Perfection. . . . .

I am not perfect.

Is anybody?  Some might say,  Oh yeah, well, you know, Jesus."

But there is this thing about studying to be a Commissioned-Lay Minister.. and that is that it keeps me mindful of what I say and how I do things.  So everyone and everything is keeping me on my toes.  It's not like walking on eggshells, but a subtle reminder that there is this way that I want to be in the world.

And still, I am not perfect.  I probably won't be perfect when I complete the program.  Perfection.

It is illusive, probably because it is an illusion.

Yet, my ego wants to be good.. . wants to have all the answers; wants to look flawless and never wants to be sick. . ever.  So I will refrain from apologizing for missing Sunday, Dec 3rd on Becoming.  I think that the sermon will keep until I can say all I really want to say.  I have a lot I want to say about power.  This concept haunts me day and night.  I will get back to that, later though.

I used to think that to be a moral, ethical, or spiritual leader or healer(?) that the person talking to me had to be perfect.  I find that funny, now.

The best lessons and stories teaching about how to be a moral, ethical, or spiritual person come from mistakes and sticking with the ideal goal or imperfect relationship. . . and dare I say also, figuring out how to make it work.

I still like to fix stuff.  And, Wow, do I have stories about fixing stuff..electric thermostat's, heat shields under cars, loose door knobs... If it's broke, it can't get worse, I say, so I tear the thing a part and put it back together. That is an engineering mind, I guess.  It does make a mess and sometimes it could be worse than when I started. Somehow, that never stops me.

People however never like being fixed.  What's wrong with people?

Exactly!  That's the thing.

People are a whole lot of everything from generations past to their current environment.  People are microcosms of the universe in addition to the multi-generational experiences of the folks who came before them. And new people are coming through all the time.

And new people being born into an imperfect world come with stuff.  They are not blank slates as once was thought.  Given particular circumstances, the older folks might just see some behavior in the new ones  that are similar to the ones they knew.  When my brother was born, my grandmother would say, he looks around here like he's been here before. And I was said to be an old soul.

And the old ones look with hope for the future in these new people.  We are always hoping for miracles.  I think we forget that we are the miracle, too.

No need to get out the tools to fix people.  We just gotta hang in there with each other...build some relationships, care, love.

We are the star stuff and the hope of a way that lives and breathes in the present moment. All of the stardust and generations of folks coming into the uniqueness that is the only you that has ever been. And so, here we are.

And how sweet is that. . .

What do you need?

I have a strong need for purpose.   This is a need that every human being has.  And it is on the inventory list of needs for non-violent communication.  Without purpose, I feel frustrated, angry, sad, and a lack of belonging.

Every human being also has a need for self-efficacy.  This desire for self -efficacy manifests in the ability to create something.  What fuels my desire for projects that I undertake is leading a life that is purposeful.

I guess, some folks don't think about their purpose in life until there are major shifts or uncomfortable changes that put you into the bargaining stages of grief. That is a reality for a lot of people. And I am no different.  I read something about a mental exercise that could assist in defining your purpose in life by imagining your funeral.

Imagine the folks who are alive when you are dead.
What truth about you would be in their words?
Would you have lived in a way such that people could openly celebrate your life?

The saddest thing that I ever heard was a funeral of a woman where few people showed up.  Those folks instead talked about how they felt about this woman outside of the funeral.  Even still, there are people who are so disconnected that they are buried by the department of parks and recreation. I wonder what is said about those people.

Our faith has as its first principle, the inherent worth and dignity of  every person.  So, maybe imagining what people say about you or anyone after death is a question that puts the emphasis in a place that lacks resonance for you.

No one is perfect and people will talk.  The song I've sung the most- by Son House- says "Don't you mind about people grinnin' in your face."

So what do you need? or maybe another way to ask the question is how do you want to be?

Be 

Love

This however requires.....................................

ED

As in  a little education about how to be  Beloved Community.  We can get there. We just need to ask ourselves what we need and do the work to get those needs met. And get those needs met in a win-win way.  We area all walking this way....U U.  And just as a matter of principle, whatever U do to the web has an effect on U too.

