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

RIDING THE CREST (JC)

I am so pleased and thankful to have been given the opportunity to be the Sunday morning preacher at this year's General Assembly in Phoenix, Arizona.  For those who missed the worship service , you missed a treat!  There were 192 voices in the choir, a large house band, and over 4,000 people in attendance singing along jubilantly to hymns and choir songs. Your ministers were all participants in the service and by the number of comments we received after worship ended, we could all conclude that the service was a success.

I want to personally thank Marty Day for making the lovely stoles you see in the photo.  As I said in the sermon, "We looked marvelous!"  I also want to say "thank you" to those UUCA members who came all the way to Phoenix to support us.

For me, this powerful service marks the end of my church year and the beginning of summer.  As I go into the month of July, I plan to take time for study.  I am looking forward to reading several books.  I have a few I'd like to recommend to you, as these books more than likely will influence my ministry here with you in the coming months.

• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (She was one of the worship leaders at GA)
• The Persistence of the Color Line by Randall Kennedy (Fred's recommendation)
• How We Decide by John Lehrer
• It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It by Robert Fulghum
• Voice from the Margins by Jacqui James and Mark Morrison-Reed
• The New Species: A Vision of the Evolution of The Human Being by Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott
• Guns, Germs, and Steel:  The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond

I am so thankful to you, UUCA, for allowing me the spiritual time needed to continue the vibrant ministry we have together.  We have had a great church-year!  We have lived boldly and compassionately.  I look forward to continuing the journey with you soon.

In the name of Love,

Rev. John

 

The 8th Principle (C)

In the Unitarian Universalist tradition, you hear a lot about the “7 Principles”. These are the backbone of our covenant with one another, the agreement we have made to walk together in right relationship and right action. We affirm and promote, through our Principles, respect for all people and our environment, free inquiry, use of conscience and democratic process, and justice for all.

What many Unitarian Universalists, especially those who are new to our religion, do not realize, is that these were simply drafted and voted upon by a group of delegates at a General Assembly a few decades ago. These were not handed down on Mount Sinai, they are not etched in stone, and they are not from God. They were just written, and voted upon.  They can be changed! In fact, they should be changed! According the UUA bylaws, a review should be undertaken regularly of the Principles, and changes should be made accordingly.

I'd like to propose an 8th Principle (This could be a suggested principle for our own hearts, even if it's never officially on paper) … "We affirm and promote these Principles, and honor our Sources of Inspiration, with a spirit of openness, gratitude, and humility."

Sources of Inspiration? These are the items that immediately follow the 7 Principles any time they're printed! You can find them in our gray hymnal or on the back of our Orders of Service. They describe the multiple ways Unitarian Universalists are inspired in their path, including one's own experiences and conscience, Judeo-Christian tradition and world religions, wisdom teachings of prophetic men and women, Earth-centered traditions, and science and reason. The beautiful thing about these sources is that they are ALL available to us for inspiration. One or two might speak more loudly to you than the others, but they come together. They are not a menu from which to pick and choose.

A Spirit of Openness?  We pride ourselves on our open-minded approach to theology, but when it comes down to it, we can be as fundamentalist as any religious zealot. It is good to know your truth, and to speak it, but when you do that to the exclusion of other possibilities, or other ways of life, you have abandoned the true Unitarian Universalist path.

Gratitude? Most newcomers to our churches, when I first speak to them, say something like this: "I am so grateful to have found a place where I can truly be myself, believe what I have known all my life, and ask questions!" At what point do we begin to take all of that for granted? Let's remember the gift this faith has offered us, and receive it with gratitude over and over again.

Humility?  Humility is the fruit of gratitude. When I first attended a Unitarian Universalist church, I remember the minister opening her prayer with the phrase "God of many names, whose mystery is beyond all our naming…" and I remember feeling so humble in that moment. We don't know God's name. We don't know much of anything, as humans. We strive to learn and grow each day, but we are still small, and we are still a piece of this grand universe. Fred told the story last Sunday of the blind wise people and the elephant. Each held a piece of the truth, but they could not grasp the whole thing, and so they misunderstood each other. Let's remember to be humble in our dealings with each other, with others we might not understand, or those with whom we disagree.

Our 7 Principles are a covenant, not a statement of belief. A covenant is a promise we make to each other, about how we are going to live our lives and create the beloved community. I would like us to think about not just WHAT we are going to do, but HOW we are going to do it. With openness, gratitude, and humility!

Blessings… -Rev. Christina