Tearing Down Walls

I’m not someone who gets excited about tearing things down.  I like to build up – not tear down.  And once something is there – I like to preserve it.  Maybe that’s just part of human nature.  But sometimes it’s not in the best interest of all. 

I was so excited when the congregation voted to accept the gift of the building on the corner of Cypress Lake Rd and the by-pass to renovate for our new home.  And I’m still very excited.  But I’ve had to overcome a little uncomfortableness along the way – and it’s related to our topic for today – tearing down walls.  You see there are some interior walls on the south end of the building where the office area was separating three rooms, a storage area and a bathroom.  In my own mind, I had envisioned that perhaps we could USE these rooms for RE space.  But while planning with the Building Committee, others pointed out the need to have the sanctuary meeting space on that end of the building – and Matt even pointed out that the spacing with the walls wasn’t best for our purposes even if the RE classes were on this side.  I knew they were right.  For us to best utilize that space for worship and teaching and other aspects of our mission, those walls would need to be demolished. 

What I did not admit to the building committee – or even to myself – was that my initial hesitancy about tearing down the walls was probably more related to my personal history of having been involved with putting them up in the first place when we built that building with the hopes of my son having a successful body shop business there.  All those shelves back in that storage area,… I put them up myself.  But that dream died.  Fortunately, there is new life and purpose for that building, and those walls WILL come down. 

The theme for this series of sermons is “Building Our Church; Building Our Faith.”   And sometimes, that does require tearing down walls. 

Now I’m not hesitant about tearing down all walls.  I love tearing some down.  We Unitarian Universalists have worked on removing walls for decades – especially those that unnecessarily divide us and lead to oppression – all those ism walls:  racism, sexism, classism, and also phobia walls, built with bricks of FEAR: xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, Islamaphobia, and on and on…  Yes, all those walls that prevent folks from honoring that first principle of respecting the inherent worth and dignity of all.  And we celebrate the success we’ve had working with others to knock down some of these walls today.  Many of you are wearing Rainbow colors in honor of 25 years of National Coming Out Days.   Brick by brick we are tearing down those walls and we will continue to do so.  I don’t have the same kind of hesitancy about tearing down those walls that are clearly obstructing a loving future. 

But there are others that bring that same feeling of hesitancy to me that I felt about tearing the walls down in our building.  That’s the same feeling of hesitancy I had when I first heard of some new ideas about the future of Unitarian Universalism proposed by our current president Peter Morales.  Now – you know, we have congregational polity.  And just because our president says something – doesn’t mean it’s so.  But we did democratically elect him, so I thought I should listen to what he had to say.  Let me share a little about this vision he has for Unitarian Universalism.   

It starts with a look at the rapid change in our religious culture as discussed in a sermon he preached called “Breaking Down the Walls.”  Peter is just a little older than me so I can also relate to much of this.  He says:
"When I went off to college in the 1960s, only five percent of young adults said they had no religious identity. In other words, 19 out of 20 young adults at least claimed some religious label. By the year 2000, the number who said they had no religious affiliation had grown from five percent to 12 percent—from one in 20 to one in eight. That is significant, but nothing compared to what has happened since. The number of the “nones” (in this age category) has jumped to more than 30 percent today. The “nones” are, by a large margin, the fastest growing religion in America.… Make no mistake, this is a sea change in our culture."

Here’s more specific information I found from the Pew foundation.

The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling.

In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6% of the U.S. public), as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14%).

Now Peter, with the help of some others, did a little research on these Nones to find out who they were.  And this is what they discovered: 

While the tens of millions of nones are skeptical of religious institutions, they are not hostile to spirituality. All kinds of surveys show that nones often describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” They want depth and meaning in their lives. They want to connect with ideals that transcend their narrow lives in service of something beyond the banality of consumer culture. In addition, the nones are open minded. They accept glbt people without a second thought. Marriage equality is no big deal.

The nones are also accepting of racial and ethnic diversity. They grew up among immigrants. And the nones are also accepting of cultural and religious diversity. They have no patience for a perspective that says one religion has all the truth and is the one and only way.

And the nones care about economic justice and the environment. We see their involvement in such things as the Occupy Wall Street movement. They care about issues like global warming and sustainability.

Who do they remind you of?

US!  They are US – but they are not here.  My initial thoughts are:  Well, let’s bring them in.  And we may be successful with some of them – but others aren’t coming here. And these nones are in addition to approximately 500,000 folks who IDENTIFY as UU’s but who are not affiliated with any congregation. All of these folks “out there” – beyond our walls – are like the WOLVES in our children’s story.  They may be starving for spiritual nourishment, but they will not come in our walls for fear of losing their freedom.  So what do we do to harness our resources with their resources and ideas to make a positive difference in the world and nourish one another spiritually?   

That’s what prompted Morales and others to take another look at the walls we have in our congregations – and encourage us to take some of them down or at least lower them.  These ideas are outlined in a document entitled “Congregations and Beyond.”  In this document Morales makes it clear that he still considers the congregation to be the base for what we do.  But to be effective today, we Unitarian Universalists need to move beyond our congregations.

The main gist of this is how we view ourselves.  We have long defined ourselves as an association of congregations. Morales says that instead – “we need to think of ourselves as a religious movement. The difference is potentially huge.”

Associations and institutions are just not sexy enough I guess.  Here’s an example of something that happened to Morales that probably affected his reasoning on this. 