Prayer, Contemplation, Meditation, a Moment of Silence

When I was a kid, I was taught to pray before I went to bed and before I ate my food. My mother or father told me what to say and I repeated what they said.  It was a regular ritual.

Yet, as I grew older, the sacred rituals became less about G*O*D.  The sacred ritual of prayer gave way to  more profane rituals.

One regular ritual, I enjoyed was the daily after school break.

After a long day of learning, I would reunite with my brother.  At home, we would playfully fight over who could lay on the couch, while we watched cartoons on television.  We would laugh and giggle as we pushed each other off the couch.

Snacks were usually involved too. I loved those little raspberry flavored coconut cakes.  And we had some pop or soda or whatever cold, sweet drink was in the refrigerator.

 We pushed and shoved each other, all the while laughing, until we both would fall asleep on the couch.  About 30 minutes later, each of us would be doing home work in our respective bedrooms.

It was a daily habit, a ritual to end the school day and begin the evening of studying.

Years later in grad school, I had lots of profane rituals. The main one was this:

• Get up.
• Take a shower.
• Drive to classes.
• Write.
• Read.
• Study
• Talk to advisor
• Go interview Black women in scattered sites public housing in Lucas County for Master's thesis project
• Eat something
• Drive home
• Go to bed
• Repeat

There was a lot more going on in my life, but the education rituals continued.  And then one morning, I recall opening my eyes and saying,

Oh , great.  I'm awake.

This kind of sarcasm about the fact that I was living and breathing seemed. . . . not quite right.  That's what I thought a moment later.  And it was this feeling of dread for the same profane ritual that inspired my redirection toward something that would be a little more sacred and less cynical.

I got back into  martial arts. I was one of three women in the group for a long time. Every meeting began with meditation. I made friends and they were my core group of people. We had pizza parties and watched martial arts films.  I learned a lot about negotiating conflict using your physical assets and weaknesses. I wish I could say that I meditated on my own after class.  I didn't.

I started to incorporate more sewing and knitting into my daily life. And as a younger person, I had really gotten into the flow of creating my own clothes or crocheting blankets. I had been doing some kind of needlework since I was really young.  I taught myself to knit as a teen.... I had quit marching band and regularly making music. . . I needed something that would center me and provide a sense of self-efficacy.   But, I was not sure then if  regularly sewing and knitting was a sacred ritual.

What I can say is that I was trying to create more meaning in my life.  I was trying to find something that centered me.  I wanted to find the answers to a lot of events that were happening in my life at the time . . . like  becoming an adult, the dissolution of regular nuclear family activities as my parents divorced, and of course the after school break ritual was long gone.

Things change. Life events cause change. People decide to take actions that seem to turn everything we know upside down.  I think I read that the Buddha said that life is suffering. From further reading, I understood this to mean that attachment causes suffering.   Then I decided, don't get too attached. Change is  the only constant.

 I like to be proactive about things, you know?  Well...

Rituals mark endings and beginnings. They provide meaning during times that are highly stressful and the world seems to be going topsy-turvy. They are repetitive, they can involve many people or just one. They can include food and drink. They can be petitions for goodwill or blessings. Rituals could assist in addressing conflict.  They provide a sense of self-efficacy when the world seems so big.

So, being proactive, I got really organized about my rituals. Some are seasonal craft-making rituals that bring a lot of meaning to my life and renew friendships.

However,  in the midst of my regular rituals, sewing,  wire jewelry-making and knitting, I found that I still was feeling quite off center.

I was in the midst of change....again!   

I said some words. 

It was not a prayer.


And yet, I found myself feeling like I needed a moment of silence. . . . real prayer.  The kind of prayer that says, please, help. Someone, anyone. . .Universe, God, Jesus, Krishna, Allah, Buddha, Science, TINA TURNER!!!

I mean What What Tina Turner do right now?

WHOA!!!!!!!

What cognitive dissonance! I mean, except for going back and examining Tina Turner's life for help, what sense did any of this make?

