UU Community Visits
Whiskey, Monsters and Peace: General Assembly
In the late 1990s I was attending college in Belgium and volunteering with the American Red Cross overseas by teaching and working in volunteer leadership. During my stay I was lucky enough to receive a regional award granting me free ferry passage from Calais, France, to Dover, England. So with nothing more than a small Toyota pickup, a cheap $40 tent, and a cooler full of food in the back, my husband and I headed out with a very small wallet and a big dream of a wonderful new experience.
Tent camping our way from the White Cliffs of Dover, to the bustle of London and then north into the heart of a purple hazed heather-covered Scotland, we experienced the countryside as intended. We weren’t burdened by hotel check-ins or event schedules, we just followed the road, living amongst the scenery rather than viewing it from afar. We tasted Scotch Whiskey, searched for traces of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, and rambled among the ruins of walls and castles from long ago.
Brave and young, we found ourselves south of Inverness in the beautiful valley of a famous monster. Chancing at a campground on the shore, we pitched our small tent with only a foot or two of space from the front flap to the drop off that became the cold waters of Loch Ness. I remember going to sleep that night as the thick fog slowly enveloped the space before us and around us. So thick was the fog that I dared not even step out in the small spot of land in front of us for fear of slipping into the water that I could no longer see. In that moment, I looked at my husband and jokingly said, “Well, we’ll know if Nessie is real if we wake in the morning alive and not eaten.” While we shared a laugh and settled in, I felt a deep peace as we floated amongst the fog and clouds of an endless sky and land.
This peace returned to me at General Assembly in the fleeting of a thought. I stood amongst Unitarians at a precipice—a place where only things begin and never do they end. In a moment and at a place where Rev. Dr. Peter Morales, UUA President, spoke of the Spirit of Life and Love that we hold true as the catalyst in our personal lives and in our religious practices.
My hope is that at some point in our lives, and our earth’s future, we will all find that Peace.
Peace within. Peace amongst. Peace be with you.
GA Banner Snippets
A short photo blog of some of my favorite snippets taken from the myriad of UU banners hung along the Blue Mile at General Assembly (GA), Kentucky International Convention Center, Louisville, Kentucky.
The First State
With a weekend at the First Unitarian Church, Wilmington, Delaware, a tour of the beautiful and history filled campus, and camping at Lums Pond State Park just southwest of the city, Austin and I had a well-rounded and peaceful week spent in this beautiful state.
Followed by the outside, the inside of this sanctuary has a strong architecture with overhanging balcony, pipe organ and strong lines. Yet even these were topped this Easter Sunday with the smell of lilies dedicated to the “love and remembrance from … members and friends” and accompanied by the exquisite sounds of the Wilmington String Ensemble.
On this day, Senior Minister the Rev. Dr. Joshua Snyder led the congregation in a deeper understanding of John 20:19-29 and presented his sermon titled, “Feeling for Nails.” A lesson for one and all with the wisdom of realizing that in this world, if one needs to search for proof then one is not truly acting in faith, but is acting in doubt. Doubt as a longstanding metaphor found in the commonly used nickname, “Doubting Thomas,” referring to the disciple Thomas and his gospels, and rejected by the assemblers of the King James Version of the Bible.
Examining reason vs. faith, Rev. Snyder spoke of those finding their certainty in the validity of science, stating that even found in the journals of Mother Teresa were writings of doubt of the absence of God. However, through her faith and her beliefs, she as many others have, found peace within herself by being action-oriented.
Must you feel the wounds to be Christian? Must you understand creation to have faith in the four points or the wind, the fire, the water or earth? Must you know lives past to find the freedom associated with nirvana? Must you know every man to find the humanism in the world? Instead, with this teaching, find the positive message to all, the message to not doubt, but to believe, have faith and to find your reason for your personal path and actions through God, science and reason, always finding faith even through doubt and uncertainty.
For more information on the First Unitarian Church, Wilmington: http://www.firstuuwilm.org/
To see a performance of the Wilmington String Ensemble: http://wilmingtonstringensemble.com/
Park, camping and fishing at Delaware’s largest State Park, Lums Pond: http://www.destateparks.com/park/lums-pond/
The Free State
It was a mixed weekend of sunshine, rain and snow at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick. The youth were running the show while winter was outside fighting its best to hold off the promise of spring.
Although I would have truly loved to have heard the sitting minister, Rev. Dr. Carl Gregg, speak, he had turned over the helm to the teenagers to prove their place within the congregation. With the promise of an intriguing title, “Golf Balls to Water,” the youth easily delivered a presentation worthy of their teachers and mentors.