A couple of years ago, hundreds of Unitarian Universalists, all wearing their bold yellow “Standing on the Side of Love” t-shirts, joined in a huge protest of immigration policies in Arizona while they were at the Justice GA in Phoenix.  Morales said that the news media were there in full force. His assistant was trying to get him interviewed on television by asking if they wanted to interview the president of the Unitarian Universalist Association – but before she could get “association” out of her mouth – they were gone.  Then she had an inspiration and asked the CNN reporter if he’d like to interview the leader of the Yellow Love shirts --- and Morales was on live at the top of the hour. 

I’ve also found in many of the things I’m doing with others in Statesboro – that I can often get a WHOLE lot more done, if I’m willing for some larger movement to get the credit – rather that highlight my own church.  Now I’m still evangelizing for Unitarian Universalism – but I’m just sayin’…  Sometimes, you have to let that go and just flow for goodness sake. 

According to this “Congregations and Beyond” document, the implications of thinking of ourselves as a religious movement rather than only a collection of congregations are profound and liberating. Here is a few of the ways:

* We focus more on connection and less on “membership.” Paying attention to who our ministry serves, how many lives we change, and the difference we are making in the world can help us redirect our efforts outward.

* We invite people to connect to our UU movement whether or not they choose to join a congregation. We can reach out to young adults, students, snow birds, people living in foreign countries, linguistic and ethnic minorities, etc. They can all be part of the UU movement.
 
* We continue our efforts to connect with UU college students. We would make clear that they are still a part of our movement.

* We have a good way of taking in people through such portals as Standing on the Side of Love.

Now one reason I’m feeling better about this document and idea of lowering our walls is that our congregation is already doing it.  That really became evident to me as we prepared our chalice lighter grant.  Our Chalice Lighter Coordinator, Leon Spencer, suggested that we include a visual that showed our “footprint” – how we connected with others outside our own congregation.  Here’s the visual he came up with after getting input from committee members.

These are groups outside our congregation that we have worked with in the past or that we continue to connect with in many ways.  Indeed, we have lowered our walls at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro. 

We plan to be part of the bigger community this month by sharing our values in the upcoming Ogeechee Fair Parade – with our theme of growing our values. And we’ll also be sharing at the community Trick or Treat at Mill Creek on October 31. Of course our children will Trick or Treat for UNICEF on October 27 and we’ll pass on our gifts to the international community.   Yes, we’ll partner with Magnolia Baptist Church in Feeding loads of hungry folks on October 15 – that’s this Tuesday folks.  Your minister has also been invited for the very first time to take part in the Community Thanksgiving Service and she has enabled them to move it from the “main street churches” to the Averitt Center, so that it will truly be a community service.  We also plan to work with Voces Unidas in having another wonderful celebration of Las Posadas in early December. And we’ll work with the pagan community in the celebration of the solstice.  We’ve set up a “pagans in the boro” Facebook page for these folks to use to connect and make their planning easier.  Additionally we have a virtual study group that is open to all called the Statesboro New Jim Crow Study Group on Facebook.  Just this month alone, I’ll be representing you as your minister at two Georgia Southern events – presenting there at an LGBTQ conference and on a panel.  Plus – our virtual outreach is wider than you think.  Our “Just Jane” blog which has my sermons and other postings has had almost 23,000 pages viewed by folks from all over the world.  We HAVE moved beyond the walls are widening our outreach-- and if you are not doing it with us, we encourage you to get involved. 

Help us tear down any walls that are hindering us so that we can heal and nurture our congregation, our community, and the world. 

Oh, may it be so.

Building on the Foundation of our Liberal Faith: Five Smooth Stones

Building on the Foundation of our Liberal Faith:  Five Smooth Stones
Rev. Jane Page
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro
September 22, 2013

READING
Hear these words attributed in Matthew 7: 24-27 to that great teacher Jesus of Nazarath:

 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practce is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Meditation
May we rest in the foundation of our souls as we breathe in and out and prepare for hearing this message.

Sermon:
You know – Jesus was right of course. You can’t build on sand and expect your building to hold.  But sometimes there’s just not enough rock around and you have to make your own.  And that’s what folks learned to do.  When we want to build now --- we pour a concrete foundation.   We take broken stones, and gravel and sand and cement and water – and make new rocks to build upon. 

Now we are fortunate that we don’t have to do this for our new church home.  The foundation is already there – strong and sturdy.  And we are going to take that strong foundation and use that as the base for our new home.

I’m connected with this idea of foundations and concrete.  You might say I’m cemented to this idea through my own genes. Here’s a picture of two of my relatives – now deceased. 

It was probably taken in the 40’s or 50’s at a family reunion.  The man on the left is my grandfather – Theodore Roosevelt Rogers – and the man he is sitting by is his uncle John Rogers.  Both of them were CONCRETE men!  I mean literally – that’s what they did for a living.  They didn’t have a big concrete company – they did smaller jobs with those little concrete mixers – and they did all kinds of masonry work; including elaborate plastering of walls.  I don’t know WHO taught my Great, Great Uncle John to do this work --- but he taught his nephew, my granddaddy Theodore.  That’s how it was back then – no “Ogeechee Tech.”  So granddaddy was lucky to have learned a skill that could feed his family – just barely during the depression; but they survived. 

