Diversity?

Part of our mission statement says, “We celebrate diversity.” Sometimes people feel that is the hardest goal of all. We have a lot of some kinds of diversity in our congregation—diversity of age, income, sexual orientation, belief, temperament. But we don't have a lot of racial diversity. We live in a very white state, though Portland itself is rich with multiple colors, cultures and languages. What might it look like, realistically, for us to celebrate racial diversity?

I believe we must go outside of our own doors to do it. When folks are working to help African immigrants get settled in a new home, that is one way. When folks teach English to those who speak other languages, that is another way. Today I want to call our attention to another vital thing we can do: join and support the work of the Portland Branch, NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).

The NAACP was founded in 1909 to respond to the horrors of the lynching of African Americans. There were early branches of the NAACP in Maine in response to an active KKK presence in Maine in the 1920s. The current Portland Branch was activated in 1964 by Gerald Talbot. The Portland Branch has always been an interracial interfaith organization. The mission of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights for all, and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. It is our premier organization fighting for racial equality, and has also been on the front lines against all forms of discrimination.

In November, I was voted a member of the Executive Committee of the Portland Branch, and will begin in that role in January. I am looking forward to having a closer involvement in its work, including sharing with you opportunities that arise for participation.   Check out the website for more information!

NAACP Portland

Silent Night?

What a funny paradox we live in now—the dark of the year is upon us, and yet the hustle and bustle has multiplied. While all of nature in our northern world is resting and quiet, human beings are adding more activity and stress to our lives. (And our lives often are already holding a lot of stress.) So I wanted to tell you to make some time for quiet, for the dark, for rest and stillness. But then I thought it might risk adding a layer of guilt to the whole mess. You might be thinking, “How can I find time for that, on top of everything else I have to do?”

So I won't tell you the make time for quiet. But, perhaps, you might notice the moments of quiet that accidentally cross your path. Notice the bright stars in a dark sky as you get out of your car coming home in the evening. Notice the quiet of snow over the fields on the side of the road. (Yes, snow might be coming sooner than we think.) Notice the children tucked snug in their beds. Notice the orange sunrise as you step outside for the morning paper. Notice any moment of stillness, pause, and take a breath right then and there. It's a holy moment.

Of course, there are some times in all of our lives when we, like nature in winter, feel dormant, feel like we've lost our pizzazz or creativity or energy. If you are facing such a time, rest within it—don't look at what everyone else is doing and think you're missing out. Explore the gifts within the shadows. Explore the stillness and the darkness. Nature teaches us that without dormancy, many plants can't grow at all. Human creativity is like that too. The dormancy is the gift that hides a gift. It is a holy season.

Shared Ministry

At Allen Avenue, we believe in shared ministry—every person has gifts to give and love to share, and from this sharing a community of love is created. We seek to empower our members to share their gifts to build a world of compassion, equality, and freedom. One of the ways we do this is through our Leadership and Ministry Program, called LAMP, for short. Every second year, we offer a workshop called LAMP 101. It is our “basic training” in lay ministry. We practice compassionate listening skills, talk about the helping relationship, identify good boundaries in helping, and practice finding the sacredness of each person. This year, the workshop will be held October 20^th and 21^st, Saturday and Sunday afternoons. It is open to everyone, but the number is limited to 15, so please register beforehand.

This training is helpful for all kinds of life situations, but we particularly use it for training members of our Pastoral Care Team, and the Pastoral Visitors who regularly visit our elders. So if you might be interested in being a part of those ministries at our church, please sign up, or contact me for further information. If you are a good listener, we'd love to have you be a part of this. And if you are not a good listener, it is a chance to improve that skill.

On October 14, our worship service (The Elevator Speech) will be about how we talk about our church and our faith. If you have ever described our church to your friends, family or neighbors, would you be willing to send me what you said? I would love to use some real examples in my sermon that day, and your experience could help others. I am especially looking for statements that are three sentences or less, but send me whatever you like! After each service that day, there will be a short time for discussion and practice creating your own elevator speech, and then if you like, you can be part of a video we are creating about our church. If you can't come that day, feel free to send a statement or video anytime.

Finally, it came to my attention the other day that folks may not know how to reach me, or when I am available for appointments. I am generally in the office on Monday and Wednesday, from about 11 a.m. until 5:30, and then I usually stay through the evening for meetings, or appointments as needed. If you'd like to have a chat, I encourage you to email me at revmyke@a2u2.org, or call 797-7240 ext. 13, to set up a time we can meet, because Mondays and Wednesdays often fill up beforehand. 