With a mixture of topics on prayer, meditations, and personal musings, the youth took turns talking about faith and about their personal paths to discovering their own truths and experiences with devotion, and with finding faith in life and in self. Without a doubt, the truly enlightening stories and experiences spoken by these young adults reflected the powerful community and faith of the UUC of Frederick. We can only hope, that as represented in these youth, the words of their entire generation are full of the hope, truth, and love so important within our faith.
UUC of Frederick is home to a beautifully designed campus full of light and vision, and is certified as a Green Sanctuary Congregation. It was truly a beautiful weekend home in the country for us on our travels.
* Just in case you can’t see the captions for the two pictures above (run mouse over them or click for slide show), this little bird is nesting in the middle of the UUCF parking lot!
For information on attending the UUC of Frederick: http://frederickuu.org/home/index.php
Example of the Golf Ball Philosophy: http://www.pickchur.com/2011/03/golf-balls-in-the-jar-the-philosophy-professor/
To learn more about the Green Sanctuary Program: http://www.uua.org/environment/sanctuary/index.shtml
Snowy morning
Woke up to a beautiful snowy morning in Maryland while parked at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick. As I walked around the campus I couldn’t help but feel the spirits around me–children playing on the slide, couples sitting on the benches, and faeries enjoying the labyrinth. It was spring on the calendar and spring in my mind, bringing me warm, fuzzy feelings as though I were truly not alone.
The District
Driving into Washington, D.C., is a daunting task at best, but when one is on a schedule it’s even more so for those not accustomed to the city. Luckily for us last Sunday, providence was on our side as we drove up to the historical All Souls Church, Unitarian, and easily slid into on-street parking directly across from the church’s side entrance–easily arriving on time and on point to our latest location.
Settled in the pews of the sanctuary, we all rose as the choir and Senior Minister, Rev. Dr. Robert M. Hardies, entered the current sanctuary with song–a sanctuary built in 1924, and the third location for this congregation founded over 190 years ago on November 11, 1821.
With an amazing history, and one that is dotted with famous patriots like President William Howard Taft, and founding members President (then Secretary of State) John Quincy Adams, and Vice President (then Secretary of War) John C. Calhoun, the three locations of All Souls Unitarian have been used for a multitude of community and social progress events from serving as a Civil War hospital, to the current Green Souls, and as part of the Washington Interfaith Network.
On this Sunday, Rev. Hardies’ sermon focused on resilience itself and our personal ability to find faith in those things that we may draw on in times of need. It is the act of finding beauty, beauty as the Reverend would jokingly describe for himself as “shiny objects,” but more seriously in what brought him to our faith, the ability of UU’ism in finding “human beauty at [the] intersection of our vulnerability and our strength.” A compassionate humanism and a faith that leads us to be able to continue to grow and exist, even after death and pain have altered our lives’ paths and thrown us into the turmoil of the unknown and self-dependence. It is the ability to draw on the flame within ourselves that keeps us moving forward, progressing and helping those in our community to also find and walk this path of resilience and beauty.
For more information on attending All Souls, visit: http://all-souls.org/
All Souls Archives and History: http://all-souls.org/archives
To learn more about the Washington Interfaith Network’s (WIN): http://www.windc-iaf.org/
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The Old Dominion State
Our second Sunday found us in the middle of America’s Historical Triangle and the birthplace of American Democracy, amongst Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown, Virginia. Deeply rooted in charm and nature, we spent our weekend at the home of the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists.
Arriving on Saturday, we stumbled into a spring work day at the church. With our parking lot electrical outlet blocked by winter overgrowth, Austin took a lesson and a hand at the pruning shears, helping a church member to cut our way through the briars to the pole and thus securing our comfort for the stay.
Although I would have loved to meet the sitting minister, Rev. Jennifer Ryu, she was off sharing with another congregation while the Williamsburg UU hosted its own guest minister, the Rev. Barbara Gadon, a far distance from her home congregation at the First Unitarian Church of Chicago.
John 5:8 “Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up your bed, and walk.”
With this simple and short passage, Rev. Gadon spoke of how, when in need, it is then that we search out and find the church, find God, and find the community that we need in order to lift ourselves up and become healed of our ailments. In the passage above, the man lay waiting by the water for many years, waiting for it to be “troubled,” yet he never rose to its edge, always fearing that he would not be the first to reach the water and therefore would never be healed. But Jesus told the man to “rise,” to take that step beyond his doubts and do what was necessary to be healed. With this simple direction, the man found his strength and did what he felt had been previously impossible to him.