My granddaddy was a concrete man in other ways in my life too. He was a small man – sort of a David among Goliaths when it came to people doing construction – but he was strong and skillful.  I remember seeing and admiring his biceps.  And he was a quiet man and a loving man, devoted to his family.  Although he went to his adult men’s Sunday school class on Sunday – I don’t remember a lot of “God talk” from my granddaddy.  He was kind of a skeptic.  My mama told me that he didn’t believe in an afterlife – saying, “When you’re dead – you’re dead.”  I guess that also meant that “When you are ALIVE – you should be ALIVE” – and he tried his best to enjoy life – especially fishing.  He taught my son Fred to skin a catfish when Fred was just a boy – and Fred can still outskin most folks with his Great Granddaddy’s Rogers techniques.  SO – my granddad is really a part of me --- a foundation in my soul.  His quiet love for me and others is more than a firm example of how I should live my life.  It’s something I can build upon. 

Do you have some concrete – foundational folks who are a part of you?  Maybe relatives or teachers or spiritual leaders.  You got some in your head.  Say Thank You to them!

Now just as we have family members and others who have been foundational in our spiritual development, we have folks within our chosen faith of Unitarian Universalism that have been foundational in the formation of our faith tradition.  Here is one who was a contemporary of my granddaddy Rogers – although they never knew each other. 

James Luther Adams  was born in 1901 and died in 1994.  Adams was the most influential theologian among American Unitarian Universalists in the 20th century.  I never met him, but he had taught some of my professors at Meadville Lombard – and they said his ghost was walking those halls.

Adams was a great storyteller and liked to use stories, parables, and metaphors in his teaching.  He chose the story of the Five Smooth Stones to illustrate the foundations of liberalism.  As you remember in our Children’s message today – King Saul initially had David put on all his heavy armor.  But all of this weighed David down --- and he threw it off.  Likewise, many of us were weighed down with the heavy religious armor that we were handed down --- those doctrines and creeds which bound us tight and didn’t let us move and breathe freely.  And like David – many of us have thrown those to the side.  But what do we have in liberal religion to face those spiritual giants that we do have to face.  David picked up five smooth stones – and said – “This is what I need.”  Similarly, Adams shares five smooth stones that serve as the foundation for our liberal faith.  Adams’ writing is rather dense – so his students and others often translate these words into something they believe is more understandable --- and indeed, before the sermon is over – we’ll reduce them to one word each for you to remember.  But for now – I want you to see them just the way he wrote them.

1.  "Religious liberalism depends on the principle that 'revelation' is continuous."

Our religious tradition is a living tradition because we are always learning new truths.  We Unitarian Universalists LOVE to learn – and we know that we don’t know it all and that’s okay with us.  Now where is this “revelation” coming to us from if it’s continuous?  Do we just pray and it comes?  Well, that may be true for some – but most of us rely on other sources – like authorities and the scientific method.  We are always seeking the truth.  And that’s not the kind of truth that Stephen Colbert is talking about when he shares about the word truthiness.  Do you know what truthiness is?  You can look it up.

The United Church of Christ had an ad campaign that spoke to this same concept a while back from their more theistic perspective and the words they used were “God is still speaking.”  And you know--- I think I even heard something akin to that from the Pope this week.  This liberal idea of continuous revelation is spreading.

Here’s the 2nd smooth stone.
2. "All relations between persons ought ideally to rest on mutual, free consent and not on coercion."

We freely choose to enter into relationship with one another.
Adams was big on what he termed Voluntary Associations.  These were the institutions he felt could make a difference – where folks came together freely for some bigger purpose – like we are doing here today.  Adams said that "Church is a place where you get to practice what it means to be human." And we do it together, in relationship.  We do it together – in love! 

Now some folks think that because we don’t believe in coercing folks to join us, that we should not evangelize.  Well, to evangelize does not mean to coerce – it means sharing your good news – and that we SHOULD do.  This is not your Aunt May’s secret recipe that only the family gets to see.  Of course, Unitarian Universalism is not for everyone – but there are many folks who could find a home with us and need this liberal religious home – but don’t know about us. 

I was sharing with one of you earlier this week that this is especially important in a conservative area – where it SEEMS that everyone follows Fox News and joins the Tea Party.  But it’s not so.  There are liberal folks in the Statesboro area who want to make a difference in this community.  And joining our congregation is the best way I know to do that. 

Here’s the third smooth stone:
3. "Religious liberalism affirms the moral obligation to direct one's effort toward the establishment of a just and loving community. It is this which makes the role of the prophet central and indispensable in liberalism."

Now I don’t go around telling everybody this – because the word has different connotations for many folks.  But I strive to be a prophet in this community.  That does not mean that I’m setting up a tent to tell fortunes or your future.  But I DO believe that I have a moral obligation to call out the truth – like prophets of old; especially when I see injustice and oppression.  That’s the main reason I decided to go to seminary and become a minister; to better prepare myself to prophesy!  But Adams says – and I agree – that ALL of you should be prophets.  We ALL -- as liberal religious folks – have the moral obligation to establish a just and loving community.  Now for some of you, that means speaking out, or writing letters to the editor  – for others it means teaching our children, and for others it means GIVING your time, talents, and money to this congregation which is attempting to be a vehicle for positive change. 

Our GIFTS and our willingness to GIVE are part of our foundation. (Hint – to turn in your pledge cards.)

What’s the fourth stone?
Adams says:
4. "We deny the immaculate conception of virtue and affirm the necessity of social incarnation."

He’s talking about:  Agency: Good things don't just happen, people make them happen.

Our children say we are Unitarian Universalists:  people of open minds, loving hearts, AND helping hands.  It’s that helping hands part that this stone represents.  That was evident this past week as many of you assisted in preparing food and serving folks at Rebecca’s Café.  Over a hundred folks got a good meal and good fellowship because of your efforts.  And that may have made a huge difference for some folks.  And there are other ways we work in the world as well --- individually and as a congregation. 

