Weeding, and Haunting, and Goats, Oh My! (CL)

Fall is in the air, and the crisp cool weather makes me want to get organized. There is something about this beautiful weather and the changing colors on the trees that inspire a clean desk, a tidy closet, and a freshly raked yard.

Other folks at UUCA have the same idea, and they want you to come celebrate the fall with a new UUCA tradition… an All Church Work Day. There is so much to do, to get the church ready for the winter. There will be yard cleanup and preparation of the grounds, cleaning the PlayScape area and painting the fence, tidying up the Memorial Garden, and doing some energy-saving measures on the Fahs House in preparation for the winter. Bring gloves, shovels, rakes, paint brushes, and other work supplies!

Don't miss this event…  This Saturday, October 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., followed by lunch. Members of the UUCA Board of Trustees will be available to talk and listen to your concerns and your joys and vision for the future of UUCA. Special guests EcoGoats will be doing some weeding! Yep, you read that right! EcoGoats, a company that provides a small herd of goats to eat away weeds, is an environmentally sustainable method for reducing invasive plants, and they will be here at UUCA! These are not petting-zoo goats, but they'll be a sight to see… So bring your family! Family friendly activities and games for kids will also be available for our younger church friends.

To find out more, contact Sarah Scott.

The following week, in honor of Halloween, we'll be hosting our first-ever Trunk or Treat event at UUCA! Only slightly different from Trick or Treat, Trunk or Treat offers only treats, no tricks, out of the trunks of cars! Many neighborhoods have stopped celebrating Halloween, due to large crowds of over-age candy-seekers, or for safety or religious reasons. This is an excellent outreach opportunity to our community. Kids and families from our church, or from neighborhoods where trick-or-treating is not a safe or fun option, are welcome to join us for the festivities.

We are inviting people to park in the main parking lot, walk up the pathway to the Fahs House (decorated with spooky cobwebs, straw bales, and other fun materials), stroll through a family-friendly Haunted House in the lower level of the Fahs House, and then emerge onto the back parking lot for Trunk or Treating.  We need about 25 cars to pass out treats from decorated open-trunks. There will be games, face painting, and other fun activities. We hope this becomes an annual UUCA tradition of fun for all ages, within our church as well as an outreach opportunity to the larger community.

To find out more, contact Michelle Malta.

Hope to see you there!

-Rev. Christina

Conscious Learning (JC)

My life-partner, Joni, has a very interesting father.  His name is Bill.  Bill is a native of North Dakota, a former farmer and truck-stop restaurant owner.  What makes Bill interesting is he is one of the most curious people I've ever met.

On his last visit, it was early in the morning.  Joni and I could not find him.  He'd just arrived for breakfast.  Minutes later...  "Where did my dad go?" Joni wondered.  We looked and looked when suddenly I saw him.  He was back outside reading the newspaper on the trunk of my car while making his acquaintance with our neighbor.

When Bill came in he said, in his "Bill-ish" way of talking, "Well don't you know it, that fella is from North Dakota and, man, have you see his hydrangeas...?"  He went on and on... In the span of 15-minutes, curious Bill had found out more about our neighbor then we had over the last two years.

This is one of many stories of how Bill learns new things every day in his very whimsical, extroverted and "Bill-ish" way.  He is in his 70's now but his curiosity with people, places and things is always growing.  I believe this keeps Bill alive, active, healthy and whole.  His curiosity gives his life meaning and energizes his mind, body and spirit.  I believe his way of being is vital to longevity and spiritual health.

The fact is, we are curious beings created by an ever-expanding universe.  As it grows and expands, we too must grow and expand because we are it and it is us.  If we are not conscious of what we learn, if we are not willing to grow and evolve we are stifling our personal power and spiritual capacity as conscious beings.

Getting to know people, places and things in more depth in turn makes us more complex people and puts us more in touch with the Spirit of Life. You may not be an extrovert but you can still experiment with Bill's way of asking more questions and being more curious.  Instead of feeling miserable or bored - get curious! Dedicate the rest of your life to being a conscious learner - a student in the game of life - and I guarantee that you will live a fuller and more meaningful existence.

