To Reap the Harvest, Plant the Seed

Ric Masten’s song says: “To Reap the Harvest, Plant the Seed.”

My strongest memories related to the concepts of reaping and harvesting come from listening to the radio late at night when I was about 10 or 11. My parents gave me a pink radio for my pink room – and I would tune that radio in to WWNS every night and listen to the DJs play the latest songs. Of course WWNS was our local a.m. radio station here in Statesboro. Here’s some Statesboro Trivia: What do those letters stand for? It’s “Welcome – Where Nature Smiles.” That was the first part of the Statesboro Motto. The whole motto was: “Statesboro: Where Nature Smiles and Progress has the Right Away.” So I listened to WWNS – 12:40 on my radio dial till the clock neared 10 p.m. That was when the radio went off the air. Of course the national anthem was always played right before the static came on. But in Statesboro – right before the National Anthem – we heard the Sower – Michael Guido, from Metter Ga, “with a seed for the garden of our hearts.” The song that they played on that old radio program went something like this: (sing) “A seed from the sower, though small it may be – will bring joy and blessings – just try – and you’ll see.” Then Michael Guido would share some heartwarming story with us that taught us a life lesson. Now Michael Guido was a conservative Christian man – but his stories could be relevant for anyone of any religion. Later, he moved his Sower spots to television, of course. And he recorded these from Guido Gardens in Metter GA till shortly before his death in 2009. You can still see them on TV and watch them on the internet. I went to his site and clicked on the TV spot for the day – and low and behold – Michael Guido was sharing a message about a Unitarian – though he didn’t identify him as such. Actually – it was someone who identified as a Unitarian Agnostic. And this message – I thought was perfect for what we are trying to convey today. So I’ve brought it here for you.

(Play one minute Sower video)

Alexander Graham Bell wanted to help his sister who was nearly deaf – and in turn, he ended up inventing the telephone and helping us all to communicate more easily. This reminds me of our sermon discussion last week after Tina shared information about the Mabon celebration – or 2nd Harvest. Many folks discussed the idea that when we put forward good stuff, good stuff is returned. What you sow, you reap. You plant a seed and nurture it – and it will be returned many times over. At least that’s the way the farmers among us count on it working. The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. And of course, this is true beyond the farm fields. James Allen’s famous quote is: “Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.” And that’s what we hope is happening here at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro.

The first seeds of this congregation were planted 25 years ago – in 1985, when a handful of folks got together and decided that they would be the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro. They elected officers – and met monthly in their homes or places like the regional library to share and discuss matters of importance to them. Those few folks planted those seeds, and others weeded and watered and nurtured those plants – which are still bearing fruit – and WE are still reaping the harvest.

These and others worked to gain affiliation with the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1990 – and we have continued to nurture our membership in this association and our district association by paying our fair share dues and collaborating with other churches in many ways. Yes, these associational seeds planted in 1990 by wonderful folks – three who are still here – have born wonderful fruit, and WE are still reaping the harvest.

During the 1990’s the group met in a variety of rented spaces at Georgia Southern – carrying their materials in a boxes. But though they had no space of their own, they developed into a real congregation during that time – with worship services, and children’s religious education and music! They watered and weeded these programs for us – and WE are still reaping the harvest.

In 1998, they courageously decided to do what was necessary to have their own space – by meeting the president’s challenge to significantly increase their operating budget. That seed money – and the following money pledged to a capital campaign, and the many hours of dedicated work by these folks resulted in this wonderful home of our own which we moved into in fall of 1999 – and WE are still reaping the harvest.

And then in 2006 at its annual meeting, the fellowship voted to call me as their first settled minister to serve at least half time, beginning July 1 2006. The funds would come initially from our savings with the goal of increasing the operating budget within three years to fund this ministerial line. You, who were here, planted those seeds, watered and weeded, and nurtured that possibility --- and – you still have a minister, so We are still reaping the harvest.

And that all sounds great! But we find ourselves in this 25th year at an important time for making some crucial decisions. Here are seven factors to consider.
* We are growing and are attempting to make efficient use of our small space, knowing that we will need to change this space in the future if we are to continue to grow to meet the needs of our congregation.
* We are stretching “half-time” service of our minister far beyond the normal service of that label. We need to consider possibilities for moving toward 3/4 time in order to provide the many professional ministerial services we need.
* Some of our most faithful givers of time, talents, and treasures have moved away or plan to move soon. We will need to find ways to continue to do the good work that they have provided and supported.
* We have some exciting new programs for our children and youth and some faithful volunteers providing leadership. However, they will need our support and assistance to continue this good work and not face eventual burn-out. The addition of a part time professional director of religious education would provide strong leadership in this vital area.
* Our music ministry has great potential. Funding of part time leaders or musicians can make a vital difference.
* We are realizing what a strong liberal religious voice we can be for this community. We need to support those who “Stand on the Side of Love” with proper training for being leaders of this prophetic congregation.
* In association with other Unitarian Universalist congregations, we can make history – rather than just being pushed around by it. We believe that our principles are life-changing and world changing. We need to find ways to move this vision forward.

Here’s where we are! We have this wonderful garden – but the need for our fruit is great – both with those who are already here, and those who have not yet found this wonderful faith community. Are we going to be that old guy who builds a fence around his garden and says – “this is for me, my wife, my son John, his wife – us four and no more?” I hope not.

At our canvass time each year, we encourage you to consider providing a meaningful commitment for your time, talents, and treasure. As you do this, we remind you that our congregation is not some commercial enterprise where we come and consume our good fair trade coffee or consume by hearing a good message or consume by having our children taught our UU values. Yes, we do all those things. But there is something more than mere consumption going on here. This congregation is a faith community with a vision for changing ourselves and the world in positive, healing, energizing ways. And to do this, we all are going to need to move beyond a consumer mindset – and move to one in which we see ourselves INVESTING in this congregation and our vision for better selves, a better community and better world.

The Silver Anniversary Challenge
To honor the 25 years we have been together and to share in a commitment to our future, I suggested a challenge to our leadership and others who are in a position to make a significant increase in their pledge (fully realizing that some in our congregation are not in this position at this time). The challenge is to increase ones pledge by at least 25%.  Michael Durall (church consultant and author of Creating Congregations of Generous People as well as the Almost Church books we've been studying) says that the majority of Unitarian Universalists could double their pledges and not change the way they live significantly.  That may or may not be true -- but asking for a 25% increase should be doable for many of our folks. I am pleased to share that our all of our board members and finance committee members as well as your minister have met this challenge. We encourage you to consider joining us! And again, I fully know that this is a difficult time for some of you and you will not be able to do this. Whether or not you can join with this special challenge, we encourage you to give careful consideration to possibilities for sharing your time, talents, and treasures this year. So that our leaders can plan for 2011, we ask that you complete two forms for us.