Are you curious about what a minister's week looks like on days other than Sunday? Every minister has their own best working mode, but here is mine. I am in the office on Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesday and Thursday I am working on sermons, and other worship preparation, which I do at my home office. Friday is my day off, and Saturdays are variable, with some special events at church (in September, for example, Saturdays included a board retreat, a memorial service and the everybody birthday party) and some days off. I think of my regular work week as from Sunday to Thursday, but you can always contact me for emergencies on any day. If you are dealing with a serious illness or death in your family, please feel free to call me at my home number, which can be found in the phone book.  (And by the way, for routine church matters, I do prefer that you call me at the church number or email.)

In our shared ministry, every member can minister to others. But I am also eager to be there for you during difficult times, so don't hesitate to contact me. 

End of Summer

Today as I write it is cool and sunny. Another fall season is almost upon us. What a summer! It was so hot here in Maine and yet we had it easy compared to the rest of the country. Wildfires, strange derecho storms, record heat waves. My parents and two sisters were among those who lost power during the terrible heat.

Last week Margy and I saw the movie “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” What a profound experience that was for me! It evoked that deep sense of things falling apart in our world—the ice sheets melting more than ever, the storms and wildfires of the summer—and yet, it also evoked the human strength we have to face it. All that strength expressed in the little girl Hushpuppy, as she faced the coming apart of her world. Hushpuppy said, “I see that I am a little piece of a big, big universe, and that makes it right.” If you haven't had a chance to see the movie, I hope you can.

Margy and I had a stay-cation kind of summer, with a number of visits from friends. I was also reading fiction—a favorite was the Mars series by Kim Stanley Robinson. Three books, huge books entitled Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars. If you like epic stories that make you think, that address all manner of issues from the environment to what makes a democratic economy, you might like these books. But don't start until you have some time to set everything else aside!

This summer I also had a special project. I created the first draft of a book I have been wanting to write. The raw material is from seven years of sermons at A2U2. If you have been hearing my sermons, you know that I am passionate about restoring our connection to each other as human beings, to the earth and all beings, and to the mystery at the heart of life, the spirit. I want to help expand our understanding of what “spirituality” is all about, so that we are not tripped up by narrow dogma, or narrow ideas of God that are not worthy of our esteem. I want to help us become a part of the Great Turning (the idea named by Joanna Macy) to living with the earth in a mutually beneficial way.

So this summer I sat down and put together a draft of a book that would offer paths to spirit, to earth, to each other. Now I am beginning a long process of editorial feedback, and the exploration of publishing options. I wanted to let you know about this, even though it will be a while before I can share the finished product with you. It was a good reminder to me of the calling I feel as a minister, and an extension of the work I do with A2U2 in ministry. I am looking forward to the time when I can share it with you, and perhaps also shape some adult education for spiritual growth using it as a resource.

I want to say thank you to the worship committee, and all our summer worship leaders for the beautiful services they led. I also want to thank the pastoral care team, for being available during the summer for compassionate listening. I understand that there were some problems with our phone system—please let me know if your message got lost. We are switching over to Time Warner on Sept 10^th, so bear with us for a few more weeks as we try to get everything in order.

During our service on September 9^th, we will have a water communion—a traditional UU ritual in which we all bring a little bit of water from someplace special to us—perhaps a place we visited, or a beach we swam in, or the water from our tap at home. It is a way to gather ourselves back together after a summer in which we were scattered around. I look forward to seeing you!

Gratitude

I am writing this the day before the summer solstice. Everything is so lush and full and green. This time of year fills me with thoughts of gratitude. I feel so happy and grateful to be your minister, and to share this ministry with such wonderfully kind and generous people in our congregation. There are so many thanks I could give that I would soon run out of space. But at this moment I want to express my thanks to a particular group, and a particular person in that group. I am speaking of the Pastoral Care Team and its long-time chair Ruby.

The Pastoral Care Team is the group that listens when you are going through a hard time, are celebrating a joy, or facing an illness. We envisioned such a team during the first year that I came to Allen Avenue, and then it slowly took shape bit by bit. It started with volunteers who were willing to answer a phone call during the summer months when I was away. We helped it along with the Leadership and Ministry Program workshop called LAMP 101. It grew stronger when I went on sabbatical in the fall of 2009. When I returned that January, we began to talk about how the team might be a part of the ministry year round, while I was here as much as when I am away.

Team members began to make note of what was said during joys and concerns, and respond with a conversation or a phone call. They did follow-up calls to those who were ill, or had lost someone they loved. Members of the team visited folks in the hospital or in their homes. Now it feels like they significantly enhance the quality of the love we share at A2U2.

I want to say a special thanks to Ruby who has had a key role in creating and guiding the team since the beginning. It just wouldn't have blossomed without her gentle presence, her behind the scenes organizing, and her availability for other team members to call upon with their questions. Ruby is stepping down as chair, but is continuing as a member of the team. She is now working as a chaplain at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House, which makes it difficult to attend church on Sundays. Connie Cross and I prepared a certificate to give to Ruby, and since we couldn't do it at a Sunday service, I wanted to let you know what it says.