In the Spirit of curiosity,

Rev. John

PS:  Many of you know I was recently featured in the Washington Post - here is the link to the article:   washingtonpost.com/blogs

“Write the Vision, Make it Plain” (DG)

Vision

By Daniel Gregoire, Intern Minister

9 October 2012

...Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.  Habakkuk 2:2

Prophets and sages are constantly tasked with write down the things that they see and hear. It’s simply not enough to have the personal experience of a vision.  Having a prophetic mental picture of things to come, of fantastic new worlds or zombie apocalypses is one kind of thing—a miraculous thing. But to write it down is another, perhaps more important task.

Yet, is writing it down, “writing the vision”, enough?

 At least in the Jewish and Christian scriptures, we see people who are called out of their normal habits and places, sometimes even transported to wild and exotic locations to apprehend visions of the distant future, and then, somewhere in the middle of that experience (but, usually towards the end) they are reminded by a voice from on high, “Oh yeah, and, write this down!” It’s as if the act of seeing is just one part of the experience, but does not contain the whole thing.

There is a power in writing that extends far beyond the ink and paper. It seems to be able to move visions closer to reality.

You are going to hear a lot about vision this month. We have visions about the direction and places we want to see the congregation move towards. AWAKE ministries is a kind of vision that we are all excited about. And, there is the ongoing Stewardship Campaign, which is an expression of our commitment to supporting the many visions of the church. Just recently we were asked to attach our own individual “visions” to the giant “Vision Catchers” arrayed in the sanctuary. I took great pleasure in making those vision catchers before my recent trip to Boston.

 

We give life and substance to our visions by committing them to writing. Otherwise a vision is reduced to self-indulgence, a fantasy or even a delusion. We must share them with others, simply and plainly.

In fact, it is not even enough to share our visions by talking about them. The vision must also be plain enough so that a person could understand it while running. Can you imagine that? If you just told me your vision while I was running I could miss it. I would need to see it in writing, with the bigness and simplicity of a billboard sign. The letters would need to be huge, the font - very simple, sans serifs and perhaps the fewer letters, the better. Maybe we would have to write the vision and place it in a few locations?

“Write the vision, make it plain…” this text makes an undeniable claim on me, both as a minister and as a human being. It says to me that I must use all of the resources at my disposal: my mind, my mouth, my soul, and even my written words to testify. Through my writing I proclaim both the wonder of life as I see it and experience it, and I acknowledge the sufferings that are necessary and add meaning and depth to that precious life.

My vision has a lot to do with my faith in “Life”: creating and sustaining it, causing it to flourish in diverse forms and combinations- to the end that “All souls [all life] will grow into harmony with the divine”. That is a line from the covenant I affirmed every Sunday at my church in Brockton, Massachusetts and it was printed in the order of service.

How is it that writing makes things “real”?

I don’t know the exact mechanics behind it, but I would hazard a guess that writing is an act that somehow signals to the “universe” our growing capacity and readiness to participate in making the vision a reality. It moves us, and we move the vision further down the road. The author and teacher, Elizabeth Andrew in Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir describes writing as an opportunity to transform “…[a] longing into something of substance” and the chance to bind “…the inner world to the outer, satisfying [ones] desire to unite with creation.”

Writing the vision is an act of faith and deep confidence. How would we reveal our faith and confidence by writing? Would it be by writing a memoir (spiritual or otherwise)? Might we write poems, songs, or make entries in that journal we started sometime ago. (it’s been far too long since I last wrote in my journal)

Perhaps we could simply write an affirmation on a slip of paper “I am a spark of the divine” and tape it to the bathroom mirror. There are so many ways to “write the vision”; indeed, so many ways to confidently proclaim and create the reality of our aspirations.

In closing, I commend the song “The Vision” composed by Patrick Love; it is in the Gospel tradition of the African American Church, and it just one more way to communicate power of “writing the vision.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNWi6y4tEsc

Let me know what you write…

See you at church.