Some folks say that “We are God’s hands.”  Well regardless or your own theology – I think you’ll have to agree that we have to do the work.  And work is a good thing!

And finally – that Fifth Stone.  Adams say:
5. "Liberalism holds that the resources (divine and human) that are available for the achievement of meaningful change justify an attitude of ultimate optimism."

He says – we got good reason to HOPE.

Even in places like Statesboro – change is a ‘comin.  In fact – we have made progress folks.  It’s easier for me to see the progress, because I’m looking over a LONG time frame – since the 50’s.  But we’re getting there.  Now as we work toward that progress, we have to do it as a dance, which means sometimes we are moving backward and sometimes forward; but stay on the dance floor.

I worry so about our political system and the lack of progress in Congress, but there is even hope there; and even hope in the Middle East.  You notice that Adams’ optimism isn’t a Pollyanna kind of optimism though. He says that the resources – divine and human -- are available for meaningful change. So the possibilities are there; and we have to be the agents of that change.

In his essay entitled, “The Optimism of Uncertainty,” Howard Zinn writes:  “There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment will continue. We forget how often we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions, by extraordinary changes in people’s thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion against tyrannies, by the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed invincible.”

It can happen.  I remember when I first began working for marriage equality – and I thought – this probably won’t happen in my lifetime, but I’m going to work with others for it and perhaps make it easier for those who follow to get there.  But I’m still here – and it’s happening.  Maybe not in Georgia – but it is happening; Same Gender couples are getting legally married every day in America and our nation is recognizing those marriages. 

Our Unitarian Universalists have long loved that song with words taken from prophets of old that says, “We’ll build a land where we bind up the broken.  We’ll build a land where the captives go free, where the oil of gladness dissolves all mourning, Oh we’ll build a promised land that can be. 

And folks we have the foundation we need to do it.

Here are those five stones in five verbs for you to remember!  I have these verbs written on the stones on the altar.  They are:

Learn
Love
Give
Work
Hope

May it be so!

Building Our Church; Building Our Faith

Introduction to reading:
Our reading this morning comes from Hebrew Scripture --- 1st Chronicles. In the 28th chapter, King David shares with his son Solomon the plans for the temple --- the temple he himself was not allowed to build because of great wars on every side.  But now – in a time of peace, his son Solomon had been chosen to carry out this wondrous and difficult task.   In the parts that I’m reading from chapter 29, the author of Chronicles writes about a message that King David is delivering to a great assembly of all of the leaders in his kingdom.   After sharing with them the plans for this great building – the temple -- he talks a little about the resources that will be needed.  This reading is taken from Chapter 29. 

READING:  1st Chronicles 29:  1-1; 6-9.
Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this structure is not for man but for the LORD God. With all my resources (as King) I have provided for the temple of my God…(long list of treasures).  Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided (as king) for this holy temple: Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the LORD today?”
Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
SERMON
Rev. Jane Page
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro
9/8/2013

How many of you have been involved with building a house before?
How many of you would do it again?

I’ve been involved with building three of them – the first when I was just 22.  Now I know that’s way too young – but I was rushing through life.  I’d already been married five years, completed my Bachelor’s, was working on a Masters – teaching school at Sallie Zetterower and was pregnant with my first child.  My then husband Fred – now called Fred Ex – and I were living in a one room efficiency that we had shared since we married and we needed more room.  We decided rather than renting or buying a home, we would build our forever home on the piece of property where my dad’s land joined his dad’s land.  We found it on a map, walked over to it and decided that since our two family properties joined there – well it must be God’s will that we build a home there.  Of course there was not ROAD back to this piece of property.  But, my mom and dad remedied that by designing a little subdivision on that edge of his property which included a road that was deeded to the county.  That’s the road that is currently across the pond dam from the house I live in now.  We got on the list for William Powell to build it – since he was about the best builder in town at the time.  His estimate was within our range – especially since we were getting the lot free.  The house was nearly complete by the time Fred III was born.  There was one big problem though.  We couldn’t afford it.  You see – our contractor was doing this on a “cost plus percentage” basis --- and while we were building, lumber prices skyrocketed.  Plus we had added some features along the way that were not in the original budget – but weren’t that much – you know, just  for $5 more each we could have much nicer light fixtures) -- yet they added up, of course.  Plus, I had quit my job to stay at home with my baby – which was “the thing to do” at the time.  And even though Fred was working two jobs – as a teacher and a Holiday Inn desk clerk – we just couldn’t afford the monthly payments.  SO – we reluctantly decided we were in over our heads, sold the home, and moved into a small apartment. 

After living there a few years – and with two sons -  we decided to give this building this another try.  But we were going to do it right this time.  We would get a contract price from a builder so we would KNOW the final cost.  And yes, we could afford this one --- which was on another lot in that same subdivision. Of course we found out why it was so much cheaper.  The quality of the workmanship was SO shoddy.  I mean if I put a pencil down on the counter --- when I started to pick it up it had rolled down the counter because it wasn’t level.   And the lot was chose was actually too low, so that we always seem to be having septic tank problems when it was rainy.   We had decided to move to Starkville Mississippi for a year to work on our doctorates – and decided that we might as well try to SELL that house which was such a disappointment for us.  And we did!  That builder – by the way – left Statesboro shortly after that – and after getting in trouble with a lot of ethical problems. 

