Every Blade of Grass

"Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow, grow.'”

From the Talmud

Slugs and mushrooms

Sitting under the screen tent on a blanket, I slow down enough to pay attention to small beings. It is morning. I watch the journey of the slugs on the fruiting bodies of the mushroom. Really slow, these small beings I rarely even notice. There is a beauty in their journeys. Sometimes they eat the mushrooms, but perhaps sometime they are just looking for a quiet spot in the shade. There were three slugs, three mushrooms, whose journeys I was following.

I have too often just thought of slugs as garden pests--but today I say thank you for beauty, for slowing down, for being my teachers...

Summer Days

On June 21 I found wild strawberries in our back yard--what a way to start the summer!

We didn't do anything to plant them--just neglected an area that had been filled with gravel stones under a clothesline--they grew over the stones bit by bit.

Now all we have to do is pick the harvest--a bit of work, but what a treat from the bounty of the earth!

Yum! I love June!

The Large Wild Strawberry Patch--see the tiny box...
I wish for everyone the bounty of the earth and the beauty of summer time in Maine.

Osama Bin Laden

Is anyone else saddened by the jubilation that erupted in our country about the death of Osama Bin Laden?
Any loss of lives is something to grieve.  The terrorist actions on 9/11 killed many innocent people, and that is a source of grief for all of us.  But I have also grieved over a U. S. response that resulted in even more loss of lives--among our young people who have died as soldiers, among children, women and men living in Iraq and Afghanistan.  
I cannot rejoice in anyone's death, not even the death of a killer.  I recall the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.,  


"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." 

Rainy Day

I am writing this on a cold rainy day--it seems spring is taking forever to truly arrive, but maybe by the time you read it the greens sprouts will be popping out everywhere. I spent three days last week with my UU ministry colleagues in the mountains of New Hampshire, and we reflected on worship and the sermon writing process. The wind was howling and the rain was pouring down there too. I always appreciate the new ideas that emerge, and the sparks to creativity, when we do deeper sharing on various aspects of ministry. The worship committee and I also have been reflecting on worship, as we plan a special event for May 15--a workshop to orient A2U2 folks who may be interested in the process of planning and leading worship. Even if you are just curious, I encourage you to attend. And if you have ever considered wanting to lead a summer worship service, or help prepare a lay-led service, this will be a chance to go deeper into the worship experience. This would also be a great orientation to joining the worship committee.

In thinking about worship for May, I want to let you know that we are trying a couple of new things this year. First, instead of a Religious Education Sunday in June, we are offering a multi-generational service at 9 a.m. on May 15. It's purpose will not be to showcase our RE program, (as in many years past) but rather to offer a worship service that gathers together all ages of our church community. It's an experiment, and if it serves us well, we may try to do it again like that. Another special worship event will be a Celebration of Music, at the 11 a.m. service that same day. This too will be an alternative style of worship, where the work of the choir will be highlighted, and the service itself will be full of music. I expect that some of you might want to come to both services that day, and you won't regret it.

I have been thinking a lot about what we offer our children growing up as UU's. Most of the time, I don't get to see that part of church life, since it happens while I am leading adult worship. But I care deeply for what happens in our children's program, and how we are helping our children to grow spiritually, ethically, and socially. On May 8^th, I will be exploring these questions in the sermon, “The Spirituality of Children.” I always appreciate input from members and friends, and for this service, especially would love to hear from those of you with children or grandchildren. If you have thoughts, questions, hopes, or challenges you'd like to share with me about this topic, please send me an email, or make an appointment to chat.

Challenges at the other end of the spectrum of our lives will be the topic for a service on May 22^nd. Many of our members are dealing with Alzheimer’s (and other forms of memory loss or mental illness) in their families. To choose this as a topic for worship gives me a chance to learn more about what spiritual resources we can offer as a faith community for our loved ones who are facing these issues. I also want to encourage anyone who might have ideas or questions about this to be in touch, or if you want to talk about what is happening in your own family.

And just so you know, on May 1^st, I will be preaching at the Auburn church, to fill in while Rev. Jodi Hayashida is on sabbatical. You may remember that she came to A2U2 while I was on sabbatical. We have this wonderful arrangement with our fellow UU's to do these reciprocal sabbatical exchanges. I will be visiting the Saco-Biddeford church sometime in the fall as well.

In the meantime, may the beauty of the awakening earth fill your heart and soul with moments of light and joy!

Love,

Rev. Myke

New Moon for Gaia

Would you like to join in a common effort on behalf of the environment? On Sunday April 3^rd, you'll have the option to sign on to be a part of our New Moon for Gaia effort, which goes from the new moon on April 3rd to the new moon on May 3rd. We hope at least 30 people from our congregation will commit to doing one new action for 30 days. You can pick one action that you are not already doing and do that for 30 days, or you can pick different actions for different parts of the month. Some of these action ideas are from the national UU Ministry for Earth. Some of from our own Green Earth group at church.