The Wife of Jesus

The Hollis Chair of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School holds special meaning for Unitarian Universalists.  The professorship is the first and oldest endowed position in the U.S. It began in 1721, back when HDS was understood to be Calvinist in its theology and direction.  But times changed and with the liberalizing of New England, the status quo was challenged.  In 1805, Henry Ware, Jr., a Unitarian, was elected to the Hollis Chair and from that point on HDS was considered Unitarian (today, it’s an interdenominational graduate school of theology from which many UUs graduate).  Needless to say, Ware’s promotion created quite the flurry of fury among the orthodoxy.  Today, the Hollis Chair is held by Karen Leigh King - the first woman to hold the office - an Episcopalian, who, like Ware, has caused quite a fuss and stir (maybe it comes with the job!).
On Tuesday, September 18 (2012), Dr. King presented a finding while attending an academic conference in Rome (of all places!).  You probably have read or heard about it: “She identified a small fragment of fourth-century papyrus that includes the words, ‘Jesus said to them, “‘My wife.’”  Another clause appears to say, “‘she will be able to be my disciple.’”  Uh-oh!  What next?  Now, before you go and get all Dan Brown on this (Brown is the author of the wildly popular The DaVinci Code which is based on a similar kind of revelation), step back, take a deep breath and finish this blog posting.
For me, this is really not about Jesus.  Though our theologies are quite different, I  understand (and if I were a Christian I would agree with) Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest who wrote a NY Times op-ed piece entitled “Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Christ?”  Martin’s bottom line is that King’s revelation will make little-to-no difference for his faith: “[Jesus’s] life, death and, most important, resurrection would still be valid.  Nor would I abandon my life of chastity, which is the way I’ve found to love many people freely and deeply.  If I make it to heaven and Jesus introduces me to his wife, I’ll be happy for him (and her).  But then I’ll track down Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who wrote so soon after the time of Jesus, and ask them why they left out something so important.”  Yes, track them down Father Martin, and then after the gospel authors confirm that they included Jesus’s wife (girl friend, partner or disciple), then track down the early church leadership - the church fathers - and ask them about their editing, censorship and oppression that shaped the message they wanted Christians to hear and experience.  In other words, it’s all about power (and this is where Dan Brown got it right).
There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that women had critical and integral roles in the shaping of the early church; they played important roles in the life of Jesus.  We know that there are other scriptures that were hidden; we know that in the copying (rewriting) of scriptures, they were edited; we know that the early church created a male dominated, misogynistic hierarchy.  That Jesus may have been married makes him more human and appealing to me and, more importantly, I feel, makes church fathers and their followers more suspect.
I’m proud to have our way of faith associated with the Hollis Chair of Divinity at HDS!  Those who have held the position (since Ware, there was another Unitarian Universalist) have been progressive and prophetic truth-tellers who are compelled to share their findings, beliefs and vision.  As we prepare for October's theme of vision, may we all do the same.
    Take care and see you soon,
       Fred

P.S. - Following Sunday's service, several asked me for my "introduction" to UUism.  For those who were not in church, here's the context: I was role-playing what I would say if I went door-to-door sharing our faith - as the Mormons do. "Hi, I'm Fred Muir.  I live here in Annapolis.  I’m a Unitarian Universalist and you may have never heard about us, but we are the religion claimed by five Presidents of the United States, five Nobel Laureates, an abundance of American writers, poets, activists and yes, even some heretics. We are a religion of open minds, loving hearts and helping hands.  I'd like to leave you a pamphlet that tells you more.  Have a great day!"

Generosity of Spirit (CL)

I have been spending a lot of time, these past couple months, thinking about money. I am planning a wedding, buying a house, and now that my car’s engine has developed some really strange noises, buying a new car, too. All while paying off large student debt.

Money is one of those unpleasant topics which most of us try to avoid thinking about, or talking about, most of the time. Indeed, our society has taught us that discussing money in public is something “polite” people don’t do. But it is that frame of mind that has kept us from honestly discussing the purpose and value of money. We are taught to think of it as an end in itself, rather than a means to a useful end. Some people even consider money "evil." We are woefully uneducated as to the ways our economy and banking systems work. 

What if, instead of fearing money, we were empowered to use it in service to our values?

All of these thoughts about money are swirling in my mind while the church’s administrative team and finance committee work to plan the upcoming budget and stewardship campaign. It’s that time of year again... We will talk about money.

The theme for the month of October is “Vision.” The vision for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis is to create the Beloved Community by empowering and inspiring all souls to live bold and compassionate lives. Creating the Beloved Community… that’s a big (bold) vision!

Throughout October we will have meetings to discuss that vision, and importantly, how the budget is reflected in the vision, and how we hope that the congregation will give so generously that we can expand the vision further. We will be asking you, what’s your vision? What is it that you are looking forward to? This year? Next year? In 20 years?

This year, I am looking forward to...

