Summertime

Once again the seasons are changing and summer is here.  I know that many of you find your truest spiritual connection out in nature, and summer is especially rich with vibrancy.  So some of you will be off communing in the woods or on the water during the next several weeks.  Meanwhile, others will continue to gather each Sunday, and I say thank you to all who will be leading worship, sharing your thoughts, spiritual practices, and insights for the benefit of all.

I will be at the UU General Assembly June 22 - 28, and then doing some clean up in my office, before heading out to commune with nature myself.  I will be away from church in July and August, for vacation and study leave.  Margy and I plan to do some camping here in Maine, and also visit my parents in West Virginia.  I will return August 25th to begin full-time preparation for the autumn season.  

Our double services and religious education will start up again on September 12th with our Water Communion Sunday.  I am thinking a lot about water these days, carrying the sadness of the oil spill in the Gulf.  Oil has been called the blood of the mother earth, and this spill does seem like a grievous wound in our ecosystem.  The Sioux elder Chief Arvol Looking Horse has called for the peoples of the world to join them in prayer that this wound be healed. [Prayer-request letter]  May it be so.  When you visit places of water during the summer, remember that all water is life, all water is sacred.  Gather some in a bottle to bring back for our water communion.

June is a time of transitions.  I say a warm thank you to Barbara Freeman, who has been on the Board since before I arrived five years ago, and has been such a wonderful president.  I work more closely with the president of our congregation than with any other person, and it has been a joy to have Barbara as my colleague and buddy these past two years.  She agreed to join the Committee on Ministry next year, so I am glad I will still have the benefit of her wisdom.  I am looking forward to welcoming Connie Cross as our new President--she brings a wealth of experience from other settings, and a long commitment to A2U2.  Here’s to the next adventure!

What we do today is always built upon the work that others did in the past.  Earlier this spring we held a lunch for former presidents of A2U2.  It was fascinating to hear about the issues that the church was tackling during their tenure, and how many of our strengths today came out of the struggles of earlier years.  We are carrying our link in a long chain of dedicated people.  

This June, the Board recognized another part of that chain, by honoring six of our elder members with the status of “Emeritus Member.”  This is an honorary, lifelong membership given to active members who are no longer able to regularly attend church or participate in most activities.  They are entitled to the full benefits of the ministry of the church, while being relieved of the ordinary responsibilities of membership.  We are grateful for their many contributions of time, talent, and treasure during the tenure of their active membership.  We wouldn’t be where we are without their gifts.  In fact, one of our Emeritus Members was a leader in the fundraising and construction for our actual church building here on Allen Avenue.  

Our new Emeritus Members are:  Ruth Bishop, Beth Kraushaar, Meredith Monte, Ralph Smith, Don Spring, and Ginny Stevens.   Thank you.  We count you among the people we always hold in our hearts.

Joy and peace to all,

Rev. Myke

Standing on the Side of Love

Standing on the Side of Love is a public advocacy campaign sponsored by the UUA that seeks to harness love’s power to stop oppression.  It was launched at General Assembly in 2009, and has been a vehicle for UUs and others to participate in public debates over LGBT rights, immigration, and any situation where people are dehumanized through acts of exclusion, oppression or violence because of their identities.

I am appalled by the increased prevalence of speech and acts that are full of fear and hate.  The “Tea Party” rhetoric is one striking example, in which people are scapegoating the powerless and demonizing anyone who is different in some way.   The Standing on the Side of Love campaign seeks to lift up compassionate religious voices to influence public attitudes and public policy.  Because I was on sabbatical when it got started, I haven’t yet been able to bring this excellent campaign to our congregation’s full attention, but I am hoping that in the coming year we might explore it more fully, and see if it might enhance our own mission of social responsibility and involvement in community issues.

High on the list right now is the recent law passed in Arizona which criminalizes people who are in the country without documentation, and also casts a pall of fear and intimidation over anyone who by virtue of skin color and language is perceived as a potential “illegal.”  For example, what happens if a brown-skin person is pulled over for a traffic violation?  Will all brown skin people now be required to have a passport on hand at all times, to be able to prove that they are not an undocumented immigrant?  There is another part of the law which also criminalizes anyone giving aid or assistance to undocumented persons.  SB 1070 might be interpreted to make it illegal to feed the hungry at a soup kitchen, or give a homeless person a ride to the hospital, or welcome someone into a congregation.  There is a national protest in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, May 29, in which many of my UU colleagues are participating.

But this issue is not just one for Arizona.  This week I attended a vigil for a young man who is being detained right here in Portland.  Selvin Arevalo came to the United States from Guatemala ten years ago, when he was 14 years old.  Just before he was set to earn his high school diploma, he was detained after getting into a minor car accident, when he fled due to panic over his immigration status.  He has been a hard-working student, and is only one of many young people who are caught in similarly difficult situations.

To help us begin to more fully understand the human face of this political issue, I have invited my friend Rev. Virginia Marie Rincon to join us in worship on June 6th.  Rev. Virginia Marie has been ministering to the Latino community in Portland for many years, and I hope she will share stories from her work that will open up a window for us.  In the meantime, if you are curious about the Standing on the Side of Love campaign, you can get find out more online, and get involved directly, at www.standingonthesideoflove.org.

Rev. Myke