Reverse Offering

On March 14^th, Stewardship Sunday, I tried an experiment called a Reverse Offering, in which I took money from the Minister's Discretionary Fund, and put it in envelopes, ranging from $1 to $20, and invited people to do some good in the world with this money, and let me know what they did. I am beginning to hear some stories of how people have put this money to use. A few:

...I used my dollar from the pay it forward envelop for a "pending coffee" at the gas station.

...using coupons, rebates etc to buy toiletries,food etc, we turned it into 2 colgate toothpastes, 12 bars of Irish Spring soap and 1 Sure deodorant which we then donate to Preble street or the food pantry.

...First we took it to the bank and traded it in for 100 pennies.  Then we brought the pennies home and affixed a happy-face sticker to each one.  Now we are busy distributing the pennies whenever the bill at a check-out counter calls for a few, or when there is another occasion to slip a few into a donation container. We have been doing this for some time now and occasionally have been asked by a cashier to keep our penny. I guess they believe it has more value than an ordinary penny, and they may be right. I tell them, that’s not the point. One cashier, upon noticing the happy face and with a smile on her face, told me she had been having a bad day but this little act turned it around for her. Anyone who wishes to may create their own happy pennies.

...I received $10.00 in my envelope and I have decided to put it back in the plate and match it to give $20.

 ...I decided to put my dollar in the Ferry Beach scholarship jar.

...I wanted to report that I gave my dollar from the service last week to a donation box at Fanueil Hall for sustaining interpreter services for visitor to the museum. It happened to be on St. Patrick's Day!  * I thought that giving different amounts of $ to members of the congregation was a great idea for modeling how growth and good things can happen through community support. 

Finally, another member added a $25 dollar check and gave $26 back to the Ministers Discretionary Fund.  I look forward to hearing about and sharing more stories about what you did with your reverse offering!

Our Search for Greener Housing

As many of you know, my partner Margy and I started a search for greener housing while I was on sabbatical last summer. Becoming more and more aware of the environmental challenges that we are facing on our planet, we wanted to find a way to take some steps toward using less fossil fuels, and putting less carbon in the air. We decided it would be good to live in a smaller house and move closer to Portland. We started to look for a house that would have a southern exposure for solar panels, as well as meet our other needs and wishes. I started to blog about the process and the lessons learned along the way. (You can find that blog at www.findingourwayhomeblog.wordpress.com )

We will be moving to our new home in Portland on February 26^th. We aren't finished with our journey toward greener housing—that will be an ongoing process. But our new house is small, with a big yard that will hold food gardens of some kind in the future. We've installed lots of insulation in the attic and basement rim joists, and air source heat pumps that are very efficient for heating and cooling. We are exploring the options for solar panels, and hope to be able to have those installed later this spring. It is a lot of work, but I feel very happy at the prospect of moving closer to the deep ecological values I hold dear.

We are still in the process of selling our house in North Yarmouth, and hoping that will go smoothly. We are in negotiations with a promising buyer. I will be taking some unused vacation days and be away from the office from Feb 23 to March 2 as we pack and make our physical move. Our church administrator will check phone messages for me. In case of emergency, you can reach me on my cell phone. You can also contact the Pastoral Care Team via care@a2u2.org. Wish us good weather for our moving day! Thank you for your support and encouragement on this journey.

Sabbatical Exchange and Pastoral Care at A2U2

I had a chance to lead worship at the UU Congregation in Brunswick on January 24^th. This was a part of our sabbatical exchange, in which Maine UU ministers lead worship for other congregations when their ministers are on sabbatical. So just as several area ministers came to preach at A2U2 while I was on sabbatical, this year I was in Brunswick while Rev. Sylvia Stocker in on sabbatical, and later in the spring, I will preach at First Parish in Portland while Rev. Christina Sillari is on sabbatical. Our social action committee also participated by bringing their excellent service on health care to Sanford, while Rev. Sue Gabrielson was on sabbatical in the fall. (Thanks also to the Worship Committee, who took on extra so that it might all work out.) This is just one of the ways we can be in collaboration with our UU neighbors.

The Brunswick church was burned down in a fire several years ago, but they've built a lovely new sanctuary with solar panels on the roof. You might be interested to know that they have three video screens in their sanctuary, and a tech team that works the audio-video system each Sunday. On the screens they post all the words to the hymns, and before the service starts, they post their announcements on a repeating loop. (New possibilities for A2U2?) Our IT folks might wonder, but even with a new system, they still have glitches that turn up every so often. All of the people were quite welcoming and friendly.

Several weeks ago, a newer person at A2U2 asked me about our Pastoral Care Team. Who are they and what do they do? That question leads into our congregation's philosophy of shared ministry, so this month, I thought it would be nice to devote a worship service to pastoral care at our church. The Pastoral Care Team is one part of that. There are currently six active members. A brief definition of pastoral care is “compassionate listening,” and the role of the Team is to be a listening ear when our A2U2 members might be needing to talk. For example, a PCT member listens during Joys and Concerns, and makes a note of what is shared, and collects the written joys and concerns, and then another team member reaches out to those who have shared with a phone call or email. We are interested in a few new members who might want to be a part of the team.

