouth in the edges of your lips surrounded sound and then falling on this all the way back. Your throat again just slightly forward of a full all. And now. Amman. Again open. 6 losing to vibrate on your lips. And finally feeling your face with nasal resonance. Man. The divine image by william blake. To mercy. Kitty. Peace and love. All pray in their distress. And to these virtues of delight. Return. There's anklam is. For mercy has a human heart. Kitty. A human face. And love the human form divine and peace. The human dress. Then every man of every climb that preys. In his distress. Praise to the human form divine. Love. Mercy. Kitty. Thank you. Orienting ourselves for environment with a nature's always be. Part of humans. Creepypasta. Neolithic sites such as newgrange in ireland were built. With tremendous effort. Andover multiple generation. Precisely lineup. Satellite. Of the winter solstice. Cathedrals are built in the form of the directional cross. The entrance from the west. The altar at the east. And the two transept to the north. And the south. Even the traditional roman catholic sign of the cross can be read as a form of making the cardinal directions. Ignore. Dial. West. Or the greek orthodox. Which would be. North. Cell. West. The orthodox hand gesture incidentally is done with a thumb. And first two fingers together. Representing the trinity. And the ring finger and middle finger folded down to the palm represent. Between naturist. True god and true. Or the roman catholic. Pictures done with an open. Many indigenous culture such as native americans and first nations. Share the four directions medicine wheel. Which can be represented in many different ways and different tribes and regions. Each of the four directions to piggly represented by the colors of black. Red yellow and white witch for some stand for the human races. The directions can also represent stages of life. Youth. Elder. Death. Seasons of the year spring summer winter fall passages of a day morning afternoon evening night. Aspects of life spiritual emotion. Intellectual. Physics. Elements of nature fire. Are. Water. And earth. In 1981 i trained in the japanese theater technique. Atla mama in york city with yoshi arita a member of peterbrooke theater. We learned japanese exercise which centered us inside multiple direct. Please stand if you're willing and able and turn. Two-face. The north. Do you know where the north is. This way. I'm confused too. As you face the north. We make a sword with our right hand by pointing our force first two fingers and touching our thumb to our last two. We draw the sword from our left side. We point to north. From our heart to the north. To the east. Northeast. To the east. To the southeast. Did the south. To the southwest. To the west. To the northwest. We point to a point just below the navel that is the point of the self. We point downwards for the ground which is the past. Over our heart which is the present. Upward towards the sky which is the future. Towards arthur die. Across or right shoulder. Across or left shoulder. Torture throat. Which is the present moment. Happening. Right now. Then we return the sword. And it vanished. Please remain standing will now show the judeo-christians. Directions. Which is outlined in reading number 446. To the four directions which james and i will read to you. During the reading you can turn to face the direction indicator. North. Look through these walls imagine our ancient blue ridge mountains surrounding us in all four directions. And the french broad river which is perhaps the second oldest river in the world which like the nile flows. From south. 2 north. Please start by all facing the east. Spirit of the east. Spirit of error of morning. In springtime. Be with us as the sun rises. Pines of beginning. Time. Planting. Inspire us. Fresh breath. A courage. As we go forth. The new adventure. Spirit of the south. Spirit of fire of noon time and summer be with us throughout the heat of the day and help us to be ever-growing. Warmoth with strength and energy for the work that awaits us. Spirit of the west spirit of water of autumn. And evening. Be with us as the sun sets and helps us to enjoy a rich harvest. Flow through us with a cooling. Healing quietness. And bring to us peace. Spirit of the north spirit of earth's of nighttime in winter be with us in the darkness. In the time of gestation. Ground us in the wisdom of the changing seasons. As we celebrate the spiralling journey. Of our lives. Yes but what about relationships. Today we've become open to the possibilities of meaningful embodied humanistic faith. A way to nurture our desire for mystery and imagination. The transformation without dogma. Because let's face it. If the history of religion show with anything what we really urine for us human beings is a full 100% complete total makeover. A transformation if not a transfiguration. So now to pull out all the stops i'd like to introduce you to one of my favorite guys in the secular pilgrims progress the sas. Atlanta battle. Born in zurich in 1969 and living in london his books have been described as a philosophy of everyday life. On subjects as wide-ranging as love. Travel architecture and literature. He also started and helps run the school in london called the school of life. Dedicated to a new vision of. He was the inspiration for the creation of the position of. Writer-in-residence. Heathrow airport. Ski lift at the airport for a week. Studied its infrastructure workforce in processes. Android 150-page book. A week at the airport. I discovered him at pack library when i found. Religion for ac. The non-believers guide. Recommended to ever. It's full of thoughtful. Funny. Imagine. Transformative ways to let go of religious doctrine without also doing away with a passion. The intelligence. The possibility of the range of consulting and. Ritual. Great idea that they. One might say props it if possible. For instance what about sing. What about icon. What about enlightened being. The words of the battle. From his chapter one. In our souls we know we are suffering because there's no one there to know jess. Reform are ways to make an effort. Religions understand this. They know that the sustained goodness it helps to have an audience. The face pence provided for the gallery of witnesses of the ceremonial beginning several marriages and thereafter they entrusted with individual it roll to their deity's. However sinister the idea of such surveillance may at first seem it can in truth be reassuring to live as though someone else were continually watching and hoping for the best from us. The particular company we keep is largely a result of haphazard forces. Killer cast of characters drawn from our childhood. Schooling community at work. Among the few hundred people we regularly encounter not very many or like. It is sort of exceptional individuals to exhaust our imagination with her good qualities. Who strengthen our soul and whose voices we want consciously to adopt a bolster best in. The paucity of paraguay. Helps explain why catholicism sets before its believers sompu. And a half thousand. Of the greatest. Virtuous human being. Who is seals have ever live. The saints are all exemplars of qualities. We should hope. To nurture. In addition. Catholicism. There's a bennett. Being able to see your ideal friends around the house. In miniaturize miniaci. Three dimensional. Represent. After all. Most. Began our lives by having nurturing relationships. Bears. Another animal. Zoe mobile. These animals were nevertheless skillful at conveying their consoling and inspiring. Personalities. And we're comfort. When we looked across the bedroom. And saw them. Do weekly and during the night. For us. Catholicism sees no reason to abandon the mechanics of such relationships and so invites us to buy woodstone resin or plastic versions of the saints. And place them on shelves for alco center rooms and hallways at times of domestic chaos we can look across at a plastic statue at and inwardly asked what saint francis of assisi would recommend that we say to our furious life and hysterical child right now. The answer may be inside us all along. But it doesn't you. Become effective. Until we go through the exercise. Formally ask. A well-functioning secular society would think with similar care about it. Would not only provide us with film stars. And singers. An absence of religious belief is no invalidate to continuing need for patron saints of qualities like courage. Friendship. Fidelity. Patience. Confidence. The religious perspective on morality suggested is in the end a sign of immaturity to eject too strenuously. To be treated like a child. This libertarian obsession with freedom ignores how much of our original childhood need for constraint. And guidance and doors within us. And therefore how much we stand to learn. From paternalistic strategy. It is not. Very kind. Ulta. Eva. Very freeing. To be deemed so grown-up. That one is left. Alone. Did you entirely. The say it. Can i get an amen. What's saints do you keep around. To remind you to be kind. To be generous courageous. Patient. To be a good friend. Sepia photographs of your grandparents. The obituary from the new york times to someone you would never heard of. We discovered something that ended up transforming your life. The lives of countless others. What icons you glance up to to see it a critical moment. Your child's drawing from kindergarten. To remind you of patience. Though she may now be a pair. Who are your enlightened being. Your fourth grade teacher. Jane goodall. A vision of the image of you yourself. When you become a buddha. Who loves all beings without. On our bedroom dresser i have a spectacular shrine. There's a wedding picture of tom and me. Valentine for my daughter poem. A bookmark with a photo of my most inspiring budo teacher. A little brass kennisha. An old white tile for my friend ruth new york city bowery artist studio. A pink plastic giraffe. Anna green plastic hippo. A print from the bread and puppet theater of a rose and the word. Lots and lots of acorns leave stones driftwood seapods and in place of pride of 14 by 11 in framed photograph. A kurt vonnegut. So it goes. I believe i placed these things in plainview with myself that i will see them everyday because they somehow and body my wishes. To be a better me. Please take this quiet moment at the end of our service now to enjoy visualization of any of your. Icon. And imagine yourself being. At the outset of the 21st century people are faced. The spiritual.. When neither secularism. Secularism. No religion seems adequate. The word diversity like king. Contemporary understandings of spirituality capture the dynamic. Two qualities. Virtuality has lived. Experience. Denature. Your relationships with others and society. It is an experience which seeks the fullness of life. A life of justice and peace. Alexa touches the hem. Of the spirit. In the midst of all of our struggles. I'm living in a world that has. Evermoor globally. Dependent. Yet so painful. German mystic edith stein spoke of the liver. Body. Distinguished from the merely material body. A live body. Is an insult body. And a lift body may indeed be the true. Free society. But global justice. And love. Can thrive. And we're what has been torn apart. May always secret. Andres steakhouse. In the motor of compassion. If you still together. Please open your greg hymnals to reading 6. 54-in tashan. Defend ourselves resides the religious impulse. We have religion when we stop deluding ourselves that we are self-sufficient. Self-sustaining for self-drive. We have religion when our hearts are capable to leaping up at beauty and when our nerves are edged by some dream. We have religion when we look upon people with all their failings and still finding them good. When we look beyond people at the grandeur and nature. Enter the purpose. Please right now she willing or able to see my final shorthand. The earth the water the fire the air.

uuasheville_org

mward101003.mp3

Today we gather with literally thousands of people. Churches across this country. Who in one way or another we'll celebrate one dimension or another. Of what it means to call our association of congregation. Are places of worship. Even ourselves. Unitarian universalist. Association sunday was created several years ago by bill sinkford then president of the unitarian universalist association. As a way of drawing attention to the larger ties that knit us together as a religion. Not incidentally bill also sought to provide a vehicle to fund programs to promote the growth. And progressive evolution of this liberal religious. This is why today we will contribute the offering of this congregation. I'm to the uua. Whether you make your regular contributions by. Check or cash to this congregation or like me haven't withdrawn from your bank account. I bought you to set aside some extra cash or write another check. To the you your way. Azaya. Course you might have asked. Why. Fair question. Our religion after all is centered in congregational life. Beach congregation made up of people who freely decide to participate in that body. It organizes itself as it chooses. Selecting its own leadership racing its own funds. That body then decides whether to affiliate with the uua essentially agreeing to abide by its organizing. Principal. That's why we describe the organization that gathers us all not to be a denomination. The issues orders from on high but an association of congress. Which exists to serve the needs of local churches. Essentially create added value. That might serve all. Given the independence of mind of our members and our congregations as well though. The old saw about herding cats. Sometimes applies acutely to what goes on among us. This happens at the association level button congregations as well. We struggle with how and why we might work together. Part of what i think bill hope to accomplish with association sunday was to answer that question. Why. With. With a reference to a historic dimension of what has been a part of this tradition. A dimension that is summed up in the word covenant. Bias roots the word covenant literally means coming together. And so in our congregations and our larger association covenant is what brings us together. It embodies those promises we make to one another that make it possible for us to join in the journey of religious discovery. Community. He wasn't 16th century england where this notion of a church being united by covenant rather than a creed or some other statement of belief. First two rows. The reformers wanted to steer clear of having their faith their religion constricted by doctrine dick trade dictated by church leaders. Or governed by sacrament. Administered by hierarchical appointed priest. They wanted room to think for themselves within the community that was joined in a mutual search for religious truth. They looked to the bible with its stories of covenants may between god and humankind as the framework for this site. Broadly speaking they imagined a community of people gathered around a comment comment understanding of how the world worked in how they needed to be with one another. Who all agreed mutually to walk together. If they strove individually to discern the ways of wholeness. A proof and right living. The context of this community as they saw it was to be the teachings of jesus for them. But room was made for mutual forbearance. In other words for protest the babe complaint among what those teachings might imply. This was the general idea that the first separatists pilgrims. And bellator reformist puritans. Brought to america. But it wasn't until a few years later after the first group came in. 1648. That church leaders convened and. Created a document call the cambridge platform. Which formalized how these churches would operate individually and how they would collaborate. Each was gathered around a couple. Created by that group. And provisions were made for individual churches to choose leaders from their congregation. Teachers fiscal officers ministers. Each church was specifically assured of its own autonomy. What structures were created for the churches to provide advice and support to each other. This essentially was what became known as congregationalists. In the abstract this system sounds very open and democratic. Handy many ways it was. The catch. What's the congregations had strict requirement. And who could be admitted into the cover. The early settlers believed that their members were the elect. Among the few who would rise to heaven on judgement day. And they felt that one had to be called. To the church by god to be admitted. How do you know. Anyone seeking the company of what we're describe the saints by calling had to pass a rigorous examination by church elders. And one of the central questions asked of each applicant with how he or she personally had experienced the grace of god's calling. Some sort of kind of warm feeling in general sympathy with church principles wasn't enough. The examiners were looking for conversion story. Full of life changing. Those newcomers whose confessions lacked the expected measure of ecstasy were rejected. And in time fewer and fewer applied. This didn't especially trouble the self-described saints who saw themselves as an elite group anyway. But it did create a rift with others in the community who were expected to attend church anyway even if they weren't admitted into the circle of member. Some churches created halfway measures such as allowing the children of those saints to have their children. To be baptized. In the hope that maybe they would later experience that call. Abandon the requirement of public test of faith and admitted anyone in sympathy with the. The number of the churches who would later become unitarian fell into this category. But in the banding a public test of faith. Many of those churches also put aside the whole machinery of the congregational way. Including those early cover. As a result this one time group of congregational churches. Split up into facts. Once again we're divided on matters of belief. The direction taken by most unitarians what's the per claim the right of individuals to make up their own minds on matters of. A brave an important position that attracted many liberal leaders and thinkers. But it also left us. Grasping for a way to describe the principles under which we gather. Kyle in fact are we more than a herd of cats scampering off in different directions. Is it possible to walk together in mutual forbearance. Will a common understanding of the good. Each of us striving by our own lights to discern the ways of wholeness truth. And right living. This was a serious question do unitarians in the 1930s. By that time dozens of our churches had closed and overall numbers shrank to a shadow of what they have. A commission was convened to explore why this attack. Emily suggested changes in organizational structure and closer collaboration with other liberal religious bodies. But the central thread in the report. What's how about unitarian. The primary focus on individual belief. Left people isolate. And lacking a sense of common purpose. Edward lindeman of the new york school of social work. Wrote an essay in the report. It's sad that the problem with holding up the value of freedom. This we sometimes mistakenly understand that freedom strictly ad. Freedom. From. From safe people or structures that seek to hold us down. Focused on this sensor freedom alone he said to make us narrow and reactive. We are not adams. Cut off from the rest of the world. We are relational beings. Who make meaning through connections outside of our cell. A solution he said was to discover the power of freedom. With. And freedom. 4. We are made he said not by cutting our connections off with others but by building and extending. We are fulfilled by working in common purpose. As lindemann put it. Freedom extend the range of my action. But it also evokes. New quality. Cv. New resources in my personality. Equally for our freedom to have any meaning. It must have some purpose. If with. Apologies to janis joplin. Freedom is more than just another word for nothing left to lose. It is saturday and some gold some end that we hope to accomplish. And any goal that we seek to accomplish is inevitably embedded in relationship. He was the unitarian theologian james luther adams. One of the principal authors of that 1937 report. Who resurrected. This. Practice of coven. That's a way for us to reintroduce the building of relationship. Has a central practice of our meeting. He pointed to the long-forgotten covenant sandusky church record. Beginning with words like love is the doctrine of this church. The quest of proof is it sacrament and service. Is it spring. And he suggested the practice that led to the creation of these documents. Make offer a way to revitalize. Adams famously wrote that you and being. Individually and collectively. Become human. And making committee. By making promises. Promise making a misunderstanding is not just a convenient way to get along it is the way in which we come into who we have the capacity to be. Here is how we define ourselves in the world how we make our mark how we build connections and construct our identity. However as the early pilgrims showed. The process of promise making alone is not enough to ensure sustainable community. Covenants can be exclusive and so division and injustice. Brock immunities to be sustainable. We must understand our covenant also as a covenant. With. Being. With all that sustains and upholds life. We may use many words to describe what this is. Less important than what we name what name we give. Is that we see are covenants as centered not in our own particular predilection. But in a principal a power that embodies off yet exceeds. Underlines are related. With all things. Adams preference was to use traditional theological language in refer to this power as god. Yet he also said it could be described using non-theistic language or humanists turn. It might be framed as love or some principle of connected. Such as the dow or buddha nature. The beauty of our tradition is that we can leave that question open. While still acknowledges there are principles outside of ourselves. The guide how we understand the world. Adam's influence can be seen in the fact that when the unitarian universalist. Joint forces in 1961. The provision in the bylaws that combines the two into the unitarian universalist association. And describe what we stood for was framed. Avocado. That holds equally so today. The purposes and principles that guide our work are not statements of belief. But promises that we as member congregation. Make as to how we will act with each other. With the revival of covenants many congregations. Have. Heather stork covenant restorative. How many others like us. Have drawn up our own. Ours was composed only in the late 1990s. It contains no specific theological references. But there is a strong spirit within it. Celebrating the power of freedom. With. As it states we are not independent act. We are individuals. Who need. One another. And our community is gathered to respond to those needs. The promises we not only make. Responsibility in relationship. Mutual respect. Mutual commitment. Are the principles that echo. Time and again. No one is given a trump card. No one is given an easy way out. To be part of community is to be committed to staying. In relationship. And here's where i turn back the kim beats beaches. Remarks. Prissy suggest. Part of what makes covenant so powerful. Is that it is a living thing. Unlikely that are fixed and unchanging. The nature of covenant in a congregation. Changes. A little with each person who enters that to me. She or he tugs up a little on the whole thing adjust. To respond. Each person has an equal claim to the promises embedded in it. This is how and beaches words. Covenant. Render human freedom. Furious. They recognize and respect individual freedom. And offer a way to leverage the power of community. To make a difference in our lives. And in the world. Antoine association someday we affirm that the same applies to the coven we make with a larger association of congregation. We stand in relationship with other congregation. 2pac. Disappeared. Sustain the larger goals of what we hold in can. And an important element of this company. Is that it is not sectarian. It doesn't apply only to this congregation. Or even just this religious. It is a tool of helping us to see the relatedness of all being. As frank suggested hit links us to martin luther king's vision of beloved community. A place not only have peace but also of mutual love. Support for all people. Our life. Covenant. Empowers each of us to find our own. Little greenstone. That place where our own spirits way is illuminate. It's not always easy. Sometimes we stumble or get discouraged. Our lives may be battered with ill-fortune. But we stick together. In hard time. And celebrate each other's success. I've always been drawn to robert terry west. Meditation as a kind of. Mom. For covenant. I begin by acknowledging all there is that divides me from other. My own dissatisfaction. My worries. Hertz. Disappoint. How do i get past. Wyoming resources are premier. The way of covering. Encourages me to seek a solution. Morgan wallen myself off. But in relation. In reaching out to others. Beauty. Interest me. This is the song of. The way. That gathering hopeful power that western names as love. Arises in me for a time. And what pain there is can be boring. What it seemed the difficulty i now recognize as a strength. The world. Once a seat of disappointment. He's made beautiful. If we two. Make a park. Of the song.

uuasheville_org

141207-Hope-in-Darkness.mp3

Shake off the sadness and recover your spirit. Sluggish you will never see the wheel of fate that brushes your heel as it turns going by. The man who wants to live is the man in whom life. Is abundant. Now you are only giving food to that final pain which is slowly winding you in the nets of death. But to live is to work. And the only thing which last is the work. Start there. Turn to the work. Throw yourself like seed as you walk. An into your own field. Don't turn your face for that would be to turn it. To death. And do not let the past way down your motion. Leave what's alive in the furrow. What dead in yourself. For life does not move in the same way as a group of clouds. From your work. You will wait be able one day. To gather yourself. How. How can i possibly begin. This sermon. What is there that i could say to you this morning that wouldn't sound and feel. Kenny. And halo. If you didn't happen to see the e-news this week you may not know that today's topic has changed. The sermon title is the same. Hope in the darkness. But instead of focusing on the season of advent. I will be talking about racism. And recent events across the country. I have not spoken or written about the events in ferguson missouri. Or in staten island new york. Or cleveland ohio. Or all the other places. Until today. I have felt. Inadequate to the task i have been afraid to say the wrong thing. I have not been able to find the words. Don't know what to say. My emotions are high my heart is breaking. The oldest suffering. So deeply. The suffering of people of color. Especially the families of those who have. And killed. I also feel the suffering of law enforcement. And their families. I didn't speak about this sooner because it felt disingenuous to drop everything and talk about these individual incidents weather in ferguson. Or staten island. As if they are shocking. As if. They. Our new. My black brothers and sisters are being killed at alarming rates. And most often we do not hear. The outcry. The problem is deep. The roots are tangled. Pernicious. Who am i. To speak. Who are we. To speak. What can i possibly say that hasn't already been said and the people who want to hear are already listening. The people who don't want to hear. What. Can i say to them. But most importantly. When i am talking. Then i am not. Listening. So i have been listening these past few weeks. Many people have spoken more eloquently than i about the multivalent issues in these cases were black lives are lost at the hands of white officers. I have been reading and listening to commentary from many different voices. One colleague the reverend tom shade said. We who believe in people he's talking about unitarian universalist we who believe in people must join the movement. The demands that black lives matter. It is the cutting edge of the assertion that all human beings have inherent worth. And dignity. Another colleague the reverend victoria weinstein. Said that for many white folks the longest and most important distance to travel in our claims to be anti-racist justice-seeking people maybe from our heads. To our hearts. Our longest march may be the one that takes us down from the dais of competitive debate. And rational inquiry. Is a common ground of listening. Witnessing. Morning. And embracing. But the most important voices in this movement are not those of white you use. Including. My voice. The voices that are most important the voices i need to hear the cries of despair. The rage the fear the anguish the wailing and rending of garments in the very communities that are directly affected by this epidemic. Violence. Hear the words of james baldwin. Spoken so many years ago but still. Today. Davita negro he says in this country and to be relatively conscious. Is to be in a rage almost all. The time. I hear the voice of a friend and colleague who said don't tell us we shouldn't be angry. Our children are being slaughtered. That something to be angry about. Because when i do not listen to those voices when i asked for clarification or more information or if i stay i'm shocked that this is happening. I am negating those voices. Assuming that because i don't see it. It is not happening. When i don't accept the experience of people of color at face value i am saying to them that their experience is not. Real. I am sitting i'm insisting that i know better. Or the coroner knows better. Effectively suggesting that i must have my. Facts. Confirmed. Buy a white person. Since august 10th the day after michael brown was killed in ferguson missouri that's 119 days. There have been active protests across the country. Some have been entirely peaceful. Others have not. But the rage and the fear and the energy around these issues is palpable. And it is deep. We heard from taryn strauss in september she shared some hard words about lynching. And race relations in the context of these events in ferguson. She spoke of the wilderness. And of getting angry. John o'donohue speaks. Of our anger getting turned into anxiety and then in action. I do feel angry but i don't find myself able to stay in that angry place i feel so many things. I am at. Angry. I feel sad. I feel helpless i feel confused and i feel despair. Do you. Feel it. I don't know where to go from here. I don't know how to talk to you about these issues that are so. Near to my heart and so deep. Important. I'm not sure. How. To talk. About these issues. With you. My people. I know that some of you don't want to hear this sermon. And i know that some of you want me to go further and push. Harder. I also know that i'm not the only one in this room that feels the despair i know i'm not the only one who doesn't know. What to say. Or what. To do. My heart is breaking for our nation for all of us when i see the deep. Rift in communities including our own beloved mountain town. Because these rift do exist. Here. 2. I was ambivalent at best. About going to the rally at the vance monument a few weeks ago after the verdict the grand jury verdict came out. In the ferguson case. I knew that the intent of the organisers was a peaceful protest. I also knew that there was a great deal of anger and pain in the community and that much of it was going to be. Was likely to be directed at law enforcement. I continue in my heart to be challenged by the anti-police rhetoric that is part. Of this conversation. And yet i went. I returned to my roots as a chaplain and i focused on. My ability to be present. I focused on the role of a chaplain to be present. I went because it was more important to me to stand in solidarity with the people of color in my community who had asked me to be present. It wasn't about alleviating my discomfort. What about showing up and standing. A white ally. Not in charge not trying to change or subdue the reactions of people around me but showing up and saying with my presence i hear you. I see you. I believe. What you are saying. And i. Support you. As i stood there with the standing on the side of love banner the anger and the pain was. Reflected in the chance they got more edgy. They got harder for me to hear. I felt uncomfortable and i wanted to. Leave. But i stayed how trivial my discomfort seemed in the face of parents who live every single day in fear for their children how trivial when compared to the knowledge that there are whole neighborhoods of people in this town. In every town but also in asheville. Who can't be certain that the police will protect them or their children from harm. We know that the standing on the side of love campaign started with marriage equality when former president of the uu a bill sinkford coined that phrase standing on the side of love in massachusetts. But over the past five years the banners and shirts have come to so many events remembered rights tomorrow monday to events like this one calling for racial justice. The theological grounding of the standing on the side of love is simple and it is powerful. It's about standing up. More importantly where accurately about showing up. The banner is about solidarity. It is about presents. It is about being good allies. Secondly it calls out the power and the depth of love as a verb. My colleague eric hewitt said in a recent children's sermon standing on the side of love means we see what's messi. We feel sad or angry about it and then we stay until it is cleaned up. Standing on the side of love means showing up. Being in solidarity. Sticking around when it gets hard and uncomfortable and trying to be a part of cleaning up. The mask. Again i hear the words of james baldwin love takes off mask that we fear we cannot live without. And know we cannot live within. And so i stood in the crowd by the vance monument i breathe. Deeply and i listened to the stories and the chant and i breathed deeply sommore. I stood with that golden yellow banner and i remembered the words of carter hayward. Justice love. Love she says like truth and beauty is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling not at heart i matter of sentiment attachment or being drawn toward. Love creates righteousness or justice here on earth. Justice love. That is also the lesson of the good samaritan. The priest and the levite who should have known better we here. Walk by the ditch. To samaritan stopped to help the person out. It's so simple. And yet it is sometimes so difficult. To be present enough. To see another suffering. To be selfless enough to change direction to step off the path. And meet another person. Joy asked earlier where. Are you. In this story. I confess that i am in a place right now where i am at risk of walking by that ditch. I can't see the way forward. I don't know how to alleviate these deep wounds in our society the roots of the problem feel too tangled the pain feels too acute and the mountain too high. The climb. I want so much to turn away to walk on by to retreat into my home. And family to rest. Regroup. Wait for things to change. I cannot. Wait. I cannot turn away because what i have seen on tv what i have read in the newspaper and heard from real people. Cannot. Be. Unseen. I know that structural evil exists and i see its damage everyday. Yoga wash. Do not know. The way. But i cannot refuse. To take the risk. And act. Audre lorde remind me that when i dare to be powerful to use my strength in the service of my vision then it becomes less and less important whether i am afraid. Because what i want doesn't matter. My comfort doesn't matter too many people i love our suffering. Even if i don't know and love each. And every one of them personally. There are countless people living in the pain. Of an unjust and broken society and that is not my friends that is not what. We stand. The issues and rift that has been brought to light in the news coverage of ferguson. Staten island. Cleveland etc etc etc they are not unique. And they are not new. Their roots go all the way back to the founding of our country. And it is a. Wax and tenacious system. Shake off this sadness and recover your spirit. There is work. To be done. Miguel luna munoz call to throw yourself like seed is a powerful one. What is alive in you. What is alive and me in me. What can we throw into that furrow. And grow. My work is ground in a pledge to bring voice to the voice list. And so i stand before you this morning with no easy answers. No clear call-to-action. I stand before you broken-hearted and tired. Feeling as if the darkness has come to close. And i can't see the way for. But i have faith in the power of people of goodwill. To turn toward that ditch. I have faith in the power of people of good will to act. I believe we can turn our anxiety into anger and our anger into action. I have faith. That we will find a way forward. Together. I will stand with you. Will you stand with me. Will you be the bad we wish to see. In the name of love in the name of peace will you stand.

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160228-Doing-Justice.mp3

Let me tell you the story of the tall spouse and the short spouse. The short spouse was responsible for cleaning the kitchen. And did a great job of keeping floors mopped dishes done and surfaces cleared. The tall spouse appreciated this work a great deal and did other things around the house. However. Everytime the tall spouse came into the kitchen. The only thing that was noticeable. Was the dust and dirt and clutter on the top of the refrigerator. And so the tall spouse was frustrated. And a short spouse got frustrated. Because the short spouts couldn't see the top of the refrigerator and therefore did not remember to clean it. And besides even if the short spouse could see it. It was a total pain to get out the step stool and climb up and clean the top of the refrigerator. So short spouse said to tell spouse you care so much you clean it. I can't even see it. And that. Made toast out more frustrated. This problem went on for a long time and did not resolve easily. So tell spouse and short spouse went to couples counseling. And their counselor. Surprisingly maybe. Told them about desire. You see in romantic relationships there is always a high desire and a low desire partner. This terminology was originally used only to refer to sexual intimacy. But has been expanded to include other parts of our relationship. In any relationship we know that. The two partners. Do not have. The same. Level of desire to do various things. At every point of contention. There will be one partner who wants the thing more and one partner who wants it less whether it is the choice to move to a new house. To have children. Romance or. Level of cleanliness. And so the counselor suggested to the tall spouse in the short spouse then in order to solve the conflict. Both parties had to adjust their expectations. They had to acknowledge that one of them cared a lot. About the top of the refrigerator. M1. Not so much. And that and that mostly. It's at all spouse felt that it was that important. Vistal spouse might want to consider taking primary responsibility for making it happen. But at the same time. If the short spouse place the high-value on being so supportive and cooperative partner. The short spouse might try to help as well. And so the short spouse got out the smartphone and put a task in the calendar to periodically remind the short spouse to get out the step stool and haul up this cleaning supplies and clean the top of the refrigerator. Because the short spouse knew that it would be meaningful. Is it. In all of our relationships we balance needs and desires and skills and interest so that we can work together efficiently and happily. To reach our mutual goals. High desire and low desire figures into congregational life. We are all in relationship here. And we all have different goals different skills. And find different things important. Or essential. The mission of this congregation states that we have to. Hi desires to overarching desires as a congregation. The nurture individual search for meaning. And to work together for freedom justice and love. These two desires work together. To create our religious community. Further at a fundamental level it is our desire as unitarian universalist to make the world a better place. Because of our faith we are called to engage and making justice and upholding the religious principles that bind us together. Rebecca parker remind me that in every moment it is my choice. To bless the world. She names the work of religious community in such a profound way i return to this reading again and again and again. It is in fact my practice to share it with you at least once a year. We are all here to choose blessing. Defined our own solitude. And to be drawn into community. It is. One of the best articulations of the work that we do as unitarian universalist. According to cheryl walker's recent uu world article in true community we gained a lot. We gain affirmation of who we are both as individuals and as part of a group. We gain the wisdom of others who may have ideas different from our own. In true community we are supported in our life's journey. Because we feel safe to be known at our deepest levels. And because we are all committed to the health of the community. And that she says is how we gain the commitment and the power. To change the world. What does high desire low desire concept means for the earth and social justice ministry. Is what james said. And what are speakers reflected. We will all come to this work of making justice from a different place. Some of us have been activists for decades will some of us are just starting out. And this is as it should be. The great thing about the four roles is that they give us concrete tools and multiple entry points for activist work. The rebel as we've explored as the stereotypical activist. And that's not a comfortable entry point for everyone. And still we are delighted to discover in this model that there are multiple roles we could take. All of which are necessary to create change and support movement. So why ask you. How do you. Do justice. Are you a citizen. Or a rebel. A change agent. Or reformer. Perhaps one of these roles comes easy to you. If so consider picking a different one. To tryon. But either way. Understand that all of the roles are necessary. And they work. So let us work together to balance our needs and desires and skills and interest to the weekend efficiently and happily reach our goals as a congregation. Let us push ourselves and encourage each other. Because sooner or later we will all reach our edge. At the top of the mountain the middle the bottom or somewhere else entirely. The lake. We will all find the edge in a different place. And working for justice is indeed an edgy thing to do. Pema chodron tellez tells us it really doesn't make any difference where you meet your edge. Just meeting it is the point. Life is a whole journey of meeting your edge again and again and again. This is spiritual deepening. Meeting your edge. Again. And again. And again. And then going back. To find the edge again once it move. So invite you to consider your edge. Where is your edge when it comes to taking action to make the world a better place. The steering committee and task forces of the earth and social justice ministry have pledged to provide multiple entry points into the work we do as a congregation. And i invite you to visit the earth and social justice ministry table after the service for a list of things that are happening. Calendar listings and more information about the initiative. And so the question remains. How will you. Choose. To blast. How will you. Choose. To make justice.

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161218-Showing-Up-Staying-Put.mp3

My friends we are living in trying times. I have heard and said these words countless times over the past few years. It seems that each week. Sometimes each day there is another frightening story on the news. Local national international. We try to work to change the world and it pushes back and back and back on us and it is frightening and demoralizing. And the ways we talk about how we make it through begin to seem. Inadequate. I find it more and more difficult to find the hope in the world around us. Most days i'm not even sure where to begin it feels so daunting. Now is the time for digging deep. And trusting the seeds we have planted. In the past. What do we tell. The children. We tell them that we will do our best to protect them. But everything is not okay. We tell them we are sorry that we didn't fix things sooner. We tell them that we don't know what is going to happen. But we will hold hands and fight. Together. And we need to tell ourselves these things 2. And when it comes down to it. It matters less what we tell them. But we show them. How we teach them. To resist. Because that's the place we are in today. We must. Resist. The people in power are giving us lots and lots of information about who they are. And what they plan to do. Here in north carolina. We've already seen just in the past few days unprecedented legislation. Past that limits the power of the incoming governor. North carolina for the past few years has been an example of what. People think is likely to happen on a national level. Since we've already been part of the resistance for the past three years here. We have knowledge. Strategies. Support. Cher. There is work. To be done. As there always is. My work has fundamentally changed. In the past eight weeks. It's true that i still spend most of my time working on daily tasks. Related to running programs in this congregation. And meet with you when you have pastor old needs i go to my regular meetings about social justice and administration and other things. At the same time i am now constantly gathering information. And making connections related to the resistance. At the capitol are the resistance. There is no time to wait and see what is going to happen. It is already happening. Harassment and bullying are up. Suicides of marginalized people are up. Legislative retaliation has happened and will continue to happen. And all the news on the incoming administration is showing us exactly what. You expect. And so we must. Resist. Now. What does resistance look like. How to fundamental. Level it means refusing to accept ableism. Attacks on democracy. Racism bullying anti-semitism voter suppression environmental harm mistreatment of immigrants corporate personhood homophobia islamophobia transphobia pseudoscience. Authoritarianism and my personal favorite the patriarchy. That list came from a graphic made by you you named christine purcell. It says my uu values call me to resist all these things. The good news is that these are all things that we have been against. As a congregation as a face community as a denomination for a long long. Time. Until the first important thing that we can do to resist is to keep doing what we have been doing. We have relationships within this community and within greater asheville community that we can cultivate and build upon. I can tell you that here in this congregation we will continue to provide practical training for how to resist. Like the active bystander training that joy mcconnell so ably led last week. In the new year as part of arts and social justice ministry i will begin leading resiliency circles. What are small groups that provide connection. Support and spiritual reflection two people doing activist work. In addition the earth and social justice ministry is launching action wednesdays beginning january 18th. This is a monthly opportunity for social justice working groups to come together. I focus on tasks and activities and planning. And you will have more ideas. For resisting. I'm certain of it and we want to hear them so that we can support you and your resistance we can support you in making your piece of the resistance happen. Happen. There is also still personal work to be done. We have to own the ways that we have participated in the oppressive system. Not in a cell flagellating way. But in a way that allows us to move out of paralysis and fear. An interaction. Because there are some of us in this room who have felt for most of our lives that we are able to trust the system. We need. Own and understand that we are beginning to see that it is not in fact a trustworthy system. It is becoming clearer and clearer that if we ever could trust. By now it is a revocable broken. We need to own our unintentional ignorance and understand that there are also people in this room. Who have never been able to trust the system. We can look. At what happened in the north carolina state house on friday as an example of the system failing in a profound way. And we can listen to what our siblings of color have been telling us for decades. We feel voiceless. Powerless. At a loss for what to do. We are not used. We believed in the system. And we trusted it to keep us safe. But the field. Burning. Joyce. Spoke. Of the blessings of the fire. And that story about blessings of fire is not about easy optimism. It is not about finding the silver lining. It is about a deep and tenacious hope. It is about knowing that even when everything has burned to the ground. New life. Still possible. These are rough. Blessings. Andaman in the midst of these rough blessings the most. Portent thing that we can do. Is be true to who we are as a p. We are a religious. Community. We are at. Irrigation. We are a community that gathers. Support one another. We are here to provide tools for making meaning in our lives. To deepen our spiritual engagement. The care for one another. Reach out. And work for justice. We believe in making justice in the world around us. Our values call us to resist oppression and bigotry. It may be frightening to think about taking such a strong stand. Isn't unitarian-universalism supposed about supposed to be about accepting every belief and every idea. Well nope. That's not. Exactly it. We believe that all beings have worse and dignity. But all ideas do not fit within our values. Going to give you the list again our values call us to resist ableism. Attacks on democracy racism bullying anti-semitism voter suppression. Environmental harm mistreatment of immigrants corporate personhood. Homophobia islamophobia transphobia. Pseudoscience. Authoritarianism and the patriarchy. And so ideas and beliefs and most importantly actions. That perpetuate or normalize any of these things are against. Unitarian universalist values. It is time for us. Stand up. And fight. I am reminded. Of the book the order of the phoenix. The fifth. In the harry potter series. In this particular scene harry potter is angry. He and his friends are in professor dumbledore's office. And he is throwing things and yelling. I don't care he yelled at them snatching up a lunascope and throwing it into the fireplace. I've had enough. I've seen enough i want out. I want it to end i don't. Care anymore. You do. Said dumbledore. He had not flinch. Or made a single move to stop harry demolishing his office. His expression was calm. Almost detached. You care so much. You feel as though you will bleed to death. The pain of it. Pretty much everyday now. I'm done. I can't take it anymore i want out. And yet. I care so much that. Hertz. The truth is that there is no. Ouch. This is the world we live in. It is the world that we have helped create for better or for worse. And so we must figure out together. How to live in it. As our lives are a gift. A complicated frustrating. Challenge. Dangerous. Wizard. Gift. There's a beautiful prayer. Play jessica york. Who is auua face development director. Alabama. A woman of color. It's called gird thyself. She says this is not a prayer that you may find hope. For hope is a luxury that some cannot find and others cannot afford. This is not a prayer that you find more love in the world though i hope you continue to feel love. And send love to those near and far. I pray instead that you may find tools. A hammer lying half hidden in the grass. A roll of duct tape. Curled up and forgotten on a high shelf in the back of the closet. A wrench poking out of the back pocket of a stranger. Take these tools and gird thyself. A hammer for justice. Duct tape. Hold together your broken heart. A wrench. Grip and provide advantage and applying torque. Tuak turn object. Or. Turn the world. Take these tools and others you may find in places expected and unexpected. Take these tools and gird thyself. For weeping. Mets last. Through the night. The work that begins in the morning will look different for each of us. Some of us are quite simply in survival mode. Putting one foot in front of the other. Some will in fact need to leave. To keep themselves or their family safe. And that's okay. But those of us who have a choice. Must stand and. Fight. We must show up as we have always done. And we must stay. We must stay put. Stay engaged. Day. We must. Resist. Together. Here is what my resistance looks like right now. I am in conversation with other clergy and lay leaders who are organizing. These conversations include topics like establishing secure communication. Protected texting about actions. Building infrastructure for telling people who are most at risk. The country. Discussing legal strategies for combating unconscious. Social actions by legislators. And i am spending as much time as i possibly can listen listening to my siblings and colleagues of color and those who are trans. And marginalizing different ways than i am. Who are less surprised by these new developments in our political culture. And more prepared. I handle them. These folks. Some of you in this room we're not shocked. By the results of the election. You've been living in scorched-earth your whole lives. And you know already that there's no i'm done there's no i'm out no more because the only choice. To keep living. A strange place to find myself honestly. I kind of thought i was already a social justice warrior. The stakes are so high. And i've barely scratched. The further we go down this road to authoritarianism the more difficult it gets. Because i'm also reflecting daily about how i will use my body in this fight. Reflecting daily about the risks and challenges that fit face me. And how my responsibilities to my family my vocation and to all of you. Impact the choices that i make. I started writing the sermon certain that i had no good news to give you. I felt as if i was sitting up in that tree. Watching the fire burn. But again and again and again i return to the power of community. I can't. Count. The number of you who quietly came up to me after the election and said i will fight for. And i don't know if we will all make it through. But i do know that we will stand and fight 2. And that is what we tell the children. We will fight. We will hold onto each other through the despair and we'll lean on each other when we lose the battle. And love fierce as a mother bear protecting her cubs will never die. The role of a preacher is a strange one. Are we pastors. Or are we prophets. And as with many things the answer is yes. We are both. I am a pastor. Part of my calling i take. Very seriously. And at the same time i have a prophetic voice. Call to speak the truth. I want so much. Stand here and tell you that it will be okay. That we will make it through. But i can't promise you that. We know that much of the incoming administration's proposed policy has predictable consequence. More deportation. Less health care access. Limits on civil rights of all kinds. The list goes on and on. We all want to come to church and feel comforted. Especially when life around us is so frightening. But empty comfort. The one thing i can promise you. Is that i will never lie to you. I am here to tell you. Daddy is whistling. Field is. And i know deep in my heart that the connections between us that will be what save us as a people. Are you sitting in the tree watching. Know that if that is your role you must be the one to tell the story when it is all over. Did you put up extra food from your garden so that you could share with your neighbors crops don't yield. That is your role. Know that you must reach out and share with those who may not be your neighbor. Is your face. Parts from heat as you dip the burlap and water over and over trying in vain to beat back the flames. No. But as long as you are part of this community you will not. Fight. Alone. Thank you.

uuasheville_org

151213-Great-Expectations.mp3

It is not long after a child is old enough to be on her or his feet and running around. The we adults discover that we possess the most powerful curative known to humankind. We call it. The boo boo kits. Right. You know how it is up walked the child with big tears and loud cries after a hard fall and you gather them up and make sympathetic noises. Where does it hurt you. He or she points to. And you kiss it. Is that better you ask. And the child gets. Now we can get into quite a lengthy academic debate about how much good you actually did do. But there's no denying that at some level that interchange did accomplish something. Is. Better. At least in the sense that you showed the child that someone cared. When she or he felt in. We are in a way setting up an expectation that they can seek and receive care from the assaults of the world. And who knows. This may be part of what's behind the other. Curious phenomena known as. Sibo. Affect. For generations we've known that some people who receive treatments with no medically active ingredient. Say. Sugar pills or saline injection. Will number last report that symptoms like pain and discomfort have been alleviated. In fact some studies have even shown when patients are told. Bet they're receiving near sugar pills they still report more improvement in their conditions than people who receive no tree. A key to this effect may be in the words roots. Placebo comes from the latin meaning. I will please. Perhaps it's like the boo boo kitty. On the playground. The effect is a reflection in some way of our trusting. That we can expect to be cared for. That's one example of the way that our expectation. Have a powerful effect on. Because of course expectations are woven throughout our conscious. Our ability to plan and project into the future is helpful. Arguably one of the characteristics that makes us human. But it's also can be a great source. Since it's so easy to raise our expectations too unrealistic heights. And probably nowhere to we feel this effects. More acutely than in our interactions with our loved ones. Headstand indicated. Many of us bring wounded hearts from our approach. And those wounds color are interpretations. How our interactions with our family and other important. And so we head into the holidays. A time of year when family gatherings are not only planned but also dressed up with tinsel and great expectations of holiday joy. You might be a good moment. And to reflect on strategies that help us. The angst. But those expectations. You know what it's like whether you're approaching the holiday gathering as a host. For as a guest. There are old scripts. Old hurts that lie in wait. What you tell yourself this time will be different. I'm going to be calm i'm going to be positive i won't let myself get drawn into those patterns that trip me up each time. And i'm not going to escape or avoid i'm going to be present and i'm going to be real. And then in the middle of it just when you thought things were going well you are suddenly triggered. Buy some offhand remark. We're off to the races. Is there a way that we can avoid that path or at least lessen our participation in. We begin by acknowledging that this is hard work. It touches us are emotional. And it deserves some care. At the heart of it all. This is something that really does matter. The people nearest to us do touch up. And how we are with them really does affect our emotional well-being. Avoiding interactions with them isn't to kenneth tenable wayforward. It only numbers. And hardens. Making us less accessible to our own needs. As well as two potential sources of our healing. So what to do. The buddhist tv. Pema chodron. Points out that the initial feelings of worry and bread that we feel when were triggered. Actually be a signal that those old habits are being disruptive. Instead of seamlessly moving into them with some sort of sense of entitlement. We can feel that they really don't serve our needs. We no longer take them for granted and can see them as unhelpful. But rather than letting anxiety take over. Suggest. Try adopting. Inquisitive. So. This is what it feels like when i pushed. This is the cascade of feelings and worried self-talk that tumbles out. This may not something be something that you can do when you're in the middle of it. It may be that the best you can do. It's simply stay present and get through the moment. But a little reflection in time away. Offers a chance to sort through what you've just experienced. Acknowledge that bump in blood pressure you just felt. And offer yourself. A little compare. Again this is hard work it touches you deeply. And it will take time and effort to sort through. But it's worth it. Since on the other side is a healthier way of seeing. And just that moment to pressing the pause button before you launch into those old scripts. Maybe enough. To help you see that. You can. But you would facts have the tools that you need. Is pema chodron puts if we are ourselves the source. Wisdom. Compassion. Okay fine. But how about now when i'm not feeling quite so wise or compassion. Well there are some thoughts that might help us lighten up. And disengage.. First pema chodron sets. Don't set up the target for the arrow. This is a pretty dramatic image. But it often fits how the escalating cascade of conflict to another can feel. As she puts it if you don't put up the target you can't get hit. Who serves as a reminder that in the end we are in control of how we respond to another person. It doesn't always feel that way when someone is pushing our buttons. But the fact remains that if she says. We set up the target and only wii. Withholding the target can disrupt. And eventually breakdown the patterns of anger. And aggression but otherwise drive our responses. Then after we settled down. I'm disengaged from the pattern of conflict we found ourselves in. Pema chodron advice is that we look for a way to connect. The heart. Once we stepped away from what had been an escalating conflict. It is suddenly playing. Pointless. And damaging this whole process. How each of us in this exchange suffers. As she puts it millions are burning with the fire of aggression. We can sit with the intensity of the anger. And lettuce energy. Humble. And make us more compassion. It's not as if having gotten through this crisis we are suddenly above it and more than likely. More grounded than others that flare into anger. Who knows what might push our buttons next and send us back down that road again. It is only through compassion that we find. Eccentric way. For this for me this provides a way into this selection from the daodejing that you heard earlier. It's really about the complementarity of. How ugly and beautiful. Good and bad long and short difficult. An easy. Are not unrelated opposite. Space support and reflective. We know anger not from observing it but from experiencing. Once captured. We lose all perspective on it. But sitting with compassion. In the presence of anger helps us understand it. Afro anger is not. Not all anger. Is destruct. Righteous anger sanford and moral understanding is a power. Positive force. Right reactive anger. Arising from our fears accomplishes nothing. It even turns to undermine us. Seeing and understanding anger from the perspective of a compassionate heart. Probably been running away from it. Open text to that inside. That's because compassion arises not from weakness. But from strength. So it tempers anger. And in fact all the motion. And focuses it in a more productive way. So against the doctrine suggest. We are able to experience the world. I meant things arise we don't seek to control them we simply let them come. When things disappear we don't cling to them we. Let them go. We are able to have things without possessing. We're able to act. Without layering onto that experience. Many great expectation. What will come of it. So what does all of this. Tell us about expectation. Well our expectations matter. Face shape how we perceive the world. But they can also lead us down some pretty perilous path. Just brought me back to think about how these themes are reflected in that. Novel of charles dickens remember that parallel our topic today great. Were used to turn into dickens at christmas time from all the tale of scrooge and all his ghosts. But it occurs to me that his protagonist pip. May be onto something. The teachers in this lesson of advent. As we mole over this matter of expectation. One could argue that scrooge and pissed both learn a similar lesson. Justice cruisers miserly miserliness makes him miserable. The money that lands unexpectedly and pit slap fuels grand unrealistic visions of what it is to live with means. So not surprisingly he makes a mess of it. His dismissal of the good blacksmith joe and later his benefactor magwitch and his. Infatuation with the seeming aunjanue with stella. Have all the glittering lures of the money life. Are fueled by the same delusory expectations that come from self-indulgence and. Disregard for others. When is comeuppance arrives he like scrooge. It's forced to recognize the errors of his ways. How we have disregarded those. 2 karat most. Call currying favor with those whose interests are purely selfish. It's the moralist side of dickens at his best. Under some justice. After all isn't there serious vanity in the whole notion that we can expect to know how the future will unfold. But the world will dance around our hopes and wishes. Instead we are more often rewarded. By curiosity and openness. Spy willingness to be surprised by what the world has in store. Of course what the world has in store is not always what we want to receive. So we are also wise to nurture expectations that arise from. Commitment. We can give each other the gift of expectation that we will be and do what we say we will be and do for each other. We will be there when the other stumbles or is in need. To kiss each other's boobs. And walk with each other and sorrow and disappointment. Let those be the expectation. We give and receive. In this. Darkest time.

uuasheville_org

140629-Seeking-Caesura.mp3

Our second reading aloud. Is recorded in memory. If i was albus dumbledore. I use my lawn to thread the wisp. Of memory from my mind and place it in the pensive for all to see. But i'm not so i'll just share it with you in my own way. We're in a basement. Window lowe's. Classroom at boston university on a wednesday afternoon in 1992. The course intro to english poetry. A man who seems too big for the room and his smallish tweed coat is pacing back and forth at the lectern. Giving getting worked up over alexander pope's mock-heroic poem the rape of the lock. With a shock of white leaping hair and sparkling blue eyes mark patrick hedderman. Visiting professor is trying to explain pope's perfect use of the poetic seizure is here. Indus kansas brilliant. And everything in the poetic narrative has built up to this moment see. Even the m has sped up. All the syllables crowded onto the line and then. Play down. A break. A big break. A seizure. Spring break a break in the momentum right all right before the cutting of the hair. It's brilliant. It's. It's just like the beginning of that movie jaws do you remember that one you remember. Have you seen most fantastic opening sequence in cinema. First there's the young people partying at the beach remember. Then the young man and the young woman runoff from the group there's expectation and inhibition. The woman is stripping off a close you remember that scene. Will the man catch up with her. Oh no he's drunk and he falls down. So. The woman leaves into the water naked. The sun is setting we see her gracefully swimming through the clearwater we are. And we are seeing the water in our body seeing the light in the sky the shore. The young man over there falling on the beach. Ben. We are down below. Looking up at her. Remember. Those dangling pasty legs. Then we are hers swimming again on the top then down below getting closer to those legs. Then we are her again and then. Yeah. The first fight she is pulled under the first time remember that scene. And the sound in the audience is truly audible gasp. I didn't take a breath. Not just because we are shocked by what has just happened. But because we are the woman. And then we are the shark. Then we are the woman again. And then the shark and now. Trump. Haha we have eaten ourselves. It is cinematic brilliance. I tell you in and it is it is just what pope is trying to do in this stanza. Now what my professor was trying to get across besides obvious. Really having loved the beginning of the movie.. What's how the poet's use of a sage aura. Intensified the focus with a poem. A lovely little poetic device. This is gyro. It's basically a complete pause in a line of poetry. Sometimes it just has a breath to the poem. But it can also add. A signal a significant shift. In the feeling. For the narrative. Figaro's are most dramatic when they fall in the middle of a line. And brake. In the rape of the lock the poem my professor was lecturing about the poet's use of rhythm. And especially the interruption. A predictable rhythm. Skip across the moment of crisis. Transformation. In that space of interrupted rhythm in that in-between space something intense happen. A lock of belinda's hair is cut off. And stolen. It is later humorously put on par with the abduction of helen of troy. And the horror that follows. A ridiculous exaggeration. But like all parody there's a root of bare truth. In pope's time the early 18th century. Women were judged on their owner. Without being given the rights. Defend. A woman defending. Her a lock of her hair. A woman drunk and naked on the beach. Women whose agencies in question. This is tragedy or comedy. It's supposed to be both. And what does that say about us. Buffet jorah is a marker. Drawing our attention to a pause. Telling us to take the time to think. In the space of the stage or this silent in between space of interrupted rhythm interrupted predictability. A lot can happen. I like to think of this stage or a beyond the realm of poetry and music. But instead with an our lives. What is the cicero to us. It's kind of like an ellipsis. A pause. A break in the flow of thought. A space to soak into the odd to empathize to be moved. It is in these moments that we may be inspired to reconnect with what. Meaningful. With our best intentions. Any moment we might be challenged to question ourselves. Are passive acceptance of something we know to be wrong. Or lack of engagement with others. We might even see glimpses of what some of us might call. Divine. A space of unknown a space of communion where we truly observe our seventh principle in action. Within the space of sager all things are connected. Sometimes it's a personal moment. We knelt down and looked under foot lately. Are we going for a walk in the park or the woods with no particular purpose but to just. Be there. Have we unplugged lately. That distraction can be the biggest barrier to all forms of a juris face. Keeping us from paying attention to who and what is direct. Before and around us. Other times the stage or has faced moves beyond me to we. This collective phaedra is what happens. When the power goes out on a hot summer night. And suddenly all the everyone. Neighbors that you may or may not know or out on their porch. And the conversations and laughter and soft candlelight of. Porch. Creates this kind of gorgeous hush of sound. Usually lost. Under. That electric home. The daily word. A moment of communion instigated by. A disruption. Other kinds of collective seizure as might be during a snowstorm or a stopped elevator. And they usually bring us closer to the people we are with. Even if they're strangers. Part of what makes these collectors figure as meaningful as how they break into our ordinary lives. Pick us up a bit. We created humans often design our very own collective sager is specifically for the purpose. A breaking through the familiar to make space for deeper connection. These times include holidays retreats weddings funerals family reunions. Many of these events include special special rituals. But often it's the time leading up. 2 and after these highly-charged moments. When there's this potential for a meaningful say jura between. Of course we're in the most traditional form of human-created sage aura right now. The worship service. And religious traditions all over the world have something like this. And it really doesn't matter the tradition the speaker or the topic. The point. Is the space. For connecting. Tweet other. Inner self to the outer unknown. Whatever that may be. Can we do that for making sabbath. At route we humans created sabbath in order to build in sage aura. Spiritually transformative space. Within the routine of our lives thinking that this sunday thing that we do. Definitely break in our weekly rooty. Because in this place we do things that we don't do in our everyday lives. Wee sing. Don't do that anywhere else. Sometimes we even danced a little little. If i'm at our door. We hold hands. Are we say words together out loud. Better for what we believe. What we intend. We celebrate rites of passage in the space. We warmly and unconditionally welcome strangers. And sometimes we just sit in our. Sometimes nothing happens. The service is over. Only feel unmoved. Unchanged. You can't force the sacred. You can't force a hawse in size. And even though we may crave the seizure of space. What kind of built to resist it. How do we keep people at arm's length. Emotional. And we rarely go out into nature. Our world and our hearts can become pretty calcified by concrete. We are hungry. We are hungry for that moment when all that is it. Batdad goes out the window. The moment when words and expectations are consumed. What is left. The possibility for something new to and. The possibility of finding the strength to not. Fill the silence with a thrust of our own arguments of our certainties. But you instead let the unknown settle. What might be within it. We need to listen for that possibility. Because sometimes we really need to draw. Upon some strong communal energy. To get through stuff. Because there are communal say juris. Put on just little happenings in our everyday or intentional experiences. That we humans create. No there also these capital c sager. They come to us. Whether we want them to or not. And these are events like. September 11th 2001. And i make a pause that's very hard to fill. Even together. Whether you were in new york or far far away from there. Regular time stopped for hours. Even days on end as. Watched. We waited. Is your ass can be caused by natural disasters or human enacted violence. Earthquake tsunami tornadoes a building fire. A bombing. A school shooting. These are not really the kind of seizure is any of us want. But disaster can certainly bring all kinds of transformation. As people are forced to move beyond themselves. They're ripped from their everyday to reach out. Klingon each other. Or challenge to rethink how we view the world in this rethinking. May bring us. More in line with our values. Or it may push us more towards behavior is based on fear. We want these events to be turning points we say never again. What are different reactions to these tragedies can actually make it harder for us to work together or even talk to me. Supposedly one of the motivations of elliot rodger. Who killed. People in santa barbara last month. What's the young man's feelings of rejection by women. In the aftermath of this disturbing revelation there's been a groundswell of commentary shared under the twitter hashtag yes all women. Women of all ages breaking silences to share their experiences. I know a great deal has changed since pope 18th century. Women's experiences reveal that patriarchy and misogyny or alive and well. And that's pretty loud and clear when you read some of the horrific responses of many men. To the yes all women tweets and i'm not. Speaking of the overtly misogynistic one. But just the flat denials of the women's truth. You're just being paranoid. Men aren't after you don't have to fear every guy you see. Women know. They don't have to fear every guy they see. The point is. We're talking past each other. I'm not taking the d. Pause for listening. Tweets and talking points. They're not a. Each group in trenton self against the other and just continues to solidify its position. Instead of stopping. Pausing. Breathing. Making a seizure estate. A space for differing opposing voices can actually stop and pay attention. And it's not just gender issues and gun violence where we need to make space for listening. Every issue that divides people into an us-and-them. Equal marriage healthcare income equality race religion privilege. Moral monday versus the north carolina legislature in a nut. Our congregations covenant eclairs. That our life together. Declares that the future of each. Depends on the good of all. The future of all. That all. But each. That everyone. It includes the people we disagree with. The people we can't stand. And the people who hate us. Personally i think that we need to enact our own big fat sager off right now in our culture. A big pressing of the pause button. Where we listen. Let me hear different interpretations and opinions of what true liberty me. But doesn't mean we have to accept. Discrimination gun violence or anything that's harmful. But it does mean that for any progress to really happened we have to be willing to talk to each other. And not vilified. Do what the campaign for southern equality has been to. By performing acts of loving civil disobedience in every town in the south. They're enabling. Emboldening real. People that come out. And talk. Each other about. What does never talked about. Talk about what it means to be in relation. Three neighbors to be fellow citizens in the pursuit of life liberty and the pursuit. Happiness. That is a big awesome people enacted. Seizure aura. The npr story. Talked about brakes. Musical gap that seemed to be these open spaces in our bodies want. You jump into. And that's fantastic. You know how i feel about things. If you read a survey. That's something we got to do more of. Booking is definitely something that should be part of our everyday. How often do we let our bodies move to the beat the way they desire to. But it's interesting that what kids are bodies moving is not the rhythm but it. The gaps. Too much of our daily lives even our weekly sabbath. Can become. Too predictable. To schedule. We need moments that aren't for. By chance. Or buy plan. I need brakes. In our rhythm. We need a mixitup stretch ourselves we can't let this precious time with each other. Perote. Cuz there's too much it's. But even when we hear that gap in the rhythm that captain entices our bodies to break out of our cucuzza. It's a really hard. Because our bodies are holding onto so much. All this tension of taurus pines. We stay so tightly wound within our bodies. Cuz we're holding on to all this. A self. All this internalized violence. And all this feeling of failure. We've learned to tune the violence out because that's what we have to do to survive. We think. We can't make a difference. We think it's impossible to overcome if the horrific seizure of sandy hook. Couldn't make an impact. Can. Has it become our new normal. I move on because we feel powerless to do anything but our bodies hold onto it. Obviously the the hurting people who are entering school. In college campuses. Live worship. Malls. People who feel the need to arm themselves. And go out. Destroy life. And then themselves. Something's causing that. It's not just me. Not just the availability of guns. Not just misogyny not just racism. All of them to me seeing interconnected. Hatred of other. So what can we do. We can and should do the things that we've been doing. Boulder conscience sign letters and petitions get out there in the streets and protest. We may not see the change that we wish to see in our lifetime. But this doesn't mean that our actions aren't meaningful. Heart part of that. Long-term pressure that's needed. I think there is something else that. And its rival. But it's simple. We need to be. And we need to. The woman. We need to try and have these different camera in. We need to try and see through the eyes of the person without privilege. And the person with. Both sides. A different situations. We are one another's we are the other. But in every situation. We need to try to see from both places without. Hatred of self. Or hatred of other. And this can be done silently in our own heads. Trying to think about different points of view. But we really also need to do this work outside of our heads. Person to person and not just on facebook or twitter. But actually face. Take time for a century. Abreast. And the ongoing me verses. And find a way to be. We have to be the shark. And the woman. The terrorist. And the hostage the rapist and the victim the shooter and the child. Or less traumatic. But no less problematic. We need to be the republic. A christian and an atheist. The religious conservative and religious liberal the pro-lifer and the woman's life or advocate the politician in the constituency. Amity. But we must come towards each other. Not seeing each other as ferocious predator or vulnerable prey. What is 2 equal b. Each of us seeking sustenance meaning acceptance. When we the shark and the woman come together. The giant gas. Need not be because we've eaten one another. Which we do a lot of. One or both of us slaughtered in the altercation because instead that gas was when the two of us. Sit down together. Break the rhythm of the planned and expected interaction. Break the rhythm break. Bread with each other. Questions and answers and listen. When we allow this kind of seizure a space it's certainly not an easy place to be. It is approved app. In the river. And if it's physically torturous. To be in that gap. But if we make it a communal. Seijuro. Instead of a poetic in our head. Then we can enjoy it. When our bodies will want to move together. And we can slowly work towards making the. Me this. Worship space. This community. Is where these gas. And gaps. Really happen. Or we can be energized to go out and make this as your a space has become reality. Can you feel the entry point. The break-in rhythm that invites us to. The space where we can experience a kind of happy. Where we feel like we are in a room without a roof. Nothing can hold us back. Not when we are in it together. May we seek. And find and make space. For all these dangerous. I'm a boogie our hearts. In the process.

uuasheville_org

150621-Returning-to-the-Source.mp3

There is a story. About unitarian minister and well-known abolitionist theodore theodore parker. And a turtle. Little theodore grew up on a farm and one day he was frolicking in the fields. Wandering in the streams as one does a child. On a farm. It picked up a stick. In his travels and was sauntering and scampering around. Playing. In the field. Anistream. Little theodore look. Over there and he saw a turtle. Sunning on a rock nearby. He watched the turtle for a little while. And then he started thinking. He thought. It would. Great fun to whack that turtle with my stick. After all. Tips are good for whacking things. He stepped closer to the turtle and raised his arm to take a big swing at it. And suddenly he heard a voice no it said. He stopped. Shocked. The boys had sounded a bit like his father. Little theodore turned and looked. Back and forth around and around. He could see his father far in the distance. A couple fields over. He could hardly see him but it looked like his back was turned. Theodore was pretty sure he couldn't see. But theodore was doing. So he turned back to the turtle raised his arm to swing again. Again just as his arm reach the high point of the ark. He heard don't do it. This time he was sure it wasn't his father though it still sounded kind of like his voice. He dropped the stick. And ran back through the fields and over the stream. The big farmhouse. Where he found his mother. The whole story tumbled out of his mouth. Words upon word while his mother listened. Finally he asked her. What was it. Told me to stop. His mother said in her kindly way i call it the voice of god. Some people call it. Your conscience. But whatever you call it. If you listen to it it will speak to you more and more clearly. It can be a guide for you to help you know what is right. And what is wrong. But if you do not listen to it. Then that voice will begin to fade. And you will not so easily no. What is right. And what. Is wrong. We heard this story the youth and i when we visited the uua headquarters at 24 farnsworth street on tuesday. I had the privilege of traveling with. 10 coming of age. Used. They shared their credos with you in may. The trip was in some ways a pilgrimage. A trip to the store see if you will. Of much of our heritage as unitarian universalist. For me it was also a return. When i was in my teens i participated in a similar program and visited boston with my youth group. It is not. Often. That we get to return as an adult. To an experience that we have had as a young person. It was a really wonderful trip. As i've mentioned your children are terrific. They are funny and kind. And engage in thoughtful reflection about what it means to them. To be unitarian universalist. On the way home the chaperones asked each of the youth to share a bit about their experience and almost all of them expressed that it helped them to clarify what it means to be a unitarian universalist. It helps them to clarify where their faith comes from. And it showed them how important it is to them. Tubi. Unitarian universalist. You can imagine these reflections warmed the cockles of my ministers heart. This morning's reading from william ellery channing which you may have seen framed in the re space downstairs. It's a wonderful articulation of our intent. Here. At the unitarian universalist congregation of asheville not only for our youth. But. For everyone. I wish for each and everyone of you to have an experience like our youth had this past week. That experience of connecting to your own history. Your own faith. That experience of contextualizing. What it is that we do here. In concrete ways. We were able to engage in some ongoing theological conversations during the trip. What does universalism mean to us today. What does it mean to be respectful of other cultures. How do h u u values impact. Who we are and what we do in the world. But even. In the midst of this super fabulous trip. I stumbled over. A marker of my own white privilege. And perhaps that of our youth. You see i gave them an extra rule. Above and beyond the code of conduct that they have followed this year. I made it a joke. Because i figured it would stick better if it wasn't too pedantic. The rule was. Don't get dead. I said it when crossing busy city streets to remind them to look both ways. They said it when somebody did something silly on the t. And i'm pretty sure it contributed somewhat to the fact that we had no injuries that required more than a band-aid to fix. I didn't face any major travel challenges involving lost nest or anything like that. But when i returned home on wednesday night and heard the news of the shooting at the ame church in charleston. My heart broke a little bit for my ignorance. I felt a sharp pain of guilt. And sadness. There are so many youth. In our country for whom those words can be no. Joke. They are desperately.. Panic daily thought. For parents and loved ones sending their african american children out into the world. Some of you. In this room. My race and my class privilege allowed me to make a joke out of something. I could never be a joke. For others for people whom i love dearly. Six months ago almost to the day. I stood in this pulpit and i shared with you my broken heart. My wish. To change things. That day speaking about the deaths. Of michael brown and eric garner and so many others. I told you that i didn't know the answer. I said that i didn't know what to do. But that i hope that we can work together to figure it out. And we have begun that work. Are black lives matter initiative continues with good numbers if you participating in tutoring children and adults attending community meetings of all kinds participating and building bridges and many other things. We are planning adult re classes to help you engage. In your own inner work. I am proud of the work that you have done. And that we will continue. To do. But today i stand here in this pulpit and my heart is in a different place. It is still broken. In fact it has broken again and again and again and again since that day because since that day the violence against our black siblings has continued unabated. And this week. The mass shooting in charleston south carolina. White man steeped in racist ideology walked into a church. Chat with the people for close to an hour. He listened to their prayer. To their bible study. And then he opened fire. Killing nine. Including the pastor. Of that church. And so today i stand in this pulpit again knowing that the words that are on my heart are not easy ones. My friends. We can no longer take the slow road. To change. We can no longer. Take the slow road. I'm not sure we ever actually had that luxury. But i am certain now that we can no longer indulge our own privilege and be willing to accept change on our terms. At a pace that feels comfortable. To us. Those of us in the room. Who have white skin privilege. People of color in our community and in this country do not have the luxury of waiting. And if this predominantly white community is truly committed to a world in which justice and equity rain. A world in which black lives truly do matter. We will not disrespect and disregard them by allowing our privilege to keep us silent. My colleague michael tino says it well. It is tempting he says as a white person to see this young man in south carolina. With his apartheid-era south african flag on his jacket. And his pronouncements of having to stop black people from raping our women. Taking over our country and say that not me. And yet michael says i live in a society that privileges my skin color over that of my siblings of color i benefit from that privilege whether i want to or not. I also live in a society where a white person perpetrating a horrendous act of violence in a black church. Can be labeled a lone gunman. Well a black person shot in the streets without due process is labeled a thug and made to stand in for every person. Cool skin tone approaches there's. And every now and then michael says i remain silent in the face of a white supremacist culture that dehumanizes. And devalues black people. To the point that black lives matter has to be said again and again. And again. For every time i've been silent michael says that man. Is me. I don't want him to be. So i cannot. Remain silent. My friends if we remain silent. In the face of what seemed like minor comments. Tops off. Racist things that are just part of that water that we live in. We are allowing the forces that created the shooter. To continue to exist. This is not easy work. But the stakes are too high. We cannot allow these things to go by unremarked. We cannot wait for the work to feel comfortable. To us. We cannot wait for it to happen in our time. Recall the story i told about the turtle. In which theater parker's conscience initially. Had the voice of his father. Realize i've been thinking about the shooter over the past few days. What the voice of his conscience sounded like. It may not have been his father specifically. But the voice. That told him. That it was okay even laudable. To shoot people in cold blood. To perpetuate his white supremacist agenda. That voice of his conscience was the voice of the world around him. The voice of our conscience is the voice that. Here. The voice that teaches us whether it is a loving parent. A grandparent an aunt and uncle loving teachers in church school or whether it is the internet. And racist history. What we hear. Becomes the voice. Of our conscience. And so it is our work. As people who have privilege that comes from something we didn't choose. Is our work to make the spaces in which that voice those voices that became that shooters conscience. We need to make the spaces where that is possible and allowed and celebrated we need to make those spaces smaller. And the way that we make those spaces smaller. Is by speaking out. What are we teaching our children we are teaching our children to understand their own heart to be kind to be compassionate to solve problems to understand that justice and equity are. Highest values. What are we teaching our children and are we willing to put our own relationships on the line to stand up. For what it is that we believe. We must. We must be willing not only to live our values in our heart but also to speak out. Maybe it's your uncle. Maybe it's your boss. Maybe it's the your neighbor. Could be anybody. We must be willing to speak out. Interrupt that racism. To offer support to the people of color in our community. Who live this. Everyday with no choice. To put it aside. The immanuel church has been a sanctuary for centuries. The sanctuary has been violated over and over and over again and it has been rebuilt and rededicated over and over and over again. Here we are in our own sanctuary which as we speak is being made more welcoming. More inviting more accessible. And in the midst of that important work we also must go outside of the space. We must. Leave this face in order to make the world around us a more welcoming more inviting. And more accessible. All people. That shooter returned again and again and again to his source for knowledge. To the way that he understood relationship. To his conscience which told him it was good. And right. 2 kill. Our source for these things is different. Our unitarian heritage calls us to fight for social equity and racial justice. Are universalists heritage calls us to understand that all souls are equal and worthy of life and love. And unitarian-universalism today tells us that that is all of our work together. And our hearts. Our broken hearts call us. Compassion and relationship-building in the community around us. The rising terrorist attack. Over the past decade has spawned the phrase. If you see something say something. It means of course that if you see something that looks suspicious a backpack left or whatever in a public space you should report it. Racist violence my friends that is also terrorism. Mass shootings are domestic terrorists attacked and so i call on you today and in the days to come. Especially if you happen to have white skin privilege. If you see something. Say something. If you hear something. It perpetuates racism. That honors stereotypes. That is part of this fabric. Of our country. Say something. Be aware of the places you hold privilege. And the places you do not. Do not let those racist comments go by. Silence we know. Is the voice of complicity. Dr. william barber said a few days ago the perpetrator of this crime was caught in shelby north carolina. But the killer. Is still at large. We are all responsible for working together. To take down. That killer. This is not easy work i don't pretend that it is it can be frightening it can be risky it pushes us way outside of our comfort zones. We who have white skin privilege and who wish for a better world for all. Of our children. Can wait no longer. When we were in boston earlier this week i watched youth who had been shaped by this congregation experience all manner of things. They were amazed by the organ at arlington street church they learned how to pull out all the stops. They were made curious. By the dramatically different liturgy at king's chapel. They were intrepid and compassionate and thoughtful. The catchphrase inherent worth and dignity y'all. Became a constant refrain. They worked together. To solve problems. And they have deep conversations about issues. They're important to us. This kind of cooperation and relationship is the bedrock of our faith. This kind of engaged relationship with your face. It's what i wish for each and everyone of us. And that face calls us to step outside of our own comfort zone. And speak out. Cuz we occupy a space in which the overt racism that led to the shooting. In charleston is not. Welcome. And it is our work. To move outside of that space this space. And work to limit the spaces in which it is welcome. The killer is still at large. And that killer. Is racism. Let us work together to listen to that still small voice within. Let us work together. To ensure that everybody's conscience. Tells them that it is not okay. Two-headed turtle with a stick. Or whatever. It may be. Our congregation will continue to engage in concrete ways to support communities of color in asheville. But today i am calling on you to take concrete. Individual action. Today i call on you to make a very personal change. I call you to step outside of what feels comfortable and speak. Out. Whether it is a family member a person you don't know well. Even a passing comment in a grocery store. Call on you to step up. And stop racism. Wherever you can. Because if we do not speak out. It is assumed that we. Agree. Let us work together to change the voice of our collective consciousness. And make those faces. In which racism is a given. Smaller.

uuasheville_org

141221-One-Shining-Momentt-Remembering-the-Xmas-Eve-Truce.mp3

Private albert morgan of the second queen's regiment. Does a beautiful moonlit night. Frost on the ground. White almost everywhere. At 7 or 8 in the morning there's a lot of commotion in the german trenches. I know these lights. I don't know what they were. I started singing. Rifleman g williams of the first london rifle brigade. We could see makeshift christmas trees adorned with lighted candles that burns deadly. Still frosty air. First the germans was saying one of their carols and we sing one of ours. So we all started up. Oh come all ye faithful in latin. So we could sing together. Is most extraordinary thing. Two nations both singing same carol. In the middle of a war. Christmas of 1914 arrived only about 6 months. After the start of the first world war. Having repelled the first attacked by german forces in several major battles over the summer. It's a false start of the allies britain. France france and belgium. Form the western front to push the germans back. Stop the allied advance. Enter protect their own game. The germans began building trenches. Which protected their soldiers from machine gun and artillery fire. The trenches succeeded in holding off the allies. So the british and french begin building trenches of their own. Sometimes only dozens of yards apart from the german trench. The trench system eventually expanded on each side as they won tried to flanker outflank the other stretching from the north sea all the way down to switzerland. The two sides jockey back-and-forth but by november 1914 they had settled into a stalemate of sorts. Faced off against each other in their trenches across a no-man's-land of 100 yd or less. The trench system have the advantage of slowing the loss of life. Richard been catastrophic. In the early days of the war. Hundreds of thousands. With more precise artillery automatic weapons multiplying the rate of immortality. What conditions inside the trenches were abysmal. Soldiers were continually mired in sticky mud. And due to heavy autumn rains there with standing water. Sometimes up to several feet in most of the trenches. Even worse i made the foul conditions. Latrines were a luxury that few hat. The trenches attracted rats and lice and diseases of all sorts. Soldiers on both sides had enlisted in the war as a an adventure of sorts. Al said confidently predicted would be over in a month or so. As winter set in soldiers began coming to terms with an ocean. If this war would drag on for some time. Under lowering skies in early december a british commander was reported to have been concerned that a. Live-and-let-live theory of life as he put it was spreading across the troops. Neither side was firing at mealtimes anymore. And on occasion there was even friendly banter across the lines. The initiative game usually came from the german. A number of whom have worked at british seaside resorts before the war and solve new english. To counteract this creeping for pattern isaac. The british commanders mounted several attacks to prompt prompt response from the germans. But it had little effect. And in fact one case were some things when the due to poor aim some of the artillery barrage has struck the british line. The approach of christmas had soldiers on both sides feeling blue. Governments responded with gifts to keep them happy. German businesses send packages with sausages chocolate cigars and cigarettes not to speak of hundreds of evergreen. So that the soldiers could have their tenenbaums. Some two million british soldiers receive brass tins in boston with image of princess mary that contain some cigarettes or a few sweets and a note from the princess. And british businesses also provided chocolate. Plum pudding small the rest. Christmas eve settled in cold and client along the trenches. A dusting of snow the first in sometime. Covered the ugliness of a battered landscape. Handguns along the front or quiet. No one knows where it started. The best cat is guess is somewhere yeap worth in belgium. British soldiers saw one. Then another. Then whole rows of sparkling evergreen trees appearing on the edge of some of the german forward trenches. British high command issued a warning. To be wary that the germans might take advantage of a lala christmas to attack. So the allied soldiers watched warily. But before long the lilt. A christmas carol. Began floating out of the german trenches. 100 years later all we have is brief snatches from letters of soldiers at the time like albert moran and graham williams. But somehow all along the western front. Something like. Peace. Spontaneously broke out. Some british french or belgian soldiers replied and song of their own. Or wave white flags to exchange cigarettes. Or simply rose up out of the trenches calling we know shoot. You no shoot. Hands were shaking food was exchanged. And the stillness of the night. And the silence of the artillery on this singular occasion. What's how. The angels sang. Captain joseph sewell of the 17th bavarian regiment. I shouted your enemies that we didn't wish to shoot and that we make it christmas truce. I said i would come from my side. And we can speak with each other. First there was silence. Then i shattered wants more invited them. Britton shouted no shooting. Diamond came out of the trenches. And i and my sides are the same. Until we came together and we shook hands a bit cautiously. Lieutenant kirk tzimisce of the 134th saxons infantry. Eventually the british brought a soccer ball from their trenches. Pretty soon a lively game ensued. How marvelously wonderful. Yet how strange it was. English officers felt the same way about it. Best christmas the celebration of love. And it's spring mortal enemies together as friends for time. After all the singing christmas eve the light of christmas day brought another prospect. The bleak expanse of no-man's-land was dotted with corpses. Of men from both sides. Who died in 14a after another. Summit lane there for weeks. Since venturing out to retrieve one's dead companions. Put the soldiers at risk of joining them. What's hostility suspended. No one really believed that they were ended. Soldiers at different locations approach to the other side and suggested they take the opportunity to bury the dead. It's okay set to it. Collaborating and digging the graves of each other's dead. With crosses made from british. Biscuit boxes serving as. Markers for the graves. At some locations chaplains from the two signs led prayers. Alternating between the english and the german. For the ceremonies done soldiers from the two sides began talking. They shared stories of home and family is well as newspaper. Some cigarettes. At some locations german soldiers rolled out barrels of beer. And the english responded by handing over a plum puddings. At other places the french responded with cigars and elsewhere liquor and chocolate were passed around. I meant the conversation soldiers from both sides began trading souvenirs. Buttons belt buckles belt buckles badges and such. And here and there from another side or one side or another. A soccer ball. Some approximation of it. Appeared. Might have been. Sandbag or tim kicked around. Soldiers organized into informal football match. Often across the puck mark. Technomancer. Those who were slowest to join in the festivities. Tended to be the officer. They had eyes out for treachery from the other side. I made all those good feelings. But in time many did come forward and shake the hands of their counterparts. And marvel at the sight of their troops. Posting each other and trading chocolate. Of course not everyone was taking part. Emma soccer games and singing. Both sides took advantage of the truth. Truce to move supplies forwarder to fortify their trenches. Improve their dugouts. And some soldiers on both sides who had recently lost friends to the fighting hung back. Resentful. I never took card. All together what we know some kind of christmas truce was observed at around. 2/3. Of the trenches. What is remarkable as the site was of combating. Dropping the rifles and laughing together like old friends. What may have been most distinctive about it. Was it in the war driven by geopolitical strategy and the ambitions of kings and princes. It was one event that was the initiative. The ordinary soldier. In a conflict that for the first time introduced killing on an industrial scale. A moment had arrived when the soldiers humanity. Christmas. Gave them at opening. Holiday dear to the hearts of both sides. Full of warmth and cheer the touch the faith that they held in common. A faith honoring love. In forbearance. And a light. General sir horace smith dorian. Commander of the british second corpse. I've issued the strictest orders that on no account is intercourse to be allowed between the opposition troops. To finish the war quickly. We must keep up the fighting spirit. And do all we can to discourage friendly intercourse. Captain charles stockwell of the second royal welch fusiliers. 8:30. I fired three shots into the air. I put up a flag with. Merry christmas on it. A german put up a sheet with thank you on it. And the german captain appeared on the parapet. The best valve. And saluted. And got down into our respect your trenches. He fired two shots into the air. And the war was on again. How quickly the world war i got back underway varied from place to place. Along the front. But it was actually months before the attack sri resumed anything like their former level of ferocity. I've been many places it took the substitution of fresh troops who had not taken part in the truce. For both armies to get back at it with a will. It took a week for news of the truce to find its way back to the media and the us and in the end in the album the allies. And official reports from the front. And later history. Downplayed the significance of the christmas truce. It was an aberration that the command staff had determined. And what's the term of the the troops would put behind them. Belts as general smith dorian put it in my sap. They're fighting. Spirit. But not all observers saw that way. 1950 new year's editorial in britain's daily mirror. Reflected on the christmas truce. And observe that wartime hostility was to be found as they put it. Mainly at home. The soldier's heart. Rarely has any hatred in it. Spell tutorial sad. He goes out to fight because that is his job. What came before the causes of war and why and wherefore. Call bother him little. He fights for his country and against his country's enemies. Individually he knows. They're not a bad sort. You just has other things to think about. He has work. And went into win. We could say that many circumstances conspire to make the christmas truce of world war 1 a singular event. After all it took place at a pivotal moment in history. Between combatants that despite efforts from each side to paint the other is monsters or barbarians. Help much in common. Culturally ethnically. Religiously. And all that came together in the celebration of christmas. Also the truth came early in a war that would change the nature of warfare. Before the soldiers became inured. To the notion of total war. Before the introduction of such atrocities as chemical warfare. As a poet philip larkin remarked in 1964 at the 50th anniversary of the war's beginning. The soldiers of world war one brought with them a kind of innocence. That we were not to see again. In the 20th century. All that is true. And yet we are left to wonder whether the christmas truce was not so much and aberration. Have a high water mark. One of those shining moments when our common humanity shown clear and our fears subsided. At least for a bit. It wasn't the first or the last time that people saw past the causes that divided them. To a greater unity the gathers us all. But that we still recall such events was surprised. As novelties i made so much carnage in human history is a good reason to raise this up. As a gesture of what we are capable. I'm doing. There is hardly a more important message for us to attend to today. We live in a time when so much divides us. Race ethnicity national origin religion. And those divisions make it hard to see the truth of our common humanity that unites us. And it's the sort source of our greatest hope. We may not be soldiers under fire in trenches but we struggle all the same. Fearful for our safety. For our economic well-being. For our children. My grandchildren. We hunker down with those we know. Fearful and wary of the motives of others. Might this christmas be a moment. To break out of that pattern. To take the risk of extending ourselves beyond familiar boundaries. Into no-man's-land. Where we are present to others without pretense or guile. At the turning of the year when we take account of what we have made of our lives and what is to come. When our hearts are made lighter by the story of an improbable light and love. The invitation. Is playing. What is left merely is for us to step out of our trenches. Into the uncertain ground. Before us. Into a meeting where the promised a possibility open. As we look ahead to the new year. Let us as individuals. As a community. Commit. To making this so. So friends let us remember this time a time that. If not it's not a fantasy was not a joke. That's a real thing. Real thing of which we are capable always the connections with between us are there for us each to make if we will. If we go forward in our community and our own lives to make this. True. And real.

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141116-As-You-Are-Able.mp3

Ability. Is to look at a piece of paper and create a masterpiece. A painting a poem a song a story. Ability is to walk into a room full of strangers and come out with friends. Ability is to find someone who is sad. And make them smile. Ability is to pick up a book. And find knowledge history stories and wisdom. Ability is to start out with parts and pieces and make. A building. Ability is to walk up to someone and say more than a simple hello. Ability is to make a house. Ability is to keep friendships alive even through the hardest times. Ability is to take a tree and make. A roaring fire. Ability is to have someone want to be just like you. Ability is to keep moving forward. Ability is to accomplish things and feel accomplished. Ability is all the little things in life. But you put as much effort into them. As you would the big things. Ability is to find yourself on the ground. Make a decision. A decision. To not stay there. You may have read in the service notes. In thursday's e news. The boots the musical offering and the postlude. Involved. Nick only using the black keys. On the keyboard. Don't know if you could see his hands but i watched. And he did it. We are shaped by our experiences by our limitations. Our abilities. And we are shaped by each other. The ordinary miracle of existence is different. For each person. Disclaim noir musical offering is a challenge made possible by nick's skill and experience with the piano and the organ. It is a challenge. Defined by an extra externally imposed limitation. And the resulting music is complexed. It is tonal. It is beautiful. And. Unexpected. Disability is perhaps. An externally imposed limitation. Or if not externally imposed certainly arbitrary. And out of an individual's control. It is for sure a challenge. And we each have different skills and experiences that make us who we are. You might not assume by looking at me. Did i completed a 5k race last weekend. I'm not the picture of a runner for sure. But neither was the marine who walked the 5k with two leg braces and two crutches. And neither was the woman with a very young infant in the stroller who finished the half marathon in well under 2 hours. And yet. We all crossed the finish line in our own time. On our own steam accept the infant. And despite our own limitations. We are shaped by the way we move through the world. There is a universality too much of our lived experience and yet when i move through the world. I can never actually know. Exactly how you or you or you might respond. To the same. Occurrence. We each carry both limitations and abilities that make us who we are. And which define our way of being. In the world. We have made a decision as a congregation to make some major changes to our space. We have set. An intention with the welcome project. And intentions and symbolism matter. This project is a huge undertaking in terms of making our space welcoming and accessible to people with physical mobility challenges. The symbolism of the accessible area. This what is this space called. The sanctuary the symbolism of making the center of the sanctuary the accessible area. Instead of the way back corner. Is a dramatic change. With the way our spaces arranged today we are following the letter of the law. But the spirit. Of the law is far from that. Are spaces are literally acceptable. What does it say to a person in a wheelchair. When in order to enter this face called sanctuary. They must go through and around and behind the building eventually entering through the back door and unable to participate in the most important moments of our service together by lighting a candle. Or speaking in front of the congregation. And yet the physical accessibility is really perhaps the simplest part of this equation. We simply must change the structure of the space to accommodate particular need there's a document out there or 6 that will tell us the appropriate grade. For the ramp there are best practices and professionals and known concrete. As it works ways to meet this challenge. How do we welcome. With disabilities we know how it feels to enter the space in a wheelchair we've heard the stories and some of you have lived it. But what does it feel to feel like to enter this community if you have mental health challenges. What if you are on the autism spectrum. Or have a child. That is. What about chronic autoimmune diseases like lupus. Or progressively debilitating diseases like muscular dystrophy multiple sclerosis or alzheimer's. What if you have hearing or sight loss. What if you have adhd. In general are instinct i think as human beings is to find out a person's diagnosis. To identify the limitation. And to compartmentalize that person so that we know how to handle them. It's normal and logical and we it comes out of. A good place in our heart that we don't want to make a mistake. But it also limits the agency of the person with. The disability. Every situation and every person is different. And so often we end up treating a person with a disability as an object. Rather than a subject. For many years the dominant theology of disability has been about god's will or perhaps karma. That god or our own actions causes us to have trials and tribulations either as a punishment or is a vehicle for learning and growth. We suffer this old theology says and how we handle the suffering is the lesson. Or the gift. Before the disability rights movement gained traction the model for handling people with disabilities. Was very paternalistic and it was very other focused. Those in power generally the capable persons within the quote and experts needed to define the experience of disabled individuals. Now the focus is on individual experiences and needs. Allowing the person with the disability to define their own needs and expectations. In 1994 nancy iceland published what is now the most commonly recommended book about disability in a religious context. It's called the disabled god. But the subtitle toward a liberatory theology of disability. You may recall that liberation theology comes out of the catholic tradition largely in central and south america and explores the relationship between christian theology and political activism particularly in areas of social justice. Poverty and human rights. The main methodology of liberation is to do theology to speak of god from the viewpoint of the economically poor and oppressed in the human community. Sewell liberatory theology of disability does the same thing. Enzo the word the word theology translates to god talk. I use it to describe more broadly what we are doing when we explore and interpret the religious and spiritual depth and context of an issue. For me doing theology isn't entirely about god's relationship to issues but instead focuses on the things that matter deeply to us as a religious people. And inclusion. Matters deeply to us. As unitarian universalist. One of the primary goals of religious community is for everyone to be able to express their most authentic self. And to help everyone cultivate resilience and wholeness. We are called to work towards full inclusion of all people in our communities and in the world community. But how do we do that. When megan and michael first approached me asking if we could dedicate their children. They asked for a blessing at home. Explains that they're older son ian is on the autism spectrum and would be challenged by the large crowd at the service. My first response was to say absolutely we can accommodate that no problem. And so we began the planning for a small gathering at their home. But the more i thought about it the more it didn't feel quite right to me. And so i asked. What are the specific things that would be challenging. I wondered if there were things that we could do. To make the service more accessible for ian. It would have been entirely appropriate for us to do the dedication at home it's a really great way to make a commodation. Florian's needs. How much more difficult would it be. How much more difficult would it be to make it possible for him and for his family. To be surrounded by our love and for us to pledge to support them as part of our community. How difficult would it be i didn't know when i asked the questions. But what i learned is that all we needed to do was ask those questions to make some small adjustments to the service. And to make a plan. If things didn't go as smoothly as we hoped they would. We just needed to think outside the box. Can we find space in our communities for people who do not easily fit. Into the system we have created. Yes we can. We can if we ask the right questions. And if we think outside the box. One of the most important pieces of welcoming all people. Is to allow them to tell their own stories. Because naming because telling a story grant power. And when we allow each individual to name their own needs. To articulate their own experience and reality we give them power over their experience. Because the most universal truth about people with disabilities is that there is no universal experience. One person with a disability that i interviewed for the sermon is able to walk most of the time but sometimes she needs the mobility assistance of a wheelchair. She described to me how people see her in the chair and become concerned. Expressing their worried about her. This is likely because when we see a new mobility device we generally interpreted as a sign of emergency. A sign of deterioration or decline. I've actually had this conversation with the pastoral visitors group. That we actually do pay attention to when one or another of you come in with a new mobility device because we want to know if you are okay and yet. I have made assumptions about what that means. In fact in this particular case it is a tool that this person uses because her experience of pain or need or ability fairies. The concerned responses come from a good place they come from the hearts of people who want to be supportive and attentive to their friend. But they don't honor. What is her lived experience. She says i didn't choose to be disabled. But most days i can choose how i respond to it. Another person recently diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy is challenged by the label disabled because while he is beginning to understand and experience limitations related to this diagnosis he still feels largely able. And that is part of the challenge for him that he is in this middle space of learning and understanding and changing. As. He experiences this disease. As human beings our experiences are always intersectional. Everyone has multiple identities and many different needs. Do we have different needs at different times and sometimes we have to prioritize one part of itar identity over the other. Read an article in the washington post recently that describe how doctors often misdiagnosed or order extra tests for people who present with disabilities. Sometimes as simple as assuming that a person who speaks with a stutter. Can't understand or process well. Or assuming that a person in a wheelchair doesn't need to be tested for sexually transmitted infections. These types of assumptions are both limiting and dehumanizing. And we are called. Did you better. We are called to welcome all people. And that is challenging to think about. Because how can we possibly know. What everyone needs. And then. If we do know what everyone needs how can we provide all of those things. My mother tells a story. Have a congregation unitarian universalist congregation. I think it was in the early nineties that she attended. And they had completed the welcoming congregation process that class that teaches us about. How to welcome and include. Lgbt persons they have been certified as a congregation and yet in their suburban congregation they had no lgbtq people. And my mother. Describe the day. That. Add a couple. Arrived. At the door. And she says it with a chuckle. But behind the taco. Is a different story. These this lovely couple i'm sure they were lovely showed up. And everyone said welcome we're so glad you're here we know what to do we're excited we've we've learned we've understood we're certified and here you are and we. We love you and welcome. Well i don't know about you. But if that had been me. I would have hightailed it out of there. Because that responds while. Perhaps admirable in its intent. What about them. It was about the congregation. And not about the individuals. And so we focused on meeting each person. Where they are. We genuinely greet newcomers allow them to share their own stories. Ask them. The name our own their own experiences as we do for each other. Once we've gotten to know each other. We are shaped by our experiences. By our limitations. By our abilities. And we are shaped. By each other. The ordinary miracle of existence is different. For each person. This month's team is belonging. And isn't that what we all seek. Certainly it is what most people describe. As they're the reason for their decision to become a part of a religious community and you can't fake it. They say that newcomers decide within minutes seconds even. Weather in new congregation. Feels like the place for them. According to nancy iceland. Living with a disability is difficult. Acknowledging this this difficulty is not a defeat. She says. But a hard one accomplishment in learning to live a life. That is not disabled. The difficulty for people with disabilities has two parts. Living are ordinary but difficult lives. And changing structures beliefs and attitudes that prevent us from living ordinarily. This statement. Is the center of this conversation. We see it in with a friend of mine calls inspiration p***. These are the memes on social media and the articles and reports that describe a person with a disability has inspiring and heroic. Overcoming obstacles and triumphing. When in fact. What we really need. Each of us. Is to be able to live our ordinary lives. We need to be able to acknowledge the difficulty to acknowledge the uniqueness of our experience. And to be greeted with compassion. An understanding. We need to be invited to the center. Of the sanctuary. We need to be surrounded with love and support. To be met. And understood as individuals. We need. To belong. Until my intention for each and everyone of you. My intention for all of us in this community is that we would all be invited to the center of the sanctuary. That we would work together. Each participating to the best of our ability. Each participating. As we are able. May we greet each other with kindness and compassion. May we look for ways to be radically inclusive. Honoring our differing needs. And experiences. May our ordinary lives. Be full of extraordinary connections. May it be so.

uuasheville_org

151122-A-Recipe-for-Gratitude.mp3

We are living in difficult times. Globally and locally. There are what seemed like endless numbers of challenges and heartbreaks. Happening constantly. All the time these days. Of course if we think about it we know that there were always countless. Terrible things happening. But now that we have a 24-hour news cycle and the ever so helpful internet. We are left able to avoid. Knowing. About all. The thing. I must confess that my heart feels particularly particularly battered and bruised. This week. I imagine i'm not the only one here who has been worn down by this week's news cycle. The marietta atrocities that we human beings perpetrate. Against one another. Particularly challenging for me this week has been the backlash against. Refugees of all kinds as we approach. Thanksgiving. As we know that. Those who came here were in some way. Refugees. And also the news of the unitarian minister in burundi reverend fulgens. Who was detained and imprisoned. After his. Church. Was attacked. These are the things that are. Knocking at my heart this week. It is one of the ongoing challenges of living in a post 9-11 world. The constant barrage of news and rhetoric. Around terrorism. And fear. We don't always realize it but even when there isn't a syria or a beirut. Or school shooting. For the latest. Version of racist violence. Actively being reported. We live with a low ebb. A tragic and frightening news. There is a cost to this new normal. And for the most part i think the greatest cost. Is this. Constant sense of generalized overwhelm. We can't always pinpoint where it comes from but we reap the negative consequences constantly. The social media phenomenon is wonderful for many things. But it does tend to amplify everything. Including. Negativity. Engaging the topic of gratitude. In this particular context. Is challenging. We can perhaps focus on being grateful for what we have. Not just the things. Not just the stuffing. But the people. The relationships. The dreams the goals. But in the midst of sadness and strife. That can feel. Inadequate. And yet practicing gratitude is a surefire strategy for staying grounded. And focused on what is important. To you. Studies have shown that a daily gratitude practice increases alertness. Enthusiasm determination. Optimism and energy. An article in the new york times i suggest this morning suggest that rebelling against negative impulses. An acting right. Even when we don't feel like it. Acting grateful it said. Can actually make you feel. Gratitude is a great place to start. When we feel overwhelmed and exhausted. As we enter into the holiday season beginning in earnest this week with thanksgiving. Now is time to double down as they say. On. Gratitude. I'm taking care of ourselves. And each other. It is a time to cultivate that sense of gratitude. And to cultivate our deep abiding friendships. These are the relationships weather with. Are chosen family. Or our relations. It bring us laughter. In which we share pleasures. The ones that are deep. Abiding life. Giving. Connections. Give to your friend not just the ebb. But also the flood. Of your tide. Especially in this world full. The constant barrage of horrifying events. We would do well. To cultivate. Life-giving relationships both on and offline. In the words of kahlil gibran. Let your best. Be. For your friend. A few years ago i rented a room from a friend who like me. Loves to cook. We shared the kitchen and so we would often also share our creations with each other. We were rarely able to share recipes. Because we had such wildly different approaches to cook a. My mother and grandmother both. Cook a lot. And i learned different things from both of them. My mother says that the piecrust gene skipped a generation. But the biggest thing that i learned from both of them. The recipes are mostly a suggestion. A guideline. Really. I learned to adjust as i went putting. This much of that and. This much of the other thing. Adding or subtracting seasonings at whim. And making creative substitutions if as necessary if i was missing an ingredient. Sometimes that works. Times it doesn't. One time when i was growing up. We didn't have any mint in the spice cabinet. So every school i cut open a peppermint tea bag. To season a nice dish of minted wild rice. Think about that really for a minute. The friends that my parents had invited over for dinner that night we're gracious. My kitchen sharing friend however got her start with cooking as a baker. And so for her. Recipes. Are a blueprint. They are gospel truth. She measures everything not with measuring cups. On the kitchen scale. 2. Mg. She would spend her evenings and weekends weekends making multi-step concoctions with every possible flavor. Texture and spice. Using every pot pan and utensil she owned. She made her own baguettes. Tortillas wonderful stews from all different cultures. And her christmas fruit cake cake making process started in late october. What's the best fruit cake i've ever had. I'm here to tell you that we both ate. Very well that year we shared kitchen space. Both of our approaches to cooking yielded wonderful results. The we got the food to the table in very different ways. I've always taken that experience as an important lesson. And life. As in cooking. There's rarely one right way to do things. But you do have to know when it's okay to substitute or go freeform. And when you have to respect. The chemistry. Of the ingredients. And of course thanksgiving is a holiday that is particularly focused on recipes. And traditions. I think every family every person has at least one dish that you have to make. Even if you hate it. There are traditions that were handed down through generations. And there is always the wish to do something new and different. A successful holiday meal is a good balance of all of these things you can't do all new stuff. Her people will mutiny. But if you only ever do the same thing. That's a different kind. Assessing the traditions. Which ones you're doing just because you haven't thought it through. Like. The ham with its ends cut off. Which ones you want to start new. And what you are ready to let go of. It was a long-standing tradition in my family. To have fresh chestnuts. And so every wednesday before thanksgiving my mother would give us a 15-minute warning. That the chestnuts. Orin. The water. Has anybody here ever peeled chestnuts. It's hurt. Because you have to do it fast. Because of the colder they get the harder they are to peel to a 15-minute warning all the. Plates and the bowl for the chestnut meats and the bowl for the little. You know for the skins and all the different knives everybody had their knife knife. They preferred. With all the shutout and when the timer went off. Dropped what you were doing and ran to the table and peel those chestnuts as fast as you can. So this year. My mom said. So do you want me to bring the chestnuts. Or can i just go to trader joe's. I said you know what i think we can let the chestnuts go. Cuz it's a good story and we don't have to burn our fingers anymore. So how do you cultivate the relationships and the energies that are life-giving and beneficial. The ones that the create the good stories but then maybe. You can let it go. When it's time. How do you cultivate. Energies that are life-giving and beneficial while at the same time honoring the past. And sometimes of course your ingredients are limited. Do you have to figure out how to make them work together. Those of you who are not planning to spend time with family by design. Or by accident. What ingredients will you use. To create. Holiday experience that works. For you. Perhaps you will attend. Thanksgiving here dinner here at church. Perhaps you will decide to go on a mini retreat. Or invite someone special to spend time with you. Walk outside. Create art. Or take a nap. We can all use different ingredients. And we can all make. Different concoctions. But if you noticed that different cultures often have similar. Recipes. In most cases i think this is a regional phenomenon that different. Places have different climates and therefore different. Ingredients are available. People have migration patterns in local. Areas. But there are some food items that seem universal. For example. A flat piece of dough. Round or square or another shape. With filling in it. And fold it over. We see it in chinese dumplings perogies empanadas ravioli. Cornish pasties pasties sorry. I always do that one wrong. Calzones. And so many more that phenomenon of. Kneading. A food item that you can cook quickly with lots of different ingredients inside. Spices whatever. And take it in your hand and run off to the field or whatever you need. It's simple to create. Easy to eat. Portable and self-contained. I've come to believe that gratitude is like this kind of universal recipe. We all use different ingredients different spices. Different cooking method methods. Summer savory some sweets. Steamed baked. And yet. We can all find our way. To a practice of gratitude. That's grounded not in superficial things. But in. Who we are. In our hearts. And how we want to be. In the world. Shortly before his death. In 20 in 2013 shortly before his death. Pete seeger told a friend. I have never been more optimistic about the state of the world. His friend. Surprised by this. And ask him why. And he said all over the world people are doing good things. In small groups perhaps. But i think the power of those actions people are taking will help steady the hatred. And bring out the best in spite. Of everything. That sentiment from pete seeger is exactly why i chose the kahlil gibran reading on friendship today. I believe that it is building relationships that will sustain us in these dark times. Again and again and again i find that the best solution to the problems of the day. Are found in our local connections. Moving into local economies. Community farming vs. factory farming. Supported supporting small businesses owned by our neighbors. Instead of chain stores. Oh. A great way. To be a part of the solution. Building relationships. And so. Return. To one another. Turning to one another. Is. The only way. No. I mean it. It is the only way. When have you ever heard a unitarian universalist minister stand in the pulpit and say this is the only way. There are always many pads and yet i am here to say that in this case. There is one. Deep and abiding capital t truth. This is a recipe. We must measure exactly. And follow. To the letter. Community. Connections. Relationships are the only way. To adjust. And peaceful world. Our relationships with one another are the only thing that will save us. It feels as if the world is crumbling around us. Nothing is certain. Violence is everywhere. Systems upon which we have relied for centuries are falling. Apart. Ultimately it is my hope that this is a good thing. It is my hope that we will find our way. Through the crumbling and falling systems. Into a better. World. Community. We know. That the systems that hold us apart and keep us pitted against each other at a powerful motivation to return to stasis. And we each feel too small to make a difference but i know. I know that when we stay connected when we build new connections and cultivate old ones. We are stronger. And better. When we vilify the other we are lost. When we understand that everyone has a heart. And everyone has a story. We. Ar. Saved. Because the news cycle is too overwhelming. We can't fix syria. We can't fix paris. Somedays it feels like we can't even fix north carolina. The we're trying. The weekend begin by being good to each other. Here. At 1 edwin place. We can build relationships across all kinds of boundaries in our own community. And we can keep on moving forward keep on trying to create systemic change. Be kind to the people we meet. And we can refuse to perpetuate stories and sound bites that break in and break our relationship. We can understand the power of friendship. Continue to cultivate life-giving. And spirit-filled relationships. Our love will be mingled with grief. As it always is. Because life is complex. Full of suffering. We are capable of more. The friendship gibran described is just the kind of friendship i'm talking about. It's kind of deep. And abiding friendship. Engaged and connection connected. Interactive and supportive. It is the primary ingredient that will save our world. Our local connections will be the things that sustain us as the world changes around us. The many small acts of connection we choose our life giving for us as individuals. And the power of those actions people are taking. The words of pete seeger. Will help steady the hatred. And bring out the best in spite of everything. As you plan your own thanksgiving table whether it's a single chicken breast or a giant turkey. A lentil loaf 44 or tofurkey 417. Be intentional about the ingredients you choose both literally and figuratively. Are you using all the ingredients you have at your disposal. Is this a moment for experimentation. Are following the recipe to the letter. Are you seasoning your life. With fear. Or with hope. May your souffles rise high and never fall. May your gravy be free from lumps. May everyone have exactly the type of cranberry relish they prefer. And may you find the hope. Of deep and abiding friendship. At your table. This holiday season. May it be so.