First of all, on April 3^rd: Bring food for the food pantry, in a cloth bag, to our service!

Then sign up to be part of the New Moon for Gaia, and pick an action that you are not already doing:

1. “Got your bags?” A2U2, through the Green Earth Committee, is working with the National Resources Council of Maine on their “Got Your Bags?” initiative to replace plastic bags with reusable cloth bags. Join the effort by using cloth bags when you shop during the next 30 days.
2. For 30 days, be vigilant in recycling everything you can, particularly plastic. “Right now, millions of pounds of trash are floating in the Pacific Ocean to form an ‘island’ at least twice the size of Texas – 90 percent of that trash is discarded plastic.” – from the film Flow. Pick up (at A2U2) a copy of the article from Consumer Reports on “How to Get Rid of Practically Everything”—or find it at http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2011/02/14/consumer-reports-reveals-spring-cleaning-tips-on-how-to-get-rid-of-practically-anything/
3. Bottle your own water! Say “yes” to tap water and “no” to disposable bottled water for 30 days (or forever). If you’re not sure about your tap water, have it tested some time during the 30 days and install a filter if needed or use a pitcher with a filter for your drinking water. Watch the eight-minute video The Story of Bottled Water to learn why (http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/).
4. Turn off the water after you wet your toothbrush for 30 days.
5. If you eat fish, use a sustainable seafood guide to make your choices for 30 days: find a guide here: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_recommendations.aspx?c=ln
6. Use local and/or organic foods for at least part of every dinner for the next 30 days. Pick up a copy of Green America to learn more about it, or check it out on line. http://www.greenamerica.org/pubs/greenamerican/articles/SeptOct2010/organicorlocal.cfm
7. When you buy Easter candy, use sustainably grown, fair trade chocolate. Find out more at http://www.greenamerica.org/programs/fairtrade/whatyoucando/2010Scorecard.cfm.
8. Plan a garden to start growing some part of your food. If you don't have space, start a potted lettuce plant. If you already have a garden, plant a row to share with the food pantry.
9. Join our Green Earth Committee, or our Ethical Eating Committee to get more involved. You can find out more on our website http://www.a2u2.org/green-earth-maine.aspx, or contact the chairs, Harold McWilliams (GEC) or Julie Harrison (EEC). Come to the Green Earth meeting on April 10^th.
10. OR, Pick your own action for the earth!

Small changes when done together can create larger changes. We are joining with UU's across the country during this time to create a better relationship with the Earth. Maybe we can even get 60 people to sign up!

Rev. Myke

Church Size

Those who have been in church leadership at A2U2 during the past seven years have been talking about the differences that exist in churches based on the size of the church. According to experts, there are four basic church sizes—family size (less than 50 adults and children in attendance on a Sunday), pastoral size (51 to 150 at church on Sunday), program size (151 to 400 at church on Sunday), and large size (over 400 at church on Sunday). (One might also add the mega-church as an even larger fifth size.)

These sizes were identified by church consultants as they observed that church growth doesn't happen easily across those “borders” from one size church to another. The essential character of a congregation changes, based on the numbers of people involved. So when you go from 150 in attendance to 200 in attendance, you begin to have very different needs in order to build a thriving community.

Allen Avenue is a program size church, (also called “mid-size”) and has been working on the shift from pastoral to program size structures over the last several years. This transition can be a cause of stress in our volunteers and staff, and unfortunately can also result in some important needs occasionally falling through the cracks. If this has happened to you, I am really sorry. Our intention is to make sure that everyone is noticed and cared for in their times of distress or concern. But we are still learning how to make that happen.

For example, according to Alice Mann, in a pastoral-size church every member can know everyone else, and the primary work of the minister is to build one-to-one pastoral relationships. In a program size church, however, there are too many people for everyone to know everyone else, and new systems are needed to create connection and intimacy. The minister's primary work shifts to creating high-quality Sunday worship, and building lay leadership—especially strong lay teams for pastoral care and new-member ministry.

We have been working on building up our lay ministry program for the last five years. This past month, our Pastoral Care Team has been officially commissioned, and as each season comes around we are developing better ways for the team to learn about pastoral needs and respond to them. Our Caring Connection has also changed and developed, from an informal network to help out members who needed food or rides or other emergency help, to a more structured network using a database that can be activated through email. On the one hand, the structures may seem a little less immediate and personal—but the goal is the same—to match people with a need to people who can listen or offer some help. It is about manifesting the love that is the heart of our community.

Right now, one way the Pastoral Care Team or Caring Connection find out about a need is through our Joys and Concerns bulletin board or candles in church. But not everyone wants to speak in church or put their concern on a bulletin board. We are thinking about how to add other ways to pass on information and requests—perhaps with a designated email address, or a private box for joys and concerns along with our public board. If you have ideas, let me know. And stay tuned for further news in the next months.

Much love, Rev. Myke