Exciting music programs planned by Betsy Kraning. 

Committed high school youth making their goals a reality. 

Fighting for Marriage Equality and the DREAM Act with UULM. 

Great new groups and classes, and great ongoing ones, too! 

Growth of our PlayScape, nursery and Spirit Play classes for little ones. 

AWAKE Ministries and the new mid-week worship service.

What are you looking forward to?

The reality of this vision is that each of these things costs money. We are a spiritual community living in the world of reality. We cannot escape utility bills, cost of supplies, or paying our staff a fair salary. Our vision must be reflected in our generosity.

I did the math, and realized that if each adult member of the church gave $1,500/year (that’s $125/month) we would breeze through our budget process and have some to spare for our church’s vision.  I have seen the numbers, and I know that many of you give much more than that. If your life circumstances allow you to give more, please know that we greatly appreciate that generosity… Many people cannot give that much, and we understand and appreciate whatever you can give. But as you make your pledge, please consider that number: $1,500 per adult member. Look honestly at your household finances and also consider how much the church means to you.

I don’t know if you realize this, but your ministers and many of the staff also make a pledge and pay to support the vision of the church.  Fred and Susan are among our top givers! As I planned my budget, including how much I can afford for my house or car payments, I included my pledge to the church in that process. I chose to give $1,500 because I can. I calculated what I can afford for my home and car payments after taking that amount out of my budget.

We know that every circumstance is different. We are not asking you to accumulate debt or be financially irresponsible in order to increase your pledge. But we are asking you to consider your pledge to the church as a forethought, and not an afterthought.

The church is here to help you grow in your life, in your values, and your connections to others. Please know that we are here for you if you have lost a job or are struggling financially. We have knowledgeable people who can help you plan your budget or find resources in the community. I am offering a class in December to help you talk to kids about money, so we can break the cycle of silence on this topic. Money isn’t a topic to avoid or fear. It’s a topic to engage honestly and with love.

What are you looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to honest conversation about money, about generosity, and about vision. I’m looking forward to a year of bold and compassionate living.

Let’s make it happen, together!

Closed Mouth, Opened Heart - Conscious Listening (JC)

In the Hindu/Buddhist tradition many believe there are seven chakras or seven centers in the body where one can collect energy, wisdom, insight, foresight, strength, compassion, power and love.  These energy centers are connected to particular glands in the body.  As one becomes master over oneself, he/she can open and close these energy centers as needed given the situation.

As an example, if I wanted to intuit a person's motives I could open my sixth chakra, also known as the "third eye" which regulates clarity, intuition, clear thinking and vision.  This energy center is located just above the eyes in the center of the forehead.

Chakras are important when I think about our ministry together at the UUCA.  We are in the business of developing intimate relationships with one another.  We grow closer by getting to know each other.  We get to know each other by listening to each other's stories.  When we hear each other in, love pains are endured and healed, wounds are closed, and love is given and received.

To build better relationships at church, at home or at work we must become better listeners.  That's what our monthly theme Sabbath is about to me--being quiet long enough to hear the other. When listening, practice opening only two energy centers (chakras 4 and 7) the heart and crown chakras which regulate love and spiritual connection.  When we enter into relationships from a spiritual perspective guided by love only good can be manifest.

I have personally felt the power of these energy centers in my life for better and for worse.  I've been in difficult conversations where I want the other person to see what I see.  I intentionally kept my third-eye chakra open trying to guess what this person is thinking, trying to convince them that my way was better.  But ultimately the conversation failed.  It is only when I made the decision to close the third-eye chakra and focus my energy on compassion and love, in the name of Spirit, that I began to hear/see things anew.  The conversation continued and healing occurred.

For the rest of this month of Sabbath, try to consciously listen to others.  Open your heart and spirit to love.  Take your eyes off of yourself and place them on someone else.  Practice conscious listening and things will transform!



Love and light,

Rev. John

Attending to the New: A Journey Through Shabbat (DG)

By Daniel Gregoire, Intern Minister.

I need rest, I need to be. I need Shabbat.