Now - my brother had called “dibs” on the lot where I live now.  But his wife did not want to live “back in the woods” where no one could see their new home.  So when he told my dad that he would instead like to build ON Country Club Rd --- I immediately laid claim to the beautiful lot I’m now living on – or Paradise South – as Greg calls it.  I promised my dad and myself that this would be the LAST house I built.  My sister in law Nancy Page had recently built a home and used a reasonable contractor.  But she said the reason her house really turned out well was because she was over there every day in the middle of it.  We were going to be away at school, but my mom said she could play that role for us – and she did, making sure everything was A-okay.  She followed those builders around pointing out every little possible problem.  And then after they would leave at night she would come back over with her caulk gun and caulk up any cracks she could find.  Our house is air tight.  It’s tighter than Myley Cyrus’s VMA awards pants.  That was 1978, and I’m still living there and loving it.

So what were some of the lessons I learned?
There were lots of them, of course --- but the main thing I learned is that you have to HAVE the resources for building your home or have a reasonable plan for making sure that happens – and you have to MANAGE those resources well as you build and maintain your home. 

Now – this congregation has been making good efforts for resource acquisition, allocation, and management for our new church facility.  We’re fortunate to have the gifts of land and building; a savings of $40,000 that was achieved by those who came before many of you – and was allocated for a new facility – and hopefully the opportunity to sell this current facility; also paid for by many who came before and many who are still with us.  We have also written a MOST EXCELLENT Chalice Lighter Grant which will hopefully bring us new resources.  And of course, we have the wondrous gift of a general contractor – Matt Dowling – providing his services as a gift in-kind.  We’re doing this right!  And if all goes as planned, we won’t need additional resources from you for our new facility. 

But we want to build MORE than building.  We want to build our congregation – and build our faith, our personal faith, our congregational faith, and Unitarian Universalism.  That’s why my theme for sermons this year is “Building Our Church; Building Our Faith.”  And I’m using the building metaphor as we progress on both our physical facility and our building our faith.

And today --- I’m taking those lessons learned from my mistakes and successes – and knowing that we have to have some focus on the sources and resources for building our faith. 
Ah, yes – this is indeed our annual canvass sermon – when we encourage you to consider your gifts of time, talents, and treasure for the following year.  And I stand here in front of this assembly as David did in ancient times to voice that encouragement. 

Now as a religious naturalist – I certainly don’t take the Bible as a firm authority – nor any other religious text.  I do read these texts though – and filter them through my pragmatic lens to see if there are teachings that can help me live a better life and help others to live a better life.  After David’s encouragement for resources – and the people’s giving of them that we heard about in our reading today, he shares a prayer of praise and Thanksgiving.  And there is something in that prayer that struck a chord with me.  I’ll read the passage first then share how it can harmonize with us today.  David prays:  “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.”

Now you may wonder how someone who is not a theist identifies with that.  Well, it reminds me of something my Mama told me the other day.  We were talking about trying to stay healthy and she said --- well, I figure I’ve got to try to take care of my body because it’s the only thing that is really mine.  All of this other stuff – comes and goes.  I may have it later or I may not.  I may leave it to you all and you may keep it or not.  It’s not really ours anyway.  We just have use of it for a while – and try to do the best we can with it.  And I thought – yeah, she’s right.  It all belongs to the Universe folks.  We are just stewards of whatever comes into what we term “our possession.”  But it’s not really ours – anymore than this air above me is mine.  But we sure do use it and sometimes abuse it.  While we are stewards of these sources and resources though – it IS our decision about how we use them – or abuse them.

And I believe – one of the best things we can do with our time, talents, and treasures we have is to SHARE them.  For example, I’m so blessed to live in a beautiful place – so I try to share with all of you and really want you to come out Friday night and enjoy this space with us.  And I really believe that the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Statesboro is doing wondrous things and has an awesome future to do more for our children and youth, our members and friends, our community, and through our association with others – the World.  But we do need your gifts to make it happen.
You may say – “well, with all that seems to happen in my life, there’s just not enough LEFT to give to church.”  Well, if you are giving what’s leftover, that’s part of the problem.  Here’s where I find another good lesson that works for me in the scriptures.

There are 72 Bible verses about giving of the first fruits.  Now there are lots of interpretations of what this means and how it should be done.  Now pardon me from getting personal here – but I’m just going to tell you how I personally do this “first fruits” thing.  But from my pragmatic perspective, I like to think of it as giving to the important stuff FIRST – right after the harvest --- not seeing what’s leftover.  Now I don’t farm --- but I get a pay check each month.  Actually I get two, the one our treasurer Bill Herring sends to me for showing up and working here – and the one Georgia Southern sends me for NOT showing up and working out there.  And I’ve got my bank account set up so that when that money goes in --- before anything else goes out – a check for $600 each month is sent to this congregation. And that’s just my gift.  Greg gives separately and generously as well.  I also have other first fruits gifts I share with other organizations like the UU service committee each month.   I don’t have to see if I have enough LEFT to give at the END of the month, because I’ve followed that principle of first fruits.  And it just makes my life and my bookkeeping easier.  I’m not asking you to match my gift.  I’m in a very blessed position and I live a simple life so I can do this.  But I think that if most folks followed that principle of first fruits, you’d find it a lot easier to give more from a spirit of abundance rather than a spirit of scarcity. 

