Hope in Our Times

During the “question box” service on October 8, the most predominant question written down and placed in the basket for me to answer was some version of: “With everything that is happening today, how can we hold on to hope?” I mentioned at that time some wise words of Rebecca Solnit about hope in the midst of darkness. So I went searching around to find more and wanted to share them with you here, along with some words from Howard Zinn. I will revisit and expand on some of these ideas in December, when our theme will be hope.

A writer and activist, Rebecca Solnit says: “To be hopeful means to be uncertain about the future, to be tender toward possibilities, to be dedicated to change all the way down to the bottom of your heart.” In her Field Guide to Getting Lost she writes: “Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That’s where the most important things come from...” “To me, the grounds for hope are simply that we don’t know what will happen next, and that the unlikely and the unimaginable transpire quite regularly.”

Professor and historian Howard Zinn writes: “To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness… If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places – and there are so many – where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction…The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

In her book Hope in the Dark, Solnit concurs, “...if you embody what you aspire to, you have already succeeded. That is to say, if your activism is already democratic, peaceful, creative, then in one small corner of the world these things have triumphed. Activism, in this model, is not only a toolbox to change things but a home in which to take up residence and live according to your beliefs, even if it’s a temporary and local place... Make yourself one small republic of unconquered spirit.”

Howard Zinn continues: “The struggle for justice should never be abandoned because of the apparent overwhelming power of those who have the guns and the money and who seem invincible in their determination to hold onto it. That apparent power has, again and again, proved vulnerable to moral fervor, determination, unity, organization, sacrifice, wit, ingenuity, courage, and patience.”

Rebecca Solnit explains, “Nobody can know the full consequences of their actions, and history is full of small acts that changed the world is surprising ways.” Like the antinuclear activist from Women Strike for Peace (WSP) who recounted feeling foolish and futile while standing in the rain one morning protesting at the Kennedy White House only to learn years later that Benjamin Spock, a high-profile activist in the anti-nuclear movement, was first inspired by “a small group of women protesting outside the Kennedy White House.”

Zinn writes: “There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment will continue. We forget how often we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions, by extraordinary changes in people’s thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion against tyrannies, by the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed invincible. What leaps out from the history of the past hundred years is its utter unpredictability.”

And finally, Abby Brockman says: “In my own life, I’ve noticed an anecdotal relationship between engagement and hope, and between disengagement and despair. I don’t know if it is causal or correlative but I have found that the people who have the most hope are also the ones most engaged (in fighting poverty, sickness, inequality, injustice both here in the US and abroad), and the the most cynical ones are the ones who are distant and disengaged.”

May these wise words be a small light in the darkness, Rev. Myke

What's Up This Month?

Last month we got the sad news that Taryn had decided to resign from her position as Director of Religious Education at the end of this church year. She has brought so much to our program, and we will miss her presence and energy. But life brings what it brings, and I keep learning that the only constant is change. So even as we prepare to say goodbye to Taryn as DRE, we are also preparing for next year by searching for a new DRE to start August 15. The last two weeks I have been delighted to work with some great folks on this project. The DRE Hiring Committee is led by Cathy Falwell, and includes Sonia Tonelli, Charley Mitchell, Tara Williams, Betsy Parsons, Sue Butler and I. We have received 12 applications so far, and will begin interviews next week. We'll let you know when we have some news.

In the meantime, we are doing something a little different this June, by going to one service at 10 a.m. on June 5, rather than waiting a few more weeks as we have in the past. This means that the whole congregation can participate in our Religious Education Sunday on June 5, being led by Taryn, and also in our Senior Youth Group led Sunday on June 12. So—mark your calendars 10 A.M. This decision involved the Worship Committee and the Religious Education Committee and the Board of Trustees—we are trying it out, and welcome any feedback. (You can send feedback to my email at revmyke@a2u2.org) We thought it would be an opportunity, during a month when attendance begins to wane a bit, for all of us from both services to have time to be together.

And now, I want to introduce you to our new ministry intern:

Israel Buffardi is delighted to be serving as the ministry intern at Allen Avenue starting this coming fall.  Israel was raised in an Italian-American community in Providence, Rhode Island, where community, celebration, and family were centered joyously around the table in his grandmother’s kitchen.  Israel has a diverse background in community outreach and nonprofit work as well as in the specialty food and sustainable agriculture communities in Maine.  He is also passionate about the local arts scene and can be seen writing for and performing in theatre productions throughout the Greater Portland area.  

Israel followed a call to the ministry after realizing that all of his various passions and pursuits were always leading him towards creating community spaces that fostered meaning-making and mutual support while also striving for justice.  Drawn to Unitarian Universalism because of its free and responsible search for truth and meaning as well as its commitment to justice work, Israel is currently pursuing his M.Div. at Meadville Lombard Theological School, one of the affiliate seminaries of the UUA.  Israel is very excited to continue to develop his heart-centered, embodied approach to ministry by serving the community at Allen Avenue. 

And I am excited to welcome Israel to A2U2. I have had a chance to get to know him by being his teaching pastor during this past year, and I look forward to his being a part of our ministry, even as he learns about ministry.

Affectionately, Rev. Myke

Portland Housing Crisis

Perhaps, like me, you have been reading in the news how many people are being evicted from their homes with no cause, and having real difficulty in finding new homes. Perhaps you are one of the people who has been caught in the housing crisis in Portland, or you know someone who has been evicted, or is having trouble finding an apartment to rent. Jan Bindas-Tenney is the Advocacy Coordinator at Preble Street, and she told me about one person, a disabled person who uses a wheelchair, who had been homeless several years ago, but then was in a stable apartment for the past several years. Suddenly they were caught in these evictions, and now they are back at the shelter.