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140302-A-Faith-for-the-Few-Sermon-Rev.-Mark-Ward.mp3

I'm learning that i need to be careful of the topics i choose for worship. Lest i be giving lessons i just as soon not have. This week is a good example. If i began mulling over how i would address this topic of class this sunday. I promptly lost my wallet. Actually turn that wasn't lost. Thanks to reminder from my wife debbie i discovered it eventually in a coat pocket. But for a good hour or so monday morning i was tearing around frantically. Convinced that it was gone. What would i do now. It took a while to calm down after i found it but when i did i reflected on the experience. And how i reacted. Why was it such a big deal to me. I don't carry much cash in my wallet i wouldn't have lost much money. I just about everything in it is of any importance can be replaced. Even if it is a pain to do so. No there was something more than that. The more i thought about it i realize that has something to do. With class. Open my wallet and you can learn a good bit about my class status. Prominently displayed is a driver's license. Nobigdyl write a matter of course for most of us here. What are credential that already puts me in a national on above many other people in the asheville area. And as accepted identification that gives me access to everything from. An airline ticket to a bottle of wine. Then you'll find a credit card in the debit card. Evidence that i have sufficient income and assets. Persuade at least a couple of bangs. To take a chance on giving me credit. Again not especially uncommon but a credential it puts me in an even more exclusive category. And then health insurance card. Evidence that either i or my spouse are employed. Probably full-time or nearly. Add a company large and bountiful enough to provide this coverage. And then go find a random collection of other cards that round out the. From. A library card. Not especially exclusive. Aaa membership a little less common. And then cards for things like ingles. The biltmore the north carolina arboretum. 12 bones ultimate ice cream and more. Okay all this may be interesting at some level but it doesn't really address the source of my distress. When i thought about it i realized that all those things in my wallet speak not only to whatever my class status maybe. They also remind me of my privilege. They gave me access and entree to make my world easier. More enjoyable and less stressful. I may command some level of respect. Among other pee. What's tricky of course is that the respect is tied. To the credential not to me. Without the credential where would i be. Who. Would i be. If i couldn't get someone to vouch for me. If i didn't have some record that i was who i said i was and was deserving of that privilege. What would i do. Report of what i found myself thinking about us i'm old over having to replace the contents of my wallet. These are not the sort of things i spent much time thinking about when i was growing up. I was raised the oldest son of a psychiatrist. Liberty living in a nice house. Took vacations and my way paid to college. I live with the expectation that my adult life would follow suit. And why not. That was the script that my social circle followed. Add an important part of that circle was the unitarian universalist congregation. My family attendance. This was princeton new jersey. In the 1960s and early 70s and the baby boom was booming. The church was growing quickly with many families like ours. Young professionals or. People associated with the university. It appeal to people looking for alternatives to their childhood churches. And the uu dedication to freedom of belief and religion responsive to reason appeal to the. This trend was repeated across the association. Indeed it was a heart of its growth strategy. Has earliest the 1950s unitarians made a point of targeting growing suburbs near universities at the most promising sites for new congregation. Princetonone was one of a number of places where that strategy proved right. Yeah that's mark harris. One of our imminent historians and minister of the uu congregation in watertown massachusetts. Point sal. Suburban churches grew urban and rural churches declined. And with them the hope of cultivating the kind of diversity that our movement. Said it wanted. Congregation still insisted they wanted to appeal to people of all races. Classes in ethnicities. But it's a rule it was the middle of a middle-class whites. Who found a home there. In his book. Elite. Uncovering classism. And unitarian universalist history. Mark notes that the two strains of our movement follow different paths to this play. Are unitarian forbearers succeeded in the theological debates of the early 19th century in boston. And for many years they occupied many of the high pulpits there that drew the elite. There were reformers among them but as a rule mark says. Unitarians tended to sacrifice social justice. For the need for harmony. Leading families of boston joined unitarian congregations as did the educated elite. In the 1850s he says. Two-thirds of the wealthiest bostonians. We're going to therrien. That's where 80% of the faculty at harvard university and 3/4. Harvard student body. After the civil war though their numbers began to decline and so the unitarians began a campaign to expand. Once again they targeted the educated elite speaking to sound congregations in college town. They have some success before the program ended at the turn of the. Universalism followed a different path. Skip first recruit among farmers and tradespeople in. Hill country of northern new england. And in the early nineteenth-century they spread mostly too small towns in the northeast and midwest. Intellectual vigor mattered but educational achievement. Didn't. And this had its roots as much in theology. Is the social situation of its. Unlike the unitarians hoops or religion is a matter of self culture. The universalist had a goal as mark harris puts it of drawing the entire human family in one moral commute. Both denominations struggled in the early 20th century and many church. Close. In the post-war boom it was the unitarian. Who put a priority on starting new congregation. And like their forbearers a century before they targeted college or university. The fellowship movement. It was called was a huge success. Resulting in founding of dozens of congregations. Including this one. But unlike their predecessors a century before who sought to cultivate congregations of the elite. Planners of new fellowship movement projector the vision. New start this again latarian center. Drawing people from many backgrounds and making a religious home for all. In an early report. Lawn rake all who led the unitarian expansive. Expansion tank. Argue that the faith. It is worried just now growing most rapidly among those without college training or any religious background. And yeah. It's hardly surprising that these congregation. Started in college town. Led by college faculty or other professionals. Attractive people of similar backgrounds and were less welcoming to. And generally rarely recruited into membership. People of other educational or cultural background. And so it remains in many of our congregation. A survey national survey of religious identification 20 years ago found that of all religious identifiers. Unitarian universalist had the highest level of what was called. Socioeconomic. Essentially education employment income. Property on. Now on one level this is hardly anything to complain about. That people of means and educational achievement find a home in our congregation. Is a good thing. But another aspect of that survey that's worth taking note off. Is that of all the religions asked about in the survey. Ours was by far. Smallest. And not only that but since then our numbers have. Continue. Dwindle. So the question arises. Are we. How convenient gathering place for some progressive folks. Triplets. Is that our vision of ourselves. Are we. If mark harris puts it. Efface. Well clearly not if we take seriously how we describe ourselves and our aspirations. Not if we covenant to affirming promote the inherent worth and dignity of every. Justice equity and compassion in human relations. Acceptance of one another and encourage. Spiritual growth. The code only the first. Ivar seven. We know that the appeal of this movement is broader than those demographics would suggest because many people who don't fit the. Are coming to us now and have been for years. The problem. Is it some have a hard time finding a home here. And we lose. Successes in life well. Education professional achievement. Party be celebrated. Phds and priuses are grand theme. Once i get us only so far. The famous passage in the book of mark in the bible where jesus declares. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god. Speaks. The point i take from this if not that there's anything wrong with riches. It is said riches can get you only so far. Had a couple of things they won't give you. Is peace of mind. And heart. My experience losing my wallet was a good reminder. Cuz i was scrambling to find it i was suddenly aware of almost expects existential way. Call vulnerable. I depend on the privileges represented by the cards stuffed in my wallet. He's my way through the world. Expand my options when opportunity presents itself. Shelter me. When the storms. Without it. The world was suddenly is scarier plates. And it reminded me how 4. Many people. That's scarier places where they live. By dint of luck or circumstance they lack the privileges i carry in my backpack. For those of us who carries that privilege is it's easy to make them a lens through which we view the world. But they give us a distorted picture. Wonder overlooks how fragile our hold on such things. There are those among you i know. Who have first-hand experience. Job loss illness divorce. You name it. Can unhinge your life. And with it all the assumptions you held about how you would make your way in the world. But more important. They separate us from one another. Texas back to an important gift from our universalist forebears. The understanding that our hopes our values are very identity. Are realized. In relationship. And all that we do to divide the world into sheep. Can goats. Only served with strangers. Marcel. Or congregations and if they are to be successful. Must become places where we are invited to imagine a different way of being. A way of being that begins with her ultimate commonality. The truth. How are unity. It can be a hard place to get to. Since i'm trying to run up against each other's sharp edges. But we are called from that. Deep source within us. That we name. In many ways. Hope. Love. God. Soli deo soli sparrow soli. To return and to re-engage. The work that this religious movement this faith. Closest. Needs all of us. Sae sunday whatever our heritage whatever our history. Whoever. If i if we have our hope any hope of making an impact on the world. And none of us brings a privileged perspective to that work. Because we are all of us. However we make our way in the world fragile and fallible beings. With our own struggles. And our own fear. Timmy and does annie dillard reminds us that will have to do. There is no one of pure heart or clean her hand who can do this for us. No one who won't stumble or get their tongues tied and awkward fopa. We have only the simple bomb of humility and gratitude. To offer each other. In the hope that in our fitful way. We can find healing. And a way forward. To the promise.

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151115-A-Useable-Jesus-2.mp3

Some 25 years ago my colleague the late forest church. Wrote a book called. God and other famous liberals. Energy argue the liberal-minded folks need to reclaim the bible and much of religion that he said had been hijacked and misinterpreted by the far-right. He began with a figure of god. Who has described in the bible was clearly the most famous liberal of all time. No one else he says is more generous. Bounteous. Or misunderstood. God is munificent and open-handed. Creation is exuberant. Lavish. As healer and comforter god is charitable and benevolent. God has a bleeding heart. It just won't. God is the most famous liberal church said then next in line plainly is jesus. Generous indulging. Compassionate non-doctrinal free-spirited. Who could dispute jesus as in his words the quintessential liberal. Today in the second in the series of sermons inviting us to consider what a usable jesus might look like. I want to argue that not only do i think forest is right. But also that jesus liberalism is grounded and what i take to be one of the central teachings of his ministry. It's a teaching that it's easy to misconstrue. And many do. But i believe it's one that can inspire and challenge us today. To remind you. I offer these sermons as possible lenses on the life and teachings of jesus. Not as definitive readings. Nor for that matter do i insist that you integrate them into your own spiritual life. I'm aware that some of us here bring histories of shaming and depression. That make us weary whenever jesus. Was brought into the conversation. So i want to reinforce that the the freedom of belief. That is central to our religious identity. At the same time we as a tradition honor the body of jesus teeth. It's one of my many sources of religious wisdom from across time and history. So it seems to me it is worthwhile for us to take some time to examine those teachings. Everflex. On how we might find. That what we find there speaks to us today. Gives us our topic for today. The kingdom of god. What do we understand jesus to mean by that. And what might that mean for us now. The way the phrase kingdom of god is often read is as of jesus predicting some apocalyptic event. The breaking in with trumpets and all and some angel choir with god that they had on the magnificent white stallion or whatever your image maybe. And we can gather from the context of jesus remarks that. This is the sort of thing that's silly some of his heroes imagine. We know that the image of god is a great king who guided his people was widespread among jewish people at the time. Ever since the babylonian exile many had clung to a millennial mix. One day god would arrive and establish a victorious paradise. Mini jewish and other sears at the time of jesus. The claims to see signs of an imminent arrival. Indeed a possible that john the baptist may have been among those preaching such an event. So it's not surprising that jesus would have keyed on the image of the kingdom of god to make his point. What does we noticed in luke it came with an important. Twist. And that first jesus cautions his heroes. Not to go out looking for the signs predicted up some. Apocalypse. Don't look for it here or there he says. You won't find it. Instead he says look for the kingdom of god within you. Or that sometimes translated. Among. He brings this in another way in the gospel of thomas. One of the earliest testimonies of jesus teachings. That was eventually excluded from the canon of the bible. Derek says that jesus was asked when will the kingdom come. And he responded. It will not come by waiting for. It will not be a matter of saying here it is or there is. Robert the kingdom of the father is spread out upon the earth. And the people. Do not see it. So what can we take that to me. What seems plain that he wants to be sure to distinguish himself from those predicting a coming apocalypse. At the same time as i noticed last week. He warns against the teachings of the priestly class. Is calling for something new. The reversals of fortune that underlie his parables and the way his aphorisms turn conventional teachings on their heads. Show that his goal was to reorient his hearers. Consider after all but the kingdom he describes is quite different from any realm his audience had ever known. John dominic crossan in his book the historical jesus. Call sis. A kingdom of nobody. The meek. The poor downtrodden. Also those who come. Black. It's a place of spiritual not material riches. Where the conventions of society a replaced by a radical egalitarianism. But how is this kingdom to come about. Not through supernatural intervention. Not through armed insurrection. Then what. The interesting stuff is obvious. And that's it is fantastic. Bye. Change. Brick by brick jesus makes the case that the way to this realm of holy peace. It's through the exercise of radical self-giving love. It is indeed something within and among us. That our individual hurts and resentments keep us from living into. Hamilton struck that that jesus suggest that we learn it's not proof deep referees off by ourselves but through cracked. With other people. That would explain why his teachings are grounded in everyday life. Why you sent this disciples off not just to teach but also to learn. Foresters points out that jesus had only one test of righteousness. The test of neighborliness. Did you feed the hungry. Clothing naked visit those in prison heal the sick. If you work neighborly to the least of us. You were neighborly to me. Jesus suggest that we gained a glimpse of the kingdom that reign of all-embracing love. When we act on its behalf. But he acknowledges that it's hard work. Which is why some scholars suggest that was famously called the lord's prayer is framed the way it is. When jesus prays to god. Vikingdom come. He's not calling for some. Apocalyptic events to arrive. But he's inviting his hearers to find that loving spirit. Expressed in his understanding of god. In themselves. And not to be distracted by. Hunger. Give us this day our daily bread. By their own misdeeds or how they may have been done wrong by others. Forgive us our sins. As we forgive. Or other way. Lead us not. That may draw them away. From the difficult work of giving birth. To a new way of being. And we can see how difficult that can be in jesus teaching. Which refers conventional thinking and ordinary judgments. The time. All within a to awakening a possibility that he says lies otherwise unseen among us. How might this notion. The kingdom of god. Speak to us today. Well the royal imagery is certainly dated. But i want to argue that the notion behind it. Remains a powerful gold for our own religious work. While also needing us with the work of others. And it's all embodied in the phrase. It offers a different store. The beloved commute. The term was coined in the early 20th century by the american philosopher josiah royce. He offered it as a vision of a group of individuals who he said work together with what he called practical devoted love. Universalist minister clarence russell skinner later adapted. Calling at the purpose of religious community. An adventure of men and women. Who forget themselves in their passion to find a common life. For the good of all is the crest of each. Do you have a red wrestling. The reverend martin rev dr martin luther king jr. later advanced further. Identifying it with what he called agape love. Agape he said means understanding. Redeeming goodwill for all people. It is an overflowing love. Which is purely spontaneous unmotivated groundless. Creator. It begins by loving others. For their sakes. It is love. Love not his platitudes are arie promises. But we're in most matters most. In our daily life. Any interchanges with every person we meet. As with the kingdom of god it is a vision that surpasses what can be achieved in our everyday experience. Get none left. Rossa sport. Since each step we take toward it. Goes in some small way to bring it into being. Did you hear it in the him we sang earlier let inward love guide every deed. By this we worship and our. Shorty want to argue that in the end these. Two lenses that i've offered. Can help bring into focus a perspective on jesus. That informs the kind of religious search that are movement in braces today. In jesus we find a teacher who affirms the inherent worth of each person. Who police on our capacity to sort out what is true and what our duty calls us to do. At the same time. We experienced him as someone who defies our expectations. Who confuses are thinking. In order to direct us to truth. Greater than our narrow perspective can encompass. Cruise center deep in our hearts that must somehow be wakened. If we are to realize a greatness. That resides within. And among us. It is a greatness that comes not with the arrival of a cosmic savior. But with the dawning realisation. Butthole we need to realize it. You got. I am. So is she in.

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141123-Founding-Faith.mp3

We are now only a few weeks. Past the latest round of national election. And amid the tally of winners and losers is the ongoing rumination. Over the direction of our political life. I'll admit to being among those feeling. Discourage. By the results this year. Do i try to find comfort. Observation that american politics tends to follow the path. Of a pendulum. Swinging one way before inexorably. Turning the oven. I'm hoping for a turn. You may feel the other way. That's the kind of dynamic tension in which we live. Something that's been true since our nation's founding. And despite all that. There is something that holds us. In a month when we're exploring the spiritual theme of belonging. I thought it might be interesting to consider what that. Horse. Hi. I'm suggesting we think of it as a founding. Faith. But one removed from the conventional context of religion. Something it took some time to settle into. Something that doesn't ease the tension that drive our politics in sometime times that may intensify it. But in the end. Serves to embrace us all. In the vast diversity. That we are. So you've heard the story right how the first settlers came to north america from england seeking religious freedom. No that's true. Largely. But with an important caveat. It was not abroad liberty like what we find in the first amendment. That they sought. It was instead the right to establish the church of their choosing and convert all others to its teaching. In 1606 when king james chartered the virginia company. The first settlement in america. He declared it to be a christian mission. Whose duty was to establish the church of england in the wilderness. As it happened those settlers were more interested in profit from the tobacco trade then. Converting the native so the church ended up serving really more as a kind of gentlemen's religion that served the great planters. The anglican grudgingly made room for religious outsiders people like dissenting protestants and quakers and such. But the legislature passed laws barring their clergy from entering. The new england puritan settlers left no doubt what they saw as their mission. Which was to establish a new jerusalem. The city on the hill that they envisioned with not to be a beacon of freedom and liberality. What kind of christian utopia of what was viewed as god's elect. They brought with them the practice of covenant. Been invited all into the fellowship of community. But to be admitted into the covenant. Each person had to pass astern examination. Testifying to a personal conversion experience. A bear of god's grace. Failing that test one could not be intubated to the community you could even be shunned or persecuted. Complaints of his practice though led finally led king james in england to rescind the colonies chapter after about 50 years after it was established. And then the a person's head to accept a new tab charter that recognized religion as a private matter. The next 100 years as the nation was taking shape was a time of turmoil. The arrival of tens of thousands of immigrants challenged the religious establishment. As did enlightenment ideas about personal liberty that works infiltrating the educated classes. Rebuff from high-class anglican churches in the south and strict puritan churches in the north many people responded to a wave of evangelical dissing dissidence. Preaching a religious rebirth in what became known as the great awakening. The emotional camp meetings alarmed. The study established churches. Including the fair forebears of our humanitarian. But by our judging believers to trust in their own experience in matters of faith. Robert and the judgment of others. They also fed the notion of individuals having the right. 225 use questions for themselves. Enlightenment influence has had a similar impact on the university. Children of the light. We're taught that observation and reason were the chief tools of discovery. Became to apply this thinking to religion to. Reasoned discourse not private revelation was the most reliable path to wisdom. And the natural world offers a clear window to god. Among these elite of course we're the agitators for independence who shaped what was to become this country. It would be foolish to suggest that these men had a common faith in a conventional sense. Included among their number where people who'd grown up is anglican baptist congregational catholic. And most of them had spend time outside of their church experience reflecting on religious beliefs that took them far outside of the religious mainstream. And continue to shift and grow over the course of their lives. Into the nation they hoped to build. They collectively came to the conclusion that religion. What's a third rail. A source of tumultuous electric passion that threatened any hope of finding unity. Religion would be left to the individual with no hand from the state. Instead their thoughts gathered around a central point. What kind of pole star that would guide them. The declaration of independence which launched this reginald resolution this revolution. Is largely a bill of particulars of all the ways in which the colonists felt aggrieved by britain. But the document is centered in the claim that offers no proof other than its self evidence. All are created. Know what makes a clean self-evident. Mathematical concepts are true by definition. A line is a line is a line. There's no arguing about it. But. What in the definition of human beings necessarily imply. The each is equal to the other. In what ways. After all some of us are tall some short some smart some dull. Some are women somewhere men somewhere blue-eyed somewhere brown. You get the point. But jefferson's claim is different. What he and all the rest of those ambulances back in 1776 were really offering here was not approved. We're definition. It was a statement of faith. Of course they would not have recognized it that way. Faces they thought was embodied insectarium traditions. Churches of one stripe or another with conflicting claims is to religious truth. But i want to argue for a different way of framing. Not a system of doctrine. Put a center of meaning. In the case of the people we regard as founders of our country what i'm describing as this statement of faith was built of many influences. From their own religious training to their education to their experience in many ways. Therefore barasat come trusting that the religious tradition they brought with them with knits the people into a time of peace and prosperity. Instead. They're exclusiveness. Print that are growing nation apart. The hope for their future. Founders came to believe play and trusting the people were capable of deciding their future. For themselves. It was and remains a controversial claim sad to say. Hardly self-evident. History is strewn with those who have acted on the opposite assumption. The people are cattle. Who don't know what's good for themselves and that any hope for peace or civil order depends on the chosen few hurting the majority where the elite decide they need to go. It's a safe bet that there may even have been those among the founders who quietly felt themselves. To be charmed over their fellow citizens. Indeed we know that years later somewhere alarm. When they saw what a government of the people could really bring. Certainly none of you the african slaves being shipped to southern plantations in large numbers as equal to themselves. It's likely for that for all the poetry of their speech these revolutionaries. Never fully appreciated. After monumental claim. And yet there it stands. The founding faith statement of our nation. We hold it to be self-evident. Unimpeachable inarguable that each of us is born equal and so old the right to make what we will of our lives. So it's hardly surprising that. Four score and seven years ago when abraham lincoln was casting about for language to knit the nation back together he seized on that phrase. The center of his gettysburg address. Proposition. A preferred statement of fact. Offered for the nations consideration. That was sam being sorely tested. It's been said that leaking lincoln's speech had few religious references. God makes it into the address put as an observer more than an author. It's true the lincoln himself. Had little to say on the subject of religious. But one author gary wells has written the book some of you have read exploring lincoln's address that there was one religious figure whose influence can be seen at work here. If clark told you. Do unitarian minister theater park. Parker who preached the thousands weekly from his boston pulpit. What's a contral fig controversial figure. We're having argued that religion is centered in what he called the voice of god in your own heart. The scriptures even the figure of jesus he said were important only because they spoke a larger truth. A truth larger than themselves something he called absolute religion. He saw this is true that underlay all religious traditions that was realized in our individual lives. Buy more relaxed. One place parker saw this truth rising in the political sphere within the declaration of independence. That famous declaration of equality said. Transcended history. And by the force of truth. Demanded the creation of democracy. A government in his words of all for all and by all. What's important about the link to theater parker here is not just that lincoln adapted parker's ringing words to end his address. It is set for lincoln to the declaration have a transcendent quality. He occupied a centre of meaning that died at his presidency. In which he argued must guide the nation. And that way he embedded this founding faith. Deeply in the american psyche. 7 score and 11 years later. We live still with the words of that founding faith. Echoing around like. Residual noise of the big bang. What is transcendence ocean has hardly brought us peace. The civil war was not the last time that this proposition of equality was tested. The turbulence continues today if we struggle over welcoming immigrants among us and how race and class continue to divide us. Equal really. How do we live. I'm still like a polestar it.. Eccentric meaning around which we contentious souls can work out our ways in the world. A source of tension yes. Drawing us out of our complacency. And yet calling us. To the greater truth. Of our unity.

uuasheville_org

150614-Men-What-are-They-Good-for.mp3

Early in my reading for this sermon i chanced upon a recent book with a provocative title. Didn't treat me. The end of men and the rise of women. It's not the female gender is in danger of disappearing. Hanna rosin fence. Instead she points to recent trends suggesting that the patterns of male dominance. That have been central to at least the western culture for millenia. Shifting. We live at a time rosen argues. Went by any number of measures women are not only gaining on men but moving ahead. What's especially troubling is that. In many areas it's not really a competition. Because the men aren't playing. They checked out. And instead they're drifting. In and out of jobs in and out of relationships many are. Missing. Innocence from the mix. An important factor in all this of course is the economic transition we're moving through. Since the turn of the century millions of jobs especially in manufacturing and related fields. Areas that traditionally employed man. Have disappeared. For her book rose envision addressed the city of alexander city alabama. A fight of prosperous blue-collar jobs until early this century. When berkshire hathaway closed a premium maker of athletic wear. That employed 7000. The closing she said rip the roots out of the middle-class affect town. And along with mass joblessness came a decline in marriage. An increase in divorce and single motherhood. Some men found jobs at the end of long commutes. Other scramble for this and that when they could find it. Other still quit looking. And left the breadwinning to their wives. Women did step up. Moving into the few service jobs that opened up. Recently the town elected its first woman mayor. The long-term effects of these losses rosen says is being felt in the next-gen. She had refused the school superintendent. Who tells her that girls have taken to fighting. Pet drug uses up among all students that there's a rash of unintended pregnancy. At the same time every candidate for election in student government is. End of the students taking part in the city funded program. To prepare them for future careers 65%. I'm not sure where the males go. Or what happens to. It seems today that i think they're just not as motivated. Looks like evidence rosen says of a transition time for men. Press unclear what the transition is to. It's a pattern we seed played out in different. Populations as well. A social social just michael kimmel. Describe the evolution of what he calls guy-land. Better submerged among white middle-class man. Steak moving to communal housing with college buddies. Work at dead-end jobs. Devote many hours to the bar scene. Hookup with women but steer clear of lasting relationship. At the same time the long-term disparity in the chief meant of men and women at higher levels of the academic ladder is evening out and even shifting in the other direction. In the us for example today women now earn 60% the bachelor's and master's degrees. And around half of all phds. As well as law medical and business. Of course just because women have made gains doesn't change the fact. Power differential in our culture. Remains heavily skewed in favor of men. That's enormous social overburden has been described as the patriarchy. All the privileges and unspoken preference. Set a text to man. Simply by virtue of their gender is as strong as ever. Do it to his shift. Evolving. The process of change brings pain to men as well as women. Along the way. We remember after all that each of us growing up didn't invent the notion of what it means to be a man. 41. We absorbed it from everything around us. From our families and communities. The tv shows and movies we watched. Enter varying degrees each of us has struggled with the sex roles we were assigned with varying degrees. Discomfort. Excerpt from exodus that you heard earlier reminds me of one of the most enduring expectations that i know i observe absorbed early in life. That as a man i would be expected to be a long suffering servant. Who like moses in that passage would take on an unending stream of work uncomplaining leak even to the point of exhaustion. It was something that my father modeled for me with 60 hour weeks. As a psychiatrist. I recognize it in my own work patterns and i'm left to wonder how many others. Are afflicted with this notion that overworking is not only a great thing for society but in fact somehow proves our manhood. How few of us. Listen to the jethro's. In our lives. You tell us the slowdown. Share the load. For the sake of our own endurance and. As the passage suggests even more important. The fairy piece of the world. Stuck behind all these social constructions there remains a question. Is there an essential oil essence to being a man. And is there a gift. To be found there as well. To look at the essence of manhood we might begin with biology. As a rule maleness requires that the bearer have a y chromosome that about six weeks of gestation cause the body to be flooded with the male hormone testosterone. Most such children head down the path to. What we call male nurse. Genitalia and all that. I say most because there are variations on that. Another flood in the early teens completes the process with secondary sex characteristics like. Facial hair. Of course. Having the standard male genitalia says nothing about the more complicated things. Like an individual sexual orientation or even necessarily how when might eventually identify one's gender. That's the story of caitlyn jenner. Amply. The biology effects in gender we have learned in recent years is far more complex. The many of us had ever imagined. Brooksville biology matter. Let's look at testosterone. Both men and women produce it but then produce much more. Open 10 times. High testosterone correlate. Behavioral traits. But stereotypes would lead you to expect. Self confidence. Competitiveness. Strength. Self confidence. Sexual drive. But it's not a constant. Levels of testosterone the body change and respond to changing circumstances. But just maybe physical conference straight confrontation. Or arousing situation. I have testosterone levels are not necessarily linked to violence. Do they can be a risk for. At those times levels are up. Men tend to be reactive and impulsive. Ambis likely to be thoughtful. And deliberate. That might work fine in action films. But day today and our work lives and interacting with others we need our wits about us. Adam relationship we need to refine the skills that lead to lasting commitment. Not just cheap thrills. It tends to be after those moments of testosterone-fueled rage or sexual acting out that you hear the comments. Adecco our topic today. What are they doing. Worth remembering though that part of the advantage that testosterone can confirm his strength not just for quick action. But also for endurance. We do have to roll have a choice. And how we respond. The spiritual we began with today we are climbing jacob's ladder. Make that point. It essentially a song that african american slaves sang to encourage each other. Stick it out. In the hope that they would be freed someday. The key to endurance. The steep and rugged road to freedom was a challenge that they saw their work preparing them. Edith stroke each hammer blow each step. Strengthen them further. We are climbing. Through many stories to remind us of such lessons. Back in the 70s and 80s the men's movement arose in the us it looked at ancient fables. Has a way of guiding to finding more fulfilling and resonant visions of manhood in our culture seems to provide. Prestamos famous of these with the story of iron john. Remember it. A western european coming-of-age tale that was raised up by the poet robert bly. Iron john tells of a boy who comes upon a mythical wild man in the woods. Who by assigning him one task or another. Encourages the boy to learn disciplines that cultivate. Courage. Endurance and strength. And leads the boy to become a mature confident. Why aren't you that a number of the helpful practices that the tail pointed to set just male mentoring. Have largely been lost in our culture. Encouragement to look for other ways of reinstating them in the coming-of-age process. Free time the architects of these stories became the centers of retreats full of dancing and chanting and drumming around campfires. In recent years though that men's movement seems to. Faded from view. Looking back we can see that as a teaching tool iron john had its limitation. And that the way that bly and others interpreted the stories off and reinforced. Traditional gender roles. He also provided no way of framing anything but the heterosexual experience. Still they served a roll by opening the conversation into a way of understanding gender identity. Not simply as a factor biology. But as a resource for our own. Awakening. A gift that shapes who we will be and what we will give to the world. We men look to the wisdom of millennia that tells us. Pemdas not our impulsive energy but our enduring strength. That holds whatever greatness. We are to achieve. It is not our power over. But our steadfast love. That will win what is worth. It is not our power over. But are steadfast. La. When what is worth. That li young lee receives and dispenses in the poem that you heard earlier. Is just. Such love. A gift that inspires korea. Which is to say. Strength of heart. In those who receive it. Maybe the greatest gift that men have to get. A gift given from strength and confidence that affirms the ultimate worth. Mp essential capacity. Of others. Kind of rosin. Closes her book with a few glimpses of hope among the lost in drifting men. She talks about reconnecting with calvin. The boyfriend of a young woman she met on a virginia beach town. The two had had a. Trial together but calvin had drifted off and the woman bethany was fine to let him go. She was getting on with her life. Studying for a nursing degree in raising her daughter. Calvin just couldn't seem to find anything. Checking back with calvin some months later rose and learns that he was recovering from a car wreck. Feather got him thinking about what he wanted for his life. Do i really want to spend the last days of my life smashed between two guys in the front seat of a truck. He tells wilson that he remembers back to when he was around 11. Uncle who was sick came to live with the fam. He recalls that after the uncle of covered. You started. Taking him on fishing trips teaching him. Carpenter. The experience she said reminded him. But how just a little bit of care. Could do a lot to mend. And relations. He tells her that he finally got up the nerve. To get his papers together. To apply to a local college. And how terrifying. He found it to walk into the admission off. This great big manila envelope not sure what greeting you would find. But he did it. And rosen says calvin told her that when he crossed the threshold of that office. I also got this little thrill. Quick i'm finally.

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140309-Sweet-Tea-Grits-and-Faith.mp3

Good morning friends. It's really a honor to view this morning. I want to start by saying thank you for having me. What's a good thank you for your words starting in this morning and. For the beautiful beautiful music. Lifting my spirits currently. I want to also thank this community. How many familiar faces i look around the room. I'm also new faces but thank you for the truly extraordinary work you do around justice. Community. And particularly incredible support you shared with the campaign for southern equality. Since we launched our work. I'm back in 2011 i feel like you have been with us truly every step of the way in many different ways. And i'm honored to be with you this morning. If you could join me for a moment of silence. Q. A friend said to me recently may you be blessed and you be lucky to live in interesting times. Think that's. One-way and a good way to start describing the moment that were in right now in our nation. Hello world. When it comes to considering. The rights in the struggle for equality of the lgbtq community. The tensions of this moment the crosscurrents are extraordinary. Extraordinary. Breathtaking dizzying. This morning. What i hope to do is reflect upon with you what it means to be a person of faith in this moment. Living through this time. And very particularly. Doing that in the south. A region of our country where the ground beneath us. His contested. Is. Rich and complex with history. On the one hand right now. It feels. Fair to say perhaps for the very first time. That we are within just a few years. Achieving full equality under federal law for lg. Two people in ark. It's extraordinary.. Think about that for a moment. The many many lives. But have been spent working on this issue. The decades and decades and decades of war. Much of its silence until. The last few decades. It's within sight for the first time. And simultaneous to that as we look both within the borders of our own nation and look globally. We see that the story is not quite that simple. Right now the state of mississippi. Is debating a bill that would essentially license discrimination against lgbt. People if passed. It's passed the senate and is about to go to a house for likely and then. Week or so. Arizona recently defeated a similar bill. Georgia has done the same but bills are popping up like that around the. If we look beyond their national borders we see that in uganda nigeria and russia. Laws have been passed recently. Essentially making it illegal to be. A gay person. Transgender person. Or to talk about those issues publicly. The passage of those laws can be directly linked back to the anti-lgbt move. In the united states. This is the moment that were in. Are taft somehow is the name this moment. To be fully alive into it. Just people of faith to ask ourselves. What it means to act for love and equality and justice. With these cross crew. There is reason for. Extraordinary hope. There is reason for heartbreak. Because we know that each and every day until the laws change. People are living a second-class citizens. And they're suffering as a result of that. How do we. Hold the push-and-pull of this moment. I'd like to offer. Three lessons that i think about alot. Face feed me in the work that we do as we travel the south. Ending with people. And public squares calling for equality. Faith feeds me because it feels like the surest guide. Politics is an uncertain messy business and a slippery one. Faith. The study or guide. A compass. So i can trust and rely on a source of strength. A ballast. I couldn't do this work without my face. Not your scripture not just prayer. But the deep feeling of connection to communities like this. Ask you as we move forward to consider these. 3 things. First. But the truth matters. And that we must dare to believe. That moral truths matter and ultimately will transcend. Laws that insist. Some people are inferior to others. There's so much pressure for us to stay silent about the truths of our lives. Just simply wait. Just sit on the sidelines. To somehow find patients. And wait for the courts to do their work. Wait for legislators to do their work. But one thing i have learned these last few years. Is that if we can find the strength to speak our truths. In public. It makes a difference. If we can do enough public lives what we do each and every day in our private lives which is to give voice to the essence of who we are. Which is the name the reality of who our families are. Witches people of faith. To say that we belong to faith communities that believe in the inherent dignity and worth of all people. There is power in that true. And that power cannot. Be underestimated. It is one thing to believe in your heart and to know what a truth is. And to know who you are and to be grounded in that. It is quite another undertaking. Systemically in repeatedly speak that truth publicly. An act from the basis of that truth in our public lives. The reality is there are so many different ways to do this. One of them. It's coming out. As an lgbt person or an ally. Many of you in this room may have already made the decision to do this but i'm reminded constantly. That we must keep doing it because there's always someone out there in that person's often a kid. Who needs to know they're not alone. People have been doing this work and talking about these issues for a long time. It can be sometimes easy to forget. That for the twelve-year-old kid out there who's just discovering he or she is gay or transgender. These issues feel brand new. And their solitude field crushing at times. For me that's particularly pronounced as we travel and more rural parts of the south. Places where there aren't necessarily faith communities like this one. Places where the only voices people hear publicly are the voices condemning them on this issue. It's why i asked you to think again in a fresh and a new ways. About. Whether it's possible to come out in different parts of your life. As an ally as an lgbt person. But also as a person of faith. Who believes that lgbt people are equal. I think particularly about an experience we had last summer as we were traveling with a we do campaign across the state of mississippi. We were in gulfport and it was a steamy july day. For those of you who've been part of we do actions you know that we begin every action. With a prayer circle. Outside the public building were marriage licenses are actually administered. In gulfport at the county courthouse. And so. And the steamy july morning we processed. Through the downtown streets of gulfport and we'd arrived at the county courthouse. And we were gathered in a prior circus circle. Paris circus. Maybe. Prayers. Prayers circle. I was wearing my collar which i do when we do these public auctions. And we were. Without a doubt a group of fear people there was no mistaking it. And my heads were bowed and prayer we were praying specifically for reconciliation. We were saying publicly why we were about to stand with couples as they went inside the courthouse. Knowing they'll be denied marriage licenses. We're also stating and expressing. I wish. To do this work in a spirit of reconciliation with those who oppose our rights. Those were asked to enforce discriminatory laws and as we did this woman walked out of the courthouse. She been there on some kind of business and she was on her cell phone talking to a friend and she saw us and she stopped literally in her tracks. And she said into her phone. Those homos are praying. And for me that moment crystallize. A lot of things. And one of them is a part of our work. Is to be a public spectacle. Part of our work is to stop people in their tracks. In the communities where it is least expected. For us. To find a way to be publicly out as we truly are. Least expected for us to deliberately confront laws. Knowing that we will be not deny data counter that we're not even expected to show up. And to do this work understanding that in this moment. In the south. Part of what we are doing is rewriting the narrative. Most powerful ways to rewrite the rewrite the narrative is to do it with our feet and with our bodies and with our actions. To show up in the middle of the public square. And to be willing to be the public specter. As mark said my faith tradition is d.c. united church of christ. Like your cousins. It always feels fun in familiar tv and youyou communities. Save-a-lot in common. In my tradition. I think and we talked a lot about how jesus was willing to be the public specs. Often in ways that were terribly controversial. And disruptive. Ways that were considered radical at the time because of his willingness to directly confront systems of political power and economic power. An injustice that were hurting people. That's a powerful lesson to try to absorb. And as we think about how we move forward from here. I asked you to think about ways that you can. Join in and be part of the publix. It is true. That full equality under the law. Is within our grasp. This last part of the journey has tremendous momentum. On the one hand. But i also think we'll see significant pushback. And louder and louder pushback. Another public square will be one place. But this place out. We will need to keep standing there. Together. As people of faith. Finally. And this i think is one of the hardest parts of the work we do. It's a question of what it means to do this work. From the basis of love for all. And specifically what it means to do this work with a commitment. The loving those who oppose us. Loving those conflicted about our rights. Every single face tradition i've been exposed to teaches you to love your enemy. But i have yet to find specific instructions for how one is to do that. Is the great. Puzzle the great challenge the great dilemma of our lives in some ways. Casper solve the question of if we are. Prepare to try to live in for those words. Some of us might in our lives that had many props to many. Occasion. Thinking about what it means to try to love those who oppose you. It's not easy work and there's a fertility to it. Because one can become wounded. If you go about it in the wrong ways. The question is how do we protect ourselves how do we protect the truths of our lives. How do we protect our integrity. And still act from a place of love and empathy towards those who oppose us. This may be the most pressing question we face in this office we do this work. And part cuz we're in constant relationship with an constant proximity. Are those who oppose these issues. It's not an obstruction. It's as real as going to the gas station down the street. Does realist talking with your neighbor. Real picking up the phone to call a relative. I haven't figured out the formula either so i'm fortunately i'm not building up to sharing it with you. What i have come to understand in the last few years as we have traveled the south of the we do campaign. Is it there is no other way to do this work but from the spaces. And that when you find a way to open your hearts and to be vulnerable. To loving those who oppose us. Completely rewrites. What's happening it creates new circuitry. It opens up new power sources. It is for me at least one of the most liberating experiences i've had. The simultaneous lee love the other. And to be fully committed. Resisting laws that i know to be unjust. Because typically when we love the other we we. Compromise some core elements of what we believe. What to do both simultaneously. I have found to be. An extraordinary liberating experience. One that fills my heart. And it's amazing to stand with people as they take. Actions in that spirit. 50 people go up to the marriage license counter. Often shaking with anxiety. Did you go through the experience of having a marriage license tonight voluntarily. Because i know that i'm doing that the final light. And what discrimination means in that moment. And to do that with your head held high. Making eye contact with the person on the other side of the counter. Treating that person with love and respect. And to come out the other side of that experience. Lifted up. Not degraded. Empowered. Not feeling smaller. Feeling many people stay for the very first time in their lives. Like they. Truly believe. But the truth of who they are. And the truth of their life. Transcend what they've been taught. Vernacular. The language of my tradition we call that the holy spirit at work. You can't bottle it up. There's no formula for it. If the trust that it's there to be tapped into. And then if you keep showing up in the spirit of love. And you keep showing up with a readiness to speak truth. He keeps showing up with hope in your heart. We can do amazing things together. I feel in a lot of ways. This morning. Is if i'm just reporting out from a journey that were on. It will be years i think before i'm able to synthesize any of this. Better. Maybe to tell this story. In a different way. Right now what i have are these lessons from the road these lessons from the journey which is fast-paced. To say the least. I know that right now. There is extraordinary reason for hope. And i know that right now. There's also a lot of heartbreak out there. This is what it's. Means to be alive in this moment. Our work together. Attached together. It's living for this. To be willing to take. New risks to be willing to act. Privately but also publicly. Closing this morning. I asked and i are each of you. As we keep doing this work together. To strengthen yourself as you do it. Define words to find a prayer to find a small ritual. It can be a touchstone for you as you move forward in this work and this journey together. Something at centers you something that brings you back to a place like this moment when we are here together. We're all i think going to look back. And know that this. of time was when history was made in our nation. That each of us faced choices about what we were willing to do an able to do. And this face community. Will know that you were right there. Read your finger on the pulse of that you were in the mess of it. You're willing to go there you are willing to be the public spectacle. Again and again and again. I think you for that. I'm honored to be on this training with you. Thank you.

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160117-King-The-Radical1.mp3

There is something about history. The convey the feeling of inevitability. Stone is easy to look back and martin luther king jr. sitting in a jail cell in birmingham alabama. In april 1963. Pencil stub in hand. And imagine him confidently riding what he knew would be a work. For the ages. Words that were propel one of the most successful social justice campaigns in history. And be proclaimed by presidents recited by elementary school students emblazoned on billboards. I'm greeting card. I bring some of those words to you today from king's letter from birmingham city jail. Remind us that the truth is. Far. In fact. The. 34 year old. Preach. Who landed in a bleak cell on good friday was unsure. Whether the act of civil disobedience that brought him there. Trumped-up charges of violating a. Parade ordinance. Have made any difference. The civil rights movement was still young. And had turned to its most ambitious target yet. Birmingham was a contradiction. A fast-growing city that was a center of the steel industry. It also was a town where racial segregation. And indignities of jim crow laws were locked up. Even though still working wages paid to black. We're half though. Paperwhites. They offered the best jobs around. If you were interested in rocking the. Only a couple of years before a white bob had attacked an integrated bus the freedom riders at the bus station. Downtown. Beating passengers for 15 minutes. Before the police. Game. To arrive and break it up. They were later allowed to move on. The mayor had closed all city parks and playgrounds rather than allow them to be integrated under a federal order. Still in january 1963. As governor george wallace was declaring segregation now segregation forever in alabama. King's southern christian leadership conference decided to target birmingham. But the economic boycott around the easter shopping. Just before easter though the city birmingham changed its form of government. Shifting from a three-member commission that ruled with an iron fist. To a mayor and nine-member council. And bull connor. The bitterest opponent of right of integration. I've been defeated as mayor. Although he was still in charge of the police for. The new mayor albert boutwell promised changes. Has the slc protest. Began. Pujo linkedin. Many middle-class blacks in about 3/4 of black clergy joined most whites. In opposing the protest. Arguing that the city should be given the chance. Sitting in jail. Wondering what to do next. King found the inspiration for his next step in a front-page column in the birmingham newspaper. By eight prominent alabama clergyman. 50 old for calmness. Forbearance. Describing the sdlc leaders as outsiders. And their protest says unlock. Untimely. Figured. Our own negro community. Not to support the demonstrations them to unite locally working peacefully for a better birmingham. Bellasposa moment and consider that appeal. Framed as it was in such reasonable language. You recognize the tone right. We've all heard it. I'll bet many of us have used it. I know i have. Let's all just calm down. I'm sure we can work something out. A nothing wrong with that. Nobody likes conflict we all want to get along and resolve things and that's good. But what happens when what appears to be reasonable. It's just a way of masking obstruction. Sweeping under the rug valid complaints. Huff injury and depression. A way of discounting the felt experience of people who see no hope of remedy. It's a problem stated perhaps most famously in that ancient hebrew scripture. The book of jeremiah. Where the prophet complained i have given heed and listened but they do not speak honestly. No one repents of wickedness saying what have i done. All of them turn to their own course like a horse plunging headlong into battle. They have treated the wound of my people careless. Saying. Peace peace. And there is no. There comes a point when we must. Pivot. From the response that is reasonable. To the one that the writer cornel west calls. Rascal. A solution that goes to the route. A problem questions the most fundamental assumptions and argues for new ways of looking at. In a collection of kings writings that he compiled for our own beacon press. West argues that now nearly a half-century after king's death. We've lost sight of the radical edge of his work. Of all the ways that his work question fundamental structures in american society. I called us to larger lie. Larger life and greater action not just. The-dream. At work. We find the ground laid for that radical king in the letter from birmingham city jail. Who knows but for that front-page appeal from his critics king may not have had the occasion or impetus. At that point in his life to gather his thoughts and. We know he was depressed by the lack of response to the protest. Editorials from national newspapers. New york time. Washington post. Criticizing. Impressum kennedy. Resistance to doing anything to help. And he was sad. Chipping away from his wife coretta. Today. After the birth of their daughter bryn. Back home no ignited a fire in. T800 a white heat. Writing so feverishly that some of his supporters worried for his state of mind. Dbm scribbling on the edge of the newspaper and then we ran out of newspaper writing on sheet after she'd have toilet paper. All of which was passed along in a great lump to his secretary for from. Who did her best to decipher his crab script from that deteriorating paper. And it's here amid personal reflections on his family's experience with racism. And using over passages of scripture that he lays down how he understands his calling. To radical activism. Nonviolent but centered in a love that refuses to see the separations that birmingham laws. Enforced. You know the word. Injustice. We are caught an inescapable now. Mutuality. Hi. In a single garment. Destin. He acknowledges that the purpose of his action is not to make peace. But to stir things up. To create such a crisis. Established such creative tension that a community that has consistently refused to negotiate is forced. Consumption. These words may sound shocking. But he makes no apologies. This type of constructive nonviolent tension is necessary for growth. Have now is the time to make real the promise of democracy. To lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock. Of human dignity. Nothing much happens the letter right away. It's addressed recipients never saw it until it was published elsewhere. Few newspapers were interest. It wasn't until months later. When the birmingham campaign entered a new stage. Which high school leading students leading the protest and tv cameras capturing images of them being sprayed with high-power fire hoses and attacked by dogs. The people returned to the letter. Who founded a blueprint. Four kings action. Martin luther king's letter comes to mind this. With this year as i reflect on another letter of sorts. That made its way into public consciousness. Tennessee coaches book between the world and me. Coaches a writer for the atlantic magazine and you wrote the book in the form of a letter. To his teenage son. That's a way of sharing with him his own reflections on how race has shaped his life and pervades the way that each of us make our way in the world. It's a hard book to read. Because it challenges us to take stock. Indiana many ways ownership. About legacy of racism in the which we each participate. Has coach said in the excerpt i read earlier people experience this racism not in some abstract realm but as a physical threat. As a threat to. And this separation that we experienced between white and black you said didn't just happen. It was created over time. Has a way to elevate some people. And diminish.. The elevation of being white. He tells us. Was not achieved through wine tastings and ice cream social. But rather through the pillaging of life. Liberty. Labor. Laugh. Through the fraying of back. The chaining of limb. Strangling of dissident. Destruction. And various others first and foremost. To deny you and me the right. Sure and govern our own. It ranges from the brutality of slavery to the horror of lynchings and jim call jim crow indignities to all the ways that even today. People who in coats words are different in hue and hair. Suffer deprivation loss. And abuse picasa. We measure incremental gains in statistical measures. Without acknowledging how deeply the state of affairs remains marble. Throughout american society. We lose sight he said that the fact that the loss and suffering of african-americans provided and continues to provide. Part of the underpinning of for the success. Of what we call the american dream. That idea that with enough. Gumption any of us can make it in the world. Achieve success the material comfort and be safe. What our idolizing of. The-dream. Omit. Is that in many cases what white people achieve. Depends on there being an underclass of black. To service. Dream. Is treehouse. And for so long i have wanted to escape into that dream. To fold my country over my head like a blanket. But this has never been an option. Because the dream rests on our backs. It's why he says black children growing up or taught different lessons than white chill. All my life i've heard people tell their black boys and black girls to be twice as good. These words were spoken with the veneer of religious nobility. As if the evidence some undetected courage. But no one told those little white. Too often as you heard in our reading earlier coach says that the lectores young black people receive on personal responsibility. Team offered up more to the point of exonerating practices that have been tools of oppression for generations. Coach tells his son something of his own growing up. How we escaped some close calls on the streets of baltimore by found his way into an orbit of people who provided support for him. But he told his son that he still fears. For him. I'm sorry i cannot make it okay. I'm sorry that i cannot save you. But not that sorry. Part of me. Thinks that you're very vulnerable leti. Brings you closer to the meaning of life. And he says. I would have you be a conscious citizen. Terrible. Like martin luther king's letter from birmingham city jail. Is a radical. Announce. Of the state of farison. Country. It goes to the root of the struggles we face. White and black. And seeing justice sir. Skip this moment to reflect on this word. Rack. Got some buds 2. It feels disruptive disorienting. Let's face it we are comfort seeking creatures. We want things to be okay. And we will go to some lengths to create calmness and stability. If not serenity. In our lives. Whatever the actual circumstances. At the same time as martin luther king wrote to his alabama clergy the tractors. There are times for the health of a person. Have a system of a community. That we need to name the tensions that are among us. To go to the very root of the problem however indelicate maybe. And commit ourselves to bringing them to light so that they may be cured. Bob dylan put it to ring the bells for the fortress in the fortress for the lilies to bloom. So friends on this martin luther king sunday. Let us with dr. king. Antonia c coats. Not hesitate to be. Radical. In our work to free our own in our nation's hearts. About the scourge of racial oppression that dogs us still. Let us not turn to our own courses like horses plunging headlong into battle let us instead. Do our own work. The work that is ours to raise our individual and community awareness. Let us join in common cause. With those of all races. Commuting to the ongoing work. Pipe freeze at all. That's what the stake here. Upper freedom. Freedom of us all. Be who we need to. Be the nation. See the community.

uuasheville_org

140323-Paradox-and-Wonderment-Sermon.mp3

Toward the middle of this past week. Social media and news outlets were peppered with announcements and commentary. Stating that fred phelps had been admitted into hospice and was at the edge of death. Fred phelps. Is known for being the leader of the infamous westboro baptist. Who pick at funerals and other events holding characteristics signs with large block letters rudely blaming most of the country's ills. And the homosexuals. He did in fact. i later in. Later this past week. As i often do when controversial things happen and get lots of play on social media. I waited and i watched. Toosii. What would be sad. Before i framed my own response. The commentary i saw ranged from. Good riddance now we can pick it him. 2. I will not give my time or energy to this person. Whether he is alive or dead. And further to perhaps we should be grateful to him. Because he brought such an extremist position. And made the middle ground so much more attractive. And i found myself wondering how the hold in my own heart. The two truths that i saw. The first. Is that fred phelps preached hate. And intolerance. His rhetoric was surely responsible for suicides and hate crimes. Four children being thrown out and disowned. Certainly for my own. Mental anguish at times. He was responsible for countless. Awful things. But the second truth. That i see is that fred phelps phelps. Was a human being. He was a person. Who had inherent worth. And we do not give up our inherent worth. Even when we do awful things. And i think the reason that this is true. Has more to do with us. Then it does with him. They say they're holding onto anger and resentment is like drinking poison. And expecting your enemy to die. When we allow ourselves to hate a person. Even when that person quite seriously and truly deserves. Much more animosity than i even have to give him. We do not harm that person or their memory by hating them we harm our own heart. We harm our own spirit. And it turns out that it's even more complicated than we might think. According to the topeka capital-journal. In the mid-1950s phelps was reportedly the only lawyer in topeka kansas who would take anti-discrimination cases related to school segregation after the brown versus board of education decision. Really. What. Apparently in the 80s he was recognized for his work. For civil rights. I don't know what caused him to shift his focus to demonizing the lgbtq community. But that's not the point here. The point is to illustrate the dramatic complexity. We can see in a single human being. Political columnist matthew rosa says it's in our nature to believe that there is an impermeable dichotomy between what makes one person a hero and another person a villain. Get phelps's life proved not only that they can coexist. But they often spring from the same source. We are constantly alive in the midst of paradox. We work hard to make sense of the world around us which is constantly changing. And endlessly complex. John keats. Quit. Is well-known. Frequenting the phrase negative capability. Which is when a person is capable of being in uncertainties mysteries and doubt without any irritable reaching after fact and reason. When a person is capable of being in uncertainties mysteries and doubt. Without any irritable reaching after fact and reason. He called it that the distinction of a man of achievement capital m capital a. Or the thinking man capital t capital m. But i interpret this. More inclusive lee as any person who seeks to be reflective. Think is what. Keeps referenced when he talked about the man of achievement or. This distinction that he talks about the ability to rest in the midst of uncertainty mystery and out without trying to explain things. Is quite quite challenging. I agree with keith though. It has been said that the human capacity to reason is the thing that sets us apart from other mammals. But i tend to agree more with those who suggest that it is our capacity for empathy. That sets us apart. Annabelle and an ability to empathize perhaps relies on one's ability to sit in that space of unknowing. That space of inaction. Of deep. Deep listening. A space of deep. Feeling. Do the work of the thinking person which i would also described as the work of the religious community. Is to rest in the midst of uncertainty mystery and doubt without trying to explain things. This is not an easy feat. Course because we humans have a need to explain things it's natural. Course. But living in the uncertainty can be its own spiritual practice. In a literary sense the purpose of a paradox is to point out a truth. But phelps is not a literary trope. He is a real life example. Who's is the kind of paradox that is so hard to reconcile because his good works and his hate speech have all have both happened on a national stage. Phelps is not someone that we know intimately. So we don't get to know we don't get to learn the true complexity of his experience. And either way. It's hard to argue with the fact that the last three decades of his life were spent spreading hate. So why not side with the commenters who said i won't give this man any more of my attention. Anymore of my time or energy why should we pay attention. What do we gain from allowing ourselves to see the complexity of this particular human life. We ignore the complexity. At our peril. When we are allow ourselves to see the whole picture of a human life. We are more able to understand that our own choices have the potential to be both life-giving and harmful. I don't know what phelps his motivation was for his civil rights work. And neither do i truly know what his motivation was for his hate speech. But i know that his actions caused pain and suffering to many. Your life and my life. Are generally played out on a much smaller scale. Anna much smaller stage. And our choices tend not to be so dramatically positive or negative. Then the left we are each capable of both hurtful and healing choices. An essay about keith suggests that it is easy for us to respond to uncertainty and mystery with tension and restlessness. Intention and restlessness cause conflict. Pizzas framing of negative capability as a positive one which caused us to refuse the conflict. And embrace the creativity. That can come from these challenging experiences. This morning's first reading suggests that our own imagination is required to interpret another's poetry. Poem belongs in here. In the warmth of the chest. Which perhaps is also the place of empathy. Rumi tells us that we must interact with his words and add our own nuances to the meaning. So we sit in the uncertainty. And we add our own interpretation to our experience. And we find the generative and creative energy that comes when we don't fight the discomfort. What's a paradox. When we allow ourselves to sit in the mystery without reaching to fix it or understand it immediately. We can begin to look at a situation with curiosity instead of fear. And when we approach our lives especially the difficult parts with curiosity. Is easier to face the unknown. As i said i don't know phelps intimately. But i have walked past his pickets on more than one occasion. I have been within a few feet. Of those awful signs. And the overwhelming feeling i got from them was one of fear. I don't know his motivation or the events that led to his choice to propagate hate but i see clearly that fear is the motivator. Fear is at the center of that movement. We can see this in many places and situations perhaps you can think of a time when you responded to a life event out of fear. What happened. Did fear help you make connections with other people. Did it. Help the situation go well. I'm guessing that unless the situation you were called involved a lion or a bear. Fear did not help you very much. How do we determine what our role to be. How do we determine what our own legacy the legacy of our lives will be. Do we let history be our guide. Like the foot in the neruda poem. When do we abandon the possibility of becoming a butterfly. Or an apple. Even if a foot is simply destined to become a foot. It doesn't have to be come blind. And shut-in it's shoe. And truly naruto's description of the foot begs us to think about the role of the child. The child who is so good at wonder and curiosity. The role of the child especially as it grows up and begins to deny the possibility inherent in its life. Neruda implies that the foot knows. But the child forgets. Is the crocus pick their peak their bright heads out of the wintry soil. I recall the feeling of my own feet in summer. The summer grass. And i know that i can remind my feet. Which are so clenched up in their little shoes right now. I can remind my feet and so remind myself of the curiosity and the wonder. Have a child's toes discovering that particular feeling. F.w. grass and warm soft. Dirt. And it is true also. At fred phelps was not the only person who died this week. So his is not the only story to tell. In reflecting on some of the other deaths i've experienced recently. What's closer to my heart. People i knew and loved. Even some who were close to the heart of this community. I see the complexity of each individual life. At the same time i can observe the impact of that life. On the world around us. The impact of life such as by shelly's. Psy. Was one of the very first people that i visit and not one of them that he wouldn't he and frankie were literally the first people i visited. When i came here. About 3 years ago. Lori masterton memorial service still the same shoe area first baptist church yesterday with laughter and song. And countless people pledging to carry forth lori's mantra. Don't postpone joy. Eleanor artman's life with dedicated to lifting up the stories of women in leadership and empowering us. Both as individuals and collectively refusing to let the dominant story exclude our experience. All of those lives impacted people on smaller stages. And we're equally complex. We do not know the totality of another's experience. And sometimes that is a difficult truth to reconcile. Life is full of an ambiguity. And we have an opportunity. To cultivate our willingness to embrace uncertainty. Live with mystery and make peace with it. Negative capability offers us a way to approach paradox and move through to curiosity. To approach the world around us with wonderment. And openness. As sharon said in her opening words. Do any human beings ever realize life. Well they live it. Every every minute. Do we ever. Realize life while we live it. Every every minute. We are more than just feet trapped in shoes. More than just black printed words on the white page of a poetry book. You are a paradox. An untapped reservoir of possible outcomes. And our work is to reflect and engage in the work of becoming. Together. May it be so.

uudavispodcast_org

2012-12-23_Worship_Moravian-Love-Feast_ED.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california at www.dav.org for further information. So the love feast it's about savoring the sweetness in life. Feasting on love. Embracing community. This is also a time of light and dark the changing of the seasons. And in this time of darkness we also celebrate returning light. And we can create light. Today we're going to allow our chalice flame to represent the light within us. The light within our own darkness. There's always like to be found if we seek. Mr. fred rogers. Had lots of stories. He says when i was a boy. I would see scary things in the news. And my mother would say to me. Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. To this day especially in times of disaster i remember my mother's words and i'm always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers. So many caring people in the world. And helen keller said although the world is full of suffering. It is also full of the overcoming of it. Overcoming the darkness. It can happen when our light is kindled. Through helpers in our midst. Sometimes we give sometimes we receive and this is the divine sweetness in our community. A unitarian universalist advent can be a time to focus on some of our sacred values. Values during the season that. Is often busy and distracting. And we like these candles. To remind us to take time and reflect on our ideals. Real life is first advent calendar candle for peace peace starts with us. When we find a new perspective based on deep listening and observation. Wisdom. Wisdom can come from our own life experience or from listening to stories of others. This is what we do in our life odyssey and life journey series in this church. Freedom we use the freedoms. We have. To work for freedom for all people. We did this this summer at our justice-based uu general assembly. And finally we come to the last advent candle signifying love. Love love love. During the november elections same-sex marriages. Mermaid or kept illegal in three states. And then wednesday to measure to ban same-sex marriage was defeated. Do small steps forward show that the power of love is winning. It's winning out over fear and prejudice in our hearts. In the hearts of many americans. Body absorb the julie bells rendition of lo how a rose take a moment to appreciate the love that you share with others. How does this love empower you. Moravian cookies. Fairways. Read the gospel. This morning. I will too. From the king james version luke. Tune. 1220. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree. Caesar augustus. That all the world should be taxed. And it's taxing was first made when cyrenius was governor of syria. I know when to be taxed and everyone into their own city. And joseph also went up from galilee out of the city of nazareth into judea into the city of david which is called the through bethlehem because he was of the house and the lineage of david. Attacks with mary his espoused wife being great with child. While they were there the days were accomplished. But she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. Because there was no room for them in an in. And there when the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock at night. Hello the angel of the lord came upon them. The glory of the lord shone around them and they were sore afraid. The angel said unto them fear not for behold i bring you good tidings and great joy which shall be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of david a savior who is christ. This shall be a sign unto you you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude. The heavenly host praising god and saying glory to god in the highest. And on earth peace goodwill toward all. And it came to pass as the angels. Oregon away from them into heaven and the shepherd's said one to another. Let us go to bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass which the lord has made known to us. And they came with haste and found mary and joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they've seen that they made known abroad. The saying which is told to them concerning this child. And all they that hurted wondered at those things which were told to them by the shepherds. But mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned. Glorifying. Praising god for all the things that they had heard and seen. As was told unto them. This reads the gospel. If you're wanting to know more about the moravian love feast now what's the time come to us from the first gatherings of jesus followers these special worship services with celebrations of joy. Gratitude. Infellowship. 4 people ate drink saying and prayed together. Now these first four different people at that time were separated in terms of their class or whether their maryland female or was it or anyone tried for another time. And the people they were quite different in many ways celebrated the joy of love. Alarm 6. Overtime love beast changed into the more traditional bread and wine communion that is celebrated in many christian churches communion also became less communal. Images of catholic church lay people were not allowed to drink from the wine cup only the priest. Could do that. But it was late fourteenth and fifteenth century. That was a priest in what is now is czechoslovakia. Wisely from the practices and the doctrines of the church. Who played the people of new people when they come to the church. And have all the rights that even the priests have and so. Bruce springsteen's band was john cruz. Had a. Go to siloam who became known as the moravians. Moravian's band and now include the belief of unity and love within their congregation and i'm all people. So as the story goes these followers of preuss these meridians. Had a church in germany and they had a particularly moving service on august 13th in 1727. And after the service the congregants wanted to stay and eat together they wanted to continue to be together they were so moved. And there was a local nobleman count zinzendorf. And he had given these moravian protection from the state church which was lutheran. And when he heard about their enthusiasm to stay together after the service he sent down some food from his manor house. So that they could eat lunch together and have another feast. Moravian was remembered that. Bellator john who was burned at the stake for his radical beliefs in the row above people. Walgreens began holding services. Following this great number of allocation of love feast of wish everyone was born. And even to this day the moravians in the town they founded bethlehem pennsylvania continuing to serve the love feast for all who will come and so. Today we would. Tradition of our own as we celebrate the sweetness of the sweet chocolate and bread in the joy of our unitarian universalist face. You're free 9 this sunday goes to support the sweetness of this community. Three pieces the word yes. When you're asked to help each other. And to respond. He's not win. The response is not square. As if to weigh the possibility of doing so. Yes yes i will help you. Three pieces when someone asks to seabreeze be here. No questions no request. And it is honored. Sweetness quiet networking of caring that happens when people look. For those who might not be noticed. And reach out. Not calling another person lonely. But seeing the potential for a friend right there to be cherished. And i see that happening here. Time and time again. Sweetness is in her friend are bringing friends here. And how your friends are staying here. And if you are a friend. Our best friend. Welcome. Sweetness. Isn't how we can ask for help in this place. And with these people. The money collected at this time is to support a community this community which is like no other. Kathleen will now be. Taken and gracefully gracefully received. Short reflection. Hanalei bay personal stories. About the sweetness of community. Riley ibrahim. Memphis. It's a blessing you were born. It matters what you do with your life. What you know about god is a piece of the truth. You do not have to do it alone. Poor thing. People do not something really specific in each one of us i don't know if you've noticed that. Someone bring out our witch. Others are kindness. Summon golden assassin others make us feel more reflective. The list goes on and on for what others can bring out. Of the complexity of who we are. It's one of the magical things about the variety of people we can invite into our personal world. When i was in my twenties is very personal i dated a very created creative man who loved music. And all things artistic. Keyboard instruments and play donkey made pottery was an amazing dancer no one has ever measured up ever since then. Also very very resourceful. After one delicious meal he announced that everything we had eaten had come from the dumpster behind safeway. Without knowing it i had been eating food from various dumpsters for months. And if it's a statement about several things when was it was kind of horrific to think about this but the second was how much good food. Is thrown away. I hate to admit it was decades and decades ago. We would discuss religion 4 hours he was a very devout christian. And if unitarian-universalist i was open to all faiths and i was really curious. About what his statement to him about mine too. As a third-generation unitarian. It was an unquestioned part of me i carried it with indie like blood and burns a system of thinking that surrounded me like a protective cloak. I never questioned the messages of worth and dignity. The value of many different perspectives of people. We study the bible for its cultural perspective. And the enduring human struggles found there. We studied the religions of the world because we wanted to be of the world. As youth. The genitals. An adult. For me you were tearing universalism welcome christianity so even though i disagreements were tremendously fascinating for me. The holidays came in my family was 3,000 miles away and so i travel to his home in a small town in washington state on the palouse. The day before christmas. Was lovely. Good food and conversation and his very loving family. When christmas day came we all went to church. The service in this very small family size congregation i can't say that it really felt like home. Because the readings were very literal. And no one spoke of mirrors or mystery. Twitter hannah lee the minister stood directly immediately in front of me. How do you spoke about how unequal shall not be yoked. It seemed like an odd christmas message to me. End of the young unitarian-universalist i had never even heard the phrase. I thought how hot is this. It's almost as if he's speaking directly to me. My feeling of uneasiness. Continue to grow when the family returned home from church. His parents started asking question who is god is jesus divine. I carefully explained that i thought most unitarian universalist believe that jesus was an ethical leader who changed the course of history it was divine and that he had the courage and the clarity to see what was right for humankind. He had the courage to risk his life for that. We2. I explained carry the essence of divinity within us. And god. It was pure spirits me a force that moves through the universe represented in the laws of science. And the room was so. Quiet i thought i had done an excellent job. The ride home to spokane washington was silent. And much to my confusion we rarely spoke again. That's when i realized. That it was unitarian universalism that was abhorrent. To this family. And once i realized that we could be treated as equals. Never mind being yoked to someone. Is unworthy. Openness. It changed my life. And how i no longer took this face for granted. I'll be there because that moment. I'm receiving the message. Did anyone in our genomic nation could be seen as unequal. But i discovered the sweetness in our face. The sweetness. In our face. And i will say that it took decades for this very fine young man to come back and find me when i was a minister later. And apologize. For his family and for his own actions. That's sweetness to in a lot of courage. So the sweeney's for me. Is you. Whether you are gay or straight bisexual transgender questioning queer you. You are not unequal. You can be a loving partner for anyone. If you aren't skin is the color of the darkest night or. The tan lab of the wheat kernel if your skin is the color of coffee olay or the color of the white peach flash new. If you are part of the 1% with a 99%. It's you. Teacher musician corporate employees state worker professor intern students mechanic. Nonprofit leader it's you. If you are a buddhist a christian. Here are jewish hindu. Here on earth based worshiper. You have a respected. Anna celebrated place. Shear. Anonymous earth. It is good that you were born. We care what you do with your life. Each person questions about the ground of our being a god are equally valid. And you do not move in this world alone. That is my sweetness. And a goodness. Of our faith. There's a joke i like to tell. What do you get when you cross a man who was raised about atheist. With a woman who was raised about catholic. You getting unitarian universalist. Best unitarian universalist to be precise. My mother loved the magick and ritual of the catholic church. But could not stay on board with a doctrine that said that many around the world would be going to hell. My father was raised to be skeptical of religions. But active and living his values. To-do list for a church where they might find a home. One day when i was a small child my dad found an ad in the local newspaper. And you thought. This looks like a good church. Let me check it out. And it seemed. Like it would be a good place to go so he told my mother. I found this church and it is the universalist unitarian church of peoria and i think we should check it out. So they went. And they're sitting there and. And one person in the service during a time of sharing. Stood up and said. Well i'm a witch. And this is what i had to say. And then another stood up and said well i am a witch too and i have something else to say. And my mother was thinking. This is the church you think i'm going to light this is rather strange and very different from the catholic church. But they found out. But it was the church they wanted to call home and it was the church they wanted to raise their children in. Because it was the kind of church that beth just described. The kind we're all different sorts of people are welcomed in. I think unitarian-universalism has a lot of flavors. We have the deep robust taste of hope and inclusiveness. From our universalist heritage. We have that tangy flavor of critical thinking and questioning things. Termite unitarians. We have the rich savory taste. I'm striving to create more justice in this world. And striving to live out our principles more fully in the world. And these are very good. Flavors. But the sweetness. That sweetness of unitarian universalism for me. It is the unitarian universalist. It is just as beth described it. All of you. And all of the people who when i was a child. Take me to stand my ground. Even when my fundamentalist friends in elementary school. Take me to bible camp and tried to convert me. I stood my ground. Because of the unitarian universalist. I knew. I taught me about all different religions in sunday school and about sexuality. Bees unitarian universalist. We're the ones who would perform the commitment ceremony for my aunt and her partner. In illinois when not many churches would do that. And we could all come as a family and be at my church. And i was proud. The reason we can all be together. Is because we have agreed. Like the famous francis david quote. That we need not think alike. To love alike. So we do make the church. Where the atheist and the pious and the witches can come. It is a fascinating experiment really. To see if we can create a spiritual community. Not based on creeds and theological beliefs. Put on the idea that we will live together well. That we will agree to certain principles. It's not easy you know that. We challenged each other. We frustrate each other. We inspire each other and encourage each other. It is no small thing. It is an uncommon thing we do here. We do not always meet with perfect success but we keep going. And there is much sweetness. To be tasted. As we keep going on this journey. And it's okay if you broke the rules. But allow these symbols this lovefeast to deepen our responsibility to the human family. May we have the courage and vision for that time when none shall want. And when all shall know. Peace on earth. We have shared the sweetness of food and singing together. Which are one of the most wonderful parts of this season for me the singing and being together. Please join me in a time of prayer. Spirit that moves. Within and among us. We are grateful. For the sweetness. Of unitarian universalism. Of this community. And of the other communities we find. We are grateful for our family and friends. The laughter. And stories we share. In the tender care they give us when we are in need of it. We lift our hopes up to you. But this tweet. Faith will comfort those. Corn. And will help all those. With personal struggles. We lift up our hopes. But this spirits and this faith can help us to heal old hurts. And help us to heal wounded relationships. We lift up our hopes. That we will be inspired. Can do more justice in this world. Can live with more love and more courage. Enjoy for what we have. And with great hope for what will be. We say amen. Can i invite you to take hands around the room. Play the sweetness of this morning still with you. This is a reminder that the simplest of pleasures sustainus. Going love. And take some joy for this time together and give it to someone who was not here but this congregation say amen and help yourself to the remaining chocolate and stupid.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-11-13-No-One-Leaves-Home-Unless.mp3?_=3

Welcome to sunday sermons another recording from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at www.sec.gov or further information. Community. Especially especially belongings. We are seekers supporters of activists. Letgo. Thank you for being with us today. Eddie hester's is our chalice later this morning as one of the people who's been learning about how we can help refugees in the sacramento area. The primary motivator in her life his love for her family and friends. She stays in touch with friends around the world. 21 family members who live within driving distance of her she feel sadness for the refugee families who come to live in the sacramento area. Leaving their own families and friends behind. Thank you for opening your heart to the refugee families and for bringing this opportunity to our congregation. There could be no better time than this one has to make a difference in the lives of those who are coming to this country. And show me the chalice we light this morning soothe our nerves. Remind us of how we are intricately woven together. Inspire s2 action in the world. Now is the time to center. Celebration or in struggle we need each other now in this time when many grieve we come together to listen to share our hearts. Some of us come to fall apart knowing we will be held by community some come seeking the strengths found in this community of faith. Because this is the community feelings into action. Emily was probably come for all of these reasons. Reverend jason shelton recently changed the title and lyrics of him standing on the side of love. Answering the call of love. Today. We're answering the call of love by being present. We are answering the call of love by asking. What next. We are answering the call of love. We are answering the call of love. Gathering to listen. It's hard to hear. Just a bit. No commentary but test. Shire. Educator. Call home. Who kiss you dizzy behind the old tint factory won't let you stay. Fire under feet. Can your belly burnt into your neck under your breast. Sonder. Spend the night in a stomach of a trucks on newspaper the miles traveled means something more than journey. No one wants to be. Pitied. Strip search prison. Because prison is safer than a city. Fire. Prison guard. Enough. The go-go's. Immigrants asylum seekers. How did the word. Security looks. Roll off your back. Maybe because the blower turn off. Or the words are more tender than 14 man between your legs. 10 bone. 10 pieces. I want to go is the mouth of a shark. Home is the barrel of a gun. Amazon. Drown. Stag. Forget your survival is more important. Home is a sweaty voice in your ear saying. I don't know. Is safer than. Unless. Introduction. But he's not so let me read what i've received about him. I'm in west sacramento. thank you for being here with us. It is a. Committee was founded over 80 years ago at the requested albert einstein research specifically refugees. For something as you see on the screen that is as intimate as a part of your identity your race or nationality. Picture you see on the screen is from a smartphone. Microsoft about today. The goal is to get to go home. Were you know what the earth smells like after the rain. Refugees with the neighboring country. Or there's a similar language. Impossible. Resettlement in his third country is the next option and i want you to know today that. In the united states and it is the single most difficult way to enter the united states and it is the most vetted way to enter the united states as well. Populations that were serving. Confirm any background on the map is literally here for humanity. We don't make any excuse. Between education. Pick him up from the airport. Appropriate. The part where we come in. That's why we're here in this room because to help mate. Everything that the irish is focused toward self-sufficiency. To come to the united states. Sacramento specifically over 78% degree if not higher. And a majority of the individuals that are specifically from afghanistan. Part of the reason they're what we call special immigrant visas. That made it so us citizens. United states number into our country. These are the individuals that we get to work with. Immigration department community members and. What was happening on the farm and how are the services that were providing there. Thank you hannah and thank you guys for having us here to talk about our work at the ircc. Incredible team case workers and volunteers and interns. Culture. Sacramento into apartment complexes. And they don't have access to land. Culture as people. My job is really cool because i get to provide. Land to these farmers. To be able to unable to find local grocery stores in local markets. These are hard-working people. They're intelligent people. She comes. When i went and saw him at an apartment complex where he was living in a farm. I need land on that farm because. Farming farming and then i came to the united states. I need to i need to be engaged in something. I'll never forget we assigned him his plot. And he could have came down and grab the shovel and he goes out there and he's he's working hard and his plot looks better than most of the other farmers out there and he's out there almost everyday just working really hard and this is an individual who. Contribute anymore. He's found a reason to live chicken go food he can contribute again to his family. Another one i was just i saw you guys have some earlier and they're pretty. And i didn't think much of it later on i saw a bunch of globe amaranth popping up everywhere. I started asking about it and they said this is for our festival we have something called deepawali or festival of lights we celebrate that. Festival that is so important in october. Community. People that is able to reconnect with their culture because. It grows new roots. In the united states connect them to this land and by providing space for them and providing trainings for them. If you guys are interested 10 ways to help i can get hannah to come back and let you guys know a couple of ways that you guys can help make the transition for these people that have lost everything make that transition. As timothy mentioned artwork is essential in. So many ways in making home. Information. Try your skills to leaving earlier this morning. Intimately a part of that history. A resource that are currently. But thank you for the work that you are you doing it's my pleasure to be with you. Next week we will be doing and so if you don't know what hannah was talking about those who are saying i am here for you if you are in need if you are feeling your indenture i am a safe person to be wiz. Silence. Consider this. Quiet together. Singing. Countries. But the safety of our country. Relationships. Of change led face gathering say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-06-19-Hello-Goodbye_10_00.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. We invite you to continue your hellos and goodbyes after the service as i mentioned today is my last service here is my story lantern and the. It is as bitter sweet thing the internship committee is hosting a party in my honor after the service told her we cake and i are vegetarian sandwiches so please hang around for that and. I will be happy to receive lots of hugs from everybody. Junior church of davis is a community that is centered around care we care for one another in times of challenge and in times of celebration in times of joy and in times of grief we marked these milestones of our lives often with chalices with and we have chalices lit in the back of the sanctuary at honor some of these milestones today. Lighting our chalice this morning is wayne raymond. When is celebrating an ending in new beginning of his own having just retired from a teaching career in physics chemistry math and other subjects. It started after his graduation in 1974 and spans three countries. Over 4,200 students. From the peace corps to davis joint unified school district. We light this chalice to celebrate beginnings and endings. To acknowledge hellos and goodbyes. Letting go of what is ben. Open and hopeful for what may come. Whatever direction we are moving let us move forward with intention. We're also going to like two additional chalices this morning to honor father's day. We like the first to honor the love and support that fathers and father figures bring into our lives. We thank you for your commitment. We thank you for your teachings. We thank you for your protection we thank you for your humor. But most of all we thank you for always being there for us for these things we like this jealous. We also light a chalice for those who find father's day to be a challenge. Four fathers and children who have had difficult relationships. For those fathers and children who never got the chance to have a relationship for those fathers and children who are grieving the loss of one another. And for those who need healing we light this chalice. These opening words from thomas lloyd qualls from waking up at rembrandt's. It is hard to say where the story begins and ends. You have to draw an arbitrary line somewhere. Somewhere between perception and reality. Between what is spoken and what is heard. Between what is written. And what is edited out. I know this you can't have an ending without a beginning. Even if they are really just random pieces of the middle that stick out. Staccato notes on the page. Points on a circle. The unitarian universalist church of davis is proud of its role as a teaching congregation. As a member as a representative of the internship committee i affirm this congregation knows how to love interns into ministry. We expect the interns to grow in their potential and we know that each person's potential is difference. Just as it is for each of us. We ask interns to discover the edges of their ability to know failure as well as success. There are few times in life when we are discouraged when we are encouraged to fail we want to be a place that is safe to discover who a person might become in the very large calling his ministry. We are willing to risk our hearts breaking. We love our interns and although each love is different we give ourselves to each intern who comes to us. Speak the truth in love and in the process practice the skill of doing so with each other. We have done well we have done well. And that's how a lot of us feel right now actually so laura of the time has come for you to come up here so. We can just look at you and love you up and so carlini don't go too far away cuz you get to like. Be present for her to have given much to this congregation. At least as much as. You know it goes both ways right that we've gained so much from you and i'm hoping that you have gained a great deal from us. this is what it's been like. Created cheffing. You have brought your shopping to us not just cooking meat cheffing you have brought food to our staff meetings that have brought us to silence because we go. You brought those same things to congregational gatherings you started our super sundays which i know you hope will continue you selflessly raised over $1,000 for next year's intern stipend what you did and besides a little bit occasionally that it was for the next intern and you have challenges to look at issues of class using your own life as an example. You have great compassion. You great love for justice. And we will witness some of that today. You have searched for your voice in ministry. Who you are outside the role of minister. And with a rush of energy i think in the last maybe 72 hours of. This internship discovered that parish ministry calls to you at this time in your life yay she saw my fight face light up and she said you've been hoping for this moment haven't united. You tested your ideas you ask questions that fulfilled your own needs for answers and helped us see ourselves in new ways. You came to us from a hospital chaplain saved and it already done many memorial services you told me and i thought but what do we have to teach her. But we offered you the opportunity to break open your heart. By doing ceremony for. Living children. At the poster children who had died. And you like to imagine what it would be like. To be in a congregation. It did a service for a living child. And to welcome them into the life of the congregation and to promise to partner with them. What does it mean. To belong. This. Is what we offered you. So. My congregation. Often. When i do a wedding. I have a small wedding. And it's a small wedding. I will pass around the wedding rings and everyone in this gathering will hold the rings and will take. A couple of breaths and i do that the rings are becoming warm in their hands. And they imagine the wishes that they have for the couple. And by the time the rings come around for the ceremony. Fairfield. With wishes and warrants and they're actually warm in the hands. And then we do the valves. So i'm going to invite you to. Hold your hands as if they are in holding rings or in prayer. Want you to place in your mind. And those hands. A wish for laura. And when i ring the time. I invite you to open your hands and to blow that wish right here. And then when you see her in the reception when you see her in the receiving line. Perhaps you want to tell her. What was that wish that you have for her. The whole that wish for one moment imagine it. Before i do this i just have to say the word shepherd one more time the shepherd of her flocks and now invite the congregation to repeat each line after me. May the road rise up to meet you. May the road rise up to meet you may the wind always be at your back may the sunshine at general assembly and so this is our beginning of letting go and saying goodbye. For a new beginning by john o'donohue. In out-of-the-way places of the heart. Where your thoughts never think to wander this beginning. Has been quietly forming. Waiting until you were ready to emerge. For a long time and has watched your desire feeling the emptiness growing inside you. Noticing how you willed yourself on still unable to leave what you had outgrown. It watched you play with the seduction of safety. And the gray promises that sameness whispered. Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent wondered. Would you always live like this. Then the delight when your courage kindled and out you stepped onto newgrounds. Your eyes young again with energy and dream. Epatha plenitude opening before you. Though your destination is not yet clear. You can trust the promise of this opening. Unfurl your yourself into the grace of beginning. That is it one with your life's desire. Awaken your spirit to adventure. Hold nothing back. Learn to find he's in risk. Soon you will be home in a new rhythm. For your soul senses the world that awaits you. In 2013. One of my own stories ended. A random inexplicable house fire. Took everything we had. And we were forced. Into starting over. Not all new beginnings come after such dramatic endings. But no single events in my life. Has taught me as much about the predictable. Endless cycle of endings and beginnings as that one has. Because all new starts. Come when something ends. There is destruction. Big or small. Something that was no longer is and will never exist the way it did before. Your sense of safety. Or who you are. Or if home. In some big or small way. You are devastated. You don't know how you will ever be okay again. But the world keeps turning. And you have to keep going. So you do. There is so much cleanup to do. Pieces keep clinging to what they once were. How you understand your life and where it is going. Stories you tell yourself about who you are. Dreams hopes and plans that are now over. Those things have to be torn down and carried away. Piece by piece. But with the wreckage cleared light signs into all those newly exposed places. You take a good long look at what is left. And you start considering all the past you might take. You stare into a world of choices without any of the comforting safety of knowing exactly who you are or where you belong. It is thrilling. It is terrifying. You plan. You dream. You consider where you would like to go and what you want. You imagine possibilities that might never have existed in the story that ended. You consider options. You discover things you never realized were important to you. And learn the things you always thought were important really weren't at all. In the end. You arrive at some idea where you want to go and it feels good. It feels like finally you know where you're going. Where you fixed. And then you start to build. And progress is painfully slow. The new frame goes up. Board by board nail by nail. You make decisions thousands of decisions that overtime inevitably change that carefully drawn blueprints. You would just. More boards go up. Even the fun decisions the paint colors and tiles and finishes are exhausting when you have to make them all at once as you do when you are rebuilding. There are setbacks. There delays. There are long dark knight swear it feels like you will never be done building. You feel overwhelmed and lost. But excited and hopeful and most often all of those things at the same time. When what you've built is if not perfect finished enough. You settle in. Overtime pieces of you fill up that new thing that you built. It doesn't feel quite right at first. But still you live in it. You and what you've dreamed and planned and built start to adoption one another. Molding to fit together better. It never matches the blueprint. It will never be what you had. But somehow. So slowly you almost don't notice. It starts to feel like home. Beginnings. And endings. Hello xan. Goodbye there complicated things. Marked with as much anxiety. Fear and pain sometimes as they are marked with joy and celebration. The time of year we mark many endings through graduations and year and celebrations. Emmaus indians makespace. 4. The excitement of new beginnings that might lie ahead. For us. We think of these these beginnings and endings of linear we start at one point and we ended another but the reading that amanda shared reminds us the beginnings and endings are more like points on a circle. And given that i'm not even sure if i'm always going the same direction on my circle. And sometimes it kind of feels like i'm bouncing around inside my circle maybe even outside my circle on occasion. And part of that is because. The beginnings of so long ago. Emma endings of so long ago sometimes come into play. In my beginnings and endings right now. And i don't always seem to make sense of those. Beginnings are indians from long ago. Until. Many many years later. Mayan beginning here in davis. That brought florist. Many endings. Told myself i wouldn't cry until the celebration. Because my childhood was filled with. Too many beginnings in any of my family was very unstable. And we moved around all the time. And i was always starting or leaving a school. And my biological father left when i was 6. And essentially ended our relationship in doing so and my stepfather adopted me when i was 13. But it was challenging to feel a part of that family because i didn't beginning it. So there are so many. Spaces in my life where belonging was a very elusive. Feeling for me it wasn't something that i really. New. But i desperately. Desperately longed for it. In fact that's where my call to ministry is rooted it's rooted in that longing for belonging. That longing. For community. Because i began to see that it wasn't just me that this had an effect on it seems to me that pretty much every ill or any suffering or any harm that is caused in the world can be rooted in somebody feeling like they don't belong somehow. So it's all a corruption. A belonging. Everything that goes wrong so my ministry is based on trying to. Reveal connections to people reveal a sense of belonging. You know i think it's ironic that we are all bonded together with the knowledge of what it feels like to be lonely. We may feel lonely but we never truly are because we all know what it feels like to be lonely. We share that. Turn off on our greatest fears are around loneliness or fear that we might be alone. When i came here ten months ago i brought those fears and i brought my wounds from my childhood. My loneliness my feelings of not sure if i'm going to be long will anybody like me. Who will i eat lunch with. All of those things that you bring when you feel like the new kid. I brought my insecurities and my uncertainties they all came with me and i intentionally unpack them from their compartments where i normally keep them. As we often do. And brought them out because i thought this might be a place of healing for them. Especially because california. I live in california till i was 13 so much of that disruption. Occurred here. That's what was symbolic that i was coming back. Care to the state i was born in i'm actually third generation california even though i come off as very minnesotan my roots are here and so it was it was healing that i came back here to do that and i brought that in her thirteen-year-old of my ride along with me. Saw her because i remember in my evaluations my mid-year evaluations i was struck by how many of you said you experienced me is shy and reserved. When you first met me and now that you know me better you probably don't experience me as shy and reserved but that was my thirteen-year-old to was she was front-and-center so. Thank you for taking care of her. It was a risk i took. Doing that. Because i certainly thought that those things in those old feelings might. Consume me. That's why i had packed them away for so long. I was afraid my loneliness and my uncertainty of where and who i belong to. Or didn't belong to. Would become my identity and that i would be lost. But then i got here. 2 year cd. And into the woods who have been my. Post all year. And i was welcomed with such amazing hospitality actually even before i got her beth sent me a box of fruit in the middle of december and i was just like maybe this isn't going to be so bad to be so far she's sending me fruit and she hasn't met me yet and katie who can't be here today because her wife goodbye at her church the methodist church. Show so much amazing hospitality for me. And i was welcomed with all of my wounds. And all my curiosity's. And i was invited in the space not only to bring my best self. But the bring my whole self. I hope that this community has felt that way to all of you as well i hope you feel that you don't have to bring just your best self to this church to this community but you bring your whole self here. The outside of my. Need for a true sense of belonging i also brought another feeling along. With me today vez. Skepticism. And perhaps i'm guessing since where you use that most of you know this feeling as well know i wasn't skeptical about my faith or uuism i'd work through that stuff already. But i was skeptical about my past ministry. I had no idea. Where i was going i was very clear about that was most people that ask me. What do you want what do you want to do i don't know. I maybe i want to be a chaplain maybe i want to be a congregational minister. I really didn't know that's been my statement ultra seminary through my residency at the hospital last year and up until really just a few days ago. Am i feel we call this discernment. Deferment makes it sound important. I'm in discernment about that hasn't been revealed yet. We make space for that cuz we're all about mystery. The ministry. Sounds important discernment makes it sound more important than i don't know. But they're really the same thing. But it is more important it is important just herman is a time of question is a time of trying things on for size. And we enter into this tournament with every new beginning with every new hello. You know will i like this place will i like these people you know again how am i going to fit here is this going to work out or so it's going to be terrible i don't know where is my place where do i belong. Where am i going. But slowly and not without stumbles and adjustments is amanda pointed out in her reflection wheat begin to maybe build something new and have something to hold onto. And our unknowing are discernment gives way to something with shape maybe something with a little more certainty. Fire rabbits places and. Faraway new old places become home. And it is there in these new places of belonging. That we find out new things about ourselves. That we couldn't have found out without that risks without that new beginning. And they're also things that we couldn't have found out. With an ending. For a healing of old endings. Now throughout my seminary ministry information i've let myself into sermon about what shape my ministry would take. And many. It's not most of my colleagues have had a much clearer path. And much stronger sense of where they belongs. But as i said that sense of belonging has always been elusive to me. Until i came here. So i came back that new scary kid in class i came back. Just something new and sergio all of those abrupt an unsanctioned indians of my life. And i leaned into that i leaned into that grief and i leaned into those endings and i leave didn't leaned. Into that. 13 year old and i was the person. But she needed. And slowly but surely my wounds old festering wounds became healed. And i came to know a sense of belonging. That i had not known before. And that has made all the difference. But now it's time for me to go. Another ending. But this time it's different. Because being somewhere and belonging somewhere are not the same thing. I don't have to be here to know that i belong to you. I'll always belong to you and you always belong to me. And i'll carry your generous. Spirit in your hospitable spirit. With me wherever i go. And it's best said earlier this is like you read my script this is truly the greatest gift that i could take with me. So thank you for letting. Letting me belong and giving that gift to me. Thank you and amen. Would you all please join me in a moment of prayer that is beginning and all that is ending. But us find you in ourselves. Let us find awakening of our own spirits in the beginnings and endings. That we find in our everyday lives. Maybe welcoming some new ideas. New friends. A new ways of being which call us. To live fully striving for a world of peace and justice. And love. May we have courage to let go and say goodbye when it's our time to move on and may we have the wisdom to carry forward with we have learned. Maybe have patience and tenderness with ourselves during the transition phases of our lives. When things don't always go as planned. And yet they still move on. And then those moments between the goodbyes and hellos. Between the indians and the beginnings when loneliness and uncertainty creeping. May we remember those gathered here. Who always hold us in their hearts. Each of us is part of an intricate web of relationships. We reshape ourselves to hold on to the joys and sorrows of this community. We reshape ourselves to hold. All of the hellos and goodbyes. We are parts of the turn of the earth. The shift of the stars. The pull of the sea. And all change. Blessed be. And armon. I wanted to take a minute. To talk about orlando. It's been a week since the shooting. This was a direct attack of hades's. Towards the lgbtq community. This was. An attack on people of color. This was an attack. Islam. Assistance not represent the values of islam but rather a corruption of that fate as it plays out in the form of radical extremism this was an attack on love. So how how do we hold that. How do we hold space for that. And we can make space for the pain i think we have to. For if we don't then we're complacent and there can be no healing. And it sure is we acknowledge the pain we have to acknowledge that there needs to be space for healing. And in order to heal we need to acknowledge that we have to do better and that we must take action to do better and people often ask in this situation. What can i do. What can i do. I made a list. Practical. Here are some things you can do to foster healing and help move us towards a better way of being. The first thing that you could do is to reach out to your lgbtq brothers and sisters cuz i. Speaking for myself right now but. This really hurt us. This really hit us to the core and most of us have had. Twirl of all kinds of feelings all week long. And so if you know somebody who is gay or lesbian or trans. Just ask them how they are. Ask him if i need a hug. Cuz they need that right now. I would also. Say that you can do that for their parents and their families. So if you know anybody who has a lgbtq child reach out to them because i also speak from experience that the first thing that happens when we come out to our parents if they're afraid that somebody's going to hurt us. Until this is hit them in a hard way to go because the exact thing the thing that they're afraid of the most it just happened. So reach out to them. Ask them how they are. Ask them if they need a hug. Other things we can do. Keep. Doing the hard and deep work of examining your privilege. I know you're really dive into this this year with a black lives matter banner and the beloved conversations that beth and some of the others from the church of gone through and that'll becoming wider here when they're done with their training. You have to keep doing this work dismantling your privilege is dismantling the systems that are in place that. Continue to allow these things to happen. So be brave and step into that. Work for peace and protest. Forgotten control loudly. These things keep happening over and over again. We keep making a fuss and then it keeps going away don't give up the fight we must continue to fight towards some reforms to make the world a safer place. If this were a matter of cars calling killing people we would have done a recall by now and there's something about guns that make that makes it politically makes it difficult but that doesn't mean that there can't be reforms i don't know what they are and i don't want to get into that here but we need to work for some other system. Finally you can reach out to the muslim community because they're to pain by this tragedy because it's getting pinned on them. We know that. This act does not represent. The muslim faith. And so it's important for us to reach out to them too and also ask them how they're doing. And stand in solidarity with them. One of the gentleman who spoke at the vigil last week in central park that i was at reminded us that our love. Must not remain passive. We must continue to work and demand a better world. Mother teresa says love has. No meaning. If it remains on its own it must be put into action. Until i challenge you all to put your love into action may we all step into the challenge of doing what we can my we all step into the challenge of putting our love into action and may we never forget why we're doing that. I invite you all to take cans leaching out or shoulders become aware of the hands that you are holding their warm or texture their weights as an infant these same hands reached out for the comfort of our fathers and mothers as a child these hands fumbled and adapted as we learn to create arts right words play and being part of a team these hands have wiped away two years these hands have clinched an anger they have waved hello and goodbye countless times and embraced so many loved ones and now these hands are the tangible link that connect us to one another take him moment look around see who you are connected to these hands have worked or working and will continue to work to make the world a better place they continue to provide you with a sense of belonging and me to even as i go so go in peace go in love go in the name of justice never forgetting that you will always be held by the hands of this community maybe congregation say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2015-11-15-Who-Do-You-Say-You-Are_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. So i'm the senior minister serving this congregation and ben bazer joins me as i worship associate. You are welcome, and we invite you to go out of the welcome table and marty west has been out there at that table and can answer all of your questions about the meaning of life as well as about this service it's true. No matter what path is brought you through these doors welcome. We gather as people of diverse beliefs. We represent different political views. We are people. Of a diversity of sexual orientations and gender identity gay straight bisexual genderqueer gender-fluid transgender. We're all welcome here. Are ethnic and cultural roots come from the four directions of the slitheen. Together we will celebrate the abundance that surrounds us questions and mysteries of life urine for what could be and come to know the power that we have to make our dreams real. Please join with me for a moment of prayer. Recognizing the terrorism indy route. Lebanon. And in paris. Where does it hurt. It hurts everywhere. Help us return to love. In spite of hate. Maybe turn to trust. Instead of fear. Turn to each other. People of all faiths and none. In spite of intolerance. Tell custom turn to our neighbors in need. To turn our care to those who are vulnerable near us. Turn our spirits to the grieving the injured the traumatized. Instead of anger. Help us return. To the recovery. And to our work of becoming a world of justice. And compassion. Turn us. Guide our feet. And hands. Bring us peace. Praying. I got you another silence. Today lighting are chalice is ryder henderson. They're new to you you and i've been attending this church since january. This is their first time lighting the chalice. Dave extensive experience working with trans youth. And it worked for the last six years in a can. Fortrans and gender-variant youth. Would you hear more about in the reflection later in the service. Coming like the shallows writer. Today's opening words. Are by alanda. Granola. Tear. Find a house of welcoming. Dear. Find vision and hope. Here. Be received as you truly are unique and beautiful. Your journey acknowledge. Your love honored. Let us rejoice together. I've always felt mail. Growing up i hung out with the boys. I was boys in the games i liked i like blowing stuff up and video games. Well i had a strong perception of male and female. I didn't really give much thought to gender much less its fluidity. Until i came to college. Being open and do you. I quickly found myself friends with people for whom gender with something they thought about often. Times like trans queer and gender binary entered my vocabulary. It took a while to wrap my head around it. But after knowing the people it's sort of just made sense. Being homosexual bisexual pansexual gender-nonconforming. Was a normal. Or at least not a big deal. In fact except crowds i may feel sheepish about being heterosexual cisgender male. Some might say a typical guy. Because it seems almost. Boring. The paradigm shift for me was in the discussion of gender roles being just that. Rolls. The way an actor can ship characters as necessary. One actor may be suited to some roles more than others or may enjoy some rolls more than others. In our lives we play many roles. I often play the roles that son. Brother. Boyfriends friends engineer jiu-jitsu white belt or worship associate. And you said these situations i can show up differently. For me it's most comfortable and traditional to show up as a man. To live that roll. Often enjoyed playing that role as well. I'm strongly drawn to things that to me seem traditional email. I'm scheduled to go duck hunting and just yesterday i competed in a martial arts tournament. Play in the traditional male role however can cause me to do some foolish things. Most people i know have more sense than to work out until they throw up. Boy to scream their back lifting 300lb a weird sense of pride and being that bullish. For me. Traditional male that playing that role challenges me to be strong. Incapable but all that doesn't mean i haven't stretch my comfort zone. While i grew up feeling it acting male. I wasn't in the macho by any stretch. I wasn't so attached to my mail image. That it couldn't explore the boundaries. There's one time that sticks out of my memory. My friends and i were going to a late-night performance of. The rocky horror picture show. For those of you familiar. Doesn't make sense for those of you that aren't. It is essentially an immersion into gender fluidity. And it isn't unusual to see the audience members wearing corsets or other similarly revealing clothing. And so i was faced with a dilemma. Of what to wear. Should i wear my normal uniform. Jacket t-shirt and jeans. Or. Tight leather pants and fishnet top. My friends clearly had a preference. And their choice was admittedly outside of my comfort zone. And while these things when explicitly stated i grew up with the impression. That straight men dinnerware tight leather and fishnet. But i still shows the leather. I look different for the night. And that was all. It was fun. Afterwards it seems silly to be nervous. Within their identity. And comfort zone you can be easily put off balance. Leather pants no thanks. As i push my comfort zone i felt more grounded with my identity. I can wear leather pants. Paradoxically. As i feel more comfortable living with the role of male i grew up with. And enjoying trying to embody the virtues of it. I've become more comfortable with going beyond the boundaries of that role. I am rider. And i proudly identify as queer. Genderqueer and transmasculine. I know these are not the words too many people. There once well beyond my realm of understanding as well. Much less self identifiers that i would have used. I grew up in texas. And in that environment there is no lens. Or language or role models. To show me that there was anything other than men and women and boys and girls. And i didn't even know that the word straight existed. Because there were no other options. When i moved for high school. A new friend invited me to a gsa meeting. Which i now know stands for gay straight alliance. At the time i confused it with a club i'd known in texas. The jsa that was junior statesmanship something-or-other. So i replied. I'm not really into the big clubs. He was taken aback. And said it's not really a debate. And somehow convinced me to come anyways without telling me what it was. So. I'm 15 and show up in a crowded room and right off the bat students went around and said their name and sexuality. Something brand-new to me. At the time i had no idea what straight. Gay. Lesbian by. Or queer men's. Municipal came to panic little me. I just said i don't know. Growing up with limited gender and sexuality options that i did not fit into. I always struggle to imagine. Any kind of future for myself. As i gained more knowledge and met people have different experiences. The obstacles became more manageable. Many years later and graduate school. I learned about a camp that was about to open for trans and delivering use. This was particularly exciting. Because camp had been one of the happier memories from my childhood. I have fond memories. Avene extremely independent wild n dirty. Well living off of cornbread and fruit punch for many weeks. A new date. Is at its core a summer camp. We have traditional activities like sports arts and crafts and swimming. In a space where trans used. Can feel comfortable with their bodies experiences. And identities. So they can just be kids. What conversations are often confusing as many names and pronouns change from day-to-day and moment-to-moment. And attendance sheets are out of date as soon as they are printed. We respect our campers for who they are in the moment. And embrace their fluidity. Above and beyond. The awesomeness that is any camp. Our campers gets meat used like themselves. Questioning. Transitioning. Or have transitioned. As well as trans adult role models living full and happy lives and sis adults who volunteer at camp. Just to support our youth. Over the past 6 years. My little nonprofit camp. Has grown from a one-week session with about 40 campers. To owning a property and having seven sessions. With nearly 400 trans engineering youth. Not only over the summer but throughout the entire year. We are a network of community and support for one another. Before i begin the sermon i wanted to mention to fashion statement that i neglected to say and diane wanted to let you know that her tie is a donald trump tie from his own company so there was a particularly interesting moment in her. Back-end changes. In another land. When i was in my twenties. Before i entered the ministry. I would attend weekend contra dances. Country dancing has elements of early american line dancing but add in western swing. And carefully timed appalachian clogging for percussion. It's pretty energetic stuff. Across the country there is a unique etiquette of inclusivity at contredanses always invite the novice and the newcomer to dance. Every person who is your partner as if that person is the most important the most fascinating human being in the whole world. You look at them as if you are it. There are those who dance for the sheer speed of the moves but the best dancers. Very best dancers. Are those who strive to be the best partners. The etiquette of contra dancing laid the groundwork for a meaningful experience i had last spring at the mendocino dance camp and this was yes a part of the sabbatical. Without realizing it i signed up for what amounts to an annual reunions i have no idea everyone greeted each other as if they were longtime friends because i think they actually were. It was unbelievable the dances rescheduled and dance halls from 9 in the morning till 11 p.m. at night and i thought this is amazing. But the music and the dances weren't what made the weekend memorable. For the moment i signed in at registration i knew that this dancing festival was going to be different. From my young adult weekends in that far-away land of idaho. There were dancing clothes for sale and at the rag of wide was dancing skirts you know the ones that are kind of fluffy there was many men selecting skirts as women. Other racks with cotton shirts and assorted ties were admired by women and i thought okay this is fine this is really fine and it was fine. I think i live what's written on the unitarian universalist website. We not only open our doors to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. We value diversity of sexuality and gender and see it as a spiritual gift. We're not talking about a reluctant acceptance of those who identify as gender variant. Counter to the message often found in our society we are asked to dignify everyone. Biting each person's sexual orientation gender identity and expression as a spiritual gift. Almost at the moment i was slipping on my dancing shoes noah mills member of our senior high youth group. With addressing this congregation. And noah said. Genders are the constellations and we are all stars. They are all shifting and nebulous and theoretically infinite she gave me permission to share that with you again today. Noah's poetic expression of the fluidity of gender is what i witness among many used in today's culture. Diversity in sexual orientation and gender variances documented throughout history and across cultures. But starting recently in the 1960s when traditional roles for men and women were questioned boundaries have continued to be challenged. And now his words offer a beautiful synopsis of today's exploration of identity. In this congregation some of us are learning if we live is good unitarian universalist that's most of us learning all the time. Those within the transgender community are learning to. I called my transgender friends and asked for the most up-to-date language after all i want to get it just right. Because i'm speaking to you in a sermon. But they sent me to the uga website. The language is always changing and we can't keep up. One person explained so it's really good to know that our website is where to go. Some people in this room have come to hear their story affirmed. Interfaith community and i hope that you find that here today. There will be those among us who know that they shouldn't be uncomfortable if not politically correct. And yet the many dimensions of sexual orientation and gender identity they just may seem beyond comprehension. I asked what your stay is open as you can. And i hope that you'll keep at it. And finally there are those here who are afraid of what they feel within themselves. Afraid because they do not feel what society says is normal. You are in a safe place. And you are especially. Welcome here. Go back to the dance where the lesson of the service is found in this is really about the dance you know. Slipping on my shoes and adjusting my skirt i was right. The etiquette of contra dancing did mean i was dancing from that very first song. The dances were really intricate and i got lost easily. And finally in one really complicated dance i thought. Think i've got it. Turn and spin slide to the new partner turn and spin your partner and my partner took my hand for the next turn and spin and over the music. He said. Want to switch genders. Oh lord i thought. We're both wearing skirts and that was fine. But now you want both of us to change our genders to. Well there is a nanosecond before the next dance move there's not much time and my brain was processing all i've learned and unitarian-universalism about sexual orientation gender identity and i'm thinking. The contemporary meaning for transgender is an umbrella for all those who do not accept the dominant conceptions of gender. Well maybe my brain didn't turn exactly to aua curriculum however there was this moment when my thoughts are racing. And i'm thinking. But that's a serious decision and i'm not sure what it means in this dance and i just figured out how to do my part and i don't think i can learn another way of being right now. But i said. Sure. But you'll have to lead me through it. You'll have to leave me through it. A couple of dance repetitions i take the role of following and then my partner would say trench. And i bleed for a few sets. A back-and-forth the other dancers will they would look it up kind of questioningly and we give a quick gesture. Pointing to ourselves we'd. Or follow. And my brain i swear tangled with exertion. I know my partner was waiting for me to initiate the time of a switch. But it was all i could do to keep up. Couldn't. Initiate. If you're listening to this story and thinking that being a man or a woman is becoming more complicated. You are right. Language describing sexual orientation who we are attracted to. Gender identity. Our internal understanding of our gender or gender expression which you witnessed with diane how we choose to dress name ourselves walking talk as an expression of our gender will that language is continuing to evolve. The language identifying these aspects of identity mirror our emerging understanding of the possibilities as a society. The language and our awareness. Mirror each other. But in the riddle of gender science and activism and transgender rights. The author deborah ratustele says that language is too limited and it is too blunt. Gender means kind or genre. Let me look at someone and wonder. What gender. Are you. The question goes beyond idle curiosity are you a boy or are you a girl we're really asking something personal a very intimate question. We're asking what kind of person are you. We're inquiring about the fundamental nature of someone something that can only truly be discovered after meaningful and lengthy experiences with another person and then only revealed rightfully by someone willing willingness to show their authentic self. Deborah right about one particular orisha a god of that yoruba religion of nigeria worshiping orishas came to the west through the slave trade. The name of this god being is translated as the destroyer of pattern through whom the shape of a cosmos is revealed. Deborah rights that those who identify in ways that are not traditional. Are serving to free everyone. Our bodies and our minds are given the gift of the existence of more than two options of. Male or female. The beauty and complexity of the universe is revealed through a new array of possibilities. Destroying the patterns that form our reality can be disorienting and they can be frightening but today as you heard we are not alone. Our society has safe places to question and discover. And the freedom of expression and exploration can be a source of great creativity and pleasure. And this opportunity can happen many times in the course of one life. So when i spoke with some of our older transgender people. They told me be sure to let people know. This can happen. At any time. In someone's life. And the weekend progressed back in the dance camp i had many opportunities to have an orisha god reshape my universe. Blisters were rising on the soles of my feet but now i was the one inviting those who sat on the sidelines to dance. Strings of twinkling lights made the room glow against the dark knight the smell of redwoods came on the breeze through the open windows. One band of musicians replaced another it was really kind of cruel because no matter how tired that dancers became the music remains lively. Suddenly i found myself faced. With a person who appeared. Female. But was presenting as male. And i stopped. I thought i was past being confused by anyone. But in this moment. I couldn't figure out if this person was leading or following. And the music didn't stop for anyone's moment of doubt. It was only a second to decide and so i slid my hand around my new partners waze assuming i was the person following and we both stopped. I'm a girl she explaining exasperation. So am i i said with equal frustration. And i thought how the heck am i supposed to know. The only way i could know. But by calculating the position on the dance floor. And i had miscalculated i had miscounted. It is messi. And we will invariably get caught in our assumption. I will make mistakes again and i found that i had done so in this tournament but. Here it is. In my senior year in college christine jorgensen spoke in the largest lecture hall on our campus. 1953 christine became one of the most famous people in the world when she transitioned surgically from male to female. Her surgery was performed in denmark and she plan to return to the states and lou quietly as a woman. Her parents completely accepted her in. In love. If someone in the family sold her story to the press. And she was forced to live in the spotlight. Still remember being impressed by her courage. She told her story of isolation and loneliness as she came to understand that she was in the wrong body. She talked about the heartache of wanting to belong when i get to be right. She was open about her decision to pursue surgery. And what her life was like as a result. I heard her speak decades later. Why was she on the speaker circuit when she could have slowly slowly moved into the life of obscurity that she desired and i recently discovered the answer. She hopes that by telling her story is freshly on campuses. She would help others who also felt trapped by the society's construct of gender. She received thousands of letters and most were from people who are grateful that they are not alone. She used her public profile to reach as many people as possible to show others that they could have a life of happiness. And i wondered if she ever imagined the open questioning that happens today. People of all ages and certainly use allow themselves the freedom to question their sexual orientation and their gender identity. The very end of the dance. The mendocino camp i packed the car. I took off my black leather shoes. Inspecting my battered and tender feet. With their usual swirling energy my favorite dance partners who had been eyeing my batik skirt for the full weekend. Swirled into position on either side of me. You got to come this afternoon to the dance in san francisco and tomorrow's dances in palo alto it's awesome band. Just awesome. I've been accepted into a community of dancers that was as fluid as their. In their identity as they were in their damn steps. They destroyed expected patterns and through the unfolding of live the shape of the cosmos continues to be revealed. And so it goes. It continues. To be revealed. And to that i say. Amen. Invite you into a time of prayer. Kind of medication when you. Let go of what it is that you have carried. This week. We will be singing all shall be well as i end. Before i move into our prayer i will say that. One person left a milestone saying that this is the second anniversary of. Sister and brother-in-law's suicide. Candle has been lit. In the hope. Celebrating her sister and the life she chose. App astro prayer begins. With. Gerard hopkins poem. Pied beauty. Glory be to god for all dappled things. All things counter. Original & spare. Whatever is fickle. Freckled. Who knows how. The swift slow. Sweet sour. Devil. Dimly-lit. God brings for those whose beauty is past change. Blessed are those who change animerge throughout a lifetime. Who discover they express the soul in all the counter. Original stickle freckled ways available to us. Oh joy. Be not afraid. But amazed. Blessed are those who change and emerge throughout a lifetime to become more daring. To be who they really are swift or slow sweet sour adazzle or gentle lights glory be to the beauty of humanity in all of our forms. Each of us is a part of an intricate web of relationships when one of us celebrated julie agrees the lost the web of life moved to a new shape we are apart of the turn of the earth the shift of the stars the pool is a c and i'll change. And amen and amen. We touch the floor to remember that wherever we bring our best selves. Is holy ground. We reach for the sky to remember that we are apart of the mystery bigger than ourselves. We hold hands to remember that we need one another. And are part of one human family. We joined voices. To remember that we each have a gift to offer the world. And to use in making the world a better place. And let this gathering say amen maybe so.

