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

Weavers

Happy Holidays & a Happy New Year!

Ending this year, 2010, I am mindful of how blessed I feel to be the minister at Allen Avenue UU Church.   I want to say a big thank you to all of the folks who bring our community together. What does it take to grow a community? First of all, it takes the energy of many individuals who share their creativity, kindness, and passion. Thank you! But even more than that, it takes the dedicated work of those I call the “weavers.” The weavers are those who weave a collection of bright individual threads into a beautiful garment.

Our committee chairpersons are weavers, who enable the talents of individuals to come together in the common purpose of each committee. Our Spiritual Enrichment Group facilitators are weavers, who hold the circles in which deeper bonds between our members and friends are nurtured. Our board members are weavers, who try to imagine the whole pattern of our church, and shape its direction. Our program staff are weavers―thank you Dale, Anne, and Kim, for enabling the participation of so many people in music and religious education, and for helping newcomers to find a way to join the tapestry. A special big thank you to our Church Fair coordinators, Angie, Julie, and Jennifer, for weaving a fantastic community event out of the efforts of dozens of volunteers.

I also want to say a big thank you to all of those who give their time and dedication to the more hidden side of any weaving―a sturdy foundation―a “loom” on which to build. Thank you to our support staff, Mary in the office, Pam for finances, and Steve for the building. Thank you to all the folks who work on the building and grounds, on church finances and stewardship, on communication and IT, on all areas of church administration. As our community has grown larger, your work has become more challenging and complex. Thank you!

May our A2U2 community grow strong in 2011, and may the weavers be plentiful and joyful!

May joy and many blessings come to each of you in the new year.

Rev. Myke

P. S. Margy and I are saying hello to two sister kittens, whom we are adopting from the HART Shelter in Cumberland. By the time you read this, we hope they will be here in our home, bringing their own kitteny joy to our world.  Here are Billie & Sassy (named after Jazz greats Billie Holiday and Sarah "Sassy" Vaughan.)

Winter Holidays

The Winter Holidays are almost upon us. It is a time of darkness and light, joy and sorrow. It is a time for families to gather together and enjoy each other's company; but it is also a time when loneliness can pierce the heart, and the losses we have suffered can return in gaping emptiness. Family struggles can be magnified, tensions can increase, all in contrast to the images of cheer around us.

Let us remember to be kind to each other. Remember to call the friend who has lost a spouse or partner, a parent or child or other loved one. Make room for the bereaved to talk about those who are no longer with them. Think about inviting the person who lives alone to join in your festivities. Think about visiting a nursing home, or helping in the soup kitchen. Remember to say thank you. Remember to be patient with your family. Remember to forgive.

In this time of long nights and short days, as the cold and snow approach us, let us remember again the values we hold most close to our hearts—love, kindness, patience, gratitude, compassion. I was inspired by a short affirmation written by Thich Nhat Hahn:

I vow to offer joy to one person in the morning

and to help relieve the grief of one person in the afternoon.

I vow to live simply and sanely, 

content with just a few possessions,

and to keep my body healthy.

I vow to let go of all worries and anxiety 

in order to be light and free.

Perhaps we can take the advice of this wise Buddhist teacher, to help us live this December in warmth and peace. May your holidays be blessed!

Rev. Myke

Autumn Equinox

I am writing this on the last day of summer, on the verge of the autumn equinox. Today was a hot day, but the nights have been crisp and getting colder and colder. The lengths of the daylight and darkness are in balance today, and the moon is full tonight, but so far, hiding behind the clouds. When the church program year starts up, things get busy very quickly, and it can be easy for me to forget to go outside.

Going outside is a kind of spiritual discipline for me. I mentioned in a sermon on September 12th that the earth is like our UU Bible, the universe is our sacred text. At least, that is true for me. Now, technically, everything single thing around us is a part of the earth—and so are we. The separation we make between “nature” and “artificial stuff” is artificial itself. So, even inside our houses and surrounded by human-made technologies, we might recognize that all of this is also the earth. But, it seems easier to remember the wonder and beauty of this world when we are surrounded by living and growing things.

Among our human-made technologies we can harbor the illusion that we are in control. When we go outside, we see that life has its own energy and direction, and its constant transformations. One day, a flower is there where none was before. Another day I see the first flash of red leaves on a tree. Every so often, a small animal makes its way through the fields or woods, at the edge of my line of sight. This is my favorite time to be outside in our neighborhood. The flies of summer—which certainly offer their own sermons on how humans are not in control—finally stop their pestering; there is an ease of movement in the cooler weather. The colors are full of angled light.