In Appreciation, Ruby P.

You have been instrumental in creating and leading our Pastoral Care Team and helping it to develop and grow. You have brought compassionate listing to so many of our members and also helped to teach others how to listen with love and care. You have inspired us by your willingness to seek a new path to follow the calling of your heart into a ministry with elders. We want to offer our special thanks for all that you have given our beloved community and many blessings on your continuing journey of ministry.

I am happy to report that Merrill is stepping up as chair, and we will likely add a co-chair in the fall. During the summer, if you need a listening ear, you can call the church 797-7240, dial extension 13, and leave a message for up to a minute. Someone from the team will call you back. Or you can email care @ a2u2.org, and someone will be in touch. That is also a way you can access the help of the Caring Connection, for meals, rides, or other help during an illness or other emergency. That is another group of wonderful people!

The members of the Pastoral Care Team this year have been Ruby, Merrill, Jim, Sara, Kathy, Judith, Mike, Dick, and Lisa. Joyce and Minty joined the team this spring. We'll be doing a LAMP 101 training in October, and welcome new members anytime during the church year.

Have a joyful summer!

Rev. Myke     

Like a River

June days are upon us. Peas are coming up in our garden, and I have three lovely tomato plants too, thanks to a church gardener who shall remain anonymous. I am writing this prior to our church annual meeting, but once again, it looks as though our hardworking stewardship committee, finance committee and board have pulled together a way for our congregation to get through these challenging financial times with grace and strength.

A lovely tiny poem came into my email box today, entitled, “Fluent” by John O'Donohue. It goes like this: 

I would love to live

Like a river flows,

Carried by the surprise

Of its own unfolding.

It reminds me of how I want to live as well. It is so easy to become worried and fearful—maybe this is my own temperament, but it seems to be wider that that, more like a cultural phenomenon. Michael Moore spoke about how our media are based in fear, and keep calling the alarm for the next bad thing around the corner. I often find myself falling into that trap too.

But instead, I can sometimes catch myself, can notice when I am sliding into alarmist projections, and shift the course. Margy and I are thinking that we might need to get ourselves a newer car, and sometimes I jump to the thought “it will be so hard to find one that we can afford.” But when I notice I am projecting a random negative outcome, I can interrupt it, shift into curiosity and expectation: that we will find interesting choices, that we will be helped, and just the right car will come along with a little bit of searching.

Of course, that is only one part of shifting the process—why should I have to project an outcome in any case? Or perhaps I could think like the Zen Buddhist, who says, “the glass is already broken.” In other words, don't feel attached to things as if they must always remain the same. All things come to an end, even us. Let go, and enjoy the present moment. What a life it would be to enter each day open to the surprise of its unfolding. Like the river. 

Each moment when I am able to do that is full of a secret sort of joy, even magic. I wish that kind of magic for you during this lovely month of June.

Rev. Myke

New Things Growing!

So many wonderful things happen at Allen Avenue. Even I can't keep track. But I want to let you know about a few things that are just beginning to grow. Lenora Trussell brought a proposal to the Caring Connection Committee to begin a ministry of Parish Nursing. “Parish nurses” serve in other congregations in a variety of ways—so Lenora is working with Caring Connection and me to sort out how it might work at A2U2. One way is that Lenora can meet with individuals or families experiencing significant health issues to listen and sometimes offer suggestions as they sort out their options. Sometimes a wise and caring listening ear is so helpful when facing a challenge or change in one's life. The Caring Connection has already arranged for Lenora to meet with a few of our members. Lenora is also planning to offer workshops on a variety of health related issues.

One of the things I love about our church is that we encourage our members to share their gifts, to find their passion, to bring their own ministry to our church, or beyond our church. If you are sparked by what Lenora is doing, there is room for more than just one Parish Nurse. Or if you have your own thing you'd like to offer, come chat with me!

Another new thing—the board just agreed for our church to sponsor a Chaplaincy Intern. Mark Gallup is a student of the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME), and brought a proposal to be our intern from June 2012 to May of 2013. Mark has been the Environmental Director for Southern Maine Community College for several years, and is planning to retire next year. He hopes to create a ministry of helping people to experience the divine in nature and foster the need to care for the earth. An internship gives Mark a chance to practice this new ministry, and learn what he needs to know to be able to fulfill his vision. Our church members will be his teachers and will also benefit from the ministry he brings to us. It will be a chance to us to practice being a teaching congregation.

