February 24, 2008 Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley
Bill:
On this Celebration Sunday we make commitments
to create the future of this congregation.
What spiritual legacy have we received,
and what will we leave for others who follow?
We drink from wells we did not dig.
We enjoy fruit and shade from trees we did not plant.
Most of us come here to a home built by others.
What is it that brings you here?
Really, what is the deep reason you are here today?
Last Thursday was a busy day for me.
Before coming back up here for Thursday night dinner,
the worship service, and the meeting of the board of trustees,
the two of us watched a few minutes of the Democratic Presidential debate
Bill:
The Democratic primary is engaging.
No matter your politics, there's a deep place being touched
by these two presidential candidates,
a woman and a mixed race African American man.
Though the election is about so much more,
it puts us in touch with all the tension
and the deep wounds of sexism and racism
that are a part of this nation's story.
Who can be leaders? Who has power?
It's a hopeful and a scary time.
Scary because hope is a spark that can be snuffed out.
Barb:
I showed up Thursday to the 7:00 worship service,
bringing with me the busyness of the day
and this excitement and tender combination of hope and fear.
I sat down.
Elinor Armer was playing the piano.
Music takes me where words never can.
I was tired and when I'm tired,
my emotions are more on the surface.
I listened to Elinor's music and tears came.
During the prelude, four year old Sophie walked in by herself.
She saw an empty seat by one of her moms, walked over,
picked up the hymnbook and sat down,
looking so natural, so at home,
like she'd been worshiping here like this all her life.
Seeing her brought more tears to my eyes.
I looked over and saw a woman who has been coming here for many years.
That day she had told me that sometimes she wishes
she could just go to sleep and not wake up.
She's lived a long life, she says, and sometimes she feels ready to go.
I'm grateful she's honest with me, vulnerable.
I don't want her to hide her feelings and I love her.
My heart is glad when I see her.
I would miss her so.
In the circle of worshipers was a woman who has said
that she had such a bad experience with a grandparent
that all people her grandparents age have been scary for her.
But she has come to know and love someone here
who is her grandparent's age.
This has been healing.
I looked at people.
I know a little bit of some of their struggles, some of their pain.
Bill:
Worship leader, Community Minister Cathleen Diane Cox
spoke of being overwhelmed with moving
and not knowing where anything is among all the boxes.
She invited us to turn to the person next to us
and share something of where we are in our lives right now.
One, two, three, at least four people in the room are in the
midst of divorces.
One keeps having to postpone a needed surgery.
One isn't well enough to make a trip overseas to visit relatives.
All of us are willing to show up.
That we can show up with the fullness of who we are is why we come here.
We all come hoping for something.
We're not alone in knowing pain, not alone in longing for something more.
Barb:
I was teary and tired, overwhelmed with the fullness of the day
and not ready for the Board of Trustees meeting that was ahead,
not prepared, not as knowledgeable about the issues
and business of the agenda, as I want to be,
or as in touch with the mission and vision
that underlie those business items.
How could any board member be?
Everyone leads busy lives, has many demands.
Times during the meeting were difficult.
There was tension.
If only in the moment,
I could remember the simple truths that I have to keep learning:
Breathe.
Listen with my whole heart.
Invite in grace.
Hold the best intention.
Bill:
I think when I speak at a meeting that I'm just me, sharing my view,
that all of us are on a co-journey and I'm just telling how it is for me.
I'm not thinking about how others experience me.
I'm not thinking about how I'm speaking as a white male
who has privilege, power and authority.
I want to grow more sensitive around this.
I want to be more conscious
in a way that is humble and active and responsible.
Barb:
Someone, not a member of OUR congregation, but in another congregation,
said people shouldn't be in conflict at church.
What! Conflict is why we are here.
Of course there's conflict at church.
Conflict is human.
Conflict is a given in any relationship-even within yourself.
Where better to learn how to be together in conflict than in our religious community?
Bill:
Yesterday at a Unitarian Universalist conference on building community,
a keynote presenter Dr. Shakti Butler said,
"Whenever we're talking and find ourselves thinking,
'I'm right. They're wrong.' We know we're stuck."
"The enemies of the heart," she says, "are envy, jealousy, hatred, and
getting stuck in 'I'm right and they're wrong.'
Barb:
We get to practice here creating beloved community,
noticing when we're not being our part of the beloved community,
We get to practice,
learning to keep opening the heart,
keep forgiving, forgiving myself, forgiving others,
keep coming back to the table.
This is why we come here.
These are the practices needed in our lives and world today.
Practices like these are what it takes to begin to stop wars,
to begin to end violence that comes in so many ways.
This is why we come here.
Bill:
Two weeks ago, after years of conversation,
the congregation voted unanimously to install solar panels.
After the meeting was adjourned, it was discovered
that the motion was not in compliance with our bylaws.
Leaders from various groups,
the board, the solar working group, endowment, the bylaws task force
met together.
They had an experience of what's possible
when everyone is working together for a common solution,
listening to one another, holding one another in deep respect.
This is why we come here.
This is a spiritual legacy worth our commitment.
They were grappling to come up with a solution
to present to the congregation,
a solution whose fruits will impact future generations who will come here.
They were digging wells where others will drink,
planting trees that will be fruit and shade for others.
They were greening the building, conserving energy, giving generously,
tending this home to shelter those yet to come.
It was a religious experience and it felt good.
Board President Kay Fairwell said it was the kind of experience
that makes her humble and proud to be a member of this community.
Barb:
This place that others built for us, that we now tend,
is a workshop to grow our best selves.
Bill:
We come to learn vulnerability, awareness, humility, openness, authenticity.
Barb:
We come here to become fully human, to live in community.
Bill:
We come here to begin to heal ourselves and our planet,
to move into a new day with hope.
Barb:
This is why we come here.
Bill:
This is our spiritual legacy.
♦