The Pledge Card
In your packet is a UUFS Silver Anniversary Canvass Pledge Card. If you and other household members give as one pledge unit, you need to complete one card. Many do pledge separately, though, and will need to complete separate cards. You can email our administrator Shay Gibson if you need additional cards. Although the use of UUA’s guide (on the back) is optional, we do believe it is a fair way to determine your gift based on your level of involvement and your income level. If you are undergoing many hardships this year, you may not be able to give at the level that you would like to give. We encourage you to do what you can – and work toward that possibility in the future. While the giving guide is one way to determine an appropriate gift, there may be others. For example, one leadership consultant shares that he tells folks that their gift should be somewhere between their cable bill and their car payment! There is a blank on the card for you to share the total amount you plan to give in 2011. Please also let us know your planned giving increments (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.). And please know that if anything happens that would prevent you from meeting this commitment, you need simply to call the treasurer and share information regarding the needed adjustment. We look forward to many of our folks making meaningful, generous pledges in support of this faith community.

The Volunteer Form
This congregation is very dependent on our wonderful volunteers. We desire to truly have a shared ministry and invite you to participate with us. We ask that you select one of the committees to serve on in 2011 and place a check mark in front of it. If there are specific activities under ANY of the committees that you could fulfill, we ask you to check that as well. (Note: you do not have to be on a committee to be involved with these specific roles.) If you have talents or time to give in an area that we have not identified, write it in! We need you! Your gifts of time and talent will be greatly appreciated.

Returning your Card and Form
There are two possibilities for returning your cards and forms. You can put them in the envelope provided and drop them in the designated basket during a Sunday service, or you can mail them to our PO Box. For your convenience this year (and to save stamps), you can mail them back in the same envelope. We hope that you can return these within two weeks, so that we can use this information in preparing our budget for our Annual Meeting in November. I am SO enthusiastic about our future here at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro and I hope you are as well! With your help, we can make a difference --- and dance together while we do it!

(Sing)
Let it be a dance we do,
May I have this dance with you!
In the good times and the bad times too,
Let it be a dance!

Oh, may it be so!

Learn to Follow; Learn to Lead

Note: This sermon was preached on September 14 and was the 2nd in the "Let it Be a Dance" series based on phrases from Ric Masten's song by that name.


It was the summer of 1963. Are you old enough to remember? That’s my cousin Ann with me in the bikini and her little sister Nancy in the picture on the wall. In addition to enjoying activities like swimming with my cousins at Cypress Lake, I was old enough to go to the dances held at the Pav-a-lon at the Recreation Center. No – I’m not mispronouncing “pavilion.” The name of this structure WAS “The Pav-a-lon” spelled P A V (dash) A (dash) L O N ” -- named, I suppose, by someone who could not pronounce pavilion – and it stuck. There was even a sign with the name at the entrance for a while – but it was stolen, I suppose, a while back. Anyway – back to the summer of ’63……

The dances were record hops, – with Ray Classens spinning the records LIVE on WWNS radio, 12:40 on your dial – while the teens danced the twist, or the mashed potato, as well as some slow dances. Tuesday night was for the younger teens and Friday night was for the older teens. So this was a Tuesday evening that I’m especially remembering. And I was very excited to be at the dance, sitting at one of the picnic tables with my gal friends, wondering if any of the boys would ask us to dance.

Then I saw that really cute guy who was in the class ahead of us. His name was Bill Hook – and he was so suave looking. I knew he probably would not want to dance with any of us “sub-freshmen” though – so I looked around to see if there were others – that I would at least approach if DJ Ray Classens gave us a “girls choice” dance.

Then it happened. The DJ put on a slow dance – and YES – Bill Hook came up and asked ME – “Plain Jane ME” to dance. I had seen Bill dancing earlier with another girl and he looked like he was a good dancer. And I knew I could dance because lots of the girls at the girls’ Happy Go Lucky club like to dance with me. So we should be good together.

We went out onto the dance floor and my heart beat rapidly. We started dancing and it seemed a little awkward – but I thought it was just my nerves, and maybe Bill just wasn’t that good of a dancer after all. Maybe he just LOOKED so good that I thought he could dance. Then he just stopped dancing – just stopped – right there on the dance floor and looked at me and said, “Jane – you are leading! I’m the boy – I’m supposed to lead! You are the girl. You are supposed to follow me.” Oh. OOPS! So I tried to follow Bill, I really did – but both of us were glad when the dance was over. And Bill Hook never asked me to dance again.

Now, I’m just going to put my feminist analysis of this situation (and all the possible sociological and cultural aspects that we could deconstruct) into an imaginary box here and tie that up and put it on a shelf – perhaps examining later. Because in reality – for that time and place – and with the rules in place for social dancing, Bill Hook was right! Yes, I had learned how to dance. And I had even learned how to lead, but I somehow had failed to learn to follow.

In Ric Masten’s song about life entitled, “Let it be a Dance,” he encourages us to “Learn to follow – Learn to Lead.” In the dance of life, it’s important to be able to do both.

There are situations in which I HAVE to follow – I can’t lead, because I don’t have the expertise or knowledge to do so. And most of us know what our limitations are – though we can work on those skills. For example, we are going to be painting the interior of our church soon, and our friend Gaby Howett, who is a professional painter extraordinaire, has volunteered to lead us in this venture. Now there are those of you who are skilled at this – and can more easily follow Gaby’s direction. And we will let you know when we need this help – so hopefully you can volunteer. I, myself, will probably offer the contribution of transporting people or materials – because I don’t know that I can even follow well enough in this arena to participate. But if I do try, I know that I will need to listen carefully, watch what she does, take it slowly till I gain confidence, and ask for help if I run into problems. Since that dance with Bill Hook, I’ve worked hard to learn to follow. And we do need good followers, don’t we?!

Now I know I need to follow Gaby’s leadership if I try to paint. But I also know that I need to step back and follow – even when I have some special knowledge or expertise. That’s hard for some of us who are extroverts, but it’s an important skill to learn.

But what about leading?

There have been mountains of research articles written on various paradigms or theories of leadership. And depending on who you are reading, these categories are given different names. This morning, I’m going to share some names for these categories that are commonly used across many fields and I’m going to be drawing and quoting from a 2008 article by Jing and Avery. I promise not to give you a long leadership lecture – this is just a little review of possibilities. (Note: Direct quotes are in italics.)