We are imagining this internship might include such things as creative outdoor worship, religious education programs, and working with our Green Earth and Building & Grounds committees on sustainability issues. Mark will also be practicing pastoral skills such as compassionate listening, as a part of our pastoral care team. The internship involves 6-8 hours per week, and we hope to sort out more details in June, when Mark can meet with different groups and individuals to make a plan for next year. Stay tuned!

One more new thing. Many of you had a chance to meet Rev. Fulgence Ndagijimana at the Ferry Beach retreat. Rev. Fulgence is a UU minister in Burundi, founder and pastor of the only UU congregation in Burundi. The church is doing much good in Burundi, and there are ways that our church might be able to help, if a few people are interested in being coordinators. The church has a micro-loan program to help women establish small businesses to support their families. They can do this with as little as a $100 loan. They are also looking for sponsors to help students complete a high school education, for $500 per year. If this calls to your heart, let me know. You don't have to have money to help coordinate this work. It would be a wonderful partnership to create. Again, it is all about encouraging our members to share their gifts and their passions.

Thank you for all the ways you make this community thrive!

Spring Swimming

On March 22^nd, the afternoon where the temperature reached the 80's, Margy and I went to the beach at Winslow Park, and actually took a dip in the ocean waters of that tidal bay. What a treat. 

But still, it created a foreboding after-effect in my heart. It is easy to feel delighted by the early blossoms, and the summer like temperatures. But on the other hand, we know it doesn't reflect good news for our future on our planet. Garrison Keillor talked about it on a Prairie Home Companion. He said people in Lake Wobegon felt ill at ease in the too warm spring—it was like entering a forbidden room in the house while your parents are away. Something isn't right about it.

We know that global warming is shifting the earth and the seasons, and that means changing our assumptions about everything. Even the garden companies have changed the zones for planting, as the lowest winter temperatures inch upwards. Now climate change is no longer an “if” but a process already started.

April is the month that we traditionally celebrate Earth Day. This year, since our Ferry Beach retreat will be the weekend of April 20-22, we will officially have our celebration on April 29^th. But we also think of the entire month as a month for renewing our connection and commitment to this planet we call mother and home.

This year has another anniversary that is on my mind. May 6^th will be the 150^th anniversary of the death of Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau is counted among our Unitarian ancestors and has been an inspiration for many in deepening our relationship to the earth and fueling our activism for justice. I decided to let him be an inspiration for our worship themes for April 29, May 6 & May 13. I am re-reading Walden, and some other of his works, and I invite you to join me in that reading if you wish. We will look at simple living, civil disobedience, and our connection to mother earth on those three Sundays.

I also want to congratulate the Green Earth Committee for our winning Eco-Maine's 2012 Eco-Excellence GRAND AWARD for outstanding contributions to Environmental Preservation. Our congregation is doing wonderful things to raise awareness of environmental issues. May we find our way to go further and further down that path!

Replenishing the Flow

This month is our annual stewardship month. Some of you are very familiar with what stewardship is all about, but perhaps others are new to the idea. You may be interested to know that our church is supported solely by its members. We don't receive money from any other entity, except for small amounts from rentals of our building. In fact, we actually send a contribution to our regional and national association, to help in the overall work of the mission of Unitarian Universalism.

Once a year, everyone is invited to consider, or re-consider, their commitment to this spiritual community, and to make a pledge about how they want to support it during the next year. Part of this support is financial, and part of this support is through volunteering our time and talents.

My partner Margy and I are also members of the church, and we make a pledge each year to support it. When I first became a minister, I thought it seemed a little strange that I would receive a salary from a church, and then give some of it back. But over time I realized that this giving comes from the same motivation that any member has—I love this spiritual community and want to see it thrive. I cannot imagine what life would be like without these amazing people gathered in this wonderful way. I want our values to grow and give life to our wider world. And so I support this church with my pledge.

People are invited to give what they can afford to give—we know that some folks are earning more than others, so of course what we each can contribute will be different. Some of us work with this difference by giving a particular percentage of our income to the church. That's what Margy and I do. If our income changes, we change our pledge in accord with that. We hope that every member will pledge something, even if during hard times it can only be a tiny amount. Because: making a pledge, even if it is just $1 per month, is a way of expressing your love and commitment to our church.

There is something very sacred about our financial arrangements. We have a gift economy here. Years ago, when I was a psychotherapist, I had to charge a fee for the counseling I did with people. But here at church, people give what they can to our common life, and no individual is charged for the particular services we offer. I don't have to worry about whether any individual who wants to talk to me can afford to pay. That is a beautiful situation that speaks volumes about our values in this world.

I want to say thanks to our creative stewardship committee! They are volunteering their time to plan ways for us to get to know each other better, to have fun together, and to be in touch with each other about our commitment to this community.

Rev. Myke