uudavispodcast_org

2015-09-27_The-Simpler-Life-North-South-of-the-Equator_11_15-3.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. As unitarian universalist we are encouraged to search for our own answers to the most important questions. How can i participate in relationships of meaning. Where do i find the sacred in everyday life. How can i make a difference for myself my family as well as it's beautiful living earth. We come together to create a unique community. We identify with diverse sexual orientations and genders. We are different races and classes and political parties. And we come from dixon from sacramento from woodland from winters and from davis all around. Has one hour we come together to find our center. We come to new again that we are not alone. And what might have been a burden becomes light. Good morning. Today the guardian to the ground will share inspirational words some are written on a weather graham. Our version of a japanese tradition of attaching a prayer slip to a tree. To express why they do what they do to care for our grounds. You can choose your own weather g as you leave today take it with you. Walk out to the grounds put it on a tree it's your choice there's some blank ones you can write your own message that gives you inspiration of ours have a history. Thanks to the writings of our founding members and a 1961 report from the forward-looking committee of the davis unitarian fellowship. We know that history began with a purchase of land. They had a vision which we are keeping alive more than 50 years later. Some of the plans came to us through experimental plantings from the ucd arboretum. Some from seedlings from ted hedges yard. Yes the ted hedges of our hedges grove. We invite you to walk among our grounds to find your inspiration to see the beauty enjoy the peace and appreciate the history of our grounds. And to think about being a part of this. To be a guardian with us and here are some of our guardians. Look for the yellow tags. Hunt at swift and fearsome example whether g. I made some that have messages that kids would understand better. And this is one of them. How brave the ladybug must be each drop of rain has big as she. Easter short the whole idea is to keep. Some brilliant idea in 10 words or less. And then the message for the grown-ups. Gardening is a way of showing. That you believe in tomorrow. It is the beauty that thrills me with wonder every time i go out into a garden or see someone smiling and happy. It is also the stillness in this area and with myself and all of you that fills me with peace. Here's a quote for you. Gardening requires lots of water. Most of it in the form of perspiration like kathy coulter i would like to just name some of the names of those who have gone before us in maintaining the grounds planting the grounds shaping the berms selecting the plants indexing them which is been a huge. Undertaking a sixty-year-old. 60 years a labor of love and many of them have passed on now people like dora hunt. Ted hedges. Evelyn cassmeyer. Lynn moore and who is still with us. Gail jankowski of course and kathy coulter our current leaders roman gankin. Viola hildebrandt milt hildebrand and so many others who labored out there quietly. I haven't said your name i'm sorry you know who you are. Labor out there quietly because it feeds them. And it certainly feeds me. And when i run out of things to do in my home garden i come out here. When i first stepped into the pine grove and saw the labyrinth i thought what a magical place. And then i looked at the thick mats of pine needles on the shrubs and i thought why isn't anyone taking care of it. Perhaps there's some place on the ground that's tells your heart. To care for it. I'm gail jankowski and i'm the current grounds chair. Person and i just wanted to tell you that i went out and cut. Branches off of our trees today to display out here for you and that's where you're going to put your little. Same. Weather graham and joyce kilmer wrote a poem about a tree at trees and i have put my little you use spin on it. I think that i shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed against the earth sweet flowing breast. A tree that looks at sky to say. Our web of life will change each day. A tree that may in summer wear. A nest of robins in her hair. Upon whose bosom snow has lain. Who's in who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made with words by me. But rain sun and stardust make a tree. And remember to go out and spank a tree a green leafy when today. Taking these with them. And tying them all throughout davis if you do that right. Our address on the back so people will know hey i want to go to that church even though it was really intended for our grounds they had a great idea. These words were written by annie o'shaughnessy and their quoted in bill powers book new slow city. Solflare is what happens when someone shines their light. No matter what it is. In a song. A smile. A well-made soup. They send out a flare of light that inspires others to shine their own. When karen turbana lipids chalice i hope. But you now can remember those who have been a solar flare for you. And know that when you find your gift. And offer it to the world. You become that. Flame. This morning's opening words come from bills book. I told them and the previous service said it proved to bill that i read the whole book. From start to end. These little bits phrases and words from new slow city. What is slow living. Slow is not luddite. It means cultivating positive qualities being receptive intuitive patient reflective. And valuing quality over quantity. Instead of being. The fast qualities so, today being busy and controlling and patient. Adjectives. Agitated and. Acquisitive. Slow is about taking the necessary time to create a new economy centered on self-paced living. Looking not for the slow past but the slow future. Time rich not time for rich in time and relationships in creativity. How much is enough. Seductive schedules possessions powerful titles that define us. Or is it gleaning pairs. Harvesting onions from the sidewalk cracks. Picking dandelion greens. Pumpkins for the taking by the curve. Levying in what he calls the third-story meaning look up at the trees the animals in the branches the view of the sky. Cole farms planted on rooftops. Go feral. Do the unexpected. Against. Expectations of everyone. Pass on joy by 5 someone with great pleasure enjoy making eye-to-eye contact you don't know. And then see if it gets passed on. And if not. Or if it does. Try it again. And then try it again. Descend the morning opening words. Love. The quick profit the annual raise vacation with pay watch more of everything ready made. Be afraid. Know your neighbor and to die. And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery anymore. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer. When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to die for profits they will let you know. So friends everyday do something that won't computes. Love the lord. Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it. Denounced the government and embrace the flag. Hope is to live and that's free republic for which it stands. Give your approval to all you cannot understand. Praise ignorance. For what man has not encountered he has not destroyed. Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant. That you will not live to harvest. Say that the leaves are harvested when they've rotted into the molds. Call that profit. Prophecy such returns. Put your faith in the two inches of hummus that will build under the trees every thousand years. Listen to carrion put your ear close and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are yet to come. Expect the end of the world. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful. Do you have considered all the facts. So as long as women do not go cheap for power. And please women more than men. Ask yourself. Will this satisfy a woman satisfied to bear a child. Will this disturb the sleep. Have a woman near to giving birth. Go with your love. To the fields. Lie down in the shade. Rest your head in her lap. Swear allegiance to what is niacin your thoughts. As soon as the generals. And the politicos can predict. The motions of your mind. Lose its. Leave it as a sign. T'mark the falls trail. The way you didn't go. Be like the fox. Who makes more tracks than necessary. Some. In the wrong direction. Practice resurrection. Ask yourself. Will this satisfy a woman satisfy to bear a child. Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth. Go with your love to the fields. Lie down in the shade rest your heads. In her lap. Swear allegiance to what is nyhus your thoughts. As soon as the generals and the politicos can predict the motions of your mind lose it. Leave it as a sign. To mark the false trail. The way you didn't go. Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary. Some in the wrong direction. Practice. Resurrection. Good morning it's wonderful to be back in davis we live in an era today of complexity and bigness and we also live in a time of over-scheduled days and over programmed and cluttered lives a question for you maybe a show of hands how many people in this last week felt at some point either too busy stressed or like they just had too much going on her too much clutter in their lives. The more beautiful world our hearts know is possible with you i was working abroad in some of the world's endangered places like liberia in west africa sierra leone also in south america and amazon sometimes crazy hours you know 24/7 24 hours a week 7 months a year. Off the grid in north carolina from texas city recently honey my closet is 12 by 12 in these dimensions but in harvesting for water from the roof from having her permaculture gardens around this little house from letting the candles every night and reading by candlelight and writing letters by hands and her waking up in the morning with the sunlight and just hearing birds about the hum of the refrigerator and so on. I was about to head back to new york city what you were i was living after 10 years abroad when i got one of these handwritten letters from doctor jackie van. It said i'm going to be traveling for a season on a greyhound. Division people out west and go to some protests would you like to live in my 12 by 12 house first season by yourself and what you think i said yes absolutely. In the middle of the empire right there. Radical simplicity and i would wake up in the morning i feel the same joy she was and i'll be working her gardens. And getting to know her neighbors which were from different socioeconomic groups and cultures part of the kind of eco-housing set up with each other to acres and they had 20 acres of wild space and it was a very beautiful situation for me and very life-changing however when i return to new york new york. And by the way you know gandhi said it's not just non-violence it's non-participation. Or nonconformist i miss another thing they were going to just step out of this a little bit of work and spend treadmill and i decided to try to work a two-day work week. Not only would we hide the gadgets for we can react you take the batteries out first hide them in a separate room and then be able to really enjoy just more time what david abram the last four calls the more than human matrix appreciating the third-story you know the tree landscaping the red-tailed hawk flying over washington square park appreciating the sign of a great baby grand piano and a window and of course each other and. What are the undiscovered through all these different slow city practices you might say. New york city the new slow trends slomiany slow food slow travel and it was coming together in what i call natural time is pre-industrial time. 99.9 per cent of revolution which came out of industrial model but according to intuition receptiveness. Bliss. All these things and you know i work with amazon used to. Kind of say we would never have meetings appendix bigler schedule everything to happen when it happens and i remember this recent interview with it the us person in canada who basically an activist with. The time it is a school resource know people live in this idea that time is a renewable resource goes and it comes back its cyclical time cycle with the sense of abundance of time you feel so much more. The internal balance and equilibrium in yourself. And that's how the change begins to take place. Are just come naturally with flow for sample healthcare for all leave having more paid leave maternity leave maternity leave i agree with naomi klein the climate activist was calling for a 3-day work week and it's been by carlos slim the world's richest billionaire he says it should be a three-day week he realized. Down there that work. Helping to work with which is like life is about living well having enough and not living better and maximizing things like that so begin with you and with us here today. Someone asked you to do a little visualization for a second here if you could just close your eyes please and just sit comfortably take a deep breath. And maybe let's that beautiful song we were just hearing echo. Inside. On this gorgeous sunday with the lunar eclipse coming later on. Miss beautiful community that you're in. And then ennis face i'd like you to please. Think about a time when you felt really happy and content and joyful. What were you doing. Who are you with are you alone or with someone. Go to that place but besides the sounds smells. When you feel happy. Kissing you can start to open your eyes and. Come back to the sanctuary. And does anybody want to share what they were picturing in this moment going to share it with everyone. Okay what else in bed with your kids night lineup they're very simple activities. I'm off in time it involves very little distraction a lot of presents in the moments. Sometimes in nature. You know what your kids not going in bed and and hiking and so on i'm all of these things are. Part of really what we need more of it our lives. Slow and still and small and valuing that. True measuring you know gross national happiness or genuine progress indicator is instead of just economic fruit puts through creating tribes like this tribe here at the uu church in davis. And transition towns in other ways of joining together. Audio for realizing that you know. A lot of this larger change comes from. Knott's having a scary and having to deny ourselves. Like i have to eat my vegetables and i have to drive last about that it's about having more. Less is more. Some more what. More time snuggling with your kids in the bed. More time hiking. More. Family. Enjoy and pleasure more time working in the urban sanctuary here in your. On gardens. Yo this is the change that we need to see and. It really is the more beautiful worlds that are hard snow is possible. So thank you very much. I invite you to prayer and meditation to allow yourself to go into quiet silence and i am going to open up the space where you can just breathe think about what you have heard here today and how it applies to your life we've been asked to walk questioning through the world to bring the slow the deep whenever we can bill rhodes he closed his book saying our planet our happiness in our children's future depend upon equilibrium through cultivating the still small voice within. You're invited to find that sanctuary in this place right now to find that still voice within yourself. Each of us is part of an intricate web of relationships when one of us celebrate the joy of grisaia lost the web of life moves to a new shape we are apart of the turn of the earth the shift of the stars the pull of the sea and all change i'm in and blessed be. Hands around the room unitarian universalist quoting from today may you wander maybe find your way to see what was created by our children at the sukkah and take time to linger with them and ask questions or decided you'll be inspired here in the workshop.

uudavispodcast_org

2013-03-17_Worship_Life-Changing-Encounters_11_15_ED.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california website at w.w. do you david. org for further information. We come to this sanctuary to celebrate truly think about it the beauty of this earth. And what you're saying at this season. And to be in community to think about the voices that you just heard. This congregation comforts us. When we know law. It celebrates the very best dreams. That we have. Enter this place we bring our differences. I think either we offer fuller point of view. Than any one person ever could. The place of challenge and a place of compassion. And the holy is experienced here in many ways. It isn't given many names. A couple of all sexual orientations. And gender identities are celebrated here. And many of you. We're at the vigil. I know. We welcome all races and all classes and all physical abilities. And we have so much to learn from each other. Weather because of the touch of a friend the words. The music. Island. When you feel more alive here. Before we go any further in the service i want to recognize that we have adele not with us today. She's 18th biolage color. And i just know her as someone that i agreed warmly and hug at all clergy gathering and so it seemed a little odd to go back to a manuscript to introduce you but i don't want to miss anything. Nearly every year since 1990 for the francis bala scholars program has brought a unitarian transilvanian minister to study at starr king school for the ministry. Fowler scholars are committed to not only improving the lives of their fellow congregants in transylvania where unitarianism began over 400 years ago but also to sharing with a north american unitarian universalist. The bread and the death of their passion and their caring for their homeland. And for our common faith tradition so it is a relationship that goes two ways. Adele finished her theological studies in 2005 and served for two years as an assistant minister and teacher of religious education she is now the minister of a very small village of 130 people 98% of those people are unitarian they want you to imagine what it would be like in your community wherever you are from dixon or woodland or davis or west sac. She also works with unitarian children in their camps and programs and english classes and this is a quote from a website adele says i am particularly interested in the organizational life and dynamics of unitarian universalist congregation community-building conflict resolution and care. In the state's i'm looking for ways and methods to revive congregational life outside the church building and beyond sunday services and she has been here in davis. Saturday afternoon she has been wined and dined and toured and that will continue through much of the afternoon so. I am so pleased that you get to hear her. And that you get to experience her ministry. I may be the only person in this room who was actually christened as a unitarian. Probably the only place in the united states. The last time i took a congregational poland beliefs and when. Paganism atheism agnosticism another. Only 5% what you can't really send from here that's a little sliver. Consider themselves supernatural theists. And the survey did not even did not subdivide further into how many identify themselves as christians. I think about it since strictly to find unitarian believes in one god. There's no way you can consider crimes today at a unitarian universalist. Boston massacre history a couple of months ago. Where is the transylvania been in hungary and now in romania. Attract. True birthplace of unitarianism 1568. I know honey and a half after the catholic church declared the traditional trinitarian basis of christianity and heresy and any other belief. That time in the darkest middle ages freedom of thought flourished under the reign of king john. S man. Particular region of hungry known as transylvania free to explore his or her concept of christian doctrine. Given free reign of thought and speech is court religious advisor. Frank david or francis david david. Catholicism calvinist question the trinity. Since the scripture made no mention of the holy ghost. Derive the term unitarian or belief in a single god when he has stated his disbelief in the virgin birth of jesus. Under construction could not have been a literal. Son of god but was eligible. Heretical teachings. I prevail that transylvania which establishments perhaps 400 unitarian congregation. Died within about 10 years of that proclamation. And subsequently francis david was in prison for the rest of his life. Even though they were 400 shepherd unitarian churches in transylvania that time. Eventually 300 years later his teachings became the basis for unitarianism in the 19th century britain and its former colony in america. Has practice of freedom of thought subsequently evolved into the multiple beliefs present in the unitarian. Universalism today. Famous historical concept text that i welcome the reverend adele nage. Transylvania the truth of unitarianism. Or freedom of religion was first established a broad scale and its practice today. Usually the life journey portion of our service happens if a 9:15 9:30 service because we really want to have you experienced as much as possible of our relationship with the congregation in our congregations in transylvania we've brought a life journey to this service to and picks wayne who has been one of the people is really brought. Transylvania to us and our congregation to transylvania to our partnership church is going to be sharing with you this morning peg. Well good morning. Yesterday. We asked her daughter heather has grew up in this church what has made her watch go to transylvania. It was exciting to know about our roots as unitarian. Experience such a different really exotic place like transylvania. Enter experience the origins of our faith. We heard a lot about transylvania from our then entry minister david t's who is very active and then your partner church council. Heather asked your dad walt to go with her out of union pilgrimage in 2000's or family ties with transylvania begin. That first summer they participated and a worldwide uu millennium celebration in transylvania. David was really enthusiastic about our church partnering with dora. Even our names sounded similar. Sheridan young minister named with a larger unitarian congregation down the road and yana's falls on. Over the years. Santa and his wife belinda have become dear friends. Chuchu somers eye sting davis while they were running around in transylvania and crafts sales of items donated or purchased for our partners. Soon we had raised from this church over $3,000. Finish the mortgage of the gods prayer house which is no faxing home in need of extensive repairs. Much of doris at that time was in bad shape having yet to recover from a post world war 2 evacuation and repopulation by people from all over the region followed of course by years of difficulty under communism. Finally in 2000 we all took a multi-generational uu family trip including walls parents. Experience these places. And people together was profoundly moving. We visited the site of the image of torta the sixteenth-century unitarian act of religious tolerance which still rings true today. We drank in the beauty of the countryside as well as innumerable small glasses of fiery pollenca offered whenever you arrived at home. We stayed in the parsonage, and spend time and donuts learning of their dreams and hardships. Bringing with us a phenomenal gift from the quilters in re kids of our church. An exquisite two-sided piecework hang designed by dori datil. Negotiating partnerships with friendship face and goodwill can be difficult given the huge disparities between supply. 11 years ago and our us some farmers still work the land with horse klausing hand-sized while the energy information revolution was quietly on its way. I'm so bethel sanders signed the covenant officially becoming new partners that year. Now fast-forward five years to n2007 wall tonight from germany of course in a camper. Things have changed a lot in the village and in people's lives while they were still our partners and we were looking for ways to connect. The congregation was opened their doors to hungarian speaking roma children and ethnic relations revolution something to be very proud of. We've been very fortunate to have the shingles visit davis to get to know their family and now to plan a church trip this summer to return to our partner congregation indoor us. This is the way to grow our faith and yes celebrate our routes. Thank you. What a wonderful music we are awake good morning everyone. What a wonderful sunday morning. And i'm so grateful to be here today with you. Sacred space. To sing and pray together. To learn and share. I am greeting you with the well-known pennsylvanian unitarian of meeting. Easton. God bless you. God bless you. Bass already mentioned. Academic year i have been appointed by the ministerial fellowship committee and transylvania to receive the fittings offenses bosch scholarship. Starting school for the ministry in brooklyn. I am honored. Two-stepping princess balayage. The first scholars from steps. And also in the footsteps of 17 other colleagues. Who having studies are starting in berkeley. Today make a difference in the life and the progress. Of the transylvanian missouri church. The british movement was revived in the early 1990s by reverend who did gilead. And a partner church council. But the partnership between unitarians and transylvania. And unitarian universalists in the united states goes back. The times of earl morale builder. In the american unitarian association. Unfortunately by the second world war most of these official connections faded. Except. The two theological seminary. Start working in berkeley and midfield lombard in chicago. Both of them were providing. Scholarships for unitarian ministers in pennsylvania. I believe that. You use saw. And understood over the years. The importance of the scholarship program including your congregation. It is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us transylvanian ministers. For professional development. Ford mutual learning. And encounters that nathan our understanding of each other. Some people say life is a mere coincidence. Things happen accidentally there's no meaning and there's no purpose. I believe what is written in the book of ecclesiastes chapter 3. To everything there is a season. And it's time for every purpose under heaven. So i believe that this was men's to be our time together. The time of encounter the time of learning and sharing a time of having a deep impact. Are each. Water slide. I consider life a metaphorical pilgrimage. And i believe that we are all we are friends. We are all seekers of love. Self-compassion abstruse justice. And as we travel. We encounter each other. To enrich our lives. In-shape. Our inner selves. There are many encounters in one's life. There are encounters that we plan. There are encounters that are unexpected. There are encounters that we are longing for and we are looking forward. Amber alert there are ones that have set us. And stern our stomachs. Encounters in our lives.. Happen only once. And there are some that are recurrent. And there are some encounters that we don't remember the aim or purpose or the content of it. But there are some that leave their marks on us and we carry these marks. For years and years maybe for a lifetime. And yes i believe that there are encounters that. Change our lives. Pennsylvania. The sunday sermon is based on reading from the bible. Always. Each sermon. Every sunday. I know it is different here. But i believe every story or every moment of lies has a message. I also think that some parts of the bible are not relevant today. Good thing there are some wonderful stories in the good old work. That we can draw a lesson from. So the story today is from the gospel of john. Complicated one. Chapter 4. So jesus left judah. And he wins back once more together leaves. Now he had to go through some mario. So he came to a town in some maria costa car near the plot of ground jacob had given to his son joseph. Jacob's well. In jesus tired as he was from the journey set down by the well. The samaritan woman came to draw water. And jesus said to her. Will you give me a drink. Disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The samaritan woman said to him. You are a jew. And i am a samaritan woman how can you ask me for a drink. For jews do not associate with samaritans. Serve the woman said. I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain. But you jews claim that the place where we must worship is in jerusalem. Jesus supply. God is spirit. And his worshipers must worship in spirit. So this great man. The master. Is his disciples and followers often called jesus. Is on his way to galilee leave. And on this journey he encounters the samaritan woman. It's jacob's well. The location is not an ordinary one i believe. Because the well. And b water are the symbol of life. As well as the symbol. Of our spiritual values. And encountered is also not an ordinary one. First of all because jesus was a known person. She was a rabbi. And the person he needs it the well is fayetteville feeble woman. So in this context. The conversation between the two of them. He's not very likely to happen. 50 ft thick deep into the relationship of jews and samaritans. We will see that. There was such a deep hatred. There was an ongoing and everlasting conflicts between these two groups of people. It dated back to the times of when the juice were taken to babylon. Did you ring to your exile the religious beliefs of the samaritans were influenced by pagan elements. The samaritans built a temple in the mounds of gary's name to worship god and to emphasize. The differences between themselves and the jewish people. Religiously. They considered. Each other. Foreigners. So now you can see. Why they would have had all the reason in the world. To avoid needing each other. But despite all that hatred. Despite all those bad feelings toward each other. Cheese's advances the woman. He breaks down the barriers. P-38 sound boundaries the limits and the narrow-mindedness. That age. And that particular situation. Conversation is started between the two of them. And as we find out from the story. This encounter is life-changing for the women. She leaves for water pond. The symbol of real-life and goes all the way to the town to spread the good news. Did jesus the rabbi was there. What is my point with this. Old. Complicated multi-layer story. You must be asking yourself. Hippie emphasized three aspects of the story that i consider to be important and useful. In our friendship. In our partnership. Unitarians and ontarian universalist. First of all jesus in the story. Is able to go far beyond the prejudices. He prayed sound limitation of his society in accepting the samaritan woman in her own reality. He's able to go beyond the differences. Eroding the walls between them and see what is coming. In all of them jews or samaritans. The desire for a decent life. For love. And acceptance. Into your dialog. Which is the longest dialogue in the new testament. Is based on mutual respect. Based on understanding of trust. And acceptance. Other. Secondly. She shaves her vision about the divine. Received her vision about faith and worship. He tells her that it's not the location. The way we worship. The way we live our lives. That is important. Desert aspen kostoryz the place. The whale where they need. In the encounter hoops to be life-changing for both of them. Dear brothers and sisters in faith. On this journey called life. We are pilgrims. We are travelers. We need each other in these encounters have a deep impact. They can change our lives with i believe. The encounter between unitarians and unitarian universalist. Change. I daresay the course of church history. Had a great impact on the development of the transylvanian unitarian theological beliefs in the 19th century. Vandalia mallory jennings works. Who first translated to hungarian. And now ultimately change the lives of those. Who have been passionately in holes. In the partner church movement. Over the fast. Two decades. Of you may already know the transylvanian unitarian church was born as a result of their medical reformation in the 16th century. 1568. And is it addictive torda. Far is great importance in our church history. Princess david and prince john stitches tunes. Proclaimed religious freedom and tolerance. For the first time not only in transylvania. But in europe. In the early years. The unitarian church had great successes. Nearly 70% of the population of transylvania was unitarian in the 16th century. We had over 400 congregation. We have around 130 today. Unfortunately prince sigismund. The passion of unitarianism died very early. And some privileges. Seized. Princess david was in prison for his beliefs. Sullivan king is dead in 1579 tutored entered a period of decline and could hardly resist the counter-reformation fresher. In the 18th century. When the seeds of unitarianism birth cleanses. In the united states. The church in pennsylvania was still struggling. With the aftermath of dogmatism. Imposed on us. By the catholic. And covenants churches. Now you can imagine. How life-changing it was in the life of our ancestors and forefathers. When in the 19th century. Chandler bologna forecast. Traveler. Underwriter. Travel from pennsylvania to pennsylvania. And found people sharing the same beliefs. He had. This was a long long time ago. And many many maybe thousands of encounters have happened. Since 1831. Many many lives were connected. In the tape estrella friendship and partnership. And it is good to know. It is good to feel. That we are not alone. Let me quote a member of my partner congregation which is bremerton washington. Meeting the people in transylvania. Making friends dare. Has been a life-changing experience for me. The theorist. Still a question. How will these connections this partnerships friendships. Be life-changing today. And in two days to come and let me go back for a second to the story of jesus and the woman and say that. No we are not enemies there's no hatred there's no conflict between us. But there are differences. Way too many. That can separate us. And let me tell you if she was stereotypes. Such as. Wealthy americans versus for hungarians. Educated people vs simple farming people. Spiritual freedom vs. traditional christian faith. Prosperity and growth. Versus. Demographic obituaries. And survival. I was a child when the first visitors. A ride from the united states to transylvania this was early 1990s. I remember. That they thought. That we didn't have soap and toilet paper in pennsylvania. And i just found out in october from a member of the kits at fellowship in bremerton. How does a pointed jolt one of our used wallace when he found out. That karen row a honda and not a rolls-royce. So when i talk about this differences. I am also urging ourselves to go beyond these differences. To go beyond the barriers that. Sometimes can be obstacles and having a to md. Friendship. Can we do this. Can we break the wall. I believe we can. But there's something we have to do. We have to come together. Sit down at the well. Of our common heritage and faith. Because the well is the symbol. Sahara sheriff. We have to come together and approach each other. A mutual understanding. In friendship. Entrata. And openings. And search for what is coming. Search for what binds and weaves us together. We are old. Children of god. Children of the universe. And the common values we share our routes. Our unitarian history. Our desire and passion for love justice equality our commitment to the world. And a deep sense of responsibility. Stick together. By the life-giving and life-changing springs. And be open to accept each other. Should be open to enrich. Eastsiders division about the divine. About faith. About the room. As religious or spiritual communities. In this world. An older good we can do together. To make a difference. Jamaica change in this world. London. Journey or pilgrimage cold life. Let us embark together. See the deaths of our friendship. Hold each others hands in grace and love each other despite the thousands of miles. In the many many differences that. Sometimes seem to separate us. Robert louis stevenson said. We are travelers in the wildness of this world. And the best we can find in our travels. Is an honest. Friend. So let it be i mean. Let us pray together. Spirit of life. We gather in prayer in this moment. With a babe. Deep sense of gratitude. There's something we celebrate today. Celebrate friendships. We celebrate partnerships that. charlie lives. And fulfill our lives. Be celebrate friendships that laugh and cry together. In good and bad times. Friendships that walk on the same paths. Friendships that not only come by but they remain. We celebrate friendships that are extended family. You have created us to live in community. Enjoy the wonders of creation. And share this joy with others. We are grateful today. For the gift of friendship. Put a bonding of people in the circle of love and circle of fate. Presto's. Who love us. And whom we love. Bratz dolls. Who hold us and whom we hold when words fail. Weeb as we weep. And laugh. As we laugh. Are friendships always produced the fruit of the spirit. Mera friendships that we nurture. Nourish our hearts. Men. May our days be filled with blessing. Play the sun that lies to sky. We we always have the cartridge. To spread our wings and fly.

uudavispodcast_org

2014-05-04_Bread-and-Roses_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. We have come here today from many different places we bring into the space heartbreak and triumph confusion and certainty frustration and hold whether you come here grieving or bursting with good news seeking quiet or community inspiration or insight or familiar ritual. May you find in this our something sacred and sustaining. Each of us brings a different understanding of the holy a different way of seeing are gorgeous and hurting world. Whatever your gender or ethnic background your sexual orientation or class your level of ability or your age we hope. But you feel welcome here. If you have something close to your heart today you are invited to light a chalice at the table and the back of the room and write down your milestone on a piece of paper provided please note. If you would like your concern or your joy to be placed in a pastoral prayer and if the matter is urgent please note that. And i will be in touch with you by the end of the day. Throughout today's service we will be digging into the concept of bread and roses which harkins from the women's and labor movements in the early 20th century movement this phrase has a broader definition. As humans we have material needs we must meet in order to live but we also need beauty in our lives to enrich us and to make us feel whole to live to truly be alive is about more than just what we need to get by. We crave a sense of wonder and we require a source of hope. So what are your roses. I'll share one of mine something that gave me hope looking at all the injustice in the world that stems from ignorance and intolerance. I need rosa's last october my little sister kyra became a rose for me and my mom went to see a film called girl rising which i'm sure many of you have heard of. The film profiles nine girls in nine different countries where education especially for girls is not a given. The movie is about these girls and those who love them. Fighting for their right to education it is ultimately a story about the power of educated confident young girls to change the world. The first time curacao this film she told my mom more people in our community need to see this more kids need to see this and with my mom's help she embarked on a mission to bring this film to our community. What are you you friends jamie lynn grace sarah assistance of their mom and other people in just six weeks these girls planned a film screening here at uucd. And more than 200 people attended they became educated about the plight of girls seeking education worldwide and help to educate others in the process. Empowered by their ability to make a difference they were able to prevent a check for $1,000 to the locally-based myanmar children's foundation which build schools and makes education accessible to girls in that tiny country of southeast asia. Thinking about my sister during that. i could see the power rising in her. I can see a spark of hope being ignited. The same way the flame in our chalice parks that feeling in a belonging. I think it was a big shift to go from being 13 and living in a relatively affluent community and perhaps taking our education for granted. To thinking about girls all over the world to have to fight fiercely for that shame right. Her sense of wonder and hope was contagious and i was proud of her. Bread & roses. Substance and quality of life. Hope. Searching for definitions of that word i came across an anonymous poem online and i would like to open up the service today with some of these words. It's pushing past impossible. It's pounding on the door it's questioning the answers and it's always seeking more. Do you know what hope is. It's candy for the soul. It's perfume for the spirit and to share it makes you whole. Adrian is coming forward to give us the words to inspire offering. My name is idina this year we are collecting sounds for trotter physical disabilities generosity. I just i'm throwing and i are going to tell you a story and we're going to need your help there's going to be a moment in the service one we're going to ask some of you to stand up. At a moment when we're going to ask some of you to come forward are you guys up for this are you ready for this all right what are we going to do ask martin luther king jr who will demonstrate with me tomorrow in a brave attempt to end segregation who will risk going to jail for the cause. In king's day segregation meant the black people we're not allowed to do the same things or go to the same places as white people black people couldn't go to most amusement parks swimming pools parks hotels or restaurants they had to go to different schools that weren't as nice as the schools for white kids they had to separate drinking fountains and they could and did get in trouble for breaking this rule people. But in many places especially in the south the segregation continued it was the law and it's black people tried to go somewhere they weren't supposed to go they could and did get arrested beaten even killed. In the spring of 1963 martin luther king jr went to birmingham alabama one of the largest and most heavily segregated cities in america to bring people together to change the law you see the people were very scared the sheriff and birmingham was named bull connor and black people didn't know what bull connor might do to them if he caught them protesting martin luther king had already been in jail once and the others were afraid to follow him. Besides they weren't sheriff protesting would do any good dr. king sing that no one answered his call again try to inspire the group the struggle will be long he said but we must stand up for our rights as human beings who will demonstrate with me and if necessary be ready to go to jail for it there was a pause. I'm in a whole group of people stood up someone gassed. All of the people who had stood up which children. So anyone who considers himself a child or use wii u stand-up anyone is a child or use the needles told him to sit down but they did not that's right don't sit down martin luther king's children and told them he appreciated the offer they wanted to help that night dr. king with a close group of friends about the events of the day. What are we going to do the only volunteers we got for children we can't protest with children everyone nodded except for jim bevel wait a minute said jim if they want to do it i say bring on the children but they are too young the other set are they too young to be going to segregated schools. Are they too young to be kept out of amusement parks what do you think. Are they too young to be refused a hamburger at a restaurant then they are not too young to want their freedom. That night they decided any child old enough to join the church was old enough to march the children heard about the decision and told their friends when the time came for the march 1,000 children teenagers and college students gather gather with me here. Forward some gather commercial on down the sheriff arrested them and put them in jail jail and there was no more room for anyone else sheriff connor terrible things to try and get protesters to turn back. Invade we're curious. Now the white people in birmingham began to worry all over the world people were saying bad things about their city even worse everyone was afraid to go downtown to shop because of the dogs and because of the hoses so they decided that they had to change things. A short time later the black people and the white people of birmingham made a pact to desegregate the city and let everyone go to the same places. Today when people tell the story many talk about martin luther king jr.. We should also remember the thousands of brave children and teenagers who courage help to defeat bull connor and end segregation in birmingham and the rest of the united states. As the children had for their classes today let us remember that in our story of social justice and world-changing the children and youth are always at the center let us bring them to their classes now with the protest song we shall overcome. So today at bryn mawr college my alma mater they are celebrating made a most of this day is a whole lot of frivolous festivities there's going to be lots of ridiculously unhealthy food on the grass there will be random english beltane ritual celebrated in strange fashion many things will happen. For dignity. For the worth of every person to be recognized. Every woman rose schneiderman insisted has the right to son and music and art. This means not just access to museums or parks or concert halls it means a living wage. And reasonable working hours it means having the right to a day off. To a weekend. Some amount of leisure. 4. As we go marching marching we battle 24 men for they are women's children and we mother them again. Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes. Hearts starve as well as bodies give us bread but give us roses. On january 11th 1912 a strike began in lawrence massachusetts when a group of female polish immigrants walked out of the mill where they worked after learning that their pay had just been cut. Living conditions and the town where abysmal working conditions were hazardous at best and the most people worked as many hours as they were legally allowed to work. Each week the average worker did not bring home enough money for their families to survive. They were overcrowded overworked and under fed. And these were not just adult men. These were not the minor men who labored in the middle of these were mothers and youth as well in fact a majority of the people who worked at these sorts of mills we're young women between the ages of 14 and 20. At least women who said they were at least 14 to 20 and since nearly all of them were immigrants from a wide array of ethnic background impossible to organize. Get organized they did. Across the language barriers and cultural divides in the harsh cold of a new england winter in the face of violent opposition from the mill owners. They came together and they stood up for their rights. Imagine. These teenage women these immigrants having the holy audacity. Stand up for their rights. As women. As young people hennas newcomers to this country they should have been among the least powerful people in the nation. And yet. And yet will they had to translate the minutes for their meetings and 225 different languages can you imagine over 25 different languages still that this was about far more. Then a demand for higher wages. It was about their worth and dignity as human beings. As we go marching marching unnumbered women dead go crying through are singing their ancient call for bread. Small art and love and beauty they're judging spirits new yes it is bread we fight for but we fight for roses too. The police response to the strikers was so horribly violent that the president of the united states called for an investigation. The young teenage strikers were called to capitol hill to tell their stories of working in the mail. They told congress. About how dangerous it was and how exhausting. And how bad for their health their life expectancy at the time was 40 years. 40 years with the expectation for someone to survive in these conditions and many of these young folk. These girls as young as 14 had to tell about the injuries they've gotten on the job. The stories about how badly they were treated moved the nation. Public opinion turned in tirelessly against the mill owners. And in the end. The strikers got everything they had asked for. A 15% wage increase better overtime pay. And surprisingly a promise of no retaliation against the strikers. By the end of that month nearly 300,000 mill workers all across new england were given similar raises. And the changes that those young mill workers brought about have reverberated. Throughout the 20th century. As we go marching marching we bring the greater days the rising of the women means the rising of the race. No more the drudge and idler pen that oil will one reposes but the sharing of life's glories bread & roses bread and roses. According to one of the recorded accounts of the bread and roses strike as it came to be called the thing that made it so unique with how much singing. There was the striking workers saying at their social gatherings and at the rally as they linked arms just around the mills. They saying songs i like the one that raised sang during the offering in fact they sang that song. They didn't just adam and dignity and respect and beauty for their lives they created those things. They embodied. Those things. We are so used to music as a part of protest it is startling to think how revolutionary. It might once have been. These strikers sang together to keep their spirits up. To inspire each other. To remind themselves of their shared humanity. We need. As human beings we need art and music and dancing. We need these things especially. When we are working for causes like immigrant-rights. And marriage equality. An economic justice. We need to remember that we are more than our facebook profiles and twitter accounts more than our pay stubs and the bread we break and the bread we buy. We are human beings who need to care for each other to stand up for each other to sing. Together. We need to declare to each other as we go marching marching. Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes. Hearts starve as well as bodies bread & roses bread and roses. The work from the 1912 strikers in lawrence massachusetts. Is far from over. There are still victories to be won and the ongoing struggle for everyone's worth and dignity to be recognized and honored and respected. Immigrant teenagers like those at the heart of the bread and roses strike are standing up today for their right to education. To a path to citizenship. Their courage is incredible and the obstacles they faced our enormous. And people of privilege and conscience have stood up with them. In fact people a privilege and conscious and opportunity have been standing up against against inequality a lot lately just as a privilege suffragettes stood with working women to men the right to vote 100 years ago. Straight allies has stood with queer couples seeking the right to marry. Religious folk like our unitarian universalist association president. Peter morales former intern of this congregation have stood up for undocumented workers and been arrested again and again. And the occupy movement. In particular. Has been all about awareness of inequality. About the need to see everyone's worth and dignity. About using song and art and dance and social media and everything we can get our hands on to make us think. About what is happening to the least powerful among us. About what is happening to all. Of us. And the response of police has been horrifying just as it was then. I hope that you have not forgotten the image of that cop spraying pepper spray the most intense pepper spray you can spray right into the faces of those college students sitting with their arms linked only a few miles away from here. And. And there are concrete changes making some things better. On may 1st of this year. On international workers day. Seattle washington raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour. With automatic yearly increases. To ensure a living wage for everyone in that town san jose california has raised their minimum wage recently as well. Azhar san francisco and berkeley had promised to do the same thing later this month. Raising the living wage is one of the simplest ways we can make things better in our community. One-in-four californians lives in poverty and the legislation that will slightly increase the minimum wage here won't take effect for another 2 years. In the meantime. There are two million people more than two million people in this state who cannot make ends meet. In yolo county. Our minimum wage is $8 while the estimated living wage for a single person a single person with no children is 10:20. It is estimated to someone with a kid. Would need twice that to survive here would need to be earning more than $20 an hour if they were working anyting. Resembling a reasonable working week. I cannot imagine what it is like for our working poor to try and raise their families here. To try and raise a family on minimum wage earnings even working for bread. But alone roses. And study. After study has shown that what destroys people who live in poverty what kills them before their time beyond poor nutrition for access to health care and education what is worse for them is poverty itself. The unrelenting grinding humanizing stressed of poverty. If we believe. Every person has a right to live. Really live not just exist. Then one small thing that we can do. It's the support the struggle for a living wage. There is legislation pending right now to raise the minimum wage statewide and continue raising it on a more reasonable schedule a bill in the legislature called sb 935. I urge you to keep your eyes and your ears open for ways you can support this and similar legislation. I urge you. To think about how you can be a part of continuing the legacy of the bread and roses strike. What promises can you make in your hearts. Today. About the world beyond those walls about the people in our community. Ask you to join me now. In the spirit of prayer. For all of it sustains us in our lives. We give thanks. We offer gratitude for the music that stirs us. The arts and theater and film that inspire and awaken us the roses that bloom in the gardens around us and all of those who bring these things into being open. I'm in a shay. And blessed be. And at this garden of roses please take hands around the room as you go out and do your day take with you the certainty you are so very worthy worthy of love worthy of respect for the of this passion passed down from us from those who came before they we go forth seeking bread and speaking roses and certain in our hearts that we are not alone and the people say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2015-10-25-Reverence_The-Third-Plate_09_30.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california website at w.w. org for further information. I'm jacob sax in this congregation. You are welcome here if this is your first time through our doors. And we invite you to visit our welcome table in the social hall. I'm stacy ferrex the worship associate today. No matter what path has brought you through these doors welcome. We gather is people from woodland winters davis. Dixon west sacramento in elk grove for trying to be. Together we will celebrate the abundance that surrounds us question the mysteries of life you're in for what could be and come to know the power we have to make our ideals real as one of her him says we touch the earth and reach for the sky. We like the chalice for the web of life which sustains us in reverence for those who helped provide food for our tables for the sacred circle of life in which we exist. Community supported agriculture newsletter from nevermore farm. In the box this week maybe tetanus jujubes tomatoes either be steak small sauce or cherry cucumbers assorted pomegranates chocolate persimmons eggplant eggs and a few boxes have anaheim or thai peppers. Announcements. Is it too hot recipes bok choy. These were pulled because thanks to the ridiculous late-season he'd they are trying to go to seed they are still usable once this happens if they are removed somewhat quickly there is a lot that can be done with choy but given the smaller quantity i always think of soup or stir-fry where they can add nutrition and a little volume on the farm. Since we took a mini-vacation we didn't do much here but i did have fun in oregon making a really huge pot of tomato soup out of damage plum and heirloom tomatoes and the first time i felt it was really successful i've decided it's all about the carrot i never knew about the carrot balancing out the acidity of the tomatoes phenomenal but back to the farm everything is really icky here if you from the dust the mess left behind by mites on leaves and other messes i'm probably not even thinking of. It rained a bit here enough to rinse a little of the dust off the leaves but not nearly enough to shift the entire mess i can't wait for one good downpour the kind of really cleans everything off it will be awhile but we'll take it have a great weekend. Soylent introduced jacob just a little bit more to you you've heard a little bit about him. But i'm he's actually working with our unique group now and is the re-used director and so that's fabulous he's working it is a part of our class that you history class to learn more about the history of our denomination and he was a part of our campus group years ago not so many years ago and i really is back here he had he had such a wonderful experience with that so this is our campus ministry. This summer i was fortunate enough to participate in a young adult social justice program put on by the uu justice ministry of california. The program was called spiritual activist leadership training ourselves. Each participant was asked to do a project in their community i knew i wanted my project to involve food because i love food i love to cook and i love to eat a few things. My wife and i. Have recently started getting a csa box. Stacy will be talking more about csas and her affection but i can say it revolutionized our eating and made us feel better. Having what a difference ready access to fresh produce made in my life food deserts. And how not everyone has such access. Also have food deserts disproportionately impacts the poor. With this on my mind i decided i wanted to create a community garden. Where the food grand was given to people who could really benefit from it. I was invited to talk to the green sanctuary committee of this church to see if they would be interested in partnering in my project fortunately for me they were in search of a project that would help and. Upon asking if they partner with me i was met with much support for which i'm very grateful. With their help we met with yolo county housing income housing community and winters. There had previously been a vegetable garden which has fallen into disuse. They believe there's interesting again having a garden and are willing to support my efforts. My next step is to meet with the residents of el rio vs to confirm their interest. And asked what they would like from us so that we can create a garden together. I learned about the common impulse of you used to want to come in and lead where helped and by night's kind of here to save the day. Our lives can be counterproductive and in creating a beloved community we must first listen to the impacted population populations and realize they are the experts. And leaders and ask them how we can help. With this in mind it is important to me. That my project is a partnership between us and the residents of el rio vs. With the residents and us offering help in whatever way they see fit. I'm here to find out where we can offer. Something that is greatly with me throughout this project. Is that whenever i've asked anyone in the church for help has been overwhelmingly but generosity so what can we have the church after i believe everyone has the ability to offer something. If we had to work day in the garden would you be willing to help. Could you donate money and said he'll purchase something you did. Could you donate seeds. Home tools compost. Could you give excellent advice for planting. What are you going to offer. After the service i will have a table in the social hall. Well collect names contact information and description of where you would be willing to offer. I'm extremely grateful for anything. I look forward to working with you and the obvious. My earliest memory of subscribing to a csa. Community supported agriculture is around 1999. I subscribe to good hummus farm csa. On tuesdays i would dutifully ride my bike to the waldorf school. There i would find a box of fresh produce fruit and sometimes flowers waiting for me. I don't even remember how i found out about the csa good hummus or the waldorf school. I didn't think of it as environmentally friendly or gourmet. I had just returned from living in england for a year. I was confused be back in davis and many of my friends were not here. I was changed by the profound experiences i had will traveling and learning to live in another country. When living in england food was a connection to home and then when i return to davis food was a connection to england. Living in another country help me understand what i did not know about my culture. I realize i was food ignorant. Remember 1999 within 50 of the internet you couldn't just google something it hadn't been invented yet. When i returned from england i yearn for a deep connection with davis. I felt it in the cool crisp are the stories in the weekly csa newsletter and the struggle of trying to use all the vegetables in the csa box. I was vegetarian then primarily because mad cow disease had decimated the english meat industry and food safety was in the news and people were dying of a mysterious disease contracted by eating beef. The csa gave me a connection to a farmer and gave me confidence in the health of my food. That was probably the first year i visited good hummus in the capay valley and i learned much about vegetables. What is a parsnip. Similar to a carrot sunchoke a root of a type of sunflower. And a few persimmons have a sweet but crisp flesh that can be eaten like an apple. The good hummus csa is seasonal philosophical includes many typical vegetables. Enough of the everyday foods to be able to figure out a recipe to use all of them. This is a good thing when you have a csa. In 2010 we re began surviving to nevermore farm in arbuckle. Please drive to grow fruit and veggie fries that are disappearing from stores because of the demands of shipping and storage. I truly love the csa but i realize it's not for everyone because of the delicate nature and rarity of some of the varieties we receive. For example plums so ripe that they are like mini water balloons berries shriveled but with an intense flavor or marks left on citrus did you note the variety of lemon lime or orange and a key in the newsletter to describe how to use each of them. Nevermore farm in the farmers trade regularly with the rama's farm pacific star gardens and we enjoy the added diversity of these trades and knowing the people who work. Hard to bring us our food also have a community of support. Through the weekly newsletters and produce. It's hot. Add carrots to the tomato soup. Stir fry bok choy. We are looking forward to a dust washing rain. I learned more about the seasons our agricultural system. Life on the farm and what it took to bring that box to me. This connection is what i will reflect on during my meatless mondays. Oh yeah good whenever we have guests here they always say this congregation really knows how to sing and you do you really good deep into the entree part moving into the specialty of the house. Well just tried telling people what they ought to eat and say it was certainty. And the sentiment has always been true. A bit of unitarian history. Had a meeting in 1839 of the massachusetts anti-slavery society unitarian bronson alcott. Father of louisa may alcott proclaimed. And you'll see he's a person of very strong opinion. You are all wrong blime and carnal. I am is pure and as wise as was jesus christ the reason is i eat nothing but pure vegetable. The rest of the world eats animal flesh which is just what you are. Cattle. Sheep. Follow. And swine. A wesleyan minister from western new york. That was the far west. Broke of the stunned silence. The speaker told us we are just what we eat. He also told that he eats nothing but vegetables does it not follow by parity of reason that he is a potato a turnip a pumpkin or a squash. He was recorded that the house erupted in cheers. Telling someone what to eat. Is almost certainly going to get their goat i promise i don't continue like this forever the issues about ethical eating has been around for a very very long time. West jackson whose work is showcase in den barbers book the third plate. Is a contemporary grain farmer. Casey is his work of searching for sustainable weed crop is grappling with the big questions he said if you're working on a problem that can be solved in your lifetime you're not thinking big enough. You're not thinking big enough. The us dietary guidelines advisory committee meets every five years and releases recommendations for healthy food consumption. Their guidance has ride fully been scrutinized for biased because their conclusions about a healthy diet relied on scientists funded by the american meat institute and the sugar association in recent years has on issues. Of high consumption of meat and sugar. We're disposed by authors and and filmmakers. Earlier this year they released recommendations. Conclusion may from new scientific research these recommendations once again will serve as a guide for america's eating and their conclusions are simple. Eat a mostly plant-based diet. Drink water when you're thirsty. Avoid processed sugars and beverages. And for the first time the committee linked eating a sustainable diet. To the environment. An increasingly diverse circle of people is demanding food with integrity the new language food with integrity and these include those who are concerned about animal rights. And the quality of life for humans those who are aware of the illnesses caused by poor nutrition. And the people who are concerned about the rising cost of healthcare bless you. Three-quarters of the money for governmental healthcare costs which would be 2.8 trillion goes for the treatment of chronic diseases many of which are preventable and are linked to the food that we eat. 2.8 trillion dollars. But there's hope. There are new fresh food farmers market sprouting up across the united states and within the last 8 years there are 8268 new farmers markets that have opened and there's more good news. According to the usda farm-to-school programs that sell fresh food to schools jumped and amazing 430 percent. Since 2007. It would seem that we are returning to the diverse ways for farmers to sell their food to the american public something that has waned since the 1920s. And although it may seem painfully slow we the american people. Are becoming aware and wiser about a relationship to food and it is all about relationship. Pull the knife like this the chef says and i plant the tip of the knife on the cutting board and lower the blade on red and yellow peppers. Again and again using such a sharp knife will it thrills me to see the red slices fall away under the cutting board like magic. Smash the head of the garlic and then the knife against slicing. The sharp and earthy smell of sizzling garlic rising from the pan. I am at a cooking school in italy 5 hours of my time out of three weeks. Of my sabbatical time a gift to myself. Five other wide-eyed americans join me in following his every instruction need the dough for freshly made pasta not too much until it feels he says like this. Smooth to touch. He turns our attention to prepping another for his lamb and beef are roll together and. Nested on a pan of fresh rosemary and olive oil were getting close to lunch and i hope you're listening carefully the dessert cream custard chills in the refrigerator waiting to be dressed with strawberries beaten into the sauce. When we're finished with the knives in the pans in the pasta machine we walk down the steep stone stairs to the cooled wine cellar and waiting on a long table as the food that we have cooked the bottles of wine. We eat slowly and carefully and i don't know when i've ever tasted food this delicious. And it's not fancy food. None of the ingredients are very expensive. And it was hard to grasp why this food tasted so different. The chef sees our eyes closed as we eat and notices how we are quiet at least for the first few bites. And without being accusatory really without being accusatory he says. Americans have ruined the food you eat. It's how you grow it. Plus you eat out of cans and boxes. It's the pacing of your life. And of course. He's right. Long before traveling to italy i discovered the work of social activist chef dan barber. According dan the workout the modern chef is not to receive awards for presentation of a beautiful plate of food. The work of the chef is to change the food consciousness of the american public. Dan studies flavor and nutrition. When he analyzes the detail of how a particularly delicious food is grown and he thinks he has identified the reason for that flavor. He said it never fails that he suddenly finds himself pulled in the opposite direction. For an answer. The solution is ultimately found and listen to this very unitarian universalist. Phrasing. The solution is found in the interactions and relationships among all the parts of the farm. And then. With more time of inspection to the interaction and relationships embedded in the culture and the history. Of that place. Delicious food comes from the whole connected agricultural system. He gives accolades to farmers to cultivate the land for a lifetime or even generations and we have those farmers here in this congregation. Those who learn to read the soil the signs of the healthiest condition. A food magazine a specific chef and dan was among them and editors and artists to imagine the future of food and cooking. They were asked to draw a plate of food representing what we'll be eating in the year 2030. Dan created a triptych three square panel the first panel had a plate with corn-fed steak. And a side of sweet baby carrots. Dinner for the middle class american in the past. The second plate. Was grass-fed beef. And heirloom local carrots. It's today's ideal dinner for many people. And the third plate. Was the dinner of the future. A carrot steak. Fill the plate. With only a sauce of braised beef. Ingredients for the same but the proportions were radically different. Dan barber is not a vegetarian he is an advocate for eating lower on the food chain. And that means filling our plates with fresh vegetables and fruit with far smaller portions of a man animal protein. A dan it matters how the animals were raised both out of compassion for the animal and the results of the flavor of the meat whenever he is a chef after all. Dan encourages us to cook more at home north americans interesting home cooking has been on a downward slide for decades. In 1996 the survey in the united states showed that more than half of all people said they had fewer cooking skills than their parents. And more than two-thirds of those between the ages of 18 and 24 that they could not prepare a meal. Cookbooks have changed their instructions because of this. From b2 eggs until lightly mixed to this. In a small bowl using a fork beat two eggs and soon the authors in one article joked that the cooking instructions will need to say using your dominant hand pick up the florida and beat two eggs in a small bowl is true they really are changing the instructions. And cookbooks for those of us who still use a cookbook instead of you know. Looking it up on google. Thinking back to the meeting in 1839 at the massachusetts anti-slavery society and unitarian bronson alcott with his few opinions if i am what i eat. This is what you would see standing before you and i'll let you your imagination create whatever you wish. You'd be face-to-face with a person of sweet carrots. Slightly bitter brussel sprouts. And savory heirloom tomatoes i would be neither fish nor fowl. But a combination of the two in small portions. And eggs. And well confessions a little bacon. And somewhere on me you would see chocolate. Between 60 and 75% and coffee. And more than occasional gelato. On one hand it's as simple as. The new recommendations from the us dietary guidelines advisory committee. I mostly plant-based diet. Drink water. Avoid processed sugars and beverages and on the other hand it is difficult at the challenge of discovering. That through our food choices we are connected. To the laborer who harvest. And the conditions of the laborers work. Do the farmer who learns about the land and so often struggle to make ends meet. If we live in relationship we know that our food choices connect us to those who are food insecure who sometimes look no different. Anyone in this place. Including some of us here. And if we really think about it we find ourselves connected to the plan as well as the people and the animals. And when we come back far it's not too much of a stretch to feel connected to the soil. Which we must guard. At the living and a breathing organism. Add and barbara said it's all about becoming an expert in relationships. And we. As unitarian universalist. Are all about. Building ethical relationships. So i hope that you will join me on monday. Or tgim. Instead of tgif. Invite you into a time of prayer. And meditation. Settling into the space. Taking from your shoulders all that you carried. Moving into a time of silence. With this community. Together. John muir road. When we pick out anything by itself. We find it hitched to everything else in the universe. So here it is. Grace for the relationships that bring us life. The ground of our being which some called god. And others would understand the more literally the soil beneath our feet. At any rate. The connection we have to all of life. We are blessed. We offer our gratefulness for the hands that plant the seeds. The labor to move it from field to harvest. For the perseverance of the farmer who comes to know the land as if it is family. A grace of blessing and things. For the plants and the animals that feed our lives. They remember the possibility of connection between those who are food insecure and those who have many resources the hungry are on the street and in homes they're in the city and live in a rural town they're all the colors of humanity and those who are hungry walk among us and maybe sitting near you this morning but will not tell a soul. There are relationships to be maintained like the person who labors with a seed and harvest like a farmer who perseveres and knows the soil as ground of being. Each of us is a part of an intricate web of relationships when one of us celebrate that we are apart of the turn of the earth the shift of the stars the pull of the sea and oil change. When we pick out anything by itself we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. John muir this week may you find yourself. To everything in the universe please come out and meet those who have their csa farm boxes here and donating to the refrigerator truck. And think about pgim let this congregation say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-02-07-Searching-for-God_09_30.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california website at w.w. org for further information. I'm hoping this is going to be as jack is passing out music i'm hoping this is going to be an interesting sunday for you than many many understandings of god encouraging you to speak openly with each other to dare to speak about something as personal as this and as you'll hear in my sermon i am going to be very very personal with you and risk a great deal by telling you exactly what my experience is and just risking your judgment which should be very interesting to experience. Alex are you ready i'm ready welcome to the unitarian universalist church of davis i'm bestbank the senior minister for this congregation and i'm joined by alex legion. This is a community of caring compassion and challenge. As unitarian universalist we are encouraged to search for our own answers. The most important questions. For the most important question. February's all church theme is god. We began the month with a service encouraging us to explore. How each one of us comes to understand the word for experience god. We recognize that there are those among us who would never use this word to describe their life experience. We are all a part of the diversity of faith. Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame. Blessed is the flame that burns in the hearts secret places. Blessed is a heart with strength to stop it's beating for honor's sake. Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame. Well to start with i did not grow up in an established religion. My parents were confucianists. Which is the philosophy that provided us with a moralistic way to be in the world. It taught me that honesty. Family and respect for all. Was deeply valued. I learned this through watching the way my parents dealt with challenges in their lives. There's no bible of confucianism. Of course i learned about god in school and on tv. There was one nation under god. And the hollywood image of god. Who remembers the ten commandments with moses and the burning bush. It never occurred to me that god could be anything else. Other than a bearded old white man sitting around on a cloud in the heavens. I stopped believing that god would answer all my prayers when i saw horrible things happen to good people. When i think of the word god now many different things arise in my mind and my heart. In the al-anon program which i've been a member for eight years now. We are free to understand god and anyway that has meaning for us i like to refer to a higher power. It is faceless and nameless. That's so you you by the way my higher power is a comforting presence that i can pray to when i'm worried or anxious. About issues in my life and in my son williams life. The serenity prayers one i often turn to. God. Grant me the serenity. Jacksepticeye things i cannot change. The courage to change the things i can. And the wisdom to know the difference. There are numerous situations that i have no control over. That in the past i desperately wanted to control. 1 the fact that my son chooses to live what i would call a very insecure life. A life without the security of a consistent place to sleep. And enough money to guarantee land meal each day. But what i do believe is that william has his own higher power that takes care of him i sometimes envision handing him into his higher powers arms. Wrapped in a warm glowing golden blanket. I also prayed to his higher power to take care of him. The al-anon program is taught me that i can love him unconditionally. And hate the lifestyle he has chosen. I also feel a spiritual presence in moments that i am fully in my body. Most recently i felt this during the martin luther king concerts. As audience and singers saying together. It was as if we were all on the same spiritual page. In the same space there was no us and them only we. Yes i felt a powerful spiritual presence there. So how about you. Psalm 118:24. Read this is the day. The lord god has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. From unitarian universalist ministers start every surface. Reading this. To their congregation. I've always loved this line. And the songs. The first half of my life. The directive to rejoice was really appealing. Well the reference to god was simply irritating. The only image i could imagine was the bearded man in the sistine chapel who look slightly bored i did seem very excited about new beginnings at all not the beginning of the human race as he reached out not the beginning of the morning. However one day the word god became the most fitting way. To describe what gives my life direction. And sustains me in my time of need. It describes that expansive force the companions me enjoy. If you think. But i'm about to reveal. The one and only. Unitarian universalist meaning of god. That's not going to happen. You may be disappointed. But most people in this room will be relieved including the atheist among us. I can repeat the viewpoints of wise people from the past and present. And i will share some thoughts of his theme theologians. I can offer vocabulary that may give you an aha moment and i will offer some language that you might find interesting. But intellectual series from scholars and the many names for god that founded hymns and. And they're on the web. Just go look. This morning i've decided to risk. To trust. Speaking honestly about my own search for god and what i found as a result. Best banks. The person that someone saw in a grocery store visited this congregation said hey it's you. Fau you woman i was with a friend from seattle and she said you always get greeted like that when you go to the grocery store. So if i'm willing to risk. The judgment. Of people who hear my story. I hope it's clear that you are invited. To tell me your story and to speak it to each other. And i hope. If there are listening ears. To hear such. A vulnerable story. There's no other way to share my own god experience than true story. And a story i share is of that very first moment when my humanist approach to life that i had been wedded to. No longer fit. The theology that serves as a touchstone for me is known as process theology in simple terms in the simplest terms god is understood as a verb and not as a noun. And john ashby's classes that will be happening later this month will delve into this much more deeply. And i am just taking a small portion of that and giving it a person's life. As an example. A process theologian who is appreciated by our tradition who came out of our tradition is henry nelson wyman. He believed that our greatest fulfillment in life is achieved through experiencing god as creativity. He's referring to creativity is more than our skill and expression offered through painting or theater or dance. The medium is not art supplies. Words or flexibility of our bodies. Comedian. Forgot his creativity is our life. What do we do with the circumstances of our lives. What is the source from which we continue to be renewed. Lyman taught that we can analyze the concepts of god with reasoning. And we can debate. But we come to know the experience of god. Through our senses. This god of creativity is an active presence that lures odyssey the the word lure lure throughout his material and other theiler that lures us into intense experiences of belonging. It is the force of life. The drawers out of our self-containment. And again. The words are. Yeah called into the divine lure. Keep picturing a person fishing in a boat 10 years. Is moving in our lives. When we feel connected to the stars. Where the phosphorescence in the ocean waves remember i grew up near the ocean. When we feel so connected to strangers who walk beside us on the streets and those we know. And those we love. When i was younger i collected the moments of what i can only call soul connection like gems. Adorning my spirit. Did i grow older. The recollection of those moments and new ones that continue to happen seem less random. Now they give my life shape and meaning. John youngerman physicist and theologian from this congregation was synthesizing the words of other process the illusions when he wrote how. The divine lure is also the hidden boys within each one of us. It is the enticer. Guiding the creative process of evolution and making meaning of our lives. Story of when the label of humanist no longer fit my life. Starting student teaching a psychology class. In the high school. My supervising teacher had given me the green light to try all kinds of unconventional teaching methods and i had the time of my life. Had some very interesting parent-teacher conferences however but we all survived. Just fine. At some time in the school year i must have mentioned the word unitarian. And as luck would have it that you you minister son was in the class. The congregation was looking for a youth director and it was a little bit like finding a very cool packed and bringing it home asking dad can we keep her and so that's how i became the high school in spokane washington. They kept me in this capacity for about 6 years. And then i became their religious education director for several more and this was the church that helped me imagine ministry is a way of life. Did you you minister with the reverend bill house a scientist who became a social activist and a unitarian mystic minister. As a unitarian universalist humanist i focused on people as individuals. The dynamics of groups. And the development of cultures. I saw a religion is one effective way to draw people together and this was why i returned to church after college. I was interested in the people and what we could do what we could accomplish together. The gift i had to offer them was a great love. For youth. And their curiosity. Your authenticity. I didn't know it at the time but every project of the youth and i did together was an opportunity for that divine lure. To open us all to change. The building experience. But most of us had never. Imagine. Long before i arrived on the scene the uu congregation at purchase a victorian mansion to service their church this church. Went to the park and had the girl scout cabin. But in spokane. A different route. With a victorian mansion. By the time i joined the congregation worshipped in a newly-built stays. And religious education was held in this spectacular mansion. For several years i lived in the butler and maid quarters on the third floor of the glover mansion but that was another story. For all the grandeur of the mansion our youth group loved is underground cellar. With crawl spaces and dank are. At least they loved it for the month of october when we designed the haunted house for halloween. We did an amazing job. And guided screaming children. Two dozens of dark rooms. Dripping with cobwebs real cobwebs with real spiders. We had to back off a little bit. The haunted house with our biggest fundraiser. For the whole year. This is a time of personal change for most of the youth and it was for me too. It started with that haunted house. But the deeper connection happened because we. We're in it for a larger purpose. We raised funds to offer every youth in the group. A chance to experience. The creative god. It encouraged a connection to something more frightening and more powerful than we could have ever created. In that vast mansion seller. Our first year together that youth decided to use the money they had raised. To provide the equipment. To hike into a pristine wilderness area. The minister was the master of topographical maps and trails. He organized the hike and his wife plan the meals. I worked with the youth. And was given the unenviable task of going through everyone's pack. And removing the things that they would hate themselves for carrying three days into the trip. They loved me later. It is i was going through their pack. Not so much. 4 months leading up to the trip. Used train together so everyone. Would have the strength to carry a full pack. For 8 to 10 days of walking in the mountains. If one person needed to turn back. Mid hike. He was going to affect everyone. We learned how to rely on each other. And once we were on the trail the slowest person always height in front. Setting the pace. If someone was struggling we carried their gear. To make their pack later. Welearn fed. Hunger. Would be a part of every day. And we learned how to accept physical pain. As the days passed we slept on cold hard granite. With summer stars piercing a pitch-black sky above us like a dome. And the youth. Some had never been on such a trip. Recycling. Looking up. One night we woke to the sound of a mountain goat. Prancing and pawing the dirt under the tree that held our food. After hiking on sun-baked trails up ridges one foot. Painfully placed in front of another up a ridge. We'd be rewarded by a swim in an icy clear lake. No footprints in the dirt other than our own. And the paw print of a coyote. The lore of god surrounded us inviting us into a new sensitivity to an unseen order. Of which we were apart. The reverend rebecca parker was referring to this relational god when she wrote we are not alone. In the universe there moves a wild one. Please gestures alter earth's axis toward love. In the immense darkness she writes everything spins with joy. The cosmos in full sus. We are caught in the web of stars cradled in a swing embrace rocked by the holy night. Babes in the universe. Ign's the poem inviting us to wake to life weight. To our lives. 15 people changed as a result of caring for and depending on each other we changed because we sent that unseen order. I came to recognize it in the expressions on the faces of the group and i'm sure my face changed to. It happened every year. Every year we couldn't resist. That pool. Of the deep connection that existed beyond humanities presence on this earth. Close to the end of that first trip. When the word humanist is not. Large enough to hold my experience. And god was the word that flew off my tongue. And we hiked together that day everyone was lost in thought and the only sound was the even rhythm of boots. On the trail of people would walk together. For what seems like a long time. I was too sweet. The hiker at the very end of the line making sure there was no straggler who took a wrong turn or fell too far behind. When all the young hikers had gone around a curve of the trail. I wanted just a little. A little time to myself and i waited by a stream. I did not moment. I felt an unnameable forest. Urging me to reed's. Through my separateness. How to accept a partnership. And suddenly i was orion in the night sky. The mountain goats. Hungry and frustrated. The coyote. Drinking from the lake leaving the prince from my pot in the soil. I was the youth. Who would return to his parents. He fought at night. Guy with the minister and his wife. Who held each other in the darkness of their tiny tent. These moments passed we can't live in that kind of intensity. But when i returned to myself. Send a memory that lingered for the rest of the day and it is with me now. What is change for me. Did i no longer wait for these moments of spiritual relationship. I kind of feel that the divine is always present. It always present. As a loving companion and i am the one. Who forgets. To reach. Come spirit of live oak album wild one come. And to you i say the day-to-day it is young. It is young now. It is. 1017 is young. There's an invitation for you today. To slip out of your separateness and experience the divine connection that nikan. At any time. Awake. Last week i heard someone 18. In a way that resonates with me like a bell. I say it when i'm opening my eyes in the morning and it feels right but if the day has joy or trouble ahead. Instead of saying this is the day the lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it. I begin with. This is a new day. I've never seen this one before. Let us prepare ourselves to be invited. And to invite. Recipe. An amen. Invite you into a time of prayer. And meditation and know that part way through this prayer. I am going to invite you to stand but you don't have to stand. So if you're going to be seated next to someone who says seating sitting is right for me stay with them. These words were written by. Reykjavik. And i give them to you as. A way of remembering his life. Wonderful man. The celebration of life will be the last saturday of. Of the month. The 27. Invite you into a time of prayer. When. I was a boy. My grandfather is god. Sundered. In the assembly of silence. Sunlight flowing into the room. Like cream. When i was a soldier. I wondered in the cathedral. The gods fortress of god. Filled with dusk. And crimson echoes like distant wind. When i was gray. God fat nameless. In a glass box. A mystery of voices. And metaphor. Then i dreamed i saw dry horizons. Distant cliffs. The color of bronze. And three trees. In leaf. Buy a water hole. Invite you to stand as you are able. In the silence. And knowing that god is census we will do a body prayer honoring all of those milestones we heard. The life and death of those we love. I invite you to bow to the mystery. In ana montes. To lift up the concerns of our lives. Concerns for our family. For community. Before i world. To open our arms. To receive the blessings from this world. To bring those blessings into your own heart. And to bow. To that mystery. Within us. Begin again. Bowing to the mystery. Lifting up the concerns that you have for your own lives for your families. For the community and the world. Teething the blessings. Those who are around us today. And bringing us blessings into your own heart. Boeing. Lifting up. Receiving. Bringing an into your heart. Involving to that mystery. And one more time. About lying and thankfulness. Listing of your concerns opening to receive from others bringing those blessings in and i just remain standing. I invited to take hands. You can say no for the hand on the shoulder. To be together with babies sleeping and wonderful presents. Each of us is a part of an intricate web of relationships. When one of us celebrate the joy your greece a loss. The web of life moves to a new shape. We are part of the turn of the earth. Shifted the stars. The pull of the sea. And all chains. But this gathering say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-07-10-Life-Lessons-Not-Learned_10_00.mp3?_=4

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california website at www.sec.gov org.com asian. Welcome to the unitarian universalist church of davis many of you are here specifically to listen to milton hildebrand this morning he's already prepared his on this arthur together. You are welcome here you are welcome here if you are filled with joy or lost in the depths of your being you are welcome here if you have a message to share or if you just like to sit quietly and listen you're welcome in all of your fullness your race and culture your age your job or lack thereof you are welcome in the fullness of your sexual orientation gender identity religious views or political parties come to erase those labels come to connect with community come to claim your spirituality ms possible come to transform your life you are invited to and also if it's an emergency and you would like it someone from the pastoral team to come and call you there are many personal and global joys and sorrows that abide with us as there are many invitations to community the killings of alton sterling philandro castile brent thompson patrick zamarripa michael kroll michael smith because we still don't know a lot of details there must be action we can truly grieve for every officer lost in the line of duty and still be troubled by cases of police over reach those two ideas are not mutually exclusive we can absolutely be pro-black and prokop more importantly we should be epro human and anti label. Join me in a spirit of prayer and there will be a song response just the first two verses of let there be a light that we opened with spirit of life of love of hope and faith we come together in community as people of action guide our feet our hands our hearts and minds to do the work of healing where there is hurt gaidar feed our hands hearts and minds to create justice where there is none grant has courage grant us wisdom spirit of life of love of hope and faith we come together in community as people of compassion gaidar hearts and minds into the work of listening and a prayer to cultivate empathy understanding generosity grant has courage grant us wisdom spirit of life of love of peace let us celebrate the glory of our brothers and sisters let us educate four-piece create music for peace and stir up peace in our very essence grant has courage grant us wisdom the thing is to love life to love life even when we have no stomach for it and grief sits heavily with us grant has the courage and wisdom to love life each of us is part of an intricate web of relationships when one of us celebrate the web of life moves to a new shape we are part of the turn of the earth the shift of the stars the pull of the sea and all change may the light of hope shine here may the light of peace shine here may the light of love shine here and may we have the courage and wisdom to love life. The world is a free open classroom for multiple teachings about if we pay clothes and timely attention much help toward right conduct is found go in friendship go in peace lettuce congregation.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-12-04-Holy_Holy_Holy_09_30.mp3?_=4

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. The christian liturgical season celebration of the coming good news in the birth of jesus. Joy and peace order first for hope for peace anyways. The following question what does an atheist humanist find holy coming from god. Webster's third definition of holy describes it as quote regarded with or deserving. Reverence for adoration some point in my life i've experienced the holy. Commitment in america by john byrne in our religion history as well. Instead of. I believe that in the abstract. Call god has a humanist ancient spiritual promoting an image of the sacred to his imprisonment. Just maybe i made my first and only visit to yosemite national park and the late winter chill had not yet lifted from the area i stayed in a small log cabin in wauna with my wife and two friends. Story in exodus. Moses person who's going to from slavery. I am i am i am for you are walking on holy ground so moses takes off his shoes. From one of our favorite teams for a very big concept. Humans exist in a precious relationship and seek to find meaning in our place in the world. Trying to find that inner light trying to understand what it would mean to of experiences that others would define as whole even if we might not so how can we walk into the without. Especially the people in oakland and the dead leaves fire yesterday communities struggling in this country around the world struggling with safety pression hunger may our hope made our prayers move us to action may we take off our shoes in the holy ground of this precious world community. How many ways that we share who we are thank you for sharing. Substance energy and purpose are united and share this destiny those who love and those we know not of our united and share the same destiny.

uudavispodcast_org

2015-04-12_Pathway-to-Redemption_Climate-Justice-Just-Transition_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. Thank you nancy good morning everyone my name is jeff. i'm your worship associate today banks is sabbatical and today our guest worship leader is the reverend occurred kuhwald is an endorse community minister by the uu church in oakland he has served as a minister and he served on the faculty of those start king seminary for 6 years. Well we just heard the vocal ensemble saying these things seem wondrous more wondrous i who's heart with fear. free with loved on crying last week and myself and i who's hard with love donna frye i have received an email from my sister she come across. Some old family photos and posted them on the web. The photos were from the 1950s. My parents wedding. Their honeymoon in havana. Their new three-bedroom ranch house in the atlanta suburbs. And their new baby. That was me you there were photos of my grandparents and great-uncles these were the first american-born generation whose parents had emigrated from eastern europe with nearly zero material wealth. It occurred to me how much i owed to those who came before me. The material comforts that i enjoy and i am truly grateful for those conference. Are in many ways the legacy. Of my parents and grandparents and my amarin great-grandparents. I doubt that they thought much about legacy what they would be leaving behind. When they talked about their children it was love that motivated them. They wanted us to have a better life free from the scarcity and from the fear that provided their lives. And they succeeded. After all here i am a product of their work and their love. But i'm also a product as are we off of the economic system in which my forebears were immersed a system that thrived on the energy released from carbon fuels. Now i am grateful to that system. I will not deny that the quality of my life. And my children's lives and the lives of all the people i hold dear. Is attributable in the cart to that carbon-based economy. But with all that at harbin now the atmosphere. This means a different kind of legacy. What am i leaving behind for my children. And their children inside for all children in this world. How do i transform the love that closed in my heart for them. Into material ashens. That leaves behind a better quality of life. What does love for the world look like. Good morning i'm very pleased to be here i have not actually been here since you did your renovation this really wonderful to see what a great change their is that to one of my favorite colleagues. I want to share with you now some words from naomi klein who's a public intellectual writing now about climate change and very powerful ways and she wrote a book called this changes everything colon. Capitalism vs the climate. The grossly unequal distribution of climate impacts she writes is not understood consequence of the failure to control carbon emissions. It is the result of a series of policy decisions the governments of wealthy countries have made. And continue to make. With full knowledge of the facts. And in the face of strenuous objections. I vividly remember she goes on the moment when the racism barely under the surface of international climate talks burst onto the world stage. He was on the second day of the now-famous. Then out infamous. United nations climate summit in copenhagen in 2009. Up until that point the conference had been a stultifying affair with the face of nations discussed in the bloodless jargon of climate adaptation and mitigation. All of that shames. When a document was leaked showing that governments were on the verge of setting a target that would cap the global temperature rise at 2 degrees celsius that is 3.6 degrees fahrenheit more than double. The amount of warming experience so far. This was defined as a strategy for averting dangerous levels of warming. But the temperature target. Push my wealthy nations in europe. And north america. That would be us. Would likely not be enough to save some low-lying small islands from annihilation. And an africa where droughts linked to climate change was at that time menacing many lives in the eastern part of the continent the target would translate into a full-scale humanitarian disaster. Clearly the definition of dangerous climate change had more than a little to do with wildly unequal ways in which human lives are counted. The african delegates wouldn't stand for it. Cries of we will not die quietly into degrees is suicide rang out in the hall. The paltry sums that rich countries had pledged for climate financing were angrily dismissed as not enough to buy us coffins. Black lives matter these delegates were saying even if this corrupted forum was behaving as if that was far from the case. At the same time the clarion call that black lives matter deserves to transform how we approach a great many crises in our societies. From school systems that systematically fail african-american children to a healthcare system that too often discards black live it must also jolt us out of our climate in action. If the current erased based hierarchy of humanity is left unchallenged. We can be certain that our governments will continue their procrastination redefining dangerous to allow for the sacrifice of evermore people. Evermore ancient cultures. Languages in countries. Conversely if black lives matter and they do. Then global warming is already a five-alarm fire and the lives it has taken already are too many taken together the picture is clear tinley veiled notions of racial superiority have informed every aspect of the non response to climate change so far. The slogan adopted for a direct-action diane in lima where they caught 20-minute negotiations were held. That was used in some of the ferguson protests. Was so most samia's sono samia's we are seeds. It means that the people who have died in storms and droughts from the philippines to the horn of africa and the men of color who have died as a result of police brutality in this country can be more than tragedies. Their losses if we are willing to acknowledge them deeply. Willing to fully grieve them. Have the power to help us grow a new and safer world. Indeed they must. Hello good morning once again. I was one of 170 people who have the luck and the privilege to be on the people's climate justice train to new york city last september. Was four days of workshops all day long as we travel down that amazing railway to to new york city from emeryville plus people and then also the day the flood wall street direct action. Cuz actually the backdrop for my sharing this morning. And indeed for my wife as i move on to my eight decade as a two-legged on this planet. I want to begin by reading you a poem by unitarian universalist minister barbara peskin it's called the reunions. One of the old ones stood out into the morning life and spoke to those who had come back to the river. Now we have come again to this place. A my life apart from you. Is not as strong. Yes i have danced and i have told the stories at my own fire and i have sung well to all the directions. But when i am with you. My friends. I know better who it is in me. Let's sing. When i am with you my friends. I know better who it is in me that sings. So when we are with each other my friends we know better who it is in us that sings. When i asked you them to listen listen the old ones words echo through time. To us. Cross cultures. Return to the river. Return to the river of a deeper and more natural way of living so that you may so that we all may know better who it is ian us that sings. And so two today this month. The unitarian universalist association. The unitarian universalist service committee. The uu college of social justice and a contingent of uu climate justice activists from the uu environmental justice. Network collaboratory including myself and a whole handful of other you your organization such as the ministers association in the ministry for earth and the diverse and revolutionary unitarian universalist multicultural ministries which is the people of color organization in our association. They are asking us are asking unitarian universalist. Cheer you and me to return to the river of the deeper sources of our faith and ethics. The deeper sources of our justice commitments. The river of life and of human energy to who's banks as a faith family we are being summoned so that we may join together. To answer the call to do the impossible. To stop. And reverse the ravages of climate change. Which means. That we must have been fundamentally changed the economic social political military and cultural systems that are the cause of and the ongoing engines that drive climate change in the first place. Remembering the words if i'm donna shiva. Brilliant food and environmental activist in anti-globalization author we must stand together to dismantle the utopia of stupidity that is driving global capitalism's lust for obscene profits straight into the fury of climate collapse. We must stand together as a community of care and courage. A community that calls us to our best selves. Our most fearless salas. A community that allows us to know better who it is in us that sings. We must stand together to stop the cascade of destructive environmental events that have driven millions of people into numbness or denial. We must stand together. So that we must. So that we can regain our true song. The song of life. The song of a thriving vital planet that we can see with our eyes taste with our tongue touch with our hands and feel with our hearts without fear. Knowing when we do those simple yet precious acts. That we are the very earth itself. Become conscious. Unitarian universalist association the uu service committee the collaboratory and other partner in uu organizations are asking unitarian-universalist across this continent and that means you. And that means me. To join together and commit. To respond. Connect to respond to actions that will confront the issues of climate change. Actions that will make a difference in our lives as individuals. Is congregations and as a national and international community of faith. For many of us. The work of climate justice just transition. Climate justice because we cannot deal with climate change unless it's done just lie. Unless we include everyone. Just transition we can't have a transition to what will become a post carbon society unless we do it justly. This. Committed to respond. That is asking us to make this commitment to climate justice. Disembodied in condenser respond is deeply influenced by nyomi klein's evolving vision which was illustrated an articulated quite well in her new book this changes everything capitalism first versus the climate she writes this. She says capital climate change is in fact the most powerful weapon to fight for equality and social justice climate change is in fact the most powerful weapon to fight for equality and social justice it is telling us to understand how all of our fates are interconnected. Climate change tells us to be bold. To get ambitious. To play for keeps. Because. Because we cannot afford to fail. We cannot afford to fail. Respond is a launching point. For environmental justice work now going forward in our unitarian universalist world. It is beginning the national effort to bring climate justice just transition into the center of unitarian universalist justice work in our congregations in our districts and regions and in our association beginning back on march 22nd which was world water day. And continuing now through april 22nd which is earth day of this year 2015. And beyond for as long as it takes. Hundreds of unitarian universalist churches. And fellowships are participating in a large-scale program of sermons actions of the public witnessed workshops political advocacy nonviolent direct action and more. And they are doing so already engaged in that process beginning that process committing to go forward they're doing so intentionally with humility joining with partners particularly frontline communities that are on the ground doing the work of justice people of color largely under the radar of the large-scale environmental organizations folks are on the ground already experiencing the consequences of climate change we are joining with them and people from the larger community of our human ken where we live and move and have our being. And it is time that we do so. It is time that we assemble by the river to here and affirm the songs that are our heart songs. Are hard songs to one another. Enter the blessed earth from which we draw our precious lives the blessed blessed earth that is in our time under siege. You remember the song. Listen listen listen to my heart song. Listen listen listen to my heart song i will never forget you i will never forsake you. I will never forget you i will never forsake you. It's fine then that we commit. Ever more deeply. Ever more deeply than ever before down into the roots of climate change and economic disparity into the roots of the complexity of what we are up against. I only klein reminds us prophetically that getting to the root of why we are facing serial crises. Serial crises will lead us to a more habitable climate than the one we are now headed for. And to a far more just economy than we have now. Getting to the root. Getting to the root causes. Getting to the root of why we are facing serial crises across our planet in every imaginable area of human culture and civilization. And global swap of living and geologic ecosystems. Processes. Any comics for instance with the obscene disparity obscene disparity between the poor and the very rich. In species extinction. Which season unimaginable number of species going extinct right before our very eyes. In legal and human rights with the rise of a shameful prison-industrial complex that generates immoral profits. From mass incarceration of people of color. And the impunity with which police are killing them color across the united states. In the profit-driven profit-driven genetic modification of plants spurred by the illusion that we are shrewd enough to avoid the consequences that we cannot even predict. In government of surveillance. It literally tracks thousands upon thousands of phone calls emails and it may even be the postal mail that we send. 212. You know. You know. The list of abhorrent things that are going on. Getting to the root of why we are facing serial crises will lead us to a more habitable climate than the one we are headed for any far more just economy than we have now. It is imperative that from our encampment at the river. From within our congregations. From within this congregation. We draw strength from the river of power and beauty that we call life. It is imperative that we find the deep commitment to make climate justice just transition a significant part of our awareness that we relocated right at the center of our justice work. And that we make a significant shift in our way of life. It is imperative that we learn to look straight into the storm. And that we do so with integrity with courage and a deepening sense of community a deepening sense of community we will not adequately survive the crisis we are facing unless we are deeply embedded in community and receiving its strength and courage to go for it. Frederick buechner a protestant thinker and author gives us language to locate the choice point that we can encounter when we seek to look into the storm and then two step beyond what a presses into means life in order to build a new way. He said the place god calls you is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meat. The place god calls you. Is where your deep gladness in the world's deep hunger me. How those of you who are agnostic. Are easiest question and still are grounded in earth-centered elite naysay. This instead the place you are called by what is most sacred within you. Is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meat. The place you were called by what is most sacred within you. Is where you're the platanus in the world deep hunger meat. And that's the deeper story that we come into community to find. The deeper story of our own response to life how-we-met enlist in the critical in great work the great work of our times. To defend life against the ravages of exploitation oppression marginalization and violence. We also come here to church. To find out how we can truly plumb the depths of our own integrity. And thereby open our hearts to each other and the world. Which in our time which in these lives we have been gifted with so desperately needs us. Needs us. We are the only ones. We are the ones we've been waiting for. Ethos. There's no one else. At its best coming here. To this church is about responding to our own you need call. Our own unique call into life and into these times i matter how. Old we are no matter how young we are we are each called. The paradox is that while each of us has to find out what our own work is. Now at this stage in our life. How are personal human gifts can be fully used. We can't do it alone. Without community our gifts are useless. Without some form of community the discovery of our gifts will very likely be tragically unrealized or impaired. Following our own path with courage. And dedication. But doing so in the company of others with others in service to others and supported and loved by others we are made fully human. And that's how we are redeemed. That's how we are help to stand against negativity oppression and violence into claim or full to manatee that's what we're truly called to do. The claim our full community. I understand that redemption. Is a loaded term in the unitarian universalist sanctuary like this. It can be off-putting it can be rather confusing. But what i want to lay bare from this little cabin of truth-telling that's what this is used to tell the truth. At least as you grasp it. That's the freedom that we offer this place speak the truth as you know it. What i want to lay bare from here is that one of the meanings of redemption that we can use a known and fully claim out of the five or more current in the language. Is one that reveals an understanding of a true path with heart. Redemption in the definition that i want to lift has to do with fulfillment. With carrying out with discharging and making good in this sense redemption has to do with accomplishment. Achievement honoring. Satisfying and adhering to what is truly ours to do. Redemption in this sense it has to do with accomplishment. With achievement with honoring satisfying and adhering to what it is truly ours to do. You coming here to this church coming and staying. And staying despite all the demands of it places on us. Holy huge messy mistakes the other people here make. Despite all of the weird struggle with money with judgments with inside-outside dynamics with a persistence of privilege and racism in heterosexuals and then ableism and all the rest of it despite all of that. Being here together how's the power to redeem us. Or put another way. Being here empowers us to meagan good on the gifts we were given when we were born as a human being. Being here empowers us to make good on the gift we were given when we were born as a human being no matter what your theology or philosophy is a gift to be alive and a spy. So i want to make one more point before after my closing words. Price the price. Put human consciousness. Requires of us. That awareness demands of us. Is the responsibility to respond. We see. And therefore we are called. We are called to commit. We are called to commit and respond. Show me close down again with these words of naomi klein because her words bear repeating again and again. So that we understand they could get this intersection piece because we're so often separating issues of race from issues of climate. Right. And we and we done that. And we know from her book that many of the larger. Environmental justice organizations very specifically did that. Very specifically. But now we're knowing that it's not that simple all of these things are tied together and we need to understand that and we need to work on all those levels simultaneously. Listen to words that you said climate change is in fact the most powerful weapon to fight for equality and social justice. How to understand all of our face being interconnected. And it tells us to be bold now. And it tells us to get ambitious and it tells us to play for keeps. Because. We cannot afford to lose. We cannot afford to lose. All my relations shannon. Sean offer some words that will lead us into silence. We are not going to sing the song that's listed. Because we have this wonderful. Song by william byrd that the vocal arkansas humble will offer us. After jeff. Introduces the offering. Calypso. Let us sit together for a moment in silence we so infrequently get to do that. Where we can just be joined in our breathing joined in. Our heartbeats. Joined in the reality that we've come to this place. Because it matters. It matters to us and it matters to the community beyond us. It matters that we come here. When did we give ourselves to these truths. To these issues. To these possibilities. Let us enter silence together. Gracias a la vida. Gratitude to life. So the tradition is there for you to join hands before you do that i would like to ask you to do this take your order of service please he would. I am all i'm asking you to go to that website. This website's been designed by a number of people in the usa and across the unitarian universalist association to give you tools to deal with climate justice to bring your congregation together to do that so if you will please do that it would be very very helpful to you and to all of us now let's please join hands. So this is a poem by diane ackerman. i found it in prayers for a thousand years. In the name of the daybreak. And the eyelids of morning. And the wayfaring moon in the night when it departs. I swear. I will not dishonor my soul with hatred. But offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature as a healer of misery as a messenger of wonder as an architect of peace. In the name of the sun and it's mirrors. And the day that embraces it. And the cloud veils drawn over it in the uttermost knifed in the male and the female in the intersection deep androgynous. And the plants bursting with seed and the crowning seasons of the firefly and the apple i will honor all life wherever and in whatever form it may dwell on earth my home. And in the mansions of the stars. Go in peace. And go in unrest.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-02-14-We-Are-UUCD_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. Thank you this is our social justice bending the arc of justice we are you use cd whole weekend and we are celebrating eight projects of social justice at children youth and adults participated in yesterday. We discover that offering to help. A garden. To grow food. Sending valentine's cards to people living in a detention center for being undocumented. Making quilts for long-term members of the congregation cleaning up. The land for duck days helping davis community meals and all of our projects are about being a giving person but even more it's about making connection. With others people we know those that we don't know we didn't just give we received. Everyone of us here today whether we were able to be a part of those projects at end of dinner. This is the first moment ashley the first moment that you stepped into this church ever. All of us at this time are invited to become a part of the music to hear people's stories that are about more than the saturday project. And literally to blast the dreams of a young man as a welcome this morning welcome to everyone if you have a milestone to share no matter what your age you are invited to write it on one of the milestone pages to the back of the sanctuary and to light a chalice. To make fire. And to let us know if this is an emergency for you and we will come the celebrations as well as the hard times as well. The task. Of the religious community. This is from mark morrison reed. The central task of the religious community is to unveil the bonds that bind each to all. There is a connectedness. A relationship. Discovered amid the particulars of our own lives and the lives of others. Once felt it inspires as to act for justice. It is the church that assures us that we are not struggling for justice on our own. But as members of a larger community. The religious community is essential. For a loan our vision is to narrow. To see all that must be seen and our strength too limited to do all that must be done. Together. Our vision widens and our strength. Is renewed. Good morning. I i watch the film the other day. That inspired me to live into my faith. In this film. Two reckless brothers are. Reunited after one is released from prison. And they are called to bend. The arc of justice. As a lean into that call. They face. Great obstacles. Including systemic oppression. Violence. And illinois nazis. Yes. Illinois nazis. The brothers prevail. And they deliver justice. Triumphantly. It's warm up here. And they are transformed personality. They are not called to transform their passions or their faults their identity remains intact. They are transformed only only. In their purpose. Empties brothers. Please. Blues brothers i'm really glad i got bifocal in my sunglasses on to you today we are on a mission from god. So what does that mean bending the arc of justice well at the conclusion of the march to selma from montgomery. Martin luther king gave a speech titled our god is marching on and in that speech. He asked how long it would take for racial justice and how long would it take. For hope to bring light into the darkness how long. And he answered himself saying. Not long because the ark. Of the moral universe is long. But it bends toward justice. These words have inspired us and lifted us up president obama has used them in his own speeches. And of course. The moral arc of the universe is long and so is the history of these words. Which do not. Find their beginning in the great speeches of martin luther king jr. but rather in the sermons and writings of the earlier nineteenth-century unitarian minister. Theodore parker. Parker was a transcendentalist reformer and an ardent abolitionist. The arc of justice is born in his 1853 sermon which is titled. On justice and the conscious when he preached these words. I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The ark is a long one my eye reaches but a little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and contemplate the figure. By the experience of sight. I can divine it by conscious. But from what i see i am sure it bends toward justice. Things refuse to be mismanaged long. Jefferson trembles when he thought of slavery and remember that god is just. Are all. Are long america will trimble. Well are long indeed through the civil war. Through the civil rights movement and after the black lives matter movement we continue. The bend the arc of justice. The world is ever turning and ever-changing and so we must continue the work. A vending that are to meet the changing times we bend it towards racial justice towards economic justice towards global justice we continue to work and then that arc towards justice and peace for our neighbors as we did yesterday for our communities and for our planet but why why do we do it. Because we are on a mission. From god parentheses or whatever name as the ultimate reality or ultimate truth for you. Martin luther king said god is marching on. Parker preached that god is just. Our unitarian tradition tells us that we are not removed from god we are not separate from the divine we are not below or beneath the power of creation but rather we are an agency of creation and change. If god is marching on. So must we be. If god is just. So must we be. This is what we are called to do not because it is warranted. But because it is truly who we are it is our purpose our mission. We must find it in ourselves to not live out our faith by bending the arc of justice. Just in tasks. But to live it out everyday by letting it reveal itself in our very way of being. As god is just so are we as god is marching on so are we. The moral arc of the universe is long but we will continue to bend it towards justice because that is who we are. We are on a mission from god. We are purpose in action. Can i get an amen. Last summer i had the great fortune of participating in a young adult social justice program that was put on by the uu justice ministry of california. The program was called spiritual activist leadership training or salts. Insults i learned so many important facts and lessons. The program also grew my passion for social justice. It has been wonderful to connect with others. Passionate about social justice in this congregation. And turn these connections into action. The song program i participated in was made up of five young adults from across california. And headed by to young adult leaders. We met online bi-weekly for discussions about topics like you do history and spiritual practices. In the greater context of social justice. We had we all set for retreats and two of us went to ga. Some of the more powerful experiences for me included spending a day purposely. Contemplating homelessness while walking the streets of the tenderloin in san francisco. With the face faithful fools a group who works on homeless issues in the bay area and leads what they call street retreats. I participated in a border trip to tijuana. And witness the damage being done to families by our immigration system. I also attended the walking the walk retreat put on by jme. Where my other social justice leaders and pick their brains. One of my one of my biggest inside so from my salt experience was the importance of connecting the social justice work i do to my ear you face. In the program we read paul razors book reclaiming prophetic witness. I was surprised to learn that there are an equal number of religious liberals. As there are religious conservatives. Also that until relatively recently if you said you were religious people just assumed you were liberal. In my experience. Religious conservatives tend to be louder. And therefore more visible in the public sphere so i didn't really have a concept. How many religious liberals were out there. Challenged religious liberals to unafraid to be unafraid to loudly connect. Directions in the world to their religious liberalism. The author reassured that there is indeed an audience eager to hear this message. And the salt program challenge me to think about how my actions specifically my social justice work. Influence and grounded by my religious values and beliefs. All participants insults. Had to do a project in their community. This was the genesis of the community garden project at del rio vs will income housing community. Which i talked about the four. Yesterday people from this church helps residents of the el rio vs community clear lands to make way for a garden. I want to pause and give a huge thank you to everyone who came out and helped. Insults i learned the importance of letting affected populations be the experts and not speaking or doing on their behalf. For the garden i've tried to emphasize this by meeting with residents and trying to help connect them with resources so they can have the garden that day wants. Before silence i never would have said that my involvement and social justice activities was rooted in my religion. However. I was out there yesterday because as a you you. I believe all people have inherent worth and dignity. And my face calls on me to promote justice. Equity and compassion in human relations. Food deserts are areas where nutritious food is difficult to obtain. Especially for those without a car. Existence of food deserts especially around low-income communities. Is inequitable. And i'm just. And fails to remote the inherent worth and dignity of those living in these areas. Bus. My face calls on me to act within my abilities. And in collaboration with others. To make positive changes. I believe that with the el rio vista community garden we are making a positive change. Everyone who helps yesterday showed. We are you cd and we live out our faith. There'll be more opportunities to participate in the garden. And without the seven principles and our faith. And i hope you will come join us. Trying to decide how short i am pretty short. I'm carol corbett. And this church has been my most important community for over 20 years. You help me raise my children. And you helped me grow into the grown-up i am now. Thank you. Last year i stopped working after about 50 years. We sold our business and i wondered what i would do. With the rest of my one wild and precious life. I agreed to join the board here. I figured it was my turn. Kids grown no job. It was the right thing to do. And as part of my search. For whoever is going to be i reviewed a year-long course through landmark education about living a life with joy. Meaning and play. And in december i attended a conference were 500 people who had taken this course in the past. Gathered to play attend workshops. And discuss what living a full life might look like. I met people from all over the world. People who started ngos nonprofits. Other businesses and startups were representative. Where is represented. Someone was working to develop fusion power which i'd never heard of another person was running a legal clinic for women who are trying to escape. Abusive relationships and there were dozens of consultants. People described their commitment to making the world a better place through their work. I felt embarrassed when people ask me what i did. I said not much. When i owned and ran a business i had an identity a purpose. Now what. On the last day i met susan. She been running a consulting firm for 30 years. And she helped businesses define and live their missions. I told her i was feeling a little lost and directionless. And she said look at your passions. What do you feel passionate about. And what are you willing to commit yourself to. Well. I said. I feel passionate about fairness. That everyone should have an opportunity for a safe joyful life. Lived in peace. That justice is for all not just the privileged. And that every child who arrives. Feels loved and welcomed. And that every person feels heard. And valued. Well i almost did a head slap when i realized i was reciting a version of our unitarian seven principles the seven principles are with buying this religion in this community together. And i've always believed in them but i didn't know that i was committed. To having my work defined by them. I realize that. By working for the unitarian church and within it. Our church in particular. I would be working to fulfill the ideals that i hold dear. And i could do it with people i love. Susan reminded me that commitment is the key to action. Choose your work to reflect your values. And your passions and then do it. So recently i told my fellow board members that i have recommitted myself. To the work of the board. And the church in order to make the world a better place. One committee meeting at a time that's why i want to help jill pickett restructure the caring network. Because that's where my passion leads me. And as a member of the stewardship team. I'd like to put a plug in. 4. Putting your money where your heart is. There's so many opportunities here to follow your passion as we saw. From ruud of service yesterday and i was so moved by all those pictures. We are a people who want to help. Who want to make this world work for everyone. We are all uucd. I invite you to look where your passion leads you. What are you willing to commit to. And then. Please come work with us. We need your time. We need your talent. It will be filled with love and joy. Thank you. Invite you into time of prayer. Time of meditation. Holding in your heart all you have heard today. And we are not done. Just sit for a moment in silence. Gathering your own thoughts. What is it that you are called to do. Where does your passion lead you. The reverend david blanchard road. About love. He wrote about all the changes that. Hey we might see in our lives and the lives of others. He wrote about search for a love. They can sustain us overtime. Thinking about. That's tuff. Kept some of those. Among us here living in 50 and 60 year marriages. Experience. That kind of love. He's writing about the love among friends that kind of love that does not disappear as circumstances change. Kind of love for our own self. When we experience times of fulfillment and connection. Or discouragement and loneliness. I think he's writing about that fiery love that yearning for a society. Where the wealthy and the poor are not separated by such a chasm of inequity. May we know this kind of love on this valentine's day. David rhodes. Do more than simply keep the promises made in your vow. Do something. More. Keeps promising as time passes. Keep promising new things. Deeper things vaster things yet unimagine thing. Promises that will be needed to fill the expenses of time and of love. Heap. Promising. Keep promising. And by jester. The hum that refrain. Keep promising as time passes keep promising new things deeper things vaster things yet unimagined things. Promises that will be needed to fill the expenses of time and of love keep promising and left his congregation say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2017-10-22-Courage_Entering-the-Wilderness.mp3?_=2

