Connecting as True Religion (CL)

Why do you come to church?

People have a variety of reasons:   Singing in a group, living their values in the community, hearing thought-provoking sermons, providing a safe environment for their children to grow, enjoying coffee and conversation…

All of these reasons have one thing in common: CONNECTIONS.

Connecting is why we come to church. Whether we are connecting to others in community, connecting to our larger world, or connecting to our deeper selves, the whole point is to connect. Hopefully, after we connect, we transform… We grow, we learn, we improve ourselves, or improve the world. But first, we have to connect.

The etymology of the word "religion" is "to connect."  (Re-ligare, like the word "ligament.")

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: We need to reclaim this vision of religion.

Do your beliefs and practices connect you, or separate you? If they connect you, to your own values, to others, and to the world… then that's a real religion! If they separate you, through fear, guilt, shame, or hate… then that's a false religion. I'm not afraid to call a spade a spade. I believe, as Unitarian Universalists, we need to celebrate real religion--those beliefs and practices that connect, support, and encourage people. And we need to denounce false religion-- those beliefs and practices that demean, belittle, or frighten.  We are NOT a religion that says "We can believe whatever we want." Connection is what we believe in. 

Our Seven Principles are accompanied by Six Sources of Inspiration.

These 6 Sources include:

- Direct personal experiences of wonder and transcendence.

- Words and deeds of prophetic, challenging men and women throughout history.
- Wisdom from the world's religions which inspire our ethical life.

- Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

- Humanist traditions which encourage us to heed the guidance of reason.

- Earth-centered traditions which honor the cycles of the seasons and of life.

All of these sources are available to us as Unitarian Universalists. We are not limited by one source of scripture, or one particular prophet. We are open to a variety of ways of being inspired…  Of course, any of these sources could be abusive or hateful, if taken to an extreme or used in particular ways. But by remembering the root of real religion, we remember how to use these sources in a way that supports our lives and our community.

If you are looking for ways to connect at UUCA, you can visit our CONNECTIONS table starting on September 30. Our catalog will detail the classes you can take, the groups you can join, and the other opportunities for connection in our Unitarian Universalist community. In the meantime, you can contact me, Rev. Christina, at 410-266-8044 or FaithDev@uuca-md.org to discuss where you can get connected. 

If you need one-on-one support or pastoral care, remember, ALL of the ministers are available to talk or to listen. Just contact us directly and we'll find a time to meet.

In the spirit of love and connection…    - Rev. Christina Leone

RIDING THE CREST - Conscious Giving (JC)

Like many of you, I follow the UU Seven Principles and Six Sources as a guide for my life. These beliefs should not be seen as dogma or a creed but rather as guideposts for our lives.  I use them, daily, to help me navigate my moral compass in all situations that I'm presented.  I use these teachings to remind me of my highest aspirations.

In addition to the Seven Principles and Six Sources, I have also created seven ways of thinking that guide my life.  I believe when I have "right thinking" I am in line with my path, Spirit and life.  I have named this way of thinking "The Seven Principles of Consciousness.  They are:

 

            1.   Conscious Listening 

            2.   Conscious Learning

            3.   Conscious Loving

            4.   Conscious Giving  

            5.   Conscious Relating

            6.   Conscious Eating

            7.   Conscious Living

In this blog, I want to briefly focus on my 4th principle.

CONSCIOUS GIVING

To be conscious means we are aware of something.  Our awareness is shaped by our varying experiences.  Each day we learn something new.  My challenge to me is to be aware of what I am experiencing and learning.  I want to be fully present and in the moment so that I will not miss the lesson that is being given by life.

As a result of this awareness, I am conscious about my giving.  I ask, "How am I generous with my time, talent and treasure?  How am I being generous in my relationships--with my family, spouse, kids, colleagues, and congregants?  How is my generosity reflected in the quality of time I spend with folk in the community?  How am I using my gifts to serve others?  Am I sharing a positive word whenever possible?  Am I taking time to do the little things like holding the door for someone or buying the guys coffee ahead of me?"  Am I managing my financial resources in a faithful way?  Do I give, financially and generously to my church and other charitable organizations?  Am I active in any capacity where I am serving others who are not family or friends?"

When we are a conscious giver we are AWAKE and sensitive to our giving actions.

If you are not already, you can become a conscious giver today.  Just say, "I intend to be a conscious giver for the rest of my life" and you begin your new exciting path!  Yes, we all fall short of our expectation(s) but the goal is to keep reminding yourself to be generous and abundant in all that you say and do.  This is the secret to your success as a conscious giver.

In that light, I want to give you an opportunity to be generous.  The UUCA has an online store.  Books and other products you would normally purchase online can now be bought through our online store.  Here's how it works:
 
1. Go to the UUCA online store.
2. Click on "powered by amazon" in the upper right hand corner and anything you buy will benefit the UUCA. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Love & Light,

Rev. John       
         

Farewell (AZ)

For the last 14 years, UUCA has participated in a bittersweet rite of passage when it says farewell to its intern minister.  This Sunday we will again partake in this yearly ritual.

As many of you know, having faced this situation before, former interns are not allowed to have contact with congregants for a period of a year once their internship ends.  This restriction has several purposes:  1) it creates space for the incoming intern to develop a relationship with the congregation; 2) it appropriately prevents the leaving intern from continuing to shape church life from a distance;  and 3) it gives the departing intern practice in both loving and then saying farewell to congregations – a skill that is needed for successful ministry.  Thank you for helping me learn this one last, valuable lesson.

I keep using the word farewell purposefully.  People have differing views on goodbyes, farewells, and endings.  For me, farewell fits our situation well.  People often use “Farewell” instead of “Goodbye” under two (often related) circumstances.  It is used when the time apart is expected to be a long one, and when at least one of the parties is heading on a journey.  It is an abbreviated version of “fare-thee-well” as one continues on the journey of life.