This congregation knows something about the spirit of abundance and generosity.  You all are enjoying the service in this beautiful building today because a small group of hardy souls pushed their own limits of giving with faith in the possibilities of the future.  And aren't we all so grateful.  And others of you – including Happy Hicks who left money in her will for the purpose of getting a minister – gave so that you could have a minister. We’ve had our ups and downs financially, especially now as some of our more generous givers have moved away.  We’ve had to make some serious cuts in our operational budget.  I moved from ¾ time back to half time and we no longer have a part time administrator.  But your gifts have continued and make it possible for us to do some pretty incredible things!  Hopefully, we don’t do these things from a spirit of scarcity and anxiety.  Oh, we sometimes fall back into that place.  And with an unpredictable economy, it’s a little easier to catch ourselves moving in that direction.  In today’s world, we too often allow fear to control how we live and how we give. 

But you know, we all have plenty and then some of SOME things – if not money, then perhaps other resources; our time, our talents, our hugs, our smiles, and our words of encouragement.  And I have found that I even have more MONEY to give when I adopt a lifestyle of living a little more simply.  And living more simply helps me to have more money to support the kinds of things (like the Farmer’s Market) that are important to me.  It’s another way that I can be a good steward of the resources that I have.  And that nurtures my soul, spins my zen…it makes me happy and joyful!  But as much as I like being happy, that should not be the reason for my giving.  I’m reminded of these inspiring words of Kahil Gibran in his book The Prophet. 

“There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.”

That line is worth repeating:  “They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.”

The myrtle gives its fragrance naturally and freely.

Oh may WE give as the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.

We breathe so that our bodies may live.  We give so that our souls may live.

May it be so!

Let Go and Grow!

This story for all ages and sermon for all ages were part of the multigenerational ingathering service held on August 11, 2013.

Story for all Ages:  How the Stream Crossed the Desert (A Sufi story; modified and retold by Rev. Jane)

The Story this morning is about a stream of water that was enjoying rolling through the countryside.  The water saw some mighty mountains in the distance and thought – "that’s where I’m headed" and was confident that he could just roll right along the same way in the same form.  But the stream of water got to a mighty desert of hot sand – and he tried to push along but it too hot and dry. 
And the sand asked, “What do you think you are doing?” 
The stream said, "I want to go to the mountain and I must roll through you."
  “That’s impossible” – said the desert sand.  "Others have tried, but I’m too hot and dry.  You can only go to the Mountain if you are willing to change and work with the heat and the wind.” 
“Why do I need them," said the stream. "I’m mighty water.” 
“Well, you’ll only be a stagnant pool of mud if you are not willing to change," said the sand.
 And the water thought, "no – I want to move to the mountain, I will change."  So the water welcomed the heat of the day and transformed through evaporation into water vapor that moved up – up – up and bunched together to form clouds. Then the wind took the clouds and blew them across the desert to the mountains.  When the clouds reached the mountains other water vapor joined them and they became dark and heavy.
Then near the Cool Mountaintop – it happened – another transformation.  Yes, the water vapor turned to water again and it began to RAIN. 

We are going to make sounds like that rainstorm. 
When I walk by you – you copy me – and keep doing the same thing till I’m walking by you again doing something different.  I’ll start by rubbing my hands together – and when we all do it – grownups too --- it will sound like a gentle rain falling.
(Hand rub, Snap, Clap, Thigh Slap, Foot Stomp – then back again.)

Then the water came together into another mighty stream that fell from the Mountaintop in a glorious waterfall that nurtured all the plants and animals in the area.   

Let Go and Grow SERMON for all ages.

A couple of weeks ago – my two grandsons went shopping with their Mama.  What do you think they went to buy? 

They got some new clothes and new shoes.

Now when I shop for new clothes I usually go to a thrift store like Goodwill – so my new clothes are used clothes – but they are new to me, and it’s another way to recycle.

But in any case – some of you may have gotten some new clothes and shoes too.  Now WHY did they need new clothes and new shoes?  Maybe they just wanted to look good.  But usually – you young folks have gotten BIGGER ---- and the old clothes and shoes don’t fit anymore.

Have you ever worn shoes that were too small for you?  How does that feel? 
That reminds me of something that I heard about long ago.

When I was a little girl, we used to go to Tybee and sometimes we would go shopping in Chu’s – cause "if there is something you can use, you can find it at Chu’s."  And the little grandma that worked in there had really, little, tiny feet.  And my mama told me it was because when she was a little girl in China – they bound up her feet.  They don’t do that anymore – but they used to.  They would bind up the little girls’ feet very tightly, so that they would not grow and they would stay small. 

SO – sometimes, we have to remove the things that keep us small – the too tight shoes for example – so that we can grow.  Even if they are pretty shoes and we have enjoyed wearing them a lot.  Maybe we can pass them on to someone else.

Well, I’m telling you these stories because that is what we are doing with our building.  This is a nice little building and we have enjoyed it, but if we want to grow, we need something bigger – with more rooms for more activities.  This will be the last ingathering service we will have in this building; but we will continue to have ingathering services in our new building.  We will have to let go of this one though.  That’s why my message is called – “Let Go and Grow.”
When we pass on our shoes to someone else – we “Let Go and Grow”
When we move from our building to a bigger space, we will “Let Go and Grow.”
And that’s what that stream had to do in our story.  The stream had to let go of being a stream --- and become transformed into something else – so that it could fulfill an even larger purpose.  The stream had to “Let Go and Grow.” 

You know just as our bodies grow – and our congregation grows in numbers --- we need to grow in other ways --- become more mature in other ways.  And sometimes we need to let go of some things about ourselves in order to do that. 