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. Sexual orientation for your political party. Come to build the world we dream is possible to transfer. From the unitarian universalist fellowship of harrison virginia. Deface the world's darkness of light. Two-face the world's carers a chalice of courage. To face the world turmoil a chalice. Our hearts and our lives. At the time when the singing bowl play. Really important to bring them back this week. Woodring. Part of your body. And so. Really big ones but just kind of got some surprises to edit. Dismissed. And this is one way. Microphone cuz i need two hands for this. Deep breath. And you feel that you need. Throwdown. You can place your hand. The ratings. But it was in your heart. And people were holding their heads and do this thoughtful. Just a second. For who you are. You have the power to do that. And i asked you to come and steal our two. Come on over. And when you hear all different rhythms. You're invited to go to your groups. We're bringing you out instead of seeing you out. Today's readings of the journey in progress and it was written by victoria stafford. And chose to be brave. Wiser. Be transformed. Tell the tale. Everybody scared. Because. And staring at me. Healing water. Teach me something. Compassion. Return the blessing. Interest or something. Summer. Where is it. Interior. These are the landmarks of conversion. Thank you chris and ted. In her latest and the courage to stand alone. It takes to experience is not just about. It's about becoming. Ideological bunkers. Earlier this week i invited a small group discussion courage. And sometimes courage really is about that showing up. Sometimes it's about revisiting stories. Or ways in which they were being called. Intersection of encourage. The story of a four-year-old child who witnessed a pedestrian. She described it as an act of courage. And be okay. Or the rule following good girl who wouldn't stand up for herself. The union member. To brave the wilderness. We need. I thought going out. Courage brings more subtle changes. And challenges. In many ways. Couldn't. Victoria had written. Here is where i stay. Here is a place where i forgave someone against my better judgment and i survived. She wrote about being forgiven. And it happens because she has the courage to see with her own eyes ears and she sings her own song. With trepidation yes. But she sings it. And finally. Marks the spot where her heart has been opened. Like with a surgeon's knife. Relationship. She belongs to a life anticipated. My family of origin. If there had been some mistake. I couldn't really be from this family. Their hobbies their choices of me. Preferences. Are vastly different from mine maybe there was a mistake at the hospital. So many years ago. And so i spent complete acceptance. I attended the university and found my people for a while. I worked in different countries searching for my people. I found a rewarding sense of shared humanity but. Outlook on life was simply not the same over the years the more experiences i accumulated. The wilderness of life. My brother-in-law is a retired prison guard. Images of our congregations black lives matter sign. I never really thought he was on facebook. Kids articles. Iso for a long time i ignored a kind of facebook. Disagreement dialogue. Somehow i had stumbled into the wrong family. So course lies matter. That's the first principle of. What you say. Black lives matter is a witness and to take a stand for. And that is what we do. Crushed by the institution of slavery. Discrimination. The treatment of people of color and fairly. Across this country too often and they should not run. Neighborhood street. I also knew that my brother-in-law had been a uniformed officer who hated what prison did to people. She believes it was a necessary institution. And yet. Despite his experience. He was proud of those police officers who tried to keep the peace for all. Some of the officers. Do their work. In a fair and just weigh. And be honest and authentic about my understanding of what ails our society. The surprising national election results. Add christmas gift-giving time after lots of online research and living with seemingly irreconcilable. I found a creative way to respond to him. There's a fund in boston that supports the police and city residents by placing officers on slipped in neighborhood. The fund also provide the police with bulletproof vest vest that sit inside. In those neighborhoods. I can't say that giving this holiday gift. Recognize what was important to both of us. When he receive notice that the gifts. Came to him he didn't investigate that website to the boston police department. And he was so surprised in his name. I know because i had to call him. John. Open it. Quick. And even then he waited. And my sister said. This is what it is and she repeated. But i told her and i heard him say. It started a bridge between us. And i recognize that we are from the same family even if by marriage. Resolving differences in finding solutions to conflicting values. Any community that is the mirror image. We need to find something more injuring overtime. Paradox is one of our most valued possessions. And a great witness to truth. There are times because it is. Paradox is what innovation. It's a story that took place recently in it didn't make headlines in the news. Greg gave me permission to tell the story and he also received permission from the example is being shared. Have chosen at his name in our. The story began in summer. Imam shaheen from the davis muslim center gave and causing a great deal of hurt and pain in our community. Listen to ask. But a small snippet doesn't tell the whole story. Get embedded in other pieces of news. And then. Go viral. Listen to the tower. I was pained by everything i heard. That snap it was not. Anomaly. Intolerant. He was hostile to jews. Understandably upsetting. In this community and beyond. During the weeks following that sermon. Imam. I was invited to speak and to address hate speech at that gathering ended. It was not our way to intervene to be witnesses. Come to be present. Castleman. That he would wait to see if the actions of the imam would support his stated intention. And wish for reconciliation. Participate in interface programming in our community to bring greater understanding of his face to his neighbors and for him to understand them. Keisters here within a community that has so much support for the mosque. The jewish high holy days. Focusing on forgiveness. Christian. This story that i will tell you is shared during that service. Abdul-kadir. Arrived early at the mosque. He wanted to be a welcoming present. Who is there. He was an imposing present dress completely in black and walking back and forth as if patrolling the entryway. The unmanned scowled at abdul karim. Introduced himself. How rude the young man was. He could see that this man was an extremist. And maybe even capable of violence. He was still angry. And his wife asked. How can you be so petty. Don't make such a big deal out of this. Just. Let it go. He was so angry. The next friday is he approached. Respond with what is better. If there is animosity between you and. They become like a dear friend. He doubted his teaching would make a difference but even remember. He could see that the young man had positioned himself at the entrance again his breast demeanor was the same as the previous friday. Where is your smile. You know the prophet instructs us to greet everyone we meet with a smile. He didn't get a smile. But they started a conversation. Started by saying. Let me ask you a question. What would be too if someone were to preach against. Noticed. I seem to think about the question. Another question. Do you think to pray against people is something that the prophet muhammad would want us to do. Man let down his guard for a moment and said. We told the imam in private that he shouldn't have referred to the jews in his statement. It was wrong. Seemed like a breakthrough. Meaningful conversation. They shook hands and finally exchange smiles. Have you sought to himself how easy it is to dismiss another person based. On our assumptions. Received. But it's not over yet. The next week when abdullah returned from the young man. Positioned at the mosque door. Return to the services on friday and he brought an ice-cold bottle with him. After the prayers and offered him the bottle of juice. To do. He said please don't embarrass me brother by rejecting his gifts that i brought you. And he expected the young man to politely refuse. Much to his amazement. And was a gesture of kindness. Cutting felt open till i swear i love you. For the sake of god. I love you even though i looked. And i disagree. View. Like to hear him disagree. Rabbi greg. I truly love that. Involuntarily i can't help it. I don't know. And i plan to invite to dinner so that we can discuss our polar opposite views on some things and see how to bridge the gaps. He said love is universal and waze. We have much more good and bad and it has to be nurtured. What is story. This is a story of a muslim leader. In the davis congregation. In the synagogue. There are different responses to the face walk this afternoon at 4 p.m. which i. Reason i'm wearing a clergy collar. I am identifying myself and my role. In a radio broadcast is last week greg wolfe said that some members of his congregation. Angry. Really. Demonstrating against the continued presence in davis. What's important is that i received this morning that was extensive listing the many hours of direct conversation that have happened between. About. The differences the viewpoints. There's a right. To protest in our country and all those who will be there have a right to protest with others to each space community. We have questions to get to know each other. As we walk. So that is our purpose in walking. It's because people of all phase and people who are outside of any. Disagreed vehemently with the july sermon given by imam shaheen. And the effort. I trust the people who've worked with had assured me of his goodwill. Equally if not more and i am also a part of a small group. That shares. Personal. Situations where we are a group of clergy. As being a clergy person and he is a member of that group. Brene brown. She said we have found the courage to be in that wilderness of relationship or you're not at either poehler and but conversing in the middle about. It doesn't become easy. But that has marked her heart. And we can see. Biking victoria's poem. Where are heartless. Sturgeons nice. Conversion. Expensive bologna. And to that i say amen. Invite you into a time of prayer at time of meditation. Settle your spirit. In the space together. Quested arcare. The 14 unitarian universalist. And the three families in napa who lost their homes in the fires. This past week. And to all of us. Ross is great. Clergy in those two. Strong. Seismic. Happy islamic center against the imams presents in davis. And i ask that you hold in your heart. Also this afternoon. Was silent the whole saw. The singing take us into the quiet. Resound in your body. Donahue. The courage today. At last. What i came here for. My heart on fear no more. Recognizing. Why is my microphone. Hands around. If you're interested in knowing the questions. The courage shown by others honest friends singing brings beauty and energy. The desire for change. Enjoying every moment.

uudavispodcast_org

2015-05-17_Coming-of-Age-Celebration_11_151.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons another recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at www.sec.gov org-mode information. Good morning my name is kate raymond i'm the director of lifespan learning here at this church and i am so happy to see you all thank you for being here this is an important service for our families and our very nervous youth and for me so i'm so glad to see so many people here that that love us any choice other. A special welcome to you if you are new today to this congregation if you've been looking for a congregation where your doubts are respected greeks are comforted. Joy's are celebrated where your concerns are shared. Reason is honored and your need to serve others is fostered. If you have been looking for a congregation where your children. Are taught about other religions and invited to grow in faith leadership and service. Then perhaps you have found your home here. Welcome to the unitarian universalist church of davis. We hope you will not rush off after the service but we'll stay take some time and perhaps meet a new friend or two. Good morning and welcome to the coming-of-age celebration service. Leather joe king along with kate and meghan and jason george having one of the leaders for the coming-of-age program this year experience isn't beliefs from the youth in our congregation continues or as a larger group. As we speak of the mentors i just want to pause and recognize and thank each of them for the time and emotional energy that need to do put into this program this year commitment to the program into the you thank you. In the coming-of-age program this year we discussed life. Death after life. The guide you do or don't believe in. Tucker social justice the meaning and practice of leadership. Denominational elevator speeches and history including matching some famous you use with the most similar member of the beatles. Another was to the tenderloin district in san francisco and another was a nature vigil down the east bay but in those in those retreats before as teams and individually to successfully complete the ropes course getting your team across a very challenging physical space challenging your own sense of teamwork and your own physical ability. Explorer. The streets and the people of san francisco tenderloin district. Who supported davis community meals and individually the use of sat quietly outside in nature. Most of the day. I recall being about the age this group is now. When telephones had no cord or telephone pad chords i'm not that young computers were mainframes there was no internet. Tv with three networks. I was packing for a 10-day backpacking trip to new mexico i was watching richard nixon on tv announcing his resignation as president. New mexico we learned in applied orienteering using a map and a compass to find our way. Now with technology we connect globally with handheld devices a world of knowledge and a gadget smaller than most wallets. And then we need to navigate. Gps. I do still like using maps i like to see beyond the next left turn this dictated by the voice on the gps i like to understand the full of context of the journey the options to the east or to the west and less traveled back roads. I know it with handheld devices all of the youth in this program are well able to navigate using gps. But i also believe in your experience in this church in the re-program and through the coming-of-age program you've been given a map and a compass to see the broader context the back road options. And the diverse orientations as you navigate your life journeys. I'm impressed with your intellect your energy and your intentions through this program unsound optimism i look forward to a day when you and your generation are leaders and innovators living and sharing your beliefs and your values. Thank you. As we like this chalice we take those little sparks glowing within all of us and combine them to create this flame. When i started looking back at this year with the spectacular group of youth and mentors and trying to think of ways that i had seen our youth come of age. I found myself stuck. For the most part i could not think of any visible or explainable accomplishments that i had seen made because of this program. At first this had me disappointed. I was feeling that the other leaders and i had not done our jobs in providing ways for these youth to grow. Then i started to realize that really it was that this group as a whole was already very mature and connected to their inner thoughts and feelings when i realize this examples of how the youth already were able to support themselves and more importantly each other came flooding into my head. Here just a few. At our first coming-of-age event today as a group delivered a well-thought-out and eloquent argument for why they should be allowed to stay up later and play on the playground when we created arcoa covenant that you supplied and explain almost every aspect of it to the adult mentors. Our meetings throughout the year were filled with thoughtful discussions about ideas brought forward by the youth not the adults. Wall at one of our district retreats i saw one use from our church looking sad. Have they started walking towards them i saw that another use for my church was already there to comfort and support them. Two weeks ago when i heard our youth practice their kratos i found myself nodding along with some in agreement with some of the statements they were sharing that i had never thought of before. I was unable to identify ways that we as adults talk this group of youth. But i could come up with a list of ways that they had impressed me and taught others and myself. As a group you have had a lot of big events happen this year. I have seen you handle them with toys and resiliency. Poet samuel almond rates maturity is the ability to think speak and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations. Color participants you are all more mature thoughtful and caring and in tune with the needs of yourselves and those around you than i think you know. You did not need our teaching. Because you are fully capable of teaching yourselves and each other. Thank you all for a wonderful year of learning. Hello my name is twin rivers and today i'm going to be talking about some of my believes one of the first thing someone will ask you about your beliefs as what religion do you believe in for me i don't necessarily believe in a religion but i believe in the idea of religion religion is some group of ideals that a large group of people believe in a symbol or a thought that has. Many people supporting it is going to be stronger and sturdier than any other another thing that people ask you is death what do you think happens for me personally i don't really know i think that knowing kind of takes the fun out of life or a family member whoever it is. Nice to have some religion that tells you this person is in a better place rather than this person is decomposing under the layers of the earth really believe in a spirit i believe in kind of a force that binds everyone together so maybe that is a spirit or a higher power but most of all i believe in the universe when i want something or i want something like want to feel better about something then i asked the universe. An example is a few weeks ago i was biking home and i got lost in my phone was dead and so i was like okay universe you've done a lot for me i just i really need to get home it's like getting dark i'm biking without my phone and stuff and then somehow seemingly magically i turned and there was my house more than anything else. I also believe in love i believe that music is a way of displaying love or displaying a lack of love that you want to be fixed. Karma is another big one of my beliefs that will do something bad to you if you do something bad to someone else doesn't seem very nice and not like something that someone who has a lot of powered want to do. I think that if you do good then people will like you and you'll have friends and you'll be happy if you do bad then we will push people away and not so much. Thank you for listening. I've been going to the store since i was about two years old and throughout religious exploration mugs and, i've been exposed to many religions and beliefs there some aspects of other religions i enjoy like the gjm christian roots we celebrate at the church while some i strongly disagree with. So you may disagree with others beliefs it's important to respect their religion because for money the idea of a higher power for afterlife is comforting and can help explain sad events in their lives while talking to my friends of other religions and thankful to be a you you because we don't have imitation zappa we can be friends with based on what they believe or who they love. I have decided that i want to ramanujan unitarian universalist because of the strong sense of community and valleys we possess i know that i still have many more experiences to encounter that will change my beliefs but i'm glad i went through, to solidify my basic principles. What do i believe in a small question i believe in making mistakes. Loving holy laughing uncontrollably. I believe in singing under the stars at night. I will always remember. Listening to sammer quitter jason's guitar and sing till the sun goes down. I believe in making memories with friends ones you know you'll never forget. Throughout, i've made new friends and while we may have only met once a month. I bought myself growing close to the people there. We were a group and i've grown to know and love every one of them. False. Perfections and all. We've laughed cried song and accepted each other. Every aspect i didn't have to pretend or hold back which is an incredibly free experience. When we were sent into the woods for 6 hours i was expecting an overwhelming epiphany to her with most of my belief. It didn't happen as far as what i believe in the afterlife i don't know. It's going to take me more than a year to figure that out but what i do know is this. There's a difference between hoping and believing. With one it's something you really want to be true while the other you undoubtedly know even without proof. For example i really hope there's an afterlife. I'm not sure if i believe in it. But as far as closer things i have figured some out. What is all you mostest community. Something i found him,. A community is someplace where no matter who you are. You'll be accepted and loved for that person. And as far as long as i can remember that's what i've wanted. I found it at home camps at co-op. Dropped three different retreats was completed about myself in each one. In the ropes course i found out that it's going to take a lot more than just coaxing to get me a 50 ft redwood tree to zipline. We went to soup kitchen for lunch and my group and i were seated across from an elderly gentleman and i reach for the water which to pour myself a drink and you stopped me. He said. What kind of a gentleman would i be if i let you for your own water and important for me and everyone else at the table. In the final retreat i discovered that if you take a step away from your everyday life and you just listen. You'll find amazing things. I remember thinking. Bookmark. Right here. Right now this moment. 20 year old me 50 year old me i want you to remember. That right now. Everything is perfect. When i first went into, i wasn't expecting to make so many wonderful memories. But i'm still incredibly glad that i did. When kate raymond first asked me if i would be a mentor i said yes but inside i felt nervous i wanted to get to know the teams of our church but i was worried with my mentee like me what i be able to talk to my mint tea without saying something dumb or sounds like an old fogey of course maybe my meant he was just as nervous to meet me to maybe some things never change no matter what age you are. In the end i feel my mentee michelle monheit and i did quite well together and i really enjoyed the experience of getting to know her as a mentor you not only get to know the use of our church but if you go on the retreat you get to meet you you teens from other churches also such as berkeley fremont and fresno. I was lucky enough to attend all three color wheat sheets at the first we treat each adult was told that we had to be a leader of a wisdom circle which consisted of one adult and about five teens. Again my nervous fears rose up in my chest i'm happy to be just a sheep in the flock would i be able to make a connection and relate to five teens i kept those thoughts to myself and thank goodness we were given a guideline of topics to discuss so i remain calm and carried on. I have felt so comfortable with him by the end of the weekend that it felt like they were from our very own davis church what's to my surprise one of them seen it came to me later and gave me a big hug it felt wonderful so i guess i did okay. We were asked to imagine ourselves as homeless what would that look and feel like. The moderator asked for volunteer to take on the role of a homeless person and to answer questions of what it was like to be homeless. One of our own davis used volunteered and assumed the role and then the moderator began interviewing the teen this teen assume the roles tell convincingly my mouth dropped open in. It was perfection right down to the posturing. The inflection in the team's voice. And in the realistic answers. How could this teen seem to understand so well the plight of the homeless it was as this this teen with channeling the soul of a homeless person it was an incredible performance and the other adults were is australia as i wasn't. The final retreat was the silent vigil camp out one of my favorite memories was after the vigil when i was teamed up with another adult as part of an elder council our purpose was to ask the teens about their visual experiences and their insight. We were to withhold judgment until just listen to what the teams had to say there are no right or wrong answers i love hearing what each team had to share it was very meaningful and moving for me to hear they're thoughtful mature and i felt sincere responses. My time as a commenter has been an enriching its sacred experience. Over the months as mentors and manatees together we shared so much to our meetings worship and retreats we shared laughter and tears we shared our thoughts on life death god spirituality and of our personal and youyou values this experience has given me a greater appreciation or respect for our youth and our youth leaders are, teens are creative talented intelligent and compassionate they have much to say if we just listen. Ab 7uu principles the first one i value the most because it refers to equality i have chosen this because it's the basis of how i act. I do believe that everyone is equal no matter what they can or can't do equal chances for opportunities for anyting. When i was 6 years old my brother was diagnosed with autism i didn't really understand what it was. But until i was 10 years old i figured it out. Autism is a serious disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact when i was about 10 i really thought about it i thought that he wasn't going to be able to have the same opportunities as his classmates would have but he does. Because of my brother my number one value is equality. I could have stayed it could have been love or caring or compassion. I think i look at the world differently because of my brother. I think i'm more sensitive to differences in physical and mental abilities my belief in equality widens my imagination i think it helps me look at the look at things differently. I believe that when you are treated equal you have a sense of belonging in the world. Ever since i was little i've been asked what do you believes that leads to other questions and they all tend to lead to do you believe in god i've always responded with no. You have to believe in god in order to believe. I believe in many things other than god and when i think about what people actually believe in when they say they believe in god i realized that they believe in all the things they want to see in the world love peace respect kindness we can always see them in the people around us so some to see them in god. I don't believe in god. Tri-cities tracing the people around me. I believe in the love of the people i surround myself with. I believe in being kind to others. I believe in respecting and accepting those around me. I believe in individuals having individual opinions. I believe in the goodness that is in every person's heart. I believe in the potential for my beliefs to change as the world around me changes. Good morning everybody i'm leaving hookah time quinn's mom and i have a long history with the coming-of-age program at this church in fact i'm not entirely sure but i believe i facilitated the first coming-of-age program at this church. Unfortunately after laying some groundwork as she was diagnosed with cancer and had to immediately go on leave for those children it was very sad they were very attached to her and they were really excited about coming of age i had worked with them a little bit on sunday mornings they asked her parents who asked me if i would take over and run that program for that i was very nervous and had one small child and was in seminary and a lot of other things to do but i couldn't say no under the circumstances. And. We did some more things to what is done now on a much less organized level we didn't meditation we had ice cream sundaes reach topping with a different kind of belief and if you believe in god you had sprinkled but if you believe. And i'm looking for the institutional history if you ever go to the cottage you see a mural on the wall that mural was painted after that first coming of age group and there's a raindrop that has a giraffe in it and that was painted by the kids for chris cry because her way of being in the world was to always stick your neck out for other people and so the kids do that for her and each of those founding members also made their own. A i have a very special relationship with the coming-of-age program. I sent here today however not of the representative of the history of coming-of-age but as the mother of queen rivers and. Color along with owl are about our hope our whole lives sexuality education program of this church are the two main reasons that from small children i was dedicated to bringing my kids here every sunday. I think of that i went i knew that those program existed and helps and even making them happen i was constantly thinking of the time when my kids would get to benefit from these and what i would want for them and trying to put that into the previous incarnations and. I am just so pleased now for having got to be a part of that so that when quinn is here today i know all of those things that he's gotten to experience to this i've made many mistakes as a parent elementary school. Have many times especially as a teenager. Seen the things that he was struggling with and said oh it's a team thing that's what they struggle with and not taking the time to really listen to the things that he was experiencing and help him through them. Also i've made a big point of never expressing anger in front of my children i don't know why i decided that but i did and i think that's made it hard sometimes for quinn to be able to express his own anger which is given him struggles in his life and for all those things i'm sorry. I feel like. I made up for a little bit i'm making sure you were part of the stairs community. So. Hear my son says having gone through the all program and through coming-of-age and he is to me every bit as awesome as all of those used in my first coming-of-age program. He's compassionate he's a justice-seeking person who cares about right and wrong and once again the side of right. Because of this place and all of the people here every already teacher he's had that made him want to come to church on sunday every mentor that has been in any of his classes or programs that he's been part of the teenager and every single person who just says hi to our kids and teens everyday just because your friendly and you like his it makes a big difference i made my kids come here every sunday just about even when we were tired and wanted to sleep in even when we had. We have a new possibility here this year with this group and i'm excited about it and i hope you'll like to take heart it's called our congregational welcome through this year of meeting a series of challenges and learning more about life's big questions are coming with you. Much of what they hold most dear. The sharing of the kratos which was not an easy thing to do isn't offering to you all. Step toward connection. A step towards being a mature member of this make this community. So how did you receive their offering. Did the kratos move you. Or strip questions. Perhaps you're filled with appreciation or inspiration. So here's the invitation. You are warmly invited. To meet with these youth. After this service. Introduce yourself. Share how their cradles affected you. And the youth who spoke today will be in the social hall after the service. Hoping that some of you will stop by to say hello. To invite the coming-of-age youth to join me here at the front and a circle around the pulpit. Alexis circle. You've been on a journey for some time now. It's not a journey that every person makes with your intentionality and purpose. Nor does everyone enjoy the companionship that you've shared with one another along this coming-of-age pathway. The journey of religious exploration spiritual exercise and theological inquiry. Is of course the nun ending 1. But today we mark with you an important threshold on the journey you've begun today is the last time you will be together as a coming-of-age group. As a part of this unitarian universalist community we surround you today. Blessing you on your journey. Celebrating your movement to a new stage and religious exploration. And committing to you that we will continue the journey alongside you. Now if lamenters of these coming-of-age youth would come forward and surround them. Placing your hands. On their shoulders. We recognize the role of mentor as an especially important one in all of our lives. A roll of steady companionship. Of sharing and laughter and tears of wisdom emerging from surprising places. And. A relationship of mutual growth. As these mentor surround the youth with whom they've journeyed we celebrate with you the time you shared and we thank you for the dedication and commitment you've made to the lives of these youth. The relationships you've nurtured together will contribute to the continued cultivation of our entire community here at uucd and for that we are all blessed. Don't like to invite the family members of the coming-of-age youth forward to surround the youth and their mentors. Place your hands on one of them. We are grateful that you have entrusted this congregation especially kate raymond the coming-of-age leaders and all of these minter's to companion your youth on the coming-of-age journey. We recognize this as a sacred task and we do not take the responsibility lightly. We celebrate with you the growth. Your youth have experienced and the congregation of uucd commits to continue alongside them and alongside you as the unending journey of inquiry and growth continues. As a blessing of the community we share here at uucd i now invite the entire congregation to move a little closer forward reaching out your hands placing them on those around you all reaching all the way up to the to the circle of youth and the front. Words of benediction by eric williams and then we will return to our seats for a closing song or somewhere near your seats. Securities words of benediction. Blessed is the path on which you travel. Blessed is the body that carries you upon it. Blessed is your heart that has heard the call. Blessed is your mind that discerns the way. Blessed is the gift. That you will receive by going. Truly. Blessed. Is the gift that you will become on the journey. May you go forth in peace. Coming.

uudavispodcast_org

2012-11-18-Worship-11_15-ED.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at www.sec.gov org for further information. We're dealing with a difficult. Topic today. Not as blame there's nothing to gain from that but as. Understanding. I believe that. Better understanding history. Can help us especially. When that understanding is difficult. Are calluses a symbol that was first developed in world war with a symbol. For the our unitarian group which was a forerunner of the unitarian universalist service. Comedy that was secretly smuggling jews out of germany during world war 2. Dangerous works i made it. Some didn't. In the holocaust of world war proximately a million jewish children to million jewish women $3000000 men perished. Current scholarly estimates suggest. That in the european conquest of the western hemisphere. Perhaps. 50 million. Or more native americans perished. I like the chalice to shine the light on this for us to better know for us to better understand. And for us to continue our work in making the world better. High school years. You can head out to the california desert. The china lake naval weapons station just west of death valley. Well that's one big one canyon. Does the canyon of the coastal mountain range. Here you can find the longest running historical example of human art. In the world. You can walk this canyon from the top to the bottom. Where residents were carving. Petroglyphs. Petroglyphs is there some areas of the desert. When's lots of lighting conditions are right that over thousands and thousands and thousands of years this is black patina built up on the rocks. And the artists scrape. Patina off. And because it's continuously building on the rocks it gives scientists some way to estimate. How old some of these petroglyphs. It's not easy and it's not precise. There's some disagreement but so now imagine this continuous art gallery. That started somewhere around 12 to 15,000 years ago. And year after year. Over that time. they work their way down the canyon working down the canyon sequentially stopping about 100 years ago. So this is evidence not of 4000 years ago. Evidence of. 1012. Perhaps 15,000 years ago somewhere in the range of. Six seven thousand years before. The pyramids. What i learned in high school wasn't exactly correct. Which. Maybe not a big surprise because lots of things i knew for sure in high school turn out not to be correct. But what this says it's not only. Not only had these native americans been here for in fact a really long time. But recent scholarship suggest. That there may have been as much as 10 times or more. Here. When europeans arrived when we originally originally thought. The highest estimates are in the range of 100 million which. Tell me what kind of pie. Sms of around 50 million i think. People are kind of settled at. Solid number self. When the europeans quote-unquote discovered this continent in the one south to us. It wasn't new to these people and in the course of this discovery. They wiped out. Perhaps 90%. A population. The course of this discovery. Truck their homeland. Now hours. I need the deborah just stopped to think of how in god's name you could possibly justify this. Wasn't god who justified it was pope nicholas pope alexander the 6th. When 1493. Extended to spain the right to conquer these newly-founded lands 1493 just after columbus found them. Something worth. Discovering or. Taken. On the other side of the ocean. This what's the papal bull called the interior tutera. It said the taking lands of non-christians was justified since they weren't christians well they weren't people so they were entitled to the lands. Innocent people on these lands. The europeans direct result of church doctrine after the crusades. Hope necklace directed king alfonso to quote. Capture vanquish and subdue the saracens pagans and other enemies of price to put them in perpetual slavery. And to take all their possessions and property. So thanks for the pope. The early europeans. And then our country's founding fathers. Had a legal basis. For taking north america from them. Keeping its rox. Just came to be called the doctrine of discovery. Some may. Remember the term that. Was based on this cold manifest destiny. Well thank goodness that this legal justification just does not exist. Spirit of life and love. The rains have come. Soaking the earth washing it clean. Making new life possible in this northern california season of emerging winter. Darkness and growth coming at once. Just as it is. So much of life. We hold in our hearts those who struggle with love at the season of the holidays. The death of someone we love. Broken relationships that may not be mended. Children who are not with us. The images of what to expect are so high. May there be moments of touch. And some laughter. Simple straightforward taste of pears. Persimmons. Tweet. Dates. The weight of an arm around. Are shoulder. And may we not wait. But be the one. Start the conversation reach. Touch. Begin. The laugh. The others. Offer some small treasure of teeth darkness and giving all at once. That's life. Our country needs our best support no matter what our political party. Only when we work together will the hungry be fed. Those whose help. What is failing be supported. And the ones among us without work find jobs. In this time of need. May there be solutions we can promote. Darkness. And hope. All at once. And that's life. Spirit of life and love. Weave around us and open our hearts. So we can know really know. Darkness. And growth. Darkness and giving. Darkness and hope. Darkness. And lie. Each of us is an intricate web of relationships. When one of us celebrate the joy of grieves the loss of web of life moves to a new shape. We are apart of the turn of the earth. Shifted the stars the pull of. See. An oil change. Open. My heart. Open my heart. Mary oliver the arrowhead. Arrowhead which i found beside the river with glittering and pointed. I picked it up and said now it's mine. I thought of showing it to friends i thought of putting it such an imposing trinket in a little box on my desk. Halfway home past the cut fields. The old ghost stood under the hickories. I would rather drink the wind you said. I would rather eat mud. And die. Then steal. As you still feel. Then why. As you still lie. I would rather drink the wind. Would rather eat mud. And still as you. Deals. Then why. And you still lie. November is the month of covenant. It's the theme of this month in. We started the month talking about a covenant that worked really well. The covenant of the massachusetts bay. Colony. The covenant worked well within that community. But today we're talking about a covenant that went wrong. It went awry. The cold spring day in 1851. A line of men ride their horses along a ridge through magnificent scenery. None of them imagine this beauty not even in their dreams. They are on a mission to take care of the indian problem. It's valley the ridge that they traverse has not been traveled by many or any caucasians. But the men are not honestly impressed. Are the cascading waterfalls and the stone on either side of them. They are vigilant. Only to the potential danger of an indian attack. Except for one young man. Lafayette. Brunel. He's a soldier in the mariposa battalion. A pickup army. Sanctioned by the american government. To make northern california. Say. For the gold miners and the settlers. Benelli's nothing is the only one actually who is literate. The only one who recorded his time on this journey. With danger and it's breathtaking beauty. Deep. Snow surrounds the trail. With. A cloud hanging in the valley below them. He is. Done. Bye-bye. He writes i left the trail and my horse. And wallow through the snow to a granite rock. So interested was i in the scene before me that i did not observe that my comrades had all moved on. And soon i would be left. Indeed alone. Lafayette bunnell. Commanding officer notices that one of his battalion has left the formation. And he says damn wake up. Wake up from your dream. Are you may lose your hair. Keep moving. Or some murdering devils may be lurking to pick off stragglers. So you're not right. I joined the group is they descend. But other views presented. Themselves to me. He continues to be incredibly distracted as he. Goes down the trail and finally says if my hair. Is now required he's so ready to give up his hair if my hair is now required i can depart in peace. Ryan seen the glory. And the power of a supreme being. The map. At night. Around the campfire. Some of the men. Smoke out the indians that they're chasing. Lafayette. He wants. Stay in the valley. For the waterfall. That he thinks will become even more magnificent. And the eventual. Spring flowers and i think he really had no. How magnificent. Flowers. But you can imagine the men around this campfire just laugh at him. They don't find the indians. But the battalion find great stores great cassius. Acorn. The staple food for the yosemite family. Years worth. Acorn. And they find the obscenities home. And the soldiers burn everything. They can't kill the indians they will starve them. They figure. No loss of lives on their side. And certainly it will. The indian. The reason. The mariposa. Italian assume that you've has the right. Take care of the indian problem. Comes from the doctrine of discovery. Bribed. For two centuries. The doctrine of discovery. Pave the way. Go west. Go west and take your. 4 gold. Your family. For farming. Your ship. To carry the florist. To other lands. For the lumber. Settlers who moved west in the mid-1800s. Believe that they are given a blessing from the cristiano. Superior god to spread western. Culture and religion we still remember this it is. Gives religion. Add name. They take the land and the resources. For themselves. And the glory of. With the second awakening the country is on fire. Firebird. Fire with a mandate to own the land. Between the atlantic and the pacific oceans from the canadian border to the mexican border. Manifest. Ward. Sue to discover how far north. And how far is southeast boundaries could possibly. It is the job. Army and the sea. Civilized. Lauren there were. Exterminate. It is also their right to control the spanish live in the southwest. I control those. Valuable westernport. Is the job of the miners. Subdue the earth. For her well. It's actually written in our law. In 1823 chief justice john marshall rights. Christian people. Play discover the lands of heathens. I'd assume the right. Ultimate dominion. From the court ruling the indians were given the right not. To only off. High-end not control. The land that they lived on. Onus. Oneoc. And from what i read in the unitarian universalist association literature. Judge marsha. Court ruling. Has been referred to. Inwego. As recently as 20. John of course. With intentionally. Leaving you alone. And you had the wisdom. I wanted to give an example of the doctrine of discovery in our own backyard. So we return to the mariposa. Italian who are in search of those yosemite indians. These first nations people are composite tribe. Including the ahwahnee. Who had been almost completely wiped out by disease. Their dialect. Is a combination of all. The indians in the surrounding area. But also they had. Spanish. An english. And french. The influence of all these times merged to create a new language. They do not have one. Clear. Identity. Much to the frustration. And confusion. Of those who were coming to settle. They are not always. Of 1. Mine. Would you like saying. Unitarian universalist all believe. Overtime the larger tribes splinters. They disagree on how to deal with the white. Some go to the mountains. Some hide in the rugged beauty of yosemite. Others eventually moved to reservations all over but. At this time near fresno. Settlers try to make sense. Of the indians. This they are one. The first nations people themselves. One thing that is constant is that they repeatedly say. Set the land. Is there. But what they mean. Is that their people have lived in this place for uncounted. Century. No one person. Own the land. No one indian. Can spell. On behalf of others you can imagine how many times that go. Confused. The coming together of these two cultures is a nightmare. A completely. Different. Imagine. Imagine what it must have been like. For the first nations people to witness. The small settlement. A san francisco. Go from 200 settlers in 1846. 2:30. Thousand. 6 years. And this doesn't count those who move into the sierra nevada mountains. The time of the gold rush. Is it any wonder. There are skirmishes. I'm on the minors. The new villages. And the indigenous. Why. Store owner. Who trade between the two cultures learn. The language of. Tribe. Ameri. The women. Not because of. That's not because of a love of the people are the culture. It is to ensure allegiance. And they hope. Life insurance. For protect. One well-known store owner. Has five lives. One from each of five.. The miners hire the yosemite to mine for gold to serve as guards. Their payments. In the early times is western clothing. And some small portion of gold. Neither western clothing nor gold are really valued by the yosemite so i don't know exactly what. For them. There are men among the settlers. Government officials and. Is lafayette in the mariposa battalion. To see the humanity of the yosemite people. It would be a paltry showing by today's standards but. Truly encouraging. For the time. Uu story analysis blair wesley wrote that. It's arrogance and i would have us hear the. Arrogant to see with hindsight mistakes. Of the generations that came before. And to demonize. We need to be clear about their gifts. And their mistakes. Because the consequences of both. Shape. Is wrong. The central core tribe of the yosemite people hid deep in the valley. And the mariposa. Italian for many months. The battalion. Led by. To the yosemite by scouts from. Competing. There is. The elderly. Medici. Tenaya. Tide. Soldiers by a rope. If they walk. No. 5 ft. And more. He is their distinguished. He is elderly. Time. When they find the tribe only 35 people remain. They're starving and cold. Led without food. Clothing remember there. Food. Your exhaust. I'm building all signal fires they say to outmaneuver the soldiers. And the young lucci. Was put in place when the elder. Even then where can we go now. That the americans will not follow us. So there is no fight. There is no flea and there's no place to. They surrender. Both of yosemite in the soldiers sleep in one encampment that night. I did the morning. Lafayette brunell speaks. He said we told him that we had given his name. To a lake. Into a river. And it first. Stan. But sanaya says. The mountains and lakes. Already have. A name. Louis told them. That we had named the places after him because. We had found his people there. I guess people would never return to this place to live. So we needed to give. Then his name. Edwin taniya understand. He really. He understands the white man's language. On. He really under. Lafayette pities him. He said. If people had built their last wigwams. They believed they were leading away the remnant of the. His tribute to the chief was to ensure that true indian chief named grace the beauty of the land but. That was not. What was really. The christian science monitor reports that the world is truly becoming safer. And we are becoming wiser. A century. The article tracks wars and deaths worldwide poverty and disease. Because data. The show facts. One reason the world can become more suitable for life. Is because we can learn. From past mistakes. Even if we cannot write what. What's wrong. We can face. Future. A whole societies act. For centuries. Cannot easily be undone. I learned about the doctrine of discovery with many other unitarian. When are partners in justice. In phoenix. Ask that we study the doctrine of discovery. And how it supports our current immigration laws. United nations. You dated the doctrine decades. But both. The dominant culture of which i am a part. Andy and did you. People. Are still learning about it. Pattern. Exploration and. 40. Makes far more sense to me now. It makes. I read. The discovery of yosemite for a second time. In july. And that's where i got. And i hiked into yosemite. At the end of that month. I saw a. Yosemite. Then i had ever seen before. Yes i was on different trails admiring the flowers much higher than where i'd ever. Even into that last. But i saw yosemite weather. Different mindset. Aware of how this land along. 2. Different people. In a whole different way. And i am now. Humble. But i asked what more can be take. Well we can take ideas. And we can take. Your enemy can take their. Without understanding them. We can take personal adornment. It is not from our coach. I am so much more vigilant. From others now. And audrina the world feels. Safer because i see the pattern. And i know how i am a part of it. And with that knowledge. I can make sure. Andy weiser. This. Is my home. It is my hope for. And it is. I'm grateful for this church i'm grateful for the joists. It gets me i'm grateful. 4. The times it presents me. With difficulties. Topics like this which are not easy to deal with but i think will help me deal with the words. World the better way. I'm grateful for reykjavik after the first service driving back. Bringing me some eucalyptus mints in the hopes that my voice will make it through the second. Service. But. Abyssal often happens in this church. I'm. Just frankly blown away i knew that ray. Grew up in the desert. I didn't know that he grew up. Near buckhannon. I didn't know there was a child he went walking around it. For the department of defense close it down enough to go through a security clearance. To be on a tour which can be cancelled at any moment. And then of course since i'm already a surprise as i can be there's no point in being surprised that he also presented me with this poem. Renegade canyon. Halfmoon body legs and stretch spiral horns small head like an afterthought ghost grey profile. The mountain sheep. Hammered into blackrock. Cheap icons hunter icons cucina icons patterns. Gotten power from miles they crowd each. Play some stone. As a boy i dreamed europe shaman's chanting hunting parties trampling. This desolate streambed how else to account for 10,000 images. Some of the man figures carry bose they are recent a few centuries. Other brandish weighted sticks. They are speer hurlers from the dawn time 10,000 years ago. Enough time has whispered here so each seek. Could have come alone. Across the blackrock uplands. Seeking truth or dreams or some solitary magic. Of the great horn sheep. Thank you for your generosity. We take our offering. Let me hear indian prayer. Invite you to take hands around the rim. Holiday season. Lot of covenant to one another. To reach out. When in doubt. To touch the hand of another. To see the life. Is in the midst of darkness. To love one another. Bring others into your life. Am i just gathering say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2015-08-23_Living-the-Questions_10_00.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons another recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. A service for this team of worship associate until yesterday they put together the order service about 3 or 4 p.m. to 3 p.m. and so using worship theory figuring out how to put together a worship service so they did not have an order of service to you are living a worship service that is alive. Good morning and welcome to the unitarian universalist church of davis my name is laura thompson and i'm the campus minister and minister really intern for the coming year as well and we're happy to be here and i'm happy that they're leaving the service today i'll have plenty of opportunity for that later should you love the service today so much that you want to listen to it again or pass it on. Once again welcome community where we challenge each other encouraged each other support each other our work is to keep our site on the best we can be in this place we are surrounded by a diversity of religious beliefs and cherish the living earth as our sacred home. Because this is laura's first sunday meeting with us i've asked her to later chalice for us today in the mystery of life about us there is light it gives us a place to be to grow to rejoice together it opens the pathways to love in this friendship there is freedom go before us strong and hope widen goodwill inviting the data, these opening words we who are bent on loving we gather together here we gather as a community drawn together out of a common need each toting our own carpet bag of treasures and dreams. This is a reading from rainier from letters to a young poet be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue do not now seek the answers which cannot be given because you would not be able to live them and the point is to live everything live the questions now perhaps you will then gradually without noticing it live along some distant day into the answer. I opened up my computer browser to see facebook explaining what is your true calling this type of quiz is comment on facebook usually explaining if you were a movie which one would you be or what day should you have been born in typically 10 questions reveal the answer a job but i choose to do with my free re-time how i treat others am i called by a god can i only have one calling how will my calling change over time what is my calling in context of uuism how do i live this one precious life when i die. 7 question i have been wrestling with his where did they see idea of us and them originate first who are the most intelligent beings on earth it was human but when i think about humpback whales who swims 16,000 more than any mammal on earth and octopi who won. At this time in my life i'm still getting used to being retired the big question is what am i going to do with the rest of my life i've been asking this for some months now and i think about a project what do i consider as most important anyway my mother is 97 years old now and so 25 years left how are you embrace this past week with my family sold and still a new walker you know how it is with people of this age they are so full of energy and wonder everything is shiny and new. Marcus aurelius philosopher in a room when they said it's current no sooner the thing brought into sight than it is sweat by and another takes its place and this too will be swept away there was a constant fluff to life. Everyone has big milestones in their lives graduations marriages things like that or solution to a problem unimportant pretty big deal after the first day of senior year. I come from a family that really likes answers when i was 9 i asked my dad what the difference was between sleet and snow and he told me to write a report. Hey i invite you to take hands the words of this benediction are by eric williams blessed is the path on which you travel messages the body that carries you upon it blessed is your heart that is heard the call blessed is your mind that discerns the way blessed is the gift that you will receive by going truly blessed is the gifts that you will become on the journey may you go forth in peace what this congregation say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-10-30-Dia-de-los-Muertos_I-Wish-Id-Told-You.mp3?_=1

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california website at www.sec.gov org for further information. Come here you have a message or a need to be quiet and remember. Nameless beard alone and unknown in the bloom out of the darkness illuminated. What is it all about. In the united states lady of the dead honored figure is known as. costumes these are based on the original katrina. An action by jose guadalupe completed as distinct and separate from european aristocracy association is quite widespread. Calavera catrina did not come to be associated with dia de los muertos until after prior to the arrival of spanish colonists in the sixteenth-century spanish colonialism here. Messages left with family traditions vary widely from one community to the next family is may gather to pray for and remember those who have died. People gather to offer support for the spiritual journey is of those who have departed school children in their school kids and adults alike will have their faces painted like. Bringing a key image in celebration of november 2nd the souls of the departed find their way back to heaven families say goodbye for another year. And once again closing the barrier between life and death and memories. In this sacred space on our alter we bless this bread by our memories and with others with your sweet memories please, please. It is right to remember the names of. Name the power of hard lives well-lived. We share a history with those live. We belong. The same motion. Disappeared. Kohl's. We the living. them with us. We are their voices. We take them with us. And we choose the deeper path.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-11-27-Choose-Your-Own-ADVENTure.mp3?_=1

Welcome to sunday sermons another recording from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at www.sec.gov or further information. Come to the church community and to make meaning of our lives. Universalism is creating a secret community of discovery and love you and thank you for being with us today. Kindle this morning call us into community remind us of the hope for what may come. Is a season of expectant and preparation for the celebration of the nativity of jesus before christmas. Peace and the pink one is for joy. Season. I'm supporting indigenous rights we live. Today's reading comes from the unitarian universalist and sings to the universe. We are the grandmother's prayers. Grandfather's dreamings. We are the breath of our ancestors. We are the spirit of god. Sons of sisters of mercy. Nations we are seekers of truth keepers insane makers of peace. And the wisdom of ages grandmother's prayers. We are grandfather's dreamings. We are we are the spirit of god. And sings to the universe who we are we. Is about it's about election today is very personal. Four months of fertility treatments i finally got pregnant as you can imagine i was excited and overjoyed for weeks later. I learned from my mistakes only my closest support group i was excited and scared. Patients at extreme disappointment i had never had any of these heart breaks. My family and friends had no problems. Positive with no aspiration. And i named her grace which means mercy give me more patience and more appreciation for the beautiful three babies that i have now. Families. I want to invite you into the creation. Our story will be reminded for today. Elizabeth. Throwing up. God's commandments. Was expecting when she grew up she married into another priest. B and her husband. Childless tried for years to conceive each month they held their hands and they waited disappointment. Counting the weeks elizabeth focused on her home on preparing meals and keeping things tidy turns to his work to his service as a priest. Understandable. Thomas saint elizabeth angels years. Something new. Separately. An older woman. Pregnant after many years of trying. Cutting herself away from everyone. Family and friends. She waited alone isolated. She would give birth to the child. Elizabeth's pregnancy. We build communities of adults we have to family. Time and place. Many options. Community would have seen her. Elizabeth everywhere she went. Open arms. Wondered aloud what this child would be called. Elizabeth pregnancy. Barely a teenager. She was a virgin. Seen her last pregnancy was easier. In the company of these cousins offered one another story is unique for us. Other women our story is. Virgin engaged to be married. Finds herself pregnant. Miraculous conception. For the community this story was written. He'd like to learn about option a miraculous conception jesus born. The advent story is meant to catch our attention today. Christmas season of waiting and waiting for this season of waiting is for something particular. Place of possibility. Social media. I need to respond. Far in the distance changing as it approaches our regular spiritual practices even more than usual. Their lives. Perhaps. Can you relationship towards experience teaching the wisdom of those who have the lyrics of we are swim through my head on each of us. Remind. Human beings. Create more. Increase the possibility that comes with the birth of jesus. We are reminded that we can be the people we are waiting for leaders earners. Would never come true also reminded that waiting this morning. Please join hands my heart shall sing of the day you bring sing with the hope of what of your justice burn a mirror.

uudavispodcast_org

2017-05-28-UU-White-Supremacy-Teach-In.mp3?_=1

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at www.sec.gov org for further information. The unitarian universalist church of davis. And support one another with compassion. Whether you called this congregation your church home for many years. Are you are a first-time visitor. Or somewhere in between we welcome you. We are participating in a supremacy in response to an asked by tooth by leaders of two groups of unitarian universalists of color universalist. Unitarian universalism. I'm going to this morning by lee ann friedman one of the chairs at the uniting for racial justice and our congregation and sharon who have both been involved in the beloved conversations curriculum. All of our worship leaders this morning are white. This is not. As we share words this morning that reflect experiences. We are here. Many feelings. Maybe familiar. Or they may challenge you. You may feel angry or sad. For all of that. Scientists together as a community. Reconnect in many ways to spiritual issues. Can we create space to hold of those experiences. Where's your ministers are available after the service and in the coming weeks. And this is an important time for a reminder for all of us. Community. Community for white. It isn't hard to balance these conversations. Conversations alongside leaders from our congregation in sacramento. Together fast and lucy bunch from sacramento have learned alongside and guided a group of people as they talked about race. Experience. As we challenged ourselves to go deeper into difficult conversations. Opening words this morning. Novels like water for chocolate. Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us. We need. In this case the oxygen for example. The candle would be any kind of food music or sounds that engenders the explosion. Emotion. Pleasant. Fading slowly as time goes by. Person to discover what these explosions in order. When one of them is ignited. White supremacy. Is a hard for most of us. Images of the kkk and lynchings of the early 20th century. Racist groups like the kkk still exist. Flinched on a college campus in maryland. Is really important to separate ourselves from that sort of white supremacy. The reality. Is that white supremacy is far more insidious racist actions. We use this language because we have been asked. Definition says white people are superior to other races. Especially the black race. And should therefore dominate society. I know i don't believe that. I know you well enough.. That is how our society functions. Our culture shaped by hundreds of years of disbelief. Assumes that white people deserve to dominate society. These words white supremacy. Are hard to hear. But they are true. I wonder how many of you grew up like i did. Because it's not a person's skin color that matters. What they carry inside. I wasn't noticing someone. Someone is black. Electronics. Asian. Is it say that we are different. We don't see race. I was taught to erase the histories the identities the cultures. Friends and family. No one mentioned any harm. Matters little. I heard this. I heard this and most recently a couple years ago and said latinx boyfriend and girlfriend my cousin's over their shared culture at the dinner table. Family is white but they are not. First reading. Invisibility of whiteness means that one doesn't happen. Therapy. We don't notice it. Why people have the luxury of not having a race. Race is something that belongs to somebody else. The black ivory. But they're just white. They're just people that's part of being white. How are you this morning. I can't. I can't say how i am this morning because it will make them. Maryland lane. The matriarch of our larger family for the past 60 years. After the funeral and the enderman. I spent the afternoon with my many cousins. With food and laughter. Stories. As we said goodbye my cousin patrice stopped me on the porch. She's given me permission to share our conversation with you today. Over a year ago another cousin of ours who is white. Call her change her name because she didn't give me permission. Comments on facebook mother she'd encountered at work. Genies facebook post and racist stereotypes. Quickly. I don't mean you you're different. People. Reply. I made a commitment in seminary. I made a commitment to voice my concern when i see comments i recognized and soaked in the white supremacy of our society. And i don't. Don't even always notice them and sometimes i'm out. I grew up in the same waters. Everywhere i go. Even. Special. When i least two. So i responded. I don't remember what i said. Actually i don't remember the event. I didn't remember it until patrice mentioned it on the porch. Here was my cousin. Womanizer dearly. Filled with rage and hurt over words of another family member. Didn't. Even. Remember. Ended the conversation. Supremacy does to us. It allows us to forget. Time to leave behind people we love. Powernext. Universalist minister. This poem is titled ceiling. Racism. Or the painful on my great-great-grandmother lori's back. Or justice. For righting wrongs. Until you are able to feel the heartache. My great-grandfather of g master. Don't speak to me about. As the only black woman. For standing on the side of a love. Understanding. More mail. You are trying to heal has no name. Until you know that hurt. Why i'm absolutely an angry black woman because when i was my kindergarten classmates i couldn't be the princess we were playing because black princesses. Because in 9th grade when i switched. I had to be mixed with something pretty because in 10th grade my group of friends and i were called into an office and asked if we because. Because when i got married people assumed i was pregnant. Because i'm married to call my husband. Because my pregnancy with my son was played videos of black. Because. Because the nation sent me messages. Because when she was murdered i said. Because my son heard me sobbing. Because they don't care about us. Because when i asked me to help him move. Because i'm not seeing. Because i'm not allowed. Because the nurse that checked me in at the hospital. What is look my husband in the eye. Because in my arms. I knew life would be even harder for him. Pikachu key will be regarded. Because she is grown. Because strangers at the store and touch him. Without a word to me. Because we aren't entitled to boundaries. Because they think we are here. Because i'm people don't we. Are people. Because my stomach thinks every time i see a police car. Because when my husband leaves the house at night. I'm afraid like somebody. Because i'm missing like the 64000 other black women in this nation. To find me. Because i am disposable. Because i am hated. Because we keep dying. Because. Because it is held accountable. Because i am gaslighted. Because i have been told this. Demising myself. Because our murderers are filmed and still pardon. Because i'm afraid to relax because i am traumatized. Because there isn't a place in this world. White supremacy has not touched. Because i. Because the playing field isn't level. Because i love my skin. Because i. Because eating myself is considered. Because i've been called racist for defending myself. Because all the major protests are for black men. Because i've been. Taking away from the real issue. Because i get no break from fighting. Because everything is a struggle. Because my anger isn't. Because they don't care. Because they don't. Because they forgive themselves cuz i'm not free because the awareness of it permeates everything. Because it's. Because someone will assert their supremacy over me today because they'll do it tomorrow. Because i want more. Because i deserve. Better. Because she deserves better. This is a reading on white supremacy culture minister. Carrie newcomer. Is a simple change of heart. And sometimes this is true. Especially in the arena. Kosher is simply everything that's around us. At some point in our lives. When we are better. Is supported by the fact that our social and political systems. We learned that our way is the right way and the best way. This is white supremacy culture. This is a reading from doctor text to kia ora mean. A member of the black universalism leadership. As a black woman who claims unitarian-universalism. The election and subsequent outrage confusion and violence that has shown up and its weight. As well as to recommit protecting those who are most beautiful. Shaving my wife in such a manner that response. I am a unitarian universalist. Is because it is a place where i can bring. Family. As a religion grounded in principal and reflection. Justice making a righteous action. Something ancillary. Progressive muslim. Universalist. Is that walrus faith community is always religious. No matter how long i've been a member. Or the number of times i've never been able to use siblings proudly proclaim. And motivated is the number congregation. These are all touchdowns. The seven principles of created in 2015 by the black organizing collective. Tell my we challenge ourselves to make it more so. The history of our country. When we listen to stories told by people of color. Experiences of race. See someone's pain and sit with the discomfort it causes. Enough is enough and our stories are too much to share. We begin. Unitarian universalism at its best season experiences. The possibility of healing. If we are willing to first recognized. White supremacy is the water in which to swim. Hit start. By listening. Invite you to settle into your chair for a time of prayer. Close your eyes. To respond that your body wants. To respond with voice. With movement. We will swim in heavy water. We carried personal experiences. And difficult history we joined together in this community because of unity us to be our best so i invite you with the discomfort discomfort the most beautiful of discoveries is something greater in life for those who have experience in our world this week. Play the showing hands are benediction is the prayer for living intention by rev. rachel you you minister. If we have any hope of transforming the world and changing ourselves. We must be bold enough to step into our discomfort. Brave enough to see they're loving enough to forgive ourselves and others may we as a people of space be granted the strength to be so brave. And may this congregation say.

uudavispodcast_org

2014-01-05-_The-Heart-of-the-Lion_Wishing-for-Courage_11_151.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. I love having this microphone is a part of my body and i can goes with me wherever i go i told little embarrassing at starting moment i have to remember it's always with me on sunday morning. This is a community where we challenge each other where we encourage each other and where we do support each other i did this place we are surrounded by a diversity of religious beliefs god or whatever it is in which we place our ultimate trust is different for each one of us. I don't understanding of what is define. Comes from our own life experience we celebrate those of all sexual orientations and all gender identities. And we welcome people of all classes and races and we will continue to work to build the world that we dream about. And cherish this living earth. As our sacred home. Courage is all around us like right now but courage isn't always really big and visible for everyone to see it can happen and even the smallest moments like when we decide to try something new like a dance step. When telling the truth is difficult it's saying what you think is right. I'm even when you don't agree i am with everyone else so what does it mean to you. When have you been courageous. So in this life journey this morning. Liz hall. I spoke at the 9:30 service and she's also speaking now and it has a great deal to do with courage which is why she's here she's an organizer for the industrial area foundation and the iaaf is working with congregations and other community institutions to build relational power. To shape public policy for the common good. Both marty and i will be attending a week-long training later in january i have training. In berkeley and lives is helping to run that and we are going to be looking to see if this organization iaf what it might may have to offer our congregation. And both learning about our self here within this church and also in our engagement with justice prior to community organizing liz was the executive director of a nonprofit called uc student association she worked with undergraduate students and other students across the uc system on campaigns to increased financial aid to allow more high school graduates to have access to ucschools + 2. Allow for healthcare. For you see graduate students. Liz grew up in long beach and currently lives with her partner stacey in oakland and it is a pleasure to. Introduce her to you this morning. Thank you for that lovely introduction. I am. Very much looking forward to spending some time after the service was some of you talking more about my organizing work and with what the iaaf does but for now i'm going to talk a little bit about me. My father is the oldest of eight children and he grew up in the imperial valley which is along the us mexico border and in east los angeles he when i was growing up he told me stories about stealing chickens from the neighbors to feed his younger brothers and sisters. When my dad was in high school a teacher noticed that he had a talent for science. And took him under her wing and as a result of that he got a scholarship to go to usc and was the first in his family to go to college. He was also the only person in his family to go to college. For me when i was growing up this mad that we had a middle-class life and some stability that no one else in my big extended family had my father owned the house that we lived in while my aunts and uncles faced eviction negligent landlords and poor living conditions. Most of them live one or two paychecks away from homelessness and i remember as a child piling into the car on more than one weekend to move one family in with another. Even though most of my aunts uncles and cousins live several families to a home. By contrast when my father faced a brief. of unemployment he had both the savings and the connections to make it through and eventually start his own small business. I live in that contrasts and i could not understand. Why it was we were okay. And the rest of my family was not. All my dad said with that he worked hard and he pulled himself up by his bootstraps. And he did work hard. But i saw my aunt and uncle's working hard to. My cousin's deserve to go to college but no one that their schools ever talked to them about the opportunity. That is where my passion for this work comes from. When i was 18 i left home for college as my cousins had babies got married and looked for decent-paying jobs. When i got the uc-berkeley i found an outlet for all that rage. And i became what i would call a protest groovy december band groupies i was a protest grouping if it was tuesday we were against the war if it was thursday we were against mass incarceration if it was monday we were against. And one day there was a group of us marching across the golden gate bridge as part of a demonstration with over 10,000 people. And we got about halfway across the bridge when somebody nearby yelled out. What do we want. And we all froze. We couldn't remember why we were there and then they said when do we want it if we all said no i have heard that the theme for today and for this month here is courage. And it took some courage to stand up on the golden gate bridge it took some courage to march and rally and pick it and sit in and even once get kicked out of the state capital by the mounted police which is a story for another day but shortly after that day on the golden gate bridge something in me started to shift it felt really good to yell and scream. But i wanted more. I wanted my uncle and people like him to really have a better job. For my aunt and others like her to actually live in stable housing and her my cousins and their children to have a real opportunity to build a better future i wanted to learn how to make change that me and my family could see and touch and feel and experience. In hebrew the word for face. Is punim. And that word is plural there is no word for only one face. In hebrew and in jewish tradition my understanding is there is no concept of the individual. Outside of community. So in order to know myself. I have to know others and i have to be in connection with others and in many ways for me my life journey is the story of the people in the relationships that have shaped me. Including the story of my grandmother my mother's mother who looking back taught me something very important about courage and i think also something about organizing. My grandmother lived on the same block in brighton witches in southern england for over 40 years. Every morning her next-door neighbor and best friend jody would come over and they would begin the round. At 5 a.m.. First aid walk down to the newsagent on the corner to get all the latest gossip and then they'd go to irish two doors down and then hilda across the street he was 96 years old and then mary next door to her and they'd gone down the street until finally they got to mrs. baker who as a child following my grandmother around never seem to have a first name to come home when they needed support. In the afternoons they picked up the children of the young parents on the street from school they made sure they did their homework stayed out of trouble and when needed confronted some teachers and administrators. They were formidable women. And they were doing. What a pastor in south texas that very famous wing was about community organizing work. He said the most dangerous thing we do is talk to our neighbors. I might edit that today and say the most courageous thing perhaps that we do is talk to our neighbors. Today i get the pleasure of working with leaders from congregations nonprofit organization schools and civic groups that want to do this dangerous and create this work a talking to our neighbors. An out of the stories and experience. That we here acting together to reshape our local communities. Thank you for having me here with you today. Brass faucet i knew what courage was. Once i would have told you that courage was the province of those who spoke to dragons or defeated dark wizards. Later i might have described it as belonging to activist and changemakers harriet tubman alice paul. Margaret sanger judy berry. In truth these are all faces of courage. It takes fearlessness vision fortitude. On a grand scale to pull off these feats of daring do or to take on corporations or to create social justice shirley this is what people meant when they talked about courage and it certainly where i look for inspiration. And then 10 years ago my dearest friend experienced something that no one should have to and how she and her family responded forever changed my definition of courage. Johanna is my sister from another mother. She's been there for me since i was 13 she really helped raise me in some respects 5 years older than me she's been a sounding board a confidant and a friend. Our children have grown up together and my love for her runs so deep. Joanna was adopted at birth and consequently she lacked access to a medical history that might have predicted the course of a very rare form of genetic anemia. This condition led to her spleen failing and generating blood clots that resulted in the loss of her left arm and her right leg. At age 42 she became profoundly disabled. Where many would have given up. Joanna started over she forged a life that was much more difficult and very different than it had been. I spent a lot of time with joanna that first year in particular was a grueling year of recovery adaptation and adjustment for her and her family and i really learned what courage was. That years been followed by nine more. Full of setbacks but also hope laughter resilience and more courage than i have ever seen in one person or ever thought possible. I watched joanna do battle with those who would sideline her because of her disabilities sometimes it's other parents at her daughter's school sometimes it's bureaucrat sometimes even waiters and sales clerks. Most painfully it's been longtime friends who simply don't know how to accept her in her new role as a disabled person. That's been hard. Author brene brown says that a-kor issue for many of us is a fear of disengagement for more courage. We humans have a tendency to define things by what they are not. This is especially true of our emotional experiences and when she describes engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness what she calls wholeheartedness she says it means cultivating enough courage enough compassion and interconnectedness to wake up in the morning and things no matter what gets done no matter how much is left undone i am enough. From the start joanna chose to focus not on what she's lost but i'm what she has she says most days it is enough to wake up and see her fifteen-year-old daughter off to school it's enough to cook dinner for her loving husband when he comes home at the end of the day and it's enough to help her 92 year old mother who lives with them by the way to remember where things are each day. There are days that any physical effort cost her dearly their time she's question her ability to go on and i've held her hand when she wanted to give up. But through it all her gratitude and graciousness has carried us all and it's taught me she's enough together we're enough and for me that's become the definition of courage. Play-doh roads. I do not know the nature. Have courage. I do not know the nature of courage she has slipped away from me. I cannot get ahold of her and tell her nature. Plato felt that courage was elusive. Have you tried to define it but since i realize it i would be preaching about courage. This month several times i have seen it everywhere i turned. How could he not. Have witnessed his presence. Think about what you have already heard today. I see courage in the faces of an elderly couple committing themselves to a new marriage. They've already lives full eyes and already know the demands and the joys of loving. And the phrase in sickness and in health have more importance to them than a young couple. And with adult children and grandchildren around them they make this commitment. With courage. I encourage in the voice of a young woman who tells me she has received a diagnosis of ovarian cancer and is there anyone. Who would go with her. To sit with her in the hospital as she waits. She's never invited someone into her life in that way before to receive to just receive. But i feel courage in a man's decision to leave his lifelong proficient and to begin training in an unrelated field what of his secure income what of his seniority and how he is valued for decade. Of expertise. What will it be like to become a beginner again and what if he fails. I know courage when i witness a college student to accept that she has a drinking problem. Pitching joins a program that gathers every week and admits that there is some things that she is powerless to control. And she prays for the courage to change the things she can. Courage is all around us we heard that from the very moment of the opening words that ryan. And lisa spoke this morning. What are the fruits of its presence is how it opens us to abundant life. Courage. To love. Courage to. Receive. Courage to risk for a new life the courage to be honest. And maybe to heal. Encourager encouragement. Courage is choosing to live our lives fully. One story of my own courage is perhaps a bit surprising to you. When i was serving the church in rochester new york it's always so great to have a previous church that you can tell stories about. I took advantage of the eastman school of music that was just four blocks from the church and overtime i became a chaplain it was one of the ways i was a campus minister for the eastman unitarian universalist students i also auditioned for voice lessons from the community education department i sang every week with a teacher i hardly deserved and you'll understand soon why that is so. To be clear i was not an eastman student. Although she wasn't eastman professor and this program you can imagine as like they're sort of community service program. And i discovered something about myself and through this new voice teacher and i've had voice lessons since i was in high school so this was not a new experience for me to have a voice teacher. I have a particular kind of performance anxiety. I've been limping along in my lessons thousands of excuses just like in a middle school student for not practicing. And that's when my gifted teacher jane mccoy said words i will never forget. She said let's time this piece no stopping no corrections just saying and i thought what an odd thing to ask me to do. When i was done she said well this will fit just right this piece is two-and-a-half minutes long to take out a pencil and wrote my name down on the list and i can see it said like two points 5. And then she said the recital for all my students will be and she gave me a date. I was petrified that i mean petrified you have no idea. I was frozen with dread. Maybe i would suddenly discover that i had a meeting that afternoon it would pop up on my calendar maybe there would be a memorial service that would come my way and maybe i could just go to create an excuse for why participating in this recital was simply not possible for me. Courage and fear our companions. One definition of courage is the decision to act with a full awareness of the risk of losing what we cherish. And with that awareness. We act for the sake of some larger good for ourselves. Or for others. What i didn't say in the last service was i actually had a lot to lose. I was. The minister of an urban congregation. And i was known to that community. So i had eastman students. Annie in the church. And we ran 41 concerts a year that linked the congregation with eastman school of music and every week. I introduce students so i'm kind of their boss right. In a community concert saying welcome to eastman at washington square bringing people into the congregation so now i'm kind of known in this music world. So here i am getting ready for a recital. But when we take these rest. They open doors. To life with more choices. And a sense of ourselves as being courage filled. And. Available to more authentic relationships. Well you can imagine suddenly i found i was practicing. In earnest. I reviewed the german lyrics and i struggled with a pronunciation and whenever i had a chance i would go to the recital hall. When its gleaming wood panels and 9-foot concert grand. I'm standing in that room i would break out into a cold sweat. I've been preaching for over five years and that's long and so many different choirs and studied with any number of teachers and one thing i didn't mention. Who was that. My uncle was a professor at the school. We're talking about you know he started teaching there in the twenties and so he started to the very beginning of the school. He was known the word family name was now i mean it's it's this is big. This is not just a 2.5 minute piece for me. So the date of the recital came and i found myself in that elegant room facing community students and unfortunately the eastman students to and my teacher. And when my moment came i arranged my music and i nodded to the accompanist i'd watched other people do this i did this 2 and launched into song with courageous enthusiasm. I wouldn't sued was two and a half minutes. A trembling. I did make noise i did sing but i was shaking so hard. I was surprised that the music stand and rattle as i watched it. And at the end of the recital a friend who is fluent in german very gently asked. And what was the language you were singing. Having the courage to face our fears doesn't mean that we will be successful it doesn't mean that. That's what the movies tell you but it doesn't mean that and in some ways i failed. But i gained a new relationship. To music. Enter risk-taking. And a trust with a wonderful voice teacher with him i continue to correspond and she is in her 80s she is just. A wonderful wonderful woman. Having courage to fail and succeeding and being far from perfect in front of others open new doors for me and in the small personal moment of courage gave me something to build on for years and years and i continue to build on this. A meeting about the threads of courage that we've themselves into monumental historical changes. The big changes in society. I discovered the term. Spine of consequences. That's when we make one decision and then it leads to another decision and another decision. And we can see the moment when one decision to be courageous. Invites another. And invites another. Spine of consequences. Image of the spine shouldn't be considered just as the vertebrae that hold us up right but all the ways that the spine supports the body. Those moments when courage moves out into life. It's happens in a nonlinear way. The smallest acts of courage in our lives have unknown repercussions. Ourselves and for others. Recently i heard an interview with the 87-year old journalist and talk show host phil donahue and in his earliest professional years he reported on cutting-edge. Cultural shifts in our country. When he was a young 27 not just 27 but a young 27 years old cbs news fenton to cover a mining tragedy in appalachia. He was at the staging area for the miners were going down into the shattered mine to try to rescue their companions. And in the night the men huddled around the smudge pots lid for warrants and sparks flew up into the night are spiraling up toward the stars. They gathered around the village preacher who came for the duration of the rescue effort and he prayed give us the strength to rescue our fellow miners and may the lord keep them safe. Donahue was enraptured by the power of the men's desire and the preachers focus and the scene of the sparks spiraling up into the night he was totally. Totally apart of it and he forgot why he was there. You realize that he has lost a great moment for cbs. The tragedy could be witnessing felt like thousands of people if the preacher and the men would just reenact the prayer. And they're murmurs in response of course. he was thinking of his own potential fame as a reporter under all of that if we ask sir we could please pray again so i can record it for cbs. And the preacher quietly responded while i have already prayed sir and i have prayed to my lord. A donahue said that people were listening in bars and they would hear the preachers words and be swayed by his face and and then the preacher want to influence people who are in the bars and that is didn't he realize that he was speaking to someone from cbs. No the pete the preachers patiently responded i have already prayed. And the story goes on in the journal. That i wrote for this month. But when i wrote this story for that january journal i was thinking about the moral courage of the preacher. Who is calmly and with determination resisting. The urging of a young reporter to make a juicy story. In this retrospective of his life phil donahue. With revealing his own shallowness. Atteberry young reporter. Something he regret it. Later. But just is phil donahue reflected about the character the preacher weeks after their encounter and it was weeks later that he said you know i saw something really spectacular that i didn't really understand. I reconsidered the emphasis of my own retelling of his story. The greatest courage in the story is of the men who are barely mentioned by phil donahue. And who headed back down into that mind to try to save their companions. They knew the danger ahead of them and they had much to lose they knew. That the miners trapped down in that shaft probably would not make it. And they didn't. Not one of those trapped men. Came out alive. But they couldn't have turned away from that mineshaft even though they must have been filled with grief. And fear. I guess the shadow is closed over them and when they descended to try to rescue their companions these saved. How they would know themselves in the future. His people. Who have the courage. To love. The courage to receive. And the courage to risk. For new life. The courage to be honest and maybe after such an experience to heal. We are given the gift of small opportunities to live with courage everyday. Each one forms spine of consequences. As we do the smallest gestures of courage we practice for the moment when we will need a larger courage and we don't know when that will be or what it will be. And when we act with courage and a time when life gives us challenges that could close the heart. We are opening doors to a life is wider and stronger like we're laying down tracks again. Because maybe we will be asked to be courageous in a way that will send us into some kind of mine shaft. Some kind of mine shaft. Of our own. We want to be ready. For their response. Toby fine-tuned. Say yes. But a small courage. It could lead. To that larger courage. We. Inevitably. Will need at some point in life. So i asked you. How you wish to practice. Your courage. In this year ahead. And after hearing all of these stories. About courage if you need to write. One more. Card. We can make that possible. Can over the weeks that had to come and witness. What has been in the heart of the person sitting next to you and next to you and across from you. On the trees. Outside this sanctuary. And you will find your heart. Is opened. And to that i say. Amen. Can i invite you into a time of prayer and meditation with me. As we move into this week of caring for those were close to the heart of this community when courage is needed in small and large ways may we find it. And this week we welcome into our space those who live on the streets of davis and need the warmth of our space the nourishment of our food. And our acceptance of them and their life stories. Blessing on those who come in from the cold and those who volunteer the drivers with cooks those who companion and those who clean at the end a special blessing on those who do not find their way to our space on these nights may we make space for one another in this place where love does dwell by john o'donohue the flame. And here are some of our ways we yearn to be courageous. To free myself from anger. To stand in the front. To accept compliments. I will have the courage to love people as they are. And i want the courage to say no to sugar. Hair it is and yes to good choices for my body. One word basketball. Tell people when i'm mad at them. All these things and more look for them out on the trees and let this congregation say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2013-07-07_Worship_Building-a-UU-Cathedral_10_00.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons another recording from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at www.ge.com for further information. Welcome to unitarian universalist church. My name is judy horse and i'll do my best to communicate with you service is being presented i could green sanctuary committee and a and ends are participating. Church is a liberal faith community. Committed to elka mingle. Welcoming each and fall. Cultivating a spirit. And serving others in our quest for justice. Extend a special welcome to naf you who are here for the first time. And everyone else is welcome here. And your phone. I'm an alchemist. Are we all have off at time in our life. We accept you as you are. I ate out you at this program is eating video taped. A spoiler information. Ain't you come here seeking transformation. Oreo shelf. You come here seeking transformation. Or are hurting planet. Come let us search together. Become h s else together. Once again. Every week is one or opportunity. Remember what is possible. Come let us find comfort in each other's company. I'm better face. Is in harmony with nature. Earth to build the world that we dream about. Pick after cherish. And care for the living earth. Ask our sacred home. Today we remember that you use have a long tradition of social and eco justice advocacy and activism. We consider our role as activist. And advocates. For the coming months in years. We light our chalice with the hope. That we can help our community our country. And indeed inspire others around the world. To come together to deal with the climate crisis that threatens all life on this planet before is too late. Evil own essence. Free or indentured slaves or servants. Completed. Building a b a. Nearby fire. Generations of workers. Asian congregants. Asaf patrons. To complete the magnificent edifices at today and spire enter them. Ar believers. Universalism and unitarianism. Took fruit in the new world. Members of our combined denomination. Different sports a spiritual monument. Our spiritual on events have been. The wrong. In the world. I'm helping front. The underground railroad. Rescuing thousands of jews nazi germany. Marching with martin luther king jr. and selma. Standing on the side of. And phoenix. Arizona. It ain't illegal immigrants and sheriff arpaio jail. We have ender. Reports that she heard. Charlie clements. At the issue general assembly in june. When he noticed that they're always going to be ingesting in happening in the world. 1 ft of unitarian universalist. Is the keep speaking out. What is right. And what is good. It is no under. That we have often been on the forefront of social movements. Pushing envelope of chastise. Ain't no shake. Activate after decade. Askew hears many of us have come to realize. We face an unparalleled example of injustice. At the and our attention. It is of course. Unprecedented. Ecological and justice prices. Apollo army. Already in dangers of five. And safety. Millions of people around the world. Many of them are the most honorable people. Alive today. Farming is wrecking havoc with ecosystem. Ultimately affect all living things on this planet. In response to president obama's recently announced climate action plan. Robert weissman. A president. The organization public citizen notes. Catastrophic climate change hoses an ear. Existential threat to humanity. Who is nashville. Isolation. And a worldwide alkalization. Rapidly are fossil fuel. Lion asked and present. Do a clean energy future. Ascend virgin c. Ascend at emergency. Aspen. Tough and specific standards and finding pearls. Chico's understate. Element sadly are missing from the president's appointment. Using a plane on president obama. Giving a speech. What's a sea change in washington. Arch of what he proposes is food. I built this him credit for this. Inches speech. Urges. Do kavanaugh to speak up. Make dealing with climate change. A condition or every vote. Access. Nfl. Right. Or is a tit. I can beat you. As people of compassion and principe. Who is our call to respond to the dangerous predicament. We have helped create. With our addiction to fossil fuels. Earth stewart's. Advocacy is important. But so are our own individual actions. Well beyond changing light bulbs. Riding a bike. Repeat repeat creator. And push out far beyond our green sanctuary efforts. Once again. We need to eat theaters. And inspire others to join us. B h u b. Our spirit is meant for this entry. Maintaining. A planet. Or our children. And children and beyond. Esprit de avion i scott. Excel. Former british prime minister tony blair said. The emission of greenhouse gases is causing global warming at a rate that began as significant. Has become alarming and is simply unsustainable in the long-term. And by long-term. I do not mean centuries ahead. I mean the lifetime. Of my children certainly. And possibly in my own. And by unsustainable i do not mean a phenomenon. Causing problems of adjustment. Finding a challenge so far-reaching and its impact. And irreversible in its destructive power. That it altered radically human existence. There is no doubt that the time to act is now. In the intervening 9 years since the prime minister's statement. We have witnessed the destructive power. Human-caused climate change. Around the world. From the book moral ground. Ethical action for a planet in peril. This book includes essays from 80 visionaries writers and such as wendell berry. Thomas friedman. Tick not han barbara kingsolver and co wilson and many others. Angie dore lisa baker and scott ragsdale. Will join me in doing this reading. This book is based on the following question. Do we have a moral obligation to take action to protect the future of a planet in peril. Yes. For the survival of humankind. Yes for the sake of the children. Yes for the sake of the earth itself. Yes for the sake of all forms of life on the planet. Yes to honor our duties of generosity and reciprocity. Yes for the full expression of human virtue. Yes because all flourishing is mutual. Yes for the stewardship of god's creation. Yes because justice demands it. Yes because the world is beautiful because we love the world. Yes to honor and celebrate earth in earth system. Yes because our moral integrity requires us to do that which is right to protect the future of our planet in this time of great peril. I'm at least today is actually kind of a divided between network and i and i kept the first five. A few summers ago i took children and their parents. Asma fart we. We can't stand a lot of hiking. On our last day we hiked up to the tuolumne a sequoia trees. Angela or 46 + 10. At the time. Aspen trail to the grove it's all downhill. At a skip-bo on ahead of us. As we caught up we found the three emmaline standing silently. Weatherize turn skyward. Treetops. We join them quietly. In front of the children. I've never been sure which one. It softly and with reverence. Ending are in the build with joy and under. A compacted at time. I consider how could i truly live the words of earn and promo. Respect for the interdependent web. All existence of which we are apart. East entry old reminded me. Add a new principal. Push back against those. Destroy heart living. Or short-term economic. I had a moral responsibility to take care of our planet. 03 mi grandchildren to do the work of green sanctuary. Nicole davis too. In the spring up on a 11. Leaders of california. Student-aid ability coalition at ucas. Aspen and a if we would host the keynote speakers. Inter-campus conference culpa spring urgent. Hour or die. Gas at this eldridge and i'm with ricky.. It is a sounder and tireless promoter moved to an end. Which is a petition. Hd circulating in o states to amend the us constitution. Corporations are refused. A privilege is a person hood. Corporations are not people. 1st employment after graduate school was fishing in alaska. 1989. The 50 million dollar fishing season. In prince william sound. Has ruined by the exxon valdez oil spill. A young woman. Is a postgraduate school. Pick up the baby ever. Achieve or just edelman. Or they impacted fishing communities. Anna more ecologically responsible cleanup effort or the environment. In the end exxon ever came through on its promises to compensate the people adequately. Or their offices or just finished cleaning up the environment. Updated are far more than i had ever intended to do. And i'm at ricky it was between trips to the golf cart gulf coast. To help fishermen injustice after the bp oil spill. As an ecotestr parker on call. Order two egg. In order to work full-time and advocacy. Ricky sold her alcohol. And makes her home wherever she is needed. Good people gather to work on restoring our democracy. Dim the christopher. They have spread out in are you oral this past. Issue. Putin and i have come to it ire. Vicky and tim. A climate justice heroes. Butterface actions and leadership. We felt honored to share our homes with them. Alton will tell you more about tim and his work. Good morning. Before i met him in person i actually had already been following his story in environmental news. That's a little hard to find but i follow that kind of thing. I'm so i was quite thrilled when i got a phone call asking if could i possibly have him in my home i knew that in december of 2008 during the weeks of the last week's of the bush white house. Is twenty-seven-year-old university of utah economics student. Had protested the illegal action of gas and oil drilling rights to more than 150,000 acres of publicly owned utah wilderness. Much of it was land surrounding our national parks like arches. Initially. Tender christopher was joining up protesters outside the auction yelling slogans waving the sign. But he knew that those outside efforts were futile so he stepped inside he found surprisingly the door to the auction room was open and moreover. The gentleman standing there said offered him a bidding paddle. Tim had no plans but he said wellshire. I stepped inside. At first he use that paddle just to bid up the prices so that some of the oil man had to pay considerably more for the land that they took from us. Then you look behind him and in the room also was a friend from his salt lake city uu congregation crying as the parcels of land were sold. Stop and wait his choices. Picadillo. And live live forever with remorse. Not saving the land while he had the chance in front of him. Or he could bid to win that land. But most likely pay with prison. If you did so. It didn't take him long opted to stand true to his principles and he won a dozen land leases worth nearly two million dollars. Money that he did not have. Soon he was arrested for criminal fraud and eventually found guilty. Even though the new obama administration. I declare the oil-and-gas auction null and void is one of his first acts. The auction was in november and very quickly obama took over by the way his. Stopping auction to arrest. Tinder christopher it's not the whole auction and they never got back to it. So the rest of the last word even put up. What auction. Here's where the story gets personal kim visited davis at spring it in 2011. While he awaited sentencing which had been repeatedly postponed so he knew he was going to be sentence but he didn't know how severe it would be. The students here at davis and all the other campuses that were gathered recognized him as a hero. He walked into my living room. Saw the hymnal on the piano instead. So your unitarian. Moral foundation i said. Tim a member of the salt lake city unitarian universalist church nodded agreement. I found him agreeable mild-mannered. Hardly a die-hard revolutionary. Kid works with kids and outdoor adventure heel of the wilderness. He welcomed the chance to ride over to campus on a bike. Auntie was equal to talk. I learned his act of civil disobedience in the bidding room. Had not been pre-planned. On the other hand. He been preparing himself for some kind of action at some point. She's been studying martin luther king and gandhi talking to terry tempest williams and bill mckibben. Thinking deeply. About climate change power how to make change happen. He remarked that it took only a few brave souls willing to take big risks. 20 shades of civil rights movement. And soon the whole country took up that challenge. He believed the same could prove to prove true for our present climate crisis. Maybe a few people willing to stand up against big oil. Might be enough to tip the scales. But i've never bestest tim's departure. I thanked him for standing up for our land. Hope this sentence would be mild. And then i admit it. I like discouraged. 10 size board into mine and his words have stayed with me ever since. I thought it would be a sacrifice risking going to prison. But. The minute i took action i was free. He said simply and honestly. I would never go back to being a victim. And he left. Because the exhilaration of freedom was not what he had expected. This was not what i expected him to say to me. For tim standing up against that illegitimate auction a public land a giveaway to the oil industry. Freedom. From the living believing there was nothing that he could do. In this or any other situation. I learned from tammy that we always have choices. We too can be free to act. Very profound. Soon after couple months. Tim was sentenced to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Told court. You have control over my life but not my principles. You can hear the clarity. Directly drawn from his uu beliefs right it sounds familiar to you. If you're interested his 30-minute speech. When he was sentenced is online there was much he was not allowed to bring into the courtyard or the courtroom so you may want to check in and hear that read that speech. Author. Terry tempest williams road in her january-february interview with tim published in orion magazine. Tennessee, thoughtful dynamic leader of his generation in the climate change movement. How many was talked about the importance of democracy tim has put his body on the line and is now paying the consequences. Williams continued. Thousands of citizens are following his lead and are choosing to commit acts of civil resistance. They recognize that we can no longer look for leadership outside ourselves. Kim's courage continues to inspire action. More than 2,000 protesters arrived in washington dc in waves for 2 weeks of peaceful citizens in august of 2011. And 1200m of them were arrested right at the white house. To protest the keystone xl pipeline. Many of them i'm happy to say were you congregants and clergy. On president's day of 2013 that this year. Tens of thousands protested in cities across the country the same pipeline. Including at least 40,000 gathered in washington dc. There were five thousand in san francisco judy and i were there. Right now over 62,000 activist are currently training. Four more civil disobedience and potentially arrest. This summer as president obama's decision on the keystone xl pipeline draws near. We'll see how it turns out. The lawyers interviewed tim last may during a program entitled going to jail for justice. They talked about the necessity for civil disobedience in the fight for environmental justice. They discussed. How did judge directed the jury to follow the strict letter of the law and ignore their moral conscience has. With regard to the fairness of the accusations. Even though our forefathers intended jerry's to use their moral conscience. In cases where laws became unbearable. The full intent of juries. Was to be a balancing piece in there. To use our moral conscience has it's a very interesting video it's available online. By the end of the interview bill moyers said. I have a hunch that most of the people listening to us now watching us now agree that our government has been captured by big money big business corporate america. But they don't know how or what to do about it. And unlike you meaning of them are married have children have obligations have homes. 2 years in prison would totally disrupt their life and their commitments to others. What do you say to these people. Tim answered. Not everyone has to go to prison. Brown stock. But i think everyone has to feel empowered to take strong. Auctions. Does business huge resurgence of the climate justice side of the movement and the real grassroots side of the climate movement over the past few years. Not all of us can live up to tim's lead but we do all have important parts to play. Let me give you some examples of two important ways that each of us you and i. Strengthen the climate movement. First. Advocacy speak. You have in your hand i think as you came in. A list of possibilities. From joining protests to sending donations. And letters i ordered you to do one of the items on the list. Talk to me if you want to go into sacramento thursday this week. 350 sacramento is hosting a. Human oil slick. Down the streets where the lobbyists operate in sacramento is noon to 1. So if you liked standing on the side of love perhaps you would like. Standing against oil lobbyist. I have a page by the kiosk outside and you can sign up if you want to work on carpooling. Second reduce your personal impact on the planet. It had it's hard to believe that but it does add up. You have a little packet here. We invite you to fill out the cool davis survey. Which is green. And the checklist which is long and skinny. To become a cool davis. Household this even if you were part of the cool california challenge. Gay we are the coolest city in california it's official. But now we go right onto our real work which is 75% of the households that 18750 households in davis. So cool davis households now. On the left side you mark the actions you have taken on the right side. The hobbit thief. Actions that you are planning to take. And returned this to us with the survey helps us make plans for example. If you mark you thinking about better attic insulation will continue to get good deals as much as 20 and 30% off. Versatile brokering those cool davis's so you get a good deal. When you decide on an action like that or one that were toying with. People are saying oh yeah maybe an electric car we're trying to see if we can put together for you solar pv and a deal on an electric car so we'll bring the cost down for you making it easier to make such a choice but we need to know from you is that something that you're considering. And then to let us know if you want your the copy of your checklist back after you give it to us so that you can keep working with it cuz we'll get it back to you. You can turn this into us today if you want to sit down and do it today or will pick it up the next few weeks also. Thank you. Now for your information back to tim he was released three months early from his two-year. Send in federal prison. He does plan to continue to be a climate advocate of course. However he's entering harvard divinity school on a full scholarship this fall with a goal of becoming a uu minister. Neither ricky norton to christopher plans. To be leaders or heroes. They're ordinary people who removed. To take extraordinary steps. Believe passionately in climate justice. We only have to follow their lead however it is that we can. We only a team. Do yous have an important role to play we have been leaders in social justice movements in the past. Vicky and tim inspire us to be leaders again this time for climate justice. As tim told me i thought i was sacrificing my freedom but instead i was grabbing onto my freedom for the first time. And refusing to let go. Let's take hold of our freedom today and become active advocates for climate justice at every level. Including committing to reduce our own carbon emissions even more. Our finest most vital you use social movement. Our own spiritual monument for this century. May well be the preservation of a livable planet. For ourselves our children our great-grandchildren and on. Maybe so. Please take hands. A few last words from 10 to christopher. If you look at the facts it is hard not to despair. But if you look at the climate justice movement it's hard not to have hope hope that we are not just going to survive but that we are going to completely overhaul the system and create a more just world. Maybe song. Recipe.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-03-27_Easter-Hope-Halleluja_09_30.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california website at w.w. org for further information. No matter. What path has brought you through these doors welcome. We gather is people of diverse beliefs we represent differing political views. We are people of a diversity of sexual and gender identities. Are definite and cultural roots come from the four directions for directions of this living earth. Together we will celebrate the abundance that surrounds us. Question the mysteries of life especially today on this easter sunday. Yearn for what could be. And come to know the power that we have to make our ideals real. God of love. World great with darkness we drink your light. In a world of violence we soften our hearts. In a world of fear we deepen our breath. In a world of greece we enlarge our embrace. In a world of. Shouting we open our routes. In a world of fragments. We let ourselves along. In world of walls we go out into the streets. We bear you to those who are mad with hunger for you. In a world of fishers we return to you. Always. To you. And these words are. From the international council of unitarian and universalist chalice lighting for march of 2016 and they were written by the reverend david usher. All around the world. The light of honest that shines. Showing people the path to their own authentic faith. All around the world the warmth of community glows. Drawing people in from loneliness and estrangement. All around the world the flame of justice burns. Inspiring people to acts of faith filled courage. Here to met the light and warmth of this chalice. B2 us a beacon of truth that we may learn the ways of faith and love. And these words are from elizabeth and the strong. How does the earth rises light rises life rises spring. Maybe join with the miracle that is springtime and enter into life with lightness and joy. How did the spirit rises face rises home. Rises love. Maybe join with the miracle that is easter time and enter into life with hope and love. Lettuce resurrect with spring lettuce resurrect with the spirit. And enter into renewed life. Come let us worship together. Mark 16. When the savage was over. Mary magdalene and mary the mother of james and salome. Brat spices. So that they might go and annoy him. And very early on the first day of the week. When the sun had risen. They went to the tomb. Batman saying to one another who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb. When they looked up they saw that the stone which was very large had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb they saw a young man. Dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side. And they said they were alarmed. But he said to them do not be alarmed. You are looking for jesus of nazareth. Who is crucified. He is enraged he is not here. There is a place they laid him. But go. Tell his disciples and peter. But he is going ahead of you to galilee. There you will see him just as he told you. So they went out and fled from the tomb for terror and amazement had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone. So they were afraid. There is very little difference between burying and planting. When we need to put dead things to rest so that new life can grow. And further the saying puts arrest whether it be a loved one a dream. A false way of seeing. This becomes the fertilizer for the life about the form. As the well-used thing joins with the earth. The old love fertilizes the new. The broken dream fertilizes the dream yet conceived. The painful way of being that's trapped us to the world fertilizes the freer in her stamps about to unfold. This is very helpful when considering the many forms of cell. We inhabit over a lifetime. Oneself carries us to this extent of its usefulness and dies. We are then forced to put that once beloved skin to rest. To join it with the ground of spirit from which it came. So it made fertilize the next skin of cell. It will carry us into tomorrow. There is always grief. For what is lost. And always surprised for what is to be born. But much of our pain and living comes from wearing a dead and useless skin. Refusing to put it to rest. Or from burying such things with the intensive hiding them. Rather than relinquishing them. For every new way of being. There is a failed attempt mulching beneath the tongue. For every sprig that breaks the surface. There is an old stick stirring underground. For every moment of joy sprouting. There's a new monument of struggle taking routes. We live. Embrace. And put to rest our dearest things including how we see ourselves. So that we can resurrect our lives anew. So this month we learned that jesus from this him is the very human cases that becomes enraged when lives are lost too soon people die too young injustice has happened in the world that. The focus of this him. Beaster message. Through loss of what we hold precious. We discover new life. However this. Easter homily. From the two of us. Is not just about endings and beginnings that is far too easy. We're interested in what comes in the middle. The part that spans the heartbreak. And the moving toward hope. When the women are filled with grief. Worrying about who is going to roll away the stone. Jesus's tomb. It's acknowledging that there are times when we are so disoriented by the loss of our dream whatever that dream is. It could be the death of a loved teacher. We wonder what is real. We wanted an easter story. It has a lost so cavernous. That speech is forgotten. And maybe like the women in the scripture we flee. We run away emotionally or even physically. And we yearn to stay isolated. And because of our grief and our fear we say nothing to anyone. We wanted an easter story that didn't scrimp on the suffering. Until we chose the gospel of mark. Because the message is the most straightforward about devastation and confusion and chaos and yes it ends in hope. Mark isn't the earliest collection of sayings about jesus that circulated in the early christian communities but from the four gospels that have come to us. Mark is the earliest attempt to take an oral tradition and preserve it. In a biographical narrative. Mark with writing in the first century to a very specific audience probably in syria or palestine. He was a message of hope offered to people struggling for survival. They had started their communities with a message that they believed would change life would bring joy save the world. Goodlife returned their dreams in the form of law and pain. And suffering. The gospel of the birth center. Carrie is in her mid-forties and single. Her whole life she yearned for a child. And with loving support from her family and friends. She chose to try to have a baby before that was no longer a biological option for her she searched and found a good donor she took vitamin she ate right she got plenty of rest. But at 23 weeks she was hospitalized with severe preeclampsia that threatened her dreams and it's threaten the viability of that life within her i met with her a few times over the course of a week while doctors attempted to sustain her pregnancy. But it was not to be. She gave birth to a baby girl she named landry. Early in the hours on christmas eve morning. And carrie spent. 3 hours with landry. Before she died. She was heartbroken. Devastated. She found herself in that hardest places of our lives the place. Where loved ones and dreams are whisked away from us. The place it's so dark we cannot see or feel anything else. But loss. Pain. And suffering. The kerry would understand the pain that the author of mark wrote about. Mark was written for people who also had the promise of their lives taken from them. By the time mark was written. The people were lost in their own pain and suffering. Mark wrote for that new christian community. If he's somewhere between 64 and 70 ad. Is called. A wartime gospel. Because they were wars and revolt and persecutions all directed at this new emerging. Community. They are under attack from the jewish religious leaders the local rulers and the roman leadership all. At first those who would eventually call themselves christian worshipped in the jewish temples their beliefs were considered one more expression of the diversity found in judaism as it was practiced in that first century but then their confidence and their message increased. They insisted that a new world was coming when jesus would return to become king overthrowing all others. Both of shoes and the romans responded with hostility. You see their religions that were practiced within the roman empire we're tolerated. Unless their teachings endangered the established power dynamic and that didn't mean the power of rome. Here with her religion. This religion promise that those who came together whose minds and hearts and hands work this message. Wood and depression. And then things would change. And so the enrollment officials acted quickly and forcefully against the followers of his new form of judaism. And then the christian faith was more clearly identifiable standing alone. Christians were tortured in public. And whole worshipping communities were killed. These are the people. To whom the author of mark was writing. This author portrays jesus who is alone. He shares his wisdom but no one. She misunderstand anything he's talking about. Friends abandon him. The narrative even the god he cherishes does not save him but let's him suffer. Body is broken in spirit is broken and in the final agonizing moments of life he calls to the god he has followed in the intimate way a child would address a parent. No pretense here. He calls for abba. Enmark story jesus calls for that loving the protective father and asked why have you forsaken me. Mark was not present for the death of jesus we know that. He's telling the story he's giving the story of spin for the people who are losing hope. He's telling them that suffering. If a part. Of loving deeply. Be steadfast. Don't retreat from your grief. And your pain. Find courage. Across town another woman. Finding her way. Through the despair of her own laws. She sits at a dining room table with her husband a few friends and some family members packing gifts into boxes. She places each item in just the right spot. A copy of the book empty cradle broken heart rests on the bottom. Then a small wooden box with the words. So loved so very loved written on it. She adds a comfort warmer filled with jasmine rice and lavender. A handsome baby blankets. A baby footprint kits. A cd of lullabies. Handmade goat milk soap. Packet of kleenex. A journal and a pen. Lastly she puts in a note from her and her husband we are so incredibly sorry that your precious baby has died the letter says this box was created by parents who have suffered the loss of their baby we hope these items can help you create memories of your baby to last you a lifetime. They make these boxes and dozens just more like them in honor of their daughter solveig who was born stillborn in 2012. With the help of family and friends and other surviving parents they spend weeks shopping and beating bracelets and sewing blankets preparing the comfort warmers and wrapping the bars of soap. Every few months they gather to assemble more boxes it started more than 15 years ago by another couple midway through their pregnancy after they learned that their son gabriel would not be surviving long after his birth. They had brought with them to the hospital a disposable camera plaster of paris kids. And some other small items to make memories with their son before he died and realizing how much these memories mess to them. And processing their grief and working through their suffering. They thought they would make these boxes to share with other parents who were also suffering losses. Since then hundreds of these boxes have been made and delivered to the hospital. And every year or two a new family steps up to be the coordinator and the tradition continues. It's a gesture of deep a c. Enter the new grieving parents will receive these boxes. It's a gift of a small flickering glimmer of lights and warm. Brought to foster healing and comfort. It's something for them to hold onto. When all else feels lost. Well the whole community needed the shared story. To hold onto is there world seemed ending. Perhaps the written word and not just the spoken word with. We keep the story alive. Perhaps it could continue to bring healing and hope when the christian community was gone. We know that that community continues and so does its message. The messages that were written for the christian community didn't actually originated with mark. The narrative of every religious tradition in ancient in ancient middle east had a certain shape. From the worship of the goddess isis. To the babylonian gods. There was this cycle of life and death and returning life following the ark of the seasons. In the narrative they were human who suffered in body and spirit. Experience fear that drove away reason. The story showed how suffering is a part. Choosing to love deeply. The lessons included being steadfast. And not retreating from grief or pain you've heard this. Before this morning. Had to search for courage. And hope. Perhaps in the form of. A story of everlasting life. But there is one last message. And they all share this message. The trion is possible. It happens when the hero and maybe that is you and maybe it is me. Or anyone. Find a way to enter whatever it was that broke them open and to make it a part of them then that save your hero or leader returns again to engage with life invincible another words one who gives hope to others. The christian community read a narrative of christ returning not separate from god but killed with his god spirit. Mark was giving the people in ancient narrative far older than what he was writing. And he reassembled it for them he recreated it a renewed it but it was a theme that they knew they knew. There was hope for them. Landry's mother carrie is the newest coordinator for the memory boxes at the hospital she was able to take the box that was gifted to her and use it to move through and ease her suffering. She filled that box with memories and dreams she filled it with grief. Which is a profound expression of her love for landry. And four weeks she carried that box with her everywhere. As the months passed. And she moved. Through her suffering and into that fear. She found the calling of her own deep compassion and she converted landry's nursery into a space to make. Memory boxes to deliver to the hospital. You can have suffering without. Compassion. But you cannot have compassion without suffering. Suffering is where compassion grows. In suffering. Death is only that. But when suffering reveals compassion death becomes. Something more. And so do we. The resurrection is not about the death of a man a prophet. A teacher or a god who was resurrected. Rather it is about the transformation of suffering. Into the promise of love through compassion. Resurrection is about the death of a man a prophet of god. Or daughter or dream reborn as a community dedicated to the promise of love and hope. True compassion. The stone is rolled away. And the light of spring shines into its darkness. Maybe so. And ahmed. Please join me in the spirit of. Prayer and meditation will start with just a moment of centering silence. Blind. Came sudden without warning. It's for me from all that held me. And i fell to the ground and was buried. Beneath all that i knew into be life i sank into the deep darkness further and further. Until i was no longer seen. But my longing for you would not die pain. Pierced through me and split me open. Through the cold and dark. I climbed. Sprouting through the earth reaching for the light bask in the warmth of love. Life continues. And hope is renewed. May the promises of easter end of spring. Reside within and among us in this. And every season blessed be and i'm in. For those who celebrate the resurrection of jesus may this day be another affirmation of divine love and promise. For all those who see the eternal story of new string and life beginning a new may you breathe deeply of a season of promise and hope. For all those who find easter a time of despair or hopelessness. May you find the darkness of depression a doorway to light and warm that offers you freedom. For all of us together we can do what no one isolated person can do. Rolling away the heavy stone aside will remind us that we are found far more powerful. Do hair far more powerful than we know when we work together. Are offering is strong hands to help. And they are prayers made real. Let us begin again in love and let this congregation say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2015-07-12-Grateful-Thankful-or-Just-Pleased_10_00.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons another recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at www.sec.gov or further information. We come to the sanctuary to celebrate the beauty of the earth and to be in community the congregation comforts us when we know loss and celebrates our best dreams we bring our differences. Together we offer a fuller truth in any one point of view and this is the place of challenge and compassion. The holy is experienced here in many ways and given many names people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are celebrated and they can even get married here we welcome all ages races classes and physical abilities and we have much to learn from each other this is a place of learning and a place of hope together we accomplish more than we believed possible alone this is a place of change weather because of the touch of a friend the words music for a moment of silence made you feel more alive. And now let us enter through music nancy eldridge and virginia are here at milton's special requests and fortunately for us they could not turn down this invitation all three of their selections today or from trio for flute violin and cello and piano by joseph haydn. He's sunday we honor our time together by kindling the light of our heritage this morning i'll have a big north of dawson and standoffs and lidar chalice stan has been involved in various men's groups connected with a church and is the president of glacier circle community association peggy was in instrumental in coordinating creating teaching and supporting the pastoral programs in our church and i first got to know her during around us how can i help program that was maybe fifteen years ago i've been working with her as a personal assistant for maybe the last 10 years besides work too extensive to mention in our church and in the larger community alive in many ways please of this great gift thankful. Graceful pleased a group of words that are often erroneously thoughtlessly interchanged there are others for instance left and fortune maybe even miracle. How often do you hear someone explain you are so lucky to have a stable home life lucky to have a good health. A miracle to have a spouse who does the dishes ride so bill and ruth's have been married for over 60 years old are the result of hard work. Training or persistence it is good fortune they brought me to this church nearly twenty years ago this community has offered me enriching opportunity. So many of you have stepped in as family i look around the room and i find brothers and sisters. Parents everywhere. This is not good lie that we are together it is a risk vulnerability and faith. I am pleased to be here i am thankful for this beautiful day i am grateful that you have helped me to grow encourage my risk-taking and loved me into being. So grateful i may be taking my biggest risk to date. My grateful heart so filled with years of living memories flow by me like petals on a stream my grateful heart forgives so many sorrows brings peace that last forever. Illuminates the dream. And now join me in singing a song of grateful praise him number 21 for the beauty of the earth. Good morning everyone. Pius upcoming sermon is about the giving and receiving a rattitude and thinks this me more i look back over my long life to express my thanks to the. Major sources of enrichment. Should i worry less than be too self-serving. Unless it seem insensitive to the fact that some of you. By no fault of yours or merit of mine may have extended families that are less congenial than mine may have endured hardship or sorrow. Our disappointment cutting deeper than any of mine. Things that happened in my life that have made it richer. Hi. Even the professor and get nervous once in awhile. I will get going here in a minute. My life has been good. It has been punctuated by few. Serious. Difficulties. Wwii combat. My wife's long decline with alzheimer's. Principal sources of. Fulfillment. Can satisfaction have been. Family neighbors and other friends. Students and colleagues and the nature. My three children. Phone. Do chores in my house and yard. Bring me. Cartons of frozen soup to warm up in my microwave. Send me a list of suggested books for me to read on my kindle. Take me to birthday parties for little peoples on exciting trips i am exceedingly fortunate. I have eight great-grandchildren they are lovable. In perpetual motion. My extended family has gathered several times about 45 strong at a national park. Leisurely walks. With a little ones that on parental shoulders. Picnic by the river. Laughter and memories during happy hour. Singing. Toasted marshmallows around the campfire. Young stranger asked what you folks consider adopting me. Some of my neighbors. Tell me if frequently to call nana anytime emergency. Some of them i'm trying to time i brought me goodies just to make sure the mother's blood sugar level doesn't fall too low. Reflecting her parents good-nature she sometimes runs to me with open arms for hugs. Greetings and smiles and are very good you do so many things so well. Our thoughts. Helpful minister. Our wonderful choir. A footnote. Packer 1960 my wife and i sang in the choir rehearsal in the hildebrand living room. Clint reason you're so good now is that i no longer sing with you. We have. Dedicated teachers. Capable. Worship associates. Gardeners creators cookie makers. Hey. Who are you all. Had here i am in good company. Students. As i walked in an adjacent neighborhood a woman's sit up from her gardening. She say she had enjoyed the car she took from me decades ago. A former student who is now distinguish veterinarian. And no author dedicates isn't books to me. I like it i love it. Two students who together took my car on human sexuality came to my door dressed in a white gown and tuxedo to bring me a bottle of champagne from their wedding reception. Colleagues well. I gave the keynote address following the banquet of a national society. I started my ego to pay absolutely no attention. Galleries and museums and cathedrals i've seen more than any of those. I value various experiences i have had in nature. Is my brothers in the high sierra we hiked entrails and cross-country long days and shorts. And sunshine. Where is thunder. Hinges for the magic of moonlight. Free lunch clearstreamz. And warm lazy meadows among whole clover columbine. Bluebells and shooting stars. We climbed up the rocks and rappelled down the cliffs. We shared the. Ceiling. And we worry. Competent. Holland dark knight. Cloud forests in el salvador. Coil on a museum field trip. Highway from camp i sheltered in a huge hollow tree. Hearing tripping. Dripping from this shrouded tree ferns and liana's. Futsal owls. Aurora scatolove an awakened chilaka buzzing cry of a ringtail. Train january. Anglican throwing voices out in the dark. Hannah crews with my wife on a small shipping. Top the coast of costa rica. Great. Park nearby. Playfully. I like to sing joyfully. Booty thing and turning the water. 1010 zinnia was one of my sons on safari. Many stately giraffes. Beautiful live leopards. Ugly. Warthogs. Katie little. Greg honduras elephants. Hippos. Rhinos buffalos. Hey fruity runtz. Closer by lions. Galapagos islands. On the equator western mainland ecuador. With all of my children. Sunbeams. Dancing on sea turtles and brightly colored fishes. Countless. Basking marine iguanas. Blue-footed boobies. Red. Tutoring crabs. I forgot my props here redskin turning crabs on in the splash zone and above. Frigatebirds gracefully soaring on wings spanning seven seas. Oh yes i've had a good life family. Friends. Students. Nature has given me so much. Thank you thank you. The favor. It causes a shift of power currency of the favors we exchange usually be loved and a need rather than dollars furthermore in cubing. Rear sex ring on one side around the animals behind cuz it ring on the other side to a whole the saddleback from slipping forward their saddles had no breach trap. Show the map where to position and how much to tighten the front i remove the rear suspension converted it to a strap. My depart is set out for the timberline lakeside camp i had described and i climbed out of the camp out of the canyon on the other side to find a he has severe abdominal pain was too weak to walk i had a high fever i had to clinical thermometer in my first aid kit. He needed to get it or hit it soon would burst. Needed to get to a hospital as soon as possible away our plan was to transport to a as far as we could to meet the horse that's reducing the time until surgery. To remove the branches lashed on cross-braces to make a litter. A man weigh 200 lb. Exhausting hours we came to the place with the trail crossed a rocket fast-flowing stream hikers crossed by leaping from boulder to boulder there was no way for us to safely carry the man across and proceed in the fading light. The others waited for the horse there i drove my way to the car tonight to rejoin my party after midnight. Two rolls of film for my camera. Cameras use film back in those days. From the heart. Amanda not have a burst appendix had an equally serious ruptured intestinal ulcer he lived company i never heard from him or from either of the women who had been with him. In the moment for reflection for the sun and the dawn which we did not create for the moon in the evening which we did not make for food which we plant but cannot grow for friends and loved ones we have not earned and cannot buy for this gathered company which welcomes us as we are from wherever we have come for our free churches they keep us human and encourage us in our quest for beauty truth love for all these things which come to us as gifts and being from sources beyond ourselves gifts of life and love and all change. Hold hands around the room to our families and friends who love support and sustain us let us give thanks.