In New York City, where I am from, I had always referred to Sabbath as Shabbat, to use the Hebrew pronunciation.  Although I am of Haitian descent and I’ve lived a good part of my life around people from the Caribbean islands, Jewish culture and influence suffuses life in New York City. You see it in the ease with which you can order a bagel with lox from the Puerto Rican bodega. I can remember the occasion my grandmother paired Jewish latkes with Haitian mori (a traditional dish of salted cod in a spicy tomato sauce).  In New York one can’t help but import and export cultural artifacts, and I suppose that is true of life anywhere in this deeply interconnected world in which we find ourselves.

Speaking of cultural artifacts, the Hebrew Bible makes many references to the observance of Shabbat. One must abstain from work of various sorts, and perform rites. Shabbat is a deeply important aspect of the identity of the Hebrew and later Jewish peoples.  Rev. Fred explained in his previous blog how Shabbat has been adapted and incorporated into the subsequent Abrahamic faith traditions. As Unitarian Universalists we draw on many of those sources for our inspiration. The Jewish tradition shows us that Shabbat in its most fundamental sense is about rest. And, we are all familiar with the notion that “God rested on the seventh day” in the Jewish and Christian creation narrative. 

The first intimations of Shabbat come in between two intense periods, creating the cosmos, and responding to humanity.  Elohim (“the God”, “the Council of Gods”, depending on who’s doing the translating) is a creative kind of deity, bringing forth new things, ideas and relationships.  Now, I don’t intend for this blog entry to be a historical critical study, but rather an opportunity to reflect on the importance of attending to the new; and, how the call to rest of Shabbat is a deeply important way to do just that.

As I consider rest, I feel confident in saying that rest is more than rest. It is certainly more than sleep, even a rejuvenating sleep. Rest as I understand it is about “being” - just being.  Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Motion (in fact his first law) says that an object at rest will stay at rest unless some unbalanced force acts on it. The deeper knowledge here in Newtonian physics and in biblical exegesis is that an object at rest, and object at Shabbat, will simply “Be”.

In recent weeks I have become well acquainted with the “new” and the busyness that makes the new possible.  I graduated from Union Theological Seminary. I have had enough “Goodbye Parties” for the idea that I was really leaving my home, to finally sink into my bones. On the 24^th of August I decamped from the very center of New York City, where I could see the Empire State building from my bedroom window and feel the crush of Midtown Manhattan.  Lately, it seems I’ve retreated to the green seclusion of the intern apartment in Annapolis, where for the first few days I saw more deer than people.

I am glad to say I that now the amount of people I see outnumbers the deer. 

This is a new experience to be sure: finding a car, learning where to get groceries, where to spend leisure time, getting used to more personal space and navigating the greater distances between places. And, I know that the church has made various preparations and changes both for my arrival as Intern Minister and the start of the new church year. This is a period of intense, creative activity.

Something entirely new and never seen before is coming into existence. Leaving the city has expanded my world in many ways. Living in Annapolis is challenging me to be open, to be silly, to be tired, to be scared driving down Route 50, to be dumbfounded, to be reflective and to be inquisitive in creating a new life for myself in the community and in this particular congregation. However, the biggest challenge here is the call to just be. There is so much to do and so much to explore. There are historic sites, the Eastern Shore, seafood, an epic Naval Academy vs. St. John’s Croquet Tournament; and I hear sailing is “a big thing” here. I want to experience it all now.

At some point we’ve all been called to simply be, after or before the frenzy of creative dislocation/ relocation. We’ve rearranged our world, metaphorically separating day from night, creating sea monsters and sunflowers. We bring so much into being at moments just like this.  It could have been a long term move (like mine), or a summer getaway, or shifting gears at work. So much behind us, and before us right now and great deal more awaits us; how do we attend to it all?

“O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind [sic] is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't.”         Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Whether it’s Elohim or Miranda or me or you, behold, we are on the verge of something absolutely fascinating and tremendous. There is just so much to do and see and be a part of. It is overwhelming to consider the many possibilities that await us at UUCA this year. We have an awesome ministerial leadership team and an engaged and engaging congregation. I get overwhelmed when I think about all the options. Considering the past and anticipating the future, I could drown in the excitement, and would be quite sad.

How do we respond to all of this? With Shabbat.

Shabbat is rest. It is stopping before getting too far ahead of ourselves; it is attending to the extraordinary with an extended pause. Shabbat is finding a calm posture and remembering to breathe and perhaps even counting our breath to help us. It is a prayer of silence before crossing the threshold. Shabbat is a chance that we get again and again to just be.