When you are little – it might mean letting go of a pacifier or a favorite blanket.  But we older folks have things like that as well that we hold onto that may keep us from growing and maturing. 

Sometimes they are bad habits – or perhaps bad attitudes – and they are binding us, keeping us from growing our souls.  And we need to – “Let Go and Grow.” 

Right now – just think of ONE thing that you need to let go of – just one thing – and whisper that into the cupped palm of your hand.
(Lift up waste basket)

Now since we are using our imaginations a lot today anyway, let’s imagine that we are all perfect shots – and you can wad up what’s in your hand like a piece of paper and toss it into this trash can.  Let go of it!

You may have to do that many times again, but eventually you will be free.  You can…”Let go and Grow.” 

Oh May it be So!

A Visit from John Dewey

On June 7, 2013, John Dewey (as portrayed by yours truly donning fake mustache and academic robe) visited our congregation and shared his views about religion and faith.  I composed this using information from his life and his own words selected from his book A Common Faith, published in 1934.  In the following "speech" I have not highlighted or differentiated words I've added for transitions, etc.  Most of these are Dewey's words.  Others that I've added for introductions or transitions will be pretty obvious!  So with those disclosures, may I introduce philosopher, psychologist, and educator extraordinaire --- (and a personal hero) --- Professor John Dewey.


Good Morning and thank you for inviting me here to speak to you today concerning a topic that is significantly important.  First of all, I need to disclose to those of you who may want to claim me as a Unitarian that I never joined your group, although many of my friends were Unitarians.  I did tell my wife, however, to call the Reverend Donald Harrington, a Unitarian minister and a friend, when I died.  She did and also requested that my friend, Max Otto, a Unitarian philosopher, be the speaker at my Memorial service which was held at a Unitarian church.  So I guess you may be able to claim me in death if not in life. 

Now just because I did not claim a particular religion at the time of my death does not mean that I was not a religious man.  I was certainly raised to be religious.  Oh, you may be interested in knowing that my father was raised as a Unitarian and my mother was raised as a Universalist.  They became Congregationalists, though, and I was raised in a strict Congregationalist household. 

As a faculty member at the Universities of Minnesota and Michigan, I led Bible Study groups and contributed articles to the Congregationalists’ magazine, the Andover Review.  If you look at my early writings on ethics, psychology, and social psychology you will see references to Christ and Christianity.  But in my early 30's I began moving from Christianity to a different kind of faith which I will discuss with you today.  I still used religious language in my writings, however, and many believe that enabled me to communicate with a public that would have been turned off by a more aggressively secular or skeptical writer. 

Although ideas about my faith were sprinkled or implied in other writings, I addressed these more directly in this little book. A Common Faith, published in 1934.  I’m pleased to say that it is still in print!  Now you will note in this book and in my remarks today that I do not use the gender neutral terminology that you all are careful to use today.  However, I applaud your efforts in this regard. 
If I could stay with you longer, I might be able to make that transition.  For as you can see, I have already made the transition to talking with a southern accent.

In any case . . . When I wrote this book I saw mankind divided into two camps regarding religion. 
You may say that it seems that way today as well.  Religions have traditionally been allied with ideas of the supernatural, and often have been based upon explicit supernatural beliefs.  There were many people then, as there are today, who hold that nothing worthy of being called religious is possible apart from the supernatural. They vary in their doctrines and creeds.  But they agree in the necessity for a Supernatural Being and for an immortality that is beyond the power of nature. 

The opposing group consists of those who think the advance of culture and science has completely discredited the supernatural and with is all religions that were allied with belief in it.  But they go beyond this point.  The extremists in this group believe that with elimination of the supernatural - not only must historic religions be dismissed but with them everything of a religious nature.

So you have these two groups who differ greatly.  But, there is one idea held in common by these two opposite groups: identification of the religious with the supernatural.  Now in my book and in our discussion today, I shall develop another conception of the nature of the religious phase of experience, one that separates it from the supernatural and the things that have grown up around the supernatural. The heart of this conception is that there is a difference between a religion and the religious; between anything that may be denoted by a noun and the quality of experience that is designated by an adjective.

I do not suppose for many minds the dislocation of the religious from a religion is easy to effect. 
Tradition and custom, especially when emotionally charged, are part of the habits that have become one with our very being.  For a moment, let’s drop the term religious and think about how we accommodate, adapt, and adjust to various life circumstances.  We accommodate ourselves to various changes in the weather.  Plays in a foreign language are “adapted” to meet the needs of an American audience.  But there are also adjustments in ourselves in relation to the world in which we live that are much more inclusive and deep seated.  It is the claim of religions that they effect this generic and enduring change in attitude.  I should like to turn the statement around and say that whenever this change takes place there is a definitely religious attitude.  It is not a religion that brings it about,but when it occurs, from whatever cause and by whatever means,there is a religious outlook and function. 

Now most of you know how important education is to me.  And I believe that understanding and knowledge also enter into a perspective that is religious in quality.  You see, faith in the continued disclosing of truth through directed cooperative human endeavor is more religious in quality than is any faith in a completed revelation. 

Of course most religions now hold that revelation is not completed in the sense of being ended. 
But religions hold that the essential framework is settled in its significant moral features at least, and that new elements that are offered must be judged by conforming to this framework.  Some fixed doctrinal apparatus is necessary for a religion.  But faith in the possibilities of continued and rigorous inquiry does not limit access to truth to any channel or scheme of things.  It does not first say that truth is universal and then add there is but one road to it.  It trusts that the natural interactions between man and his environment will breed more intelligence and generate more knowledge provided the scientific methods that define intelligence in operation are pushed further into the mysteries of the world, being themselves promoted and improved in the operation.