Rev. Gadon shared this message with the introduction that by coming together, as a community, with each of us individually seeking what cannot be accomplished by one, we are aiding in our own personal healing and in the healing others within our group–and within society as we reach out to aid and support the struggles of others.
Stressing “Coming together and finding joy,” Rev. Gadon talked about how groups in society use this practice to bring about healing, such as with meetings by Alcoholics Anonymous where members meet, share, and find social cure through joint endeavor. A joy also found in those that are born again, using the event as a personal step to finding their own personal journey to both physical and spiritual healing within.
To learn more about the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists: www.wuu.org, WUU is a Welcoming Congregation with active outreach programs within the community
For information on Alcoholics Anonymous: www.aa.org
The Tar Heel State
On planning our visit to North Carolina, I chose a community early in its roots yet bursting at the seams of the small meeting house it occupies. What I found was the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fayetteville, eager to grow and ripe with enthusiasm.
A lay led church, this week’s message was presented by UUC Fayetteville member COL (Ret.) Harvest A. Floyd, U.S. Amy, speaking on his personal “Free and Responsible Search for Truth and Meaning.” Within his talk, COL Floyd used a Power Point presentation to trace his logical and well researched history through the advent of “God” (by all names), from Abraham to the First Council of Nicaea and beyond.
In his search, it was ultimately The Jefferson Bible that led COL Floyd to UU’ism. Written by a fellow Unitarian, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the Bible is a counting of the life and morals of Jesus of Nazareth, extracted textually from the Gospels, and void of the additions made by the physical writers of the books of the New Testament.
COL Floyd found, through this search, a strength in morals and in the tests of reason, justice, and compassion with, at the forefront, his own understanding of who Jesus Christ was as man and prophet, and Floyd’s view of God (to all) as one Creator and one in being. With this, he chose the poetry of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273) to illustrate:
“All religions, all this singing, one song. The differences are just illusion and vanity. The sun’s light looks a little different on this wall than it does on that wall, and a lot different on this other one, but it’s still one light.”
Of course, as Unitarian Universalists, it is this ongoing, lifelong personal search that grows and revives our beliefs as individuals in unison with one another. With this freedom, and the knowledge of those around us, we are able to find truth and compassion within ourselves and our world.
For information on attending the UUCF, visit: http://uucfay.org/home.html
The Palmetto State
On a cold and wet weekend, Austin and I settled in to a warm community spot with the Greenville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, South Carolina. A church that is expanding in humankind and spirit alike, it is on the verge of a new building addition that will truly give its façade a welcoming face of UU’ism.
In the midst of its annual pledge drive and whilst also working on (might I say very successfully into) its new building fund, this Sunday service by the Rev. Pat Jobe examined “The Power of Shame.” Beginning with a video by Brené Brown and her focus on psychoeducational teaching surrounding shame, a clarification was stated on the difference between shame and guilt. Shame being one’s created thinking that “I am bad” as a person, and guilt being a feeling of, “I did something bad,” as a result of something actually accomplished. What we realize here is that shame is a form of self loathing, while guilt is actually healthy in that it is the little voice in our head telling us that we have committed a wrong.
The format of the sermon, unique for today’s talk, was representative of a radio talk show with Rev. Jobe and Ed Proulx in a back-and-forth conversation about their own thoughts and experiences with shame and guilt. In the conversation, Rev. Jobe was quite frank while admitting his “vulnerability” to the congregation and saying that he “still has secrets that [he] will take to [his] grave.” What would seem a difficult admittance among his own parishioners, he delivered it comfortably to those whom have accepted him as their minister–of course with the understanding that as humans we all have this truth within us. And although our individual reasons might vary from simple mistakes to those rattling the rafters, they are our own to sequester to the past where they belong.
Rev. Jobe spoke of learning a fitting metaphor for letting go of our shame. I share it here with you: Imagine a ball in front of you just hanging there in space and within arms’ reach. The ball represents the shame that you cannot let go of. Now, reach out and grab that ball. Hold it for a moment, considering its make-up. Let go as the ball remains suspended. Now, this second time. reach out but do not grab the ball. Let it go. Let it leave your space forever. In this simple exercise you let go!
If you live in the Greenville area and would like to attend, visit: http://greenvilleuu.com/pages/
To learn about the teachings of Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW: http://www.brenebrown.com/welcome
For information on the Montessori based preschool at GUUF, UU World of Children, visit: http://greenvilleuu.com/pages/uuwoc.htm
UUC Sarasota in photos
I loved the structures and gardens so much I couldn’t help myself–nearly 100 pictures! Possibly my withdrawals from what looked and felt like spring?
Here’s a quick sampling …
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