Classical leadership is probably the oldest paradigm with its origins in antiquity, and is still used in contemporary organizations…. According to Avery, classical leadership refers to dominance by a pre-eminent person or an ‘elite’ group of people. This leadership can either be coercive or benevolent or a mixture of both. In the religious world, the Pope is a good example of Classical leadership.

Under the transactional leadership paradigm, leaders adopt a consultative style for making decisions. They engage in different degrees of consultation with individual followers, but the leaders remain the final decision-makers. If you are in an academic department at Georgia Southern or some of job with a supervisor, your chair or supervisor hopefully consults with you on lots of matters – even if she has the authority to make the decision – or more than likely – the recommendation to the next level in the hierarchy.

Visionary (or transformational) Leadership has gotten much attention in the last few decades. Here, the leader (appears to have) high competence and a vision to achieve success. Followers… respond with enthusiasm and commitment…. The leader also consults with and empowers followers. A local Example that worked: Legendary Coach Erk Russell.

According to Avery, visionary leadership has limitations, even with the current literature’s overwhelmingly positive view of it…. The unrealistic expectations followers often place on visionary leaders can create disappointment if things do not work out. Also, followers can become dependent on visionary leaders, believing that the leader has everything under control.

Then there is Organic Leadership. Organic leadership allows for people with different degrees of expertise on current issues to emerge and be accepted by the group as leaders. In addition, under organic leadership, there may be no formal leaders and the interaction of all organizational members can act as a form of leadership, held together by a shared vision…. However, Kanter argued that the downside of organic leadership is that it… may result in loss of control and greatly increased uncertainty. A possible current example of this would be the Tea Party Movement.

So which of these works better? Well of course the research says: It depends!! One thing that it depends on for sure is the followers!

I was a department chair at Georgia Southern for 12 years. And for most of those years, I felt pretty good about what we were doing. The department started out with a small group of guys that were about to retire – so I had the opportunity to do lots of hiring as we replaced them and grew. My idea was to hire the smartest and best people that I could – then listen to them and advocate for them. And we were able to accomplish some great things. But the culture of Georgia Southern as a whole changed to one where that model didn’t fit too well. And eventually, I and some other chairs were called into the Provost’s office. We thought perhaps he wanted to hear out concerns. But no – he immediately let us know that was not the purpose of our visit with him. He told us that he brought us in so that he could explain to us what our job was. He told me that my job was – and I quote – “to take direction and give direction.” And just to make sure we got it – he said it two or three times. He added for good measure that we needed to learn that “the faculty is not always right.” Fortunately for me, I had already entered seminary and was on my way to preparing for the ministry. Because you see --- even if I COULD change my ways – and become that “overseer” and TAKE direction – then GIVE direction; I knew that with the faculty that we had hired in our department – there was NO WAY!!

Which of these leadership styles works best for our churches? UU churches with our governance of congregational polity -- go overboard with empowering folks – so it seems that no one can ever make any decision without some committee or board approving it. Growth Consultant Michael Durall warns us against following this path as he looks at the success of newly formed non-denominational churches and the decline of mainstream churches, including many Unitarian Universalist churches. In his book “The Almost Church,” Durall states:

Strong Leadership is the core issue that distinguishes newly formed independent congregations from established churches….. The question at hand is whether we limit the effectiveness of capable clergy, lay leaders, and church members via outdated practices, policies, and structures.


SO – though we don’t need the structure of the Pope – perhaps we don’t need the tea party either. Actually – one of the metaphors for leading and following that makes the most sense to me is the one that I often witness visiting and leaving our pond. The geese! Here are some facts and lessons from the geese compiled by former Baltimore Public School Superintendent, Robert McNeir. (http://www.thepracticeofleadership.net/2006/07/18/leadership-lessons-from-geese)


FACT 1
As each goose flaps its wings it creates an "uplift" for the birds that follow. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.

LESSON
People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

FACT 2
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.

LESSON
If we have as much sense as a goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

FACT 3
When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.

LESSON
It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other's skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, talents or resources.

FACT 4
The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

LESSON
We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.

FACT 5
When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.

LESSON
If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.

I’m going to close this sermon by leading you in the chorus of a song by Amy Carol Webb. It can be our way of HONKING as we stand by each other, and lead and follow. The song is called “Stand.” And I invite you to stand in body or spirit. We can hum with Amy as she sings the verses and sing with her on the chorus.

Chorus:
I will stand with you! Will you stand with me?
And we will be the change that we hope to see,
in the name of love, in the name of peace,
Will you stand, will you stand with me?

When injustice raises up its fist,
and fights to stop us in our tracks.
We will rise, and as one resist.
No fear nor sorrow can turn us back!
(Repeat Chorus)

When pain and hatred churn up angry noise
and fight to drown out our freedom song,
we will rise, in one joyful voice
loud and clear and ever strong.
(Repeat Chorus)

When broken hearts come knocking on our doors,
lost and hungry, and so alone.
We will reach as we have reached before
for there is no stranger in this, our home.

Chorus:
I will stand with you! Will you stand with me?
And we will be the change that we hope to see,
in the name of love, in the name of peace,
Will you stand, will you stand with me?


Amen – and Blessed Be!

May I Have this Dance?

May I Have this Dance with You?
(In the first in a series of sermons based on phrases from Ric Masten’s classic song, “Let it Be a Dance,” Rev. Jane Page encourages SHARED MINISTRY!)

When I was in the 6th and 7th grad – back in the early 60’s, I was in a club for girls at the Statesboro Recreation Department called the “Happy Go Lucky Club” – or HGLs. We met every Monday night during the school year – and although we played other games and had refreshments, the big activity of the evening was DANCING. Mrs. Russell would put on the music and the older girls – who had learned the previous year – would teach the younger girls how to jitterbug and slow dance too. Mrs. Russell had ways to make sure we all had partners and we would swap often. There were also dance contests – and the best dancers would always partner up so they could win. But that was okay, because for the most part we all had a great time together. Now I was trying to remember the grade levels for this Club and posted a question about it to my FACEBOOK women friends who grew up in Statesboro and perhaps attended. Several responded and many of them also shared their memories of this club. Interestingly enough, most of these memories were of the big dress up dance held at the end of the year in which we invited BOYS. And some had good memories of this – with special dates and full dance cards. And others remember sitting on the side lines and learning the meaning of the word “wall flower.” Because you see, we’d been taught that on the night the boys came, the proper thing was for us to sit nicely along the wall and wait for a boy to ask us to dance. And the boys had been taught that they should bravely risk rejection and should walk up to a girl, extend their hand and say, “May I have this dance?” Of course many were very shy about doing this – so the dance floor didn’t fill up till the “Girl’s Choice” dances – which were rare.