Seeing the shelter numbers go up after some years of going down, Jan and others decided that rather than just “picking up the pieces,” they would organize to address some of the causes, and look for policy solutions that might address the underlying problems. So the Portland Coalition for Housing Justice was formed. At a initial meeting on April 14, more than 100 people showed up, and on April 27^th, the group spoke to the Housing Committee of the Portland City Council. She also told me that they are hoping to form a faith advocacy network for clergy and lay leaders to offer a faith voice on housing.

I invited Jan to come speak to our church about these issues in a worship service on May 15. I am wondering if those in our congregation who are facing housing challenges, or who have recently faced them, might want to share their stories with the congregation as part of this worship service. The stories would need to be rather short—maybe 3 minutes at most, and I could help you with crafting or editing something, if you wish. And, please know that you are always welcome to come have a chat if these or other issues are a burden in your life.

For some good news, you may know that this year I have been mentoring a first-year seminary student who is preparing for UU ministry. Israel Buffardi is now completing his first year, and next year starting in September he will become a half-time Intern Minister at our church. He will be exploring all aspects of ministry and church life, or at least as much as one can do in 20 hours per week. (Last year, our Intern Minister Lyn Marshall was full-time.) One of the commitments of the congregation toward his learning is that we form an Intern Committee with folks who will meet monthly with Israel, giving him support and feedback on his ministry at our church. If you'd like to be a part of that group, please contact me. We will try to have a group that represents various parts of church life. Serving on this committee becomes a chance to get closer to other members of our church, learn more about your own spiritual journey, and offer a great gift to our UU movement as we help to train a future leader.

Black Lives Matter

I am thinking this week of the words of the civil rights activist Ella Baker. Fifty years ago, three Civil Rights workers were killed during the summer Mississippi campaign. A search was mounted after their disappearance that involved dragging the rivers of Mississippi. As they searched the muddy waters, they turned up bodies of black men who had never been looked for because they were Black.  Of this painful reality, Ella Baker said “Until the killing of black men, black mother’s sons, is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers’ sons, we who believe in freedom cannot rest…until this happens.”

I first heard those words when they were put to music by Bernice Johnson Reagon. Sadly, they are still all too appropriate today, fifty years later. In Ferguson, Missouri, when a grand jury failed to indict the white police officer who shot black teenager Michael Brown, mothers of black sons all over America shuddered in fear for their children. Because it was never just about this one situation. Professor of Political Science Melissa Harris-Perry has pointed out, "From 2006 to 2012 a white police officer killed a black person at least twice a week in this country."

Black men especially have been demonized by our society. They have been stereotyped as criminals, as thugs, as drug dealers, as dangerous, and then that demonization becomes its own justification for the fear that is used as a reason to kill. I think about the fact that some white men have taken to carrying guns in the city streets claiming their second amendment rights, and I haven't heard about any of them being shot or even detained by police. But a black twelve year old, Tamir Rice, was playing with a toy gun in an Ohio park, and was shot and killed by police this week.

We who believe in freedom like to tell the story that racism is easing, that, yes, we still have work to do, but so much progress has been made in the last fifty years. But each year I learn something new that astounds me concerning the depth and persistence of this plague in the very structures of our society. Schools today in America are more segregated than they were fifty years ago. Voting rights are being diminished each year, with methods that are targeted to people of color. More black men are in prison than ever before--the United States now imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of Apartheid.

We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes. We have to be willing to acknowledge the problem, and not persist in a naïve feeling that all is well. The protectors of the status quo are already trying to put all the focus on rioting and looting. But as Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “I think we've got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard...” He did not condone violence, but he understood it.

I am encouraged by the thousands of people who participated in hundreds of vigils and protests on Tuesday evening, all across America and beyond. Are we waking up? I leave you with another quote from Ella Baker: “The older I get the better I know that the secret of my going on is when the reins are in the hands of the young who dare to run against the storm.” May we find the courage to stay on course.

With hope, Rev. Myke

Fire in Winter

Winter has got us firmly in its grip, even as we are technically half-way through the season on February 2^nd. That day celebrates an old festival with many manifestations—Imbolc, Candlemas, Groundhog's Day, and now Superbowl Sunday. (Even though Superbowl seems like the farthest thing from a religious observance—or maybe not.) The Celts celebrated Brigid on this day, the Goddess of smith-craft, poetry, and healing. I always liked that combination—the forging of metal, the forging of words, the forging of whatever fiery powers create healing in people. I like what Cherrie Moraga says at the end of her poem, The Welder,

I am the welder.

I understand the capacity of heat

to change the shape of things.

I am suited to work

within the realm of sparks

out of control.

I am the welder.

I am taking the power

into my own hands.

Perhaps our A2U2 triple forge would include fiery speaking out for justice, warmth in the healing care we give to each other, and the flaming chalice of communal worship each week. Fire helps us get through the winter, and also through the winters of our souls, when hard times come into our lives. May you stay warm, and may your passion for life be rekindled by the light and fire in others.

We recently learned of the death of Pete Seeger, that fiery prophet for justice through the medium of song. He was an amazing light in our world, and (you might not know) he was a member of the UU Community Church in New York. He used music to bring people together, to connect us with the earth, to work for civil rights, worker rights, and peace, and to plant seeds of hope. His passing also reminds me of the passing of Nelson Mandela—both of them living long lives, both of them giants in our times.

I feel inspired and warmed by their light. They remind me that all of us have something to give the world, something to give to the times we live in. That is another side of the February festival—to claim our own gifts and use them to serve our world. May you find inspiration during these cold days, and may your light shine!

                                                                                    Love, Rev. Myke