Water from the Well

Water from the Well

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

The Circle of Community

Autumn is upon us, and for some reason in our culture, it seems to speed up the pace of life about double from the slower days of summer. School begins again, our full church program begins again, and what else? Do your work programs move into high gear, as well? Sports for children? Our society pushes us into more and more activities, purchases, information, controversy—even next's years electoral races are beginning now.

For me, it is a good time to remember the importance of spiritual practice—those moments when we slow down to appreciate our lives, offer thanks, focus on what is most important to us, notice what gives us joy and what needs our attention, recommit to what honors the best of our hearts. I remember a story about a Zen master who meditated for an hour every day. “Except when I am really busy,” he said. “Then I meditate for two hours every day.” We need those times to keep our balance.

It is also a time to remember the importance of community—that intangible creation of the many small acts of attention and kindness given by individuals and families who have chosen to be there for each other. When we get too busy we may start to think of church as an item on our to-do list—but it is not a project to be completed. Rather, it is that place of reversals, where what is most important is letting go of to-do lists, to give the gift of presence to each other. Thich Nhat Hanh said,

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”
A while ago I wrote a sermon about community, called “Dreaming In Circles.” An excerpt of it has been published in the September issue of Quest, which is the monthly publication of the UU Church of the Larger Fellowship, a congregation without walls for UU's who are not in geographical church communities. It can be read at http://www.questformeaning.org/page/reflecting/dreaming-in-circles or you can listen at http://uucyf.org/clfuunet/podcasts/13_09/Dreaming.mp3. I was happy to be able to share it with a wider circle.

I end it by saying, “When we choose community, when we practice loving a particular group of people, we are letting the reality of the universe enter our hearts—we are learning how to experience the reality that we truly are all part of one another. Of course we don’t always get it right. Otherwise we wouldn’t need to practice. We are not here to try to fix everything in order to create some sort of perfect circle—we are the circle right now, trying to wake up together. Every person is sacred, and we are all one circle.”

It gives me great joy to be part of the circle of Allen Avenue.
With love, Rev. Myke


Sunday, September 1, 2013

September Starts a New Year

I am looking forward to seeing all of you on September 8th as we begin a new church year together. I am excited about what is emerging for this church year ahead of us. First of all, our environmental focus has gotten off to a great start. There has been much enthusiasm during the summer beginnings of our collaboration with Permaculture activists in Portland. You may have heard me say this before, but I think of Permaculture folks as the happy environmentalists—not just looking at problems, but learning from the earth to design solutions. In that spirit, I plan to offer a sermon series, “Lessons from the Earth,” which I have introduced in the worship description for Sept 15th. These will be part of the spiritual side of our commitment to focus as a congregation on the environment during the next few years. I hope you will find your own way to be a part of this adventure.

I am also excited about our new Director of Religious Education. If you haven't been reading the Eblast over the summer, let me introduce her briefly. Laura Messenger is a young adult who grew up UU, and has been active in the UU Church in Concord, NH. She has been a third grade teacher, and also has experience coordinating education in a refugee camp in Africa. She is finishing a Masters Degree is Educating for Sustainability—which fits so well with our congregation's theme for the next years. She has a three year old daughter, Bella. The Search Committee chose her because of her depth, her friendliness, and the conviction that she has the right experience to become a really good DRE—Laura wanted to be involved in religious education so she could bring her UU values into her passion for education. We will be helping her learn to apply her skills to this new career, and she will be helping us to create a vibrant and fun program for our kids. Please come to our welcome reception for Laura on September 8th after each service, in Room 7-9 in the RE wing.

Another new things for the coming year will be our Triennial (every third year) Review of the Ministry. The Committee on Ministry will lead us in a whole church reflection on how we are doing as a church, in our programming, in our ministries, in our staff, in our committees, etc. They are still designing just how we will do that—for example, perhaps a survey will be part of it, perhaps a worship service? I hope everyone will participate in giving the feedback that helps us grow, and helps us really become what we hope to be as a church—or maybe even further clarify what we hope to be as a church. Experts suggest that the church of the past will not survive in these times--we will be learning from each other to find creative solutions for the future.

As I write today, I am thinking about our lives, what we carry of joy and sorrow, the deaths among us, the illnesses we have faced, the challenges in work and family, some of which I know about, and some certainly that I do not. I am thinking about what we carry of joy and sorrow as a nation and as a world, too often broken by war and violence and greed. I look forward to being all together again, so that we can better help each other to carry our joys and sorrows. I am thankful for the Pastoral Care Team, and the Caring Connection, and our summer worship leaders, and all our members who have been caring for each other's joys and sorrows during the summer. You give me a chance to replenish my own spirit and my connections with family and friends. One highlight this summer was a family reunion—all my siblings (nine of us) were together for the first time in 13 years, with our partners, spouses, children, parents, grandchildren—a blessing to be sure. 


With love,  Rev. Myke