Now as you might imagine --- I don’t LIKE to sit by a wall. I like to DANCE. So the words, “May I have this dance?” used to be somewhat problematic to me because of these memories.

But all that has changed now. Anyone can ask anyone else to dance. And you can dance with a guy OR a gal and with one person or a group. And you can just dance by yourself! How great is that!

Although I have no problem dancing by myself, as you may have noted last week at our ingathering service, I do enjoy dancing with a partner. So the words, “May I have this dance?” are becoming happier words to me in this world of more dancing opportunities.

Ric Masten, songwriter and UU troubadour, included these words in the 2nd Line to his song, “Let it be a dance.” Ric was, of course, talking about LIFE itself. Let it be a dance! But he included this invitation --- “May I have this dance with you?” -- because he understood the need to invite others into that Dance of Life with you! Similarly, we are here in a faith community together – knowing that we need one another for some of the dance steps we take in life. And we need to INVITE others to participate.

Therefore, I am extending my hand to you this morning – and asking you to dance WITH me in this Ministry!

As I do that, let me be clear – I do believe that professional ministry is important. And I think it’s a very good idea for a congregation this size to have a professionally trained minister. Believe me – I would not have spent years in preparation – taking seminary courses, writing a boatload of papers, doing practicum and intern experiences, working in a hospital as a chaplain, and jumping through all those hoops that the ministerial fellowship committee put before me – if I did not believe in the value of professional ministry. But this is one dance folks—this dance of the ministry of this congregation – that I do not want to do alone, nor should I – nor could I.

For one thing, I’m supposedly serving this congregation “half-time.” Even so, our needs and the needs of this community are great. And I don’t know how to work half-time, though I keep reminding myself that this is what you called me to do. But sharing ministry is not about freeing up my time! It’s about growing through love together and reaching out to others together. So, again, my question to you today is: “May I have this dance with you?”

The term “Shared Ministry” began to grow in use during the 1990’s among many different religious groups, including the Unitarian Universalists. In 1993, the Unitarian Universalist Association Women and Religion Committee undertook a substantial study of “shared ministry” in Unitarian Universalist congregations. The Committee wrote to the president of every North American Unitarian Universalist congregation and asked them to define” ministry,” “shared ministry” and other related terms. So the surveys were sent to over 1000 congregations. But thy only got about 60 back. Nevertheless, they wrote their report to share what some of these congregations were doing in hopes that others would be able to gain some insight and momentum to move in this direction. And the result is this book, “The Shared Ministry Sourcebook: Resources for Laity Ministering Together in Unitarian Universalist Congregations.” They provide some good models and I offer this source for our board and others to consider.

Before I go any further though, I should clarify what I mean by ministry. (Silence) I wish I could. Ministry is one of those things like pornography. You know it when you see it and experience it – but it’s somewhat difficult to define. Rev. Mark Morrison Reed, a Unitarian Universalist minister in Toronto, Canada agrees with the difficulty in defining ministry but makes a pretty good stab at it, I think. He says: “It is a quality of presence we bring that is grounded in our liberal religious faith. Singing and preaching, teaching and leading, caring and justice work are all ministries. It is what we do together when we gather in community.” And Rev. Karen Fraser Gitlitz provides this helpful explanation: “In ancient Rome a minister was a servant. The term was used to describe a servant, an attendant, an assistant, such as to a priest or other civic official. This sense of being in service to a greater good is present in ministry wherever it is found. Its source lies in the individual internal ‘yes’ that is our response to goodness and beauty. It is found in congregations when they come together to renew their mission, to start social action projects, and to hold worship services.”

Although the phrase “Shared Ministry” is relatively new – or at least has received more attention in the last couple of decades, the concept of sharing ministry in not new at all. As exemplified by my readings before this sermon, religious folks have been encouraging their lay folks to minister to others from the very beginning. But we Unitarian Universalists have a particular history that lifts up this possibility even more. And because having a good history lesson prepares us for the present and future, I’m going to share a little of that with you here today. After all, we are Unitarian Universalists, and most of us are fans of history.

Almost 50 years ago, the Unitarians and the Universalists merged – but the history I’m going to share today is more from our Unitarian side of the family – because that’s where a lot of the emphasis on sharing ministry can be found. The Unitarians, along with the Anabaptists and others, were the RADICAL Protestants. And the Protestant reformation is what really re-opened the door to this concept of shared ministry. Rev. Jan Carlsson-Bull puts it this way: “Shared ministry emerges from a notion called ‘the priesthood of all believers.’ It’s grounded in the early Christian understanding that experience of the divine was mediated solely through the figure of Jesus, whom devout Christians understand to be God in the flesh, the son of God, if you will. The early Christian church had no priests. It was informal and egalitarian, with each believer expected to use her or his individual gifts to build up the Christian community, which was pretty wobbly in those days of the Roman Empire. This understanding receives especially strong emphasis in the First Letter of Peter. Believers are implored to “Come to him, to that living stone….and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood.”

Of course it only took a couple of centuries for the church to become a hierarchical empire of sorts. And one could only be a bishop or priest if he (and that HE is intentional of course) was in apostolic succession. In other words, the apostles had been ordained by Christ, then in turn they ordained others – who ordained others – all the way up to today! The Anglican and Episcopal churches also consider themselves to be in that Apostolic order because the bishops in the Church of England (when it split from the Roman Catholic Church) were ordained in that line. Down the road from my house, the Trinity Episcopal Church recently ordained a young man to the priesthood. And they make a big deal of that apostolic succession. The bishop and priests came from all around to lay their hands on this young man and to designate him as one to both bring God’s message and to serve others. But there was once another young priest who disagreed with this – and his name, of course, was Martin Luther.

Now Luther, you may remember, was a German priest and theologian who was very upset about the selling of indulgences – and the church’s practice of taking advantage of folks by having them, in effect, buy their way into heaven. So he nailed his 95 theses to a church door in 1517 to protest. And as far as the Church was concerned – all hell broke loose. When he refused to recant, the Church excommunicated him – and thus the Protestant revolt began. Luther’s theology challenged the authority of the pope and taught that all baptized Christians were part of a holy priesthood – thus, the priesthood of all believers. Well, when he opened up the possibility of folks reading and thinking for themselves – folks like US took him seriously. And that part of the reformation – the part that included the Unitarians – became known as the radical reformation.