I was looking up at the stars the other night, and wondering—isn't it amazing that we can see the stars? Just a small shift in the chemical makeup of the atmosphere and we might never have been able to perceive them at all. Yet they have been a source of myth and story, question and exploration for eons. These astronomical bodies are so far away we had to invent a new word for the distances—light years. Yet we can see them with our tiny human eyes. So there I was being amazed about it all, and I wondered, why can we see the stars? And the little thought came to me, we can see the stars so that we'll know we are not alone.

Maybe a different thought will come into your heart, when you are looking at the stars. But I hope you will find wonder and beauty this season. Remember to go outside.

Rev. Myke

P.S. And remember to bring your starry dreams to our 2020 Visioning Day, October 23rd.

20/21 Vision

Did you know that our church will celebrate its 200th anniversary in the year 2021? That is only ten and a half years away from now! Imagine that you are writing up the big news story announcing the anniversary: What would you like to be able to include? In your wildest dreams for our church, what might be a key accomplishment of A2U2 by 2021?

This fall, our church will engage in a process of reflecting on our mission and our ministry. Ministry is everything that we do to live our mission. Every member of A2U2 participates in the ministry of our congregation--that is, we all contribute to whether and how our mission comes alive. Our mission is stated in this way:

We are growing a community 

that transforms lives through the power of love.

We celebrate diversity, encourage spiritual growth, 

and promote social responsibility,

as we walk with care on this earth.

We empower our members to share their gifts

to build a world of compassion, equality, and freedom.

This fall we will be taking stock of how we are doing on our mission, and envisioning what we hope for the future of our church. What might we imagine for the next 5, 10, even 25 years? We can only see clearly when everyone shares their perspectives, their hopes, their fears, their dreams. There will be many ways to participate, from personal journaling and questions to think about in private, to small group discussions, to a large group event on Saturday October 23rd. Stay tuned for more information!

As part of this process of reflection, on six Sundays in September and October, I will devote our worship themes to the different elements of our mission. The titles and descriptions of all these Sundays will be posted on our webpage, so you can see them as a whole.  

Here is the link:  A2U2 worship-topics

I invite you to bring this process into whatever parts of church life have most meaning for you. Perhaps the Spiritual Enrichment groups would like to create discussion sessions on our mission statement? Perhaps RE leaders might have conversations in your teams about how this mission comes alive with our children? Perhaps committees can reflect on how their particular mission fits into this larger mission of the congregation? Our planning team would be happy to help make that happen. And everyone can submit their best ideas for the future--for the 2021 anniversary news story!

Thanks for being the vibrant, loving, wonderful people that you are! I hope your summers have been refreshing, and I look forward to seeing you all again in September. 

Remember to bring water from your travels to our ingathering service on September 12th.

Love, 

Rev. Myke

A wing and a prayer

I think of the wing of a bird

the wing I found

--by the side of the road--

of a bird now dead

the wing so intricate and beautiful

          now in decay

I imagine this--the millions of birds

           beautiful

coming into being, fading away

the artist painting a billion paintings

the stories wondrous, tragic

the story of that bird—alive

       growing feathers, flying, eating

alive and then dead,

       and then the materials un-forming

so brief a story

so brief a life

I imagine The Life

creating itself into a billion forms

and then re-creating another billion forms

with almost infinite variation

         a kaleidoscope

of beauty and diversity

   and different ways of being conscious of the work

   and different ways of participating in creating

       making choices

Can you feel the inner creative energy in each one?

So now I am creating and seeing as Myke

    and how beautiful I am

eyes looking out at this world

heart capable of love

making changes, healing, choosing

and I will dissolve and disintegrate too

and I will reform into a new being

the larger I Am 

--it sounds so static, in a way--

yet it is not static

   it is creating

     evolving

       engaging,

         weaving

             curious

    dare I say hopeful?

(Is there a goal to which it strives?)

(Or is it playing to see what happens next?)

(Am I?)

The stories

billions of stories

Can the stories appreciate the magic

be full of wonder and gratitude

enjoy the show?

I am that

I am the bird who grew feathers and died

and was seen by the Myke

and was photographed by the Margy

I want to wake up.

Holy One,

open my body and emotions and intellect

to be united in awareness with my Larger Self

with the Creator

with the Limitless One

Help me to remember who I Am

as the I

as the Myke

Each being is beautiful

We are all one Being

Each story is beautiful

We are all one Story