There is such a thing as faith in intelligence becoming religious in quality – a fact that perhaps explains the efforts of some religionists to disparage the possibilities of intelligence as a force.  They properly feel such faith to be a dangerous rival.  Yes, the mind of man is being habituated to a new method and idea: What is the way to truth? It’s the road of patient, cooperative inquiry operating by means of observation, experiment, record and controlled reflection. 

Now you might point to some aspect of our world that science has not explained and contend that this is evidence of the supernatural. The argument that because some province or aspect of experience
has not yet been “invaded” by scientific methods,it is not subject to them, is as old as it is dangerous. Time and time again, in some particular reserved field, it has been invalidated. 

It is more to the present point, however, to consider the region that is claimed by religionists as a special reserve.  It is mystical experience.  What of mystical experience? There is no reason for denying the existence of experiences that are called mystical.  On the contrary, there is every reason to suppose that, in some degree of intensity, they occur so frequently that they may be regarded as normal manifestations that take place at certain rhythmic points in the movement of experience.  But there is no more reason for converting the experience itself into an immediate knowledge of its cause than is the case of an experience of lightning or any other natural occurrence. 
(Pause)
It is sometimes held that beliefs about religious matters are symbolic, like rites and ceremonies.  This view may be better than that which insists upon a literal understanding of all religious texts.  But as usually put forward it suffers from an ambiguity.  Of what are the beliefs symbols?  For example, historic personages, such as Jesus or Mohammed, in their divine attributes may be said to be symbolic of the ideals that enlist devotion and inspire endeavor.  But, the ideal values that are symbolized by them may also mark human experience in science and art and the various modes of human association: they mark almost everything in life that rises from manipulations of things as they currently exist.

Now many admit that the objects of religion are ideal in contrast with our present state.  What would be lost if it were also admitted that the reason they have authoritative claim upon conduct is because they are ideal?  The assumption that these objects of religion exist already in some realm of Being seems to add nothing to their force, while it weakens their claim over us as ideals, in so far as it bases that claim upon matters that are intellectually dubious. 

What I’m trying to get to – is the need for God.  We need God because we need the ideals.  But do we need the Being?

So what do we mean by the word God? On one score, the word can mean only a particular Being. 
On the other score, it denotes the unity of all ideal ends arousing us to desire and actions. 
(I realize that sometimes my explanations can be a little dense.)
What I have been criticizing, though, is the identification of the ideal with a particular Being, especially when that identification makes necessary the conclusion that this Being is outside of nature, and what I have tried to show is that the idea itself has its roots in natural conditions;
it emerges when the imagination idealizes existence by laying hold of the possibilities offered to thought and action.  The aims and ideals that move us are generated through imagination. 
But they are not made out of imaginary stuff.  They are made out of the hard stuff of the world of physical and social experience.  The locomotive did not exist before Stevenson, nor the telegraph before the time of Morse.  But the conditions for their existence were there in physical material and energies and in human capacity.  Imagination seized hold upon the idea of a rearrangement of existing things that would evolve new objects. 

Moreover, the process of creation is experimental and continuous.  The artist, scientist, or good citizen depends upon what others have done before him and are doing around him.  All of these considerations may be applied to the idea of God, or, to avoid misleading conceptions, to the idea of the divine.  All of these ideals are further unified by the action that gives them coherence and solidity.  It is this active relation between ideal and actual to which I would give the name “God.”  I would not insist that the name must be given.  However, in a distracted age, the need for such an idea is urgent.  It can unify interests and energies now dispersed; it can direct action and generate the heat of emotion and the light of intelligence.  Whether one give the name “God” to this union,  operative in thought and action, is a matter for individual decision.  But the function of such a working union of the ideal and actual seems to me to be identical with the force that has in fact been attached to the conception of God in all religions that have a spiritual content; and a clear idea of that function seems to me urgently needed at the present time. 

This focus on God as defined in this manner, may also decentralize the focus on man.  Both supernaturalism and militant atheism tend to downplay or denigrate nature and emphasize mankind. 
A humanistic religion, if it excludes our relation to nature, is pale and thin, as it is presumptuous, when it takes mankind as an object of worship. 

You may ask, why not just declare as our faith -  “Agnosticism?” Agnosticism is a shadow cast by the eclipse of the supernatural.  Of course, acknowledgment that we do not know what we do not know
 is a necessity of all intellectual integrity.  But generalized agnosticism is only a halfway elimination of the supernatural.  Its meaning departs when the intellectual outlook is directed wholly to the natural world.  When it is so directed, there are plenty of particular matters regarding which we must say we do not know; we only inquire and form hypotheses which future inquiry will confirm or reject.  But such doubts are an incident of faith in the method of intelligence.  They are signs of faith, not of a pale and impotent skepticism.

If you hear nothing else today, hear this:

We doubt in order that we may find out, not because some inaccessible supernatural lurks behind whatever we can know. 

Ours is the responsibility of conserving, transmitting, rectifying and expanding the heritage of values we have received that those who come after us may receive it more solid and secure, more widely accessible and more generously shared than we have received it.  These are all the elements for a religious faith that shall not be confined to sect, class, or race.  This is a positive, practical, and dynamic faith, verified and supported by the intellect and evolving with the progress of social and scientific knowledge. 

And, SUCH - A - FAITH has always been implicitly the common faith of mankind. 

Thank You!