Our history is a little complicated – though. And the Unitarian churches in the U.S. did not descend directly from those Unitarians in Europe. Instead we “evolved” from the Puritans. But even our Puritan ancestry gives us a foundation for shared ministry. You see the Puritans were separating themselves from the hierarchical Church of England. And they declared their independence in something called the Cambridge Platform. This independence was not needed because of differing beliefs. They still maintained a similar doctrine. The Cambridge Platform was basically a document that shared with the Church of England that “You are not the boss of me” – and we will walk together over here with one another as independent congregations – but in association with one another. The big word for this is “Congregational Polity.” And congregational polity also lends itself to shared ministry – sharing with each other within the congregation, and sharing in association with our fellow Unitarian Universalist churches.

Now just as our early Unitarian churches evolved from the Puritans, we continued to evolve – and as our Unitarian ancestry was evolving – so was our Universalist ancestry (who also, by the way, had congregational polity) – till they both reached a point in 1961 that they felt they could do better sharing their ministries together rather than separately. And so, the Unitarians and the Universalists got married and covenanted together to affirm and promote our shared principles and sources.

Today the “Priesthood of the Believer” has evolved in Unitarian Universalist congregations to be the “Ministry of each person in the congregation.” Yes, you are all ministers! This was affirmed by one of UUA’s Commission on Appraisal Reports in 1997. In this report is the following finding: “One key aspect of Unitarian Universalism is our belief that ministry of the congregation does not belong exclusively to ordained clergy, but to everyone.”

One of my Unitarian Universalist heroes and a giant 20th century theologian, James Luther Adams, took this idea of “Priesthood of all Believers” a giant step further. He stretched that notion to the “Prophethood of all Believers.” Now when he talked of prophesy – he was not referring to fortune telling. Jan Carlson-Bull shares this explanation: “Prophets, we might remember, were those annoying flower children of the Old Testament – Jonah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos. Troublemakers all, they called the populace of their day to take seriously stuff like loving your neighbor as yourself and honoring the divine by so doing.” Here is what Adams had to say about all of this:
“The prophetic liberal church,” he claimed, “is not a church in which the prophetic function is assigned merely to a few…. The prophetic liberal church is the church in which persons think and work together to interpret the signs of the times in the light of their faith, to make explicit through discussion the epochal thinking that the times demand. The Prophetic liberal church is the church in which all members share the common responsibility to attempt to foresee the consequences of human behavior (both individual and institutional) with the intention of making history in place of merely being pushed around by it…. Only through the prophetism of all believers can we together forsee doom and mend our common ways.”

Wow – that’s a lot for us all to live up to – to be priests and prophets. But it’s sure a lot easier if we all do it together. So I’m asking you to join me in this dance of ministry!

Some of the folks in this congregation have been on the dance floor for a long time, and we are encouraging and inviting everyone to join us in the ministry of this church. So what specifically does that mean for you? Do I want you to come up here and preach next week? Well, actually – Beth Butterfield has already danced her way into that spot. But there are many wonderful ways you can share the ministry of this congregation.

On September 26, we will kick off our annual canvass for time, talents, and treasures and we will survey you more formally about this. As you complete that form, ask yourself three questions: 1. What am I good at?; 2. What do I like to do?; (and those are not always the same thing); and 3. What needs to be done? But you don’t have to wait till September. The music is already playing. We need for folks to come to the dance floor now. Our children need folks to read stories to them in the younger class and teach the older class. Can you sign up and help out with this? We have much we need to do in the upkeep and maintenance of our buildings and grounds? Is there a ministry for you here? We are attempting to be a voice standing on the side of love in this community. Are there ways you can be that prophetic voice? I realize that there are some in our congregation who have a lot of difficult “stuff” going on in their lives right now; and may not be able to dance every dance. But there are things we all can do – whether it’s sending cards to those in need; or clearing those big branches that often fall on our roof.

What is your ministry? Carlson-Bull preached a sermon at her church with that title – “What is Your Ministry?” And in that sermon she asked her congregants a question that I think is appropriate for me to lift up today.

“What are you doing right now that speaks to the faith and works of this congregation, that feeds the hungry, that teaches our children, that hollers to the powers that be in our own time to change course, that keeps the kitchen clean and the facilities painted, that helps the flowers grow, that helps us all grow?”

The little doves in our story for all ages couldn’t lift that net with just a few flapping their wings. To lift our wonderful free faith to higher heights, we need to share this ministry.

May I have this dance with you?

Sing: “Let it be a dance we do! May I have this dance with you? In the good times and the bad times too, let it be a dance?”

Namaste

The Doves' Escape

A Panchatantra Story
Retold by Jane Page

This story is from the Panchatantra, a collection of stories from India written over 2000 years ago. It’s been changed some through the years, of course, and changed some by me too. In this story there is a hunter, and he is trying to catch some birds. So he sets out a net under a banyan tree where he knows the doves like to come. Then he spreads seeds all out within it, for he knows that when the birds come to get the seeds, their feet will get all tangled up in the net and they will be caught.

Sure enough, along comes a group of peaceful doves looking for food. And one of them, called Bright Wing, has been selected as their leader because they think she has good vision. And indeed, she does see the seeds, because that is what she is looking for. But she fails to see the net.

So Bright Wing says – “Come and go with me and let us feast upon the seeds.” And they all go to feast and they enjoy being fed. And none of them see the trouble of the net, although it’s right under their noses, because they are enjoying the feast and not paying attention. Then some realize that the little ones are having some trouble, and go to help them, but they can’t move because their feet are all tangled in the net.

“Oh now – what are we to do?” they ask Bright Wing.

And she replies, “Oh, I just provided the vision. Our dove board will need to discuss this to come up with a remedy to free us.”

So the board members meet and decide it is their responsibility to get them out of this mess. They decide that the board members will all flap their wings and see if they can lift the whole group. And Bright Wing flaps hers too. But they cannot lift the flock.

Then little Benny bird says, “I’ll flap my wings too.”

But they reply, “Oh no- you are too young and inexperienced!”

One board member asks: “What about Betsy Bird. She looks like she as strong wings!”

But another says: “Oh no – she just joined our flock and we should not put her to work so early.”

So another asks: “What about our elder birds who have led us before?”

But one of the elder birds, Miss Dora Dove, heard them and chirped: “Oh no, we have already worked hard enough and we are tired of flapping our wings, it’s your turn now.”

And so it goes till one of them hears the hunter coming and shouts: “We are one dove community, and we must all work together or perish together.”

Well, that got their attention and they decided that they should all flap together, and they did, every one of those doves from little Benny Bird to Old Miss Dora Dove. And they lifted that net high into the sky and away from the hunter.