uudavispodcast_org

2018-07-01-The-Unwoven-Garment-of-Freedom.mp3?_=1

Welcome to sunday sermons from unitarian universalist church of davis california ww.w dav.org for further information. Reverend ike bankston on the minister that arranged the worship associate for today you are you are welcome here if you need to reflect and find healing and inspiration you're welcome if you want to take action in partnership with all those who seek. To create a beloved community of love. For humanity and for our political party. The people in this room for the sorrows of this world. And our hearts are heavy. This week. And we light one pillar candle for the joys of the world. Not to forget them. The moment hope the moments. A celebration. So for today's chalice lighting i'd like to ask all of those who participated yesterday in the march family. And all of those who made signs. For that marks please raise your hands. And all of you who wish that you could be there but whatever reason please raise your hands. Would one of you volunteer to like the chalice on behalf of all of the individuals that were there. Covenant affirmed by our congregation on june of 2017. We affirm our commitment. 2 creating and living within a spiritual community. With actions based on respectful conversation receptive listening and open-hearted presence. This reading is an excerpt from the speech titled the meaning of july fourth for the negro. The speech was given by frederick douglass in rochester new york on july 4th 1852. Mister douglass was born into slavery in 1818. There were two very important events that shaped his life as a free man. The first was the wife of his first master taught him how to read. And the second was the severe emotional and physical abuse he suffered as a slave. 22 escape. Russian slavery. This past week i've read the speech and its entirety about twice a day and every single time i read it i cried. Some of the crimes against liberty independence and justice that he talks about in his speech given in 1852. Are still being perpetrated today. The fear of my son knocking on the wrong door and being seen as a threat because he is black. Takes away my son's liberty. My sister's elderly mother-in-law cannot ride. On the bus to see her daughter in la because she and possibly arrested because she does not speak english very well. Takes away her independence. I believe that this is not the america that our forefathers intended. This is a totalitarian state and i do not feel safe in my own country. Your two excerpts. That were especially powerful to me. Fellow citizens national chains heavy and grievous yesterday or today rendered more intolerable by the that reach them. If i do forget if i do not remember those bleeding children of sorrow today. This. That my right hand forget her cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. Oh had i the ability and could i reach the nation's ear i would today pour out a fiery stream abiding ridicule blasting reproach withering sarcasm and stern rebuke. 4 is not the white that wood is needed but the fire. It is not the gentle shower but the thunder. We need the storm the whirlwind and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened the conscience of this nation must be roused the propriety of the nation must be startled. The hypocrisies of the nation must be exposed and its crimes against god and man must be denounced. We will be at a time of. Make yourself comfortable. And settle in your chairs. Break our hearts open this one time. Remember. The rest are together in this beautiful. Hearts. Judy morris asked that we remember all the children separated from their parents at the us border with mexico. And the names of those who were killed in annapolis maryland. Robinson. Gerald fishman. Mcnamara. And wendy williams. Sorry wendy winters a much-loved you you from annapolis maryland. All of these people belong to someone. Can have their own communities. Hours. Welcoming new life. Challenging. Caringforeachother and preparing the way for a final passage. Community. It's who we are. X. By the rev lynn ungar. Conversation. With the wind. Breathe. How can i breed at a time like this when the air is the smoke of burning tires burning lives. Just breathe. 18. Frederick douglass. Started his fourth of july message and you've heard two short excerpt i don't know how long. People lifting. But i'm betting it was at least an hour. They knew how to preach fan. Depreciating humbleness. T41 the audience to be no evidence of elaborate preparation. He said with little experience and less learning i've been able to throw my sauce hastily and imperfectly together. And trusting to your. Pace center. I will proceed to lay them before you. But he reminded them. England stole their freedom. Was justified. I wonder how they sell hearing that. America is 76 years old. He said and. This is aspect in the life of a nation because nations number their years in thousands. You are national career is lingering in the. of childhood. Basically. There is still time for wisdom justice and truth to give this new country a positive direction. Time like this. Scorching irony. Because you have asked a former slave a time when he pointed out. The price of an enslaved man had never been higher he said slavery is doing very very well. Right now it is never been doing better. Yours not mine. You may rejoice i must mourn. What to the american slave is your fourth of july. I answer a day that reveals to him more than all other days in the year the gross victim. Your celebration is a sham. Liberty in unholy license. Your national greatness swelling vanity. Your sounds of rejoicing are empty. And heartless. It is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices are the people of the united states. Federer is your progress. Is the enemy of improvement the deadly fire of education. It destroys your moral power abroad. Corrupts the foundation of your religion. He spoke about our country's damaged reputation internationally. Despair for this country. There are forces in operation which must. He said that my spirit is also cheered. By the obvious tendencies of the age. How they relate to each other. They do not now stand in the same relation to each other. From the surrounding. And empires. Have become unfashionable. From the surrounding world and empire. Estranged. Our relationship with those who have been our allies in the world. Because i'm a racist and that is deeply embedded in our country's psyche. Presidents of the united states in 1990. And he said democracy is and always has been and imperfect practice. One may approach democracy as one would a horizon in ways that may be better or worse but which can never be fully exchange. Congress. Democracy. We are retreating. From democracy. Not long after president trump's inauguration. Social scientist. Cornell university announced on his blog that this is the best time ever to study political science. Questions that he felt scholars could explore. Now it like no other time in history he felt. And one of those questions was. A democracy. And how do we know. Route that there are different degrees of having a democratic government is not exactly that either you are or you are not. Anyone country. Restricting voter rights. Ranking. Reported that the pure democracy is a change in government. United states is surely still a democracy. There are some. Recognize voting system does not support the popular vote. And yes. Nomination. That we have grants now available he heard about them at general assembly. Congregations programs to get out the vote. They said come and apply for a grant if you are going to do this work they believe i see stephen harvey is looking to write this down they believe that the vote matters. There's money waiting on the table. Unitarian universalist have enough trust in the power of voting to invest. Encourage. Americans americans to vote. Was protected by this checks and balances and its structure. However increasing number of people who are studying the system. That the system is in jeopardy earlier in the infancy of our country. But may not be serving us well now. We wonder. The lies of everyday people. But will only support those who are extremely wealthy. This last week we have witnessed liberal americans who normally do not respond this way expressing hopelessness and even more than hopelessness expressing. Despair. Despair in the fear of expressing grief and then anger and enraged what happens when it gets depressed and get people feel cornered. And it kind of vindictiveness that is violence. I need to look at that response. In myself. Friday morning protesters play the recording of crying migrant children. Outside a restaurant and chanted. And one person was heckled when going to see of all movies. Mister rogers documentary. Pictures coming out of that documentary and was surrounded by. People and heckled. Columnist michelle goldberg wrote that she seized. The action of circling and taunting the trump administration members not simply as a breakdown of civility. But if the results of the breakdown of democracy. Increasing number of people who once trusted this imperfect government it is imperfect. I'm now feeling betrayed. And betrayal be directed. And not just destroyed. Indiscriminately. This question will be for some time. I do believe that these years will be known as a time of awakening. For the american people. And this is not a short-haul but an opportunity of deep reckoning to discover the character. Wondering what part of our historical character. Will we move into the future. It isn't only our present administration that we the american people must overcome. This is a painful time. But we must also see it at the time of opportunity. For a different future. First we must be wise. I take time to be with those we love do the things that bring us renewal inspect the perfect little hands of a newborn time with someone precious. Transitioning into. Spend time with them. Sometimes. Walk in a forest. We must surround yourself with beauty and whatever form that musa focus on some aspect of life that reminds at the goodness. Any everyday. Right now i'm collecting the personal stories from generous people. I've given myself a goal as five people before mid august. And this is a wellspring a renewal for me. I started to see generous actions and people around me that i might have overlooked. God is mine. Touchstone. And i beg you to find yours too. We allow ourselves to express. Oppresses anger. Outrage. Adrenaline could shoot how many times. Exhausting. We could become exhausted. Others are working toward the same goal. With others. It is our democratic right to come together to be calling the government to a higher ground. And presenting a moral argument for a more equitable society. Organized religion as an institution. The prophets in the sacred scripture of many religions. Karen universe was except the prophet hood of all every one of us has the capacity to in our own way. Government does not choose people. Then we must be the voices that cannot be silenced that will not be there. We do not have the luxury. Hopelessness despair we will. Not. We will become like the spirit of frederick douglass. After listing the many faults of america. You can attest. He would still say. I do not. Despair. For this country. You need us lyrics. You're going to hear these words. The 4th of july. It felt like it needed to be. What i wanted to have happen for us. Is for you to have an opportunity to hear. They are two of our most active with the poor people's campaign in sacramento and into that circle of knowing please be with us. It's a great pleasure to be with you this morning. The 2018 poor people's campaign and national call for moral revival is modeled on the poor people's campaign of 1968. Led by the reverend martin luther king and the southern christian leadership conference. An emphasis on economic justice emerged as king and others observed that civil rights gains had not brought poverty alleviation for african-americans. The first part of the campaign involves the committee of 100 poor people lobbying congress and federal agency heads. The demands were organized around a five plank economic bill of rights relating to jobs. Income and capital and political power. These were translated into specific. Legislative and programmatic demands. Controversial. The ptc also opposed the vietnam war which is competing for resources with poverty alleviation programmes. The second part of the campaign was the creation of resurrection city in encampment of 3,000 for people from all over the country. Are the national mall for 6 weeks. But the envisioned large-scale civil disobedience actions by its residents and others did not occur. The original ppc generated some increased anti-poverty resources and created greater awareness of the extent and diverse faces of poverty in america. As you use our denomination taught us about reverend william barber. He spoke at the invitation of. Reverend barber mentors all of us willing to learn about our democracy. Reverend barber and reverend to harris spent talking with poor people across the country. Using the moral mondays of north carolina as a model. They organized a new poor people's campaign. A campaign to change how society we as society. The poor people's campaign a national call for moral revival. 40 days. As the triple evils of racism and militarism. In may a president susan frederick gray. This is no time for a casual faith and no time to go at alone. On may 14th grey lead by example. Monday may 14th to monday june 18th at our capital. And 30 other states and the district of columbia. Many of us in this congregation attended rallies. Volunteered as marshalls in peacekeepers has more witnesses. I invite all of you who participated in some way in the six weeks to stand. Thank you for your participation. The six weeks of action in washington dc. Enjoying in the hard work of securing the policies identified by poor people to address the four pillars of today's for people's campaign. Reverend barber emphasize. Every single one of us is needed for this work. Anywhere. What was involved each monday for six weeks. The day unfolded as follows. 100 individuals. A rally followed during which californians. And describe what illness is like in america without health insurance. Each monday california's diverse native communities reminded us we were on stolen land. Urging us to read their message and care for the earth. And each monday and asked of nonviolent occurred. These nonviolent actions included. Disrupting the business of the california assembly and the california senate. Disrupting a joint budget committee hearing and calling for the removal of the christopher columbus statue in the rotunda of our capital. Arrest record in weeks to. Tree. 4 + 6. I first attended the poor people's campaign on the 4th monday. Nonviolent moral fusion direct action at the california capitol and a healthy planet. Ecological devastation and healthcare. In the morning i participated in the training for those who are. It was inspiring to receive training specialist both practical and in the beautiful and historical westminster presbyterian church across from the capitol. The action was to occupy the capitol rotunda and cover an imperialist marble statue of christopher columbus and queen isabella arrest and charges of damaging state property. To focus attention on issues of human and environmental health and native american rights. Living wages jobs income housing. Why do we have a lot of issues more witnesses did not put themselves in positions to be arrested on this day at least in california undocumented immigrants. Participating in our democracy. Livable wages and affordable education and housing. I was arrested in week 3 and week 6. The first arrest in all honesty was the scariest. Here is an excerpt from experience. When seated on the floor we broke into song immediately highway patrol personnel. Witnesses share why they were here. One witness described the pain her family experienced having a son in the military. Another 10 years of anti-war work. I did not speak. I actually could not have spoken. When i sat on the floor my heart began racing. And i pretty much out of control. And for those of you that know me being out of control is not comfortable there was simply no way i was going to stand and speak. From the floor of the capital we were booked and eventually taken to the sacramento jail. The night in jail taught me profound life lessons. Lexington baptist many women. Lessons about white privilege and how privilege puts living ones democracy within reach. 35 more witnesses arrested on the final monday. Action in sacramento. The emphasis was on the need for a moral revival in america that would underpin a more equitable distribution of resources. Reactions disrupting the assembly disrupting the senate and trying to enter the governor's office resulted in the 35 arrests. I did not find being arrested in jail to be traumatic. Again white privilege. Having my arms pulled behind my back and my wrists restrained with sharp and tight plastic cups for several hours was painful. We were asked questions by the chp officers and the jail personnel and sometimes it was unpleasant to keep telling them no answer as we had been advised to do during our training. Uncomfortable sitting or standing in the 14 ft square holding cell at the jail the heavy metal door with two which was slammed repeatedly by our jailers. But the solidarity we experienced and the knowledge of what it feels like to be in the belly of the law enforcement beasts were well worth it. I am more determined to fight against poverty racism war and environmental destruction in the words of reverend king we are a new and unsettling force. So widespread and fundamental change let us not fritter away what opportunities we have in our democratic republic to apply that force. Midnight last wednesday 48 hours after being released from jail i flew to washington dc for the national poor people's campaign final events. Upon arrival i went to the campaign spent on the national mall to be trained for the afternoon of nonviolent moral fusion action. There i recognize many californians and was heartened by the diversity. Ethnicities and ages. I learned that we had come from all across the country. We sang songs of the campaign. Somebody's hurting my people now ingrained in my psyche. We were to march from the mall to the cat to capitol hill and climb the steps outside the senate. Before departing steven schwerner brother of michael schwerner one of the three civil rights workers. For the newport people's campaign. We arrived at the grounds of the cat and lettuce in tears now. Police in circle the area in front of the capitol making it impossible for us to reach the steps of the senate. You are engaged in an unlawful assembly was announced by law enforcement. And soon we the more witnesses we're surrounded by the police. Reverend barber and other clergy were the first to be arrested. Followed by us. 100 more witnesses from most states in the united states. Like reverend barber we were ticketed and released a $50 fine was the only repercussion. In the midst of this my third arrest. I was reminded of one of the glories of our democracy. The freedom to speak and ask. Based on what. Even to the point of arrest. The poor people's campaign this time around is much more distributed. Organizing more than 30 state capitals. Importance of powers of states are in our united states of america. One of the repeated messages of the poor people's campaign is to increase voting among four people. The leadership points out that the states with the highest poverty rates tend to be those with the lowest voter turnout. In many cases they are these are also states that have taken steps in recent years to undermine voting rights. Making it more difficult to register and to vote. Fourth of july wish many in this congregation registered into the polls. Where we hope their boats will help realize the policy agenda during the poor people's campaign 6 weeks of remarkable nonviolent moral fusion action. Colin response. Your response. I can't tell you how grateful i am. I can't tell you how grateful i am. For the work stefan and robin put in. For social justice. I've been working on the immigration justice team with them since its inception. Which feels like a thousand years ago. Just stop and imagine for a moment. All they have confronted. All we have confronted and seen us through in 3 years. I trust them implicitly because they lead from the front lines and now you've heard. What they've done. I'll never forget the effective rally they spearheaded with some help in two days last december and defensive rotten.com who was pulled by ice from his home and family here and davis. Misdemeanor committed decades ago. Cambodia with his family when he was 2 years old. And imagine this. When robin and stefan were arrested as more witnesses a few weeks ago just being her. Second arrest. Worried about what was happening when she didn't show up. And robin being processed by chp officers. Come on people let's pull it together. Stepan has immense and infectious buoyancy and grace. Which makes her an effective note to get things done she is uber planner. She just made to be a more effective liaison with act and yolo you know. The immigration justice team is doing and give the team updates on how acton yolo is evolving. When she pulls together an impromptu sign-making party stephan thanks about flowers and food. Not just the usual requisite supplies. And i've known robinson's our children were playing magic cards together downtown. She grounds for leadership and scholarship and a deep understanding of how racism shaped. Sacramento. In california. She provides calm and well-articulated communication to let us know what's going on. She has an easy sense of humor and absolutely no artifice. She might be overlooked at a gathering but when she speaks she speaks with authority. They both do. I love their passionate commitment. And also how i can be myself with them both. Stefan and robin i thank you both from the bottom of my heart for all. We're not quite done with you yet when the interns we we take a lovely a love offering and they received this lovely gift. Well it seemed right to me. We could do this love offering. And then collect that. To be given to. Stephen robinson money to. The organization of their choice. I was imagining flowers and i think. But sometimes money speaks. Put something in our bulletin in the future for how this money can come in as a kid. As a love offering for them to make. Their choice of a social justice. Offering in. Our country. So. Might make a difference in your life and so our appreciation. Are social justice starting in 2015. When they took the position they will be moving out of the social justice. Position in the co-chairs of the immigration. They're shifting their responsibilities. What a week. This is dan. On the national front. In our families. The people we care about. In this congregation. I think we have reason to hope. Around the room. Look at the facts of the world. You can see a continual and progressive triumph of what is right. Cynthia parker. I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. My eye reaches a little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the experience of sight. I can divine it by conscience. And from what i see i am sure justice. Let this conversation say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2018-08-05-Purposeful-Living-Where-Need-Gladness-Meet.mp3?_=1

Sunday sermons from unitarian universalist church of davis california. org for further information. Good morning. Is a way my name is autumn leather. You are welcome here if you are filled with joy. I need to be quiet and listen you are welcome in all your fullness. Your race and culture. Sexual orientation gender identity religious views or political party. Community. To honor earth. To claim your spirituality. Build the world we think is possible time to transform your life. We begin by acknowledging all that is being held by the people in this room. For all the moments that weigh heavy in our heart. And we light one candle for the joys the moment of celebration. Punctuate our life's a hope. Signify the start of our worship together. Time in which we briefly put away the pressures of the to perform and do an enter a space in which we can reflect. And recharge it's also a time to remember how we are connected to our worldwide. Ministry in which he served in urban and tampa settings and most recently alive lee progressive. It gets confusing. In northern new england of faith and justice and is active with the poor people's campaign and sacramento act in her current role for. Consultant for community engagement with congregation set to increase their social justice capacity. I always love it when congregations actually thank you for so beautifully bringing that energy into this space as we gather. It is a joy to be with you today and i appreciate the opportunity. Readings and prompt are thinking around issues of our time and how to live fully and purposely in challenging. Beautiful and broken x. Surfers reading today is from poet donna markova. Might we hear not only with our ears but the ears of our hearts. I will not die and unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. To allow my living to open me. To make me less afraid more accessible. My heart until it becomes of wings. A torch i promise. Significance. Goes on to the next as blossom. And i which came to me as blossom. Goes on to the next as fruit. Thank you donna markova. 20 practice reflection by saying that i never know where i'm going to end up when i start. Accompany me through this past week has my rumination on the title of reverend mary's tournament. And get ready for a large. What are the things that surfaced was a meticulously handwritten logs of davis enterprise headlines spanning 1988 to 2007 handwritten. Creator and stewart. One of lewis daily tasks was to call the enterprise and get the headline. And then he would enter it into a rather antiquated machine where will it show up on the local tv channels. He could rock it well and use it. Before he came to what was originally a tiny public access television station. California. Survive cancer. And work for 25 years in the department of ecology at uc davis where he retired at age 65. And then work another 25 years. He was a lifelong bachelor with only two living relatives of brother and a nephew and as far as we could tell. Any friends or much of a social life outside of our office. So he would join us at any given holiday we would receive the most. Wonderfully sought-out gift-wrapped in the most. And if you need it your plants watered or your cat said. And the same held for 4 a.m. drive to the airport. Most spell louis as a kind and benevolent elderly gentleman. And he was that. Technology. Deviation from route. She was gracious. A kind of bred in the bone racism he inherited from his conservative midwest family. His racism was generally subtle never outwardly directed at any member of our volunteer community. And yes and yes. When i started working there. And i was the one who had to finally let him go. Points 90 years old he couldn't stay awake in the afternoon was routinely snapping at us all and his filters had really started to crumble. And he never forgave me louis lived another eight years but never spoke to me again. I share this story. Because for many years and despite whatever his shortcomings were. Nexus of purpose and gladness. I truly believed he lived longer and more fully than he would have without the daily routine and the simulation of being around other people. And despite his deeply ingrained prejudices. I do know that coming to the office everyday gave him with joy. Despite everything i love you. In his own unique way he helped me realize part of my purpose. People where they are. It's often painful. And it's deeply impacted my life. So this morning i say hey lewis wherever you are. When despair for the world grows in me. And i wake in the night at least found in fear of what my life and my children's lives maybe. Would regress into beauty on the water and the great heron feeds. Into the place of. Do not text their minds with forethought of greece. I come to the presence of walkers. And i see above me the day blind stars waiting with their light. 4 time. In the grace of the world. And i'm free. Poet farmer wendell berry. Thinking about this incredibly beautiful world that we inhabit. 15. Billion years in the making. Every eon. Tumbling over with more and more diversity and variety in this moment. On a glorious planet. Wendell berry names at despair that can sometimes arrive in us. And perhaps you have a place like he mentioned. Whether it's the shores at lake tahoe you just saw or a field of poppies or. This magnificent flower i shot a picture of recently earlier this summer i forget the name of it something you're probably knows it. Takes my breath away. And we all have those places don't we that restore us that we ground us back in the grace of the world the peace of wild things. Despair. These times perhaps. Or maybe not the worst of times i'd say they're not given some of the things but human history. Have been filled with. Figure out how. Embrace the joy and the beauty. Indeed purposely. And hopefully. And times that can feel so broken. Many of our traditions speak two ways to live in the world with integrity and hope. Because in spite of the world being the way it is. Speaks about it in particular way. Being willing to risk her significance. Wanting to. Not let fear take hold. Long line of receiving and passing on. Something that has come to more fruition then what she received. Part of my tradition coming from the christian tradition is also the teachings of jesus. I'm actually going to share a reading from the gospel of luke. Early in jesus ministry this is considered his first public appearance in the gospel of luke. So no matter how we. Approach. Different packs no matter what our experiences with christian tradition or with the. Prophet and teacher. That seems relevant today. Traveling and perhaps he was doing. Jesus came to nazareth where he he went to the synagogue. And he stood up to read. He opened the book and found the place where it was written. The spirit of the lord is upon me. Because i've been anointed to preach good news to the poor. To proclaim release to the captives. Recovery of sight to the blind. To set at liberty those who are oppressed. And to proclaim the acceptable year of god that you believe. And he closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of them. Today. This scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. In that moment. Jesus was claiming the purpose. For his life. He named in that. Sacred public space. Commitment break the chains of oppression into be one who was pursuing liberty restoring people. And proclaiming jubilee that time when all debt would be forgiven. Can you imagine. For 5 minutes. In our lives we all. Get opportunities. Claim our purpose. And usually it's not necessarily the same thing at 18 or 37 or 887. Often there's a core theme that runs through it. Sort of where our deepest values connect with. The needs of the world. From. Contemporary theologian and educator. Frederick. Ask where it is that we are called to as people of faith. The place that you are to be. Is a place where your deep gladness. Meats. The world. Denise. Years ago. Like it at first. By comparison to the need and suffering of the world. Began to. Get the depths of gladness. Necessarily the same concept as a happy moment. Surprise phone call from a friend witches can also make one's heart. But not a fleeting cheeriness. But that deep experience. Betty spell piece. Is. It is being in one's integrity. I am grateful that. Through my life i've had a lot of wonderful teachers who continue to. Model for me what it means to bring those together. I've not always been an easy student. Incredible amount of privilege. I had educated parents. I would go to college just a matter of. Where. I didn't end up finishing college with tens of thousands of dollars of debt. An amazing life. For thirty years i've been a pastor i've been able to work with. Beautiful and diverse as people like you and people in other parts of the world and i continue to learn. What am i powerful essence came about 15 years ago when i began to work with an organization called pico you may be familiar with. Pico is based on the concept is a faith-based organization but it really believes also that. Face. Needs to be connected to the work of social justice. Inform any of us that's a no-brainer. But the other thing that they really have taught me is. Especially as a person of privilege. It's very easy for me to come to an issue. Intellectual. Concern over it. As i read about the place of people who have been wiped out by a typhoon. Fires. In our own states. Community organizer. The place of pain. For myself i can certainly identify. People i know who were hurting because of a family member who had cancer. Or mental health issues at my congregation. And the settings very real changed. Call s2 address. Realized it was still kind of up in my head. I was committed to it. I didn't know the individuals who were affected most by it. About eight months ago i was delighted to see that there was in sacramento. It's a long story how we ended up in sacramento after 30 years of ministry but that's a sermon for another day or a conversation. Arriving in sacramento i discovered that the affiliate sacramento act. Was already hard at work. Bringing people of faith very diverse people of face. Together to work on a number of very intense issues. But doing so at a grassroots level where you really would hear what those communities needed. I was delighted to find out that the number of the congregations in davis. Have recently joined together to form. Yolo act. The powerful opportunity. People are face to come together. And to bring that sense of our own gladness what what brings us peace and what taps into our passion. To bring that in connection with the very real suffering of. Immigrants in our community of. Communities of color that are. Anyways under siege. I look forward to seeing what that partnership between the congregations will look like in the years ahead. Along with the work with sacramento act i had the opportunity to work this. Past few months with the poor people's campaign. People's campaign some of you may remember how many remember the initial 50 years ago and dr. king launched the poor people's campaign at emagine. Some of you may have even been part of that at the time. Dr. king launched a campaign in only a few months later was assassinated. I'm heading indigent. No there was a remnant that continued and actually california has had at least for the last 14 years trying to revivify the poor people's campaign. But this past spring on the 50th anniversary of the poor people's campaign. Relaunch that with a six-week launch. And i won't have a show of hands by noah number of your congregants came to the visibility is at the capitol building the first monday of six different weeks from. Memorial day to the middle of june. The purpose to the intersection between races. To also look at as a king hat. The war economy. That really strips money from places of needs schools and healthcare and communities of need. Revivifying of the poor people's campaign the addition of ecological devastation. Racism. The military war economy and ethological devastation as all manifestations of a similar. Systemic injustice a distorted worldview. I know some of you have been involved with the poor people's campaign and that launch was six weeks and that campaign is now just getting started. This isn't the dancing so out there cuz. Just a few. Pictures that. From the this was from washington dc on one of the days of the poor people's campaign this is from our own capital it brought together. Fighting for a minimum wage of $15 it brought together union people that brought together indigenous people. Trying to call out. The incredible immorality of many of the policies that we now have and sort of the false narrative. That leads us to believe. That they're really still is this hierarchy evaluation. Anyway during the campaign. Working alongside many people in sacramento and from throughout the state. I was reminded him again humbled. On the frontline of. Incredible adversity. Big nurse quotes about. The places of need an rv gladness meeting to be connected. It can be very easy to look at the news. Despairing. I'm out. This was from a trip that sacramento act took to the border. I will never forget the sound of parents calling to us from across the wall. In spanish saying to us. Don't forget us where are our children. People campaign for me represent those places right here. Within our reach where we have the opportunity. To put our daughter to the work of transforming our community and the world. People's campaign for me right now are incredible vehicles that bring people of stays together because we will not turn this around. Shipley's in the sacredness of all people whatever their color. Whatever their background their orientation whatever their portfolio is filled with or their entire lack of a portfolio human being is sacred. Of the divine. I know that your congregation and many of you here have been involved in social justice work. No doubt for decades and decades. And i thank you for that. Because i know that for many people in this time what gives them hope. Communities of resistance and face to see communities that are standing for values of justice. And indeed deliberate. The captain's falsely imprisoned because of their color. I don't know what wendell berry would say about these times if when he wrote this poem 15 years ago. Despair. The best way to avoid numbing out. It's a risk. Are significance. To risk decentering are privileged. And learning from. Closest to the suffering. An amazing amazing increase in their economic potential. I haven't worked for minimum wage since i was 16 years old. Two weeks ago i sat with three women. Who are working two jobs at minimum wage. And still living below the poverty line. Mighty gladness. Even knowing there are communities of resistance communities of hope. Like yours and like others that are digging into these times with a commitment. What kind of person purposeful living that says. We will bring our best energy to this. We will bring. Our hope. And our talents. And our resources. And perhaps like donna markova. We will be able to. Push back. Despair. And a fear. We might be able to receive. That we pass on his blossom. We receive. That we send forth into the world. In fruit. The beautiful fruit. Objective. And compassion. And hope. Maybe so. We cannot help but give thanks. For the capacity to rise. To take in nourishment. Together with others who share. A desire to grow. In community. How grateful we are for the ties that bind and connect us. With family with friends with those living with those. Departed from us. The ties of love that nothing. Nothing can diminish. Grateful for. We know this world are yet as they might be. So we pause for a moment as we turn inwards. And think about those places in our own lives where we seek and desire ceiling. Strength. Perhaps inside. Similarly we think of those we know who may be going through. We hold in our hearts other than just congregation. Community and beyond. Immigrant families in this county. And in our nation. You think of those who. Put their children to bed hungry at night. Erstad. The pain of the world does not break us apart. But breaks open. Open with capacity for compassion. New levels of courage. Salinas. To join a holy purpose. Insult. Join. The mini before us who had sought to break chains of oppression. Deliberate. Not only those who are easy to love who are difficult to love doing. Transform the world. Thank you for. The energy of creativity and diversity that has spun through billions of years that you can. Say we ground ourselves. Ground ourselves in the power and strength of spirit. The connect. And strengthens us for holy work. May it be so. We are beginning to close our time. Knowing that even as we've been connected in this time we will go forth out into the world and we know is we go that we may have been strengthened in renewed here. In community and fellowship with each other. Hopefully we are not. Do brothers and sisters. Are in your journey. You go forth today. Renewed and your desire to have. A purposeful life. May you go forth with renewed courage. You are not alone. Not only will address the needs of the world that is also what will bring you. Most of all. Maybe go in peace. Peace.

uudavispodcast_org

2018-05-14-Mothers-Day_Sequins-of-Daring.mp3?_=3

Another recording from unitarian universalist church of davis california. org for further information. Good morning this morning. You are welcome here no matter how you identify. No matter the color of your skin or your political affiliation. You are welcome no matter your understanding of. Or your answers to life's big questions. You are welcome learners. And compassionate listener. By the people in this room. We like one pillar candles for the sorrows of the world. For the moments that weigh heavy on her heart. And we like one pillar candle for the joists. For the moments of hope. And celebration. To symbolize the unity of the unitarian universalist community. This morning i've invited barbara and grandmother of four. We can do this playing with love for mothers and foremothers past present and future. Four biological mothers and foster mothers and adopted mothers and soul mothers. Grandmothers and mothers. Today we're going to be creating at all for those. Mothering. Because for you. Who knows it could be heard and it could be a male presenting person happens to be the person who cares for you or nurtured you could have many different kinds of people on it. To create. I just didn't read the bulletin. For i forgot and it's. We are ready for you because we have small cards. And tens and you're invited to write the name of the person. Offered you mothering. Please set on the altar. Find it difficult to come down these stairs or down the hand and we will come to you. We've got it covered. Please. Create our altar and let us know if we need to come to you. Invite you to take your hands if you are embracing embracing the fullness of who are mothers and those who mother might be. Supported us. Some way. Only we know. The stories are yet to be told. We will do our closing here. Can i hope you will come forward as you are able. To ask question. About the photos and the names that are here. Blessings. These people who care for us. Amen. I'm 7 and my father is already gone. No stockings. I am 7 years old my family moves into our first house are finally home. After years of moving around moving around. I feel at home and i feel safe. I am and my friends come over after school. Mrs. palin they asked my mom my mother replied. My friend asked what do we call you. Call me gorgeous mom call her gorgeous mom. I feel proud of my mom. 71. For a while. Whatever i want. I feel an hour. My mother and i got into a fight. You might not like me very much right now. I don't like you very much right now. But i love you and we will this. But that our love is. And i feel that love. From city to city. I am 21 and i am the first in my family to graduate college it's the morning of my graduation and my mother pulls me in close. And says i am so proud of your hard work. I'm so proud of the person you are becoming. She is my source of encouragement to keep going when things become difficult because the outcome will be worth it. I feel strong. I am 27 years old. I call my mom asking for advice. She laughs happy that at 27 years old i still call my mom. Myself. She encourages me to think through my problems first to come up with my own solution. But never hesitate to offer her opinion. When i need it. I feel supported. California. I am 27 and i cannot know what the future holds. A 15-year adventures. We talk on the phone daily. Give me my mom. She couldn't say anything else. Speak with no nose. We are answering the call. I made home to the truth in our heart that's our guy. In relationship. With that person. Empowered. When they were. Free supported happy. The same person interaction with them. We are changed by our relationship. And perhaps no one more. Centaur parents. For me any number of snapshots. I am 15. My mother and i travel 40 minutes north of cape cod. This is good. When were this far from home maybe i won't be anyone i know. Remember my age. Ended store there are both of fabric as far as the eye can see both of. Striped seersucker and delicate lace and crisp cotton shimmering silk. You can get in this store. Which is exactly what i tried to do. I never succeed though despite my best efforts. And she was a singer. Projects over the store displays as effectively as a loudspeaker for you. I am 15. It is almost never. Just the right one for me. Because my mother. Picked it out. I could pretend that. I sit next to her looking at the catalogs pretending that i don't know just overly friendly woman who is flipping through the pages of patterns i just happened. Bear. What other mothers and daughters did together. Regularly. Catalog during fabric admiring but things like zippers. Embarrassment and boredom which i could do very well. I knew that she was a true artist. Who could imagine clothing design. The texture of the fabric and how it would fall. And every detail. She could imagine all the pieces. Completed. Project pat. I was working hard to be invisible. Whenever my mother wore something that defined her sense of joy. Splendent. Jacket covered with brinnlitz brilliantly colored. Sparkling sequins. One of the most memories i have of her at any stage of life is how she would wear brilliant colors. And usually something that reflects light. Regarded quite completely what was considered skylit any decade and created her own rules for fashion. Open to questioning. Whether our convictions are about science. Or how we understand our relationship. If we encounter new evidence. We're encouraged to form new more complete understanding of what the truth. Would be. Truth is not. The answer is provided to you. And it is. The answer. Pay attention. And we may not welcome all of the new truth that are revealed to us. Route. And authentic. Life. Is a novelist and a guest contributor to the new york times. The daughter does a far-reaching search for images of her mother before. Who could this person be. Before children. As she wrote the storyline in her novel. Imagining what does thirst for this unknown person would feel like. She became more. she wondered if she imagine the experience of that daughter's search. For the mother's early images correctly. She posted an invitation on social media. Women to send photos of a hood. With a few sentences giving the photos and contacts. Afternoon. Interesting. So this is online for you. She thought she knew what kind of images the adult daughters would send into her and how they would describe their relationship. What she received was so compelling that she continued writing about the photos and the poignant description and her article is called our mothers as we never knew them. Pelling article stepmothers. By the editors of the new york times. The daughter the responded work clearly fascinated with a young women captured on film. Their mothers. Carefree and daring. For pensive. When was hitchhiking another play stalker and a team of young adult men. Young women were pictured on motorcycle pierce and defiant. New immigrants. Often women of color who would have challenges they anticipate. One teen was pictured with a translucent. Her hair was tucked behind the headset of a tape recorder. She was transcribing news from the warfront. For her next newspaper article. Looking so casual. And obviously listening. Story of violence. Added a photo of her own mother. He was the 1970s and the woman who became her mother was wearing. Very small and a white midi top. Eden road impressive waist-to-hip ratios. At the time of this photo her mother couldn't have imagined that she would drop out of college. Get married. Grandchildren a conversion to judaism one divorce to marriages. Across the country. What. Did their lives take. And what truth. Unfolded as a result. Help many adult children. Human and complicated. To publish a description of mothers as whole people. Caring and responsible. Innocent. And wise. Rarely see mothers in all of their complexity a sliver of them. And it's. Is the reality. Commentator courtney martin times with more commitment. Children as well as being an innovative. Professional. Adult. We can only understand the life of another. From the perspective of our current age. And experience. After 27. When she could look. What relationship will be. With anyone. That far in the future. The reality. Psychologists study the changes in the relationship between mothers and their children. At some point our mother becomes. Real. Flawed human being. There comes a time sometimes sooner sometimes later it sounds like it came sooner for danny. When we discover that our mother does not have it all figured out. And. We can give each other. Advice. 10 years ago when my mother passed. Of her apartment. The conscience of the clothes closet. The dresser. The jewelry box. If any of you have done this task you know. Heartache. Habitat. Generations family history of tissue paper. Amazing beaded collars. Three generations before hours were there. From our grandmother's complete with. On that day all three of us admitted for the first time that is children we suffered from nightmares after seeing that coat. I remember we did not know what to do with it and we didn't want to keep looking at it but. I still don't remember. There was the hat she wore from her honeymoon with my father. She wore it again at their 50th wedding anniversary and there was a magnificent feather boa. That are usher's used in their training earlier this year it was a favorite if you want to be an usher let me know and glittering rhinestones eyeglasses. The latest edition was a costume she wore at a cabaret. When she was 89. Made from an oversized. She had purchased the fringe for curtains. And put it along the him. Maven's would never have allowed her to wear the slip in public. However they were not did not there to advise my mother. We tried to hide from her. Course. There were jackets. Sure. Resplendent with sequins. Rhinestone switch it entered her. And glitter. 15 years old. I no longer ashamed of her confidence. How she saw herself. Related to others. Long before i found myself in her clothes closet. My sisters and i knew her to be a complete human being who didn't have the answers to everything although we wished she did. It took a long time to empty the closet in her apartment. Because. Tory burch bags. Again. Pre motherhood. Confident. Moral compass. For her whole life. She didn't need the affirmation of others. She believed that people's inner strength matter. Far more. Physical beauty. Albert bodies deserve to be adorned and cherish. And that started with hers. Joy is found in giving away what is precious. Among us. And not. We saw. In her closet. New evidence meaning continues to be revealed the time. A mother has passed. We continue to mature. And we can hear. Message in our own mind and in our lives and that relationship continues. Our mother relationship. Did the container with cracks and imperfections but it holds the love of someone who is known as for a lifetime and there are precious few people. Who can say that they know us. Over the span of a lifetime. The greatest gift that we can give our mothers. Complexity of who they are and who they have. The greatest. That we can give anyone including ourselves it would be curious. To be present with the knowledge and the mystery of their lies. Our lives. Amen. And blessed be. Names waiting to be recognized people we know from our own lives. Opening us to the possibility in others. Challenges and spirits. Ready to be with real. You are a mix of perfection and imperfection. Sometimes. Know the answers. To wish for wisdom. Sometimes. Because they listen. You are invited to bring their names into his face. Itself. Is your time to name them. Whoever they are. Hands around the room. Don't forget there is a group. If you found a message here that gives you inspiration. And live it. This world.

uudavispodcast_org

2012-12-02-Worship-9_30-ED.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons another recording from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. In jewish writings in humanistic tent. Dating around 200 before common era. Jesus ben-sorek. Wrote the following. The beginning of wisdom wonder. The culmination of wisdom. Wonder. The crown of wisdom wonder. And her branches. Long life. William ury is a conflict mediator in writer he says the secret to peace is a surrounding community. They can be constructive. Listen. And remind both sides what is it steak. He calls this the third side. Another perspective. Based on deep listening and observation. Peace starts with us. Can you find a third side. To the conflicts in your own life. Where can you practice listening. And observing. Our poet jesus fence iraq. Extol the value of health over riches. Advise occupying a dwelling of one's own no matter how humble. Advocated cheerfulness. And being comfortable with one's own life. He warned against disruptive. Innards that one should not defraud oneself of one good day. For there is no luxury to be enjoyed. In the grave. I think i'd have liked that guy. But it was like 200. Bc. I also like stephanie mills who wrote wonder is our erotic. Affiliation with life. If we develop this enjoy it and follow its promptings are once will be fewer. And our needs planer. What a refreshing holiday message. Puerto rico. Rich seasonal message. In her 2003 book epicurean simplicity. She promotes meeting our needs sparingly. Simply. Measuring our wealth by the joys and wonders of living within our means. Abusing our senses of being in nature. I love her message. And the tantalizing title of her book epicurean simplicity. I look at the complexity of my own life. I long to simplify to create space to indulge in the sensual pleasures of earth. I look at my complex calendar of responsibilities and. Wonder where do i rest. My treasure. My pleasure comes in quiet moments. My moments alone indulging my senses. Severe and i sound and sight. Hillvale tree and flower. I won't tell you where i go to be alone. But the roadside leaning to one. Favorite place. Says time to slow down. I always exhale mightily. I get deep. Pleasure in quiet moments with others also. How very rich that period of meditation. Are relaxation in yoga classes. That 80. How honored the kinship. We all share. Can i invite you now to share with me just here. Now. So close your eyes. Show the winds. Rains. Play music. Drifting through our sanctuary. Our sanctuary. Bring the mind home. Let it rest. Just there. Indice nada third eye. The body rests. Breath lengthens. Spine long belly saw. Hands relax. An undoing. All tension melts and we tame our minds. Music. When. Rain. Breath. Play rest in sanctuary. Softening. Being. Time to slow down. And i reading this morning comes from essays of wendell berry. What are people for. For many years my walks have taken me down and old fence row in a wooded hollow. On what was once my grandfather's farm. A battered. Galvanized bucket. Is hanging on a fence post near the head of the hollow and i never go buy it without stopping. To look inside. So what is going on in that bucket is the most momentous thing i know. The greatest miracle that i've ever heard of. It's making earth. The old bucket has hung there through many autumns and the leaves have fallen around it and some have fallen into it. Rain and snow have fallen into it and the fallen leaves. Handheld moisture. And so have rotted. Not to fall in into it. Or been carried there by squirrels. Mice and squirrels have eaten the meat of the nuts and left the shells. They and other animals have left their droppings. Insects have flown into the bucket and died and decayed. Birds have scratched in it and left their droppings or perhaps a feather or two. The slow work. Growth. And death. Gravity in decay. Which is the chief work of the world. Has by now produced in the bottom of the bucket several inches of hummus. I look into that bucket with fascination because i am a farmer of sorts and an artist of sorts. And i recognize their in artistry in a farming far superior to mine. Or to that of any human. I have seen the same process that work on tops of boulders. In a forest. And it has been the work. Immemorial e over most of the land. Surface of the world. All creatures die into it. And they live by it. This is one of the sweetest. Services i have prepared. One of the sweet. For many years my walks have taken me down and old fence row. In a wooded hollow. On what was once my grandfather's farm. A battered galvanized bucket. Is hanging on a fence post. Near the head of the hollow. And i never go buy it. Without stopping to look inside. What is going on. In that bucket. Is the most momentous thing i know the greatest miracle. That i've ever heard of. It is making earth. I'm preparing for this sermon i discovered the word wonder lacity. When do i have to tear the term that was coined by sam king american philosopher. Meaning of fountain of wonder and curiosity inside each of us. Be in touch with that part of ourselves to be filled with curiosity and wonder and awe. We have to make ourselves ready. The world with rob us of wonder and we are its accomplices. Brethren are we accepted christian message of advent. Consider accepting the spiritual practice of preparing ourselves for moments of wonder. We have to take time to. Wander. To be absolutely aimless. It's not something that i do usually. Because i all-too-often answer the call of what needs to be done. Starting in early november i begin making my purchases at the farmers market for what has become the traditional mailing extravaganza. Indeed i really do believe begin in july with non-perishable items. This is a family issue. There are specific kinds of apricots i look for and almonds. Tangy dried tomatoes from ruth ticular vendor i am a woman on a mission is olive oil to be purchased and this year walnuts. They're coming to me on thursday night i here. I pick the proceedings from the tree in my yard and i polish them until they shine like orange sunsets i select the smallest linens that are turning yellow from the meyer lemon bush. And every year the number of boxes sent grows. They will be in the mail at the end of this week. It brings me joy. But not. Wonder. Because. Is a part of a joy-filled list of task to be done and i am famous for my list i decided that. I should be able to get everything done that is on a three-by-five card. Computer list just go on and on you know. So technology doesn't help me but then i discovered how small i can relieve right. It's a problem. Wonder comes for me like for karen when my schedule is empty. And i around myself then to look at the most ordinary things and see the miraculous that they're all along but i'm too busy to see it. We are surrounded. With reasons to be filled with wonder. To wonder about life. And i have to be on. My nowhere special kind of walk. And then i see the things that i would have passed by without even noticing. Barbara kingsolver's new book flight behavior. It's a november day. And appalachia. There's a threat of rain. The main character. Dellarobia. It's climbing a ridge to a hunting shack. She is walkthrough field. The stand of sapling. I didn't deep in the woods. And for this day she has left behind her two children. A lifeless marriage. She is on her way to a lovers tryst. And all she can think about it the young man hands as they hold her face. The promise of what will come after that moment. The final stretch of the path to the hunting shack is steep and she's wearing boots designed for hike not designed for hiking they are for fashion. The seating at the blisters form. She counts the cigarettes in her purse. Achieva have to portion them out for the afternoon. There's a mi left to walk to the shack with her young lover. Much younger than she is. Waits for her. She is preoccupied. To say the least. Lost in thoughts. For the future and also the past. She almost misses the miracle the changes her life. She stops to catch her breath. And studies a giant tree that has fallen shattered already turning to richloam. Already making earth. She sees one flick of bright color a leaf. The trail is so steep that she needs to grab onto saplings to steady herself and pull herself up on the trail. And when she gets to flat ground she looks up. And that's when she sees a swarm of bees that has settled into the branch above her. She ducked under it looking back and it is all wrong. It's all wrong. The shivering clump. Doesn't home. Like a hive might. It looks like a cone of corn flakes. Writhing. And alive. She has small children and she has seen all kinds of things covered in corn flakes. This is what it looks like. She can see the whole valley and the forest from where she stands. The branches throughout the whole valley pulsate. Loaded with mostly pale dead leaves perhaps. I didn't shoot through the clouds in the landscape turn the color. 2 orange fire. Deforest blazes with an eternal flame. Jesus she says her calling for help because she and jesus are not that close. And when the sun slips out from the clouds she sees that. Every bowel. Every bowel glows with an orange blaze. There are showers of orange spark. Exploding the way upon bug does in a campfire when it's poked. If it was a forest fire it would roar. But the air is cold. And clear. The soft sound of dripping rain is all she hears. Dellarobia says. The mountain the valley the trees every branch. Looks like. The inside. Of joy. Wonder. Is the inside of joy. She's found the migration of butterflies them. The story unfolds her life opens and changes in ways that you could not have anticipated. We have to be still. Open. To prepare ourselves for wonder. The old bucket has hung there for many autumns. And the leaves have fallen around it and some have fallen into it. Rain and snow have fallen into it and the fallen leaves have held the moisture. And so he brought it. Nuts have fallen into it or been carried into it by squirrels. Mice and squirrels have eaten the meat of the nuts. Unless the shelves. They and other animals have left their droppings. Insects have flown into the bucket and died. Indiecade. Birds have scratched in it. Unless their droppings or perhaps a feather or two. The slow work of growth. And death. Gravity and decay. Which is the chief work of the world has by now produced in the bottom of the bucket several inches of black hummus. I looked into that bucket. With fascination because i am a farmer of sorts. And i'm artist of sorts and i recognize there and artistry and farming. Fire superior to mine or that of any human. I have seen the same process at work. On the tops of boulders in the forest. And it has been a work in memorial day over most of the land surface of the world. All creatures die into it. And they live by it. Hiking this summer. Near donner pass. What my spirit during for was dawdling in nature. Walking and seeing the leaves admiring the granite. I love nature. I love what bodies can do. Stretching. And sweating with exertion. A few moments into the first day of hiking with 15 people i realize that i had signed up for the wrong trip. These were all good people. What is i would learn later. They were marathon runners. Triathletes people who swam in the ocean twice a week with a coach before. This is not to say that i didn't experience the joy of accomplishment. For the horror. When the sole of my boot peeled off as we scrambled away from a rattlesnake. Experience the full spectrum of emotions. But i felt wonder on the last day. Walking gently now incompletely tread width boots. Because the other boot. Followed in the same way. Tender muscles. Sweat ring shirt. Because. I didn't notice but one of my fellow hikers says hey. Get your shirt all those white circles on it. I followed my people. On the easiest hike of all that last day. After only an hour we slid into the clearest icy pool of water so clear that when someone lost her sunglasses. We could find them among the rocks under the water. Evicted together basking. On the warm rocks the young-adult among us ass. A question. Which opened us to wonder. How do you know. But you loved someone enough to stay with them. She asked. How do you know. And then the man who is newly discharged from the navy told us about his fear that he might misdirect his uncontrolled anger and hurt someone he loved. Andy auto worker revealed that her relationship ended. Just a few days before our trip. Unexpectedly and the elderly marathon runner. Said she never looks back. And doesn't miss love commitment. The young single man. Then he wished. He could even entertain the possibility of how much love was enough. Every married couple explained that they choose to stay together even though life has not been perfect and it is a choice all the time. And one woman laughed at the thought of people who think that relationships can be balanced. And i showed my universalist heritage and saying. That i am eternally hope-filled for all of us. Partly because of what i witness. Yesterday. When i did the memorial service for someone who had been married to his wife for 65 years. I get to witness. That kind of love. Over harvesters of life. All artists of living. There were the equivalent of old feathers and discarded dropping. Half process life experiences in pain and loss. Denver city year. But i was amazed at their stamina and their grace. In all aspects of their lives. The wonder. It's how they had open to each other welcome the question from this person filled with self-doubt. And then they show their own. If she was looking for a certain answer. She only found humanity. In the season when the world grows dark. And for us. Greenlife return. This is our time to lose with wonder ocity. We can choose to find the wonder and curiosity that lives inside each one of us. Lithosphere time of spiritual practice to find moments. Wendy slow enough. To see the miracle. Of making dirt. From our lives. And to that i say. Anna. 9 vitamins what time of prayer. And meditation. And love for your own life. For the wonder of being artists and farmers. When the morning star is rising. Maybe find some moment to set aside our restlessness. And our intention. And go against everything we've been taught. Be a menace. That's when we are reminded of what is of greatest value. I knew we be ready for what comes clear. Free movies. When was seems like a swarm of bees in danger. What is pale and dead. And then. The light. Something changes in our perspective and we see a glimpse of the. Inside. Of joy. And orange. Pulsating fire. That is a lie. May we be ready. To be speechless. Whitney here. The truth about others live. The half-finished stories. The remnant. Dreams i'm done. There's a crack of light. It comes shining through. Almost always. Can we be ready for wonder. Each of us is a part of an intricate web of relationships. One of us celebrate the joy agrees the laws the web of life moves to a new shape we are apart of the turn of the earth the shift of the stars and the pool of the sea and all change amen blessed be and maybe always be open to the wonder. Bye-bye to take hands around the room. And these are final words. From wendell berry although not. Probably his only final words but for today. The love and the work of friends and lovers. Belong to the task. And are its health. Rest and rejoicing belong to the task and are its grace. But tomorrow come tomorrow. Not by your will is the house carried through the night. Let the scattering say amen. Amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2015-04-05_Easter-Sunday_When-You-Think-the-Storys-Over_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. You're welcome here if you are filled with joy or lost in the depths of your being you are welcome here if you have a message to share or need to be quiet and listen you are welcome here in all your fullness your sexual orientation religious views for political party. Today is an important holiday from our christian tradition easter celebrates the miraculous resurrection of jesus christ into a beautiful colorful life the grass is turning back to its lively green and the flowers are in bloom personally most of my easter memories come searching for eggs on a dogwood tree. River wonderful service ahead i want to thank everyone who helped to put it together reverend rodger jones is the senior minister at the uu society of sacramento returns to our congregation for his second time during reverend best sabbatical also we have wonderful music from the julia belle's and sparks choir with special guest trumpets liliana moore and oscar garibay. In this season the season of steady rebirths we awaken to the power so abundant so wholly the returns each year through the sky we will find our hearts again and our good spirits. We will love and benefit and give wonder. And feel again the eternal powers the flow of life moves ever onward through one faithful spring and now. And another and another may we forever be grateful hallelujah. Good morning good to see all of you good to be here it's good to see a lot of familiar faces and new members of this congregation i always appreciate the warm receive and seeking warmth of community and a place of hope and inspiration greetings from the uu society sacramento where i served as one of them and where we look to you for paving the way leading the way in many many ways and including your building project and your ministries of religious education and music and social action and financial generosity we. Your minister went to church in boston this morning beth and i had dinner with her earlier in the week to wish your bon voyage on her preparing to go to italy and she said who's who's preaching in sacramento this morning and i said lucy bunch and i said. So friends everyday do something that won't compute. Love the lord loved the world or nothing take all you have and be poor. Give you an approval to all that you cannot understand. Praise ignorance for what man has not encountered he is not destroyed. Questions that have no answers. Invest in the millennium plan sequoias that you did not plan that you will not live to harvest. Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold. Call that prophet prophesied such return. Put your face in the two inches of hummus that will build under the trees every thousand years. Expect the end of the world. Laugh laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful do you have considered all the facts. As soon as the generals and the politicos can predict the motions of your mind lose it leave it as a sign to mark the falls trail the way you didn't go. Be like the far who makes more tracks than necessary in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection. I've been. I've been wondering something about easter there's a question i've been toying with a my question is this. Modern people less likely to believe the easter story for the easter message. Which is harder to accept the story as hell for the message of hope and joy which it conveys. But think about both the original story and the enduring message. According to the new testament a few days after jesus was executed a group of grieving women went to his tomb to their surprise the body was not there two men in dazzling robes were there and they told them jesus has risen to believe them. Soon those disciples saw some evidence for themselves eventually the jesus the risen jesus appear to them along the road as they want. Adoree. It's pretty hard for many modern people to accept. I am reasonably sure that nobody's body can rise from the dead even the body of a great prophet. In the words of wendell berry the easter story does not compute its incredible right. Perhaps it's. 12 even more incredible. The message of easter is that no matter how terrible we feel. No matter how brokenhearted we are by the state of things no matter how bad off our world seems we should maintain hold. No matter how hard life seems we should celebrate life. Happy easter message is to be joyful even though you have considered all the facts. There is no shortage of bass. Better things are not well with humanity. It doesn't take much for me to rethink the message of its july and ho. Just a few heartbreaking headlines. In the newspaper or a few talk with people to hear the isolation pain or fear that dwells in too many lives. Addiction. Self-destructive behaviors violence ruin lives. Traumatized people. Women and children are targets of abuse and oppression and lance all over the world including this land. Around the globe and there's no shortage of human cruelty. This past week in kenya. For terrorist gunman occupied a college canvas. Murdering a 147 students and wounding another 79 and traumatizing everyone. In mexico organized crime grows and prospers. Funded by drug money from our side of the border the greed and violence have destroyed countless families and taking the lives of many public servants. There is no a lot of reasons for a broken heart. Nrj. Has ground pollution and climate change in communities of people at whole species of animals and plants. Around the globe most of us who are comfortable keep chugging along and our wasteful ways. It was a bumper sticker that said if you're not outraged you're not paying attention you're not paying attention. Delete woodfield pony for me to give an easter message that says that everything is all right and everything will be fine when everything is not fine and not all right in our world. Instead i will ask you to join me in trying to do what wendell berry urges. Practice resurrection. Practice living in a new kind of world even if it's not here yet. Live by home even if we can't always feel hoe. I can think of three ways to practice resurrection. Maybe you can think of more. One way is to identify your own sense of the purpose identify the values and principles by which you guide your life and stick to them. The second practice is to be life-affirming and appreciated as a gift. Remember that everything is in process. Remind yourself that life continues reality is always unfolding and there's always more to the story. First. Live according to your deepest values. If you don't know what your deepest values are then devote some time to get to know them to be clear about them. Be clear about what they are. Wendell berry rides everyday do something that doesn't compute. Living according to our deepest values may not compute sometimes. It may seem foolish. In the gospel of matthew some people asking jesus with the greatest of the jewish commandments are. Please answer love your god with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind. Andy says love your neighbor as yourself. On this formula hangs the entire jewish inheritance he says. Now if you wanted to find something that did not compute according to the rules of society would be hard-pressed to find something more outrageous than the idea of loving your neighbors as yourselves back in the roman empires. Province. Oppressed palestine two thousand years ago. Some of those listening to jesus must have said love your neighbor as yourself surely he's joking and if he's not joking he must be crazy. Jesus cried a lot of things that didn't compute. To listen to women when the culture said that he should ignore them at best. Paid attention to children also though adult society treated them like commodities. Jesus socialize with outkast people and show them respect. Jesus healed people encourage people who polite society despised and ignored. The mad farmer poet says everyday do something that does not compute love someone who does not deserve is surely he's joking. Trulia mad foolish farmer. This message is foolish than so is the religious movement of which this congregation is apart the 1,000 congregations in the unitarian universalist association affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person. The covenant our congregations made with one another says that we affirm and promote this the dignity of every person. Every person even those who make us uncomfortable. Foreignoy us. Keeping those who are different from us. Even the mean ones. We affirm that every person has dignity even those who don't deserve it. Even those you might ask those who wish to take away some of our rights. Well yes and they have words. Even if their deeds and their behaviors are not acceptable and must be opposed. Now it seems a lot easier to swallow the story that a man rose from his tomb that it is to believe that everybody has inherent worth and dignity and. To believe that we couldn't live by that value. That really doesn't compute. Whatever we think of the easter story for me this is the easter message. Don't give up don't give up your sense of purpose don't give up on your deepest values. Remember that life is a process we can practice resurrection. We can make it happen over and over in the here and now. Practice liberation from the bad habits and old ways were bound to. Practice deliverance from the assumptions that isolate us from our neighbors. Resurrection from our soul-killing impulses like selfishness and self-hatred. Practice hope by affirming life. Several years ago a member of the congregation i was serving in the bay area and went into the hospital for breast cancer surgery. As you can imagine she was upset about this. I had asked her if she wanted a hospital visit and she said no wait till i get home. Soon she was home again and she emailed an update and the subject line said i am home and the world still look beautiful on her and she invited me to come over. Bring a handle she said i want to sing hymns i've known of hospital chaplains and hospice chaplain who sing to patients but that was the first time that a parishioner asked if i would sing hymns with her. I hadn't even realize she likes him saying that much but she did and we sang and we had a good time. For her this was a life-affirming practice in the face of a life-threatening illness. One way to affirm life is to reach out to others. When we were to overcomer isolation we can regain home and share it with others. We can bring healing. This is the message of rachel naomi remen spoke kitchen table wisdom. A physician doctor remin believe that we have come to rely on technology so much for our health care that we have forgotten about the healing powers that are innate to our spirits. She writes people have been healing each other since the beginning. Long before they were surgeons psychologist oncologist and internist we were there for each other. The healing of our spiritual woundedness today may lie in reclaiming the capacity we all have to heal each other. The enormous power in the simplest of human relationships. The strength of a tunnel. The blessing of forgiveness the grace of. Someone taking you just as you are and finding in you and unexpected goodness. Is an expert she teaches medical students. But she asserts that healing does not come from expertise and comes from compassion. We can practice resurrection by practicing compassion. She says that through her medical practice she gained a sense of wonder at the life-force what she calls the life-force most things have a will to live she says. The life force is strong and reliable and we can trust it. She hasn't served blades of grass sneaking up through cracks in the concrete of city sidewalks. Plum blossoms that push their way out on the tree branches even under a cover of snow. Or newborn babies that know instinctively how to suck out the milk they need to survive. The will to live and flourish is strong. This is the message of easter we can trust life. We affirm life and we help it along by our actions and by our attention. And our presents. Some people treat the new testament account of jesus resurrection as the end of a story. Lee and it's like hearing a very sad upsetting story and then getting a happy ending so you can feel better. But i don't see it the story that way to me it says that when we think a story is over is not over. We cannot know what is the con. All we know is alive is a process. Live still unfolding. And we have apart. We play a part in its unfolding. Dr. raymond wright that home is based on a process. Rather than expected outcomes. She encourages us not to jump to conclusions. About the state of affairs or about our lives. If you are confused about your life or you feel your life without a balance or full of pain don't assume that it will be this way all the time or forever. Theodore roethke roads. A lively understandable spirit once entertained you. He will come again be still. Wait. A lively understandable spirit once entertained you. It will come again. Be still wait. I find her idea of process very helpful and relevant when i think about my own life. When i was younger man i thought my life was miserable. I couldn't imagine ever feeling happy or free or a piece. But i was able to do a few life-affirming things i found some good friends. I began visiting a unitarian universalist church. I started to watch the foods that i ate and i started exercising a few times a week. I didn't expect that i would ever be as happy as i thought that if i could live as long as possible by staying as healthy as i could be emotional freedom i might eventually discover. I figure the longer i live to better my odds at finding peace. I didn't realize it at the time but i was trusting the process of my unfolding life by the actions i took. In hindsight i can see that i was keeping the story open for the future. So this easter let us not assume that resurrection happened only once. But don't assume that it never happened. Let us not dwell on whether a resurrection will happen after people die. Instead we must assert that resurrection is happening all the time in this life. In this world. And we must play our art to help it happen. Of course this is easier said than done. That's why it takes practice. Pizza spiritual discipline. The practice of home and renewal and the affirmation of life. A spiritual practice. The message of this spring holiday season is that neither death nor devastation nor despair should have the final word. So long as love exists. The story is not over. So long as human beings can try to understand those we do not know the story is not over. So long as we can reach out to ask for support or to give it. The story is not over. So long as life exists we can renew our hope. For the world at for ourselves. We can practice living in a new kind of world even if it's not here yet. We can practice resurrection. So may it be. Blessed me and allen. Invite you to take a minute to practice silence with me notice your body's sustained by the seats and the floor and the earth notice your breathing in and out. Your neighbors breathing. Are common breast which is the breath of life. And i invite you to be with me as i offer these words of prayer. Spirit of life spirit of love. Thanks for the gift of life and the gift of this new day. Thanks for the gift of this precious earth for all creatures of the earth and sky all beings who share this life with us give thanks for this community of welcome and warm up comfort and fellowship and hope on this easter day we all those within wishes for comfort and healing and restoration and for justice. We asked for courage to do what we can to make this world more just make our lives more kinds make our days more blessed on this sunday we call to mind those we have lost weather because of the death anniversary or a birthday that reminds us of them or because this time of worship is called to mind those we hold with love in memory and with gratitude in our hearts we give thanks for all the joy that exist in this gathering and accomplishments the milestones the aspirations reason for praise and thanks thanks for all today and in the days to come receiving everything as an opportunity for growth for receiving love and showing love receiving our days as a blessing bringing our full cells into the world as a blessing so may it be blessed be. If you're comfortable free please join hands for the benediction or just be with us for these words these words of benediction come from our union minister robert. for all who see god may god go with you for all who embrace life may life returned your affection for all who seek a right path melee be found and the courage to take it step-by-step going piece blessed be,.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-03-13-What%E2%80%99s-So-Beloved-About-These-Conversations.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. You are welcome here if you are filled with joy. We're lost in the depths of your being. You're welcome here. If you have a message to share. Or need to be quiet and to listen. You're welcome did all of your fullness your race. Your culture sexual orientation gender identity. Your religious views your political party. Come to connect with community. Come to honor the earth and claim your spirituality. Come to build the world that we dream is possible and that phrase comes out of one of our racial justice curriculum. Come to build the world that we dream is possible. Come to transform your life. I invite tim burkhart to light our chalice this morning. Tim has been attending our church for a while and says that what has most attracted to him is our commitment to social justice. Tim is an active member of the united for racial justice group. He is also one of the facilitators of the beloved conversation program. That you will be hearing about this morning. We liked this chalice to celebrate the inherent worth and dignity of each person. We are reaffirming the historic pledge of liberal religion. To seek that justice which arcs toward true equality. These words from rumi. I'll beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing. There is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass. The world is too full to talk about. Ideas language. Even the phrase each other. Doesn't make any sense. Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field i'll meet you there. We are buddhist. Humanist. Theist and agnostic. We're christian s. Choose muslim pagan and fifth-generation universalist. We are various racial and ethnic identities. I differences are many and cherished. We're young and old married and single. We are grandparents and parents. We are child-free by choice or by broken hearts. We are gay-straight and berryessa no gender identities. As always. In this sanctuary. Is a place where you are invited to soften old ideas. And to listen through them. To open your heart. And take in what is given. Out beyond idea of wrongdoing and right during their the field we will meet you there. Good morning. Beloved conversation those two word conjured up images for. People in a variety of ways. It could be a dialogue between father and son. A woman and a great-granddaughter. Where to be between two girls. Between good friend that end up becoming a fond memory. For other the phrase beloved conversation could have pressed upon them online and intervention by family and friends for a person who are suffering from an addiction. Or to tell somebody in a very loving way. But they need to hear rather than what they want to hear. For me to freeform the scene in my mind two people engaged in a spirited loving conversations sitting in rocking chair by the fire sipping tea or coffee. A safe place where two or more people. Can be open and honest with each other about matters of the heart. Sound cozy right. Reality that has emerged just not far from what i've just realized. Many of you in the congregation have been hearing about beloved conversation for quite some time. What exactly is it. 11 conversation provides an opportunity to discover how our actions may be racist. Even when we do not intend to be hurtful. We are joining forces with auu church in sacramento and it's wonderful to partner with him. We are having a spirited dialogue on such topics as the racial history of california with such example that the internment of the japanese. In the formation of the black panther party. We also have been discussion of social work history of. Both congregation for example immigration work that districts that done in arizona. Member discuss the racial history of their families white privilege and microaggressions. I know that these topic do sound serious and they are but these exercises are done in a loving safe environment remember can fully embrace. What is needed to incorporate a new way of thinking. Into a spiritual practice. Asteria some of these exercises maybe for some people could get them as their comfort zone. I feel we are forming community where we are increased clean on it and real with one another without any shame or loss of dignity. We are discovering commonality in our interactions with one another that's why look different life experiences that can only broaden and enrich our lives. For example i've learned more about microaggressions. Microaggressions are everyday action or were directed toward people of color intentional or not and the impact that they. Feel. During the course of our discussion i realized that microaggressions can be directed toward other groups as well including people with disability. I've been told numerous time. You talk well for a deaf person. Or you talk funny. Or if you're not paying attention. Poor people talk to me really slow like that. Happy birthday to you like me to text really. And my personal favorite. You have selective hearing and you can fake it anytime you want. Now that i have received outweigh any. Other group. But this migration microaggression discussion has focused on what i've encountered but what others received. Last weekend i was browsing in a hardware store in san francisco. The tall gorgeous african american women with a beautiful afro strolled on into the store. Thomas truck body beauty. But i noticed something else. She wore these huge earrings. Which had the words. Please don't touch my hair and gold lettering. But i continue to think about this i begin to understand that this woman wanted to stop microaggression before even started. I could not help it visulite all these hand. Grabbing and trying to reach cut this person's here. And obviously this was a source of frustration for her. Invading a person's face. It's another form of microaggression. So all the mic impression that we discussed. Ideas and concepts that i can tuck away into my mind and absorb and reflect. I continue to think on on my own michael. Concussion in everyday life. My spiritual awareness that been deepened and as a result. Am i ever changing thinking need to be translated and put into everyday practice. How can i not contribute to microaggressions. Well i'm another one of the people involved with the beloved conversations program has been to explore our own racial and ethnic identities for me this is been to think about what is it like to be white do i think of whiteness is part of my identity. My sense of what i am titled to was shattered in a way that was truly terrifying. I grew up with a deeply felt belief that respect is a human right and that this right should be expend expanded to everyone over the years i came to understand the world contained much injustice. But i held to my ideals. And this was not too difficult within the context of my own experience in my personal life i was used to being treated with respect by others. Then one day i was a university student in ann arbor i had a car accident i was driving through the city in the in a deluge of a rainstorm a car suddenly stopped ahead of me and i slid into it. I rear-ended it it was a minor accident no injuries no one hurt the police came and i was given the ticket it was a summons to appear in court so i went to court the judge barely listened and he said a fine that was surprisingly large. Then i was told by the bailiff to go stand in line at a certain window so i did a long line when i reached the window the man took my papers and said to give him the money. Well i have not brought my checkbook and i did not have enough money in my wallet to cover this fine he looks through me his manner was disinterested and his eyes were cold he said. If you can't pay you go to jail i said i can pay but i don't have it with me my back is just down the street he said. You have to pay now please step aside and he gestured over to the bailiff the line was long and i could feel the impatience behind me. I was stunned i didn't know what to do so i just stood there and then he said okay go get your money i did learn afterwards that the ann arbor police were being especially hard on students during that time those who are years of massive unrest on our nation's campuses but on that day i was shaking to my bones how lucky lucky that i'd had enough money in my account would they really have put me in jail i walked out of the court thinking so this is what it's like to be poor. So what's so beloved about tim noticing. A message on a black woman's earrings. Or donna remembering when she was targeted by the police. When she gained a new awareness of what it was like to be perceived as poor. Tim. Actually gave us the answer. When he said. We are discovering commonalities. In our interactions. With one another. As well as. Different life experiences. That can only broaden and enrich. Our lives. He refers to a community where we are increasingly honest and real. With one another. Without any shame. Or loss of dignity in the process and i i think that is a becoming thing. I takes time. Really not easy. Text that time it takes patience it takes intentionality takes forgiveness. Are the building blocks of any. Beloved relationship. Worthy of being cherished any. Kind of relationship is what i'm talking about. This morning. For the beloved conversations group it's 2 saturday mornings a month. And it started with a day-and-a-half retreat. At the end of january. And it's barbara clutter. And donna sacs. And julie schober. And sharon hale. And stephen harvey. Alex licho. And robin data. My perla. Emily bernstein. And tim and i are the facilitators from this congregation. With 10 members from the sacramento congregation. And their ministers. All leaders in various areas of the congregation if you assess where those people came from anna sterchi find one person was from music one person was from re when person is from the board that's how it worked. And we are two of 11 congregations in this district. Who are doing this program in this season. So there are nine other congregations in our district engaged in this work. And we will not end until the end of may because from january until may 8th that's where a chunk of my ministry is going. And i knew it would change. My time. And how i do ministry and it has. We are asked to be as open and transparent as possible. And the most important word i can say here is your ass to be curious. Curious both about ourselves and about others. I just want to say again it when i bring these qualities to a relationship any relationship i feel really alive. And usually i also feel frightened. Because everything when you live that way is visible. Including my own self-doubts. And including my mistakes. Hard to live with your mistakes. Kind of out there in front of your body somewhere. But beloved conversations isn't about being perfect. Actually. We are asked to accept that the same fault lines that run through our society. And the fault lines that we so easily seeing others you know how that can be. That they run right through us to. Donna shared what it's like to be treated as an object when she was perceived to be poor. The next step of that process being open and transparent and curious as to wonder. Have i ever and. Way forgotten to look. At the humanity in another. And what may be. We never have forgotten to see the fullness of others. I would love to meet someone who is like that but it's possible. But just wondering. Is worth. The effort. Just wondering about it. And tim starts to consider when he might have unintentionally treated someone with indignity as if they do not really belong here or is it their exotic or not quite a normal human being the way he is a normal human being. So much of beloved conversations as i am discovering much to my amazement as i'm getting deeper into this. Course is about listening. And so. Today i'm going to treat you as if you are my beloved conversation group. Even though you have not covenanted with me to do the same i'm going to do that with you. And i'm going to. Show you tell you. About a time when i forgot to look at the humanity in another but i forgot to listen. For i maybe even knew how to listen and then i learned some important lessons. I changed my life and i made these mistakes in a very public way and they're really public now. Friday will be. I pull my chair close to my students. At her desk and i encourage her. Achina. Achina. What is it. Bright. Photo images of fruit and vegetables are pictured on the page and my student is double my age she is very motivated because she holds to buy these. Food items in the store and name them correctly. Apple. Orange. Banana. And when we come to meet she struggles. Chicken becomes the word kitchen. Chicken kitchen imagine it's really hard. And she laughs and she covers her mouth with her hand gesture that is proper. In her culture. And the last shakes her whole body and. Shapes around her fingers and tears rolled down her cheeks and i wait. I designed a curriculum for refugees. Some who are making an enormous culture shift and actually a whole change of identity. This class was an effort to teach language and simultaneously educate about food. Money. Transportation and in some cases seems like how to use the stove itself. This was not the teaching that i imagined. For myself. When i finished my master's degree in education and counseling and got my teaching credential this was not what i had in mind. I plan to work in a suburban high school. In spokane washington is a teacher or a guidance counselor. But the supervisor who oversaw my student teaching saw something different in me than i saw in myself and he encouraged me to. He said get your foot in the door and teach in the community college system. And so i am here. Sitting at these desks. Teaching about chickens. And kitchen. As i sit close to my laughing student. There is an odor that surrounds her. And it is like nothing i have ever known. He is not bad it is not good but it is very distinctive. And as soon as the students come into the room i can smell it. When the women hug me is they leave the classroom i know. It clings to me. The way the oil of any perfume can be passed on as a gift through an embrace. But it is a gift i do not want to receive. I prefer to be fragrance-free long before it was politically correct to be fragrance-free. It's months before i discover the source of this odor that flows into the room with the students. It is fish sauce. They cook with it. I use it as a dipping sauce. He's salty and pungent as aromatic as freshly crushed cloves of garlic but different. These students you may have guessed are political refugees from the vietnam conflict and they have been given asylum in the united states there are many nationalities in the class but all from southeast asia. Some will not sit next to each other. Because of class. Or darkness of skin or nationality and i feel about this. I know they are not all the same i know that but really. Why can't they just get along. There are new challenges every day that remind me that i am not living the dream of working in the all-american school field with use of northern european heritage. That was my only definition of success upon graduation. It's a relief to say that my disappointment with my students and my teaching position didn't last for more than a year. It took some time. See that the broken state of the world was supported by the attitudes ihealth. And i represented many well-meaning people. Often other teachers on staff. With my advanced degree. My elevated degree i felt i belong teaching others who looked a lot more like me. That. My success. To be in beloved conversation with these students. I had to learn to listen. Not with my ears. And my intellect. But with my heart. It took time to understand that for every skill i offered them. They offered me a larger understanding of the world they offered me a mirror to look into of myself. That was very disappointing. And what i saw. They had as much if not more to teach me if i had to offer them. Over the course of months and years and i kept at this job for years my students told me what they had lost when they left their cities and their villages and their hillsides remembered they were of many nationalities. What was it like. Waiting across rivers. Dodging bullets. With a newborn. And when the mother took the newborn from her back. And went to nurse her child. Or being airlifted off buildings. And not having enough space on a helicopter for your sister. And leaving her behind. They helped me imagine their bravery when they were dropped behind enemy lines because that was where the food was dropped. That they needed to feed their families. They had lost so much and they were recreating their lives here. Be. Loved. Conversation beloved conversations beloved. The stories that shape their humanity shaped mine as well listening became a spiritual practice and my tools were curiosity. Curiosity. And compassion. And then i heard people in our community my community talking about the strange ways of my students are my students now definitely my students including their clothing. And is indescribable odor. That followed them everywhere. And my heart would sing because their speech echoed part of my own inner voice from just a few years before. That made me think i've changed. But in my newly enlightened state. What am i doing now that i will look back on with chagrin in the future. And that's a part of the beloved conversations the deep learning about race and culture about a human being. As a caucasian woman who is middle class. That is never finished. Especially for those who've lived as white. In a culture that places our life experience as the ideal. I slowly came to understand the struggles that were ahead. Of might for my students for whom learning the language in my classroom was only the beginning. The attitude the assumptions actually about her lack of expectations. Other world beyond the classroom were absolutely oppressive. And i learned that even more as i moved on in my work with them and slot 2. Help them become employed. Everytime my students and i would come to a better understanding of each other i would be presented with yet another learning opportunity. And more often than not i was the one adjusting how i carried all the prejudices of the culture in which i lived. I worked with him for about 6 years. And there were opportunities to work in the public schools. And i didn't. Want to return. To that life. Some of the young adults i worked with went to college or got john's. And the elders tended to stay home care for grandchildren and angela's care for the home life. Graciousness. Generosity. In the face of my imperfection that is what i experienced through misunderstandings and disappointments. They always invited me in. They must have thought. Well. I guess there's some hope for this one. I guess there's some hope for her. They invited me to all their celebrations and one grand party celebrating the life about adults students who studies i mentioned at the very beginning of this sermon by now there was a real comfortable familiarity there was a relationship of trust. Between the families and me. Neither one was a stranger to the other and that's when you get to the good stuff right. There i was at this table groaning with food because that's what it's like it wanted to celebration and i was busy soaking a fried vegetable and pork roll. In a bowl of fish sauce. It's in my cupboard right now. That's when my students daughter confided in me. You know. My mother said that it was difficult. For her when you would sit next to her in class. And i looked at her really surprising are so loving and caring i was sure of it. And she continued. Well. You smell so. And she paused and she was choosing her words really carefully. You smell like the other americans like milk. And she's. Sour. You know and there i was thinking i was fragrance-free. Beloved conversation of honesty and transparency. There is no shame. No intention to shamy no judgment exactly. And we were speaking in this very wonderful and trusted relationship. I think i blushed i often blush. The pork roll had soaked up just enough fish sauce. He was an art that i had learned. It was mine. This is what i've learned. So far halfway through. From beloved conversations. No one perspective represents the whole. We need the reality of others to help us find a larger truth. Being discerning is great. It's good. It gives us life. But judging destroys opportunities and relationships. We will make mistakes. And if we're in a relationship our mistakes will be public. Get used to it. Living with ambiguity and discomfort is courageous. And. It's how we stretch to become more whole. Curiosity will lead us to understanding. So always always lead with curiosity. And. The horizon of learning. Is always moving away from us. And we will never totally arrive. And to that i say amen. In this moment you are my beloved. Community. And have my story. I invite you into a time of prayer. Meditation. These words by pat schneider. The shelf. You leave behind. Is only the skin you have outgrown. Don't grieve for it. Look. To the wet. Bra unfinished self. The one you are. Becoming. This world to sheds its skin. Politicians. Cataclysm. Ordinary days. It is easy to lose this tenderly unfolding moment. Look for it. As if it were the first greenblade. After a long dry summer. And listen for it. As if it were the first. Cleartone. If we are to be loved. By each other. May we come together with curiosity. And ask. Why is this true. How did this come to happen. What. Do you know. The hand in yours belongs to a person whose heart is sometimes tender whose skin is sometimes thin whose eyes sometimes fill with tears who's laughter is a beautiful sound. The hand that you hold belongs to a person who is seeking wholeness. And knows that you are doing the same. A disservice and may your heart remain open. May your voices stay strong. And may your hand be mean out stressed.

