Our Best Laid Plans (CL)

Some of you might have heard my exciting news already... For those of you who weren't in church on July 15, or haven't heard it through the grapevine or seen it on Facebook, I'm engaged to be married! This is, of course, a happy and exciting time for my fiancé Brian and me. We are basking in the warm wishes of our family and friends, and looking forward to our future together. We are also in the whirlwind of wedding plans, since those take between 6 and 18 months to coordinate. It's been less than two weeks, and many ideas are already flitting around... Which brings me to my thoughts for today: our best laid plans almost never work out as we expect.

This past week, Brian and I visited his family, and our friends, in Chicago (where I went to seminary). While there, we attended the first birthday party of a friend's neice. This was a rather extravagant bash for a one-year old, complete with outdoor tented seating, a bounce-house, and a three-tier Mickey Mouse cake covered in fondant. Needless to say, the birthday girl is teething and was less than festive, and the summer heat forced the guests inside for much of the party. The birthday girl's mother was stressed, worried about her teething child, and upset that the little girl didn't get to "enjoy" her bash. Most of the guests, however, thought the party was a hit, enjoyed the food, and cooed over the sweet baby. This party wasn't successful because of the decorations, or the cake, or the bounce-house. The carefully color-coordinated food choices mostly went unnoticed, and all the plans and worries added up only to stressful planning.

This was an excellent lesson for me: all the plans in the world will never add up to what is in the imagination. The dreams are never the reality, and if the dreams are a guide and not an exact template, we can enjoy the reality that much better.

In a 2010 edition of O Magazine, a woman wrote about her experience letting go of her plans while on vacation. She wrote, “what if, instead of meticulously planning, I were to just show up in a new place and let the experience unfold?” She explains how, using prewritten cards with questions (in Japanese text, written by a friend), she asked strangers where to eat, where to stay, and their recommendations for things to do. She literally had no plans, and let her experience unfold. According to the article, it was an amazing adventure.

I am not the Buddha. Letting go of details is not my strong suit. Living in the moment is difficult for me. I imagine some of you are in the same boat with me. But, as I embark on this second year as your Faith Development Minister, I hope to “let go” more often. I will still plan, and organize, and create lists and spreadsheets, but my #1 goal for this year is to allow the adventure to unfold, to allow the brilliant, hardworking, and committed members of this church follow their spirits, and my job will be to follow in support, joining in the adventure. 

And meanwhile, I will also be planning my wedding, but not down to the very last detail…   

-Rev. Christina

From iChurch to Beloved Community: Ecclesiology and Justice

This year was a special year for the ministers of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis.  At the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in Phoenix, not only did our Rev. John Crestwell lead the Sunday worship service, but our senior minister, Rev. Fred Muir, was selected to give the Berry Street Lecture.  This is the oldest continuous lecture series in North America. Several times a week, people ask me, "How can I get access to the Berry Street?"  Well, here you are folks... Rev.  Fred lecture, and the responses from UUA President Peter Morales and the talented Rev. Kimberly Tomaszewski (former intern minister at UUCA).  Enjoy!!!

Rev. Fred's Berry Street Lecture
Responses by Morales and Tomaszewski

- Anastassia Zinke

LAW OF PURE POTENTIALITY (JC)

RIDING THE CREST
The Law of Pure Potentiality

 

Deepak Chopra is someone I am fond of.  He has a theory called the “Law of Pure Potentiality.”  The idea behind this is that everything that exists is pure energy.  We are all “star stuff”.  We are the universe and the universe is us.  We are kin to all living things on earth and in the cosmos.  Within this realm there is life, birth, death and constant expansion and change.  The more we understand WHAT we are---that we were meant to change and be changed throughout life, the faster our consciousness expands giving us more stability and peace.

When you release the “Law of Pure Potentiality” you are tapped into the core of the cosmos.  This allows you to manifest whatever you need in your life.  You need a job?  You need a new relationship?  You need help for your kids, marriage, family?  You want help dealing with stress or stressful situations?  Are you worried about a transition in your life?  Release the “Law of Pure Potentiality”.

Now it comes with a price.  The cost is you must be willing to change.  If you are not willing to change then this law will not work for you.  If you are willing to change here’s what else Chopra says you must do:

1.  Practice non-judgment -  There may be others who have what you want or desire but you must not give in to envy, jealousy or gossip.  Judge only your life and not others’.  Let go of any enmity or strife you carry.

2.  Commune with nature -  Daily meditate and spend time with Mother Earth.  Listen quietly to her, release your intentions to her and she will respond in due time.

3.   Practice forgiveness -  In order to get tapped in to that universal hum which is beyond time and space, right and wrong you have to let go.  Forgive so that you can be released from the temporal illusion of permanence.

When you do these three things that align you with YOU then get ready for your desires to be manifest.   Try it and let me know what you think. 

Until next time,

Rev. John

In What Spirit Do We Light Our Chalices?

Many newcomers to Unitarian Universalism want to know more about our flaming chalice.  They ask, “What does it mean?” and “Where did it come from?”  The second question is more easily answered than the first.  The image of the flaming chalice was born out of a need for us to have a logo for our humanitarian efforts during WWII.  (Read more here).  But its meaning has clearly been transformed into something richer and more vibrant.  We brought it to life through ritual.  The vast majority of Unitarian Universalist congregations open their worship services by lighting a chalice and by speaking some words that match the spirit of the occasion.

But what does this action really signify – other than the fact that we are UUs?  What fascinates me the most, and I think represents our faith so well, is our ability to keep the meaning of this ritual action open and flexible.  The meaning of any specific chalice lighting depends on the words we use for the lighting – nothing else.  The words are intentionally different from lighting to lighting – and so is what we are honoring.