Now that could be the end of the story, but their feet were still tangled in the net and they were discouraged. Then Bright Wing said, “Fear not – for that’s why we are friends with other animals and are in association with them. Let us fly to the rat’s nest and ask them for help.” And so they fly over and ask their rat friends to gnaw the net so they can be free. And of course, rats love to gnaw nets – so they all join in to free the doves. And all of the animals learned some valuable lessons that day! And perhaps we can learn from them too!

Let it be a Dance!

MINISTERIAL MUUSINGS

I have always loved to dance. Moving to music connects me with the Divine in ways that no other spiritual practice can. Perhaps that is why I also immediately fell in love with Ric Masten’s song, “Let it be a Dance” the first time I sang it at this UU fellowship many years ago. In this song, Ric uses dance as a metaphor for life. I used his song as an organizing mechanism for my final “integrative paper” in seminary – exploring the relationship between worship and religious education. Greg and I also chose the words, “Let it be a Dance” as the theme for our wedding; because we saw our lives together as a dance. And now, I’ve selected this song and its lyrics as a theme and framework for my sermons for the coming fall and spring semesters.

When I was working on my integrative paper in 2005, I wrote to Ric Masten to get his permission and input for doing so. Ric Masten was a Unitarian Universalist troubadour, in the true sense of the word. He was a wonderfully inspired poet and songwriter. I’m using the past tense because Ric died on May 9, 2008 with his family surrounding him and singing this song. Ric had journeyed with prostate cancer for a decade – giving him lots of inspiration for poetry and occasions to reach out to others. But his body could dance no more. The spirit of love and life that he gave to us dances on though – continuing to inspire us. Ric wrote back to me in 2005, of course, giving me permission to use his words in my paper and in other ways as well. He also shared information with me that would give me a better understanding of the song. One of the stories he shared was the history of how he came to write this song. I thought it would be helpful for us to have knowledge of this inspiration and background as we explore this song for meaning in our lives this year. So I’ve copied his words in the five paragraphs below and thank Ric for his open-ended permission!

“It was one of those horrendous tragedies that happen in the American high schools every 4 or 5 years. This particular incident occurred 33 years ago at Carmel High. A first year teacher, Sharon Elliot, offered a course in Modern Dance and had 14 young women and men performing like Broadway professionals. My two oldest daughters, Jerri and April, took the class and were a regular part of the troop. During Christmas vacation Sharon saw that a famous ensemble out of New York City was performing in San Jose, about 80 miles from Carmel. She called up all of her students and said that if they were willing to be crowded during the journey they could go up to San Jose together in her VW bus. Both of my daughters wanted to go in the worst way but had other holiday engagements scheduled.


“As the carload of dancers was rounding a corner on the way home, a drunk driver who had pulled over to the side of the road decided to pull back onto the highway without looking behind him. The VW crashed headlong into his car, killing the two front seat passengers – the teacher and Bonny Btussell, and a back seat passenger – Celia Neal, who was thrown forward. All the other girls and boys in the back seats were seriously injured.


“Barbara Brussell, my daughter Jerri’s best friend and also the older sister of the girl in the front seat, had her kneecap so badly damaged that the doctor doubted if she would ever walk without a cane, let alone dance again. My family and I visited Barbara in the hospital where I made a bet with her. Wagering that she would come dancing up our Big Sur dirt road exactly one year from that day. And what's more, I would write the music that she would be dancing to.


“The following week, while working in my garden the entire song arrived. I ran to the house and wrote the lyric down as fast as I could type. Better still the words came along with a melody. An added motivation to write “Let It Be a Dance” was that the Unitarian Universalists were having their General Assembly in Dallas, TX that year, and the keynote speaker was to be Sam Keen, who wrote the book TO A DANCING GOD. As is my style I wanted to have something relevant that would fit into the conference theme for my scheduled performance.


“Barbara Brussell, now a well known Cabaret singer in NYC, did come dancing up our country road exactly a year to the day after the accident, with me singing and playing “Let It Be a Dance.” Barbara was limping, it’s true --- but DANCING!”


I hope you will join us in services this year. We will begin by singing Ric’s words at our ingathering service on August 15 – and include the “Dance of Emerging Life” – with the children joining me as we dance; revolving and evolving together. Other services will use phrases from the song to explore other aspects of our lives. Come join us!

May I have this dance?

This I Believe

This summer our members are sharing a series of “This I believe” messages with the congregation. On Sunday, June 20, I shared my own theological perspective.

What do you believe? As Unitarian Universalists, we share common principles regarding how we treat each other and this world. But invariably we are asked – But what do Unitarian Universalists believe? Then we try to struggle through our little speech about how we do not have a particular creed and are supportive of the search for truth and meaning that each of us undertakes, etc. Sometimes the questioner pushes further and asks – Well, what do YOU believe. Hopefully, you can respond. You may also be asked – well, what does your minister believe? I would imagine that many of you might not be able to respond to that – although you could probably guess.

I was thinking about this as I prepared this message and imagined a discussion among a group of you trying to respond to that question. In my little daydream – one of you said, “Well she quotes the Bible and Jesus a lot – and I know she spent most of her life as a Southern Baptist – so she’s probably a liberal Christian. But thankfully she doesn’t push that as the only path.” Another responds: “Oh no, I’ve been with Jane to Womenspirit and SEEN her participating fully in those pagan rituals they have up there at The Mountain. She’s a pagan all right. But she probably just doesn’t want to announce that in this group because it would turn some folks off.” Another says, “No, no – Jane’s a Buddhist. She’s always reading Buddhist literature and I’ve seen her at a local sangha’s meditation group. I think Buddhism is probably something she’s come to more recently – but she’s a Buddhist now.” A fourth said, “You all haven’t been listening to her sermons. She’s practically told us time and time again that she’s a humanist. Remember that time she dressed as John Dewey and shared his “common faith” and then another time; she said he was her hero. Dewey’s a humanist. Jane’s a humanist. She’s just one of those ‘warm, fuzzy’ humanists.”

Well – all those folks are all “sort of” right. I could probably put some claim on each of those identities because of my affinity for participation with other folks who identify in these different ways. When I was preparing for UU ministry, I did not care too much about taking on a particular theological identity. For one reason – I didn’t want others to think I was trying to convert them to my own theology. I preferred for them to see me as a minister supporting them in their own theology. So – I thought I was okay letting my theological identity remain ambiguous to others and perhaps to me. But my seminary professors and the UUA fellowship committee would not let me by with that. In course after course and in essay after essay I was asked to “articulate my theology.”

