Occupy

The seasons are turning once again, the leaves falling. As it gets colder I think about the hardy young people who are Occupying in so many cities of our nation and around the world. (And some older people as well.) Occupy Wall Street started in mid-September with a march of about a thousand people, 200 of whom camped out in Zuccotti Park in New York City's financial district. It has grown into an international movement. Calling themselves the “Ninety-nine Percent,” protesters are challenging the greed of Wall Street, the policies that enable the upper one percent to be making enormous profits while thousands of people are losing their homes, are unemployed, or just getting by.

I visited the Occupy Maine encampment in Portland last week, to drop off some sleeping bags for the campers there. People are camping in Lincoln Park at Congress and Franklin, and sticking it out in all kinds of weather, along with enduring some acts of harassment such as a homemade bomb that was thrown into their kitchen tent early in the morning of October 23. (No one was hurt, thank goodness.)

It was quiet when I stopped by—a Wednesday afternoon. They don't do a big demonstration at Monument Square on the days when the Farmer's Market is there, but there were only a few people at Lincoln Park right at that time. When I asked whom I might speak to, a man who appeared to be homeless pointed me toward three young adults. They were delighted to chat with me, and seemed very articulate and dedicated as they talked about why they were there. When I mentioned that I was the minister at Allen Avenue, one of them said—That is my alma mater! It turned out he had grown up at our church. His name is Evan McVeigh.
He was also quoted in some local media about the occupation: Portland Press Herald Oct 11 and MPBN.

It made me proud of what we do for young people at our church. Young people here are encouraged to think for themselves, and to believe that they can make a difference in the world. They are encouraged to act on their values, and speak up about them. We help them become articulate and dedicated citizens. We teach our kids to look at the big picture, and care about how we treat each other as a society. No wonder they can spot the injustice of 1% of the people growing richer every year, while 99% of the people are falling back. Hurray!

I encourage you to stop over, have a conversation, bring along some food or blankets or tent stakes to help them out.  Like and follow them on Facebook to hear the latest news. https://www.facebook.com/OccupyMaine

There are things happening these days—who knows where it all may lead us?

Blessings, Rev. Myke

The Walk to the Well

Almost every morning I take a walk in our neighborhood—lately I have been taking the same route, down Baston to Sweetser, turning right next to the farm fields and then turning left into land that is owned by the Yarmouth Water District. A couple days ago, as I was walking down the dirt road that led to two small square buildings made of brick, I realized—these are well houses. I am walking to the wells. There are two wells in that spot—one from 1947, and one from 2000—and they mostly serve the water needs of nearby Yarmouth. I have been walking there for years now, but before this I wasn't thinking about wells. It has given me a sort of magical delight, even though I don't go there to draw water. It harkens to such an ancient human activity—especially for women, to go to the well to get water.

There has been a lot in the news lately about the water quality of wells in Maine. We haven't got around to testing our own well, but I wonder--since it is probably drawing from the same sources as these municipal wells—whether that might bode well or not. One of the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers, Mona Polacca, spoke at A2U2 this summer. She advised--”Know your water.” How often do we think about the water flowing beneath the ground? No wonder that the ancients thought of wells as sacred places, where what is hidden is revealed, and gives us sustenance and life.

This past summer, Margy and I went to Star Island, a UU Conference Center, 10 miles off the coast of New Hampshire. It was our first visit to the island, and what a beautiful place it was! We were surrounded by water, and the conference was about Water and the International Issues related to water in our time. At some point during the year, I hope to be able to share more of what I learned there. What comes to me now is that same message—know your water. I discovered that you can find out about water quality in your own municipal location by going to the Environmental Working Group, Drinking Water Quality Report at http://www.ewg.org/tap-water/home. There, you can see what contaminants have been found in the water. Of course, if you have a private well, you have to have it tested on your own.

The water at our church, Portland city water, comes from Lake Sebago. The Portland Water District provide public water services to nearly 200,000 people in the cities of Portland, South Portland, and Westbrook, and the towns of Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, Falmouth, Gorham, Raymond, Scarborough, Windham, and Standish. It is governed by an elected Board of Trustees. Do you know your water representatives? It is a lot to ponder—next time you turn on the tap. Gratitude, safety, understanding, history, refreshment.

Love and blessings, Rev. Myke 

Many Prayers, One World

The tenth anniversary of the tragedy of 911 is occurring on our traditional ingathering Sunday this September. Already in the U. S. news in mid-August, we began seeing a poisonous increase in anti-Muslim fear and hate being stirred up by this occasion. At Allen Avenue we have a different vision: 

We believe that all the world is one world, 

and all the peoples of the world are one family. 

It is an important time to stand up for the values we hold dear, and so I invited Reza Jalali, who is the Coordinator of Multicultural Student Affairs at USM, and an educator on Islam, to join me in planning an interfaith gathering for Sunday, September 11.  

We were soon joined by other wonderful interfaith leaders:  Rabbi Carolyn Braun of Temple Beth El, Interfaith Youth leader, Pious Ali, and Rachel Talbot Ross of the NAACP.  Our participants will include Anita Talbot, of the NAACP, Eda Trejo of Tengo Voz, Rabbi David Freidenreich of Colby College, Qutaiba Hassoon of Maine Seeds of Peace, Rev. Kitsy Winthrop, guest music by Spoonmaker's Diamond, as well as member of our A2U2 choir, and Dale Churchill, our music director.  

Our ingathering this year will be a gathering in of our neighbors as well as our church community. Invite your neighbors and friends too!

We will begin with our traditional water ritual—using a structure based on the story of Stone Soup—so remember to bring water you may have collected, or stones, from places and events that have nourished your soul this summer.

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."