uudavispodcast_org

2013-11-17_Worship_Come-Come-Whereever-You-Are_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons another recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at www.sec.gov or further information. Show the worship associate got to work with me on this topic and one of the things that they did was give me a real challenge to say yes pilgrimages to go somewhere but it is also to go within and so a lot of what you hear today comes out of some real wrestling with eight very creative people talking about a pilgrimage that goes within a pilgrimage that goes with it. You are welcome here. In june 1963 at the age of 24 i finished my phd in geology and princeton and prepared to leave the country for a year post-offer worker brought i have received generous support from the national science foundation for this project my planned research was the. Eldridge's story that has tomorrow in it and hope we move into a song that is a great celebration and in this moment is part of what this whole sunday services about you to sing with great love and great joy glory glory hallelujah. I've become convinced emotions to feel he's also probably one of the emotions that we most desire. Tubliss which is an emotion that we can't enjoy her for a long time but it's not happiness. And it's not bliss. Joy. I've been referred to as a spiritual state of being. My dad's a spiritual experience it is not bleeding. What is available to us and both moments of celebration and when we are grieving imagine that even at a time of loss. Even though enjoy can surprise us like an unexpected bewildering guest. William blake's poem comes to mind is our him number 17 joy and woe are woven fine clothing for the soul divine under every grief and pine runs a thread of silken twine. It is continually available found in our recognition of the smallest things in our silverware with steaming mint tea a cracked blue pottery breakfast bowl the moments when we walk under the amazing colors of the trees at this season. I don't know we have a natural ability to know joy we are consistent to distrust it in today's world we are bombarded with messages that tell us it is dangerous to let our guard down. The economy gets better but in the news if you notice it's reported that the job right isn't rising the way it should or that the gains could disappear in a moment if interest rates to something or you can go on and on at don't you dare think. And last week people in the philippines were living normalized when a hurricane the likes of which have not been seen on land crushed villages and towns and cities and people's lives at is this the real life drama isn't enough in any movie. The unpredictability of life's tragedies that's what moves the plot so for example in star trek there is hardly a moment when they are speeding out into the galaxy as planned as season viewers we immediately get nervous when they relax and enjoy exploring stars because that very moment is the invitation to disaster you know it the lesson we learned that they should always have their shields up. Raising a crystal glass saying you to his companions you are the most generous of men. And the next morning he wakes up in a dungeon. You don't dare. Feel that kind of joy you you are the most generous of men. Do not relax and enjoy because danger waits for all of us weather in our economy our physical safety from storms the life of a man whose freedom is stolen. For the fiction in star wars do not trust joy social commentator brene brown calls his feeling of distrust foreboding joy. We are certain heartache will come on the heels of opening our hearts to wonder and amazement and beauty all of which are apart of joy. Feeling joy and relaxing into what i call my own language here suspended amazement maybe i should write a book is a signal that the danger is right around the corner. Since our beginning unitarian universalist of try to experience heaven on earth throughout our actions and our relationships we believe that we create lives of meaning in the here-and-now. Are religious opponents wondered and perhaps they wonder today what keeps us in line if we didn't fear the punishment of being denied a place in heaven after death. But we had a lack of willingness to wait for a heavenly life although delayed gratification is highly prized it didn't apply to heaven we wanted to be surrounded by ian life and heaven in our theology is not a life of perfection but creating a life of meaning. I recently listened to an interview with joe carter recorded in 2003 and he died in 2006 singer who performed in musical theater. And thank folk music but what he was known for around the world with his expertise about spirituals. In the interview she talked about his family's history he's his great-grandparents had been slaves and izzy parents had to distance themselves from their past and kept this history from him how they did that i do not know his parents didn't want their son to build his life on the stories of suffering from this own family's history. Makes sense. Active life. He grew up in cambridge massachusetts and saying strictly classical music both at home and at church and i will say that he had a gift there were only a few voices like his found in his generation or that we find in any generation he didn't know that there was music that came from his own family's history. Until one day someone referred to the wonderful music of his people and he started asking questions. He was filled with curiosity and growing amazement and in the end filled with a discipline of study. Unitarian minister the reverend forest church road that you have what i'm calling a heavenfield live a joy-filled life a life defined by meaning we need a nostalgia for the present. And with his nostalgia for the present we embrace each day as it passes rather than looking back when it's a memory and in this present-day what is asked of us is that we can come to it with curiosity and amazement. In preparing for this service i found a poem that i chose not to use but lady talked about. How amazing it is that we never think that this day when we open our eyes this day is that day that gift day we imagine that that is someday far in the future and so we throw away each day that comes to us because we think this can't be the precious day. Did anne sexton's poem ar reading. Portrays how everyday things that we do for her in the morning. Create this nostalgia for the present. A jo-jo starts on a pilgrimage and finds roots in music of what someone is referred to as his people the young high-school student joe carter discovered something in his day-to-day life and it comes out of his love of music and yes. The vocal arts ensemble now knows that i chose the story because they are here. My reason for using his life example beyond that isn't because music transports us and it can be heavenly as we know. Joe's nostalgia for the present happens because he finds something that gives his life meaning and everyday and his journey starts with a woman named jesse and phenom she's an 88 year-old black woman from the church where joe a 10 she hears joe sing in church every sunday and she starts to mentor him or parents had been slaves and the stories were remembered in her case and retold in her family and she devoted her life to writing down the background of each and every song. Cuz she collects ig sings at the boston public library not as a as a renowned soloist but as someone who is telling the story she's an archivist a living archivist harvard demonstrating the music and helping to preserve it. One antidote to living this foreboding joy. And never allowing ourselves to stay fully present to the steve emotion. Is to have a strong nostalgia for the present inability to see what is important in this time. 21-day jessie tells joe go get a box in my bedroom. Hide inside the box are the transcriptions of lyrics and stories of each and every song she has collected through these and although these papers could be nostalgia for the past you can imagine that she is dedicated to the present and the future. And she's so grateful for everyday. With joe a receptive talented young man who is learning from her and will take her learning beyond her time. At forest church recommend something else he calls thoughtful wishing as a remedy for house we could so easily and choose to so easily avoid that risk of joy. Thoughtful wishing is wanting what we have right now. We can practice thoughtful wishing no matter what our circumstance our age or physical ability financial circumstance or love life. Wishing for what is in life now and how joy and willow are woven find how we must never ever lose sight of joy. One day when joe and jessie were in the midst of the songs and the stories that she tells about them jesse sends joe for another precious belonging she says go to my bedroom and under the bed you'll find a suitcase. When jesse snaps open the button locks and lift the lid there is her best dress. Easter sunday. Those are my going-home clothes and that's my most beautiful dress it is a beauty. Jesus is coming for me any day don't you know child. Jesus is coming for me. And then she just starts laughing and joe said that the the image of her comfort with death her enjoyment of life in that moment is something that he. Would never forget he said here with someone who'd gone through all the changes in culture and society and now is living in an elder apartment complex in boston all over children in washington dc so she didn't see them and she was still singing her songs holding her head up high every place she went. I know she closes to the case. She starts singing a song about her final journey home. That last journey. Jessie's worker became chose and he took the stories and the songs. Literally worldwide. When he was traveling in ireland he saw spirituals in the hymnal and at first he thought this is very strange. But then he understood that they too had known that suffering. And they too. I've searched for joy and hope. And the music spoke to those who had been oppressed. And he said he found this all over the world. With his fabulous voice that filled the room he shared what he called the suffering music it is apparent that tried to keep from him that he made this music is life. He talked about the suffering of millions of people and he preserved the pain and an incredible theology of hope and even joy. And he gave it to cultures and countries. Around the world. A new understanding. We must be willing to risk.. Not looking over our shoulder at what might befall us if we dare to soften our hearts to let it in. Jesse anthony had a favorite response to the question how are you. On that day whether she had received bad news or the sweetest news possible that she responded with the words a woman in the hebrew scriptures said to the prophet elijah. What anyone would ask woman how is it windy. How are you. Jesse always responded it is well with my soul. Is well with my soul these are words from a life of joy and a life of gratitude and especially as we enter the season of thanks can our lives be filled with the same. Is it not possible that when i greet you and when you greet me. We can say it is it is well. It is well with my soul. I did that i say amen pastor prayer and open my heart and it's number 1013 and you should know that when i finish speaking we're going to start rolling right into that music so to be ready now and it is a cannon and you can go as you please with it if you choose to stay that sing the same phrase over and over again it will be well with your soul invite you to join with me in prayer and meditation. Are mine seek boundaries that are hearts no not. The lines we draw disappear when viewed with the eyes of compassion the recognition of human kinship does not end that any border a wiser part of us knows that we are in each other the sunshine tabriz the life-giving air we breathe they know no boundaries. And i would invite you to stand take hands especially with our singers and with each other and i've been to be coaching you in what to say is well with my soul.

uudavispodcast_org

2014-04-27_Standing-at-the-Threshold-of-Change_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. The hand moves in the fire swirling takes different shape all things change when we do the first word blossoms and all others each of them is true. The hand move. And the fires twirling takes different shape all things change all things change when we do the first word the first word. Blossoms into all others each of them is true. Good morning my name is ridgeway and i'm here standing for a reverend bestbank she and about 50 60 70 per-cent of the other. Priest and a warm welcome to first-time and returning visitors we hope that you find the people of this community support of challenging and encouraging that you have always been your own spiritual and soulful journeys. As you said elizabeth into today service may remember that in this place you accepted just as you are at the same time maybe may you be open to changes that will enhance your life in the life of those around you. Perhaps that change will be simply a subtle change in consciousness awareness. A willingness to take a small step in a new direction or seeing the unseen. Whatever the change that may occur may this be a place of comfort and challenge and the people around you be known as your companions in the journey. Indian pence's heart conversations with trees describes going on a night hike. And i want to share these words with you. River canopy is tighter and denser than the oaks i cannot see the trail i can only follow it was my feet. Even my peripheral vision is greatly reduced under the stick branches. My feet shoes vera steps now by texture and stability rather than by visual clues i walk with taichi feet planting myself in the ground asking the feet and ankles to dance with the night each step of steps into the unknown. Embracing whatever falls along the path. Eachstep paying close attention so i can hardly see anything. I enter a last stretches pitch-black down the dork dark north side of the hill the sloop stevens i bend my knees and hips more sinking down into my feet. Relaxing small of my back. Let go of the place that holds. Let go of the place inches. Let go of the place that controls. Let go of the place that fears. Just let the ground support me. Listen the wind is breathing in the trees. I hold my hand in front of me. It completely disappears. And yet i know it is there. The road bends to the right i step off the solid compacted dirt to the uncharted forest floor. My feet follow the soft the edge of soft and hard seeking out the trail through the dark trees tunnel walking in the dark knight is a way to practice face away to build my confidence in the unknown this face is based boost in what is known and what is known. I know how to walk forward the motion is still the same in the dark. But by walking more slowly and carefully my body makes room for what is not known. Each step is a small act of courage. A chance to practice with uncertainty in walking into the blackness i learned the feeling of caution. I walk with the limits of what i can't see. Guiding me informing my steps. I see now that any picture of trees is not complete with only that but it's known. But including what is not known my perceptions and actions are altered i learn to practice courage in the vastness of what i can't see. Hermann hesse has novel siddhartha tells a story that takes place in ancient india around the time of buddha siddhartha the hero is the son of a rich brahman siddhartha decides to leave home as he feels a great emptiness growing inside him something is missing he begins a long search for spiritual enlightenment. Siddhartha eventually meets the buddha listens then resolved to go his own way alone. He believes the individual mistaken absolutely unique and personal meaning that cannot be taught by a teacher. Entering the city he needs kamala the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. He marries her becomes rich and well-respected yet still carries a great emptiness inside him sick at heart he leaves the city and wanders again until he arrived at a wide and deep river that blocks his way. He sits there. And considers where his life has taken him. His losses. His endings. His failures. He wishes to become someone new. Siddhartha eventually me to perryman and asked to be taken to the riverbanks on the other side. Is a crossover siddhartha discovers that the ferryman radiates the inner peace that he is seeking. The ferryman says he himself has attained this sense of peace through many years of studying the river. The humble ferryman tells the hero. I have taken thousands of people across the river into all of them my river has been nothing but a hindrance on their journey. They have traveled for money and business to wedding and on pilgrimages. The river has been in their way and i was there to take him quickly across the optical however almost 1,000 they have been a few poor 5 to whom the river was not an optical. They have heard his voice and listen to it. For a few minutes i'd like you to enter the realm of your imagination. The same imagination you've played with in the innocence of your childhood. The same imagination you now use whenever you daydream or try to see into the future. The same imagination fuse every time you consider a choice in front of you. If you're comfortable. Close your eyes. Otherwise i'll let your eyes go go into a sort of a soft focus maybe if you look at in the bar on the floor there's nothing to see out here i'd like you to look inside at the images of your imagination. Play siddharth er in the reading you are on a journey. It's an early fall day warm sunny clouds floating across the azure blue sky. You're walking along a dirt path to forest meadows lost in deep thought. Change is in the air. Their life choices you need to make. You arrive at the riverbank. Do you know this place well. And isolated place you have been too many times before. Airbender the water here and often swam to the dock on the bank on the other side. In tidewater you have hella strong and alive as you are a skilled swimmer. In the past you have emerged on the other side self-affirmed. Brimming with confidence. Ready to once again carry on with the life you had been living. And now. And now. You step into the water. Take a few steps. Dive in. Glide beneath the water. Going to rock onto the surface and became yes graceful swimming strokes. You learned so long ago you swim with your eyes closed feeling the flow of water forcing over your body. Feeling the power of your strokes listening to the rhythm of your breath. Everything. Everything. Just as it should be. Further and further you swim away from the riverbank towards the middle. Begin to notice something different. Occurrence. Stronger. The river. Sounds disturbed. The water. Is colder. Strangely you are beginning to tire. You look up the sky has changed to storm the river has white caps you can no longer see your destination on the bank on the other side. He'll be back for the riverbank you started from. I cannot see that either. All direction. Is lost. Alteration. Is lost. The river pushes you forcefully downstream you struggle against the current panic sets in. Hugh freeze in the river. Unable to move. You begin to drown. For now. This is where i will leave you. The place i left you and crystal clean in the tumbling current between two banks of a river metaphorically this is a liminal zone of transitions space between the indians and new beginnings. It is a period of the transformational journey during which normal limits of thoughts feelings and self-understanding dissolve bringing about confusion of direction and purpose. No limit ozone you sometimes think we will drown. It is here that we stand at the creative threshold between the previous way of structuring our identity and a new way of being. In the space we have conflictual at paradox which choices to make with only partial information and clarity of foresight. Is a disturbing transitional river all of us want to avoid for to escape from a fast as we can. Can lemon oil experiences are inevitable and absolutely necessary if we are to mature to the journey of our life and we will be drawn into many him we will be gone into the middle of turbulent rivers of changes many times for there are many rivers to cross. Some of these rivers will be massive increase field at the river of divorce for the river of death. Some will be lesser rivers get no less important such as a career change. Sunriver child. With all these rivers question will i make it across the river to a new beginning. Hawaii embrace the journey has stepped through the door of mature life-affirming conscious change. Today i want to spend a little time with you in the liminal zone in the middle of the river at the threshold of change rather than focusing on endings or new beginning. This is because we are better talking about our endings and new beginnings. Frozen the territory of the limit of the zone for the endings and beginnings often about feeling rather than being. Contrarily we tend to ignore or attempt to skip over the chaotic territory of the liminal zone with its uncertainties discomforts confusions anxieties and loss of eagle control. Hear the work is internal consciousness shape-shifting rather than doing something external out there. By signing up for another good cause. Recently in a coffee shop i heard a person say anxiety makes me houston anxiety makes me want to do something to release the anxiety. Isn't that the way most people are. Well when we do something rather than to explore our anxiety. Where are you avoiding or delaying the lessons to be learned in the liminal zone. There are many labels for this in-between spaces to buy vending to new beginnings william bridges in his excellent book transitions uses the term neutral zone. I prefer lemon ozone or luminosity for liminal seems more turbulent to me than the neutral zone. Her bridges certainly writes that the neutral zone as anything but a quiet place where nothing happens. It is dynamic it is disruptive. A place like alice fell into when she chase the white rabbit down the rabbit hole and found herself the mad hatter's tea party where everything was upside down inside out at a first clan absurd and nonsensical. It is it really. How else might the limit of zombie be characterized inexperienced. The ancient traditions knew how to deal with liminality appropriate for their time place and culture. For all our advancements objective all our advancements and technologies our culture is devoid of deep meaningful ritual to guide us across rivers especially troubling ones. So many of us can be drowned in the middle to come to addictive drugs behaviors victimhood to-do list or we simply meet life half-heartedly. Before i continue i want to highlight that distinction between change and transition as interpreted by william bridges change is a situational ship moving to new house getting or losing a job going off to college coming home again. Post time to change is our the observable to others he has a new red car. Look she has moved to the corner office. Transition on the other hand is the inwood facing process in which facing process of letting go of the way things used to be and taking hold on the way they subsequently become. This is a deeply and personally personal interior knowing that is demanding and time-intensive. It is an elongated. of time with a new stealth is being formed like becoming an adult becoming married becoming a mariner becoming single again becoming elderly becoming disabled they becoming the new beginnings are innumerable. Times when we ask yourself who am i now where am i going why do i feel as i do what is the meaning of my life. What is important to understand at this juncture is that change is not an option it will occur. However life-enhancing transition is optional. For transition is the internet going by which we come to terms with change the transition in falls of three-step process of it ending. Aluminum zone a new beginning. The three-step process is not a linear path it is accusing a tortious meandering path like a river with no sign saying this way. No back way. Right choice wrong. good choice bad choice. Choices are required every step along the way to the liminal zone and you have to live. The liar that a successive choice crates for you. We have many opportunities to fail as well as succeed on this transitional journey. Which is a spiritual journey of our life we can fail by refusing to let go of the old do you stop at the worn-out we can fail by refusing to to the confounded uncomfortable work of the liminal zone and we can fail by resisting the uncertainties anewbeginning refusing to step across the threshold of change. The choice is up to us. This is not a passive process. Has empowered rilke says you must love a question. Who am i now. Who do i want to become. Who am i now. Who do i want it to become. Now this is a weekend workshop at this point i was stopping we break down each one of those steps into a really detailed analysis we see a powerpoint requiring so i'll point you to some resources and a plan of action that's listed in your bulletin. The first is to read the book transitions. The short books very readable. Skyrim bridges and i didn't have you read this even if your life is calm and perfect at this moment it will prepare you for your next endeavor to boulder transitional adventure. Second after reading the book watch the movies the way and the movie walking the camino as you to note the space between the endings and new beginnings of the character stories. That is where the real action is. Third. Plan a day away and alone as detailed in the last chapters of the book agent as a spiritual practice. Which is actually a book for all ages. How interesting thing happened to me as a group was riding this i got to this point of my writing and the writing had floated easily it is a very lineal cognitive process. Then i hit a dead-end i question how am i to convey some of the value of the time spent in the liminal zone. The necessity of making a friend other lemon ozone i began to drown in the writer's block lemon ozone i stumbled and fumbled around for couple of weeks. One morning i sat down and i read my journal. And poetry for a vision quest i took in 1995 i was 47 years old the previous five years have been tumultuous ones with many endings beginnings. I knew enough about change and transition that i recognize that even need for solitude to close them endings and able myself to move on into new beginnings in my life. I need to step outside the usual ordinary habitual business that characterizes the life of so many of us. I heard about vision quest and i decide to explore that option. The outcome was found a man well-versed in made of american floor and rituals vision quest. Perfectly i said and found myself traveling in an old beating up white utility van with four other men to the high desert with a white mountain at the northern edge of death valley. We hiked into the desert we hiked into the high desert far from any road and set up camp for few days we sat around talking hiking fasting doing the usual camp type things then we wandered into the desert landscape days and three nights and isolation. Free scary three gallons of water. A sleeping bag a shade carb items and a journal. Nova food. We're inspecting find our place in that doesn't create a place to sleep under the open sky and do nothing other than seeing what is before and listening to our inner voices. On the last night at sunset we were to create a medicine circle and stay inside that circle without sleep until sunrise. Perhaps there we might hear our true name. Heckles basically all we were told. So here's one of the features of the liminal zone is the necessity of finding a place of solitude and silence and impossible nature of absence from familiar input where we can reach our inner core of calmness. So i am a strong advocate of spending at least sometime once a year away from home william bridges says if we can do this at home if you can do these renewal retreats. This place of solitude is going out into the desert. It can be done in your home like getting up an hour before everybody else is sitting quietly. Doing nothing free of any external input. The existentialist writer france copper rice. You do not need to leave your room. You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen to simply wait. Do not even wait. Be quiet still and solitary. The world for pretty awkward self to you to be in match it has no choice it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. Another liminal zone feature is to embrace every thought image and feeling it as if it is a message from some deep interior wisdom or spiritual guide. Take everything as metaphorical and be imaginative lee curious as to what it might be telling you. Sometimes it will simply be a well-rehearsed scripted message a little value. It all the time if it'll be a voice so powerful this message will be impossible to ignore or turn away from. On my vision quest i leaned heavily on native american images and rituals as if they were really my heritage though i knew i could never do justice to what a true native american might believe or experience. I traded it to the traditional respectfully or how it might inform me. My first day alone in the desert and i was feeling a wild freedom like an intrepid explorer. After setting up my little camper trudged off deeper into the desert into what turned out to be an important and beautiful hike. I'll return to my camp i realized that is severely overextended myself haven't underestimated how weak i had become from the fast and we did in basecamp. In the past 24 hours without any food. If this was okay or not preparation weird form half-assing was an important part of the vision quest in order to loosen up by habitual perceptions of reality opening us to what is hidden not seen in our everyday world. Before my hike that day i seen the desert as dull mundane close lifeless. After the hike i saw what i have been blinded to the desert become awesome multicolored pan around for rena and beautiful. This is another feature of the limit ozone is when i surrender to be blinded to that which we haven't held rigidly as r-truth than way of knowing. Rather than disowning them as flying increase for new awareness nuvision to new possibilities become conscious. Is a necessary step before we can reintegrate new consciousness into truth and way of knowing and way of life. The more we grasp onto fix realities them only inhibit our journey to the lemon ozone. For the next two days in cold cold nights and sunday today i admit even variances in teaching some rather strong and immediate others settled and delayed often these teachings only occurred after hours of boredom hunger fatigue thinking what am i doing here. I need to do something am i in saying so i suspect i would have given up and if i had a way out but i couldn't leave until everyone else did. During these days i was drowning in the river of my vitamins should ought to if only if only if only. And i was running into deeply embedded fears some going back to nightmares i had as a child. So he i was caught in the middle of a river of sand rock cactus and crazy making thinking it underlined my complaints with a deeper commitment to see this through and perhaps attain some kind of wisdom from the experience i knew from the experience. I knew from past experiences that patience. Intentionality and courage was required. These are necessary elements for travel to the liminal zone. The last night arrive. For the rocks that made my 10ft diameter medicine circle and stepped into it at sunset. Most of that i walked around and around and around and around and around. But i did sit down i'd begin to instantly fall asleep. Try to stand up and walk around and around and around. In the predawn light i thought about what happened revealed to me during that very very long night. I listen for my true name hoping to hear a thunderous voice proclaimed for the grand like proud eagle or great bear. I only heard a tiny whispered name. I discounted it. It was not grand enough. At sunrise circle and headed back to basecamp we left the desert the next day. And the lemon is owned it often appears that nothing is happening. Nothing is happening. If people are being everything is changing moving around shape-shifting. On the long drive home at whisper name i heard in the desert kept on whispering to me. Calling me in the deep subconscious recesses of my mind. In the weeks that followed it became louder. That name that name still guys at the stains along the path of my life. As do all lessons learned in the liminal zone. These are the gifts of the liminal zone. The compassionate and revered surrender of what was. The alchemical creative evolution of our inner life. And a subsequent readiness to step forward into new possibilities. Alternator is a spiritual practice. Has a river of life isn't of itself a spiritual journey. Earlier i let you drown in the middle of a river in aluminum zone rather than leave you there to drown in case you're still there i'd like to bring you back to the safety of the other side using the bernie transitional poem by lore weaver call passage to the center. Just like swimming across the river with your eyes closed this passage through the center of our life is like swimming across the river with your eyes closed this passage through the center of your life. Sometimes we have to navigate from the inside out from the stars hi there lady. When we cannot see the bank on the other side. When the hounds of the past on the shoreline braying and morphle song at are leaving. It is a stillness. Hi carter for the firecat guys's. Is a stillness like the heart of the fire that guy just the voice of some angel of mercy was instead in a submissive since our birth. And when we look back over our shoulder once twice is a fierce tiger of the truth that house you cannot go back that place is gone now you cannot go back that it is gone now. And for a moment. Rephrase in the river. Sure we will drown. Forgetting which way is up and down forward and back. As aurora adapalene current forwards through it with all the questions that refused to leave us alone with the visions of the many roads bursting into flames behind this. And then. And then. Something remembers itself this our shoulders above the swirling cauldron up in between. And we simply let go of making decisions we let go of may kitty parkway. Anna tangled paradoxes flow on through the rivers body. Drawing us to the edge of this new world. I called us to our knees to give thanks for this fertile soil seated with dreams thirsty for our arrival. And then something remembers itself. List our shoulders above the swirling cauldron of in-between. And we simply let go of making our way we let go of decisions. As an angle paradoxes flow to the rivers body drawing us to the edge of this new world that calls us to our knees to give thanks for this for tile soil seated with dreams. Thirsty for our arrival. The river drawing us to the edge of a new world calling us to our knees to give thanks for a new beginning is the river of life the spirit of life and the way across the river is the way of love. Love for yourself. Love of others. I love all the world we are blessed to live in it with your heart. Embracing the windowsill community please join hands lincoln the left bank in the right thing of the river room people gathered in the sanctuary remember the river the spirit of life that drives you to the edge of a new world is seated with dreams and his thirsty for your arrival go now and love and peace and leading with your heart to the new beginning and patiently await you it will roll in ecstasy at your feet jose amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-01-24-By-Whose-Authority-Do-You-Claim-to-Know_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. I'm missing your minister here for this congregation in my name is beth banks and i say that time you think ya will right i know you've been here for very long time nobody else but the senior minister today and he's going to be. We gather is people of diverse beliefs. We represent differing political views we are people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are directions on this living earth of commitment. And the book that they worked from was universalist and unitarians in america by jon buren's they explored unitarian universalist belief and how those beliefs were lived. True people. In all times in our country is a part of the class at least 50% of the time in each class they wrestled with questions in small groups search for answers that come through study and discussion and the truth that. We know to our own lives. Sometimes we agree. Most of the times we didn't that's very true. That's also really true that those who speak will inspire you to ask questions and mabel you explore them with your friends or your family or someone new you met here today. The biggest joy for me from participating in the fire commitment class was getting to know two groups of people better. One was unitarian and universalist historical figures and the other group was others in the congregation. I'd like to invite bob hathaway. Bob is one of the people that i got to know a little better or what you decide to see the historical figure person in the trunk. These things brought me much happiness. The opening words for the chop house wedding today come from after abner neyland another person i got to know a little better and who i think was a class favorites. He said. I believe that god and nature so far as we can attach any rational idea to either are synonymous terms. I'm not an atheist. But a pantheist. That is instead of believing there is no god. I believe that. An abstract. Call is god. It is in god we live move and have our being. And that. The whole duty of man consist in living as long as he can. And in promoting as much happiness as he can while he lives. I'm jerry omart. And we also participated in the the fire of commitment class. Are we saw it for me to take away was that it was an exploration into the early yuyu forefathers and foremothers who are struggling with many different competing ideas about what god and religion is and they were struggling in order to forge something that was real and grounded in the world as well as in the spirit for a strong uu theology and we've chosen these words by james luther adams in response to. That sustaining a transforming power not made with human hands together families and generations protecting against the idolatry of any human playing to absolute truth or authority. This covenant is the charter and responsibility and joy of worship in the face of death as well as life. I call that church free which brings individuals into caring trusting fellowship. That protects and nourishes their integrity and spiritual freedom. That yearns to be long to the church universal. It is open to insight and conscience from every source. It bursts through rigid tradition giving rise to new and living language. Two new and broader fellowship. It is a pilgrim church. A service charge on an adventure of the spirit and priesthood of all believers the one for the liberty of prophesying. The other for the ministry of healing. Is ames define unity in diversity. Under the promptings of the spirit. That bloweth where it listeth. And make us all things new. Episode ted swift is going to be sharing something with you but he's back there at the computer and so i'm deciding if i should do verbal patter or not and here he comes in so i will give you the puppets. I was i was another person in best history class last fall. Several people that started giving you an outline of what the class involved in the class we learned that there. Wide-ranging beliefs and debate about those beliefs and. Recall for instance it is only recently that the unitarian and universalist threads. Have been woven together in just in the last century so. During one of these efforts to come up with a set of principles that everyone could agree on in 1886 the western unitarian conference. Misses unitarian conference it wasn't unitarian universalist yet adopted williams shannon canis non-theistic statement entitled things commonly believed today amongst us. Blytheville. So. The language of the time is it's very rich and it's. Take something around we believe in the growing nobility of man we trust the unfolding universe as beautiful beneficent unchanging order to know this order is truth. To a band is right and liberty and stronger life. We believe that this self-forgetting loyall life awakes tinman the sense of union here-and-now with things eternal the sense of deathlessness and this sense is to us in earnest of the life to come. We worship one in all. Squints sons and starts derive their orbits and the soul of man is odd that life which lighteth every man that cometh into the world gives us power to become the sons of god that love with which our souls commune. Notice the gender equality of the time. Where could the class to creative a modern set of beliefs. Ions. Has his prediction we were feeling about what we could come to agreement about and. Each person could vote for three statements and. We do we have a in the in parentheses in the next set of slides these were the things that people voted on from most to least and. Cuz it's tradition i don't necessarily believe in this order but that's. All beings are part of the universal spirit of life. We are in awe of the mysteries of existence. Love is the ultimate. Everyone is entitled. To meaningful life and we should work together to remove barriers preventing this. Humans are imperfect and through experience reasons and wisdom. Fathers we may move toward a greater good. Goodness of the heart. Is the guiding principle of man for mine kind for the golden rule. Can't take it with you so leave it behind in the right way doing the right. This is the right way for the right doing. Things the right way for the right reason and the earth is sacred. So those were the ones who came up with. And. It's thick the debate continues. Hello many of you probably don't know me my name is amanda sacks and i was a participant in the fire of commitment class but my story begins about 10 years ago in the summer before i went off to college i remember spending half a day creating my original facebook page at this time social media was relatively new and i was so excited by the prospect of this new platform that would connect me with my old friends and my new college. i hadn't even met yet. Eager to finish and start connecting with friends. When i got to the section titled religious preference. I. This is because this was a cause of concern to my seventeen-year-old self. Theology was something i had never addressed or confronted. Should i choose christian since i attended a string of christian churches throughout my childhood and adolescence. That seems reasonable but not right. Should i choose agnostic or atheist since i never really identified with any of the christian denominations i had frequent in i wasn't in shyrley sure i could identify with either of those labels. Afterthought in introspection something uncommon for my seventeen-year-old self i decided upon typing in love. Where dogma and memorizing bible verses had failed to capture my face as a young christian churchgoer love had always shown through in the teachings. I wasn't trying to be cool or edgy. In entering in my own option in the facebook profile i was honestly exploring my theology for the first time. A few years later in a discussion inspired by chosen facebook religious preferences food find out has been jacob this served as my introduction to the unitarian universalism. I was introduced to a style of religious practice that wasn't i too strict dogma and a certain religious text it seemed too good to be true everything unitarian-universalism stood for what i think about these principles in conjunction with love to live my life. Love drives the kindness i want to express through my daily interactions with fellow humans animals and the planet we share. In its most powerful form of oxygen source of change in my life and drive me to fight for access and equality in education for all students in our country we inspired me to pursue a teaching career empowered by the opportunity to inspire change and growth through love and education. As with any personal tenant love can bring frustration and pain especially when dealing with love that has been lost ignored or fickle passions rating is love. Despite this i tried to ground all my decisions and actions and kind. Just love because i wholeheartedly believe and it's transforming power this is what i was trying to express by entering love on facebook all those years ago to me love is face. Love is religion love is the ultimate. And then. And then. I turned the corner there he was illuminated. Michelangelo's david. The exquisite marble sculpture i'd only seen in glossy pictures. And strangely surprisingly i was a gasp. I was stunned. In all of its existence. And then. And then. I pulled the covers and turned off the lights. Barely breathing in the dark i listen to the crinkle of my newborn baby's diaper as she moved in her bedside crib. The first night out of the womb into existence. Heading to our home curled up like a new leaf to unfurl. And then. And then. Alone sleeping under the open sky i will reach my hand into the density of the night sky and stars ran through my fingers like sand. Wanting to know the essential truth of existence of my existence i whispered what is my true name. These are three grand instances when the mystery of existence became very alive for me. Now i regret that all too often i have taken for granted that hidden mystery and its way on my life. I've taken for granted the mundane things on my life as simply being. Well. Mundane. Doll ordinary commonplace. If i stop and pay attention when i still myself when i investigate with curiosity i often find myself with the mundane for the mystery of existence about everywhere and everything we see touch feel smell think about it. So now. I want to see what i have been blind to. To hear what i have been up to. To open up where i haven't closed down to listen more than speak to pay attention. In recent years i've become more and more with the existence of life itself. The mere fact that we that anyone exists at all. The power out of all this clay on this earth that each of us has been gifted with life. I've been molded sculptured shaped into who we have become and will become. Do i have the answer to the mystery of existence. No. Whatever. Highly unlikely. Are you any different than i am. I doubt it. Did i do believe that no matter our individual spiritual past we are all endowed with an ineffable embedded in the mystery of existence. And i want to remain a dog with life open to amazement curious and generative i want to be willing to be stunned unsettled inspired by the incomprehensible mystery of existence with all its joys and all its terrorist. I want to believe in the ultimate possibility of a compassionate humanity. And i will continue to wonder who how what brought about all of this all of this into existence. It all i can do is their knowledge the mystery of existence. Hurry up and remain open to its enfolded will turn in my attention and actions to the immediacy of the here and now. Much like mary oliver did when she wrote about a common grasshopper in her phone the summer day. Who made the world. Who made the swan and the black bear. Who made the grasshopper this grasshopper i mean. The one who flung herself out of the grass. The one who's eating sugar out of my hand. Who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down. Who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now julissa pale forearms. I thoroughly washes her face. She snaps her wings open and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I don't know exactly what the per is i do know how to pay attention. How to fall down into the grass had an eel in the grass how to be idle and bless had a stroll through the field which is what i've been doing all day. Tell me. Doesn't everything die at last and too soon. Tell me. What is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life. Call me. What is it you plan to do. Embedded. In the mystery of existence. I wonderful this chair time. With people as they explore ways ultimate for them. And for them to wrestle with that like jacob. Wrestled with the ultimate. Trying to name it. So this is not finished. What we're doing here. This is where people are in this moment. And maybe if you talked with amanda. I don't know tomorrow or next year she might give you a difference. Sa. I don't know. Incur. Will always. Be filled with awe and mystery. And he might have chosen yet. Another poem. To share with you. He was the same in the 9:15 class and actually some of people who presented that class came to this service to because they want to support and to see the whole see more people speaking or 24 people in the class. So i asked people what was underneath the principles and purposes and i thought it was fair that i wrestled with that a little bit but to start. Some people here know our denomination very well and for others it's a new thing so i'm going to give a thumbnail sketch. Unitarian universalism is the consolidation of two denominations and two separate strands of theology that formerly came together in 1961. Listing from i said 1866 they had a different date of the things commonly believed today among us. It was too much of a temptation to not ask. So what would these things these beliefs feed today. For you not for all of unitarian-universalism but for the 24 people sitting in the circle together. I'll admit that after everyone divided into their small discussion groups where they came up with her first ideas. That's when they heard that the language of the principles and purposes was off-limits that would be just too easy. And fyi the inherent worth and dignity of every person to the respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are part. Well. I want you to know that the dignity of every person is not placed first on the list because it is most important. It affirms the dignity of each person but it was placed there because it is the smallest point of reference. Each succeeding principal. Given a wider reach. Throughout history both the unitarians whose focus was on the existence of one god unitarian rather than the trinity and the universalist who were separated out from other face because they believed that all were saved from god every radical idea that is still radical today and that that god was dedicated committed. Do the half of firing of all people and that is not a made-up word and have it comes from the 1800s eyeing the people that was god's job. Both of these face traditions repeatedly tried to capture an agreement among themselves and what they believe and it was an incredible struggle. When the universalist would create a list and they would do this from time to time it had what they called a liberty clause believe these things. Except if you don't to belong there was a way it kind of we hope that you're here but if you're not. Okay. One of the phrases we love to remember is that unitarian-universalist and i would add you know all liberal face say that revelation is not sealed meaning the truth is always unfolding. As each phase tradition expanded the circle both unitarian and universalist of what sources they could draw upon within their own membership the whole group with challenged. Everytime new interpretations were added and how we define theological concepts it would seem as if there was nothing. Commonly believed among us and those who would leave would perhaps start other branches those who. Continued with in the face stretched it. When does the moment come. When we are everything and nothing at the same time. If it is our actions that define us. Are we only our actions not tethered any grounding points of shared understanding. The reverend edward frost asked. Can a religious organization without a common faith have any significant claim on its members. Can it have any significant influence in the world. And philosopher of religion henry nelson wyman who you'll hear more about in a couple of weeks wrote that without a common faith there can be no power of assembly he warned that congregations are likely to be little more than talking clubs of individuals. I wish for us to be more. I wonder what are the messages that we have been given thanks to all the generations who struggle to both open that circle and to maintain some kind of center. What do we have to inform our actions to give us strength conviction when we feel lost courage. When we are discouraged. As we brought together the things commonly believed among us i asked the fire of commitment group what's the illogical concepts supported those principles and purposes and when they did their in valley evaluations so often it came back so yeah what about that. We want to know more. So i looked through our history again jacob sacks yes i did cuz that was a question you had for me and i think it's worth another course actually. But i was searching for common threads looking through documents and this is what i saw in our history and this is not done so it could be that after you talk to me after the service. My list might be different because of what you said to me. But here's these are not in order the way the class was forced to do it. God is love. To amanda thank you. God is love and found in relationships of human beings. Do the energy that shimmers along the interdependent web of all creation thank you jacob. It is the inexplicable joy that can happen in the midst of pain and loss. I didn't moments of beauty. Premier this understanding of god comes from our universe list heritage and i have to say that god is many things and as i walked into the sanctuary after the 9:30 service people came up to me but i think god is this and i think god is this and the response is this is the response tell me more. Please tell me more about that. To jesus is both human and divine matter what you think about jesus in your life this is a part of our thread in our history and what people struggled with. Human or divine what is the nature of that person and all of humanity this comes from our unitarian heritage. Throughout history we created an ever increasingly human jesus but he remained a complicated being who challenged inspired to comforted. We came to understand ourselves as being created with the elements of both humanity and what is divine. We each have the potential to bring messages of inspiration that will lift up another and consider the welfare of those we may never meet and this is why we volunteer. At a winter shelter for the homeless. To reach toward. Being involved in more than our own lives. Bringing goodness leaning into what might be considered. Divine. Do we have free will is yet another. And with it comes a responsibility to create a world that we believe is just and good. As unitarians we believe that we were saved by our own actions and we still do believe that that we have the ability to be change agents and sometimes that gets us into trouble because we think we alone are the ones that need to leave the change when we really can partner with others. But this is what it means. When we stand together at a mosque. Exercising free will and showing choosing a certain message for the world. To witness. We believe and have since the very beginning it got us kicked out of mainstream christianity at the get-go right at the reformation that reason is a sacred tool. It's sacred. Added benefit from being sharpened by rubbing our conclusions against the thoughts of others. And this is why we speak about. A banner for black lives matter what we go to a discussion to offer our reason it's valuable as sacred and to hear what others think to. This is why we go to celebration of abraham to hear the views of other face within the abrahamic traditions with john ashby who is here and he's been representing us there these last couple of years. 5th the truth concerning ultimate issues issues of faith will continue to unfold before us and for our society. And because our truth is never the final truth. For the truth of his time may only endure. For a while as new evidence is revealed we are called to live with humbleness. Our answer may only be a part of the truth. And that comes from our universalist heritage. The covenant is the basis for optimism that differences can bring strength rather than fear. More divisiveness and that's from our unitarian heritage. And then mysteries abide. Well this comes from both of us the traditions there's something thank you kurt that we will never understand some questions that will go on answered and for this reason we will live. With wonder. And amazement and maybe live with curiosity. And this will save us from dogmatism. So this is far from a complete list and it will change. Overtime for me. Because revelation is truly not sealed. And i invite you to search for what you believe. So that you feel that your life is supported by the love that surrounds you. And something more. Because we need something more. Centuries of a face tradition that is alive in you. As you live your life today. You are standing on holy ground. It comes from such a long history. And may you know but you are held to and would hold you. And to that i say amen. And i invite you into a time of reflection. And prayer. Send to yourselves and to know that. We can take this time. Be quiet. To listen to the still small voice within. To look at the sunshine. But i know has come out. And it's freshly washed. Earth. Rest in silence just for a moment. These words by a powell davies. No one of our private world is big enough. For us to live a wholesome life in. We need the wider world of joy. And wonder. A purpose. Adventure. Aptoide. And tears. What are we any of us. But strangers and sojourners. Wandering through the nighttime. Until we draw together to find meaning in our lives. In one another. Dissolving our fears. In each other's courage. Making music together and lighting torches to guide us through the dark. We belong together love is what we need. To love and to be loved but our hearts be open and what we would receive from others let us give. For what is given still remains to bless the giver when the gift is love. Spirit of life. In this place if you want to be oriented for the. Love is what we need. To love and to be loved. Let our hearts be open and what we would receive from others let us give for what is given still remains to blast the giver when that gift is love may you have love and let this congregation say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2014-04-06_Tear-Down-This-House_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. So the opening words have special meaning for those of you are going to be here for the full hour. But i ask that everybody listen. To them too. This morning you are accepted just as you are. The same time i hope you're coming here seeking to be changed. Perhaps that changes to live with more trust. Going to forgive others. How to reach out to some person that you don't understand. Perhaps you want to make change happen in this beautiful. And hurting world. May this be a place of comfort and challenge and the people around you be known as your companions on the journey. And i'm not sure neither of people with a diversity of beliefs and god or whatever it is in which you place your ultimate trust is different for each one of us and that comes from our life experience and on this journey there are people of different sexual orientations and gender identities those are different class and race and physical ability. We have so much to learn from each other. Come. But i searched together and become our very best selves again. Every week is one more opportunity to remember what is possible. This morning along with countless of other congregations throughout the world we light the flame of life in writing this chalice the world is brightened in the universe is closer to harmony. Spring brings birth in new life and new ideas and innovators that have lost touch through the cold winter with spring comes fertile minds and open hearts. In spring teachers can become students the old can become new and the ignorant can become enlightened. Change is always coming but the flowing tides are never more evident than in the blossoms the pollen the animals chattering aimlessly in the children jumping off swing sets to flies only for a brief second life itself is change the things that you have done in your existence could not have been done by anyone else. And by nearly living you haven't changed the world. Not many people realize this but the ones that do society called teachers. Wisdom is imparted upon students on day is just as funny as today their hearts and minds ready to give birth to change teachers to get a new world order one of love and compassion and an infinite wisdom there every soul has inside of it a seed that is waiting to be planted and nurtured on a bright morning. The process tumultuous any of stress and pain and hurt that will not lessen its grip but spring rebirth in innovation and students of life willing to learn can beat that away and be the candle in a darkened room. Start allegis exploration teachers do some amazing work. Haunted season the re-program is doing something called the way cool sunday school it is really fun it has kate at the center really leading a unifying lesson and then lots of choices of activities for the children and also for the adult volunteers it is very gauging for the teachers at this point and kate is going to share something right now. If you want to revisit when you have young children for practice having kids and want to know what that would be like or learned another age-group like you that your child is this all that you want to see what is going to be like when your child is is invaluable relationships are created when the children and youth re area of our church but if you're interested. She has been with this church for almost 19 years and everyone who has grown in been nurtured by this wonderful community knows her the hubert family described her as welcoming authentic caring with a touch of authority so no one has to guess who's in charge. So many people have expressed their love in their gratitude for her so eloquently that it almost seems redundant to attempt to describe her by my own words. When diane evans says that the inclusiveness of her heart humbles me and betsy raymond states i remember her as one of the few grown-ups at church who really seem to want to engage with me for me it is no wonder how it is hard to find words to accurately display a full picture of the care and nurture and absolute love she has for each and every child. Her voice is one of billions yet her heart and soul is one of the few he has helped me grow and become the woman i am today she is my anchor my sail my compass everything i do in life can be extrapolated from what she has taught me throughout my years of being alive this is my thanks. The children's things in the congregations thanks to a very special woman and a very special mother. It is no higher honor than to be able to commemorate her years of service within this community she is here today along with all of the other wonderful men and women who have made religious exploration what it is. Don't thank you rene sastro for being what every child every family needs you are truly a hero in this community and there's absolutely no way we can love you anymore than all of us already do. Hi my name is girl on home i've been volunteering at trotter on saturday morning trotter is a local organization that rescues animal it also does therapeutic riding for kids with disabilities when trotter rescues and animal a ghost an evaluation that sees if it's gentle and caring. ability. It seems that animals animatronic i like getting to know them and sing that trotter gives the animals their second chance to become part of a ranch and a family when you volunteer try to really get to know everyone there and everyone who volunteers i've been going to this church since first grade and i've been out in 5th grade and i've been really i like all the organizations that we've held and the ones that i care for sin my opinion please give generously to trotter and if you write a check make it out to uuc with trotter in the memo line thank you. Tear down this house 100 new houses can be built from the transparent yellow carnelian buried beneath. And the only way to get to that. Is to do the work of demolishing. And then digging under the foundation with that value in hand all the new construction will be done without effort. And anyway sooner or later this house will fall. On its own. The jewel treasure will be uncovered. But it won't be yours then. The buried wealth is your pay for doing the demolition. The pick-and-shovel work. If you wait. And just let it happen. You'll bite your hand. And say i didn't do is i knew i should have this is a rented house. You don't own the deed. You have at least. You set up a little shop. Are you barely make a living sewing patches on torn clothing. Get only a few feet underneath are two veins of pure red and gold carnelian. Pink a pickaxe. And pry the foundation. You've got to quit this seamstress work. What does patch sewing mean to you. Eating. And drinking. The heavy cloak of the body is always getting torn you patch it with food and other restless ego satisfaction rip up. 1 ford from the shop floor and look deep into the basement. You'll see to glenn's. In the dirt. In this house we call life. We sell up the chairs and our relationships. It could be clean we eat we do errands lots and lots of errands. We are in ruby's fish and maintain a we are patching and patching and patching. He tells us fit under the flooring the flooring that holds us up under the earth. But not so very far into the dirt. Are veins of precious red and gold carnelian. Carnelian is precious for its loveliness. But has one property that used it. It's unique purpose. Records of carnelian go back 1800 years before the common era. This beautiful red and gold stone was used during the roman empire to create personal ornate signet rings. Carved into the stone was a symbol of the person who wore that ring who could fit into hot wax seal. Adele's love letters. And documents. Phoenix quality of the chameleon is that it left a clear and undeniable signature it was precious because it presented one's true identity. Rumi tells us to be ready to tear down everything that sits precariously on top of this precious source of our identity. Be ready. Be ready he says for transformation. He says don't wait for life to happen to you. Because you will have no hand in the process. Topik. The ax. And start crying the floorboards yourself. It's not about changing the identity of who we are. But living it more clearly. Is polishing and maybe even carving that central essence of who we are making our lives signature clear to our self. And cleared to others. In one of our worship associate training is years ago i ask them do you come to church to be changed. And i expected everyone to say i resenting yes foolish minister. I'm incredulous you know and so i asked them so what is it that you come to church for if it isn't to be changed. And the words that use become a part of the welcome you heard here today. To live with more trust. To learn to forgive others. To reach out to those whose intent intentions seem at odds with theirs. They want to make change happen in our beautiful and are hurting world. And once they start describing what they would like for themselves the list becomes actually quite expensive. And yes they admit. Well we do want to be changed. And then the list continues they hunger to feel less lonely and isolated they hope to find more meaning in their lives. They decide that maybe this word fit. Transformation. Is what they want. Change at the level of transformation feels frightening. But we lose our chameleons are unique signature and become unrecognizable even to ourselves. Plato believed that the soul of each person is brought to this world by a demon. A soul companion. And it's all companion chooses a pattern for us to live on this earth it becomes our call. How we find meaning in life. The demon's influence guides a person for their whole life from start to finish and whether they choose to ignore their given pattern or livid enthusiastically it is always present. And the first hint is revealed in our character and when are interest show themselves and if you are a parent you know there comes a time. Early on. And the life of a child when you think i'll go. This child has this particular character. Has its particular interest. What are youngboy. Thinks outside the box for example always thinking outside the box. His parents are not surprised when as a young adult. Define satisfaction in doing research that is always challenging the status quo. We know this. Let me see children. As they come to know themselves and express themselves. I don't believe that there is a soul companion that gives at the central colonel of our character but i do have the sense that there is an essence. Are you needing us to each of us and we can trace it. From our earliest years. And that this is enjoy. The greatest story of transformation is the new rendition of genesis. The beginning of the universe. It just hit the press this last month. Is new research from arizona state university is called the grand slam astrophysics discovery of our time. I hope you recognize some other reason of this. In the beginning you know how everything starts like this is a certain book that does this in the beginning. There was the center. Force of pure negative energy that grew in power. And ground about being processed. Peppa gonzales change or god. Pause are some of the names of this power. And all darkness was on the face of the deep. It was a magnificent implosion. The light so powerful that all stars burning now in the heavens they're only small echoes if that. And the firmament of light was created in the darkness. The universe expanded so rapidly. It left behind ripples in the fabric of the cosmos. And there was new creation. Stick with the smallest bits of matter left too cool for 380,000 years the book says. The bits of matter formed atoms and the atoms form stars and galaxies and billions of years later the gas and the dust circle the stars. And formed a planet. And the universe of light and darkness gases and dust continues even now. To push out from that implosion at the beginning of time. And human beings appear into the past that the ripples of light in the fabric of the universe. Looking for that very beginning of it all. The great force at that center. And what became the universe. Is found in the matter. Formed in the atom. The light and the darkness the stars the planets. And you. And me. It does not look the same. And yet it's essential character continues. Like the life pattern that play-doh imagined the daemon gave each of us at birth. Both science and the wisdom of the ancients would have us consider that despite the change that happens in the universe in our lives there is the central part of all existence that end yours. In our lifetime we are given many invitations to be transformed sometimes we accept that invitation sometimes we are too afraid to go prying about that foundation of our lives. Concerned that we might lose our unique signature. When young adults choose to begin a live independence from their parents they changed their engagement with the whole world. Can relationships with those they have depended on. It's different. And if an aging parent move back. With an adult child. Close to that adult child. Their relationship it's different again so totally different that new relationship is an invitation to transform again. And weho. With respect. And compassion. And patience. Going both ways. For humans. Our ultimate transformation is when we die and i'm thinking in our congregation house just a week ago we seem to have one that's a day. And so it seemed to write to bring this example of transformation. To you. I believe that there's more than the physical person to do my carnelian my signature existence. The call given by a daemon my soul. When someone has been an inspiration for us we the living become containers of their intentions. They become a part of us. Like the gas and the dust become a part of the planets circling the stars and the energy continues to push out into people through us into a circle beyond the one life. There's no longer here. They become more than memory for me. It's been six years since my mother the last of her generation in our family died. And my sisters and i came together and distributed the belongings in her home. They came from her brothers and her sisters are siblings my parents parents. Everything had come to her. And i received the old secretary. The deep drawers and a desk that. Opens up and unfold. In the top drawers of the secretary that sits in my kitchen i am such a california now you know pieces of furniture that might end up in a bedroom while there's no room in the bedroom so they're in the kitchen so this chest of drawers with his. Desta open fits in my kitchen. Anne in the top drawer as i find letter sent from my father to my mother is 6 years later i'm just reading them now. Their letters between this is among the siblings in that same generation. And this year i pull up a chair to that old secretary open that desk and read those stories that they wrote to each other. I open the letters with a yellow pages in my uncle's elegant script. Before he got parkinson's any rides about receiving a financial gifts with a young man writing english and unitarian church. Minister. To help his family. He was the eldest son. I needed to leave high school. Disappoint the family. And i find another letter that he wrote to my mother when he admits quietly and this letter came decades later. A paying for the scholarship of a friend who's stacy says well doesn't have two nickels to rub together. And that i find a thank-you letter. To my uncle to my nephew rather. It must have been sent. Three decades later so they let her spend tickets. It's the letter from a university thanking my nephew. For donating to a fund in the memory of my uncle now deceased. A fund that has been established to pay for the tuition for students in need. Here's another generation. He never knew that old church or that minister. And the money that the staff. Person had given to him. Just like in ancient rome. He is my uncle's letters and my nephews were both love letters. They were love letters to each other and documents. Undeniable signature. My uncle's carnelian. This is a gentle hand of god i say it takes the essence of those we admire and love. And pours it out into our lives. It is never lost. We can trust that the important legacies of our lives will continue even after we are gone just as we hold the gifts in the souls of those were large by our lives. We can have trust. That who we are. Will be held. And our essence will not be lost. And so in this life. Be courageous. Is not about changing your identity. Of who we are. But living it more clearly. There are those. Who are on that journey with us. Sisters and brothers siblings. Prince parents. Our own generation and the next. B l u. Pick up the axe. Pare down. This house. Look for the hinge the red and gold. I tell you pick up the axe. Tear down this house. 100 new houses can be built from the transparent yellow carnelian buried beneath. And the only way to get to that. Is to do the work of demolishing. And then digging under the foundation. Would that value in hand. All the new construction will be done without effort. And anyway sooner or later this house will fall on its own. The jewel treasure will be uncovered but it won't be yours then. The buried wealth is. Your pay for doing the demolition. The pick-and-shovel work. If you wait. And just let it happen. You'll bite your hand and say i didn't do as i knew i should have. This. Is a rented house. You don't. Own the deed. You have a lease. You set up a little shop. Were you barely make a living sewing patches on torn clothing. Get only a few feet underneath a tattoo veins purebred and gold carnelian. Take the pickaxe. And pry the foundation. You got to quit the seamstress work. What does the patch sewing mean you ask eating and drinking. The heavy cloak of the body is always getting torn. You patch it with food and other restless ego satisfaction. Ripa. One board from the shop floor. And look deep into the basement. You'll see to glimpse of dirt. Invite you into time of prayer. And meditation. We hold in the circle of our celebration and care. Those among us who asked us. To think of them. And pray for them. These words from max koontz. Let us pray to the one who holds us in the hollow of his hands. To the one who holds us in the curve of her arms. To the one who's flash's the flesh of hills. And hummingbirds. An angle worms. Whose skin is the color of an old black woman. The young quiet man. Are the color of the leopard and the grizzly bear. And the green grass snake. Whose hair is like the aurora borealis. Rainbows. Nebula waterfalls and a spider's web. Whose eyes sometimes shine like the evening star. And then like fireflies. And then again like an open wound. Cuz touches both the touch of life. And the touch of death. And his name is everyone's. But mostly yours. And what shall we pray. But i say thank you. Each of us is a part of an intricate web of relationships. When one of us celebrate the joy of grisaia lost the web of life moves to a new shape. We are apart of the turn of the earth. The shift of the stars. The pull of the sea. Adult change. Hands around the room blessings on this gathering and on the love and the goodness that each one of us. House within. Pickup and pickaxe. And let it shine. But this gathering say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2018-01-21-450-Years-of-Religious-Tolerance.mp3?_=2

Sunday sermons from unitarian universalist church of davis california. org for further information. I'm the reverend best banks. It's not clear to you the senior minister had his congregation and it is really great together again. As unitarian universalist we believe will have inherent worth and dignity. You are welcome here no matter how you identify or who you love. No matter your understanding of god or life questions. You really are welcome here. To acknowledge. Being held by the people in this room we light one pillar candle for the sorrows of the world. On our hearts. And we light one pillar candle for the joys of the world. For the moment and the moment's a celebration. Now. Center ourselves. For worship. Turn music. Good morning emily norris your worship associate this morning. Each sunday we like. Are chalice which symbolizes the spirit of unitarian-universalism seeking peace. Woven together in world community and holding respect for this planet earth. Which sustains us. This morning i've invited karen. A partner church in transylvania in 2013 and you'll hear more about that later. Thank you cara. A nurse from reverend sarah as. Middle of our faith in the days grow dark and dreary. Types of restless searching. May the light from this plane be a celebration of the truth. Meaning android. And in our dreams. Delight that we now kindle is a reminder. May we never allow the light to falter. Not in our challenge. Nor in our hearts. Paladin but i need hiram tank you introduced you to this character martin luther. Was a catholic priest. Ideas. Can you anyone read this word means again so martin luther. Wanted to reform. To change the catholic church and he started something then called the. Mason correct started by steve road kid 95 ideas of reform. And he wrote them all out and you know what he did he took a hammer and he nailed it to the church door and he left it there for everyone to read. His followers were known as. Protest is this word protest and protestants okay. Distance. This is the big division and we are going to hear a little bit more about how unitarianism and universalism but today we're talking about unitarianism came from this reformation he started to reform and reform and reform and eventually gets unitarianism and the adults. While the kids go to the bridge house and i have an exciting thing to tell the kids. There is a change about how we enter the bridge house. Miss kate is going to have you line up. Outside the door so that we don't. Instabridge house got it what are we going to do. Okay so we're going to sing our children's blessing and this case going to lead the way. Who's going to okc come on up thank you carol robin nancy and carol. Martin luther where was martin luther. What country. Martin luther reformation of the church the reformation and then. Country. Switzerland. Calvin has some some further reforms martin luther his big idea was that you shouldn't be able to. By your loved ones way to heaven catholic church was selling what they called indulgences and so after in catholic. Understanding the times when you died you went to. Burgatory and you would stay in purgatory for an undetermined amount of time and then you would eventually that you couldn't buy your way out that the catholic church was going door-to-door saying well you know grandma's but if maybe we could get her out. Before they ever came out of the womb predestined to either go to heaven or hell. There wasn't anything that you could do about your fate the best you could do was live a good life hoping that you were going to have him but it didn't really matter until actually. John k in switzerland. She's a little more ruthless than martin luther is michael servatus if you would just go over there michael servatus wrote a book called on the errors of the trinity. Read the bible and he said. There's no evidence of the trinity in the text that i'm reading. And so he published that they bought as many books as they couldn't and they burned them and for burn the books and then michaels rated throat more books and. John calvin sanctioned. The execution of michael servetus right it's a little dramatic they use greenwood. I'm going to say the rest was an anti trinitarian. So not trinitarian. Had a follower also happened at one point. To be friends with john calvin. Georgia. Was a physician. Like and then he really likes services ideas. Major player in the sermon so you're going to remember andrada. To connect. West queen isabella. Queen isabella trusted george band rata. As an adviser and queen isabella was the queen of a little tiny kingdom called transylvania in eastern hungry and. Had a baby. She had a baby. And her husband actually died just two weeks after the baby was born and so she became the regent essentially the ruler until until she died at when her baby was 17. Playlist the scientist. Moving crew. Also discovering these teachings these anti trinitarian teaching he was really close with john calvin for a while he really liked michael servatus and started to. So he's floating and then i need some more actors need one more to. So then we're going to hear a lot about francis david francis david. What was a major reformer and we're going to hear about how he. Define unitarianism. Influenced. As the court preacher relationship started to weave together and then we're going to hear about another sister sinus i hopefully wrote nephew. Laelia sinus. And so once at his nephew inherits all of his papers and starts to read about the anti trinitarianism unitarianism is starting to be defined and eventually will he gets concerned and he has the sinus to come and maybe influence friends who studied. The finest days in david house for six months. Persuade francis a v-22. Hold back his radical reform. So now you see these characters. We've come down through the reformation 50 years. And we'll see unitarianism emerged in full. Will to continue the story. Listen carefully. 450 years ago. Please forgive the masculine languages. In every place the preachers shall preach and explain the gospel. Each according to his understanding of it. Well. And it's not. No one shall compel them for their souls would not be satisfied. But they shall be permitted to keep the preacher who's teaching. No one shall be reliable for his religion by anyone. And it is not permitted that anyone anyone else by imprisonment. Torsades. Is the gift of god. Remarkable statement for the 16th century. Where did it come from. Tour de torta little town in pennsylvania. And it was proclaimed on january 13th 1568. With the approval from support of king john. It came out of a 10-year study. Cool the king selected. Which went far beyond. Deferment of the protestant reformation. Until i read the article in the winter issue of the world. You didn't order a landmark in religious freedom by eric cherry. And i began to get it. Connection between information and. Religious freedom and unitarianism. Anniversary. When we had a visitor from afar place. Transylvania. Vampires. I was definitely educated and embarrassed that my ignorance when our visitor was introduced. The wife of the minister of the church. Interrupt. Romania. Transylvania is located. And with reverend morgan had a partnership. With the garage church from 2002 for about 10 years. Members of our church congregation. Pennsylvania. Who is on that trip. That was quite an experience. Of course there was a church committee in charge of this partnership program. The members took the name symbol of the unitarian. Transylvania in hungary. The dog and the surfing. Which reminds people to be wise. With my memory of melinda. And semen article written by robyn. Transylvania. I also had a connection with these words. Which i hadn't and i have to save up for morgan i have a better connection after hearing your sermon today. The struggle for religious freedom. And we are material universalist church is a real expression of that. Struggle for religious freedom. Which facilitates relationships between north american congregations and others. She told me that right now are dubbing serpents committee is on hiatus. Well new ways of doing partnership. International efforts are being developed. Ideas about religious freedom in those centuries since 1568. The evolution continues. But i feel much more that connection. Centuries. And this. Is as contemporary today as it was then. Why is this the serpent. Gentle as the job. Earlier we met the cast of characters that brought us a definition of unitarianism our own american faith forebears understood. And we saw it legally established in the edict of torta. Dedication of these characters is a source of inspiration. For all of us today. And so i want to tell you a little bit more. Princess david was born into an upper-middle-class family at the beginning of the sixteenth century in a town called kolish bar in the kingdom or principality of transylvania. This was in the eastern realm of ethnic hungry. He was mysterious and curious students. And on a unique spiritual pass. He was ordained a catholic priest. He converted to lutheranism bishop of transylvania. As he continued continued to study and question he turn to calvinism. And he became the calvinist bishop of transylvania. And finally found a religious beliefs that he was willing to die for. Nd ultimately did die for. Unitarianism. Transylvania. Princess david and george band of king sigismund and queen isabella. The two of them found themselves intellectual and theological companions on a radical journey. B&r auto as an italian who had been physician to to queen isabella. And was descended from the dukes of milan. Influenced by anti trinitarian michael servetus. The usual sentence for heretics. Was sanctioned by john calvin in cell. Servatus, errors of the trinity argued there was no evidence in the bible for the trinity. But no understanding of the holy spirit or of the divine nature of jesus was defined. His terrible death. Shows that how dangerous it was to declare such beliefs at the time. Meanwhile francis david was entering dangerous territory in transylvania. Andrada used his influence in the court to have david appointed as the court preacher. How much do unitarian catechism. And david david publish a book. On the true and false knowledge of the one god. Which laid out a unitarian theology with clear influences from michael servatus. He dedicated the book to king sigismund writing there is no greater piece of folly than to try to exercise power over conscience and soul. Which are subject. Only to their creator. At the time transylvania was. Is really pulled between two forces on either side they were the borderland between the muslim ottoman empire and the catholic austrian empire. And hungarian saw their region pulled apart. Between these two great powers. Queen isabella while acting as the regent for her son promoted religious tolerance and eventually unitarian ideas. And after she died and and her son took the throne he would build on those ideas. In 2009 unitarian universalist minister and historian susan richey. Link the influence of the ottoman empire to the religious tolerance found in that eastern hungarian kingdom. King sigismund. Father also named john had asked for the protection from the ottoman empire against the austrians should they attempt to take over hungry and transylvania. In 1538 he signed a treaty agreeing to make the austrian ruler the heir to his hungarian throne but in 1540 when his wife gave birth to his son. And then the kingwood late would die just 9 days later. The infant son was recognized by. The previous kings nobles. The sultan of the ottoman empire used this as an invitation to invade and took control of buddha which is now known as budapest in western hungry over it for a century. Ottomans were present and in fact we see that 20 years before. The edict of corte. Sultan's representative in buda issued an edict of toleration. Which states. Impart. Creatures of the space invented by luther. She'll be allowed to preach the gospel everywhere to everybody who ever wants to hear it freely and without fear. Should be able to listen to and receive the word of god without any danger. Unitarians were aided and influence. By the ottoman empire. Reverend richie paints a portrait of two cultures. He says to culturales more greatly and mash. In patterns of creative engagement mutual attraction and circular patterns of influence. Then we have imagined before. So it is with this influence and in this multicultural and multi-religious place that queen isabella and later her son king sigismund encouraged learning and open debate. In 1568 the kingpins and unofficial assembly in the town of torta. To consider how transylvania would respond to the trinitarian and anti trinitarian theology of the region. The results of that 6-day assembly was the edict of torta. That's what led read to us before. It was the most far-reaching religious toleration law in european history to date. Faced with a gift from god. And that no one should suffer at the hands of others for religious reasons. Phoenix of torta was not a perfect document. Religious freedom in the edict of torta was granted to catholic lutheran calvinists and unitarian communities not to the people but to the communities to freely choose their clergy and for the clergy to preach. Their truth. It was not extended to other groups it was not extended to orthodox christians or jewish people or muslims. It was a major accomplishment. And again thinking about the reformation and how fraught it was. We can imagine. Unrest. Think about the unrest in europe at the time. 18 years before the edict of tour de queen mary took the throne of england. And history remembers her as. Bloody mary. The name her opponents gave her for her attempts to reverse the reformation she burned at the stake nearly 300 protestant. For heresy. In france the catholics and the protestants would be in war and unrest for 30 years. And history now suggests that the death toll from those wars. Was about 3 million between violence and famine and disease that came from the unrest. These are dangerous times these folks are living in and still they debate and still they stand up and proclaim their faith. Knowing these dangers. But having the support of king sigismund. The unitarian bishop of transylvania did not stop preaching his truth. We got a picture of him. And ted's going to put it up for us. There he is defending unitarianism in torta. At the debate. I like this picture cuz you can see that. Butthole. We know who the rights in that picture right. Many villages converted to unitarianism drawn to the radical ideas of david. And it spread. But unfortunately things were not stable and transylvania for long just three years after the attack of torta king sigismund died in a runaway horse and carriage accident at the age of 30. His catholic successor who was a hungarian noble who had married his mother's sister. Was not as generous of spirit. And he began to persecute other religious groups. David continued his radical preaching. With growing suspicion from the new king. David was unstoppable. Urge caution and invited the italian theologians fastest to sinus. Who's uncle had known michael servetus to engage david on unitarian beliefs especially exploring the nature of jesus. Sinus was a guest of david for several months and entire winter between 1578 and 79. The sinuses position was that jesus was a great example of humanity to be emulated and adored. On the other hand found no evidence in scripture. That jesus should be adored. B&r auto was concerned about the fledgling religion of unitarianism and ultimately the trade david in hopes of saving unitarianism and his own life. Francis david was convicted of heresy in 1579 he was imprisoned in a town called deva where he died five months later. His prison cell today is open to pilgrims. There's a plaque that commemorates. His life and. His dedication. Asinus. Well he did okay he took his unitarianism surely influenced by those months with david he took it to poland and led the minor reformed church there for 25 years. His followers continued for another 150 years. Preaching and publishing works that were circulated throughout europe. In the unitarian tradition until they were expelled eventually finding refuge back in transylvania. This is the infancy. Of unitarianism in transylvania. Our partners there have been standing up for their beliefs through many changes in their country and community. Bandura depression when catholicism re-emerged as the dominant religion in the area. They remained unitarian under the hardships throughout the rule of the catholic austro-hungarian empire. Eventually in 1867 hungry became an independent kingdom within the austro-hungarian empire. And in 1919 at the end of world war 1. When austro-hungarian empire was defeated. That empire was dismantled into 13 different countries. By the allies. At the treaty of versailles. And that mountainous region that we know is transylvania which had been cynically hungarian for a thousand years. Was given. The neighboring country of romania. Ethnic hungarians many of unitarians. Then found themselves foreigners in their own land. The soviet army occupied romania. Transylvania was forced to adopt soviet communism. And until 1991 the unitarian church and their lands and their schools. Were taken by the government for communal rule. Churches in transylvania are still negotiating to get all of their property back. They keep their hungarian culture and language allies. And they do that with their face. Through all of this the unitarians in transylvania have worshipped together and never given up. The strength and love for each other that they demonstrate. And they're sincere belief in their religion is an example for all of us. We are religious cousins. Terry unitarianism meeting in the universalism here within the context of a newly forming united states. From our transylvanian past we can see the roots of our commitment to the free puppet. Clergy are encouraged to speak their truth. And where congregations get to call their clergy. From these roots we have established congregations like this one with many beliefs on ultimate truths. People who come together to share their journeys. I know that there is much more that we can learn. From our transylvanians cousins and faith. Dearborn inn dearborn village. And their religious identity is inseparable from their cultural one. They're unitarians everyday not just on sundays. They believe god is one. And that we all should to emulate god's love. And we can transform ourselves and the world when we do so. American unitarian-universalism i think sometimes be distracted. From that love. By intellectual pursuits. We get stuck in our heads. And we forget to focus on the core of our beliefs. That we can change the world with radical love. We are radical reformers challenging the status quo generation after generation because when we define the holy. It's always different but it always involves love. I think that this anniversary. The 450th anniversary of the edict of florida. Reminds us that we are both. Mind and heart. It reminds us that an intellectual understanding of religion is good but it isn't enough. We must feel it live it be willing to sacrifice sometimes. For the true that live in our hearts. As one transylvanian unitarian living in america susie gallard said. The good news is this. As humans we have the divine potential to follow the example of jesus. Our ultimate ideal and teacher. And because we can therefore we must. Ours is not a comfortable religion. It has the ultimate challenge of perfection. My hope is that we will all live more fully into our present and our future. Seeking perfection is a big task. But we are here not to be comfortable. But to seek greater in understanding. More inspiration. Wise as a serpent. And gentle. As a dove. You join me. In the spirit of prayer and reflection. Senor. Close your eyes if you wish. Noticed your breath. As we open our hearts and minds. To this time that we create together. Thanks for this moment of silence. Surrounded here by the spirit of life and loves. Thanks. For our breath which sustains us. Solid ground that holds us. We give thanks for a community where we can bring our wholesales. Or we can name our fears. And celebrate our joys together. We give thanks. Today. Warming the crisp air. For the beauty of friendships. For the peace that we can find within. Tear that piece. We extend it to those in our lives our friends are family our neighbors. Need. Our support. Our love. Especially turn our thoughts. In our church community. Who need a little extra boost today. Our lives are filled with grief. And so we remember everyone in this room holding the loss of a loved one nearby. May you always know we are here. And remember that love is stronger than death. But i stayed in a moment of silence now that we might each in our own ways name the sorrows and the joys of our being. Each of us is part of an intricate web of relationships. When one of us celebrates a joy or grieves a loss. The web of life moves to the new shape. We are part of the turn of the earth the shift of the stars the pull of this. And all changed. Would you touch the shoulder of the person next to you and connect in this room. these words from the reverend eric cherry our hearts radiate lights each time we pray for vision long for healing. Forgive our enemies comfort our neighbors and prepare for justices. Our hope and compassion are renewed. And the covenant old ties that bind each to all become clear. Sacred flame the path before us is brightened. A our way harmony is in view. There is no east or west. No south or north. Only a world. With more light still. And if you wish to stay and hear about how your license bless the world to understanding homelessness. And now we all say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2018-04-22-And-the-Questions-Are.mp3?_=2

Sunday sermons from unitarian universalist church of davis california. org for further information. Unitarian universalist church of davis on marvin morgan mclain and the assistant minister for congregational life appears in the order of service will not be appearing here today because she is waiting for her flu symptoms. Unitarian universalist we believe people are inherently. Worthy and dignified. You are welcome here no matter how you identify or who you love. Color of your skin or your personal circumstance. No matter your understanding of god or life's big questions. You are welcome in this community. If this is your first time here or your second or third we are especially glad you are here and we hope that you will stop by our welcome table to get to know us a little more and so that we can get to know you. There are lots of ways that we use our hands in this community and i've got some examples down here and i'm wondering if there's anyone here who might like to come get a better closer look at what's happening in this basket billy thank you come on. They are cute right so these things. This is a basket of things that people in this congregation have made for other people down so do you feel anything in here besides fabric. Yeah what do you spell do so marble because it is a little marble maze. Now you all want to come play to so. These are. Made. No these little ones don't have marbles the big ones steve preston can you show liam the the marble so those help busy little hands. Stayfocusd. Sometimes you read what it says on the back. Made with love unitarian universalist church of davis are little hard squares and they start a fold-up and you can hold them in your hand doing by folding them. And these are made so when you need a little extra love. In your hand or in your pocket maybe you're going through a hard time you're going to some medical treatments and you need to know that there's some people who love you and care about you so that's what those are a list of mental health resources. So you three made remember in class who made these and and we've got kids to hand out and your group made the so we have all of these wonderful ways that we care about each other and use our hands to take care of the community and one very special way so if you had anything to do with anything on the table that i just said or ever made a beautiful flower arrangements for sunday morning would you raise your hand so that we can just acknowledge and be grateful thank you so which is american sign language sometimes when we. To overhear and claire bradley is going to help me with this next part and you all can help to so one very special thing that happens in this church is we have a quilter group can you see this quilt that's that's a good way to do it so they make all these beautiful aren't they beautiful and sometimes when you're a baby they make you a quilt and then when you get a little bit older. They make a special quilts for you to stay warm to feel the love made in this community and we have very special presentation today it's a surprise. So one of our members is getting. Bill today and i think he is the oldest person in the room. Do you have any idea who the oldest person in the world. It's not you eldridge not you who is the oldest person in the room milk hildebrand milk the quilting group has made this very special quilts for you as a way to seal our love and warmth and appreciation for you could you. Youtube app. Thank you so much and thank you melt for being such a wonderful part of our community and so i have a little reading for us and we all participate your responses we give thanks can we do that perfect. We get snacks ready and i'm going to do this and then you know it over here yeah alright here we go we give thanks ready for hands that ditch hearts and quilts for comfort and hope for threads and fabrics creating and celebrating new life for people who make and deliver meals in times of need. Play music that calms and flowers that bring beauty. For handwritten notes of support and thanksgiving. Mazes with marbles where they keep little hands busy and our community are sorrows and our joys all right so now who's ready to go to the bridge house. I remember very distinctly when i first heard about uucd it was thanksgiving of 2006 and my cousin who is a lot and a lot of ways. And it lived up to the hype. At the time i only had grace and she was just four years old. I wanted desperately to find a place that would help kelly and i build a wholesome foundation for her. My main concerns were. With a teacher about many religious philosophies. Rigid and not be open to interpretation. Will she be engaged and excited to come to church. I quickly found out the answer to one of my questions about teaching many religious philosophies. Because that was the year that the world religions. And grace and i looked forward to our sundays. Sunday's to church for a fun outing for both of us. We were excited to go and discover something new. It's time for me to become a. But i found my first calling over in the bridge house with the kids. I thought. What better way to learn about the basics of unitarian universalism. Volunteering in the bridgehouse i absolutely fell in love and decided to become a member of a church for the very first time in my whole life. I knew i found a home. I took the path of membership class and became very even more excited about my new spiritual family. Signing the membership book and declaring my commitment to the church and to the congregation that sunday was truly a precious moment that i will never forget. Our meeting today is church of discovery. Doubt is the touchstone of truth it is an acid which eats away the false. No one fear the truth. Making sumit for doubt is a testing of belief. Afraid it is not shaken by the testing. Or truth if it arises from each testing stronger and more secure. Are filled with fear their houses are built on shifting sands. The work of their hands shall endure. Therefore let us not cleared out and it's helped it is to be the wise as a staff to the blind doubt is the attendant. Camera for your reading and your reflection when reverend beth and i were talking about this service we wanted to come up with some questions think about the major questions that we as unitarian universalist minister. We know that being a unitarian universalist is about growing. It's about gaining knowledge until you'll see in the order of the service we came up with three major topics that we hear most often. Questions about the environment. Place in the larger web of life questions about the existence and nature of god and questions about belonging. So i'll just give you my answer some of these questions and you'll have to hear best another day and between each question will sing a verse of when our heart is in a holy place for the beauty of the earth and you will hear messages about our connection to the larger hole. Comes from a realization about 30 years ago that the environment and humans connection to nature with a primary religious concerns for unitarian universalist unitarian universalist you use concerned interested sound meaning and being connected to nature in the middle of the nineteenth century many unitarian to reliving in new england were seeking a different type of religious experience prominently. Experiences of the divine they were rejecting a new england unitarianism that was very intellectual based at harvard divinity school and they said no no we need to experience the world people like henry david thoreau went out to nature to find ultimate mean in the universe. Defined what it meant to be a human being in this web of existence for many unitarian universalist there is also great meaning sound in earth centered religions many of which have a female view of the divine in many earth centered traditions including a native american traditions at 2. Our respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part is acknowledging that the land and the water and the plants and the creatures are all in sacred balance with each other and we all need care and tending. Environmental justice activists for a long time and many congregations like this one has become but we called green sanctuaries this is an accreditation program that asked congregations to look at their practices. Impact. For the earth. As part of what we do. Is unitarian universalist we sign great meaning in this justice work. And also need direct experience. In the world. Understanding our place. Ask questions. Giving attention. Seneweb. Of light. That nature. Is a holy place. Who sang the first first. There is no one typical you you understanding of what it means when we say god. Some people are atheists. That is that they believe in god or the goddess or gods or goddesses. Some people have the judeo christian image of god in their minds others have the goddess. I'm having undefined higher bean or power in this world that they feel comfortable calling god. Different understandings of how a divine being might interact. Not just with us but with the larger world. There is no one simple understanding of acs. What dies. In terms of god in the world. There are some people here who are atheist. They do not believe in the existence of divine beings. In many uu congregations atheist identify has humanists. Feminists are people who focused on the human experience to create meaning in the world. Humanist and atheist. However jubilee vin things to be an atheist doesn't mean you don't believe in anything it just means you don't believe. In a god. Atheist believe in the power of community. Orlov. Or finding meaning in nature or science. In this congregation we have people who don't know for sure one way or the other about the existence of god and we have mystics who seek transcendence experience with the divine. We have many many understanding. In this room. For me when i use the word god. I mean that connection between any two people. A connection that makes me care about stephanie. Or have compassion for carol. A connection that encourages. You and me to make the world. Better. For us than for others. I feel really comfortable calling that unknown space that unknown connection god. Because god is a really tiny word. For a really big. And when you say god to any random person on the street. Different understanding. Even within the same community where we think that they might have the same understanding they don't. Until god is a very personal thing. In this community. Find endless potential. In the diversity of that understanding. When we stayed god. From the pulpit. We trust that everyone in this room here's what they need to. Understanding. But that little tiny word. Could never capture. What it means. Anyone in this room. We can learn so much from each other we have so much to discover about the ways that we make meaning. About these concepts that human beings have grappled with since our existence. We have so much opportunity here. Be together and to discover our place in the world. That is what makes this community. So in a community. Without a set of beliefs. That you must subscribe what does it mean. What does it mean to be a member of this community. From your first day to your last day. Unitarian universalism in the united states is in a unique place. Most of our people were not born into the face. Most people chose it for themselves. I am not one of those unitarian-universalist because my parents forced me to go to church every sunday.. And heidi thank you thank you thank you lisa thank you clara for. Forcing your children to come to church. Instill. It is a place of discovery. A place where people say i want to be part of that. I like what's happening there i can get onboard. We come together and we say that we are lifelong learners we call our sunday school program out of sunday school we don't even call it religious education we call it religious exploration. Because we are always seeking new truths and greater understanding. As we come together for staring for learning from each other for discovering. New truth inside ourselves maybe we thought for sure we knew what happens after we die. And then someone has a new idea for us to consider. That is a unique role. The unitarian universalist church because nobody is going to tell you what. Or what to believe. They're going to ask you. And listen. Debate. Just enjoy the discovery. The unique role as our church is to create a container. For this transformative learning. Are these joyful interactions for meaningful conversations. Where else do we have opportunity. Things like that. Wonderful thing. Unitarian universalist today. Why do this why. Maybe you don't want to just listen to yourself. Maybe you want to share your kid use your hand. To help others. Discover new ways of beans. Spiritual practice attending adults religious exploration or as tamara said teachings. Children's religious exploration and teaching is maybe not quite the right. Because even the curriculum that comes from the unitarian universalist association doesn't have. Any answers in there. It has questions. And maybe made coffee. I'll bring a meal to someone or make a quilt or visit with someone in need or just say hello to a new face. Wonderful weight that we all come together to. What we do. Is an investment in each other. And in our community. Bat. Is a holy place to be. Invite you now into the holy place. Prayer and reflection. This is a time that we create in community of time. Sharing and caring. Am i close your eyes. Settle into your speed feel your sheets as if planted in this life giving earth. Your life getting breast. Open your heart and mind. To this time. Together. Individual. Creating community. Here. Anything. Holding the joys and sorrows of our beans. Andweknow. But in silence. Pesaros are loud. Endless space weed name. Our fears. We acknowledge the places we have been less than our best selves. Greece. But it might be. With love by others. In this space. We, as individuals. With joyce and successes and celebrations. Take a moment. Thanksgiving. The name all that is precious in our lives. And return. Our hearts. Prayers. Our intentions. People. In our lives. People beyond this room. Sony tower. Need our support. There are so many people who need our love and our compassion. May we. And when we come together in love and. Celebrations. We know that life calls us on and. Balance. Toys and sorrows. We know that this world is a complicated place. We know there are. We know there are governments bombing. Civilians. We know that this world needs our love and our help. As we reach out our hands. Care and prayer. May we all. Condos inspection. Each of us is part of an intricate web of relationships. When one of us celebrates a joy or grieves a lost the web of light to a new shape. We are part of the time of the earth of the stars. And. Benediction of the covenant we share in this church commitment to creating and living within a spiritual community and respectful conversation.

uudavispodcast_org

2017-03-26-Risk-Together.mp3?_=1

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california website at www.sec.gov org for further information. Reverend morgan mclain the assistant minister for congregational life. We are congregation. Family strive to be seekers of knowledge of action. You are welcome here and all your grace and brokenness. If you are here seeking safety and protection. We welcome all races religions. Sexual orientation and gender identity. This is a church. And i have a special announcement. Many of you probably has a broken shoulder so fast was a walking the dog. Because i do promise that we will we will let you know there's a card out there that you can send an online sign up for meals. The size containers in a one-person size containers and if you know that you're cooking something that maybe is going to be able to freeze one serving today. And your support. Who's missing in action today is elizabeth ascend intern and campus minister and. Really good news in boston this weekend see the ministerial fellowship committee which is the last step to becoming of. Universalist minister and elizabeth experience. Always come together to share community and one way that we booked in the back of the. If you have something in your life that you would like us to include in the petrol prayer today or if you just want follow-up later you can write a note. Get ahold of you. I am only one. But still i am. I cannot do everything. But still i can do something. And because i cannot do everything. I will not refuse to do the something that i can do. Opening words. Unattributed. Is to risk appearing. Is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another exposing our true self. Replace ideas. Dreams before the crowd is to risk loss. Asterisk. Asterisk despair. To try is to risk failure. Asterisk sign. This reading is from jrr tolkien's lord of the rings. Frodo baggins is protagonist of the story. He is supported by many others most importantly his friends samwise gamgee. We shouldn't be here at all if we'd known more about it before we started. The brave things in old tales and songs mr. frodo adventures. I used to think that they were seeing the wonderful focus stories went out and looked for because they wanted them because they were. With the tales that really mattered or the ones that stay in the mind. Folks seem to have been just landed in them. Usually. Your past will leave that way as you put it. We shouldn't know because they'd be forgotten. Is just fine on and not mind you. At least not. Coming home. Always the best care. And i asked them to share stories about where they stepped out of their comfort zone. We discussed was the very place we were sitting in for the interview. 11 years ago. The new york. This is a quote from that article. Old age they were starting a new chapter in their lives as residents of glaciers. Shutters. Gears. Risk-reduction. Division for how she wanted to age. In a small community. She wrote a letter. Took the risk to send that letter to people. Would like something similar. She took a risk. She did not know how people would respond. Or even a husband ray. People responded in 10 of them. Took the risk of sending the letter. Dan in his own risk story about glacier circle. And the responsibility will be the development of the project. The management that is currently needed to hire help. They also talked about how they felt like they needed by working with virginia process. They called her mother when taking risks it does help to have a safety net. Previous worship associate experience. And the joy of being in harmony with other people. What i didn't talk about was how much river-rafting was really stepping out of my own comfort zone. Lazy river meandering around us. I'm not a fan of putting my head under water. So much so. Just mini drills and test. In the robins. And learning to use your hand. You're going down the river. Mini mini series during the process. Looking back i wonder why i would do this. I could say that it was. Thursday afternoon and all of you for understanding. Did the arrangements so that we could enjoy your beautiful music. So when is the last time you were on a roller coaster. It's never been on a rollercoaster. The first day that we were there we walked around the whole park roller coasters and then we quickly decided that we weren't going on any of them and we definitely weren't going to go on the incredible hulk. Big and green and it loops and went upside down over a body of water and every time it went under the water the water once more and created this roar that sort of echoed through the screams echo. Easy to avoid the risk. As it often is in our lives. Stay in our comfort zones. I hope that we can continue to explore what it's like to be outside of. Those comfortable boundaries. Something that only exists in our mind. I imagined it like a bubble of security. Reinforced by our self-image and what we know. Projection of abilities. Images that are built up in torn down throughout our lives in fredericks. seuss's. No isn't only what we see around us certain behaviors patterns and expectations. Get kind of when the edges are bumped. Are we still unhappy or discontent. Need our bubble. Times when we need to take care of ourselves or others to fortify ourselves for what's next and that's okay. Ready to push this experience a little wobble. Do you have a favorite seat here in church. Is anyone sitting where they always sit today. Or maybe you always sit in the same place. At work. Eddie murphy at work or here and found someone sitting in your spot did that happen this morning. What is it like for you. Dad is being pushed out of your comfort zone out of what you know and what you expect. We stay there when we never sit in a different part of the church. We never see a different way. We never grow even when we think we're done growing. Always a different way to see this stained-glass. Always a different way to hear the piano or experience the lighting. Lots of things outside the edges of our comfort zone. A new hairstyle. Turning upside down in rapids. Publix. Spiders. It's something simple like the genre of books that you read. China spiritual practice. In this together. Exploration of experiences. Why not go out on a limb. Isn't. It's nice if there's something there to catch us if we fall. So there are ways to prepare going out on the limb. Risks. Thinking about a safety nest. Did about those risks. Countenance. As we risk in different ways. Devalue your wrist. Push the boundaries of your comfort zone a little more. Financial security. That you have it's been investment doesn't. What is a group of people who will always be there if you stumble. Higher power. Always turn out. It's important to get that net in place. You might not need it. Likely to try something new. No matter what it is completely stopped. Isn't jumping the blind wave. It's good wrist can be planned a little. What you might lose. Understanding the consequences of risk is what distinguishes risk-taking from recklessness. Have you seen a christmas story. At christmas time you see some decorations visit a lamp with a yellow lamp shade and a the base of the lamp is a leg and fishnet stockings. Kids movie. A kid movie that encourages in the kids in there encourage each other to reckless behavior all with one phrase. I double dog dare you. Because you of course can't walk away from a double dog dare. With his tongue stuck to a frozen flagpole. Believing that his friend who said it would stick and believe in and so that friend said well not only do i double dog dare you but i triple dog dare you. Say no to a triple dog dare flagpole and was stuck. Recklessness. Triple dog dare just for the sake of it. Pretty risky. And it might be reckless to just take off. You can guarantee that it won't be the same. Calculated risks in imagine how living in this new place might be different how you might act differently or five different places that you might have different neighbors. New restaurants. But you can explore those things before take a calculated. Risk. Some risks look reckless to others are. Jumping out of a plane seems reckless. His 90th birthday former president george hw bush skydiving jump out of a plane. The first was when his plane was shot down in the pacific. Recreational starting when he was 70. Is josh with a calculated risk in tandem with a trained professional and on his 85th birthday he landed in a churchyard with his family and friends near their vacation home and rumor has it that barbara said the churchyard was good because if it ended badly he didn't have to go far. She was supportive of his sense of adventure in his desire to take risks. Even at 90. Free falling. We still push the comfort zone. As a person no matter if we. I'm talking about. Sitting in a different seat in church. Breaking a habit if you're an active person. Risk being quiet for awhile. If you only read biography. Triton fiction. Drive home i different ways from church today. These are small risk that require us. Consider how we see ourselves. Expect to see in the world. We do this the kids all the time we encourage them to try anyting. Build their self-confidence and their sense of self and we tell them not to be scared we tell them you might learn something you might like something new. Somehow i sense of adventure adversity. Once we know that we can try new things will continue to explore new places out of our comfort zone street you've never been in find your dream house. You might sit in a new place in church and signs that you can see end service in the most perfect. Safety and self-acceptance and some risk because we are ourselves slow. Not everything new that we try or come up with might be useful or interesting but at least we keep trying. Sometimes the greatest risk is daring to do something you don't think you'll be any good at. In this congregation who are taking dance lessons. Piano lessons french lessons. I would encourage you to be proud of what you're learning. No matter how elementary it is even if you count the steps out loud as you dance or only play mary had a little lamb or only know how to say bonjour. Abilities. Since i would never ask you to do something i'm not willing to do myself. Before i had. Just bought a guitar. And didn't know how to do anything. I still don't know much. I always wanted to learn how to play around a campfire. So i can't do that but i did take a few guitar lessons and i learned three cords which is just enough for me to play the opening to my favorite song. So. I hate doing this i hate. I'll just show you that it's okay to be a little risky. And if you want to sing along that's good cuz i only know the first three core. When i find myself. When i find. So. We know someone will continue the song for us. Christian is part of the human experience. Without risks we would be pretty boring living in little bubbles of security that never change. In a reading from lord of the rings. We saw that the idea that stories for the sake of adventure doesn't matter the tales where the folks just seem to be landed in is what they say but what makes the tales memorable and worth repeating is that the characters don't turn back. Even when. When they don't know how it would end. They needed to take the risk. An interesting story. In other words risk is do what we do throughout history. How we explore how we interact. Unitarian universalist affirm that we have inherent worth and dignity. And i know sometimes that believe this about ourselves sometimes we overwhelmed or complicit. Challenge is not to allow discomfort to prevent us from living a full life and sharing it with others. Human beings are not meant to live. Learning and growing and challenging ourselves then what are we doing. Like this is risky because it asks us to be the net for others. It asks us to be ready to pick up to this song. I'll pick up the work. Be a person of. In such a community takes courage adventure hope. And. A sense of risk. Roller coaster. Daniel and i finally convinced. How many times do hair of roller coasters breaking. Every once in awhile. We got on. And we roared and screamed our way through the ride and when it ended. It was. Encourage each other to push our edges. We took a picture to prove it i'll put it out there so you can see. So when you're ready to roar and scream or just play a few notes that you know. Come together and we'll do it. I double dog dare you. Center ourselves now in the spirit of. Find yourself centered in your seat. Safety here in this room in this community. We enter into this time. Surrounded by the spirit of life and love that moves among us. Listen closely. Cheapest house. Inside ourselves the places we want to risk a little more. Find the courage to do so. Sacred hour. Pray that we might ease the adversity we space. That we do not understand. Thanks for the celebration of success. A new adventure no matter how small. We live in precious balance with others. Support. Who care for us. Turn our hearts and minds of the people in our lives. Resend. Banks. Kiehl's. And to megyn kelly as she continues to recover from surgery. We send our healing love. Home for comfort. We know who are in difficult times. Need our. Grenada boost today. Lights on.. Today we are especially. Grateful. Because today is the 47th anniversary of korean cook joining this church. And it is also the 34th wedding anniversary of robert.. So much. Celebrate in our lives. So many people who have risked connection to be with us. As we imagine that feeling. Imaginext spreading around the globe. Boosting the communities outside these walls. Seeking peace. Finding a common humanity in the of mystery of creation. Now. Sit in silence. That we might eat sorrows. The dreams of our being. Join hands for the benediction. And byways nuvision. You may possess a small light but uncover it let it shine use it in order to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and minds of men and women. Tell but hope and courage. Kindness and everlasting love. Let the people say.

uudavispodcast_org

2018-07-22-Welcome-and-Acceptance.mp3?_=1

Universalist church of davis california. org for further information. Good morning welcome to the unitarian universalist church and the minister for congregational life we're glad to have you with us this morning good morning. As we might this chalice as the symbol of unitarian universalism. Focus on your heartbeat. And hear these words. By leslie takahashi morris. Walks amazed. Within your heart. Intuos questioning curves. This labyrinth is a puzzle. Into your own truth. Listen in the twists and turns. Listen to the openness within all searching. Listen. A wisdom within you call. Wisdom beyond you. And in that dialogue lies peace. Whoever you are something that we. They often something we try to live into to open our arms our hearts to whoever. You are. Association of congregations. Seven principles that call us into community. These principles have historical roots in both unitarianism and universalism. And they continue to be a living document today. The first principle that we affirm is the one we're going to dive deep into today. It is that we affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. The insurance worth and dignity of every person. This is the statement that calls us to be more welcoming to be more accepting. We have carried this goal through the changing social structures of the united states unitarian and universalist. Have been on the front lines of the civil rights movement and the women's rights movement of equality for gay lesbian bisexual transgender and queer community. For reproductive justice for economic justice and immigration reform and so much more. We open our arms wide to the task. A recognizing human dignity. We find no shortage of work to be done. Apparent. Inherent that word suggests something that doesn't change no matter the social structure. Inherent worth and dignity means that the millions of infants born each year. Are born the same. They all have the equal ability to contribute to this world in a meaningful way. They all have in them a spark of the divine that we celebrate. Year. We know. But not all babies are born with equal opportunities. And that's why we work for justice. Our work for justice is a word for equal opportunities. That those babies. Might live into their inherent inherent worth and dignity. Are there limits. Two inherent worth and dignity. What about people who do terrible things. That is a common question and a true struggle. Some people do not contribute to the good of the world. Because they were born without worse or without dignity by their choices. They contribute to pain and suffering. Should we open our arms wide to people who have. Committed murder. People have. Perpetrated acts of terror. I believe we should. Maybe with linux. I don't believe we should open our communities blindly. To anyone. We hear covenant. We create the space together and we all hold each other accountable to keeping us together to holding our ideals. And encourage we create safe and trusting place where we can be vulnerable. And be transformed. Sometimes. Sometimes the need of one person. Cannot be a mess if it threatens the sanctity of a whole community. We have to live. In that struggle. It doesn't mean that because one person can't find what they need here that they don't deserve a community of support. A place where there's humanity their imperfections even their cruelty. Can be held. And maybe even healed. Are universalists and unitarian forebears taught us. That when humans are recreating the promise of a loving and welcoming kingdom of god on earth. That one's humanity is never lost. No matter your choices. People can be punished. Without being abandoned. Good in society. We can draw a limits on their access it. But it's never our decision to take away. Their humanity. We must make space. For forgiveness. Even redemption. For this reason unitarian-universalist work against the death penalty and have for decades we have prison ministries and we support reconciliation project. That's perhaps the most tangible example. Find of when someone has made choices that. That take away someone else's worth and dignity they still have a chance. To give back. That's what it means to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. To make space to an opportunity for each individual to contribute to the good in our world at any point in their lives. From this is to believe in the power of something usually called redemption. Our history is filled with narratives of redemption universalist when they were firmly in the christian tradition believe in universal salvation that all souls would be redeemed at the end. Redeemed in the arms of an ever-loving god regardless of choices. We see some hints at the hope of redemption. It's route r. Prison systems here in the us. A lot of our universe was forebears heads. Ways of being involved in setting up some system. Prison systems here are often governed by the department of. Corrections. And i use the word rehabilitation. Most of this language seems to be missing from our cultural conversation however and we instead replaced it with words like penalty or punishment. Movement around for awhile called restorative justice. And that has began to seep into the talk of the system of laws in this country. How many unitarian universalist are involved in movement against mass incarceration for example. Restorative justice emphasizes accountability. Making amends. And if they're interested facilitated meetings between the victims offenders and other persons. Some of you may know the story of stanley tookie williams. He was the founder of the crips gang in los angeles. And by his own admission committed murder. Enough to be sentenced to death by the state of california. She sat on death row for 25 years. And in those 25 years he ran workshops. And interventions and unquestionably prevented young men from entering gang life in los angeles. Pictures granted interviews. Redemption. Taking things away and he was ready. To give back. Many people supported appeal to overturn his death sentence because of what he was doing because he was giving back even from death row. The opponents know that state killing is wrong. Because it always takes away the potential. For restorative justice or redemption. Stanley. Williams was killed by the state of california in december of 2005. At his father's funeral his son said i feel it's my duty to go on a worldwide campaign to show that redemption is real. Even though. He had. Stanley tookie williams had taken away so much had taken away other people's potential to give back. She still wanted to redeem. And he taught his family had to do that too and so many others. How many people are denied a chance. At redeeming their worth and dignity. Shouldn't we make space for that effort. Of course it's not. A simple thing to do it's not a simple practice or beliefs. We have to have faith in the redemptive power of humanity. It is simple to become immersed. In sorrow and despair. Forget. About beauty. And hope. But that is the power of our humanity that we can come together to create beauty and hope and offer it to others. Social critic and philosopher theodore. Adorno wrote to write poetry after auschwitz is barbaric. He was a jewish man born in germany and he is often credited with that to write poetry after auschwitz is barbaric. But he said that he regretted. Saying that and wanted to explain the remarks. Stop writing poetry. And any life must inherently wrestle with misery and cruelty and suffering. Or else we're only ignoring those parts of the world and of ourselves. The light on the human truth that lice. Includes suffering. Buddhists would say life is suffering. Sometimes. When we say just the right thing but more times we jumped. Sometimes we make decisions. That deeply hurt someone else. Sometimes. We are deeply hurt by others and no one is immune to this. So we must wrestle with the misery and their cruelty the suffering of our being. We must do the hard work. Comforting the afflicted. Tearing and believing them. And we must do the harder work. Comforting those asking for forgiveness. Sometimes from their victims sometimes from their god sometimes from all of us. On christmas eve. In unitarian-universalist circles we celebrate not just the birth of one child. But we say that every night a child is born is a holy night. We can only hold that truth and celebrate each other if we resolve to struggle and practice the notion of unconditional love of every person. But that child can grow up to be. In our church we create space and trusting places where we can be vulnerable and be transformed. Send in our own journeys of restoration or redemption. We need the support of the people. That we trust. Ourselves. To be reflective. On where we have been. And where we need to go. We need others to hold us. As we seek forgiveness from others. And as we learn to forgive. Still the needs of one person. Cannot be held above the needs of the community. Dance. We make space when someone is in great need. And then we open our arms and hold us all. Our history teaches us the power of humanity. The power we create together. When living into the promise. Ever-loving and welcoming place. A loving and welcoming kingdom of god our universe this forebears would stay here on earth. In that loving and welcoming place no one's humanity. Is every boss. Including. Around. Humility and courage born of our history we are called as unitarian universalist. To build the beloved community. We're all souls are welcome. As blessings. And the humans family lives whole and reconciled. Comes from the ua leadership council. Our first uu principle. The inherent worth and dignity of every person means everyone. Including those with mental illnesses. Is principal is easy to understand. And yet it is difficult in some cases. My story is very personal. And only forgiveness. Allowed me to understand the inherent worth and dignity of my mother. Sadly she had been deceased for nearly a decade before i could forgive her. Family story. I was the first born and my mother was not really in a position to care for an infant. Married to a deployed army sergeant and living at home with my grandparents. What no one knew then or for many decades was that my mother was diagnosed would be diagnosed. She went to college. She became a nurse. She had two more daughters with my father and another daughter with my stepfather. As you may recall from prior reflections i was raised by my grandparents. From about age 8. Never to live with my mother and sisters again. When i was 2 she nearly smothered me to death. To the emergency room. At age 6. With sister's age 3. My mother vanished for 9 months leaving us with our grandparents. And according to grandpa jesse. Year old sister ran up to hug her. She slapped her across the face. The story's worsen over the years as my mother self-medicated. When i was growing up we never really heard about people with mental illnesses. Someone might whisper about a crazy aunt. But mental illness like cancer was not a dinner table topic. Nor was it discussed in magazines or portrayed on television in those days. How was the small child. Supposed to understand being hurt by her mother. Growing up separately from her sisters. Feeling unloved by the one person we should all. I was blessed with resilience and benefited from the love and care of others. Forgiveness. I had to learn that as if it were a skill. Our story continues. 6 first. Hear the words of robert. Isaac's. We forgive ourselves. And each other. We begin again in love. My mother died on my son's 12th birthday. Almost 20 years ago. A year later. As my son got older he began to change. The first time i heard the term attachment disorder i was sitting with my husband and our son in a psychiatrist's office. Our son was cutting high school coming home deleting the tardy message from the answering machine and going to sleep. He was suffering from severe recurrent depression that led to suicidality. I thought to myself if anyone should have attachment disorder it was me. And i also thought it was not my son either. Just another professional trying to put a label on his pain. I have been there lovingly as. With my son as an infant we were good nurturing parents. The next five years were some of the hardest of our lives and we did nearly lose our son. Ensuring the inherent worth and dignity of those with mental illness was a difficult for me and my family. When we were helping our son we found many places of support. To get better. I need to lighten things up folks. I want to share a birthday message for my son written once he started get his life back again together about a decade ago. Kiroat. What is a mother to me. Were you as shown me in the last several months what a mother is. You would help protect me. And shield me and have thrown yourself out there to save me. About me. And love me. And have made me realize what i thought was missing but was always there. Everytime i can make you smile you make me smile inside and out. Our bond that has always been there has grown strong and i hold you as one of my dearest friends. I thank you for all that you have done for me to give me a better life. I can see now what i should from myself for so long. Another year stronger for you. At the most desperate hour for me. You have shown me your true self. Heroin. He will be my hero forever and always i love you mom with love your greatest admirer your son. My son's story has a happy ending. Multiple resources hard work on his part and patience. Most of all unconditional love. And forgiveness all around to make our family whole again. I am so thankful that our son is alive. And we can make each other smile inside now. How could i hold onto all the hurt from my childhood and grow to be a mother who was. And even admired by her two children. My son's words were so powerful. In his message he was forgiving me for being blind to his illness and pain. I didn't recognize the signs when he was two or even he was struggling with depression. Who's not until he was skipping school. And posting the listo hate on his bedroom door. I'm trying to take his own life. Spain. I feel like a horrible mother. And yet she could forgive me. My son's message help me to think deeply about how to forgive my own mother. But first. I needed to forgive myself. And accept what i could not do. I could not change my mother's behavior. I could not make her a better mommy for me and my sisters when we were little. And i could not stop her mental and physical declines as she aged. Despite the heroin my son claims i am i could not work such miracles. Important thing about forgiveness. Is that it lifts you up. Lightens your load. And helps you see life from a new perspective. No amount of loving kindness from me or my mother. The day after she was born her mother died due to complications from childbirth. As an infant she suffered a high fever and was not expected to live. She was raised by her childless aunt. Who had resources that our own father did not at the end of the great depression. So you see. She was long-lost to me long before i was born. We forgive ourselves and each other. We begin again in love. In the past decade my sisters and i began to reach out. One another and talk about the painful memories of our childhood. We began to reconcile our differences. Theme song by lies our mother told were unearthed for what they were. Her mental illness. Forgiveness and reconciliation. Open our hearts. To allow for healing and establishing our renewed sisterhood. My mother story didn't have a happy ending. Forgiveness however i see her inherent worth in her marriage to my father a kind sweet man. And then giving life to me and my sisters. All of us are loving women. Generous and compassionate. I look at her photos and i see me. I look at how i write my name and i see your handwriting in the loops. Of my towels. And i remember her beautiful voice. I finally forgave my mother. And found peace. Spirit of life from one generation to the next. May we learn with each new generation. The power of acceptance. And the lightness of forgiveness. May it be so. Firmly on the ground. Close your eyes if you. Take a breath of life in. Let it fill you. And let it out. We create this time together. In our sharing. In our love. Hopes. Time let us hear these. Words from the reverend kristin harper. Sam davis spirit of the wind is in the trees. You can see it they say if you close your eyes and stand real still. Some say that same spirit lives in the hills for june mountains and plains. I smelled it the other night lying in my bed my window cracked. It crept through the moonlight up under the blanket. And wrapped its arms around me. Entering my blood through my skin i felt alive with an age i had not yet reached. Made new again in a form i've never known. I crowd cried out in pain and mingle. Cheer and expectation. Ecstasy it has been called. I call it. Reformation. There was forgiveness in that spirit. Compassion for my wounds strength for my weaknesses. It was no miracle nor nirvana. I just close my eyes and saw the spirit. Spirit in the wind the spirit in the trees. The spirit that lives in me. Maybe you feel that. Spirit. Made alive in this community. Moving in and among us. As we share their sorrows and the joys of our being. And this space is we. Reflect on. Hurt. And those who weep hurt. May we open our hearts to forgiveness. Go scranton and speaking. Forgiveness. We all come from different places we all end up in different places and we share this journey of life. Each of us is part of an intricate web of relationships. When one of us celebrates a joy or grieves a lost the web of life to anushka. We are part of the turn of the earth. The shift of the stars the pull of the sea. And all change. As we come to the end of the service. Saro said. Came into this style. I lightened by being held here. And the joys. Even more excited. By being shared. Extinguish. That beacon of our community that shines in each of us. Until we're together again. Again just as long as i have breath. And we'll rise and body or spirit to sing this. Him. Would you hold the words are simple tasks is not we forget ourselves. And each other in love.