I use farewell here, because we have been on a journey together over this past year and now we will continue our journeys separately.   I use it here, because you have helped ready me for my voyage into ministry.  You have equipped me well: you have given me feedback on my sermons, my ministerial presence, my teaching style, my leadership and administration skills and from all of these I have grown.  You have let me apprentice myself under you, and mentored me so I learned the skills myself.  And as I prepare to set sail, all I need for a safe journey is luck, fate, and your blessings.

I hope that you will be able to attend my last service this coming Sunday and join the potluck thereafter, so we have time to say farewell to each other face-to-face.  If not, please know that I feel honored to know each of you, and lucky to have grown under your guidance.

-        Anastassia

Summer Reading (JC)

I came to reading relatively late in life. It wasn’t until I was in my last years of high school that I began to immerse myself in books. I remember well the first book that really hooked me: Howard Fast’s April Morning, followed by Citizen Tom Paine.It’s not that we didn’t have books in my family; my mother was - and still is - a ferocious reader. I know that my parents must have read to me as a child - I’ve passed on to my children books that have my best elementary pencil printed name on the first page. But I found it hard to sit and absorb.

It probably didn’t help that we lived across the street from a playground where I spent after school hours, weekends and long summer days. I much preferred the organized activities of the park to reading. And of course what happened was I never learned - through practice - to be a good reader not to say anything about becoming a lover of books.

As I said, my interest grew in high school, but reading never clicked for me until the second semester of my first year of college. Then something happened and reading became a passion, which is where it has remained. I love to read and I am in the right profession to let my passion lead. It’s a blessing to make the time to be shaped by the discipline of reading, a discipline that provides depth and breath, reason and spirit, laughter, tears, anger and reflection.

I’m often asked what I am reading or plan to read. Summertime has always been an important time in my year because it’s when I hope to have a sustained period of time to read, think and plan. Books that I acquire during the church year often get shelved until the summer months. So, here is where I am this early August, here’s what I’ve read since returning from the General Assembly in Phoenix and what I plan to finish before we get back to two services. I can’t guarantee you’ll hear about each one of these books by name, but be assured that each has shaped some aspect of my thinking and planning.

If Life is a Game, These are the Rules - Cherie Carter-Scott

Three books by Marilynne Robinson: Gilead, Home, When I was a Child I Read Books

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal - Christopher Moore

Wild - Cheryl Strayed

The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes

The Obama Question: A Progressive Perspective - Gary Dorrien

Collected Poems - Robert Hardy

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life - Karen Armstrong

A Year to Live - Stephen Levine

Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics - Ross Douthat

Black Nature: Four Centuries of African-American Nature Poetry

The End of Illness - David B. Agus

Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age - Susan Jacoby

I hope you are having a restful, relaxing and reading-filled summer. See you soon,

Fred

One Compassionate Land? (AZ)

During my second year of seminary, I had the honor of serving the National Council of Churches (NCC) as they worked to pass national health care reform.  The NCC is an ecumenical group of roughly 37 distinct Christian denominations, representing roughly 40 million Americans.  Despite the wide theological spectrum of its members, the NCC has been known for taking progressive stances on public policy issues – some critics jokingly refer to it as the “National Council of Communists.”   

What I discovered was that the NCC was not interested in set political positions, but rather in protecting the vulnerable.  Though many liberals ardently fought for single-payer health care; on this the NCC was neutral.  What I advocated for, instead, was to ensure that those most often overlooked by the system – the poor, the neglected, and the forgotten – were included in a national health care reform bill.  The NCC took this position, believing that each person deserves care (including medical care) as a child of God.  I agreed, because depriving people of essential medical care ignores their inherent worth and dignity – especially in a land of plenty. 

Under the bill, the major mechanism for universal health care was through an expansion of Medicaid.  Many Americans do not realize how many gaps currently exist under Medicaid, which is a joint state-federal program.  States have wide discretion over how expansive their program will be – who it will cover and what benefits they will receive.  For instance, New York State is currently the only state that covers childless, non-disabled adults up to 100% of the poverty line ($11,700 in income annually).   In most states, such adults have no access to health insurance regardless of how poor they are.  The Affordable Health Care act would cover the costs of states expanding eligibility to all adults up to 133% of the poverty line ($14,404) and increase access for working families.  It would also allow and provide funding for states to offer expanded benefit plans, so for instance dental care could be included. 

Now, after the Supreme Court ruling, the governors of several states have said that they will reject the federal offer to pay for their expanded Medicaid programs.  Analysts think that 4 million fewer Americans will receive care because of these governor’s decisions.  I cannot know what is in another’s heart, and so I will not judge these individuals.  Yet, their declarations greatly concern me.  When I was young, my family and I did not have health insurance.  I would often hide when I was sick, because we could not afford to pay a doctor.  In elementary school, I endured a week of pulsating pain in my jaw, until I finally confessed to my mother what was happening (I needed a root canal).  Children of 9 or 10 should not have to bear such burdens, both emotionally and physically. 

Sadly, we face circumstances where citizens might have to endure such harsh situations based solely on being a resident of one state versus another.  We face the prospect of a growing divide in our country – and not simply a political divide.  There will be a divide in access to health care – and the peace of mind and true health benefits that brings.  There will be a divide in experience – as some are cared for by their communities and others struggle while having their plight ignored.  For me, I cannot celebrate the Supreme Court decision when the fate of millions of people hangs in the balance.

In the face of such a divide, I pray.  I pray that we show ourselves to be a compassionate nation.  I pray that our duty towards one another overcomes our political fervor.  I pray that we commit ourselves to working towards a day when all have the same protections under the law.