The Three L's of Advent (CL)

Let me start with one of my favorite poems, "Winter," by Greta Crosby…

Let us not wish away the winter.

It is a season to itself, not simply the way to spring.

When trees rest, growing no leaves, gathering no light, they let in sky and trace themselves delicately against dawns and sunsets.

The clarity and brilliance of the winter sky delight.

The loom of fog softens edges, lulls the eyes and ears of the quiet, awakens by risk the unquiet. A low dark sky can snow, emblem of individuality, liberality, and aggregate power.

Snow invites to contemplation and to sport.

Winter is a table set with ice and starlight.

Winter dark tends to warm light: fire and candle, winter cold to hugs and huddles, winter wants to gifts and sharing, winter danger to visions, plans, and common endeavoring, and the zest of narrow escapes, winter tedium to merrymaking.

Let us therefore praise winter, rich in beauty, challenge, and pregnant negatives.

The winter is almost upon us, and certainly the days are getting shorter and the darkness creeping in longer and longer intervals. It is a time "rich in beauty, challenge, and pregnant negatives." The negative space of darkness, empty trees, and cold are ready to be filled by our light, life, and love.

December's worship theme is "Advent." This is a special time, a time of waiting, a time of anticipation, a time for growth… It is a time set aside to honor the darkness, to honor the negative space. It is a time to prepare for the coming of the light, or in Christian theology, to prepare for the birth of Jesus, who brought a message of love and life to the world.

So much of this season has been twisted into a month of the three S's: Shopping, Spending, & Stressing, when instead it should be a time for the three L's: Light, Life, and Love.

This year in honor of Advent and the holiday season, I will be posting an "Advent Calendar" of sorts each week in the narthex of the church, as well as through our online newsletter ("In the Know"). For each day in the coming week I will list an idea for how to practice the three L's.  I hope you will try along with me, and e-mail me with your feelings, joys, struggles, and ideas.

For next week…

Saturday, December 1- Have you made your holiday budget? Debt is no way to honor the season… Talk with your family about your financial resources and how you plan to spend this season (consider: travel, parties, gifts, postage, decorations, food, and clothes!)

Sunday, December 2- Now that you've made your holiday budget, consider giving a portion to UUCA's "Greater Good Project." Your giving should be a part of your budget, not in addition. The recipient this year, selected by the kids in R.E., is "Creating Communities" a local arts mentorship program for underserved youth. Together we can do good!!

Monday, December 3- Thankful for your life and health, consider giving blood at your local Red Cross. Or, check to be sure you are an organ donor!

Tuesday, December 4- Spend a few minutes today looking at the beauty of candlelight. See how fragile it is, and yet how strong its light. What does that mean for you?

Wednesday, December 5-  Call someone you love, and tell them how much they mean to you.

Thursday, December 6- Save some paper grocery bags or portions of last year's holiday cards to make this year's greetings in a environmentally-friendly way! Hand-written, drawn, or stamped greetings are especially meaningful.

Friday, December 7-  UUCA supports the Lighthouse Shelter year-round, and especially at the holidays. Talk to Carrie Kotcho for more information about how to help. CKotcho@verizon.net.

Saturday, December 8-  Hanukkah Begins at sunset tonight! Celebrate with potato latkes… shredded potatoes, with egg, flour, and salt fried in oil. Mmm!

Sunday, December 9- Join us for our annual holiday tradition at UUCA: Stone Soup! Bring a soup ingredient to church in the morning, and come back at 4pm to make decorations, homemade gifts, and celebrate a communal meal in honor of our diversity and unity. Bring a family-tradition dish to share, along with the recipe to go into our new "We Are Stone Soup" Cookbook.

The UU Five Pillars (JC)

This month's theme is "Authority".  Authority is all about submitting to someone or something.  Everyday all of us give power to people, places and things with the hope that these persons, places and things will keep our and the society's best interests in mind.

 

Like authority, religion is also about submission--submitting to something bigger than ourselves whether it's God, a religious book, a congregation, or spiritual leader.  

Islam is a religion that believes in submission.  In fact the word Islam means "submission to God".  There is no ambiguity in this faith tradition--God is the authority and submission to him is paramount.  

A part of their submission means they must honor the Five Pillars . The Five Pillars of Islam are the five "obligations" that every Muslim must fulfill in order to honor their God and faith tradition.     

 

The Five Pillars:

• Shahadah: (ah-sha-ha-dah) sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith—“There is no god but Allah (God), and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” (It's normally sung).

• Salah:(Sa-lay) performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times a day. Facing in the direction of Mecca, the holiest sight for Muslims. (No time for trouble if you do this 5x a day!!)
• Zakah: (Za-kay) “That which purifies”- paying a tax to benefit the poor and the needy. It is a form of income redistribution. Responsible Muslims give 2.5% of their wealth after debts each year.
• Sawm: (Sy-im) fasting (abstain from eating and drinking) during the month of Ramadan, ninth month of the Islamic Lunar calendar.
• Hajj: (Hoj) pilgrimage to Mecca (if one can afford it). A Muslim will make at least one trip in his lifetime to the holiest of holy places for Muslims—Mecca.

 By practicing the five pillars, Muslims believe they are "putting their faith in action."  It is true that “Faith without works is dead."

Like a good UU, I can break these tenets down to understand their sacredness even better.  What I get from the Five Pillars is this: Profess, pray, give sacrifice, commune. 