Now I did share about my theology in one of my sermons in 2006 after becoming your minister. And I haven’t really talked specifically about it again till today for our “This I Believe” series. Because – although I’m a UU evangelist – I’m not an evangelist for a particular creed or spiritual practice or belief. But I do think you should know – because in fact, my theology (or some might say it’s more of a cosmology) does support my ministry and is important in how I see the world and all of us in it.

When I first became a Unitarian Universalist, I took a survey that was supposed to help me ascertain my theological identity. The conclusion indicated that I was a humanist. Humanism entails a commitment to the search for truth and morality through human means in support of human interests. I’m not opposed to any of that! But the concept and some of the language used by many humanists was a little “too human” for me. So, I tried to modify the term by using words like “neo-humanist” in my theological essays. In any case, I never warmed up to that identity.

During summer 2002, I was introduced to “Religious Naturalism” by two of my professors, Jerry Stone and Karl Peters. Now that’s religious naturalism – not religious naturism. These folks are not folks who worship in the nude. In any case, I resonated strongly with their ideas. I wrote a paper further exploring religious naturalism that I presented here in church with a couple of friends in the fall of 2002. Chris and Laura acted out the part of these two professors in a conversation with me. Those of you who were here may remember that trialogue and may also remember that at the end of that discussion, I was moving in their direction but wasn’t quite ready to claim religious naturalism as my own identity. Since then, however, I have studied Ursala Goodenough’s book entitled The Sacred Depths of Nature, heard her speak at General Assembly in 2005, joined the UU Religious Naturalists, and attended a gathering of them at Ursala Goodenough’s home in St. Louis with others who claimed that identity.

So enough about how I got to this place. What in the world IS a religious naturalist and what does that mean for me and others in terms of how we live our lives? In sharing about religious naturalism – I’m going to be pulling and quoting from the work of my friend Bill Murray, author of Reason and Reverence, – who was the President of Meadville Lombard Theological School when I was there. (Note: All quotes in italics in this sermon are from writings by Murray unless otherwise indicated.) Murray reminds us that religious naturalism is really a revival of older ideas. The ideas themselves go back as least as far as the philosopher Spinoza, but it’s only within the last several decades that these ideas have been more widely affirmed. And it’s really only within the last decade and a half that folks have begun to organize themselves as religious naturalists – much due to the popularity of Ursala Goodenough’s work and the folks who have been gathering annually on Star Island for a week devoted to religion and science.

Religious naturalism says two things. First, it holds that the natural universe is all there is. The supernatural does not exist. Second, it maintains that there is religious meaning and value in nature.

There are two types of religious naturalism -- theistic and non-theistic. They are united in their rejection of the supernatural and their belief that there is only one realm -- the natural universe. For at least 3,000 years western religion has taught that the natural universe is transient and not ultimate, but what is real and ultimate is the supernatural. Religious naturalism says, "No, there is no supernatural realm. This natural universe is all there is."

Now some may say that religious naturalists must then all be atheists – or at least agnostics. But that’s not the case. Many say they do believe in God and those are the ones that we usually identify as “theistic” religious naturalists. But their God is not a supernatural God. This is NOT the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And - as much as I love Jesus – I must say that I do not believe the God proclaimed by theistic religious naturalists is the God of Jesus. And this is not the God of the majority of Americans.

When the vast majority of Americans say they believe in God, they have a supernatural deity in mind, a God who is thought of in popular terms as "the man upstairs," the "heavenly father,"…the deity baseball players point to when they hit a home run to give credit to something other than steroids.

The God of theistic religious naturalists is not a supernatural deity, but instead is a power or force within the natural universe. UU theologian Henry Nelson Wieman referred to God as the power of creativity. Others speak of God as the spirit of love that pervades all beings.

Now back in 2003, I asked this congregation if you could say “God” and if you could – what you meant by that term. And I found that many of you had ideas of God that were very different from most Americans. Some of you felt God was a power within each of us, or that God was creativity or that God was the goodness in all things or that God was everything. But I did not hear many folks refer to God as a supernatural creator who could punish or reward our deeds. And the fact that (whether we use the term God or not), most of us do not believe in an authoritarian deity – explains a lot about how we live our lives.

UU theologian Sharon Welch has noted that belief in an all-powerful deity leads to authoritarian institutions, including governments, because it glorifies domination. The supernatural God is also depicted as male. This results in justification for a patriarchal society and for discrimination against women, who are regarded as inferior in every way.

A naturalistic theism, on the other hand, tends to symbolize god in more feminine terms -- like Mother Nature -- and hence in more loving terms, less punitive, less judgmental, more nurturing and caring. People who believe in this kind of God tend to raise their children in a nurturing, caring environment, characterized by dialogue and cooperation. They favor a society that emphasizes peace and justice and negotiation in international matters. We human beings are symbolic animals, and I think the symbols we associate with deity make a lot of difference.

Now – though I can certainly “say God,” and I have no problem using religious language to convey ideas and feelings, I do not consider myself to be a theist – although there is probably not a hill of beans difference in what I believe and what a theistic religious naturalist believes. I translate the word God as “the power of love” and I can sing praises to that power and worship it. I DO believe in love and compassion. But I suppose if I am to be truly honest with myself and you, I think the word God is so sacred to those who do believe in a deity– that I don’t use it personally when I look to something that is greater than myself. I can use it with others and DO, just as I can use the term goddess or spirit or even Allah. I think we are all reaching for the same thing. And that is what connects us all. To me, we are all a part of nature. But if I’m forced to stick a label of theist or non-theist on me, I’ll wear the non-theist one. Personally, I don’t think it should matter that much. It’s certainly not worth fighting wars over – and that’s part of the problem I have with supernatural religion.

Religious naturalism (whether theistic or non-theistic) maintains that human beings are products of nature and natural causes. We are simply one of a prolific nature's multitudinous creations, each unique and special, and all part of one interdependent web. Naturalism also maintains that we human beings do not consist of a separate entity called mind or soul or spirit, temporarily dwelling in a physical body, but that human beings are a psycho-somatic unity. This acceptance of human mortality and transience leads religious naturalists to feel gratitude for life and a commitment to make the one life we have as meaningful and as joyful as possible.

THIS I BELIEVE!

I’m a religious naturalist because I believe in life before death.

And I love to study life! I find the work being done now with genes to be so intriguing. And it just leaves me in awe. Scientists have discovered that all living things on this planet today share a huge number of genetic ideas. Current estimates indicate that human nuclear DNA is 98.4 percent identical to chimpanzee DNA. So most of my genes are like most chimpanzee genes – and they are also like many of the genes in a mushroom. We are deeply interrelated with the rest of the living world. And the more we find out, the more intriguing and awesome it is.

