Sifting Through Disappointment (DG)

Today is Ash Wednesday. And, I am not anticipating many of us coming to the church today to receive ashes in the ancient Christian tradition, but we are open. If you do come you might leave disappointed, because we stopped doing that rite 5 or so hundred years ago.

Ash Wednesday marks the start of the Lenten season, a 40 day time period of sacrifice, abstinence and contemplation in preparation for Easter --another holiday many of us look forward to with great excitement. At Easter we will celebrate renewal, the return of spring, and maybe even the resurrection of… hope or a savior.

You should know I have mixed feelings about Easter. For now, suffice it to say, through my ambivalence I recognize in the holiday a chance to connect with history and traditions, (Perhaps even great music. Easter is made for Bach after all).

Easter is down a long road of embodied memories that might not be my own personal memories, but pieces of collective consciousness. All of these things are part and parcel of the religious experience, and by extension—the human experience. I recognize in the austerities of Lent too, a certain opportunity to connect with a history that is absolutely not my own. I am, after all, a dyed in the wool 21^st century, Unitarian Universalist. But the memories of Lent might include me all the same. The memories are irresistible and they might even suck you into them too!

Embodied memories? Collective memories? At first, it all sounds strange and impossible; like a post-modernist excursus gone over one bridge too far. Is there anything that we can collectively remember? And, how might we recall it, if we needed to? Especially, if we needed it to save our own lives? This is something that transcends heritage. It’s not American or French memory, Victorian or 22^nd century memory, but human memory. It’s transcendent in that way.

I think that transcendent human memory might be disappointment, a collective human remembrance of unmet expectations. We have all been disappointed about something:

Disappointed about ourselves or our abilities.

Our lack of ability.

By our failures and sometimes even disappointed about our successful accomplishments. (L'Embarras des richesses)  Perhaps we did it “too” well, or too fast, or too slow, or not at all.

Disappointed by loved ones who weren’t there, who are here. Or the children whose personal ambitions contradicted our own, more robust ambitions for them.

Perhaps we are disappointed that human lives are short and filled with uncertainties and dreams and reversals of fortune.

And, we might be disappointed that in the end a hero will not come to save us from ourselves? Mission “not” accomplished.

Whatever, the specific disappointment, we all share in the experience of disappointment and its memory.

Our culture provides us with many anodynes to distract us from the pains of disappointment and a host of fancy drugs to avoid the memory. However, if we want to overcome our disappointment, we must pass with full consciousness through them.

I recommend in the days and weeks leading up the celebration of Easter we consider passing through our own Lenten period to contemplate the memory of life’s shortcomings, reflecting and sifting through the disappointments that are our human heritage. We may draw on tradition, ritual and memories—our own or the memories of others. (The Christian mythos might be useful) As we do this, let us look real hard for lessons and other buried treasure; new opportunities hidden in the old ones. We will have to make sacrifices, perhaps the first of which will need to be our pride, and the second our guilt and third –shame. Let’s also look for forgiveness, our theme for the month, it might be the hardest thing to find, but it is worth the search. If we can find forgiveness in the muck of disappointments use it on yourself first and then on others.

We can always talk about the experience, our triumphs and our set-backs. See you in church. Daniel.

Post-election News

As the post-convention months passed, my tolerance and attention for the news (reports on the election) grew shorter and shorter. I grew weary of election politics.  I sought relief and found it in watching Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.”  Stephen Colbert’s satire on conservative journalism was just what I needed to keep my head up and get through to Election Day.  If good humor is created in the space between reality and absurdity, then Colbert is one of the best at it.  Of course, good humor also forces you to think about yourself, as in: “Could that joke/story/event be about me?”  Once upon a time, this was the role of the court jester (those who survived!) - to help royalty laugh at themselves without mentioning names.  Today’s comedians are a bit more straight-forward and blunt.

     Recently, Stephen Colbert reported on a meeting between famed evangelist Billy Graham and Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.  Gov. Romney was seeking Graham’s endorsement, especially since the Mormon religion, according to Graham, is a cult.  After their conversation, Graham removed LDS from his list of four.  Read The Washington Post’s article on their meeting here. 

     Now that that is settled, what are the three remaining cults?  Jehovah's Witness, Scientology and .... you may have guessed it: Unitarian Universalism.  That’s right, Billy Graham has named us a cult!  Here’s how Colbert reported it: “Oh yes, the dangerous cult of Unitarians [whose] sacred texts are the Old Testament, the New Testament and ‘Free to Be You and Me.’”  Watch the report  (the piece on Romney and Graham begins about 3 minutes in).  Colbert, as you can see on the video clip, reports that Graham says “Cults do not adhere solely to the sixty-six books of the Bible as the inspired Word of God.”  Yep, that’s us.  Guilty as charged.

     Whether it’s Colbert on politics or religion (or politics and religion), his commentary seems to always be challenging authority (which is our Novemeber theme here at UUCA).  Like Colbert, if there’s one thing that UUs love to challenge, it’s authority!  It seems to be part of a UUs DNA to “Question Authority” as one popular bumper sticker declares.  There are good reasons for this questioning spirit: Our faith tradition has been marginalized for centuries; our leaders and ministers have been isolated, ostracized and martyred - of course we question authority, it’s a matter of survival; many of our members come from faith traditions where they felt abused or ignored and now they seek a place where they are “free to be you and me.” Yet, sometimes the challenge to authority can feel like backlash, even juvenile, often picky and prickily.  Which is all to say, that we must force ourselves to seek balance and moderation - something that the nation as a whole doesn’t have much interest in.

            Our “Principles” state it best: We affirm and promote ... the free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process ...”  Balancing personal, individual needs and desires with those of the community and congregation is a way to spiritual depth, theological meaning and congregational health.  Moving too far in either direction requires a return to a place of balance.  May we always seek that balance as we deepen our relationships with one another and share the gospel of Unitarian Universalism.  Take care and see you soon,

 

Fred

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