uudavispodcast_org

Worship-2012_09_23-1115a_ED-1.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. The flaming chalice. Symbol of unitarian universalism. Began as a sketch. A symbol of hope thomas and sacrifice. To represent the high ideals. For which the unitarian service committee was formed. And i worship this two-dimensional drawing has been replaced by glass. Wax and flame. A sketch has become a ritual. Reminding us that even when we fall short of our highest ideals. We can return again. To relight. The fire of commitment. Within ourselves. Unitarian universalist. We drawn many sources in order to determine our highest ideals. We draw on our experiences of wonder. Our experiences of the holy. A moment of bliss. And understanding. We draw on our experiences of pain. Our experience of loss. I kind of grief. And confusion. We drawn all we've learned in our lives. Do our interactions with the world and with each other. Drawing unwise of those we know and admire. Armentors and friends. And drawing on examples of those we did not know. Heroes historical and imagined. Twinstar us with their words and deeds. Religious and spiritual traditions from around the world. Science and philosophy. Reason and emotion and bodily sensation. Aldi's makeup are great cannon. Here in our faith communities we make meaning together. We speak and we look to each other. As we just turn what makes for righteousness. We bring with us into these communities all that we drawn. Sharing with each other. Piecing together evermoor full understanding. And even though the searching and testing is never done. We unitarian-universalist know we must live our faith. As best we know how. Embody our faith. Act on our faith. Each. And everyday. Invite you into a time of prayer intention of turning living room to here. Bad boys. It lives within each of us. When you bringing a private world. Lives within us to the presence of a ruin of others. Is so good. It's so good to be together in this moment. His words inspired by a jewish prayer spoken during the jewish high holy days. Spirit of life presents that has no name. Bringing flashes of inspiration. And clarity. And healing forgiveness. Awaken us to what is all around up when we are asleep. 2 rife. Maybe remember that sue the leaves on the pistache trees will turn lillian colors and fall. Our lives are equally brilliant with love. An ever-changing. This moment. Is already gone. We have thousands of choices to make everyday. We can do great good. Great home. Sometimes the best choice isn't clear spirit. When do we speak. And when does compassion request violence. When do we act. When does a relationship grow stronger. Because we refrain from acting. Awake. And sleepers from your slumber begins the jewish prayer. I like. Contain is the birthday of the world. Willam. How to add alarm. Every today. Is the birthday. Of the world each of us is a part of an intricate web of relationships. When one of those celebrated jewelry or grieve the loss the word of life into a new shape. We are apart of the turn of the earth. The shift of the stars. The pearl of the sea. Adult change. This morning we have a challenging reading. Is a reading from the hebrew scriptures. And the passage concerns abraham. Nothing important figure in judaism christianity and islam. Our passage pick up after abraham's wife sarah. Has miraculously given birth to a son named isaac. In her very old age. This is genesis. Chapter 22 verses 1 through 13. After these things god tested abraham. I said to him abraham. And he said. Here i am. He said take your son. Your only son isaac whom you love. I'm go to the land of moriah. And offered him there. As a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which i shall tell you. So abraham rose early in the morning. He saddled his donkey and took two of his young men with him. And his son isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering. Andy set out and went to the place in the distance. Which god had shown him. On the third day abraham looked up. And saw the place far away. Then abraham said to his young men stay here with the donkey. The boy and i will go over there and worship. And then we will come back to you. And abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on isaac his son. And he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them went on together. And isaac said to his father my father. And he said here i am my son. She said behold the fire and the wood are here. But where is the lamb for the burnt offering. Abraham said god himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son. Send the two of them walked on together. When they came to the place which god had shown him abraham dothan alter there. And laid the wood in order. And found isaac his son and laid him on the altar. On top of the wood. Ben abraham reached out his hand and took the night to kill his son. But the angel of the lord called him from heaven and said abraham abraham. And he said here i am. He said do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now i know that you fear god. Thing that you have not withheld your son. Your only son from me. And abraham looked up. And behold there was a ram. Caught in the thicket by his horns. And abraham went and took the ran. And offered it as a burnt offering. Instead of his son. Pet reading. One of the most amazing renditions of that package i have heard. Weather poem that was. Bitten. Of that very scene. The arcada where. Abraham is. Betty with the sharp edge of the knife. And it's. Written from the perspective of the rain. The voice of the ran who is watching this and then. The attention turns to the rams presents. The month of september is when we joined several other. Unitarian universalist congregation to explore the meaning of the word faith. For clergy creating this list of monthly themes. One reason for this topic in september is the presence of the jewish high holy days. The holiday that honors the jewish new year. We are right now in the midst of the days of all. Between rosh hashanah and yom kippur. Been practicing jews review how they have lived their lives. They asked how have i treated my friends and my family. Other things i should have said but i didn't. Other words i have spoken that were hurtful earth. Thoughtless. Have i been mindful of how i used the earth's resources. It's a time of reflection. An intentional attempt to repair what is broken and what is damaged. And it's very daring. To take an honest evaluation of our lives. It's honest evaluation begins with. A concept. Nike.com. A recognition of goodness that inside each person. And then the trajectory of the message from there over the next 10 days it's an acceptance of the. Perfect. Of the imperfect it is also a part of being human. The password for media focus on the teachers strike. In chicago. The teachers have been front-and-center in the news this week and i just want to say thank you to all those who have ever taught. In this congregation you never leave a profession like that behind you always take it with you in your life. The teachers were in the news before that make to this last week too because the christian science monitor ranna a great big centerfold story on teacher thing who grades the teachers. The journalist didn't use the religious language of the jewish high holy days but in the report there were so many similarities. Criminally insane kind of personal reflections found in those 10 days of awe of the jewish high holy days. Article assume that most teachers are a dedicated they start from that assumption so they talked about a 5% that i don't know just been just not very fine teachers but they didn't lose teachers. A really striving. Lyrics driving. Without having consent. They are coming from that assumption of nikki. toolbox. The different teachers want to be the most effective. They have to accept that no matter how hard they try. The work is not perfect. Because we're human. The goal is to help them become so masterful that they instill a love of learning in their students and not just instill knowledge. That's the real goal. This is the concept of the jewish high holy days. Secular life. But for the high holy days. The question is really how to practicing jews live a life of love. And not only a life of knowing. Specific passages from the bible that have importance during the season the messages are found in stories of family struggle. Galaxy misgivings we don't know anything about this i'm sure sometimes irreconcilable differences that break the heart. One story that is often used as a part of the high holy days has puzzled scholars and theologians for centuries at the very story that annie told you this morning the story of abraham and isaac. Abraham lincoln man who represents faith in that photo blind allegiance that we are so uncomfortable with. At unquestioning belief. Please officer when he does faith and and. Harrison from last week we talked about. Fin feather fur been something you do. Highest ideals. She wants to please our being and i have being in with a capital b a being that he believes in body power and goodness like no other god. Worshipped before. Before delving into the text and going to leave that. For just a little bit. And i invite you to journey with me as we look into the life. A book called the hebrew scriptures on we call it the old testament but still be called the old testament or christian. Like the new testament the old testament. The hebrew scripture. We participate in interfaith activities in our community. Those who look to the bible for inspiration. People ask. Are you people up to book on talking to you each one of you. Are you people at the brook. Inside your own head. Can you say yes. Severe assuming often that we are able to touch the life of abraham. If we are coming into these interface. Events. You can answer it now and let's see how you answer it at the end. Who's the popular novel called people of the book. Written by geraldine brooks. It's a situational story of a rare-book expert. And she's giving the job of a lifetime. Analyze and preserve a beautifully illustrated jewish manuscript. From the 15th century spain. Read storyline unfold as the curator carefully analyzes this book. Define significant things in the binding of an insect wing. Wine stains. Salt crystal. A white. Hair. Which discovery the author geraldine brooks takes us to that moment in history when the inspector is crushed between the pages. Centuries ago when the drop of wine splashed on the page. We are introduced to why the book was given a particular beautiful script. And when the magical. Beautiful colored images. Wood painted at the beginning of every chapter. When was happening in the village when the binding was throwing the holders and leaving you with stations that glow. And the calligraphy. Important crew. Good morning. the book and a sequel of equal importance the people who preserved the book. And made what might seem like a minor adjustment. Some kind of embellishment just too. Add their own personal touch. Read the bible and liberals and i say that again as liberals. Who don't accept or wechat. The words i thing literally true. We were asked to be like that rare-book expert. Searching for history from signals and cues. We are investigating the meaning of the story there meaning of the arcada. But also the perspective of the people who leave their hands on the text. And perhaps changed it to suit their time. Your words are the equivalent of a crystal of salt hair pressed into the page. The collection of all the little books that make up the hebrew scripture. Are the results as many hands. And many lives and many centuries. David robertson's class last sunday she had his imagine how the history of our civil war in the united states would be told differently. If the south had won. I don't get is the history that is most often told it's when the bias of. The north. Return to abraham. The story of abraham has also has two races. In that storytelling woven together. The voice of one author. Identified by scholars as j comes from the north. And the boys from the south. Is identified as a voice called e. There comes a time when it was important to acknowledge not unless in his house not a j and annie. But one unified people. One unified people's stories could be interpreted many ways. In what stage of the creation of the bible these two stories are. Completely woven together and both are given equal weight. That would be interesting wouldn't it if we had the north and the south. Represented in our telling of the civil war. Matter of fact the jewish authors eventually chose to include the commentary of a chorus of rabbis. Do you have the actual text on the middle of the page in the chorus of people agreeing or disagreeing or giving other opinions down the side i'm imagine. If we did that with our civil war. Of north and thousand emmy had everybody's commentary that what they really thought happened. It takes the better part of a millennium. To create the hebrew scripture that we see now. The first part of genesis unveiled the history of creation the flood. Words with nations in languages. Where did the earth come from. How did the stars. Gets ran over the sky. How to become to be different tribes. Why do we speak different languages and. Why is it so difficult to understand each other and i'm not just talking about languages here. The second section of genesis is the story of abraham the star of today's show. The roots of the specific tribe. On the justification of their uniqueness. Separating these people out from all others. Living in this geographic area. Bianca political movement bataclan. But it's chieftain. And that chieftain is abraham. Always remember that we're reading the stories and also reading for the clues of the people who are transcribing the stories for their own purposes is that wonderful literature this to levels of things least happening at the same time. Historian likely in real history if we can believe archaeology. Abraham lived several time. Following. Some inner compass the bible says the word of god and anyway he's moving to find the best deal for his people. Looking for that sweet spot. To live. Finally god found abraham to canaan which is known as palestine the land there is highly highly desirable it is a place of great unrest. It serves as a bridge between asia and africa. And then biblical times it wasn't the desert that we now have it today but forested with water. Is a place of great potential wealth so highly desirable to live there. In times of cheez-its forest because of the caravans with. Rheingold and spices and animal hides and textiles. You control this route. West have power. The commerce. And how culture. Was understood. But because this land was. After take advantage. Go to the place of repeated wars by invaders. And the conflict in only come from the outside from people who swept down that bridge. There's unrest among the residents. How we lived it today. Three great regional and economic diversity and we love diversity. And when we have a diverse population sometimes it is hard to understand each other. It is. The farmers and the shepherds and the commercial city-dwellers was suspicious of one another and they lived in a terrible climate of distrust. But so the story goes if you abraham go to this place will be wealthy your number when multiplied you will exceed your wildest expectations and you will flourish as a people. And an elderly abraham is promised a son. Inspira. History or probably for time. Beyond childbearing years. Give birth to isaac. Precious. Not only to his parents. Even important goes beyond any normal child a whole nation will be built from his existence. To isaac. Whole tribe of israel will come into being we here. Abraham settled in canaan. In the 13th century. Before the common era understood as before jesus is life. The people took over the canaanites rhymes. The urban sanctuary. Adopted their hands poem. Religious titles for worship. Embrace them and gave them new names. Abraham even identifies yahweh with a local lead god worships before their arrival how do you get acceptance in a place. Cake with a have make it your own rename it. Getgoodguy in that way. How do people are clearly outsiders do something more. The defendants of notice changes but is those who have a special and unique inclusive relationship. With the secret truth. Created accepted elevated place for themselves. Distance aldi near eastern society. Storytown. Have a unique relationship with god. A new way of being that has come. The kings that are more powerful. Other rituals that everyone life-giving then the old ways. Here is the hand of that author. Taking what was. And reshaping it. For the needs of the time. If it's my mother through when i would want to climb inside that story of abraham and isaac. I wonder. Where the heck is sarah. I mean. You see your husband in. He takes two men and then there's this. Donkey and. And then there's your son. Word for sacrificing. There's a nice and there's the fire and. There's no way man. Nicki minaj where is there when you're why don't you say something. This is emergency room and i would say abraham thinking as he walks his son to the altar. What is in his mind. What is going on in the mind of this boy isaac and when he asks his father so where is the animal will be sacrificing and he's got wood on his back and he sees his father with a fire in the sharp knife. Vanicream thinking about what kind of deeds he would weeks of kind of evil demand. This is how i struggled with this text i'm drawn to it. And i despise it. Simultaneously. But the beauty of this story is in the deft and the movie many messages. The many messages. Perhaps we are intended to question not the story itself. Intention. I bet author. Who is shaping the story. We are supposed to be horrified. The feeling of loving father and a son was for an audience of abraham's people and it was for us to. And they are developing a new understanding of themselves. I'm closer to send me no idea. The story would be about obedience.. But it may not. Maybe it's about a new covenant. A covenant that says we do not accept human sacrifice. We will not sacrifice another child. The way our competitors. The way the other religions do. We are predecessors did. We are on a different path. A movie this. It's about the shippers. Of the story. I need the story itself. But i don't know. And you too. Are the shapers of the story. Amen. And blessed be. Please join me in a spirit of prayer or meditation. The source of life is my guide. And i laughed. Nothing. I am lead to green pastures. And beside still waters. My soul is restored. I follow down sacred pad for the sake of love. Even when i must pass through dark valleys. I am not afraid of evil. I am not alone. The trail markings are comfort to me. Being led by the spirit. In like attending a banquet. Like a massage with scented oils. Like a cup. That never runs dry. I know that goodness and mercy will accompany me all my life. And i will be at home and god's house. I will be at home. Enlight dwelling place. I will be at home. In loves abode. Forever. Amen. You are beautiful. You're beautiful and if everyone could take an. And stan. As you're able. And create another with your. Hands. Give me a moment. Very wonderful. The suites. Right here. Continuous prayers. Awake you sleepers from your slumber. Awake. Always today is the birthday of the world. Rihanna.. Alarm. Today. Is the birthday of the world. That the scattering stay in.

uudavispodcast_org

2014-06-29-The-Way-of-the-Chalice_10_00.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. Welcome to the unitarian universalist church of davis i'm so happy to see so many of my dear old friends here how wonderful to see you i'm lisa hike and i am a member of this congregation i'm also a minister having most recently served our congregation in traverse city michigan our senior minister reverend beth banks is away at our denominations annual general assembly this weekend and we're very blessed to have autumn labay renault as our worship associate this morning we gather in the presence of all that is most holy. The blue sky the warm sun the living waters the living earth the love that moves in and among us. We gather in search of beauty and meaning in search of hope and healing we gather to share our lives and times of joy and in sorrow and to mark the passing of our years we gather to heed the call of love to compassionate action. You are welcome here if you are skipping with joy and you're welcome if you're heavy with sorrow. You're welcome if you're seeking a community who will love you just as you are and you're welcome if you're looking for a community to help you grow. This is a place where all kinds of people with all kinds of guess old and young. Rich and poor cisgender and transgender gay and straight brown and white and anyone in between. Whoever you are and whatever your need you are welcome here come let us bring our whole self to this place. And one of the things we do in this congregation is care for each other in times of joy and in sorrow we have small chalices in the back that you may lied and honor of a joy or sorrow and if it's something that you need to share with a minister or the whole congregation please write it down on one of the cards in the back that are with the chalices and let us know if you wanted shared. In next week's pastoral prayer also let us know if you need a pastoral call and someone will be in touch within 24 hours so let us know take a moment to greet one another i invite you to take special care to introduce yourself to someone you have not yet met. Good morning he's sunday we are childless to signify the start of our worship together and to remember our connections to you use everywhere i invite you to view this acting tweak as your signal to pause to draw a deep breath to enter a space in which you can relax refresh and renew yourself for the week ahead. I'd like to share with you this morning a story of frustration that had a happy ending at least for me lisa clarified ending i recently struck up a correspondence with a friend from high school a woman i've been out of touch with for 25 years passed in college she became a catholic. It is interesting lee a mom moment on facebook that reconnects us the great common language of motherhood is when we can move freely in together we share stories and catch up on the trials and tribulations of our offspring there's something comforting in. What does standing on the side of love mean if not defending what we is you use believe to be true what is unitarian universalism after all if not a religious religion that seeks to end oppression. Do i not argue vehemently to defend woman's right to control our bodies for the rights over lgbtq friends to marry and for equality like many of you i've chosen a path it's not easier religion that size away from dog nine calls for inclusion compassion is humanism has a place in public policy religion that calls upon us to protest to show up to make her voices her to think. Are liberal religion does rest firmly upon a theological foundation and today my understanding of it's grown considerably during my first year as a worship associate. And i still can tell you it's not the easiest set of beliefs to articulate. In the end my friend tells me that she feels sorry for me because my religion does not give you the wisdom to leave well enough alone and entrust my life to god's care never been good at that she thinks it must be terrible to live without security again. I'm going to read this great reading by james luther adams mid-century great unitarian universalist theologian which enters into covenant with the ultimate source of existence to absolute truth or authority feeling that. Don't let us enter together into a time of quiet prayer. Invited you to relax and get comfortable in your chair. Place both feet on the floor if you like if you can. To feel your connection to the earth right through the floor to the soil beneath. Pull your shoulders up towards your ears as far as you can. And then let him drop. Take a breath in. In-n-out. I am here. In. And out you are there. In. In-n-out. We are together. And now hear these words. Spirit of life. Yoohoo body fortress as our story universe and this shimmering blue green planet. The wheel of the year has turned and now young summer is here. Sunflowers in stone fruit. Hummingbirds and dragonflies abound. Help us do you. As in breath of our body. Help us know you as the force of life that filled peaches and plums with the liquid sunshine that delights our tongue. Help us also know you. As that force. That will turn green leaves yellow. And start their slow spinning to the ground. Help us know you as a love so large. That in all beginning. And in all endings. We are ever safely held. Help us to rest in that love as we look with open eyes upon the suffering within us. And all around us. Fill us with the loving-kindness we need to relieve the suffering. Help us breathe your love and peace. Intoarce card. And beautiful world. Blessed be. Now let us enter together. Into. Just a little time of silence. Are reading this morning comes from jewish poet marge piercy. The art of blessing the day. This is the blessing for rain after drought come down wash the air so it shimmers a perfumed shawl of lavender chiffon let the parts to leave suckle and swell enter my skin wash for me to chrysalis of sleep rocks in your plastering in the morning the world is killed and shining. This is the blessing for sun after long rain now everything shakes his belfry and rises the trees are bright as pushcart isis every last lilly opens its satin size the bees dance and roll and pollen and the cardinal at the top of the pines things at full throttle fountain 18. This is the blessing for a right piece this is left made round frost can nip the blossom kill the b. It can drop a hard green useless nut-brown fungus the burrowing worm that coils and rod can blemish it and went and crush it on the ground and yet this peach fills my mouth with juicy sons this is the blessing for the first garden tomato. Those green boxes of tasteless acid in the store in january those red things with a favor of wet shocked they mock your fragrant name and how fat and sweet you are weighing down my palm warm as the flank of a cow in the sun you are the saver of summer in a thin red skin. This is a blessing for a political victory. Although i shall not forget that things work in increments and epicycles and sometimes lease that has leaps that half the time fall back down that's not relinquish dancing while the music fits our hips and bounces our heels we must never forget pleasure is as real as pain. The blessing for the return of a favorite cat the blessing for love return for friends return for money received unexpected the blessing for the rising of the bread the sun the oppressed. The discipline of blessings is to taste each moment the bitter the sour the sweet and the salty and be glad for what does not hurt. The artisan compressing attention to each little and big blossom of the tree of life to let the tongue thing each fruit its savor its aroma and its use. Attention is love what we must give children mothers fathers pets are friends the news the woes of others. What we want to change we curse and then. Pick up at school. Unless whatever you can with eyes and hands and tongue if you can't bless it. Get ready to make it new. Do people ever asked you what's unitarian universalism how do you explain a few years ago i was meeting with a group to brainstorm some ideas for how families can build you use spiritual practice into homelife a newcomer asked what is it that we believe anyway how can i find out i asked her have you read our principles and sources. She responded well yes but the principles are social political views not spiritual beliefs. There must be something at the center hear something like a creed or it wouldn't be a church. I was reminded of what newspaper reporters seem to say after every general assembly they often say unitarian-universalism is not a real religion it has nothing at the center. They say the seven principles are political statements that have nothing to do with god. One-year a reporter said there's no there there. Another said you can't draw a circle around nothing. Well the thing is we do have something at our center. What's more each of our principles is a statement of a theological position with thousands of years of history behind it. And like other liberal religions our faith focuses on life here and now in this world which means that for us the political is the spiritual and vice versa. We have a life-saving and life-giving religion and we have a responsibility to offer it to this tired and hurting world. So we need to know how to talk about it. So what is this thing at our center. What makes a u u group a religious community we don't often mention god we rarely hear sermons based on biblical texts and most of our churches don't offer any kind of eucharist we certainly don't have a creed so how can we call ourselves a religion. Well the word religion comes from the latin really gary to bind back or hold together to link it's the same root as in the word ligament you know those cords that hold our skeletons together. I like that image without religious community we fall apart into useless pieces. We can accomplish great things. Unitarian universalist religion comes together not around a creed which is a profession of beliefs that all members share but rather through covenant. The word covenant comes from the latin co together and veneer to come. A covenant is a promise about how we come together about what it means to belong. Fries are actually rare and religions only a few forms of christianity espouse them. The idea of the creed wasn't even developed until the 4th century when the roman emperor constantine decided to make christianity the state religion of the roman empire. Before that christians like they're jewish predecessors had constantly debated with each other about the meaning of their face teachings and text in the jewish tradition such argument and debate is seen as healthy. It is a way of engaging with each other that keeps people also constantly engaged with the divine. But in order for a religion to be aligned with the power of empire there must be one correct interpretation of everything that can be enforced so constantine called a meeting the council of nicea ad which he demanded that the bishops decide once and for all any points of doctrinal dispute and write them up as a unified statement of belief. This is how the nicene creed came to be. A prospective member of the church would have to believe and recite the creed in every particular. In order to be accepted. Anyone who disagreed with any part of it was considered a heretic. Which actually means choice or one who chooses. At first heretics were only excommunicated. But later they were tortured or burned at the stake. The creed became a matter of life. And death. By the 16th century the alliance between church and state had become so cruel and oppressive that large numbers of people protested and so was born the protestant reformation. According to rebecca parker reformers reconceptualize church. They dismantle the hierarchical power structure and set instead the church comes into being when human beings really make a covenant to walk together. What made this walking together a church instead of just a political community was that god was considered to be the founding member of the covenant. Do the salem covenant of 1629 says we covenant with the lord and with one another and do bind ourselves in the presence of god to walk together in all his ways according as he is pleased to reveal himself unto us in his blessed word of truth. And all that has a seventeenth-century spelling which was never standardized so it's a challenge to read. Unitarian universalist both inherited the covenant reformed of church from our american protestant american puritan ancestors unitarian-universalism purposely chose to keep this form. So in our churches as parker says every member of the church has a say in what the church is purposes and why we come together. This place is democratic process and human promise making. At the center of church life. As james luther adams put it in our responsive reading the goal is the prophet hood and the priesthood of all believers. And a profit by the way is one who speaks truth to power not someone who foretells the future like most people think so the goal is the prophet hood and the priesthood of all believers. But what exactly is it that atoms is believers belief. Is god in our covenants. Many you use believe in some form of god or divine energy but many do not. Uu churches have atheists agnostics religious humanists and buddhists among our members along with our many varieties of this if we don't all have an aunt with god then with whom or what besides ourselves do we covenant. Is there something larger than ourselves some transcendent reality with which we covenant. To which we belong. And to which we hold ourselves accountable. To answer this question let's take a look at the actual covenant of the unitarian universalist association it'll be on your screen and just a second. And it's also in the middle of your order of service on the first page so last read the first half of the covenant together just threw or seventh principle. Okay. We the member congregations of the unitarian universalist association covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Justice equity and compassion in human relations. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. The goal of world community with peace liberty and justice for all. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are apart. Well at first read these principles might not sound particularly religious they might not seem to say anything about god or not god but as i said earlier each principal is actually a statement of a particular theological position with a very long history. Pink jester first principle it evolves from our religious ancestors believed that people have in them inherent goodness. Because they were created in the image of an all-loving god. This is an idea straight from the very first book of the hebrew bible. And this idea directly counters the doctrine of original sin developed by augustine in the late fourth century according to augustine in the garden of eden adam and eve had done such a bad thing and disobeying god that the consequences of their sin revisited on every human being from then on. Every baby was born in a state of complete separation from god and would therefore go to hell unless it was baptized in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit that was the only remedy. The doctrine of original sin is still in the catholic catechism and it's still alive and most forms of protestantism. But our ancestors in faith rejected us and their belief in the inherent goodness of human beings also countered the calvinist idea that humans are utterly depraved and corrupt. Disbelief in human goodness gave our ancestors the impetus to fight against slavery and for women's rights. Our first principal now counters all forms of oppression is a brave and daring statement of our beliefs about human nature it is also a statement of radical hospitality. Because of our principal our first principal my daughter and some of you know my beautiful daughter who is a lesbian had a safe and loving community to grow up in she knew she belong. In stark contrast recently a friend wrote me to say that a transgendered friend of hers had committed suicide. This friend was raised in a faith that could not accept her for who she really was. She could never belong. Her parents had a funeral for her but not really for her. They had the funeral for the sun they wish they'd had. How differently might this young person's life have turned out if her family's religion had welcomed her and loved her just as she was. How differently would her parents life. Have turned out. Our first principal can make the difference between life and death. Each of our principles has this much importance to the living of human life each has this much or more history and death. And not only our principal statements of theological position but the way they're organized speaks to our theology of interdependence of interbeing. They begin with a statement about individuals. And then they move outward in concentric spheres are seventh principle is about the health of the whole interdependent web of being. Of which were apart so our covenant expresses a vision of abundant love in which each individual flourishes because the whole community of life does and the whole flourishes because each individual does. What all this means is that we do covenant with a transcendent reality we do understand there to be something larger than ourselves into which we were born to which we belong that can help us when we are in need and to which we can hold ourselves accountable. For some of us this transcendent reality is the living universe that gave us birth and gave us the capacity for love. For others it is a personal deity they call god. We're still at artist others it is simply the love we created when we come together in community which holds us and gives us the power to do bigger things in the world than we could do alone. There are many ways to understand this transcendent reality which james luther adams called the ultimate source of existence so our covenant has a second-half which name six sources of our living tradition we're not going to read all those cuz they're very long and detailed it but before i talk about them briefly i want to give you another way of understanding the relationship between our covenants and the ultimate source of existence and this is through the symbolism of our flaming chalice. The cellist is an open container it provides a place to rest a place to hold something sacred. A place to elevate something beautiful it does not close off what is inside. The rather listed up. And given space to move. The chalice is created by our uplifted hands. By our covenanted community the sacred space we create when we come together. Our community forum the chalice. At its center is an open place and at the center of that dances a flame. The flame is a powerful and potentially dangerous interaction between energy and matter it recreates that a very small-scale the moments of combustion that began the universe a process of simultaneous creation and destruction. It recreates the power that has brought all of life and death into being. It can provide light and heat something to see by something to warm us or it can burn and consume. It is the mystery at the center of our faith community the flame is a locus of pure possibility. So our community forums an open container at the center of which dwells this spark of possibility energy that can both create and destroy and what each of us sees in that space of creative destructive energy and what meaning we make from it might be different uucs my sia to name it as a personal god with whom they can have an intimate relationship. You you really just humanists and atheists might see it as the impulses toward love and fear good and evil that are found in every human heart. You you pagans might see it as the goddess in her aspects of maiden mother and crone. You process cs might see it as the divine energy which manifests itself in the form of the becoming universe. Each of us looks for and sees something that keeps us in the chalice in the community we generally find that this something changes as we grow and develop so we covenant to use the sources of our living tradition including our own life experiences our mystical encounters with the divine if we have them our powers of reasoning and the wisdom of many religions of the world to expand our awareness of the possibilities. Whatever we see at the center of the chalice we limit what we do with it. We limit how we behave toward each other and the wider world contrary to what many people think you use are not free to believe just anything. Artelice might be an open container but it's still a container we live in covenant old relationship with the others in our community and since we understand our community as the interdependent web that extends infinitely in all directions we limit what we believe and how we behaved to what is healthful. To the whole web of life. Which means that however many ways there are for us to understand the symbol of the flame at the center of them all. Is love. Doesn't that sound wonderful. I think so i am passionately in love with our life-saving and life-giving religion but i have to be honest with you in my view our house our covenant has one serious limitation. That is that we only a covenant to to affirm and promote. Are seven principles we do not as yet have intent to live them to live them i think this makes our religion weaker than it could be i think it's one reason why many uu churches seem like social clubs for like-minded people rather than religious communities got engaged us at the very deepest levels of our being. Not this one i should say not this one but imagine just imagine what might happen if we covenanted to live our principles if we covenanted to live the inherent worth and dignity of every person and justice equity and compassion in human relations and respect for the interdependent web of all existence. This would make our religion quite demanding wouldn't it. We would have to shed any possessions in excess of what we need we would have to learn how to communicate and behave and nonviolent ways we would have to act in the world every day as the poet says to bless whatever we can with eyes and hands and tongs and if we can't blessed get ready to make it new. Can we meet those demands. Can we bless the world or make it new. Yes we can we can because we walk together and covenanted community with none of us alone. We can because the many sources of our faith give us sustenance for the journey we can because we love. My brothers and sisters. Let us deepen our covenant so that we live in every moment then can this religion of love claim its true power in the world. Then can the way of the chalice be the way of blessing we want it to be. Mandy so. Blessed be. I offer you now a prayerful reflection. Spirit of life great mystery of many names. How does cake inside ourselves the deep meaning of the covenant we join with you and with our dear companions when we joined this congregation. May we know our own power. The power we have to bless the world. For make it new. May we live our covenants. May we walk in the way of blessing. Blessed be. I invite you now to take hands or link arms or touch shoulders be in touch with one another in some way and hear these words once again be ours a religion which like sunshine goes everywhere it's temple allspace it's trying the good heart it's creed all truth it's ritual works of love it's profession of faith divine living. Now people of this beloved community go forth from this place and blessed whatever you can with eyes and hands and tongue if you can't bless it get ready to make it new. Ghost shining. Blessed be.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-01-17-The-Grace-of-Silence_09_30.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california website at w.w. org for further information. So welcome to the unitarian universalist church of davis i'm beth bank the senior minister here and i do see some new faces and amethyst mckay is standing next to me and stacy is also going to have leave the service how can i participate in relationships of meaning where do i find the sacred in everyday life how can i make a difference for myself my family for this society as well as for the beautiful living earth we come together to create a unique community for this one hour but in this space center ourselves. Remind luther king jr. we must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision but we must speak we are called as unitarian universalist to build the beloved community with both humility and courage it is when we balance these two human qualities that all souls are welcomed as blessings only when humility. Courage come together will the human family be whole and reconciled. Today's reading is an excerpt from the pop singer sara bareilles song brave which you heard and turn the sanctuary this morning what you want to say and let the words fall out. Honestly i want to see you be brave with what you want to say and since your history of silence won't do you any good did you think it would let your words be anything but empty why don't you tell them the truth when i first heard this song i was torn between the adage if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all and they dreaming about what i would say if i followed what the song lyrics implore say what you want to say what i say you have food in your teeth please do around me living room during the generations of their black family were told by white guidance counselors that they should lower their expectations for success at college they were told stanford will be due to difficult for kids like you it's too much pressure. None of them shared this with each other and michelle norris muses about these stories that had not been shared why had no one told these stories why the silence my mind goes back to sara bareilles song brave and since your history of silence won't do you any good let your words be anything but empty why don't you tell the truth after reading the grace of silence the song brave took on an entirely new meaning for me now i wondered what stories do we choose to hold in silence. How is sharing them change our relationships and the public conversations around issues that are important to us if we are so brave that we honestly talk about our fears and experiences and listen to each other and my personal reflections on race i realize that i have many friends from different races i assume that by being friends with him i was living in a post-racial world if i could be friends or roommates with someone who is black latino or asian that everything was okay the more i reflect on the life experiences of my friends i realize that although i can brace and be respectful of them i don't really know what it's like to live as black latino or asian our conversations are stories about race what stories had they not told and held in silence why the book. Michelle norris african-american news correspondent focuses on society and race. There are many steps leading to crossing a threshold and many are the people often anonymous who play minor roles in history's grand panels there many people who never appear in history books or their family bloodline. And marching for justice they quietly insisted on a lifestyle with the same benefits as the white people in their neighborhood and they did forced integration in a neighborhood and they use their wits to succeed in their goal of having what they saw as a normal life. How was it that her father who followed laws filed taxes early and believe jaywalking showed weakness of character who spoke with a profound economy. How did he come to be arrested and shot in january of 1946 stayed home yarn services all of them. The armed services began then to recruit black men historian howard then revealed that not all joined with the enthusiasm of seventeen-year-old belvin norris. In january of 1943 and negro newspaper published the draftees prayer dear lord today i go to war to fight to die. Tell me what for dear lord i'll fight i do not fear germans or chaps. My fears are here. America. If the black soldiers believe that going to war for the united states woodard them respect is american citizens they were disappointed there were separate training camps and most often the new soldiers were posted in the kitchens drove trucks worked on the docks or musician on the rare occasion that they were given a skilled position. They never received pay equal to a white soldier. A negro college student told his teacher the army jim crows us the navy lets us serve only as mess men in the kitchen preparing food for thousands the red cross refuses our blood. Employers and labor unions shut us out. Lynchings continue we are disenfranchised jim croce spat upon what more could hitler do than that. What. Nothing. To say. But n-double-acp leader repeated this quote to a midwest african-american audience he didn't expect thunderous applause. The crowd. Applauded. For a full minute and he couldn't get them to quiet. The dream of equal treatment was deferred again while they were in the military. And now the dream moved into the future with everyone would return home victorious. From a 1944 letter by black soldier published in the new republic. Those of us who are in the armed services are offering our lives and our fortunes not for the america we know today before the america we hope will be created after the war. When the end of the war came and the american troops returned home. The black soldiers felt pride. If they were swept up in the celebrations honoring the veterans. It's served in the most powerful military on earth. They felt that power. They were more willing than ever to do what was necessary to create a life of freedom and fairness for themselves they wanted the life that the white population took for granted. And they're right. They returned to a country with shortages of everything including men's civilian clothes. Those who serve had to wear their armed services uniforms until civilian clothing their size was available again it was one thing to see a white person wearing a uniform proudly but there were consequences for black veterans wearing their uniforms. Forest society that was ready to return to the normalcy of life before the war it was frightening to see black men with new confidence in their step and new expectations for how they would be treated. During the first six months after veterans return to their home communities the number of black veterans killed by police increased so dramatically that it was reported. And we can imagine that there were more death then there were on record. This is a familiar story of conflict between black men and police unexplained deaths and incorrect record-keeping. In the december issue of the atlantic magazine. Tallahassee codes. Right in his article hope and the historian. Something that is very disturbing actually. Writers who commit themselves to only writing hopeful things. Are committing themselves to an a historical. And the mythical. White supremacy said is likely a permanent feature in america. The point here. Isn't that white supremacy won't ever diminish. Nor that it won't ever change form. The point is that it will always be with us in some form and the best one can reasonably hope for is that it will shrink in impact. Tanahashi coates arrived at this unwelcome conclusion. From an increasingly deep study of history and following the work of the brilliant black historian nell painter. His conclusion is in conflict with that arc of justice presented by most historians of color as well as progressive white historians naci. Throughout american society. Taylor branch a white male civil rights color challenges his audiences in a different way. Saying when we look at our past and the ways is civil rights movement open the door to the rights of women and gays and continues to give energy to our race conversations now what reason he asked do we have to not be optimistic or pessimistic. Unitarian universalist theology assures us that the actions we take. No matter how seemingly insignificant and even if we see no effect on our surroundings now will bring about change. Each person has at very least the power to be an example to others who know us and the reach of each life yours and mine that reach is not know. This is what gives me hope. For this reason i turned to taylor branch for his optimism. That's why i looked at him. Many black soldiers who came home from wwii laid the groundwork for the civil rights movement that envelop the whole country 15 to 20 years later a second world war ended everyone was reminded that was their patriotic duty to vote. President roosevelt occluded in every newspaper. The right must be open to all citizens irrespective of race color creed. Without packs or artificial restriction of any kind. In response to his proclamation well there was great hope in the african american community. But the government of alabama pushback. The state passed a law in 1945 protecting those who wish to vote specially those who were a color and their knowledge of the constitution. I want you to imagine the tension when after the war there was suddenly 10,000 new potential voter registrations and 75% of them. We're black veterans. White politicians and lawmakers were alarmed. Returning black soldiers were determined to receive the equality that have been promised many times and then denied. Black leaders brand citywide clinics to study the constitution and african-american population prepared coaching quizzing each other meeting together. January 23rd the black leaders held a victory parade in birmingham and they marched to the county board of registrars office and they carried signs join us to register and bring your discharge papers. But at the registration center they were turned away for small insignificant errors on their forms or mistakes fabricated by their examiners the right to vote was denied. It is in this climate of increasing tension but i'm february 7th k norris newly discharged from the navy just barely discharged narrowly escapes becoming one of the statistics i mentioned before it's an evening he never talked about his children although it was used by his brothers to teach their children never look the police in the face. The norris brothers got on the elevator of an entertainment club and an officer tried to stop their elevator by putting a stick in the door was closing and delavan knocked it away to allow the elevator to close. K struggle to keep the officer's gun in its holster and when the gun went off. K was shot in the leg. He was jailed five officers charged him with crimes he didn't do. But his family got him out of jail quickly it was a dangerous place. The records show. But he had nothing in his possession except his navy discharge papers in his pocket. When he and his brothers were released they left for the north because it wasn't safe for them in birmingham anymore. When he died michele found a medal of honor from his service in the navy hidden in his dresser drawer. But with this new story and her new understanding of her father she knew the significance now of a small copy of the constitution that he always carried in his back pocket when he was alive. Always carried it. And why he kept every years i voted sticker what she used to make fun of him for. As a symbol of freedom. Michelle norris feel that there were many reasons our parents built a wall of silence around the story of belvin norris's encounter with the police in birmingham alabama. Primarily her parents wanted to keep their children's lives free from their own pain. So as young black people they would not be held back. By bitterness that she witnessed in many of the black families. She interviewed. But michelle responds to their protection by saying i would have been a different child and likely would have been a different adult. She doesn't elaborate. And what she mean. I different. The grace of silence is to listen to what is unsaid. But she tells us that the power. Is found in understanding. Ultimately. Looking back to the word that stacy was using from the song. Is it being brave enough to speak and brave enough to vistana. And then to find that power and understanding that is when any change is possible as a project to hear what people are saying in there more private conversations about race. What we say in a public venue in front of a whole family at thanksgiving. For christmas or a big crowd. Can become posturing and sparring or shielding ourselves with political correctness or on the other hand becoming intentionally shocking. We're more likely to hide that subtlety questions disappointment. Or hope that might seem unrealistic. But when we dare to say what we really feel. Tell the stories of what we really experienced no matter what our race. When we are so brave. We will have the energy to keep at this task of shrinking the racism that will always be a part of our society. We need each other. We need to understand each other. At a new level. And you are invited to be a part of this conversation. There are cards waiting for your six words about race in the social hall. We're going to be sending our cards to the project at npr. At the end of the month. Invitation is open to youth they are going to be receiving the cards. Two renters. Midweek visitors choirs. And all of the audiences that come through our doors. Today and tomorrow. And the guests of the interfaith rotating winter shelter will be invited to write your six words. About race. In my six words. You're here as a part of our closing. The invitation is for you to go under the tent and bump into each other as you're reading the cards that are hung there that is a part of the experience to read the card as you walk out the door today. Invite you into time of prayer. Meditation. In the hebrew scripture. Jacob was traveling in the desert. He didn't know the future of his own life. The lives of those he loved. The night game. He slept out under the night sky. With his head on a stone. I did dream that there was a stairway that reach to heaven. And ascended to rest on the earth. And on that stairway he saw angels traveling to heaven. And earth. Heaven. And earth. The connection between heaven and earth ideal and the real. They're in our society in our relationships. In our own hearts. And spirits. We are climbing. What we do in our lives. Matters. I can take us closer to the beloved community. Had we yearn for now. When we stumble and fall we need each other to help us because we cannot always completely heal the world those we love our own pain and the long distance is hard we need to know that there is a strength that will not leave us that will travel with us all our days and nights and foursome that presence is god for others it is building that ladder with others to go to our idea when we can gain strength by expressing our doubts and our concerns our fears and convictions and know each other bravely because we are climbing this letter. Already holding hands take each other's hands and hear some six words say what you want to say and let the words fall out honestly i want to see you be brave with what you want to say. I will listen to your story. I'm white what do i say. My six words are in my notebook. Something like rethinking. Mayflower families mayflower rethinking pride and families mayflower trip gathering say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2013-06-23_Worship_The-Quest-for-Success-Satifisfaction_10_00.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons another recording from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at www.ge.com for further information. We come to the sanctuary to celebrate the beauty of the earth. And to be in community. This congregation comforts us when we know loss. Celebrate our best dreams. We bring our differences. Together we offer a fuller truth than anyone point-of-view. This is a place of challenge. And compassion. The holy is experienced here in many ways and given many names. People of all sexual orientations and gender identities are celebrated. We welcome all races classes and physical abilities. We have much to learn from one another. And this is a place of learning. A place of hope. Together we accomplish more than believed possible alone. This is a place of change. And whether because of the touch of a friend. The words. Music or moment of silence. May you feel more alive. Milton wrote this original service. 50 years ago. He revised it someplace for today service. To reflect the wisdom he's gained in the second half of his life. Differences in the two sturmans then one having been done on a manual typewriter. And the other shorter by about half. I would say he is tempered his revision with humility modesty. And real-world experience that we might call wisdom. After all he was younger than. Well most of us in this room when he wrote his original text. Likewise. I like to think we're i to go back 50 years. And revise some of my original thoughts. I think my words would bring a bit more humility modesty and real-world experience. Good morning everybody. When i was young. Right now take for granted. Mud shine ever had. In my home as a youngster. And then has a lad. Car radio cracker. No tv in that day. Come evening we just had to. Call. Google reader play. Note twitter. For facebook. No email or cell phone. How children and teens. Then survival. No fridge in my household. Wayback and that today. Just the cold chest the dripped. Has ice melted away. Telegrams served. Descend quick salutations. A slide rule was needed. To make calculations. $0.03 mailed a letter. Postcards were a penny. Power toothbrush. The microwave. Other word in it. No cortisone cream to smear on our pitches. No zippers. New velcro to hold up our britches. Replacements for worn-out old hips. And hearts. No. We had to make do with a rusty old parts. Clothes dryers here. When i was still small. No spin dry our timer. On the washers at all. Using equipment my father had bought her. Mom. Hand crank the ringer. To squeeze out the water. Not yet invented or copd. Bph. Dry eye. And the dreaded low t. Nope for women. What is overactive bladder. Was unknown then of course so didn't much matter men in their ignorance didn't yet know. The being ready to question local blood flow the dog and the horse. So who you. Fire and clothes. Oh yeah i'm not saddled. Rihanna love those. And there will be more. I'm being 95. I can't bend to retrieve things. I dropped on the floor. Where they eat that i could back in days long before. Root down there. I like it was way back when. A problem is how to get up again. I like it when stairs have a sturdy handrail. To steady myself. So my balance won't fail. Most days after lunch. I'm too sleepy to read. Philip knight it seems sleep is no longer need as i step in my pants now. Eileen can store. Graceful asana pawtuckaway i don't spoil. Adversities. My gifts tend to be things to eat. Health food. Oh no. Mostly stuff that is sweet. Porto's kenwood give to the walking dead. Ice skates a bath toy crayons. A sled. I walk through the house to my study. Define. Capricorn one was on my mind but pity me not there's an upside to this. There are perks to old age. One would not care to miss. I got lots more hugs and now than ever i had. As a youth on the prowl. Or a rambunctious lad. You see it is safer to squeeze an old geezer not act out slots that would likely displeased er i have children and grandkids. And they're young and still hold. I've not trade anyone from mountain logo. Kobe has not all that sad. I am grateful for. And please wear. The life i have had. So 50 years ago. I gave a sermon. To the davis unitarian fellowship. Titled the quest for excellence. I selected three world-class performers. And their respective fields. And held them up as things. Examples for each of us to emulate. One each from sports. Science. And they are. First was a renowned slalom racer uncommon zillow's. In 1936 my. Father was a manager of the american olympic ski team. As he took the along to the games. In garmisch germany. And none competitor called the forerunner. Was stan the first down a slalom course. And the olympics 4runner was undone zillow's. No competitor. What's the equal his time. After the games we went to the village of kiss boo. Where's elmo's had his ski school. And my dad arranged for me to have a private lessons from him. Second in 1960 i was on sabbatical. At university college in london. Part of my model was peter medawar. He had won a nobel prize. Headband arroyo medalist. Other royal society. And was director of the national institute. From medical research. Third i selected the prestigious. Violinist. Igor oistrakh. I had heard him perform and the royal. Albert hall in london. This sermon is that sermon retitled. Reflux. Largely written. If it sounds too familiar to any of you old old timers you have my permission to get up and leave. Well i now know that my general idea was not bad but that for one thing. My exemplars were poorly chosen. Our models. Must be relevant to our lives. Accessible. And their achievements not an order of magnitude out of our reach. Galileo. Bach. Michelangelo and newton won't do. I did not find xylose to be a good instructor. Too disinterested. And the eighteen-year-old from california. Medawar west of a different generation. Different culture. Different level of learning. As a boy i had cello lessons until my parents. And teacher gave up on me. Oistrakh and his violin were in a different orbit. Also. And importantly why selector several famous persons to emulate. My little great-grandchildren giving me lessons. An imagination. Wonder. Joy and freedom from inhibition. I do not come to this church to save my soul. That is no longer possible. I come because i admire so much of what so many of my friends. Do and say here. Tank from other people what you admire. I'm pass over anything that does not please. Now there are exemplary alives. All around us. My father was an eminent camus. On the uc-berkeley. Faculty. During my college years. We rode together to the campus each morning. He would ask. How did you do on the quiz yesterday. Did you get your midterm exam back here. If i answered yes and i got an a-minus. And after a pause he might say. Well what was it you didn't understand. At the end of a term he sometimes went to the registrar's office. To get my grades before they were available to me i hated that. Kid was not as though i was teetering. On the edge of scholastic failure. My grades were quite good. She was sometimes disrespectful. Do his frail aging mother. She had not been to college. Said some unreasonable things. Now and then he told a racial joke. I do not remember any time when i was growing up. And my father hugged me. Never lasts i was and am. Enormously grateful to him. For the example of his honesty. Industry. Achievement. Breadth of interest. Handle the academic life. We can learn not only from the example of the things we are meijer in people around us. But also some things we might criticize. An unfriendly neighbor. Remind us to be friendly. An egotistical acquaintance reminds us to be humble. It takes many blackboard diagrams. Draw drawings to teach comparative anatomy. My professor went to the lecture room. The evening before his 8 a.m. lecture. To fill the long black board with drawings. Using colored chalk. Cheats to certain. Structures in germ layers. In the morning we students had to copy them. And take lecture notes at the same time. Impossible. I learned enough to do that. When i talked to course. My students i started together from scratch. They're colored pencils. Clicking like chopsticks in a chinese restaurant. From time to time i pause scintilla clicking quieter.. So they would not get behind. Has a student in the lab. I had to use bits of modeling. Clay. As adhesive. To assemble the ankle bones of a cat. I doubted that the professor. Could assemble the ankle bones of unrelated animals. My students would not do that. Instead. Show them the ancestral pattern of ankle bones seen in some fossils. Unexplained that the patterns of that cat. Are all other mammals were derived by the loss of several bones. In diffusion of a couple of others. The textbook said that swans have 22 neck vertebrae. He author had read that someplace but had no idea i was sure. How many neck vertebrae do flamingos or an ostrich. I would write a textbook one day i then decided. That would instead say. That all mammals from the long-necked giraffe. Tabano neck dolphin. Have the same and number of neck vertebrae. Lengthened. In the giraffe. Call ash flat in the dolphin. Crass birds have more than any other animals. Although different numbers in different roof sanford. How did evolution. Create so many segments and bird necks. Did the ancestral segments split. Sharks do that in the tail. To increase flexibility. Or did the shoulder girdle and ribs. Shift backward along the spine. Just releasing back vertebrae in the neck. Some long-bodied lizards. Shift tail vertebrae in the back. I'm moving the pelvic girdle that way. The swan doesn't say. But for the exam remember. Has 22 neck for debris. You won't need to know. Anything about the ostrich of the flamingo. So nearly everyone can teach us good things. We just need to pay attention. And the grateful and appreciative learners. When i was a graduate student once. For myself and exercise. That was most rewarding. Throwing that i would be a professor. Soon teaching courses in which i was in a student. I selected about six of my professors. Who had contributed the most. Can a preparation for my career. And wrote down our valued each. I admired as waluigi professor. For the presentation of his lectures. It was easy to take good. Organized notes. When did not get behind. Are lost. A public speaking professor. The critical evaluation of ideas. At the nuanced meaning in such words as. Faith. Prejudice. And integrity. A paleontology professor. Introduce me. Two original sources. I traced the deliberate share the evidence. Presented by different researchers. His support of differing interpretations of the fossil record. Drew my own conclusions. To be defended in term papers. Important lessons emerge from this exercise. Each of these excellent teachers have made a difference. Contributions. To my own preparation to teach. It was evident that there is no one best way. Furthermore and more fundamentally. I know supplement the. Quest for excellence of my original sermon. With quest for success and satisfaction. Of course excellence and success are closely related. It takes excellus to succeed. In making the shortlist. The promotion. The part in the play. The position on the team. However to focus on success. Rather than on excellence. Makes one less dependent. On evaluations out there. And more responsive to feelings within. The bar for excellence is high. And fixed. The bar for success can be adjusted. Stop or down according to opportunity. Ability and interest. The teacher. Account. From waitress. Who runs a half marathon. Need only finish to succeed. Life should be an adventure not a contest. Excellence is more comparative. Success more personal. Dinosaurs usually an success often. Are recognized by contrasting a gifted individual. With persons of lesser merrick. The mere act of recognition. Elevation one. Antidepressants the others. So there may be risks to our quest. When one falls short excuses baby may. Many of us blame circumstances for shortcomings. Southside professors non-election. To the national academy. Maybe because he at is insufficient funds for research. Too many student papers to grade. Are too many committees to attend. As teacher i have heard. Many reasons students might give. Granada chiefing. Creepy hills mcstuffin book. I didn't see the second half of the question. Lack of opportunity is often blamed for failure. The best skier on the american olympic team in 1936. Have spent his summer. Skiing in chile and his witterick and switzerland. How could less-fortunate countryman. Hope to achieve his scale. How many young youngsters. Who are talented in music. Have for a father a concert musician of david oistrakh competence. Another kind of disappointment make cut deeper. Only person measures himself or herself against others. I finds that it is not opportunity. That is wanting. What native skill or ingenuity. Perry personal crisis is confronted. I have known c+ pre-medical students. To continue sending off applications. Grace third-consecutive there. Because i could not face up to this crisis. How many areas of achievement excellence is discovered in evaluated. Stopwatch. Tape measure art outer. By simple and indirect means one can assess. A person's x linda excellence as a pole vaulter. A provider ever get her. Horse student. Another kind of excellence this creative. This is the actual survey artist. Humanist and scientists. The scientific achievements. A1 age. Are not discarded by the next. They are instead corrected. Refined. I'm built into the foundations. Of their disciplines. A art and music of the masters. Living song. Excellent service chart is more difficult to recognize. And appreciate. Then is that established by measurement. We must study and train ourselves in order to evaluate wisely. I have heard a historian. Who could not so much as remember his high school algebra. Protester for the college of letters and science. Ted mathematics has nothing to offer. To general education. In order for the non-expert to recognize and appreciate accidents. Request must be made. To avoid mistaken our shortcomings. 4 shortcomings of atonal music. Unfamiliar styling poetry. Abstract art or whatever. When my state what one likes and dislikes. But my needs are judge the excellence of the work before him. Nor. Even the bait one's own capacity. To being rich tobias. Until an effort is made. When we will start by recognizing the personal access. Fun already has. How much job on camping trips in most families. Someone functions as the organizer an expeditor. Planning ahead for. Coordinating use of their car. Getting people off to appointments on time. Someone will say arbitrator comforter and peach baker. Chris good yuma. He's suspensions for all. Someone pays the bills someone cooks. Go to sleep proud of our row. A format with satisfaction. In addition to one's routine. This desirable to have a current project. What does not require. I just performed for its own sake. And the pursuit of which gives satisfaction. And the feeling of accomplishment. Some of you are studying a foreign language. Sunrise versus. Some play a musical instrument. Some soap quilts. Some paint some play tennis. I write the occasional sermon. It is well for everyone to have at least one rewarding project going. A hobby with a purpose. It is best hair ever. To concentrate on improvement. Not attend matt. Hon progress not completion. Let us be pleased by what has been accomplished. Not dismayed. Friday evasiveness of expertise. It is well for an objective to be out of immediate reach. It should be. A challenge. It is important however. Pettit be reasonable. I'm probably attainable. Intellectual climber and learn from the mountain climber. Who often risk islip. That might hurt. I've never a fall that would maim. Hey lester summit is selective. If the first proves to be unobtainable. And they hire conquest. When conditions are favorable. Direct ignition of success in other person's. 10 engine yet another hazard. Jealousy. I matter how hard i try they are better than i am. Chelicerae bb-. Is negative toward the object. And a negative toward oneself. However when jealousy mellows. And matures. Reorientation of attitude. Envy instead. Henry matures it becomes admiration. Admiration materials that they comes emulation. An emulation is doubly positive. Are there georgie object. I'm positive toward oneself. Not a hazard of the quest. It is a real war. Quest to achieve success and satisfaction take effort. What's a challenge he brings his own reward. In any event we do not pity the mountain climber. From the pack she carries. It will be as nothing when she stands in the summer. And surveys the scene below. The reward reward for the effort is i believe. Renewed faith in oneself. Helen mankind. And increase satisfaction. In such successes. Has one had has achieved. May you find it so. Because. The many joys and sorrows of this week karen. Has allowed me to do. Pastoral prayer. Join with me. Join with me. Spirit of love. God of many names. There are those among us in this community. Who are experiencing new beginnings. There is also great tenderness and. Pain. For our beginnings. Last night. At general assembly any cazalis received. Her first public. Unitarian universalist recognition of her readiness for ministry. Receiving preliminary fellowship that general assembly her eyes were shining. I promise to do ministry. And a beginning that i yearn for. That we will wait to see. The supreme court may they weigh. Their decision. About marriage equality to be. On the side of love. May that be a beginning. And our tenderness. From bob singers. First minister of this congregation. 50 years ago ordained. The same year that melt must have given this sermon. Bob sing us was recognized for 50 years in the ministry. And he spoke to hundreds of clergy gathered. He spoke about his love for this. His first congregation of first love. Both. Starting with gratefulness for the lives of claudia and chip. Once again their deaths. Are in the news. And once again we wonder about the how and the why. Some things are beyond our understanding they defy reason. And what can we do. We can grieve for claudia and chip again. And companion their families. We can grieve. For the life of the suspect daniel marsh. Young teen who lived in tremendous emotional pain. We can grieve for daniels family whose lives and whatever those lives hold. Will also be made public in the months ahead. If there is compassion in our hearts. All we can ask. Is to keep us open to seeing the human. That is still present. In a life of pain. All we can ask. Is to remain open to each other as we question what we could have done. Keep listening to the questions of our teens. To reach out. To take the goodness of the world into ourselves. To look for the good in each person around us and know it in ourselves. Perhaps there is closure. But what is revealed. Will it bring peace. To the hearts of the families. A claudia. And chip. This is the work of time. The wisdom found in the lives of others who have also lived through tragedy. And if found. Grace. A mysterious moment when we are knit together. Again. Part of us. Goes out. To those with beginnings. Does with tenderness. And those with pain. Part of them. Miss. Within us. And we hold each other and care and are held and i love larger than our understanding. Anime send and receive blessings always present. Always around us. Amen. Recipe. May we have the courage today. To live a life that we would love. To postpone our dreams no longer. But do it last. What we came here for. Amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-07-03-To-Creed-or-Not-to-Creed.mp3?_=5

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california website at www.sec.gov org.com asian. So enter rejoice and come in and don't be afraid of some change part of over going to see today is how much change there has been still is and probably will be welcome to our unitarian universalist church of davis work today we're looking at independence but today we're going to independence from religious creed how independent are we from creed's as unitarian universalist and doesn't matter where we are a newly discovered well in some ways it's newly discovered. Welcome welcome to the universe a place of caring and compassion of encouragement and challenge as unitarian universalist answers to the most important questions what do i believe and how widely can my mind be kept open to the wide span of what others believe we come together to create a unique community for this 1-hour the issues that surround us or sometimes overwhelming what might have been a burden becomes lighter welcome. Lighting our challenge this morning is an halsted who served as chair of the search committee to hire a new choir director today and is letting her tell us on behalf of the entire committee with special joy and honor of allison skinner who are thrilled to announce has accepted our offer to join our staff on august 1st as our new choir director or a mutual desire to please one god or many gods that we are drawn together by a belief that how we are in the world who we are together matters we light this chalice together in the knowledge that loved not feared can change the world i grew up without much of a faith tradition. Scholars have pondered hamlet's famous to be or not to be soliloquy for centuries few very few scholars livwell maybe only me has pondered on what shakespeare might have written if instead of hamlet pondering personal existence and if one should end one life and if you do then what happens if instead shakespeare had hamlet independent of creed into a nuke reedless realm and if one tries to and the creed for you or not to creed that is still our question. Join me now in the spirit of prayer meditation contemplation at our core we trust people are born into original goodness the world is inherently good we are one god the divine process theology humanism conscience that with each of us calls out as their name for the sacred is good we are not perfect and need help before short from the perfections of the above but not because of original sin which we have to overcome but because we are all inherently human and wish we find joy the world is not perfect and we are willing to help we find joy as we celebrate the progress we make individually and together we are looking for a community that can help us to see the beauty of creation when we lose sight of it and that can help us to bring others closer to experiencing the oneness that they to deserve we are a people who take pleasure joy and wisdom from being on the path with people's who spiritual path and life paths are different as we tried to bring ourselves each other and the world closer to the oneness of the above our community comfort sauce when we feel personal loss encourages us when we despair for the failings of the world and provides us a path as individuals to comfort others when they can benefit from us such community requires much from us divides much for us and both are key to our strong religious community as we strive to better serve the world and bring ourselves each other and the rest of the world closer to the oneness that calls we are apart of the turn of the earth the shift of the stars the pull of the sea and all change i invite you into a brief moment. The congregation take hands may we all be grateful for you you legacy that has enabled us to be together supporting our very theologies and a take this reconciliation into the world that's so needs what we offer amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2017-02-05-Shape-for-the-Spirit-to-Move.mp3?_=4

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. Community. Sing together. Quiet. Drinks for energy. The structure of a service. Purpose. And celebrate with us. Definition of a relationship on a regular basis. Which each and every person. Pieces. One another is powerful beyond our imagining structure community. A couple months working just. And mutual respect for all. Kindergarten and first graders and the second and third graders. Gratefulness. Despair. Spirit. When you hear that singing. I'm in our world. In the late 1980s my profession as an educator for international. Session. And i also come from a family of church musicians. I succeeded. For many years there was a preaching competition among the clergy surrounding 12. Station. And our congregation.. Mystery has been discussing agreements.

uudavispodcast_org

2016-01-03-Living-the-Question_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from the unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. Welcome this is a community where we challenge each other. Encourage each other. Support each other. Our work is to keep our site on the best we can be. In this place we are surrounded by a diversity of religious beliefs. God. Or whatever it is in which we place ultimate trust. Is different for each of us. And comes from my life experience. We celebrate those. Of all sexual orientations and gender identities. We welcome people of all races. Classes and political parties. And we will continue to work to build a world we dream about. And cherish the earth as our sacred home. Hi. We're on our way to vacation in sun beachside town you're driving down highway 1 the fuse of the ocean from the car windows. This was the first time the kids fought to ask the dreaded question. Not the word babies come from question that was straightforward. Is the other credit question. How long till we get there i gave him an answer about 30 minutes. And i'm three minutes later how long till we get there. I later learned that we'll get there when we get there is the appropriate answer but in this point in parenting i was still trying to answer their questions. So they asked again how long. And i answered as best i could they asked i answered. But they weren't really asking how long till we get there because i wanted to know how long till we get there. They're really expressing that they wanted to be there now. As we ask questions like what's the meaning of life maybe we're really expressing that we want. Our own life to have meaning. But sometimes you just have to sit back look out the window and appreciate the scenery. And you'll get there when you get there. So this morning i had something that i wanted to share with you that isn't quite pulpit material so i'm going to sit down here. I had a little bit of a problem last week and i wanted to bring it here and share it with you all. Because i was thinking what should i do what should i do and then i remembered i remember that little song about the uu principles and it goes. 3 we help each other learn. Foreign search for what is true. Right so i thought maybe you could help me search for what is true. So please help me i thought. I thought that i wanted to study a little philosophy because i want to be smart and so i was reading through my philosophy book and i thought let's let's let's learn about aristotle have you guys heard about aristotle. Some of you i'm really surprised if you haven't he's like the king of philosophy in for like hundreds and thousands of years people have been studying aristotle to learn about philosophy and i thought. Oh this is great if i learn about aristotle then i'm going to be smart. Good plan right. Does that make sense i heard some grumbling what that make me smart. No. Maybe maybe that's where i took my first wrong turn. So it's reading along and i was reading along and i came to this place. And i kid you not. It said that aristotle provided one of the most complete and thorough. Justifications for slavery in the history of philosophy. I was shocked. He said that some people were naturally born to be slaves. Can you believe that. I wanted to boo aristotle like right then and there. But he's aristotle write and and he's really smart for thousands of years people have been studying him and i'm just me. What should i do the book says the slavery might be okay. Female read more books that's a great idea. So i decided to keep reading cuz i wanted to make sure the aristotle really did mean that like maybe i just read it wrong or something. And it turns out he really didn't mean it. And then i kept reading and i found more things that didn't sound right either he said something about that that women have deliberative ability but it's without authority. And i was like so maybe that's my problem right cuz the book says i shouldn't be able to make decisions like that anyway is that what the problem is. Oh are you sure about that cuz i mean this is this is a philosophy book and the people in here really smart. And i don't have a doctorate degree in philosophy. I didn't think of it that way before that's why i love you people you're so helpful so i don't have to believe this guy just because people have been studying him for thousands of years. And i don't have to believe everything he says even if i'm not an expert wow i think you just solved my problem. Thank you. Be patient. Toradol it is unresolved in your heart. And try to love the questions themselves. Liked locked rooms. And like books that are now written and a very foreign language. Do not now seek the answers which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually. Without noticing it. Live along some distant day. Into the answer. So what questions am i struggling with. What questions do i want to live into being. One huge one for me is what does it mean to be a unitarian universalist. In relation to the first principle. In case you need a refresher it reads we are firm and promote. The inherent worth and dignity of every person. The how do i live this fence about into being in my life. If i looked for a l peter morales. A former intern of this church. The current president of the unitarian universalist association. The national face of our denomination. This is what i learn. We must be willing to pray with our feet. In 2010 i witnessed him get arrested. Fall protesting sb1070 in phoenix arizona. I thought wow he's really putting his faith into action. He is also taking a strong stand on supporting black lives matter. I quote from pastoral messages on the movement for black lives. On the uia website peter's words. I am inspired and moved as i see unitarian-universalist across the country. Stand on the side of love. As they stand alongside. Grassroots activists in the black lives matter movement. I see a example after example. Congregations and individuals. Courageously facing threats and vandalism. To those who have acted with courage. Thank you. You remind us of who we are. And what we stand for. This struggle is ultimately about respect for the inherent worth and dignity. Of every human being. I believe that displaying a black lives matter banner on our church grounds. By doing that we are taking a stand for all to witness. Where are saying black lives matter to unitarian universalist. We are saying we are against the unjust killings of black men and women. In the words of laura thompson our current internet minister. Uniting for justice of any kind requires courage. And conviction. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is what happens. Can we continue to do what is right. In the eyes of justice. Even though. We are afraid. Good morning. In letters to a young poet rilke was responding to a query. From a young officer candidate in military school who was drawn to a literary life. The life of a poet. The young man ask grilka for his advice. In one of his responses rilke said and i paraphrase. Don't seek the answers. Live the questions. What does it mean. As i pondered that question these past weeks i've come too many possible answers not to the big one where do i come from where are we going. What's it all about anyway. No i don't have answers for those i'll keep living with them. Instead what came to my mind was an experience. That didn't didn't even seem to have a question. And yet there was definitely an answer. A response. Many years ago i sat with my sister marilyn as she approached to death. Much too young after a year's battle with cancer. Our relationship had not been an easy one. She's a big sister nearly five years older than i and i little sister competing or so she thought for the attention of parents. But in her illness circumstances or maybe it was fate. Gave me the chance to sit with her for a few moments while everyone else was out of the room. I pulled my chair up beside her bed and took her hand. She who had struggled with weight much of her life. Was now so small. So frail. She asked me to put a small pillow beneath her head and somehow one hand new to lift your head and the other hand new to sleep the pillow beneath her head. I stroked your hand gently and we talk quietly about the simple things. Not about her illness and what shirley we both knew was her approaching death. Just daily stuff. And then the moment ended and it was time for me to leave. But the relationship with which so often had been rough. Had become. Smooth. What was the question here. Did i ask myself what to say or do for my sister. Had each of us wanted all those years to find a way to become close as sisters. Perhaps. No matter what does matter is that a response and answer to an unspoken question had come. Something in me had known what was needed. And responded. It was a simple answer. Be present. Suit in love with the sister with whom love had been so hard to share. I believe this something exists within each one of us and that if we live with the question even those not put into words. That something will bring us the answer. Not only in some distant day as real compromises but in the very moment that we need that one response. All we have to do is trust. In that something. No small task. Sew in reading real case words i'm reminded of the countrywide movement black lives matter as many of you know there's protesting towards the police violence going on in this country. How many black transgender people genderqueer people and cisgender men and women are being killed at the hands of policemen to the police. To do to racist policies practices and agendas. Today i dress my fellow white people. We need to help. We must question what we're doing or more specifically not doing about racism. Are we challenging the racism that we see and hear. Are we questioning our own prejudices. Are we listening to the needs of people of color and acting on those needs. Fema space patiently face these questions within ourselves. Asriel kid says being patient towards all the unsolved concerns and crises in our hearts is critical. It is so easy to get distraught by the fact that we can even be a part of racism. You can bring about guilt and sadness. But i'm sure that no one in this room once racism to prevail. Who must follow the lead of people of color. So how do we follow people of color. There are many ways to do so and we must continue to listen all of our lives but there are some concrete ways to help. First activism. This is something that white people is specifically been called to do. Show up to protest talk without with your loved ones about racism and make sure that your workplace in government act justly. Practice compassion. It is easy to see these injustice has been committed by her fellow way people and want to brief them and believe me done it myself. But it is a self-indulgent solution. What is most important is to treat others with respect so that they can listen to our message of love injustice. Most of all we must have compassion for people of color the people whose communities are being torn apart by these murders. You must understand that protecting and privileging people of color is a step towards justice. We must try to understand what it must be like to be part of a community that is being targeted and we must take steps. To help. In the way that we would help ourselves. Helping people of color in the struggle is living out justice through compassion. When we focus on helping others but at the same time treating yourself to introspection is self-care we can do more for people of color than we could ever have hoped. It is one of those strange instances in which introspection can benefit oneself and others. We will. We will leave the questions of justice and being answer to the problems of injustice. Consider what you can do for yourselves and others in your search. This is how we can leave some distant day into the answer of justice. Perhaps you will then gradually without noticing it. Liz abang some distant day into the answer. From my journal. I awoke this last december 26th. Remembering it was our 37th wedding anniversary. That we were married thirty-seven years ago when i was 37. And in the half-light of just abandon sleep. I revisited my wedding day. It began with a call from the board president at our church advising me that demeter had been hospitalized on christmas day. Was unable to clean up after the all church potluck. And they had no replacement. Shortly afterward ron's daughter and called. Announced she was pregnant. Had severe morning sickness and would be unable to help set up the social hall for the reception. Disaster. I told the groom to grab grab a broom. Ron and i rolled up our sleeves and hit the church running. He vacuumed mop and buff the floor is in the social hall. Well i scoured the kitchen and together we arrange the tables. Then he left to pick up the cake 15 potted poinsettias corsages tablecloths. And bouquet. Well i stapled the skirt to the bride's table spread out the table claws arrange the chairs and chill the champagne. We then unpack the cake and place the poinsettia and two candles on each table and had the social hall ready just in time for the wedding rehearsal at 2 p.m.. After the rehearsal my nephew bob who was our pianist said to me. I can't believe how calm you are with everything that's gone wrong. I looked at him and said bob there are no reduce at a wedding. We're getting married at 7 p.m. no matter what happens. Whatever goes well as wonderful and whatever goes wrong will evolve into the stories we tell about the day we were married. Those were the pre-wedding disasters after the guests have departed we realized we had neglected to arrange for a clean up crew. And a hotel. We rolled up sleeves up this time in full reading regalia and with the help of two facebook friends clean the church again. It was well after midnight when we finished the draw the job and crawled into an available room at the local hilton hotel. And i still think best wedding ever. This year the convergence of 37 has added up to an epiphany. Lately i have tired of the story of my first 37 years. The story of me is a child of alcoholics the story of me and therapy as a divorcee as a single mother. I think the story of my life parallels the story of our wedding somehow and the answer i gave my nephew and 1978 has been lived out in the 37 years since. There are no reduce in life. Whatever goes wrong evolves into the stories we tell. Perhaps i have as realty suggest. Gradually without noticing it. Lived along some distant date into that answer. I'm come to understand those words and their larger context. These days i think best life ever. Thank you. Now i invite you into a time of prayer. A time when you can put down the burdens you have carried this week. A time to breathe deeply. The relationship that's so often had been rough. Had become smooth. We will live the question of justice. And become the answers to the problems of injustice. Whatever goes well as wonderful and whatever goes wrong will evolve into the stories we tell. We live in a hurting unjust world. When were the value of one's life. Depends on the color of one's skin. There has been a loud call for justice. For all that are in pain. I offer these words. To god. Or allah. And whatever you feel to be holy. Take our precious souls. And hold them. In your love. Cradle s. Andaman swarms. And comfort. Because we are wounded. Give us the strength to bear witness. To the hatred. Anger and intolerance in the world. Give us the power to heal from these wounds. Faith to believe in the goodness of all people hearts to love those we have been taught to hate. Courage to stand on the side of love we can heal together. We can learn together we can work together oh blessed being guide us to that place of oneness. I'm in going piece blessed be. Give us the power to heal from these wounds. Give us face to believe in the goodness and all people. Give us courage to stand on the side of love. Amin. And blessed be.

uudavispodcast_org

Worship-2012_08_19-10a_ED-1.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. Four-wheeler 4 hours out on a trail and i hear these teenagers. Because they are jewish. New york city. Anna singing a song that has a story to it and i seen a song that is really pretty radically left. Socially. And i went up to the young woman and i said so where did you. What what are you saying. And she told me. I said words to learn that song until my dad heard it. Inner record store when they were record stores. Any but a record. We loved it so much that he memorized it. Couldn't sleep. She would sing it to us. Andronicus to sleep. And the oldest is 20 now and she said. I usually couldn't sleep and after that. 10 p.m.. That was his shift. Verizon. And the song was. You can. You can travel and country or hard. Love you. Youtube. Youtube. Buchanan's shoes one special one. Find when you're done. I'm googling the face of women from men. I thought. Is out there. Well let me confess. There are definitely some circumstances where money can make me happy. And for sure. Not enough. To make me very unhappy i know. What's enough is an interesting question when your dad is dying from alzheimer's. Gets really complicated. Cause my dad alzheimer's progressed. Had to be taken out of the house. Away from my mother i did not take him out of the house. Just because he'd come after me with a knife asking my mother who the hell is this and should i kill him. Delica dealer. 3 a.m.. My phone rings as a short message on my answer phone it was my mom. Like i just wanted to let you know that if you were to call me i can't answer the phone i'm waiting outside in the car until your father comes down okay if i love you bye. Wholesale case i went back to sleep. No actually i got in the car and go down and by the time i got there. Tooth back in the house a little bit surprised why i was there. Reassured me that everything was fine. Everything was always fine. The stuff in the house had gradually been breaking morin morin. Now i was certain what was going on i couldn't hide it anymore it wasn't the 50 cats everything was not fine. However it takes money to send someone. Plus alzheimer's someplace to live. We didn't have enough but we squeezed by based on a small trust that added to the social security it covered it for a while. But then the trust was about to run out. And this was this not enough money can make you a little bit unhappy circumstance. Well little bit difficult finding gratitude this point in my life. The attendants were not good my wife and i had to work just to pay our bills. Really didn't have enough money keep my dad and mom okay. The hospice ended just about at the money ran out. It was movie timing. We've been able to care for him well just barely. Others are not so lucky. And i would have suffered last with more money. I'd like you to join with me. The satisfy the many important things that you carry with you throughout. The week. The worries. And the joyce. I just step back and look at life. From the perimeter and not the center where we so often live i invite you to pray with me. Blessed spirits of our lives. May we find strength. When life. Is a struggle. With others. And within ourselves. Even then. Especially then. Maybe live with dignity. Integrity. And find a calm place. Within. When everything around us is in chaos. Clear vision to push away to push away the fear. And the confusion. When we are restless. And life loses its center mystery spirit of love and life make your home in. I felt go to the larger world. The young adult. Undocumented population in our country. Who are given reason for joy. A program. That legalizes their presence even if it is for only 2-year increments. And gratefulness. For anti-racism trap team for last sunday's letter in the enterprise condemning the july hate crimes in davis. Any hold in our hearts the syrian people for the war that rages in their country. And as we move into our election season. And the candidates are now known. We yearn. We yearn for an election with respectfulness and integrity. Spirit mystery. Still quiet voice within. It isn't giving expression through my lips. Instant message closest to my heart. It's with me when i comfort others call it compassion. Guide my life and no words will be my map. When the light fades. I love i love. Jesus was speaking to his disciples. According to this one verse from matthew chapter 19 24 which is. One of the more hotly. Debated and discussed. Verses in the gospels. This is from the gospel of matthew 19:24 again i tell you it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Temper someone who is rich. To enter the kingdom of god. This last week. Nevermind. Young adult. In cities. And towns across the united states. The lions were not for the opening night of the most recent movie. On wednesday. The department of homeland security. Accepted applications for a 2-year protection for those who were born in this country and remain undocumented residents. The deferred action for childhood arrival. Gives relief. From deportation for unauthorized immigrants who are 30 years old or younger. And arrived in the united states before the age of 16. Every person who they accepted into the program can also apply for permission to work. In this country and employment is key. For their future. Chicago's navy pier was. One major place where these young people lined up. To submit their applications in the midwest. Some came on tuesday and slept wherever they were in line. And a line extended for the better part of a mile. He went the full length of the pier. Through the park. Downthe lakefront bike path. Add another quarter mile to the south. The organisers had no idea. But they would be such an outpouring of people. What america is discovering. Is that there are more. Undocumented young people. Then we realized. 320,000 are expected to apply at this time. And perhaps over double that number in the future. But a story i want to tell you it's not really about statistics. I didn't mean program. It's about one young woman. But this backstory helps you to understand her sense of purpose. And the death of her joy. Everyone in this line. And in the line that forms. In many locations across our continent or rather in these united states. Kohl's. Birth certificates. School transcripts. Plane tickets. Promenade first came into the united states. All kinds. A documentation marking their history. They are from nigeria. Brazil. The dominican republic. But the majority are from mexico and central america. Most people in. This line. Speak only english. And this country. Is their only home. The richmond. The camel. The eye of the needle. It's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the gate to paradise. A place where there is julian safety new fear. Brothers justice. The door through which we go to find the very best in life. But i would have you think what is paradise for you. According to the author of matthew the rich can't walk through that door unless they're willing to leave behind their attachment to well. But now. The young woman. In washington dc. When twenty-three-year-old evelyn rivera. Speaks to the reporters she exudes. She exudes hope and passion. She's the organizer of united we dream. And she has just received the gift of more freedom than she has known since she was in middle school. That's when she discovered that she. Was the only child in their family who is undocumented. She overheard her parents talking it when she confronted them they reveal that her two sisters were born in the united states. She and her undocumented mother were in columbia when she was born. And they re-entered the country when she was three. Have a family didn't want her to worry. They wanted to have a normal childhood. And so they didn't tell her. And see her family did leave live a normal life. Assuming that the laws would change. So she tells reporters. I didn't tell anyone and i continue to just love studying. And love my friend. However she continued i could ignore the differences until i reached high school. So many of the other kids. Start planning for college. And saying where are you applying. And i had to make up story. Thing that i didn't know where i'd apply because i had to take the sat to get better test scores. I started to lie to hide my status. On wednesday she reports that her application is in. An attorney has reviewed her papers. The post office receipt is the best piece of paper she has ever. Held in her hand. And she tells the world. This is an opportunity for every dreamer capital d dreamer. Not just all of us who have dreams. To give back to this country they love. Assuming that she will be able to work. Just support herself she plans to return to school and study and provide for her family. We all know this is an election year. And when asked what would happen if the administration changes. And it's program is reversed. She tells the reporter something that shows. Her tremendous belief in this country. It's too much power in the youth now. The dreamers and all of our allies. I'd in our stories. Nothing this exciting. Could ever be taken away. She is so clear. What it means to be in paradise. No longer lives with fear. And for two precious years she has documentation that reflects. Where she knows. She belong. She is surrounded by those who give her life meaning. Her life. Has a purpose. And everything everything is focus. On that purpose and she is hardly wealthy. Her life is not perfect. She passes through that narrow gate that we heard about that eye of a needle and she is living and experience of plenty. A safety of trust. One of the things that she speaks about repeatedly is her ability to legally work. Money can't buy love. But it is a powerful tool for a good life. And i was telling people before. The service did if i stay that money is good. They're at least five people listening today who will be really angry with me. And if i say money is bad. It'll be at least five people will be really angry money is a hard topic it's kind of like mother's day and father's day. Money can't buy love. But it is a powerful tool. For a good life. The role that money or any resource imagine any resorts in your life. Blaze in our lives is important. And it is a spiritual matter. Great conversations about money are really great conversations about what matters most in life. Whether we have it or not matters. And money is john said. Can buy happiness. When someone says it's only money. They usually wrong one author wrote. Our feelings about money run deep and they are often complicated it breaks up marriages families friendship. Communities. Even countries. Think about the world right now. To researchers from princeton university. Daniel kahneman. The 2002 winner of the nobel prize in economics. And angus deaton. Past president of the american economic association found answers to the question of the role of money and bringing satisfaction. Someone's life. Research was gathered on no less than 600,000 household. Happiness. Satisfaction with life. Increased along with income only up to $75,000. Now some of you who love numbers will be thinking well $75,000 might have me living in a garage in san francisco and it's true but they did this a nationwide study that was not focused just in the bay area. After a certain point in this is the bottom line. After a certain point of stable income money doesn't buy war. 1 lakh. Happiness. The research shows that money can buy this happiness up to $75,000 and something changes. And what changes is we simply start repeating. And expanding on what we already possess. We've heard of conspicuous consumption consuming for the joy of it. When what we possess possess is us. It can be felt. In the dynamic of keeping up with the joneses it's witnessed in the line of people who wait to upgrade their iphone for the new version which will be coming out in mid-september just in case you're interested in i may meet you in the line. One financial consultant carl richards from utah is a skiing in theseus. He wrote of how many sets of skis. He had for any particular kind of snow. You're all lined up on his garage wall and one morning at the student front of the skeeve pondering which one would be the best for the particular smell of that day his friends were in the car shutting carl. The morning is a wasting the snow is softening the right choices key has changed three times since we got in your driveway. And within the month. He gave away all of his keys. Except for the ones that. That would be the best under most circumstances. His culture. Our culture. Says that we need it all. He decided that he needs that simplicity. 1. Even if it is imperfect for every situation. What i worked in south korea the assistant to the language lab where i taught english had one. Carefully chosen dress. For the warm half of the year. And she had a second one. For the cold season she wore that dress to work out to tea shops with her friends and walking to the buddhist temple. I lived out of a few boxes and suitcases for those years and i had three dresses per season equals 6 total for the year that were purchased in seoul. Design for korean modesty. Three dresses for half of the year. It was more than my assistance when heck could understand or imagined. I don't think that i was three times more satisfied with my life really. Carl richards with all of his skis. Write the blog for the new york time. Did language is simple and his diagrams are images of pen drawings on napkins. Reading his writing is if you're sitting across from him. At the kitchen table. Most of us he says have choices and how we use our resources of money. And even if those choices are painful they are still choices. It may be as fundamental as the decision is saying yes or no to paying our mortgage. In the height of the foreclosures. Some people were playing a game of dare with the banks. And financially came out better for walking away from their home. With a financial advisors recommendation they made the decision. To put their financial resources elsewhere. And carnival rides that rather than saying i can't afford. We say. I'd rather use my money. I'd rather use my resources for something different. Very different. Statement. How we use what. We have available to us. And how we understand our control in making those decisions shape our identities. It's human being. Rachel naomi remen jewish physician and author was one of many religious leaders interviewed six months after the onset of a 2008 recession. When asked how we can keep our courage and resolve through loss. Her response resonated with me. The way to see ourselves through times of limited resources any kind of resources is to ask. What can sustain me. What represents my most cherished. Values. She said if you can't answer those two questions clearly. For yourself. Do whatever you need to do to gain self-knowledge. She said stop wasting money. Stop wasting your time and your energy on what doesn't really matter to you. There's a dynamic that happens for everyone. Money. Can buy you happiness. When title that i read. If money doesn't make you happy. Then you probably aren't spending it right. I will say it again how we spend our resources. Including money. Sheet identities. As human being. If it is used in response to fear. Then we gather it. Beyond the senses security. Quiet are nightmares. If we live in response to the message of advertisement. Then we are responding to greed. And we are caught up in the never-ending cycle of consumerism. And we honestly will never. Ever have enough. When you see money as giving us choices. And connection. Then it is truly truly powerful and transforming. When we give to planned parenthood. Forgiving. People the opportunity to make more choices. To have more power. When we give. To the unitarian universalist legislative ministry. We're helping people to make decisions. We give them more power. When we give to the sexual assault and domestic violence center. Let's talk about choices. That we are giving other people. People. We may never know. When we give to this church. And i'm told there's an opportunity to do that today. We do the same and i want to tell you in case you don't know. That we sent for young adult to general assembly. We raised rule money than with needed. Defend for young adults to general assembly and i had ministers coming up to me. A general assembly saying i want you to know. How much the gift your church gave change the live. The young adults you sent. They are telling everyone. My church. Sent me. Here. I am so excited. And grateful. This church. Did that. You opened up for them. More choices. You gave them more power. Then you may ever know. When you give to a friend who cannot help himself right now. We are giving with power. We understand ourselves to be connected. We need one another the reading says in our hymnal all our lives we are in need and others are in need of us. Money is one of the tools. Bbc to be one passes through the door to paradise. I'm changing the kingdom of god. To paradise. Into the existence of justice are contentment. The clues come from that life of the undocumented twenty-three-year-old. Evelyn rivera. Started out art sermon. Every resource i read this summer came to a similar shared wisdom about our money and how it can give our lives munich the language was different. Sometimes with paper napkin grass and. Ruthie sometimes with research and all kinds of numbers than grass and sometimes be a logical language. But first before i give you the answer to the question of what is the universe in the meaning of the universe first time. Whether you have money. Whether resource of time or a particular talent. Doesn't measure your worth as a human being. They are sources of power and energy but they do not measure character. The pastor the door define the paradise that i heard emanate from the voice and the presence of evelyn rivera. We need to use what we have. To do these thing. First decide what really matters. To have the hard conversation. The line what we do with our values how many skis we have in the garage. The benchmarks for success shown by advertising and i in the lifestyle of others will no longer matter. If we are clear. About what is a ultimate importance in our lives. For evelyn. Restore you have heard. The focus of her life. Is incredibly clear. Brown safety the presence of a loving family the ability to live here or desire for others to have the same. All of her resources all of them are directed to this particular life of meaning. Although there are exceptions to this next recommendations. Experience matters more than objects. The recommendation was by less plastic. And gather more memories. Invest in relationships. Make sure that our money supports the relationships that give your life meaning. Visit family. Give joy to friends. Whatever form that takes. And support organizations that amplify our present and our connection in the world. And the greater the resource. The each one of us has. The greater the responsibility to carefully inspect our values. Create experiences to deepen relationships support organizations that bring the world into alignment with our loftiest ideal. And to continue reaching out. It isn't how much money you have that dictates whether you can walk through that door to paradise. It's available for even the most wealthy. The bottom line to the message. We have to be willing to loosen our hold on what we possess. Those who hold onto their money beyond their need. Forget. What is important. And they are always on the outside. Looking in. For each one of us. We are call to live. In the place. To create. A place. But i deep gladness. And the world's deep hunger. These words by frederick buechner often spoken to ministers and each of us has a ministry. We are call to move in the place. And to create the place where our gladness. And the world's deep hunger meat. And to do it with whatever. We possess. Maybe so. Any men. Nearby to take cancer on the room. These words from 1st corinthians 16. Keep alert. Stand firm in your face and be courageous be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. But the gathering say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

Worship-2012_07_01-1115a_ED-1.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. do you davis. org for further information. If you read your weekly bulletin which all of you did then you're aware that my name is erica. Play to read your order of service you realize that the worship associate. Today is me john ashby our worship leader. Is lucy bunch lucy is an assistant that you see davis. A 2011 graduate of star king. Has interned at the uu church of palo alto. She'll be ordained this summer in sacramento in her free time she sings with the master singers in sacramento. This is her fourth time singing her not speaking here. The first about actually just singing too are we looking for that. The first time she was 19. 1995 almost the same. What is the first time speaking here as a minister. I gave up the assistant dean job to go into the ministry so i can no longer claim that title. It's great to be there this morning on this glorious day. Offer you a warm welcome as his congregation is always extended to me and i invite you to turn in crete. Those around you especially reach out to people that perhaps you haven't met before so let's rise and greet each other. Little while back my wife and i visited bryce canyon. Those of you who haven't been. Are probably sick and tired like i was up here and everybody who's gone talk about how it's so amazing something like words can't describe it blah blah just goes on and on. And those of you who have. Understand how magnificent it is well i can give you the reason it is there. Years and years and years of the wind whipping the sand against this cliff has slowly worn parts of the clip away leaving bryce canyon. It's even more interesting because the sand grains that created bryce canyon. Word from the bottom of the cliff. But actually came from thousands of miles away. Won't all the way from the east coast in fact than we have our geology specialist here to correct me if i month now. Trying trying conjure up the exact plan for controlling the wind transmission of dust from the east coast of bryce canyon then you've got to apply mikelangelo technique of chipping away everything that doesn't look like bryce canyon. And you've done it. It's explain that's the reason. Well that's part of the reason. Why is it. Here. Now when i happened to be here what walk for me. In a few million years. About the eldridge can tell me about how many million years. And a while anyway bryce canyon going to be bryce pile of dust. Or something else but it won't be bryce canyon anymore. If i happened to be. Man. Not now. What would bryce be to me what i missed bryce canyon woodlice pile of dust vs incredible. Can't be sure. Don't know the reason. I just know i'm glad i'm here when bryce canyon. Looks like that. Now. The prickly pear cactus. You're the reason this is right. Is it when you live in the desert. The summer is something you try and survive through the sun is your enemy. In the desert. In summer. Winters the time that you grow and prosper. So in the wild. Prickly pear cactus is grow and they orient their axis east to west. This is so in the summer when the suns. Straight up and above. It minimizes the amount of sun. Beating down on the cactus the cactus is actually its own shape. Men in the winter when the sun is down lower and passing like that anyone's the sun. So the plant has a chance to grow as much as it can. Now it gets the most it gets the most sun. That's the reason. Part of the reason. Of course. There is more. I'm going to sneak in another reading here for you cuz i couldn't resist this is from sharon park. I have a couple of rumi poems and i want to share but. I'm going to start with this sharon parks reading from a wonderful book about a faith development in young adults. Call brady dreams. As human beings we find ourselves again and again on the thresholds of time. Space and the unseen. Despite the massive evidence of the mundane. The ugly and the fearful in our experience. At the core of the human spirit lies an amazingly resilient intuition. That there was more for us to live into. To embrace and be embraced by. We sense that we participate in possibilities wider and deeper than we have yet realized. The creative work of our own lives. A more profound ordering of justice. Richard loving of life and its manifold forms. Time. The world as it is. And the world of space and cents. Awaken & s or longing for profound participation in a coherent. And holy universe. And now we turn to a couple of rumi selections from rumi poems these are both from unseen rain and they've been translated by coleman barks. Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there's a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about. Ideas language. Even the phrase each other. Doesn't make any sense. For years copying other people i tried to know myself. From within i couldn't decide what to do. Unable to see i heard my name being called. Then i walked outside. The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don't go back to sleep. We're going to sing again this is number 134. Our world is one world and nancy will play it through for us. As john was introducing me he talked about how i've completed my training for the ministry. Actually just a few weeks ago i completed my internship at the uu church in palo alto. But an important part of the training for ministry is a hospital chaplain experience. Are you have to do one unit which is essentially the equivalent of 10 weeks full time and i was at sutter hospital in sacramento for that. in the summer of 2010. Do they teach you as you prepare to be a hospital chaplain. About the experience for people in the hospital. You going to the rooms and you know only what's on the little sheet they could give you a sheet they say. Their age their race. What religion they are which i learned was more often than not wrong. Something about their diagnosis. So what you do know is that for most people being in the hospital is a really scary time. They're they're often there whether it's for a even an elective surgery or some kind of emergency surgery or. They're there their they're very vulnerable. They're not in their comfortable home there is a place where you be there waiting for test results. It is over there they're waiting for the surgery that's going to happen the next day it's a very. Super challenging time for people and they train you as a hospital chaplain to to tune into that in and be responsive to the needs that they may express in that place of vulnerability. So after a few weeks of my chaplain experience. I started realizing there's there's kind of three different ways that people. Respond to that experience because it this is the time when people actually become quite religious even if they're not religious when they enter the hospital. Today was the first group that i called will of god struggling. These were the people who had some religious background. I'm generally with a an idea of a of a single god who had some role in the world. But they they weren't the most religious people until their version was. I don't understand why god would have this happen to me i'm struggling with this idea that god has chosen that this thing that. Is scary and difficult for me is happening and i don't i'm struggling with that. Then there's the group that i called will of god accepting. These were the most profoundly religious people. And as a chaplain and i would just pray with them and they were often better prayers than i was as a unitarian universalist. But they they would say i know god has a plan for me i know god loves me i know that what has happened to me now sits in with god's plan and i trust god that everything will unfold according to his plan. And then there are the people the unbeaten religious types. Who. We're struggling to find meaning and what happened to them. And these were the people that more often or not when called upon to understand what was going on with them would say. Everything happens for a reason. There was one guy in particular that i want to talk to you about in the service he had come in he'd had some. Certified emergency surgery. And was. Pretty traumatized by it the surgery and what happened to him had meant that his life was going to not be the same going forward he wouldn't be able to do the things that he's done he he wasn't going to be able to to live his life there was going to be a fundamental change. And he was one of the he embodies for me the everything happens for a reason guy. That was what he was struggling with when i visited with him. So i came to think of that phrase everything happens for a reason to be the secular version of it is the will of god. Delicious think about that for a minute. What are we really saying when. Everything happens for a reason. Where does the reason come from who who creates the reason who makes the reason. Doesn't imply somehow that there's some force that. Is making this reason some force it is outside of us. Most of the people who were using that phrase for asking that question. Didn't want to have a c logical conversation with me so i'm sharing with you the thought process around that. So how does it feel like when somebody would say something like that to you you've had something happen in your life. And. It how it's really challenging and difficult for you and they take your hand and they say. Everything happens for a reason. Is that a comforting. Thing to think about yeah it's not particularly comforting for me either. And you know it's not really consistent with ruu values. We talked about a free and responsible search for meaning it's at castora klee you use got away from the idea of a divine presence that decides for us that was that was some of the original thinking of our unitarian and universalist forbearers that we're we're participating in in making that reason we're participating in creating our own lives. The god is a part of that but but not the present omnificent. Creature being that controls our lives. Everything happens for a reason. Let's think a little bit about that. What could be some of the possible reasons that everything happens. Maybe you deserve it. Right i mean isn't that kind of the background of that maybe you deserve it maybe you did something good. And you deserve something good maybe you did something bad and you deserve something bad. How many people here in the sound of music. Oh good okay great. Nappy played the itch of the opening the main song of sound of music for us today in the sound of music. I'll take you back to my. Came out in like 1965 i think so i was probably. 87 the perfect age for the sound of music right. So i remember there's the scene i want to tell you about is the one where member maria and realizes she's falling in love with a captain right and then account is comes in and schemes and talk to her tell her it's a terrible thing you have to leave and none shouldn't fall in love and then she goes back to the abbey and then she comes back. And there's that scene it's out on the gazebo never and they're dancing and they're doing some sort of a traditional austrian dance and then they're caught up in each other's arms and they're looking in each other's eyes and they share this beautiful kiss made my little 8 year old heart flutter. So how does the song let me tell you the words to the song she thinks since. It goes like this. I might have had a wicked childhood. I might have had a miserable youth. But somewhere in my wicked miserable past. I must have done something good. The pink romantic moment and she's fixated on this idea that she doesn't really deserve this good thing happened or she did something good she did something good and therefore this positive thing was happening. I'm using the sound of music as an example but you know if we think about some of our american values. Really being played out now in these. Rich vs poor and a lot of the immigrant rhetoric. Is around this idea of. Who deserves what. Right i mean i think there's some energy some. Some subtext that people were homeless people who are on welfare somehow. I've done something that. Makes it to the they deserve that sort of experience in their life or that they have not done the things that they should do in order to deserve it right they've not made the right choices they've not been whatever. Whatever the judgments are around that. Similarly i think we. Prosperity good fortune i think. You know what is a culture. And maybe it's a human thing that. We we think somehow that people who have prosperity have. Done something to deserve it. Everything happens for a reason. Alright if we've agreed that there's no real grand plan. There's no god that is deciding. What happens to us as you use at the fundamental idea for us. So let's go to the opposite direction let's try this. Everything is random there's no greater meaning to anything. No some scientists may tell you that. On the edges of science were we're saying that it's not a strictly that might have been an idea from years ago and i'm sure there are scientists here who will help me with my understanding of that after. After the service today. But myself i couldn't live without idea that everything is totally random that everyday is random and i think as human being. We really need to believe that. What we do have some meaning. And that there's some order to things. Those people in the hospital that are struggling i think they like to believe that. Their suffering has some meaning. That the challenges that we face in life are not without value not without meaning in some way. Finding that meaning is the challenge of our lives. Finding that meeting in the things that happen to us as we as we move through the years. The philosopher richard neighbor says. Diffident to deny the reality of a supernatural being called god is one thing. To live without confidence in some center of value. Without loyalty to a cause. Is another. To live with confidence about the center of value is called faith. Human life is about meaning-making. You know we live our lives we have so much input that comes into us just on a physiological basis sight-sound smells emotions. Words we just are bombarded with things and. Constantly trying to make meeting out of that organize what we see and experience. In a way we create our own reality by how we process all the input of information that receive. And in our lives. Working through our experiences. The meaning that we develop becomes deeper and broader and includes more more ideas more concepts. This is faith development. This is finding the core of who we are. And building on that and every experience that we have every challenge that we have helped us to redefine it to build it to make it deeper and stronger. Everything happens for a reason. But i want to say that maybe we make the reason. We make sense of the reason. When challenges come our way and and life doesn't insult like we expect it to we reshape our understanding of the world and we reshape our place in the world. Our faces and reorder. It's like we're weeding a fabric of our life as the years go by and with each year with each. Experience each triumph each failure that fabric it. Denser the colors get richer and it gets stronger. You know when we're young you start out i know this is true for me you start at when you're young and you're 20 saying you're a college graduate you have all these grand ideas i'm going to be by the time i'm 40. And then it and then the dominoes. Don't fall. And. Some people experience that as failure. That their life is not unfolding the way they intended. But other people build those experiences into their life and we've that fabric weave it into a strong. Brilliant brilliantly colored base from which they can move forward. Parents you see this with your children when they reach a certain age you know you want their lives to be free from difficulty. You know you don't want them to suffer a lot of the same things you did but you also know that you wouldn't be the person that you are today if you hadn't gone through those experiences if your face. In what is important in the world hadn't been challenged if you had required to reorder things. I think that's what people mean when they say everything happens for a reason. Is there a. Everything happened so that we can figure out what that experience means that we can weave that fabric we have integrated into our lives and go forward in a stronger way. Like a dialogue with yourself in the world. Rebuilding reweaving. My fellow i'm in the hospital my everything happens for a reason fellow. I saw him a few days after his surgery and he was doing a lot better. He was you could tell one of visit teach you is to look for lighter and brighter faces their more there more present their their faces more animated. And he was telling me about. He was telling me about the how he was going to do things differently and how he saw the error of his ways essentially how he he he saw things now and this was a chance for him to start over again. He saw an opening he saw a possibility for going forward. And that opening. That opening is called grace. That moment of grace wins. Your stocking what is this thing that's happened to me where do i go from here and suddenly things kind of fall into place you see new possibilities you see how your life can take new directions. So let's go back to the sound of music. We're going to rewind the tape 2. When maria first leaves the captain's house and goes back to the abbey so this is after the the countess assertive you know connived to get rid of her then she goes back to the abbey and remember she hides and and it was like she never prayed before suddenly she's praying all the time what's going on with her superior and she tells her story to the mother superior and then. Pink floyd another peak scene right. But then what did she say to maria. Witchy urges maria to go back she says. When god closes a door he opens a window. Now there's another phrase that we here. We are quite a bit right people use that as a it's not the end there's other possibilities. Open the windows is it expression of grace that opening of the window is an expression of grace. So when there's no god in our configuration when there's no. God the puppet master who's organizing and making everything happen who opens the window. How does that window get opened. I would argue that we are the window openers. Where the window openers for others and others are the window openers for us. We're co-creating our lives with all the beings that we interact with all the beings whose lives touch-ups in all the myriad of ways as we go through the years. This is what we call unitarian universalist call the interdependent web of all existence. That interconnection that way that we are all one thing that you do affects people you don't even know about through those interconnections. Rumi says. The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the doorsill. The door is wild is round and open. Don't go back to sleep. So back in my hospital guy. He had his moment of grace he felt that opening up the possibility. And he was going to go and recommit himself to his family. He was going to figure out how we could make a difference for him he was tripping going through the litany of. Things that he felt that he needed to change about his life. He felt the newly inspired going out into the world. Despite the limitations besides despite the ways his life would be different. He wanted to re-engage with his family to see not only how he can make a difference for them but really to embrace. How they can make a difference for him he recognized how he was missing out on that. So everything does happen for a reason. The reason is that everything is in co creation. We live our lives we're engaged. The idea of how the world is acted upon you and how you responded and how you act upon the world. And how the world has responded to you. The world is a very complex set of. Beings and forces it interact. You know when this question of everything happens for a reason. It's easy to think about issues of blame. Sometimes in life you are a contributor to what happens to you my fellow in the hospital he knew that the choices that he's met he's made to live his life. I contributed to what it happened to him. But often it's not. Earthquake. Accidents illnesses of course accidents happen for a reason you are there when somebody hit you or whatever the circumstances right but making meaning around that it's it's a it's a coincidence of factors. The reality is that we don't really control what happens to us. We can only control how we react. We can only control how we let what happens to us change us. And deep enough. Sometimes things don't make sense you know you see remember joplin missouri the whole town leveled level by that tornado. People lost. Everything. It's really hard to comprehend it if you have an experience that and i haven't you feel it deep in your soul for them but you know that you can't really feel with that's life. But the most amazing thing is is that people say we're so grateful to be alive we're so grateful for the things that we have remaining there they're making meaning they're finding a deeper meaning in the tragedy that happened to them. Viktor frankl and his man search for meaning he talks about. The jews during the holocaust. Trying to find meaning to their experience. It it seems amazing to me that people. Would even engaging that exercising yet that's about. Making meaning in your life that's about holding onto your core of what's important. Trying to find meaning in the experiences that happened to you. Everything happens for a reason. But our task is to be a participant. And everything that happens. Life challenges create opportunities for us to learn and grow. And with each upper tunity for meaning-making. We can become more spiritually mature. And have a better sense of our role in the world. Our responsibility to the interdependent web. That fabric of our life becomes denser more brilliant richer stronger. We are open to the presence of grace. Everything happens for a reason. I agree. We are the reason you are the reason. All of us are the reason. We make the reason and we make sense of the reason. The intertwined webs of our lives intertwine with all beings with the natural forces of the earth. And indeed with the universe. Arco creating the world as we know it. Co-creating our lives together. Developing and living our faith. Where we choose to close doors and open windows for each other. Leading to richer lives and deeper meaning for us all. May it be so. Rumi says. The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round. And open. Don't go back to sleep.

