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!