As UUs we have a Profession of Faith:

We believe in the worth and dignity of all people and in the interdependent web of existence--the first and seventh principles.  

Prayer:
We pray, meditate or think about our lives and the lives of others.  
We take time to be thankful and grateful our lives.  We think about 
those in need, those struggling, those suffering from injustices.  

Charity:           
Many UUs are generous with their time, talent and treasure.  We work tirelessly for the marginalized and oppressed.  We give a percentage of our wealth to causes we believe in.  We make a financial pledge to our church to support its vision and mission.  Most of us understand that "Your treasure is where your heart lies."

Fasting:           
We don’t talk about this much but perhaps as UUs we can go even deeper taking a daily, monthly or annual time to fast.  This can be seen as a personal time of reflection and self-sacrifice.  Breaking away from the norm to genuflect and reflect.  When you fast from the norms you give your body time to heal and get stronger.

Pilgrimage:     
The dictionary defines pilgrimage as "a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith, although sometimes it can be a metaphorical journey in to someone's own beliefs." 

We commune with nature.  We travel to sacred spaces, we come to places like church to be with those who share our values.  And for some we go annually to the UUA General Assembly (which will be in Lousiville, Kentucky in 2013).  

We are not so different from Muslims.  We submit to powers beyond our control.  We profess, pray, give, sacrifice, and commune as a part of our lives.  When you take away all the fancy stuff we're all just human beings striving to let our better angels prevail.  Profess, pray, give, sacrifice, commune (PPGSC).  The Five Pillars of Unitarian Universalism.

Light and love,

Rev. John

Broken Records, Scratched Cds and Other Things That Repeat

Broken Records, Scratched CDs, Houseflies and Other Things that Repeat.

By Daniel Gregoire

In my most recent sermon, Vanishing Vantage Points some readers will recall that I frequently  referred to the “repeating parallel lines” or the patterns in one’s life, those recurring significant events, that seem to happen over and over again and point us in some direction. I illustrated the point with the story of my grandmother, and the prominent role that religion has played in my life, my whole life.

One could say, and I did, that there was a preponderance of religion in my life’s story, seemingly pointing to the very vocational path that I am on today. In the narrative I presented those “repeating parallel lines” as having a deterministic, free-will subverting quality to them. In other words I could not help but be a minister even if I desperately wanted to be a housewife or a housefly (buzz…..).

But the repeating patterns are not necessarily the things that happen to us, arising from forces beyond our control. They are also the things we cause to happen, the actions we choose or avoid.

One of my dearest friends in Brockton, Marion O’Donnell once told me the story of a young Unitarian minister to illustrate the quality of repetition I want to explore.

There once was a minister invited to apply as a interview candidate to serve a prominent congregation, somewhere in Massachusetts. The minister met with members of the search committee and he really impressed them. The most impressive thing about this minister was his preaching and he delivered a rousing sermon to the committee on the day of the interview.

So, of course he was invited to deliver a sermon to the entire congregation at the committee’s recommendation one Sunday morning. The candidate minister delivered a rousing sermon to much applause that Sunday morning. It just so happen to be the same sermon he delivered to the search committee only weeks earlier. The committee members in attendance that Sunday morning thought that it was rather odd to preach the same sermon, but didn’t give the minister’s sermon choice much thought afterwards.

 Later the congregation voted to call that candidate to be their spiritual leader. And, at his installation service, the newly installed minister delivered to the august persons in attendance and the congregation the same sermon he preached to the search committee and his first Sunday at the church. On subsequent Sundays, it was the same sermon too. Finally, a member of the search committee asked, “hey, what’s gives?  You preached the same exact sermon every Sunday”. To this the minister replied, calmly “when you follow what the sermon says, I’ll do another one.”

I think life works this way, when you’ve learned the lesson, then, and only then can you move on to something else. Until that time, we will have to review, review, and review.

I often need to review the lesson of compassion, with twice daily prayer, reciting an English translation of the Buddhist prayer of the Four Immeasurable Minds (or thoughts).

It starts with “Through the working of great compassion in their hearts, may all being have happiness and causes of happiness…” I would recommend this prayer to you.

Now talk about repetition; reciting the Four Immeasurable Minds, twice day, every day, that must be a million times a year, right?! Sometimes I tell myself it is just too early to pray, or I am too tired, or I am running late for a meeting, or this chapter of Foucault just got understandable, or there is a movie to watch that’s really cool, or I’ve just repeated the same words a billion times already, and I get it, “compassion”, “happiness” are good and I like them.

So I might skip prayer in the morning, make it up later that night, if Colbert isn’t on, maybe? Just when I find myself busy congratulating myself for being awesome and above the need to review my daily lesson in compassion, I run into a brick wall.

It might take a day or two or three and then I remember. I’ll have an argument with someone and forget myself, forgetting compassion for self and others. I’ll be impatient with myself and others. I’ll cling to a thought long pass it useful life.  And then it hits me, my prayer practice has been out of whack. Might that have something to do with it? Maybe?

We have to be our own broken records, our own skipping CDs or our own housefly, coming around and again to same ideas and values that give sustenance to our souls. For me that sustenance comes from prayers of compassion. Your sustenance might come from a different source. I hope that whatever  gives you hope, whatever reminds you of life’s beauty, that calls you to a sense of interconnectedness, is a place that you revisit regularly, going there again and again until you get it.

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

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.