uudavispodcast_org

2014-10-19_Cheap-Grace_Reflections-on-Foregiveness-Across-Currents_11-15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. We come to the sanctuary to celebrate the beauty of the earth and to be in community together. This congregation comforts us when we know loss and celebrates our best dreams. We bring our differences because together we offer a fuller truth than anyone point-of-view can offer. This is a place of challenge and compassion. The holy is experienced here in many ways and is given many names. People of all sexual orientations and gender identities are celebrated we welcome all races classes. Political parties and physical abilities. We have much to learn from one another. This is a place of learning and hope. And whether because of the touch of a friend the words music. For a moment of silence. May you feel more alive. And challenged. Mayfield changed. I'll invite reverend kristin stoneking to light our chalice in a moment. Reverend stoneking has an impressive list of accomplishments awards and accolades she is now the 24th executive director of the fellowship of reconciliation which is been on the front lines of social movements social justice everywhere from conscientious objection as a civil right to the freedom rides. Deleting faith in ferguson response in the wake of the shooting of mike brown. Before the fellowship of reconciliation she worked with khelegi christian association building an interfaith residential community here in davis. That's a start. And on paper she looks really really good but her persona her energy her sermon you'll see is even grander. Reverend stoneking. Forgiveness. Forgiveness is perhaps as much about loosening our own nooses as it is about loosening our grip. On another person's throat. Perhaps today we light our chalice this beacon of hope. In order to light our own footsteps. As we also send a welcoming brightness to draw others into community. For opening words part of mary oliver's poem dogfish. You don't want to hear the story of my life and anyway. I don't want to tell it. I want to listen. I want to listen to the enormous waterfalls of the sun. And anyway it's the same old story. A few people just trying one way or another. To survive. The reading is a buddhist prayer of forgiveness. If i have harmed anyone in any way. Knowingly or unknowingly through my own confusions. I asked. Their forgiveness. If anyone has harm me in any way knowingly or unknowingly through their confusions. I forgive them. And if there is a situation i am not yet ready to forgive. I forgive myself for that. For all the ways that i harm myself negate doubt belittle myself judge or unkind to myself through my own confusions. I forgive myself. And then for mary oliver. You don't want to hear the story of my life and anyway i don't want to tell it. I want to listen. I want to listen to the enormous waterfalls of the sun. And anyway it's the same old story a few people just trying one way or another to survive. Mostly. I want to be kind. And nobody of course is kind or mean for a simple reason. And nobody gets out of it. Having to swim through the fires to stay in this world. And look. Look. Look i think those little fish better wake up and dash themselves away from the hopeless future that is bulging toward them and probably if they don't waste time looking for an easier world. They can do it. Good morning thank you for that song. That is one of my favorite songs and i'm i moved i began which. Maybe do some interesting things but it really is wonderful to be here with you this morning in this congregation that has played such a significant and an amazing role in i think pretty much every social justice movement or event or initiative in this town. So thank you for your face for your hope. For your service. Thank you for the invitation to preach this morning to bring a message. Into this community is truly a privilege to be here. Some of you know and as as karen also mentioned after 14 years of leading see a house also known as the cadillac e christian association the campus ministry on russell boulevard i accepted a new position last year as executive director of the fellowship of reconciliation and i know a number of members of this congregation are also members of for. That's all i look forward to it a new kind of relationship with you in partnership and partnership for justice and peace and i learned as we greeted each other this morning that bill hall's brother was the director the lead for for in kansas in the midwest and number of years ago so there a lots of connections in this hundred-year-old organization we turned 100 next year are centennial working over many years in many ways for peace and justice. 10 and and some some people are not sure whether i live in davis or i live in new york so the headquarters of for is in new york and in the search process my partner elizabeth and i discerned that we needed for a variety of reasons for a family for ourselves for a community to stay based in davis and fortunately the search committee decided that that was okay so i'm the first of the executive directors of for to live outside of new york but i do travel back and forth to new york and also to our affiliates and chapters. I'm in new york about every five or six weeks for about a week at a time and one of the things that i enjoy most about this new life is reading the new york times now i would guess a number of you have subscriptions to the times and probably have had for years and and i did for a while and and i think the probably most of us have access at least to the x in the through the various screens in our lives but for me there's a special kind of pleasure. And holding the 24in wide paper the city edition on the morning that it's published and so i offer you this morning from the september 21st edition of the times that was the morning of the people's march for climate justice. What you may have read about i hope you read about 400,000 of us strong marching through the streets of new york demanding that our leaders take decisive action to care and heal our earth this is a morning of that day and i offered this from the social cues section a piece entitled anger management that caught my eye. In response to someone who wrote in wondering if she should let go of a particular grudge against her neighbors response. Here is a map of the human brain. Neuroscientist please stop reading now. Where is the pleasure center for family and friends we love. Entertainment and delicious food. There is the engagement area for rewarding work. And then there is the resentment zoned for people who have done us harm and for whom we nurse grudges. Ingallina's goes on to write. Let go of your grudge against your horrid neighbors and not because they aren't horrid. But so you can enlarge the happier real estate in your brain is not exactly what i wanted to talk about this morning but if you get nothing more out of this sermon than that well that's probably enough for giving is a benefit first and foremost to the one who is doing the forgiving. It creates more real estate in our minds and our souls for the joyous and pleasurable parts of life. It enlarges our hearts. It helps us to let go in a whole array of areas where we have the potential to be more expansive. More loving. More compassionate. Forgiveness helps us to be present to the richness and beauty of life. It allows us to live our lives. Not getting trapped in our wishes that others had acted differently. Or that reality would be other than what it really is. No forgiveness is a good. And it's valued as such across all of the world's religious traditions and spiritual traditions. But forgiveness is not reconciliation and i confessed to you as director of the fellowship of reconciliation. But i am sometimes more interested in reconciliation then forgiveness. Forgiveness is a step on the path toward reconciliation. But it is not in and of itself reconciliation. I have come to believe that while the practice of forgiveness is essential for the well-being of the individual. It is reconciliation that has the power to ultimately transform systems and create lasting change. I have learned the hard way that forgiveness entered into to easily can sometimes hamper or even prevent reconciliation. Forgiveness offered a received too soon can contribute to what dietrich bonhoeffer the german lutheran pastor who defied the nazis called cheap. Grace. Bonhoeffer defines cheap grace as forgiveness without repentance. Forgiveness without taking responsibility. Forgiveness without process without a commitment to transformation. Perhaps christians more than any others are susceptible to engaging in cheap grace because christianity within christianity forgiveness is elevated to a moral duty. With christians being in joined by jesus to forgive 70 x 7 or another words unceasingly. But no matter what one's face background or spiritual tradition. Cheap grace beckons to us all. And it's offer of a quick way out of the pain and uncomfortableness of conflict and hurt. But it kind of forgiveness within sheep grace very rarely can lead to true reconciliation. As many of you know and also as as karen mentioned during my tenure as campus pastor at the ca house we built and opened a 6 townhouse multi-faith living community behind the main house on russell boulevard. The community is now home to 42 students hailing from between five and seven different faith backgrounds on any given year and as you may recall if you were in davis at the time the building of this community was not without controversy. Ultimately gaining approval to build required a number of public meetings and hearings at which many including myself testified as to the potential of this community to be a place of peace building a place of cutting-edge in a religious understanding. And above all a place of harmony. But you know life has a way of ignoring our plans and expectations and so in the first year of the community's life. A violation occurred among several students as has been my practice in ministry we instituted a process of restorative justice. But unlike all of my past experience. The process didn't lead to a clear conclusion of what should happen. To restore harmony. We work through the steps. But the students who experienced the harm insisted that only banishment of the offending student would suffice a consequence that i felt was too harsh. I remember thinking why can't they just forgive. It wasn't so much that. I was offering cheap gray so i think in some of the students opinions i was. But i did expect a different readiness to forgive than the students involved all of whom were from a different face tradition than my own. Until i delved into the practice of forgiveness and reconciliation from different spiritual perspectives. In buddhism. To forgive is understood as a skillful means of promoting internal harmony free from regret and inner conflict. In a recent interview buddhist master. And also for centennial member. Tick not han. Talked about forgiveness. And after a conflict with someone who is very dear. He said. The forest mantra. Is a little bit more difficult. It is when you suffer and you believe that your suffering has been caused by the one whom you love. You prefer to go to your room. And close the door. And suffer alone. You are hurt. And you want to punish him or her for having made you suffer. The mantra is to overcome that. Is this. Darling. I suffer. I am trying my best to practice. Please help me. Amuse words from tick not han there are echoes of the buddhist prayer of forgiveness read earlier. Conflict derives from a state of confusion that produces harm and suffering. In some of the most severe situations of wounding. In order to emerge from the state. We will need help. Because i was sick not con would say we enter our birds unitarians would say we are part of an interconnected web of relationships and so the words of this fourth mantra. Makes sense. I suffer. I am trying my best to practice. Please help me. In judaism. Forgiveness and repentance our ritual duty a ritual duty. Enacted through the prayers and intentions of yom kippur. The day of atonement. Abraham heschel the jewish theologian and scholar describes a jewish approach as being influenced by halacha. And akka.. We're holocaust represents the parts of the jewish holy text. That are legal in nature. And require an exacting enactment of what is considered right and lawful. A naga.. Which represents the narrative and theology of the hebrew scriptures and the jewish experience. Which is infused. With grace and love. Frig you these pieces create an inextricable unity. A violation is responded to both with a sensibility about the law. But also the grace and love in the story of a people in relationship with each other and with god. Forgiveness and reconciliation are achieved in tacking back and forth. Between law that requires remorse. And grace. And love. And law. And grace and love. Emma. There are differences here. Judaism. Buddhism christianity. As well as other traditions value forgiveness but the trajectories of engagement. Are different. The practices for developing the capacity to forgive and accept forgiveness. Are different. In reflecting on my role in the reconciliation process at the multi-faith living community i saw how my own worldview which influence my need and expectation for forgiveness prevented me from learning in the process about others worldviews. Our spiritual traditions create. Varying expectations in us around forgiveness not to mention our cultures are backgrounds our personalities. I realized through this experience that if i do value forgiveness and reconciliation so deeply. It was much much more i needed to learn. About how others viewed and experienced this practice. Fiscal. This need of individuals and of our world. A few years later i found myself in a tense situation during the height of the occupy movement. When chancellor linda katehi and other uc-davis administrators perceive that they had become trapped in a campus building. Student protesters surrounded the building. And demanded respect. Recompense and in some cases her resignation. After the pepper-spraying of students on campus by campus police the day before. I was called and asked to mediate and i invited a member of this congregation at that time a student tom zolot who was also serving on our staff at ca house to come with me. What could forgiveness mean in this situation. What was the path. The reconciliation. So many had been hurt. And a violation demanded healing but the expectations worldviews and personalities present were so diverse. What could guide the road ahead. I have come to believe that forgiveness and reconciliation. Are an art. And if this work is approached not with expectation for outcome. But true principles for process. Then the chances for real healing. Are much greater. These principles for me are the principles of nonviolence. They are derived from the world's spiritual traditions but they are owned by no particular tradition. These principles include. We all have a piece of the truth. And the untruth. Just means leads to just ends. We are not reducible. To the evil we commit. Healing requires creativity. Power arises out of right relationship. Feelings experiences cultures and beliefs. Must be taken into consideration. Respect. For the humanity of all persons. An us-versus-them mentality is a distortion of reality. And finally. We. Inter are. We emerged from that mediation after a period of deep listening. With what i thought was a step on the path towards reconciliation and forgiveness. As we know the story then took different turns. And after much advocacy work. On my part and a few others i recommend a recommendation for a restorative justice process was included in the report by the reviewing task force. But there is still much forgiving and reconciliation work. To be done. Some critiques the work that tom and i did offering the chancellor away out of the building with dignity. As cheap grace. To me it wasn't so much forgiveness that was offered but compassion. An essential first step. And that is like much of the work of forgiveness and reconciliation. We begin with compassion for ourselves. First and foremost. Always for ourselves. Then move on to compassion for others. We offer deep listening. We gain deeper understanding. And if we can. We forgive. And are forgiven. We practice daily the forgiving of small things and forgiving ourselves so that when big things come. We have greater capacity. We feel the relief at forgiving or being forgiven. But then there are moments when we slip back into the guilt and shame of not forgiving ourselves. Are the old resentments creep back in. And so it is a practice. A cultivation. Alive swork really. To understand what others mean and want and expect when we talk about forgiveness. To hold onto the weather. A principals as we sail these stormy and choppy seas. And to keep talking back and forth. Towards forgiveness. Charge reconciliation. Towards holness. I'm in. Invite you now to join me in a time of prayer. Let us pray. Oh great spirit. Lights of insight. Power of peace. We pray this morning that we would be assisted. In our attempts at forgiveness and reconciliation. That from gaza to the gulf coast. From fukushima to ferguson. We may be agents of peace. Injustice. May we have the courage and perseverance to stay on the path. Ever-growing. Everett evening. Ever pursuing peace. As a community bound together and hope and love. We raised now those places in our lives where we are celebrating as well as those places where we are suffering. Knowing that the energy of our intentions and actions can create change in ourselves and others. We offer gratitude. For cooler breezes. The changing colors and the back naming of the inward-turning of fall and winter. Maybe find rest and insight in these coming weeks and months. Each of us is part of an intricate web of relationships when one of us grieve the loss we suffer together. Bearing one another's burdens and lightning load when one of us celebrates a joy we all sing and dance. It is a blessing for our whole beloved community. In sorrow and enjoy. The web of life moves to a new shape we are part of the turning of the earth the shift of the stars the pull of the sea and all change common. I invite you now to join hands and know yourselves as forgiving and forgivable people persevering on the path to peace and forgiveness reconciliation towards holden.

uudavispodcast_org

Worship-2012_08_26-10a_1_ED-1.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. uu davis. org for further information. Thank you katie. Before i met katie i came to sacramento to work for the first openly gay member of the state legislature and my first assignment was to work on legislation prohibiting discrimination against gay and lesbian students was first introduced in 1995 we brought 200 students to sacramento to lodi and supported the bill and it will passage in the second committee. Two years later when we were introduced the bill remember students at what had become an annual youth lobby day had doubled in size. But that year the bill made it through the policy and fiscal committees only to fail passage on the assembly floor. But just a small handful of votes each time we fail to pass the bill was difficult but the failure school wanting for each year as i carried more and more of the stories of students experiences of violence intimidation and fear in my heart i couldn't help but feel that each time we failed to pass the bill i was feeling those students. Conservative opposition radio in front page newspaper ads and sent inflammatory mirrors to targeted members districts they organized and conservative churches and held candlelight vigils and federal legislators district offices. But we match them with every step on the way more than 700 students from across california candies lobby day that you. Recipes communities including unitarian universalist congregation maybe even this room right letters in support of the legislation shortly before the floor vote we even have letters on every or sunday mother's dust from judah shepherd the mother of slain wyoming college did matthew shepard urging them to please vote for the bill. What after hours of debate on the floor in the final weeks before the legislative deadline. Radical scale passage by. One part. Something was different that time though legislators will rock by the bills failure and onto the governor for his signature eventual success. Where's my hairline talked about having her touch that legislation leave you hanging with you. Set timer. That is so awesome dc. Time to work. Voicemail. What time. What time is it thailand. 20 pint. Teaches to me. A part of what i said success. And whether it is good. Mohonasen. Depends on the way that we need it. Guideposts. Morning. Honest opinion is better. Accessories. Set a timer. Time when we have most of the work. Appointment. Maybe angus dei. You'll see it in a new game. Take the time. Ichiban. Ransomware the part of an intricate web of relationships and one of us celebrate the julie agrees the wall. Deleting instagram. By natasha trethewey she is in 19 poet laureate of the united states when she begins her appointment in september encourage you to look at her work and our history books. Rules on the margins of society their neighbors domestic workers prostitute. Battlefield in the storyline and get us some more complete reality. What's the weather for about the personal for personal life as a child of an interracial marriage and in 1966 her parents marriage was illegal in mississippi today is dedicated to her mother. My mother is boarding a train she's barely 16 for one large grouper fishing with homemade dresses. Look for a crinoline and lace stitched inside each one she's leaving behind the dirt roads of mississippi. Performing a blood test around her ankles. Whistle unwilling to the floorboards at the shotgun house today idea of home. Travel one and california. I would she can stop repeating. Over and over she will practice meeting her father. She has a pen at it once more pulling into the station at los angeles and then again and again and the platform. I like him not fight. 20/20 on my little sis we ride it together. Fortnite morning heading east. Before we were together my father waiting for us if i train derailed i don't recall how she must have helped me how her face because she realized again the uncertainty of it all. Bactrim to gone wrong today she is sure we can leave home. Bound only for whatever awaits us now is setting behind us the world like anticipation the train pulling us toward the end of another day. I want each small town past before my window until the light goes. I'm going fraction of nine mothers face appears. Evening time. Thornton. Abc store she can leave home only for whatever awaits us. Define now sitting behind us. Prevail humming like a petition. The train pulling us toward the end of another day. I wanna town pass before my window. White ghost. Cinema movies free appears clear now as evening comes on. Duh. Certain. I heard those won't ignition errands from linda school. Boobies lines. Prepare ended with disappointment. But whatever your name came from those experiences. The person whose voice is heard upon the strength to be clear and dry. Mysterious. But dark and hartman the writing about the hero's journey. Chester's reoccurring pattern of luminaries of the real-life leaders in our history and visionary for the world edition. All water cast out in one way or another into the wilderness. Ar testing why return with her movie wisdom. Given the opportunity joseph campbell said to follow that long but tessa and gives them the choice to return. With wisdom. He is credited with having said where there is ruin there is hope for treasure. I like that. Today's ruling for treasure. This is far from the unitarian urology that we inherited expected worth of ralph waldo emerson. Tucson movies intuitive knowledge failure at all. Unitarians believe that the divine was an ever-changing entity that could be made and where is good. We were ever aspiring to be god-like. Grown at spider goodness of god has become real life at larger entity. Darwin's concept of the survival of the fittest was applied to society and the wealthy and the wound nurse association recently seen as being more fit. I fell his reason to feel ashamed because mistakes reflected on a person's character. Actually that doesn't sound very different. Somehow we understand it. Social activist courtney martin rifle magazines from sun or stale when it comes to matters of justice. How do we measure effectiveness of word of messi as epic as complex as activism. I think that i line are similarly complex. Courtney martin came to the conclusion that justice in relationship-building is doomed to failure. Personal relationships also june to one failure after another i'm giving you this very message so that i have a chance to dig myself out for the next 15 minutes after graduate school was to teach english as a second language to the vietnam conflict. What is my real mom. Informations of china vietnam thailand. During the vietnam war the most for the american troops. At the end of the war the american government offered safe passage to the moon and their families. Who have fought for our country. Robot spiritual sensitivity that would be very foreign to us. That experience with everything that we take for granted. Allow their family with family for just beginning to grapple with the concept just the concept of the written alphabet. Language. I know they needed to learn a new language. Avenue alphabet. Athena. They would stay at the monitor what is it. Many years ago since i taught them and i still remember too good to not like everything that paper is a book the chicken everything what is it. They were in such a new world. I had never seen chicken wrapped in plastic. Maybe we never should have seen chicken wrapped in plastic but. They had never seen boxes that took quarters. Boise schools with windows and hallways. Mechanical function of a shower with a mystery. And stoves. With fire and heat coming out of them we're absolutely frightening. United states for the terrifying world except for their children. The children felt as if they'd been dropped into the storyline of the adventure of a lifetime and my students however. My students. Older generation of the parents. And the grandparents who are wrestling with what you do. With chicken wrapped in plastic. Impressive. That took this strange money. And buildings that their children would go to. It had. Windows in hallways in. Many things they had never seen before. American government promised several years of public assistance to the wrong families if they attended english classes and. It seems very very generous offer. Certainly the more would be assimilated into american life within two years. My students were traumatized from war and lost. But i'll tell you that they were incredibly motivated to create a new life. Aesthetica vocational program in our school and it really was my program. I thought through every step meticulously. We research for john's and benefits that would match the pace of the long and they were being rude and fought in a different way than we did. The owner of a small motel in town fought in vietnam and he wanted to help the students. Explain to the staff that they would be helping to change the live. Are people who are important to him to change wives. That's very powerful. He donated the furniture for motel room and we transformed and office. Intuit temporary motel lots of joking about how people could go for quick naps. When they wanted to because we had a motel room. In our facility. All the vocabulary for the objects in the room. Think of all the objects you might see in a motel room and they had to learn all of those now. Baby kaely situationally fluid we called it beyond your normal language language studies everything you'd want to know and more that motel rooms. As they learned in our markup hotel room. How to do how to respond to role-playing. And the third month we went to the motel itself and shadow the employees months for the students act as if they are the employee and the real staff. Boston shadowed all of my students. And the last two lines for spent finding work. For our graduates and you can understand why that might take two months. I visited every hotel and motel on public transit. Asking for interviews for my students. And quite a number of them were hired but one is particularly memorable. A well-known hotel chain hired her. We were ecstatic. Good hours. The job had benefits with cheese. The extended family. And when i returned to the hotel forever week later to review her progress which is also part of my job. She was gone. And i can't remember how i found out what happened. But the bottom line is this. The job with excellent. She could do everything that was asked of her. And the people there were incredibly supportive. Back yet. The health care benefits with chicken before the social services resources ended. The government was cutting. It was perfect. However. My student husband couldn't find work. It was culturally reprehensible. Prepare to take care of the family when he was at home. We had organised every step of the way. But had overlooked a basic value of the culture. This meant that the other students job we're not secure either. Everything we had done. Everything i had done. Was not likely to survive. I don't know when i had ever been so discouraged. Andy going into the mock-up motel room and stretching out on the bed just. Demoralized. I thought about all the people who had believed in this project. To those who had helped him who have saved his life. They were the hmong women and men. Who invested. And hope for employment. The community college head financially invested in the project to. And i have been totally devoted to it sure. Sure that i was going to help these people. Working in a steamy laundry room cooling rooms with a stopwatch. Alongside the students you had to turn the rooms within a certain amount of time. I wish you were there few dozen people would be able to care for their families. Diamond overlook something. It's fundamental. Honor in the family. Courtney martin. You might remember me saying learned that no social activism is doomed to fail. Because it is complex. With complexity. There are so many ways to not get something. Important. Just wright. More complex and the higher our expectations the greater our likelihood that we will experience failure. The meeting is short-term. The projects that courtney studied did fail. Living business journals and magazines were i found a new vision for failure. Babysitter too friendly toward success. I thought i can live with that. I can live with fumbling towards success. Businesses that are looking to succeed talk about smart failures. The even celebrate them in long-term reviews of their employees. A company gatherings they discuss best practices and failures to without shaming and without blame. Reject the idea that success is waiting. Only for the worthy. Is waiting for the resourceful one with an open mind. Adventure capitalist look for someone who's working as you're looking for a job think on this resume includes a major business upset. A failure. The question then focus on whether there's a repeated pattern of the spleen. And what is learned. From that failure. Cornel west scholar and social commentators yes there's failure. But it is b e z a good failure. Same here as it turns out is more than a vent. Or relationship trauma. If more than legislation it doesn't go through. When there has been hard. And so work done for its package. Natasha trethewey is poem it isn't the realization that the father is not waiting at the california railroad station. The true meaning of failure. Infant winter projects for the park. Even if all of these things i've mentioned our tragic. You're failure is when we allow these experiences are paying to be the end of the story. When you don't have the stamina. Just fits with what went wrong. Play the imagination to seek out the lessons and try again in some new way. Deliver 12 standing of god has changed. Heading out in a whole culture. In our own whole country. But for those who are liberal the understanding of god has changed since the mid-1800s. Away from that static god of goodness. Accepting. What is ultimate and changing. Now we may ask what is it that we base our trust in. I did is not. Something like that. Image. It is the princess. Itself. But if we want to become more like that which really holds the world. Call that what you will. When we enter into that process with the whole. Approval we are. And failure becomes the time when we. Can't take those joys and sorrows and move them towards winston that's what failure because. Courtney martin kin to the conclusion that justice in relationship-building is doomed to failure in the short-term. Wrong turn. She has watched. Succeed. And we have heard. About such a success. Debray. The work i had done with a man adult didn't all and where the students leaving their new job not all. We focused on the employment of men. In the families. And waiting another year we started working with the teenagers who. As you can imagine had a different set of issues. But he will watch repaired. I paid more attention to the issue of shame. Within the family. And i can say that we made more missteps along the way to. I save this poem. And i read it often. San antonio mercado. I dreamed last night old marvelous error. But there were honey bees in my heart. Making honey. Out of my old. Failures. Baby live life. With such courage. And their failures b goodwin. Bring us ever closer to wisdom. And may we be a part of creating. That embrace. Of life. Ever cuz on. And hota. I could be. What did the governor announced he was signing the legislation that i spoke with you earlier about in the service. I was in atlanta to speak at a conference there about the work that we had been doing in california. And at the same conference was judy shepherd. Matthew shepard. Mom. Tripping but letters to the assembly members. And when. When it was announced at the conference that the governor was signing the bill she came up to me and gave me a hug. And she told me. How grateful she was for my work and. Helping. When other mothers. I'm going through what she had gone through with the loss. Her son matthew. Methinks the world to be. My noble all alone does not change people's hearts and minds. It does play it part. Entering their senior year of high school this fall. What's spencer inspire. Time in public school from kindergarten to today. In classrooms at the very least. It is taken for granted that sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. Are against the law. We were able to make that difference through the efforts of all those who year after year brought their hearts. The commitment and their skills the effort. A building amor trust. Equitable and compassionate world. Aerobic wanted inherent worth and dignity of all regardless of their sexual orientation or gender expression. And now for the ongoing life of this church and so that our ongoing work towards justice equity. And compassion and human relations may be sustained. The offering will be given and received. Can android still take an especially reaching out to those who are new among us. Today. For the first time thing i don't know who you are but i'm here with you. I dreamed last night omar velous error. But there were honey bees in my heart. Making honey. Out of my old failures. What does gathering say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2014-04-20_What-Love-is-This_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. So welcome here on this easter morning. You are accepted just as you are. At the same time i hope that you come here with the desire to be changed. Perhaps the changes to live with more trust. To forgive others. Reach out to those you don't understand. And maybe you want to make change happen in this beautiful and is hurting world. Known as your companion on this journey. I know that's your neither of people with a diversity of beliefs and god or whatever in which you place your ultimate trust is different for each one of us and that will be made abundantly clear the clear today if we do a universalist. Communion. On this journey there people with different sexual orientations and gender identities those of different classes and races and physical abilities to come let us search together and become our very best sells once again. Every week is one more opportunity to remember what is possible for us. If you are a visitor with us welcome. We've had many visitors on this day. We hope that you will return and make this your home. Good morning lighting or chalice this morning will be nancy maynard. Nancy moved here from wisconsin with carol browning last july. Nancy has been a unitarian for 25 years and she is a new member of our church she enjoys bird watching nancy please come up and like the chalice every day brings joy and struggle. Every day brings the opportunity to ease the struggle of another. To be the joy in another's life. May this flame remind us to carry our light to each other and to the world. May the fire of this chalice lid on this easter sunday burning each of us as we come together on this glorious day thank you nancy. You can find god anywhere. When i was young in the sixties i lived in berkeley. My family did not regularly attend a bricks-and-mortar church my mother was raised episcopalian but with no longer religious. And my father grew up catholic but he had become a self-avowed atheist we were like many other families and that we would go to church only at christmas and easter. My mother did not restrict a religious upbringing to just their beliefs. My father was anti-religion but they allowed us to attend any church we wanted to with our friends so in my formative years i went to temples and mass and tent revivals i found the sacred in other places too. My entire extended family vacation in fort bragg california about 6 times a year. My mother's family have been coming there since the 1800s and we continued in that tradition. We would stay at the oceanview motel. Always making sure to get the room that had the kitchen so that we could cook most of our meals the whole extended family would come. There's a beach called mackerricher beach. Perfect for exploring tide pools or game of football. The cousins would spend every waking minute on that beach swimming playing with a ball and looking for sea creatures that beach is my favorite place to be. At night after dinner everyone would go down to the beach and we would build a bonfire you could do that in those days it is the place that i felt closest to my family and to my higher being even as a child there i felt something i could not put into words the beach itself stays relatively sunny for most of the year my father had grown up on the beaches of southern california and his form of exercise was to go swimming in the ocean with all four of us children hanging on to him i'm surprised my mother let him it was a life of connection among family members memories created any deep love the ocean that beach with my church a place of complete serenity and love. It was an is my sacred space. It is a place where i can go and talk to my god and feel both the presence of god and nature at its most beautiful. To me they are forever intertwined. I have come to realize that nature and all of its beauty whether it is a beach the mountains or a park is a place of holiness peace and love. Where we are all connected to the universe and to our higher being and to each other. I have found that same sense of peace and love in this church. That same sense of holiness. It started on that beach and continues here in this building with you on easter sunday a day of transformation and renewal. Because we can find god anywhere. Play invite you into a time of. Prayer. Have meditation time will you look within and kind of let go of. What it is that you carry. That is so heavy. These words by wayne. Arneson. His prayer. Spirit of life how easy it is to speak your name. An offer this prayer in a season of rebirth and renewal. Your presence is everywhere. We pray that our lives may be blessed with that same renewal we see all around us. In nature's annual celebration. We authorize maybe open to gifts and companions that are part of our journey. Whom we may take for granted. It is easy to walk the way of life. With our eyes on the road ahead. Not to forget to look over into the eyes. Of those who share the way with us. Whether they are friends family partners lovers it's good to remember that what is holy can be found in the familiar and the unexpected people and places be with us spirit of life and help us to be open to others at a wake to the springtime miracle that is in each one of us. Luke rice three days after jesus died. Cleophus and another man whose identity is not known. Travel together to ems a village not far from jerusalem. They walk and talk about what has happened. As they journey together. Jesus joins them. And walks with them. They don't recognize him. He asked what is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk. And they stand with him. And look sad. What things. He asks again. And they say jesus of nazareth. Was crucified. They told him about jesus who was mighty in word and deed how the chiefs and priests delivered him to be condemned. They tell how. After the sabbath. The women went to the tomb to anoint the body of jesus but it was gone. Describe the angels at the entrance of the tomb who asked. Why are you looking for the living. Among the dead. He is risen. Luke says. But they did not see. Korea post and his companion are filled with grief and confused. Easy. To imagine how jesus turns to them as he walks. Luke says the jesus interprets their story from his own teachings the teachings he had given many times. They still. Didn't recognize him. Cleophus and his companion come to the village where they will stay for the night. What it looks like the mysterious stranger is continuing. Stay with us they say it's almost evening and the day is spent. He agrees. When they sit at the table he takes the bread and blesses it. He breaks the bread and give some to each of them. At this moment. Their eyes are open. They see him and they know him. Amber luke. The author of this gospel the journey is not an ending. For the beginning. He writes of jesus. The loving shepherd. Restores my soul. Fills my heart with songs. Anoint my head with oil. Goodness and kindness. This is luke's cheese cheese's at least in part. This is the part. Publix. Jesus each gospel represent. Jesus with a different role. And luke lives actually two or three generations after jesus who we know he didn't really know him. And scholars analysis of his writing and his message tells us that luke is reinforcing the message of the apostle paul. Has paul and that very first century tries to build x church. And extend that message of jesus a message of love and hope that the people really needed and those days and you will hear that. Later in this five-minute homily that. The corinthians that he was trying to reach out to her. We're really an interesting group of unitarian universalist and how they heard his message and challenged it all the time. Their many depictions of jesus in the gospels different rules and pictures of him even contradictory was especially contradictory ones. In the literature of greek and roman cultures around that first century multiple renditions of a person's life. Even if they were contradictions among those versions added credibility to a heroic life. For the people in the early years of the emerging christian faith multiple stories of jesus's character or even his death. That strengthened the proof of his existence and the depth of his message don't look for consistency. The scholar said don't look for consistency but multiple realities the kind of things physicists would love today multiple realities. That's where the truth is found. Is when there are multiple realities. Luke's jesus is the shepherd who protects and comfort and annoyance. Bad with oil. And as jesus is so much more jesus is also known as sofas. A leader with moral ideals self-control and those two things don't always go together moral ideas and self-control freedom from fear and be filled with courage which is exactly what got jesus into so much trouble in his life having all of those characteristics in one person. Jesus is concerned for the poor and he speaks up for outkast and the most powerless and society. Adam all of the four gospels only luke. Gives the message clear and strong that radical changes. Need to happen the structures of society and the way people practice. Their religion. Jesus. Shows a remarkable gift in this process of seeing people. Seeing people beyond the word that society gives them. Whether they are men or women rich or poor. Pure in word or deed or a criminal these are some of the distinctions that are made in the scripture this is the jesus whose death is being born in the story the great leader. Who sees people as they are and challenges and loves them. In luke. Those who follow jesus are given a special charge and again is a pretty unique this particular author. To continue to live the message of a loving shepherd. And be a leader. You're all called to be leaders. Who is free from fear. Your mind the people who read his word. That this work is yours to be done and i just say this work is yours to be done. This message is remembered every time the followers of the emerging the early christian church participate in a communion together. In ancient greek and roman times before this time. Breaking bread and drinking wine with a ritual of remembrance for those who had died. And the stories and the ritual of communal community where comfort and made the life of the one who had died seem real in that moment. And it was the same with this ritual of communion when people were remembering jesus. The corinthians you remember i mentioned them before the small. Early christian string of communities all along the mediterranean. Head turn the communion service into something quite different from what jesus had intended or even paul had its intended. How to become a riotous drinking party exactly but i'm interpreting it. Into a really wild party. Far from being a simple remembrance of a great leader and the powerful challenge of. Love love and justice together. Communion with another source of division among the early church. The ritual of breaking bread and drinking wine had become a sumptuous feast and in some ways i think the sounds really fabulous we're going to have that later the wealthy came early the 1%. The 1% of society the wealthy came early and they consumed all of the delicacies. Drank all the wine. And the working poor the 99%. Arrived when very little remained. At the table. Other research says again and again that they were hungry. They were humiliated. By this ritual. The lux message of the communion the sharing of the bread from the grain of the earth. And the fruit of the vine. Is to see and remember this leader of jesus who had died and all generations before and to see the humanity in every person to level the playing field. That we are all seen as equal. The two early followers of jesus cleophus and his unknown friend are not able to see jesus for who he is even when he's right beside them. It only when he breaks bread with them. In a ritual of remembrance do they see that. He's been with them all day. They miss. The holy presence. When it's right in their midst. I wonder. How often do we miss. Something that is uniquely precious. That's right with us all the time. The author of luke is telling his listeners wake up. The holy is all around you. Is found in the wealthy and the poor. The person we know and the one we take for granted. For the stranger. Who is unknown. For those who have committed crimes those were filled with joy and those who are grieving every human being is worthy of being cherished. So what love is this. It is the love that sees what is miraculous right in front of us. The holy that is walking right beside us. Where we expect to find it. But maybe are too distracted to even see. And it is in the unexpected places that we. Choose not to explore. Maybe because we are too afraid. Their wonders. Rbeauty. Confounding mysteries challenges that will open to us and surprising generosity. When we take the courage to see. And the others. Have the courage. To see enough. But we don't dare. Put forward. But is there. We're going to join in hearing. P****. Revia. Briefly it'll come back later and our service of communion. Before we start i want to tell you just a little bit. About this communion. It was written in 1988 by the reverend david bumba. In syracuse upstate new york. The church hired him believing that he was a christian universalist minister. And it was his historic faith. But as he came to this church he had. Become pagan. And somehow this did not come out in the interviews when they hired him in the universalist church. They strongly desired 3 communions. Every year. And he said i will do this. So he created a communion that really blends his own theology with the theology of easter. And that is what you will get to hear today. I did rewrite much of it that pertains to upstate new york in the spring because our lives are very different here. In california. And also shifted his theology ever-so-slightly to be a more hopeful universalist theology. So welcome to what we are very happy to share with you on this day. Our world has gone around the seasons for the blossoming trees of spring to the golden hills of summer to the brilliant riot of colours of full and the tule fog rising from the earth in winter now we are here again surrounded by spring blossoms and pollen falling like snow we express our earth our home in this ancient sacrament we express our before the miracle of life being in the world will influence others great inspirational leaders may inspire each life here inspires to in this ancient sacrament we embraced the wonder that even out of seeming endings come the sources of new beginnings and daily nourishment. And each other. To recognize the sacredness in each person held their life is unique. And how in each of us that there is a characteristic that serves as an inspiration for others. Weather in life. Orin def. Our way of being in this world will be given to others. How's the baskets of bread are passed. Take a moment and look really look at the face and into the eyes of the one who serves you. Let this be one time when we see each other and taste this gift from our earth. So that we can be totally present we aim to do this in silence and at your own pace. For this communion we won't taste at the same time. The importance is being present for the person at your left and a person at your right. Gluten free crackers. Are available in each basket. For those who cannot eat wheat. For those who may be holding. The passover season and keeping that time. How many generations have tended divine harvested is clustered fruit crushed its rich globe tell juice flowed red as blood or clear as tears into skins and pots and vast to be stored and fermented saved for festive occasions for celebrations for longer than we can remember the fruit of the vine has been our companion we have shared it in moments of joy and sorrow in times of high celebration to mark momentous turning we have savored its taste ridge with the hint of bygone summer afternoons and autumn evenings musky with the suggestion of freshly turned soil do we have felt it warmer when the world has grown chill offering us hints of otherworld other possibilities. Also come with killing and deep learning if we are open. The lives we've been given are never perfect. And when our lives are poured out we will receive again. And be filled in a new way. So in this sugar-free grape juice drink. We offer a gesture of thanks to the earth gifts but in rich life. Giving unexpected moments of joy and the renewal of life and love. And it's communion we recognize that sometimes we received from our friends and family and sometimes we look into a larger source of love. It's found in the oceanside. In the forest. And the wild and dark orange gold california poppies. Anytime. We look for holy meaning. Beyond our human companions. It's found in those moments when we feel we are held by some larger force than the hand that holds ours for the arms and embrace us and the eyes that hold her gaze. For those is staining times when we feel always right. And we are held. And the love of god. You'll be invited there for to come forward. As you are able and have some of this. Delicious grape. White grape juice. And if you cannot come down we will come to you. We have trays that we can travel your way as well. This is in recognition of the love. That is beyond humanity that comes to us. That universal laugh. You're invited to come forward. Now between these two services this morning we had a glorious easter egg hunt and not everything about springtime and how we celebrated is warm and fuzzy and innocent in the christian tradition or in the pre-christian stories in greek mythology this month was dedicated to dionysus god of wine and theater and transgressive freedoms he is the protector of those who do not fit into conventional society and represents the forces beyond human understanding most of the stories about him are full of vile silence and betrayal and wild partying there are none of the egg-laying bunnies of the anglo dramatic goddess ostara in those stories and few things that make for an uplifting tale of springtime yes. When we welcome those who may be seen as outsiders to our table and drink of the fruit of the vine with them we are stepping out into the wild woods of transformation. When we come together in this way we are shifting reweaving the fabric of society into something more just and sustainable and loving and fun. In the words. Of one of my great hero is 7 pioneering modern dancer martha graham. You were once wild here. Don't let them tame you. And is closing reading is i'm going to catch that one wayward dollar bill that's down here it was running away this money was just taking off as comfortable easter exultant run with your wildfire you are closer to glory leaving and then upholstering a rupt not dawdling not doubting. As we go out to this easter morning into the time of feasting once again maybe take the spirit of this day with us and may they never ever tame us.

uudavispodcast_org

2013-03-10_Worship_Choosing-the-Best-Surrender_11_15_ED.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california www.org for further information. Welcome we come to the sanctuary. To celebrate the beauty of the earth. And to be in community. This congregation comforts us when we know loss. And celebrates our best dreams. We bring our differences. Together we offer a fuller truth. Been anyone point of view. This is a place of challenge. And compassion. The holy is experienced here in many ways. And is giving many names. People of all sexual orientations and gender identities are celebrated here. We welcome all races all classes all physical abilities. We have much to learn from one another. This is a place of learning. And of hope. Together we can accomplish more than we believed possible alone. This is a place of change. Weather because of the touch of a friend. The words and the music. Or a moment of silence. May you feel more alive. Many of the unitarian universalist that i know. Including myself. Our little weary of people that tell us to surrender and submit. I'm proud. Tree part of our legion that promotes the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Nobody can tell me. What to say or think or do or believe. It's my job to figure out. Videos of giving up control. An offering up my life. 2 add i don't. And can't. Ever fully understand. Sounds very scary to me. Relinquishing control in general. It's something i don't really like doing. I don't even like group projects. Can i really trust you to get this done. Will you make me panic at the last minute. And haircuts. Haircuts are so scary for me. What if you mess it up and i can't fix it and i have to wear beanie for the next 3 months. Don't even get me started on trust falls. They're totally going to drop me there's no way i'm leaning back and closing my eyes. As much as possible. I like to manage things myself. But sometimes i've realized. There comes a time. When is necessary my mental physical. And spiritual well-being. To give up control. I realize there's something incredible. But letting yourself jump. And free fall into a foggy of this. Sometimes. The most beautiful things in life. Come from letting go. I'm surrendering. Right now. I'm letting go of what people think of me. It's so exhausting to be constantly making sure i fulfill everyone's expectations. Maybe i want to switch up the way i dress. Baby i don't want to apply to grad school right now. I've also started relinquishing control of my future. Let me tell you that is scary. I realize i was getting unhealthy about how often i check for food science jobs. I was starting to panic. I never find a job that would take me i have to move back in with my parents me miserable. I want to thank katie tenerelli for the phrase she taught me and responds the question that everyone's asking me. It has yet to be determined. Yes. I surrender to the forces of life that at this point. I can't control. I also surrender to love. Truly letting myself fall in love has any terrifying beautiful experience. Really trusting somebody is intense. It's scarier than letting somebody cut my hair. Are you part of a group project. Are cashew and i fall. But it's also absolutely incredible. Halo. There's something amazing. But letting yourself jump off and free fallin too foggy abyss. Sometimes. The most beautiful things in life. Come from loop relinquishing control. I've realized. Surrendering. Can make me feel more alive. Are we eating today. Comes from. Love comes with a knife. By rumi. You've been walking to the ocean's edge. Pulling up your robes to keep them dry. You must dive naked. Under. And deeper under. 1000 times deeper. Love slows down. The ground submits to the sky. And suffers what comes. Tell me. Is the earth worse. Forgiving in like that. Don't put blankets over the drum. Open completely. Let your spirit ear listen. To the green thumbs. Passionate murmur. Let the chords of your robe be untied. Shiver. And this new love. Beyond all above. And below. The sun rises. The witch way. Does night go. I have no more words. Let's so speak. With a silent articulation of a face. Okay you can do this annie. You have to do this you just have to do it. I'd be standing. Shivering in the overly air-conditioned hallway of the hospital. Giving myself this. Not very motivating pep talk. I get out my folder. The one that had the names and the ages and the medical conditions. Of the patients i was to visit that day. I choose a patient. Walk toward that room number. Stop. Check the folder again. Okay. Straighten my badge that said. Annie gonzalez. Spiritual care department. Chaplain intern. And i'd raise up my hand and knock on the door. It was the summer after my first year of seminary. And i had returned back to my hometown of normal illinois. To do my clinical pastoral education. Internship. A summer spent doing chaplaincy in a hospital. I would work doing rounds in the hospital on one of the floors. And i would also spend shift on call responding to. Emergencies. And death. I processed these experiences with. My peers the others who are also undertaking this experience. And with my supervisors. Well it didn't take very long into this process for me to realize that. One of the obstacles. Between me and giving good authentic pastoral care. With it i wanted every patient to like me. All of them. The southern baptist man who didn't think women should be ordained. That cranky woman who was always yelling at the nurses when they brought her her food or medicine. The older european man. Who didn't trust the american medical system and thought that maybe someone was trying to harvest his organs. All of them. I wanted them to like me. I didn't want them to yell at me or kick me out of their rooms or ask me to leave. So i started to develop some tactics. Some tactics to make myself a little more palatable to these folks. After all i was in central illinois. My average patient was. A white person in their middle age or older. Rural usually. Someone who had lived in illinois most of their life. And certainly protestant. So i might not exactly explain to them what unitarian-universalism meant. I might emphasize my christian seminary. But it wasn't just that. It was also the part of chaplaincy that. What about going with people on their journeys. They're difficult journeys. Walking with them through those places of pain and grief and suffering. I was very willing to do that. If the person was willing to open up. But if. They preferred to cover their negative emotions with happy chatter. Well. I didn't want to be the one to turn the conversation back to. An upcoming surgery. The loved ones cancer. I didn't want to upset them. My peers and my supervisors. Started to notice these tendencies. State encouraged me. To express my pride and my religious tradition they knew it was important to me to be unitarian universalist. The urge me to be more honest about that. They also urged me to be. More willing to ask the hard questions. To bring up the real issues that were at stake that was what i was there for. Oh yes i knew they were right. And i wanted to do better because i wanted them to like me to. So i said yes yes i'm going to do do a better job and i'd go. And i pretty much act exactly the same. I needed a totally different paradigm. I needed a new approach. The arabic word islam. Is the infinitive form. A root verb ask mama. Which means to surrender. Do as a noun. Islam means surrender. And it also of course refers to a religion. A religion whose basis is surrender to god. A mousseline a muslim. Is one who submits to god. Muslims believe that submission to god is our most natural state. Original human beings were. Born into this aslam into the surrender. And for this reason some called the conversion process reversion. That we are going back to a natural state. The muslims have 99 different names for god. Some of them are. The magnificent. The merciful. The shaper. The strong. The peace. The bringer of judgement. The nourisher. These are just some of the attributes. That are ascribed to this all-powerful force to which they choose to surrender. To become a muslim a person must make a simple declaration of faith. Asserting one god and muhammad is this god's messenger. With sincere intentions they then begin to practice islam. Surrender. In daily life. Now is erica pointed out. We unitarian universalist. Often feel uncomfortable. With this idea of surrender especially the idea of surrendering to an all-powerful god. Are unitarian and universalist forebears. Pushed against such a notion and the prevailing calvinist theology of their day. They refused to surrender their reason or their love. To this. Predetermining god who was so powerful he had already decided the eternal fate of every soul before it had been born. They refused to surrender to the religious authorities of their day. And so. Jean-marie preached eventual salvation for all. Hosea ballou preached a guide to benevolent to dam. So william ellery channing. Preached jesus whose ethical teachings were more important. Then his divine status. So theodore parker. Preach the god we can know through our experience. These major figures of our history. Refused to surrender to creed's. 2 scripture. To accepted the illogical beliefs. We inherit. They're feisty spirit. Their unwillingness to accept. Statements without testing them against our own experience reason and knowledge. And this is a good thing. But the kind of surrender we reject. Is only one aspect of surrender. There are other kinds of surrender that do not involve letting go of reason or experience or our values. In fact. There are times in our lives when we need to surrender to our values. That. Is what i discovered during my hospital chaplaincy. Correcting my fixation on how patients perceived me. Was not going to be fixed by fixating on how my supervisors and peers perceive me. Instead of surrendering to the expectations of others. I needed to give myself. Fully to my highest values. The inherent worth and dignity. I myself and of those patients. Compassion in our relationship. The web of life that connect. All of us and all living things. These were the motivations for caring for those patients these were the high values i could surrender to. And if i could focus fully on their needs. Submitting all the concern about myself and my ego over to concerned for their spiritual care. Then. Perhaps then i could do this job more effectively. It was worth a try. But i have to tell you it was a very scary thought. You see most of my life. This desire to be perceived well by those i interacted with. Had provided success. I wanted my teachers to like me. So i did well in school. I wanted my friends to like me. So i was kind to them. Even when we had different beliefs. I wanted my boss to like me. So i showed up for work on time and accomplished my tasks. This was how i lived my life. And letting go of it. Was very hard. What would happen. If i wasn't constantly concerned about what others thought of me. When i start doing horrible things. But i become a failure. I looked at this choice of surrender. What an odd mixture of elation. And terror. And surrender is like that. A person who has. Been defined by their family's approval of them. Make that phone call. And with voice shaking shares news. I'm a choice in. Job. In partner in religion. That will not. Meet with approval. That person surrenders to expressing themselves authentically and living their life. And it is wonderful. And frightening. They're letting go of their control. The way they had previously measured. The worth of their life. A person who needs to be right in every situation who can never walk away from an argument. Looks a loved one in the face and says. Those very difficult words. I'm sorry. I was wrong. It's liberating. Hen horrifying. They're letting go of their control. The way they had measured the worth of their life. A person who has struggled with an eating disorder. Merchants their bathroom scale out to the dumpster. And surrenders to health. It is thrilling. And completely disorienting. They are letting go of their control. The way they have measured the worst. Of their life. Yes the render is hard. As muslims know. To maintain a state of surrender requires practice. It requires frequent practices that serve as outward signs. An inward reminders. Of that decision. To surrender to a higher good. Those of you with a familiarity with aslam will have heard of the five pillars. These are the most basic building blocks of muslim life. They include the shahada or testament of faith. Salat which is the five daily prayers. Zakat. Or the giving of money to the needy. Ramadan the practice of fasting. During that month. And the hajj. The pilgrimage to mecca undertaken once-in-a-lifetime. All of these practices. Our surrender practices. But for today i just want to focus on salat the five daily prayers. These prayers are bodily practices. They're a combination of word and movement and spiritual intention that engages the whole person. They involve bowing down low. Has beth talked about in her sermon on surrender. And as you may well know they happen five times during the day. At dawn. At noon at mid-afternoon. Sunset and night. A friend of mine posted on facebook recently. I guess i'm late to the party but i just found out that the first of the muslim prayers happens before dawn. For example tomorrow it is at 4:55 a.m.. She was amazed at such a practice. I too am amazed. What dedication. Can you imagine what your life would be like. If no matter what kind of day you were having or where you were. You just stopped. For a few minutes. Five different times throughout the day. And engaged your body and your mind and your spirit. In some meaningful practice of surrender. I wonder. I wonder what it would do. To my day and my life. I know that i did have to practice when i was learning to surrender during my chaplaincy internship. And i'm not talking about putting that surrender into practice in my patient visits although that was important to. I'm talking about a practice that would help me stay in that place. Absurd render keep me loyal to caring for my patients needs. Prevent me from grabbing back onto the familiar control of trying to manage people's perceptions of me. What i did was very simple. I would go out into the garden at our hospital. That would walk through the garden slowly. And i would breathe. I would breathe in through my nose. And in my head i would say god in. And i would breathe out through my mouth. And in my head i would say self. Out. I engaged my body my mind and my spirit. In this practice as i tried to remember. Their needs. Not your ego. Their needs. Not your ego. God in. Self out. It helped. It wasn't perfect. I was not transformed instantly into an authentic wise and attentive chaplain who could ask probing questions with sensitivity in every situation. The choosing to surrender was not. A one-time cure. It was the beginning of a lifelong struggle. A practice. Accusing andre choosing. To put the values first and let go of the things i had grasped onto that were not. Truly holy. So as you leave today. I ordered you to think about it. What does it look like for me. What might i need to let go of. To what can i surrender. There are many possibilities. Maybe you will let go of. Trying to look a certain way. And surrender to caring for your body out of love. Maybe you will let go of. Trying to get perfect grades. And surrender to learning for its own sake. Or let go of needing every social justice effort to make a concrete impact. And surrender to living with integrity for integrity sake. Or let go of needing to be the perfect parent. And surrender to loving your child as best you can. When you do discover. Some place in your life. Were you need to surrender to a true value. When you make that choice. Don't forget to practice. As often as you can remember. With your body and your mind and your spirit engaged. Practice. Choosing. Andre choosing. The best. Surrender. When i was doing my chaplain see internship. One of my supervisors. Define prayer as. That human need to articulate. Whatever we are holding most deeply within us. With that in mind please join me. In a spirit of prayer. Creative force of the universe. That binds each of us together. We are a people who hold gratitude and joy. We are joyful that last sunday. 80 people from 20 face communities. Gathered right here in our sanctuary. For a conference on climate change. We are grateful that this week our government reauthorized. The violence against women act. Which provides funds. It support the prosecution of those. Who commit violent crimes against women. We are glad that folks of all political parties voted to support. And protect women with this act. We also hold deep pain in this community. We hold the pain of parenting children. Who struggle with mental illness or addiction. We grieve their pain. A neuron. As we work toward reducing stigma in our society. We feel the injustice. Of our criminal system. We grieve the brokenness of so many families. Split apart when one member is incarcerated or detained. We work toward creating more justice in our society. We also honor loss. In this community. Each of us is part of an intricate web. A relationships. When one of us celebrates a joy. Or grieves a loss. The web of life moves to a new shape. We are part of the turn of the earth. The shift of the stars and the pull of the sea and all change. Amen and blessed be. Join hands for our benediction. May we trust that the rose will open. And as we fear feel our fear burning away. Let us remember always to practice. Choosing andre choosing. Our very best surrender. May it be so.

uudavispodcast_org

2013-05-12_Worship_Learning-to-be-Fiercely-Maternal_11_15.mp3

Welcome to sunday sermons and other recordings from unitarian universalist church of davis california website www.org for further information. Morning. And we will be singing that song later so don't worry you'll get to you'll get to sing it some more i enjoyed it also. Today is a service for mother's day and our theme of the month is peace. So you will see that the theme of motherhood and the theme of peace are woven together. Now let's greet one another welcome more folks into the sanctuary. As we celebrate this day. We come to the sanctuary. To celebrate the beauty of the earth. And to be in community. This congregation comforts us. When we know lost. And celebrates our best dreams. We bring our differences. Together we offer a fuller truth. Then anyone point of view. This is a place of challenge. And compassion. The holy is experienced tear in many ways. And is given many names. People of all sexual orientations and gender identities are celebrated here. We welcome all races all classes all physical abilities. And we have much to learn from one another. This is a place of learning. And hope. Together. We can accomplish more than we believed possible alone. And this is a place of change. Weather because of the touch of a friend. The words and music. Or a moment of silence. May you feel more alive. Well it's mother's day or means. Many things. One thing that means is it's their peak of the allergen season please after me 1 2 3. I know somebody out there don't know me some of you who know me well. Know that that's not necessarily the explanation for my dress. This month is peace. And i was a little surprised at the last service how many people been going to the holi festival for a year. I'm not sure for how long maybe for 20 years what he does is he makes little amulets like this. The different colors different designs on the back and on the front is the word peace in a whole bunch of different. Different languages i got this one. At the horse festival yesterday and. This is again a little bit of a personal confession. But when i got out i went to my daughter and said. Really kind of cool to see what it is. As she looks at me and she says. Oh my god dad is that klingon yes it's actually klingon klingon four-piece well. Today. We are going to have our chalice. Let buy a gas cap. Former law student marty weston it was just so cute how proud marty was when she told me this tibetan. Peace symbol. Person after my own heart. Mother's day. I don't exactly fit the stereotype of your basic mother. Now my mother. There's your basic mother. Great mom to us. Great mom to her students. Around the time i was in high school she taught elementary school kids in an impoverished neighborhood in minneapolis was in the sixties. We could get ourselves. App for school and fadden it was a good thing because. She was always gone before we before we got up and she was gone because she'd have to get up super early. And she'd make breakfast now they're about. There were 20-something kids in her class. Did end up going to school with. Enough breakfast for 40. For 50 people. For many of those kids they wouldn't had a breakfast if it wasn't. Because. She provided it. Forum. I mean this is a great example. Kind of thing you remember. Bother your mother recently i got another lesson in your basic mother. This time in the boardroom. Just ngo that i chair in the board was on a retreat. Was partially responsible for this a multi-day strategic planning session. He'll put on buy one of these gurus strategic types day-and-a-half. Some of its really linear and easy-to-follow. Productive. Little bit pushing buttons. Relatively innocent but miss worded comment. About what she was calling it particularly fatherly attitude. And its value to the child that which julie. The name has been changed to protect the goddess like julie stop the show. She just made it quite clear that that's not something only. A male can do and when her husband died when her infant daughter was just born she had to raise her by herself for quite some time and she did fine thank you as the mother and the father. And of course she was right. Not just that our daughter turned out great. I said earlier that i'm not your basic mother i'm not going to pretend i can live up to her standards. The after. Why are you going to all this trouble to feed the students you would have cut enough. Obvious stupid question. No need to think about it you just do it. Medium mother that's kind of hard for. But the hockey playing fierce guy. Such as myself who at the time i was writing these exact words i had. One cat on my lap who was annoyingly kept swatting at the key don't know how she manages to erase full paragraph i had another. She sits on my neck. And if you can imagine she's got 20 ways to hold on so she doesn't flies purring and. Scratching and. And actually as it turns out. They needed the breakfast. How close would that time to go. Julia ward howe born 1819 died 1910. Prominent american abolitionist. Social activist especially in the area of women's education and women's voting. Author of the battle hymn of the republic sometimes referred to as a ham of the civil war which she wrote after meeting president lincoln at the very beginning of that time on january 28th 1908 at the age of 88. How became the first woman elected to the american academy of arts and letters. And she was inducted posthumously into the songwriters hall of fame in 1970. What's the civil war she focused her activities on the causes of pacifism in women's suffrage in 1870. About five years after the civil war ended she wrote this mother's day proclamation. Arise than women of this day arise old women who have hearts. Whether our baptism be of water or a safe early. We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Her husband's will not come to us reeking with carnage for caresses and applause our son shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity. Mercy and patience. We the women of one country will be too tender to those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure there's from the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own it says disarm disarm the sort of murder. It's not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor nor violence indicate possession. Sman have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war. Let women now leave all that maybe left of home for a great and ernest day of council. Let them eat first as women. To bewail and commemorate the death. Let them solemnly take council with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace. Each bearing after his own time the sacred impressed not of caesar but of god. In the name of womanhood and humanity earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest. consistent with its objects to promote the alliance of the different nationalities. The amicable settlement of international questions. The great and general interest of peace. Julia ward howe. This is a fierce proclamation. We will not have great questions decided for us. But your relevant agencies. Our husbands will not come to us reeking with carnage. Our sons will not be taken from us. To unlearn all that we have taught them. A mother's day proclamation indeed. Julia ward howe. Is proclaiming an end to violence and a means to peace. She earnestly asks. Better gathering of women from all over the world. Be held at once. In order to. Promote the alliance of the different nationalities. Bmo campbell settlement of international questions. The great. And general interest. A piece. Well perhaps it strikes you as odd. But a woman famous for writing the battle hymn of the republic. Should later urge so strongly toward peace. After all the battle hymn was. Hugely popular fighting song during the civil war. And as john shared with us. How wrote the battle hymn of the republic after meeting president lincoln. In 1861. It tells of a god marching onto holy and terrible violence. You can hear house abolitionist convictions. In her song. Especially in the verse. In the beauty of the lilies christ was born across the sea. With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me. As he died to make men holy let us die to make men free. While god is marching on. This doesn't sound like a woman who wants to drop everything for the cause of peace. But i guess by 1870 how had seen enough of war. That was the year she wrote the mother's day proclamation. And she also began lobbying for a national mother's day for peace. To be celebrated on june 2nd. The civil war had been over. For five years. But not long enough to forget. The horrific deaths of 1 million americans. Both soldiers and civilians. The franco-prussian war was raging in europe at the time. And maybe how felt she had a lesson to share. With her sisters on the other side of the atlantic. Whatever her motivations house message is clear. Enough. No more violence. No more war. We want. Peace. We want snow. We won. That was the song they sang. The women dressed all in white. The ones who sat everyday. On the side of the road. At the market in monrovia liberia in 2002. They were muslims and christians. Side by side. Many of them were mothers. And they had had enough of war. Civil war had been raging in liberia for 14 years on and off. There were brief periods of shaky truce. But mostly there was violence. Daily. We want peace no more war. We want peace no more war. You may have heard the story of these women. You may have heard it in the news. Maybe you saw the documentary pray the devil back to hell. That tells their story. And if you heard this story. You may remember that it started with a woman named lima bowie. Who had a dream. This liberian woman was already working full-time doing healing work. In her deeply traumatized nation. And she was teaching other women about peacebuilding. One night in 2002 she had a dream. Where god said. Gather the women and pray for peace. So she did. Bowie a christian woman. Found a muslim ally. And together they went out to the mosques and the churches and the marketplaces. And they put out flyers. Now some of these flyers just had pictures on them because many of the women could not read. But the ones that did have words. Well they were less verbose then julia ward house declaration. But they were no less fierce. They said. We are tired. We are tired of our children being killed. We are tired of being raped. Women wake up. You have a voice in the peace process. Can you hear the echoes. Arise ben women of this day. Women wake up. Our sons will not be taken from us. We are tired of our children being killed. Let women now leave all that maybe left of home. You have a voice. In the peace process. They did have a voice. Despite the great. And very real threat of violence against them. By the rebel troops or by the government forces. These women use to their voices. And yes they also used their bodies. They staged a sex strike. Design to coerce the men of their country to stop fighting and work for peace. This unique effort. Ensured that their husbands would not. Just as how said. Come to them reeking with carnage. For caresses and applause. Even more effectively. They began to occupy a soccer field. That the dictator charles taylor. Pass. Twice each day. As he rode in his middle of military cavalcade from his mansion. To the capitol building. They wore white t-shirts and white head wraps. And they saying. We want peace no more war. We one piece no more. In 2003 they were able to pressure charles taylor. Into attending peace talks and ghana. With the two distinct rebel groups that were also vying for control of the country. Bowie and her delegation of women. Followed the men to ghana to keep tabs on this peace-talk process. While they were in ghana. The fighting continued in liberia. And the women who gathered at the peace talks each day. Feared for the lives of their children left behind in liberia. They wept as they sing songs. I'm liberia and a piece. The weeks dragged on. It seemed the peace talks were doomed to fail. So the women took action. Hundreds of these women still dressed all in white. Formed a human barricade. Outside the doors of the hotel. Where the peace talks were being held. They refused to let the men out until they reached an agreement. Well some of the men. Panicking at the start of being held captive. Decided they were going to force their way out. Well. The women could not overpower them but they had come too far to give up now. To understand what happened next. You have to know that in liberian culture. It was a terrible curse it is a terrible curse to see a mother or a widow naked in public. And sole member we said that if they dared to try to come out of that conference room without having reached an agreement. She would strip naked in front of all of them. Well. The men went back. I'm a negotiated. The peace talks continued with renewed urgency. And within weeks the across comprehensive peace agreement was signed. Ending the civil war. I doubt this was exactly the kind of congress that julia ward howe envisioned. This gathering of liberian women in ghana. And yet it was exactly what she had called for. Women dropping everything. Go and attend to the most urgent matter. The matter of peace. Peace so that the killing and cruelty would stop. And despite the overwhelming odds against their success. These women risked everything. To bring peace to their home. They ushered in a new era for liberia. Including liberia's first woman president. Ellen johnson-sirleaf. Julia ward howe. Who's mother's day 4-piece never caught on. Who never got to see her congress of women. I think she would have been amazed. What was it. That sustained them. What was that driving force. But julia ward howe signed other women. Without limits of nationality. What was the power that lima bowie saw. In other women both christian and muslim. Why call on women. Why was it a mother's day. 4 piece. Are men by nature so violent. So oriented toward war. So hopelessly driven by testosterone that they can't help in the peace building process. I don't think that's the answer. I know far too many loving and peaceful and non-violent men. To ever believe such a vast generalization. Yet it is no accident. But how in bowie called explicitly on women. To create peace. Julia ward howe was a feminist who advocated for women's suffrage. But she lived in a society. Where her husband did his best to keep her at home with the domestic tasks. Upper class new england society was one. Where women stayed home and did the bulk of child-raising. Women were the ones. Who developed strong emotional bonds. With their children when they were young. Remember we was living in the midst of a terrible civil war. Men were constantly being killed or conscripted into one of the three armies. It was the women who were left. To keep the family fed. To care for the young ones. And to do their best to shield themselves and their children from violence. We the women of one country. Says how. Will be too tender of those of another country. To allow our sons to be trained to kill bears. We. Women. Who spend our time at home with young children. Can we love dearly. We realize that there are other women. Like us. Who love their children just as dearly. How can we allow our children. To injure there's. This is not a matter. A women being inherent peacemakers. This is a matter. Ab love. It's not a sweet and sentimental love that you find on a greeting card. But a fierce and protective love. And i don't think that you have to be a woman. To feel such love. And i don't think that you have to be a parent. To feel such love. My mother likes to tell a story about me. It happened when i was young maybe about 7 years old. And i was a pretty shy kid especially around strangers. Well i was at the playground with my little brother joey. And he's three and a half years younger than me. And he was trying to go down the slide but. Some older kids kept taking their turn and pushing him out of the way. Well before my mother knew it i was marching right up to those kids and telling them in no uncertain terms that my little brother could go down that slide when he wanted to and they better get out of the way. Apparently i was pretty tough and frightened the older kids into cooperating. And really surprised my mother. But it wasn't so surprising. I want joey. I had known him since he was born. He was my playmate. My student my little protege. And i was very protective of him. I was just a little kid myself. But i loved him with a love that was fiercely maternal. You know. How this is. There are people in your life. But you love this way. Your children. Your grandchildren. Your nieces or nephews. Your siblings. Your friends. Neighbors students mentees. There are people in your life. Regardless of your gender. Or your parental status. You to know. What it means to be fiercely maternal. To feel that deep protective love. And that care for another human being. A well that doesn't seem to run dry. Powerful stuff. That kind of love. No wonder julia ward howe. Call don that kind of love. To end war. No wonder the women of liberia could take down to rebel armies and a dictator. We must draw. On this love. Here and now. There are war is raging on in this world. International conflicts. Struggles within our own country. Violence in our communities and in our homes. We need peace. Desperately. In every corner of the globe. We need peace. And sometimes it makes me angry. Because it seemed so far out of reach. Sometimes i rail against the military industrial complex. Sometimes i post angry statuses on facebook about. President obama's use of unmanned drones to bomb people in yemen and somalia. Sometimes i shake my head in disbelief. When i hear about people who think we need more guns in our lives. Sometimes i cover my face in my hands and just. Psy. When i read about. Another person being hurt by a family member. A woman being killed by a romantic partner. Sometimes it just seems like too much. How will we ever find peace. With love. We will do it with love. We will do it because we know. What it means to be fiercely. Maternal. Because we know that every victim of violence. Was loved by someone somewhere. Is valuable. We will do it for whoever we love. In that personal. And protective way. We will keep meeting. Keep marching. Cheap organizing. Keep caring for one another. And for goodness sake we will keep singing. We want peace no more war. We won peace no more war. Arise then people. Avista. Arise all people who have hearts. Let us promote the alliance. Of the different nationalities. The amicable settlement. I'm international questions. The great. And general interest. Apiece. Before we begin our prayer i want to just take a moment. To honor the life of herbert bauer. Who died this week. He died a peaceful death at the age of 103. And we mourn the loss of this gentle charming soul. And we celebrate all that he gave to this community. And to our world. There will be more information about his memorial service once beth returns from spain she'll be planning that with his family. So let's take a brief moment of silence. In honor of his life. As we move into a spirit of prayer. Sacred source of all love. Spirit that allows us to care deeply and fiercely for others. Return to you. And to each other on this day. This day when we honor mothers. We are grateful. To have mothered us. We are grateful to those who gave us birth. Who nourish our bodies with their own even if they could not raise us and we are grateful to those who did raise us. Those who mother died who protected us. Loved us fiercely. We are grateful for the mothers we know. Our own sisters wives. Grandmothers daughters cousins and friends. We are grateful. Because motherhood is no easy task. And it is a sacred thing to love that way. Source of love. Spirit of life we also mourn today. It is a day of celebration. And it is a day that brings us pain. We remember our mothers. Those who are dead those who are ill. Those who are far away. Those with whom we have difficult relationships. We carry these losses with us. Each day. And today we might be a little more aware of them. So we reach out to you. And we reach out to one another. For comfort. To be held in love. As we mourn. Motherhood is complicated. It is imperfect. It can be painful and it is holy source of love bless us. That we may all love deeply and fiercely. And let that love move us. Two more beautiful relationships. Two more justice. Two more peace. Each of us is part of an intricate web of relationships. When one of us celebrates a joy. Hargreaves allows the web of life moves to a new shape. We are apart of the turn of the earth the shift of the stars and the pool of the sea and all change amen and blessed be. Please remain standing and join hands for our closing words. Let us draw on. That fiercely maternal love. Within us. Let us draw from our well of caring. And draw up water that will fuel our work for peace. Let us go out into this day. Caring deeply for one another. May it be so.

uudavispodcast_org

2018-01-07-Our-Covenantal-Faith.mp3?_=4

Welcome to the unitarian universalist church of davis i am daniel enstrom and i in the campus and intern minister. Wonderful to be together again. I'm really roberts this morning's worship associate. As unitarian universalist. We believe all people have inherent worth and dignity. You are welcome here. No matter how you identify or who you love. No matter the color of your skin. Or the matter of your political affiliation. No matter your understanding of god. For life's big questions. You are welcome into this community has learners. And compassionate listeners. You are welcome here. Knowledge all that is being held by the people in this room. We like one pillar candle. For the sorrows of the world. For the moments that weigh heavy. On our hearts. For the moments of hope. And celebration. I would like to invite robert this morning robert serves on our finance committee but more importantly than my husband for almost 35 years in crime and you will hear it. With one another. And the community. And then those ideas were formulated shared. And chosen by the uucd. As our new covenant. As we begin this year together. We have selected the words of our covenant. To light this chalice as the symbol of unitarian universalism. Our commitment. 2 creating and living. Within a spiritual community. With actions based on. Respectful conversation. Receptive listening. An open-hearted present. Now. I invite you to repeat each phrase of the covenant after me. Together we can bring our light of hope. Love and social jenner. Alright. Ready. Danny. everyone knows the rules. Terry the balloon. Ready set the floor. I do know all the rules. And you forgot so you can throw the balloon. Ready set. People. Ready. Bring the blue back there's one more. Alternative balloon. Between size of the room. At least three times. Has anybody played a game. Where someone didn't tell you the rules have somebody played a game where someone makes the rules. It's no fun it's the rules play equal participation. Community as a cooperative game. What helps does know and understand. We have a goal and our goal is to live into our covenant agreement as best we can. If one person took the balloons and ran it to the back. In agreement about how we will be together. Our congregation. As well as other aspects of our organization helps us play the game. Our covenant provide clear enough foundries. Communicated so everyone knows to get us moving together towards the same goal. Flexible enough to allow for creativity. Okay let's try our balloon game again with one simple rule. It's a balloon to the people as possible touching it. Please sing i children to their religious education classrooms. Today's reading is a short poem by janet miles called two trees. A portion of your soul has been mine. Has been entwined with mine when we get it.. A portion of your soul has been entwined with mine. A gentle kind of togetherness. While separately we stand. Has two trees deeply rooted in separate plots of ground. Most branches come together. Forming a miracle lace against the heaven. I'm working on a very sacred covenant with my husband robert vaughn introduced earlier. We decided some time ago that on our 35th wedding anniversary we would have a recommitment ceremony renewing our vows. Consider the little chapel of sea ranch up on the sonoma coast vacation many times since march of 1983. However as new members of this church last february we decided to cheer spiritual home. In march of 83. We concluded. Our personal wedding vows with quotes. This marriage. Represents our continuing commitment. Open honest. Changing and progressive relationship. Our covenant was and still is. Family. Friendship. And support for one another. In september 2016 morgan mclain road. Call in my experience a covenant is an opportunity to enter a sacred relationship. Based on a deep sense of respect and trust and quote. Course was talking about our church. Those words are clearly relevant when you think about a marital covenant. And a commitment to another person. As i continued my own spiritual journey i often reflect on our monthly seem to listen closely today for last year. So what does covenant mean to me. Moreover how does this month-end intention relate to renewing my marital covenant. Like the trees in the poem. Robert and i have stood separately and independently. And yes we now stand with our branches intertwined. The lace of our past. 35-years represent. Attention. To fulfill our covenant. The tapestry of our lives was formed by risks taken and experiences lived. Back in 1981 robert fell in love with me a young widow with a three-year-old biracial daughter. As much as he wooed me. His true for both of us. After we married. And raised her as his own. Then in 1986 we were blessed with a baby boy. 10 years after we married robert. He was on the treadmill next to our daughter and he fell backwards. His heart stopped. Flatline. I was already in the locker room or i probably would have swapped over to and our skin was in the daycare. Miraculously robert was bought brought back to life by a quick-thinking emt on staff. And hurried off in an ambulance from a nearby hospital. Lying in bed that night. With our children on either side of me. I was frightened. I had already been widowed once at a young age. But i knew that our family would make it through this horrifying event. A few days later. Robert had a quintuple bypass. To repair arteries clogged. Genetic imperfections. His recovery took months. But through it all our families love and support. No matter what. Prevailed. Experience transformations. Joys and sorrows. Rings of trees. We have grown together and apart and back together. Many times. Has helped us weather many tough situations. But more importantly. We learn to appreciate and savor the little things. Tiny miracles. Want to leave. It reveals a miniature rainbow. When struck by the sun. Think about the miracles in your daily lives. Living our covenant. We have reaped great rewards our children are two children are. Now 6. And particularly they're not living at home. And we have a zest for life that has not waned in retirement. We have evolved as individuals. As a couple as friends lovers parents grandparents. The complexities of who we are. And how we transform. Overtime must be respected. Our new covenant. Embrace the need. For these changes as we age and become more deeply intertwined. Perhaps. Leaning into each other more. Hazard trunks become less stable. Our minds a little less agile. But our hearts forever connected. And committed. It is our intention on the coming years. As a. of. Balance reflection and peace. Our renewed covenant will be an extension of our spiritual journey together. As always we will focus on family. And love. And support one another no matter what. And as unitarian universalist we intend to continue our journey quote. Living within a spiritual community. Actions based on respectful conversation receptive and open-hearted present. When i was around 8 years old. Desperately wanted a puppy. I promised mom and dad that i would take care of it ticket from i would clean up the yard after it. I begged and begged my parents for a puppy. It was my grandmother's idea to write up a contract. This include my expectations for puppy parenthood. A clear definition of my roles and responsibilities. And had my signature at the bottom with two blank spaces for my parents to sign. I remember. Very seriously. Explaining my contract. Assuring them that i was ready for such a responsibility. And that a puppy really would be best for the entire family. To my surprise both of my parents agreed they signed the contract and a few weeks later we went to get my golden retriever puppy sparky. I suppose this was my first covenant. Sparky got older i didn't want to clean up the yard. But my parents would bring the contract back out. Reminding me where i had sign. Essentially calling me back into covenant. Course at the time. But that's exactly what it was. It was my promise to do my best to the best i could for this furry new friend for my family. And to my parents to promise that i would take care of him and that i would love him. The guidelines were cleared the boundaries were set. The expectations realistic. My first covenants. Is a promise a hope of how we will treat one another. We will walk together it is both a verb and a noun both a written agreement and an action statement. A historical necessity and tradition within unitarian-universalism when we have a room that is full of as many theological beliefs as there are people. If not more. We need this agreement to hold us together. The covenant extend back into the hebrew bible. Reverend alice blair wesley wrote in her book. Our covenant that the puritans and the pilgrims they left england. To experience together here more intensely more richly than they ever had before in their lives to experience. Holy spirit of mutual love. Organized groups. These groups would be places where individuals could gather study. Worship to discuss theology without the control of the government or a church hierarchy and boys did they discuss theology. These would be the free churches. Describe the idea of joining one of these creature churches. As a promise to keep. Covenants. Keep covenant bringing you into intimate relationship with others who have promised to live with integrity. Have promised to live with all of the integrity that together you and they can muster. And all of the years of your life this was the free church these promises we made to one another to be in relationship. Of all things i promised to live with integrity. Which leads to the one doctrine of the unitarian universalist church. The doctor in a congregational holiday. Completely self-governing we are responsible for our own finances our own leadership we call our own ministers we do much of this as our own community as our own congregation. And with the self-government this emphasis that each of us can find our own truth. And this belief that through conversations discussion discernment. More discussion. That justice-peace god loves can all be better understood and that the more we discussed the more we came together to learn from one another. The more justice the more peace the morholt the more love we could find. And to do this a promise was necessary. A covenant to one another was necessary. A little bit of history on the 7th. They begin with the statement the member congregations of the unitarian universalist association covenants. And promote. Our seven principles and are six sources are covenant with other congregation. Our covenant with the wider unitarian universalist association if you have not checked out the principles in a little while they can be found in the front of our handbook. The principles were established under the us presidency of reverend eugene tickets. Who was elected president in 1979. He was afraid at that time he was afraid that the organization that the unitarian universalist association last a sense of purpose. It lacked a sense of relationship beyond our congregations wall. Worried that we didn't have. These ideas to bring people in that we couldn't activate the imagination that we didn't know what we stood for. He and the committee works to create the principles to create our covenant. The principles were voted on unanimously in 1984 and have been changed several times. And they continue to change and be revised. Currently. The principles are being updated. Covenants of the congregations the unitarian universalist association that covenant is still changing it is still alive. One of our sources currently reads the deeds of prophetic men and women. We are changing it. The prophetic deeds of prophetic people. To remove binary language. There was a call at general assembly this past summer general assembly is the. Yearly nationwide gathering of unitarian universalist there was a call to appoint a study commission to discuss adding an eighth principle. Which read we covenants to affirm and promote journeying toward spiritual wholeness. By building a diverse multicultural beloved community. Based on our actions that accountability will dismantle racism and other oppression and ourselves and our institutions. As we learn and grow as we learn about truth. Does our covenant learn and grow. In our small groups use ministry in our board our staff we have covenant. And we recognize them as living and breathing documents. Documents that can be as needed. Revelation is not sealed and neither are our covenants. Do the word cloud. Familiar maybe not so much and that's okay i just saw it for the first time a few days ago. As soon as i started. This is a process that the committee on ministry put together to create our new covenant. Congregants were asked to name what is most important to you in your life what is most important to you in your relationships. With other people here at uucd. And these are the responses the larger the word the more often that word was used in a response. These answers were compiled into this words cloud in the largest words some of the largest words up their community spiritual respectful. Value listening support. Acceptance. These are some of the values stuff together as a community. The largest words were put together in our covenant by ridgeway. The new uucd covenant which we hope you will all have memorized by the time you leave here today we affirm our commitment to creating and living within a spiritual community with actions based on respectful conversation receptive listening and open-hearted presents. These words are our values the values that we helped people recognize we hope they realize as soon as they walk to the door. Which is important because as we saw and i messaged. It's not a lot of fun when not everyone knows the rules. Or when we assume we all know the rules. The game that was meant to be fun inclusive welcome ace open till. Became difficult. Confusing. Not much fun and we didn't get very far that first round. We explained that our covenant is like this it's like the rules the boundaries the agreement we made when we play the game. And the game represents our traditional life. We are all on the same page when our visitors see our covenant and know what we stand for what we hope for. How we agree to treat one another. What's receptive listening and open-hearted presents. We can all move toward that goal. We are clear with our hopes and our expectations we recognize that we are better together. That we can accomplish more together. We are not perfect. Nor do we expect one another to be perfect. There will be times when we will not listen to one another receptively. There will be times when we will not have respectful conversation. That is being human. Covenant is not a statement of our already perfected ideals and accomplishments. Promise to one another that we try. This is what we value in our relationship these ideas are most important and we will strive to meet them. When we don't when we fail. We have an opportunity to call one another back into this covenant. Remind us how we hoped to be how we will work to be. Because we need each other. We learn from each other. We struggle and hope with each other. We rely on one another in times of difficulty and joy. We are a congregation a community that values one another. Finally our covenant can be our guide. This month we are thinking about intention intention. Aims to do something or to plan. Maybe we aim to live within the spiritual community with actions based on respectful conversation receptive listening and an open-hearted. Presents. May we intentionally have those respectful conversations maybe remember to be receptive in our listening and to be open-hearted with one another. The staff is thinking intentionally about how to raise the villa visibility of our covenant so please keep an eye out for popping up in different places. Covenant come in all shapes and sizes with different gold hopes and purposes. Outline expectations for a new relationship with a furry friend. Guide us in small group sessions. Vows we make to our partners. Still others represent our hopes for our relationships with one another. In this community. Covenants are a part of our history we are still help us with boundaries help us play the game help us to be in community they can change and they can guide us. This is our covenant o face. Our promise. And our hope. For one another. Thank you. Please join me in the spirit of prayer. Spirit of life. Spirit of love. Here with us in the moment of heartache and celebration. Reminder that we need each other in both. Kohl's in love. All of the sorrow is not named here today. Hold in love all of the chuy's and celebrations we have brought with us into the space. Remember to lean on others when we need to. May we remember to hold up others when they need us to. We have the courage to do both. We are in this together. web of all existence. Bound together by. And i hope. Endoscopy. May you leave this space cheered by our community. Blessed by our covenant. Uplifted in mind and renewed in spirit. With courage to meet the days to come. Worship is over our service begins. Go now in peace and know that you are loved. Let his congregation say amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2017-09-17-The-Theist-Atheist-Church.mp3?_=2

Hassan bring-a-friend sunday thank you friends for bringing your friends today. Will you come into this church. Please know that you are welcome here. You are welcome in all of the ways that you know yourself. We are congregation that strives to listen and to support one another with compassion. Church family strives to be seekers of knowledge and a people of action. You are welcome here and. In all of your grace. If you are here seeking safety and protection. Or strength and reflection. We welcome all races religions and embrace many theological. Sexual orientation. Encourage. You are welcome here. We like this palace as a symbol of unitarian universalism. One circle is the message of unitarianism. The second circle is the presence of universalism. The cup of the chalice is a covenant that holds our community. And the flame is knowledge. It is love. 1 pillar candle this morning. Representing the sacredness for what is broken in our world. And the sorrows within. We like the second for the joy and the hopes in this world. Opening words this morning. Into the circle of community. Come into the secret space. Be not tentative bring your whole self. Bring the joy that makes your heart sing. Bring your kindness and your compassion. Bring also your sorrow and your pain. And your disappointment. Spirit of love and mystery help us to recognize the spark. Of the divine that resides within each of us. Maybe know the joy of wholeness. Maybe know the joy of being together. Religious exploration program. It takes many people to create a space for our children and for our shared values. As the assistant minister of congregational life my portfolio includes that children and youth programs along with lifelong learning. We have several paid support positions in this program and has a stroke ear labyrinth no and grace range childcare workers. This year george myron is going to join us. And caitlin logo is our youth coordinator who works 5 hours a week preparing the program. We're very excited to have kate logli join us she is our part-time religious exploration coordinator she works 18 hours a week. Supporting our program and our teachers. Today as service program begins and we will have a special teacher commissioning to tell you a little bit. What happens on sunday morning. Has anyone here ever been a volunteer in our youth program. Thank you. Are junior high. Kids are doing two different program. One is our our whole lives comprehensive sexuality education program they meet in the cottage. And they. Come together overnight retreats. The middle schoolers as advisors to talk about living their values and understanding intern universalism. That was a joke. Kennett middle schooler creators. Harry and yuyu harry potter is a framework to explore action. Potion. Kids creatures and the earth. Read witches are lily roberts. And our second and third grade class are explorers group is using two different stories and ritual and values and then in the second part of which uses tales from the world's religions for kids to explore their own conscience and relationships with others and the earth. Jill pickett matt selke and lisa oakes arleta. Kindergarten first-grade class experience in nature as a sentient. And as service when our teachers them to create a safe and fun environment for questioning and discovery. Learning as much as. I will remind each of you here at this the first service that you are part of this work too. And if you are inspired by any of what you here today or anytime you see a child or youth i hope you feel inspired enough to put your name on a volunteer sign-up sheet in the social hall at rre. Community warehouse. Today we charge all of you. Environment for questioning and learn as much as you. The word church. Never meant much to me as a kid. Church of something. Or in ancient history. Church was an old building. What's a beautiful space. So the word church had connotations yes. But no real substance. As i got older my secular upbringing and my interest in science. Grilled meat. Call dacia. I didn't realize that. Building my own church and congregation around myself. Science religion. And understood the universe. And my place within it. My academic friend. We debated with one another. We listen and learn from one another. Our minds and hearts. Became more open. I began searching again for community. We found a group of fun nature-loving science-minded friends. And for a while. That was enough. Last autumn. A very dear friend. Heartbroken. I'm searching. Infer meaning. Emma stark face of mortality. One month later. And i found myself. Searching for home. And for a community. Text karen. About social justice. Suddenly. I was an atheist. With urgent. Spiritual me. So when sunday. Last november. I stepped. Tentatively. Into this church. I knew his parents had a reputation of welcoming us all. And atheists alike. But still. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. As i crossed that threshold. However the moment i entered this space. Worm x members of this congregation. The underwing. And i felt welcome. 26. Sing along with my first uu him. Spirit of life. The music and the lyrics overwhelm me. Kind of like how i'm feeling right now. Emotions search within me. I could barely talk afterwards. Learning. Inho. Joy and strength. Music. Has my heart. Spears. Isolate pocketnow is tissues at the start of every service. And if i don't have pockets like today. I knew then. Sound community. Tekkit help guide me. Online you need. Edina community. Working to create a better world. The word church. It's finally meaningful to me. Well. This week i was invited to be a guest speaker for an interspace organization. That it was truly an honor. His dedication to science is the basis for their life. Their perspective. I warmly welcome. Interesting puzzle. I think there are a few assumptions embedded within that invitation. It's likely. Like many people in this room. My understanding of what god might be. What i considered. When my world expanded as a young adult. Life experiences in middle age. I searched. Continue. The love of science and reason. Forms the way i understand. How to describe. Second part of the puzzle. Has to do with our church and our denomination. Can i received a suit. That the atheist and secular humanist theologies. Characterize. Understand what. One part of the spectrum of our congregation and arjun domination. The diversity that we share is one of the primary. It might exist to one extent or another and other denominations. There is a joke about unitarian universalist. Why can't you. Because my colleagues know i'm doing. We are. Recommended. You know where the words fall. Which words. Sandwich. You have to really give it voice use your outside voice. Prostate other universalist ministers are. Wondering about this experiment. Nancy's going to play it and you have time. Is there second chance. What is the sound like. Tequila. Do it. Are you ready feel like you've read those words. Listen to it. So before the sermon. Our religious diversity. Exempt right. Great affirmation. I don't have to translate. What people were able to sing or not sing. There are few. To use the same language to describe the sacred. Nice plane. Worship for people who have so many different religious. First are the six sources. I'm remembering. The results of science. There's also an encouragement. Transcending mystery and wonder. They say we call upon christian and jewish call us to respond. Non northern european religions of the world. The sources specifically warned against. We are asked to be. Is never final. But there is a second answer to the question. Our beliefs. Universalist congregation exist. With their individual differences because the members. Members of that community. The answer for how you used to live. Respect. Receptive listening. What does that look like. In worship. We participate with them not the way we tried to sing to him. Fat in this community not every part. Something may not. There will be a reading a prayer some music part of the sermon. Addresses our perspective. Speaks to the sears. Sometimes worship. People have. Disservice. For me. Here we find the verse music. From traditional contemporary music there's music. Perhaps more than any denomination we are asked to practice within our own sunday service. Settings. Another denomination church. Dissipation. Is the equivalent. You have communion. Is the act. Christian deeper within their congregation. This weekend i heard chairman david. Archambault the second. The tribal chairman of standing rock indian reservation. He spoke about his experience. Opposition to the construction of the dakota access pipeline. He gave the history by heart. Of the first nations people on this continent. Starting where they are important cases. Miniscule portion of the original land. United states government once. Despite the devastating. His message was one of her. The audience was. Messages of encouragement. Audience. Primarily first nations. How could you find the hope that he's so clearly. You found her. Because of something close. Covenant. This community is exempt. For the first time. Came together as one unified body. Supporting each other. The differences among tribes across the nation. He said. Assign. Anthony said. We came together. Never seen this number of tribes. We chose to show ourselves. Make this commitment. Gave him strength they had not known for generations. The memory of that time. They appreciated differences among the tribes. The originals will be different song different. What tower was. Unitarian poet and minister ralph waldo emerson. When we practice our covenant of respectful actions receptive listening and open-hearted present we are invited into the lives of people here. Who are different from us. Receptivity in open hardness religious communities beyond our doors. Understanding. Respect. Listening and presents to our work. It support. Those who. In the ways that they requested. We will bring. Today. There will be a conversation. About secular humanism. The atheist. I believe there's so much more to share. There needs to be a different invitation. And i were offering. To those in our community. This afternoon. We will have an opportunity to take this kind of way of being. Bring it into. Talk about. In a new century movement. And how many religious communities. We may choose to join us in doing that. Is it possible. Princesses. I said this morning. But i just versity. And how we live with that diversity. Take us into the community. Later this morning. Linus in another conversation. That gesture. Time of prayer. A time of meditation. Behind. This time is prayer this time of silence together. Morning me holding our hearts. Camera range. Who has been worried about her family. Chose to stay in southern florida. The country. Do we celebrate with our high school group unique. Who had their retreat last weekend. Energized. Time of silence. Milestone. Sacred is a translation. Heavenly father. Heavenly mother. I'm blessed. Pray for your. We pray that your goodwill. Heaven and earth become one. Let us this day bread. And give it to those who have none. Let forgiveness flow like a river between us. Vitas to holy innocents beyond the evil of our days. Swiftly. Mother father. Yours is the power and the glory. Call ny. Nitrite. We affirm our commitment to creating and living within a spiritual community. With actions based on respect receptive listening and open-hearted present. Presenting. Amen.

uudavispodcast_org

2017-10-15-Courage-on-the-Threshold.mp3?_=3

Welcome to sunday sermons another recording from unitarian universalist church of davis california please visit our website at w.w. org for further information. My name is danny lindstrom and i am the intern and campus minister. Esther of congregational. Care and community service. We are a congregation that strives to listen and support one another with compassion. This church family strives to be seekers of knowledge and people of action. You are welcome here all of you and you are grace and brokenness. If you are here seeking safety and protection for strength and reflection. We welcome all races. We embrace minissia logical beliefs. We welcome all sexual orientations and gender identities. This community of courageous caregivers. Another end of our world. Welcome to our community of curious learners. Of compassionate listeners. You are welcome here. We come together in so many ways to share our lives. And here as we begin our service we light these pillar candles. Represent the sorrows of the world. For the moments that weigh heavy on our hearts. And the other candle for the joys of the world. Continue even in the midst of tragedy and pain. We know that moments of joy happen. And that we need those moments desperately. Taylor ellis this morning. Julie is the coordinator for our beautiful closing. May this flame symbol of transformation since time began. Strengthen our will and sustain. As we speak what is good. In worship of courage. Yesterday i came home from being away for the week and i was putting together the pieces of this. That rather than a sermon on facing your fears. We might spend some time together. Practicing that. Be mindful of our anxieties. There's a lot. Going on in the world. Those fires are only 50 miles away. Forever changed by unspeakable devastation. The last few months have been no stranger to natural disasters. Those hurricanes. And those earthquakes. Destroying lives and homes. And the disasters at the hands of humans. The shootings. That seems so far away somehow. The terrorist attacks targeting of ethnic groups. The challenges to democracy. Waking up the news of more bombings. It takes courage. Turn off the news. Something differently. And so what we're going to do. For now. You into a space of lightning. For the next. Time 45 minutes that we're together. Turn inwards. Turn off the news and the worry and anxiety and the fears. Words and songs and sharing. And to start that. Religious traditions. To call themselves into prayer and meditation. Lines up with one of the seven chakras. Energy centers in our bodies psyche physical. And so as i play these tones. And i'll make them saying as i can. I invite you to notice. Where it's resonating in your body. Hear these words. Is a state of mind. Estates of the world. Or we don't. Is not a prophecy it's an orientation of the spirit. You can't delegate that anyone else. In this deep and powerful. Is not the same as joy when things are going well. Enterprise's obviously headed for early success. Brother and ability to work for something to succeed. The same as optimism. What does certainty. It is about strength. And it continually. Even in the face of this absurdity life is a precious. Text evaluation by living pointlessly without meaning. Without hope. These words from elizabeth tarbox. Spirit opportunities present themselves. In the turmoil of lice. Sears in another's eyes. And there are moments. Present. The possibility of. Another. Presents to another. Another's sadness. Celebrate other's success. And allow the others story to change our own. Let us stand in the morning on damp grass. And fill up on the sweet. Majesty. Let us witness the first fresh foods of spring amid the brown sticks of winter. And for all this. Let us be grateful. Ourselves against the discomfort of unruly emotion. Nor seek to close down our hearts for fear a new love will come to our foundations. Let us instead be open to discovering a new way of seeing an old problem. For appreciating the perception of a seashell. Giving ourselves to what we stand we receive life's blessings. Another. The spirit of life. Connects us each. We know that we are meant to live in community. And it takes courage to bring our home into a place like this to share our vulnerabilities to allow ourselves to receive. In a moment i'll invite you to share with someone. In this room about one source of strength courage in your life. If you are able to move around the room. Prank someone. Maybe someone you don't know at all. Remaining seated. Find one person to sit with. An answer the question. What is one source of strength or of courage in your life. After the service you're invited to archery in the social hall. Let's begin our sharing together. As you sit in your seat invite you to enter into the spirit of. Prayer and reflection. Catch your breath. And breathe into this moment. Surrounded here. Spirit of life and love. We know the miracle of life. And the mystery of death. We know that we cannot chart a course of certainty. 4life. We always know the river alone. Sr2 treacherous for loners. May we reach out to one another. Clasp hands. Hearts of our wounded world with whatever love and compassion we have. So that healing might come. May we go out into the world. Greeting one another making friends of neighbors. And honoring those who have lost so much. By seeking peace in our still hurting world. We know that life is. Precious. And that memory. Is sacred. Does not just end when someone dies. It goes on in all of us. So we are mindful today of the people in this room. Precious memory. We have had much loss in our congregation. Watch lost in our wider families. Can we join you in your morning. In your precious memory. In memory that inspires. In memory. That knows that love is stronger than death. May we celebrate every possible moments of love. Maybe give thanks for every possible time of happiness. And may we be generous. With our love. Our happiness. We pray in the name of memory. We pray in the name of hope. We pray now. In silence. And hope. Amen. The world of hope. Let us extinguish our childhood remembering these words most often attributed. Even if i knew tomorrow that the world would go to pieces i would still plant my apple tree. At home.