Recently, I was honored with the opportunity to do the chalice lighting at the Sunday worship service at our UU General Assembly in Phoenix.  For this occasion, I wrote the following words:

We light this chalice today as a justice-seeking people, who face a bleak and desolate midnight of cruelty and exploitation. Our eyes are open; our souls cry "Enough." Sailing upon an ocean of injustice, we seek a compass, a true course to a land where love reigns and justice prevails. We are not alone in this journey. There is a light from that distant shore that beckons us, "Come, come." It is the light of our faith and the call of peoples from around the world. "Come, come," we hear as we head into the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and to a place we all call home. 

Several sources informed this brief invocation – the reading by Martin Luther King, Jr. that was used later in the service, the love of sailing that is held by so many within our Annapolis congregation, by one of our hymns, “Come, Come, Whoever You Are,” by my own personal theology, and by the theme of justice that permeated the worship service and the entire GA.  The creative process continues – I even painted a small chalice to reflect the words that I had written and to commemorate this event.

I invite you to be creative too.  All it takes to have a chalice lighting is for one to express, simply and elegantly, the spirit in which the chalice is being lit.  Ask: “What are you honoring?” Or, “What task are we engaging in as we gather here?” Even, “What should we remember as we share this time together?”  For example, are we seeking to build community, honor our ancestors, tackle some church business, eat a meal, or stand up to injustice?  Each occasion would call for its own words.  Once you identify this intention, just speak from the heart, and in doing so you have set the stage for peacefully and purposely engaging in the work ahead.  Try it out.  Let us know how it goes.

-          Anastassia

You Got My Attention!

I was in the middle of the street.  I was jay-walking when I heard someone shout at me: “Hey, you know it’s against the law to jay-walk.  Be careful!”  I was in Phoenix, attending the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly.  It was hot – every day the temperature was over 105 and as high as 111.  I was between air-conditioned buildings; I was trying to hurry.  But she was right - I was breaking the law.  Here in Annapolis, I wouldn’t have thought much about my actions, but later I fully understood that in Phoenix, as elsewhere, this could pose a very large problem (even death).

            You see, in Arizona getting stopped by the police – as in getting a ticket for jay-walking – can lead a police officer to asking for your “papers,” that is, proof that you are a U.S. citizen.  Later that day I was one of many asked during an Assembly meeting: “How many of you, right now, could prove you are a U.S. citizen?”  I couldn’t; neither could 98% of the people in the hall where thousands had gathered.  Honestly – and let’s be honest about this –I have the wrong skin color and the wrong accent to be asked for my “papers.”  But, if I had been asked and failed to show U.S. identification, I could be “detained” and once this process is started I would lose many of the legal rights I’ve always assumed I have – like a phone call and legal representation.  You see, the immigration process and detention system is very different – the rules as we have come to know them just don’t apply.

            On Saturday night of the Assembly, we gathered outside Phoenix’s infamous “Tent City” where thousands of detainees are being held by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  None of those living behind the fence have been convicted of anything – they are being housed in tents without air-conditioning awaiting processing (the evening we were there, it was 102).  Last year, 122 immigrants died in detention facilities – waiting for the government to decide their status, which is to say, some/many/most were in the wrong place at the wrong time, didn’t have papers, were detained, and ….  (One of the speakers noted that just down the street is the county animal shelter where the “guests” have air-conditioning and spotless living conditions.)

             At the Saturday night “witness,” I was among the crowd who gathered in the heat to ask that Tent City be shut down and that Arizona SB 1070 be repealed.  My participation had taken on more meaning when the GA organizers got my attention asking: “Show me your papers!”  I couldn’t and I realized that I could be confined in Tent City, filling the “Vacancy” advertised by Sheriff Arpaio.  A simple act of jay-walking could have put me detention.

            The U.S. Supreme has ruled on the constitutionality of Arizona’s SB 1070, leaving the door open for further hearings and litigation on one key part of the law.  In the meantime, my week in Phoenix was an eye-opener; it was unsettling.  “You got my attention,” I told several on the GA planning staff.  What will it take to get yours?

             Take care and see you soon,

                        Fred

UUs and the Wildfires in Colorado

A message from the President of the Unitarian Universalist Association

Over the past week, several wildfires have been raging throughout Colorado, forcing the evacuation of 35,000 people and destroying homes and property. On Friday, President Barack Obama issued a major disaster declaration for Colorado and visited the damaged areas. The UUA and the Mountain Desert District are standing in solidarity with all who have experienced the devastation of the Waldo Canyon fire in  Colorado Springs, the High Park fire in Ft. Collins, the Flagstaff fire in Boulder, the Pine Ridge fire in Grand Junction, the Lightner Creek/Weber fire in Durango and other fires burning in Montana at this time. In response, The Mountain Desert District Emergency Relief Fund is being established in order to offer timely financial assistance to our UU community as they begin to recover and rebuild following the fires.  

For now, please contribute to the fund via mail. Please make checks payable to "MDD Emergency Relief" and send to:  

Mountain Desert District  

Attn: Relief Fund  

2242 South Albion St. 

Denver, CO 80222 

Procedures for applying for help will be available on the MDD website very soon, as well as an option to contribute via PayPal. Our UU community always draws together in times of crisis to support one another. In this emergency, I hope you will help support congregations and individuals as they cope with the fires and their aftermath. Please give generously today. 

In faith,  

Rev. Peter Morales 

President, Unitarian Universalist Association