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 10th,
so bear with us for a few more weeks as we try to get everything in
order.
During
our service on September 9th,
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!