But Pastoral Care and compassionate listening at A2U2 also include our Caring Connection, our Pastoral Visitors, Spiritual Enrichment groups, Member Connections, Religious Education, the minister, and every member. This month I will be leading our “basic training” for shared ministry, LAMP 101, on February 20-21, Saturday and Sunday, from 1 to 5 each day. If you think you might be interested in taking a more active role in compassionate listening at our church, or just want to learn better listening skills in your personal life, please join us for LAMP 101.        All the best to you, Rev. Myke

NAACP Portland

Warmest wishes to everyone for the new year! Despite the troubles that have beset the Portland Branch of the NAACP this autumn, the indefatigable Rachel Talbot Ross and many allies and friends have come together to create a series of events to celebrate the birthday and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now more than ever, we can support the work of racial justice and the dignity and worth of all people, by supporting this organization that has been on the front lines for so long. One of the issues faced by the branch was declining membership. Margy and I just renewed our memberships. This is one simple way to support the national and local work for justice. It costs $30 for a regular membership and you can join or renew online at http://www.naacp.org/pages/membership. When you are prompted, indicate that your local branch is #2038, the Portland Branch. Thank you!

Rev. Myke

The theme of this years activities is the Global Struggle for Freedom. You can find out about the events at http://naacp.me/2016/#MLK.

Projections from the Shadow of History

I am writing on the day Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday that always fills me with mixed feelings. Gratitude is wonderful, and getting together with family and friends can be a blessing. But I know that the stories we celebrate are white-washed versions of a history that has brought devastation to so many. I always remember that many Indigenous people call this the Day of Mourning.

The only time that foreign immigrants actually brought disease and destruction to this continent was when the English, Spanish, and French came to settle on its shores. Millions of Indigenous peoples died from diseases to which they had no resistance, or were killed in ongoing campaigns by the newcomers to destroy them and their way of life.

So while I give many thanks for my life, it feels sacrilegious to give thanks for prosperity that was built on the suffering and death of so many others. But it does illuminate for me, in a social psychological way, the possible roots of our American fear and hatred of foreign immigrants. I wonder if perhaps these feelings are a form of projection from this unacknowledged shadow side of American history. People imagine that new immigrants will bring destruction because the first settlers were the immigrants who did bring destruction.
This fear of the foreigner never proved realistic with later immigrants—with the Irish, the Italian, the Chinese, the German, the Jewish, the Puerto Rican, and so many others. Despite being hated and derided, they eventually became a part of the fabric of American life. Perhaps there is a link between facing more honestly our own shadowed and genocidal history, and letting go of our fear of the other.

Hard thoughts for a quiet holiday at home. But so many are cold and hungry and desperately seeking a safe harbor. And the tide of xenophobia and racism in our country seems to be rising out of control. Let's help our friends and neighbors to keep their heads about them. I believe that when we are lucky enough to have shelter and food and clothing and safety, we are responsible for sharing what we can with those who are in need. To me, that is what thanksgiving should be all about. Rev. Myke

A Bad Day

Sometimes you have a bad day. It could be for many reasons. As a minister, I hear about many really bad days, and my heart hurts for each person who faces trouble on their journey.

And sometimes, the bad day isn't life-shattering or devastating, but it still lands like a pile of bricks. This week, I received some news that landed on my day like that. Our church administrator, Debra Madigan, who has been such a wonderful addition to our staff, gave us two weeks notice. She has not been dissatisfied at A2U2, but was sought out by head hunters who offered her another job she felt she could not refuse. Her last day will be November 11^th.

I am sure our Personnel Committee and other church volunteers are as weary of searching for and hiring new staff as I am. But here we are. We'll be meeting soon to sort out the best direction forward, and I hope there might be some of you who would be willing to pitch in while we are in transition. We had such great helpers during the last transition.

Like I said, it's good to remember that this isn't life-shattering or devastating. It's a bad day, and extra work, and we are in it together. Have I told you lately that it is good to be in this work of spiritual community together with all of you? On the good days and on the bad days? Well, I’ll tell you now.

         Rev. Myke

Happy to be back!

It has been wonderful to see everyone again, as I've come back from sabbatical and we've all come together again into our autumn church life! I have been a little overwhelmed by emails, so if you have emailed me and not heard back yet, please try again. I want to connect! I have appreciated your welcome back messages, and feel happy to be with you all again.

I am so terribly excited about our funding campaign, “Walking With Care on This Earth.” After our long process of sorting through ideas and principles and options for our building and land; after our permaculture design process in which those ideas were brought together in a plan; after hours of research by many church members about sustainability and costs and feasibility—now we are actually raising the money to do it! Our consultants say we can do this. There are great leaders involved in the work. Now they just need all of us to participate in whatever we are able, and we will be able to begin work next spring.

Thanks to Connie and Dave for co-chairing this effort. Thanks to all the members of the group working on it. If you weren't in church when they made an announcement, I will mention that they are organizing one-on-one visits for all church members, in two waves. Margy and I were visited recently by a member of the team, and he answered any questions we had about the project, we had a chance to chat, and then Margy and I made a confidential pledge for our contribution to the projects. It was really fun to connect, and I was blown away by the brochure that they created for the campaign.

The first wave of visits will conclude by mid-October, and then the second wave of visits will happen between mid-October and mid-November. So if you are a member you'll be getting more information soon. And if you don't get information, but would like to participate, contact the church to make sure your contact information is all up to date, or to pass a message along to Connie and Dave. Non-members are welcome to be involved too. This is one more way we can bring our mission alive.

I also wanted to mention that this year I will be serving as a teaching pastor for a first-year student at Meadville-Lombard Theological School. His name is Israel Buffardi, he is a member of First Parish, and is beginning to follow a call to UU ministry. This year he and I will meet once a month, for mentoring and reflection on ministry. Then, if all goes well, he may serve as a half-time intern for A2U2 during our next church year starting in Sept 2016. The Board and I were happy for our church to continue on a path of helping to teach our next generation of UU ministers.

All the best, Rev. Myke