But why do I say I’m a RELIGIOUS naturalist. Why not just a naturalist? What’s religious about accepting the scientific method as a viable means for understanding the world? Well, I’m going to quote from a rather well known scientist to explain that. Ursala Goodenough is Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. She is one of America’s leading cell biologists and is the author of Genetics, a widely used textbook in the field. She is a past president of the Society of Cell Biologists and a prominent figure in the developing field of Science and Religion. Here’s what she says about religion in her book, The Sacred Depths of Nature.

Religion. From the Latin religio, to bind together again. The same linguistic root as ligament. We have throughout the ages sought connection with higher powers in the sky or beneath the earth, or with ancestors living in some other realm. We have also sought, and found, religious fellowship with one another. And now we realize that we are connected to all creatures. Not just in food chains or ecological equilibria. We share a common ancestor. We share genes for receptors and cell cycles and signal-transduction cascades. We share evolutionary constraints and possibilities. We are connected all the way down.
Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow – the married duo who travel around presenting “The Great Story” – (and who visited with us a couple of years ago) remind us that we are connected all the way up to the stars as well. We are products of stardust. Yes – YOU are star material!

I am so blessed to live in a nature wonderland right outside of the city limits. Like Ursala Goodenough – when I walk through the woods or across the dam by the pond – and see all the organisms flying, crawling, pushing their heads through the dirt – I can open my senses to them and connect. Although I enjoy their beauty, I don’t have to depend on their being beautiful to appreciate them. Now I can look at the fungi growing on that dead tree in the corner of my yard and think about their genes switching off and on their cells dividing rapidly and differentiating in pace with my own. And I can experience the tie that binds.

Now you would think that folks like Ursala Goodenough and other religious naturalists (including me) would be satisfied to just worship in the woods since we connect with the worms and the weeds. But many of us have the need for religious community and for a faith of some kind! That seems to be something that we have evolved and scientists are learning more about the brain and religion all the time. In any case, when we participate in worship services and rituals with others, we can experience true reverence. Reverence is the religious emotion elicited when we perceive the sacred. And it calls us to our higher potential – just as Moses was called to a higher potential when he experienced the sacred on that mountaintop. As noted by my imaginary group of parishioners, I can experience this is as I read the words of Jesus’ sermon on the mount or as I participate in pagan rituals, as I meditate and study the four noble truths of Buddha, and as I become involved in social justice activities. I sing praises to God or to the Spirit of Life and I am filled with an appreciation for this wonderful world. I don’t have to believe every word I sing in a literal sense to understand the deeper meaning that the words represent. And SO, I profess my faith with Ursula Goodenough who says:

For me, the existence of all this complexity and awareness and intent and beauty, and my ability to apprehend it, serves as the ultimate meaning and the ultimate value. The continuation of life reaches around, grabs its own tail, and forms a scared circle that requires no further justification, no Creator, no superordinate meaning of meaning, no purpose other than that the continuation continue until the sun collapses or the final meteor collides.

So, for now, I still feel comfortable describing myself as a Religious Naturalist. I marvel at how the world has emerged and how we continue to emerge. I stand in awe at our interconnectedness. And yet there is much that I do not understand. Like Goodenough, however, I have a covenant with Mystery. I do not need definite answers. I do, however, need the religious experiences that provide the nourishment for my inner being.

And I get many of those here– with you – at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro. You and UU are the amazing grace that has come into my life. This life! And I am truly blessed.

Hallelujah, Amen, and Blessed Be!

Sally's Lesson

MINISTERIAL MUUSINGS
Rev. Jane Page

We learn from our parents, our teachers, our colleagues, our friends, and even our children. But if we are really aware, we can also learn magnificent lessons from non-human friends too! I learned a lesson on conflict resolution recently from our youngest dog, Sally Brock-Page. Sally is a cute black puppy we got from the pound last fall. And Sally is a very important dog for lots of reasons. For one thing, Sally represents the commitment that has grown between me and my partner of eight years. When Greg came into my life, I already had an old dog named Welcome. And Welcome is still with us. We normally think of Welcome as the PAGE dog. Greg’s children really wanted a puppy so we adopted one from the pound and named her Windy. Because our relationship was fairly new, and I was still a bit skeptical about whether or not anyone could live with me very long, I suggested that we have the understanding that Windy would be the BROCK dog. However, in 2007, we took the big leap of giving our love its fullest expression through marriage. This past fall when we got a new puppy, we decided that she would be the BROCK-PAGE dog. And Sally Brock-Page has grown in size and spirit. She is a healthy, happy, dog – a little on the frisky side, but we attribute that to her youth! In any case, Sally is the dog that taught me a lesson recently.

In the mornings, I usually walk across the pond dam and use the looping road on the other side as my jogging track. (Four times around is approximately one mile.) Occasionally one or more of the dogs will go with me. There is one house in the neighborhood on the looping road that has an old dog that will bark loudly to let us know that we are unwelcome. If any of our dogs are with me, I call them to me to make sure they do not go near that dog’s yard. I’m not afraid for our dogs. I do believe they could easily take the other dog in a fight with no problem. This dog is one of those very short legged dogs, and he moves pretty slowly. I just don’t want any of them to get hurt. So what’s Sally’s lesson?

The other morning Sally was with me. When we came around the first time, I called her and she stayed by me when we went by Short Dog’s yard. But as we neared the yard on the second loop, Sally bounded into it! “OH NO!” I shouted. “Come, Sally, Come.” She paid me no attention but ran right up to Short Dog. Then she got down on her belly, as LOW as she could go to get lower than Short Dog. And she stayed very still and let Short Dog sniff her all around. Then Sally just jumped back up and ran back to join me on the road. After that, Short Dog did not bark at us. On the third round Sally left and went back across the pond dam while I finished my jog. I expected Short Dog to begin barking at me when Sally was not at my side, but he let me by without a yelp. Sally had been my emissary – but now I was accepted as well.

I pondered that interaction and put some words to Sally’s action. She was saying to Short Dog, “We know this is your domain. We humble ourselves to show you that we come in peace and mean you no harm.” And I thought about the criticism that President Obama received just by providing the slight culturally appropriate bow to leaders of other countries when visiting them. Maybe we should do more bowing, not less. And perhaps we could easily solve many conflicts in our families, at work, and in other relationships by being willing to show a little more humbleness. It’s good to STAND UP for what you believe in and fight for what’s right. But sometimes, maybe all we need to do to stop those yelping dogs is to let them know that we recognize their right to exist and be happy, and that we mean them no harm. Here's to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; for Short Dog, Sally, and the rest of us!