But, I am human and as much information as there is about the human condition, there are still circumstances that mystify. I have an ability to look forward with hope. And I can think through possibilities and probabilities about what could happen. And still I need a regular ritual to get my brain out of the emotional hijack.

Surrender......

Just a moment of silence, just a moment to breathe, just a moment to contemplate, just a moment of prayer.

In solitude, I found myself thinking about making prayer beads or beads of contemplation, or meditation. My mother taught me to pray and my father taught me to never surrender. Perhaps, a humanist ritual is the space between.

See this article from Scientific American on rituals.

WOW!

 Yes, I did  just begin this blog with WOW!

What a faith community we are! Filling up back packs! Standing on the Side of Love! Going to marches!

WOW!
And it is good.

I have a lot of really deep thoughts and I have no idea how to put them in to words.   Words seem to be less than enough. So sometimes singing must do.

What I am thinking most is what will be the next calling. . .

When I started this blog, I was feeling low and weary. Now, I am energized because I see that we are among friends. And it is life -sustaining to be among friends who will hold each up or listen.  I find that I have so much more listening to do.

SHHHH!!!!

Just listen.  Listen beyond what its said to what was left unsaid.

WATCH!

 Watch and observe what is done and what is left undone.

And then I just sit and feel. . . breathe. . . get in touch with my deepest feelings.

What is the need?

So many people want to be heard.  So many people want a place to belong. So many people are upset by what they learned at such a young age. . . so upset by what they were conditioned to believe and  have feelings of discontent.

Sociologists may call it alienation. There are big structural shifts that have been occurring for so long and some folks feel left out, behind, angry they can't participate, angry that they need to participate.  When did the rules change?

And yet, that explanation only describes parts of the need?

Listening. . .
It is so important to listen.  Sheila Shuh was the theme speaker at the Ohio Meadville Summer Institute in Oberlin. She spoke about non-violent communication.   A style of communication that was developed in the 1960's by Marshal Rosenberg.  I recommend that you buy the book and include it in your spiritual practice.

It is important to reflect in our relationships that we can all get our needs met.  Conflict can be win-win.  This was said by Lewis Coser- Sociology 101.

My point is that if we can listen to ourselves as well as our fellow beings, we can find a way to get all of our needs met without leaving anyone out.  It takes a lot of listening and suspending judgement and learning.

Really, I am still learning this. I first read about non-violent communication about 20 years ago.  And, I'm only as good at it as I have learned to recognize my own needs and find appropriate words to use.

Using non-violent communication, does not mean that the interaction looks as pastel as pink, yellow of green colors. However, non-violent communication can include refraining from calling people names or purposely saying things that put people at a disadvantage. It can include speaking about real-life observations, sharing true stories about experiences.


Sometimes, pain gets in the way of telling a story like Joe Friday of that cop show-Dragnet.  Joe Friday firmly stated, Just the facts, mamm. Just the facts. What if we could tell our stories that way?
The facts stay the same, but the way we view them. . . . WOW!

It takes lots of practice! So much practice.  We need to practice.

Holding Each Other Up

It seems that in times when we are really uncomfortable, because there has been some tragedy, death-defying and/or fatal incident, the best we can do is to hold each other up. It is true that in life the one constant is change.

We may want to feel the regular comforts of everything being the same and yet there is opportunity in the complexity of life.

"The young become the old, mysteries do unfold" in their own time or in the time that is necessary for human beings to develop understanding. Wisdom is gained and there are opportunities for us to sit at the knee of the wise and learn as long as we are open and curious. We also get an opportunity to assess and discern what really is important to us as we journey together.  So, some habits may fall by the roadside and then again we may pick up something new.

So, when we have depended on the constant that "rain comes from the clouds, sun lights up the skies," we do not expect to see pigs fly. So when we do see something coming toward us that knocks us off our center, what do we do?

Rally the troops! my mind shouts.

As humans, we can go into fight or flight mode.

Personally, I get angry. I do rally the troops.  The adrenaline gets me ready to run, to act.

Maybe you have heard or read about this part of the human condition?  When we are really, really uncomfortable to the point that our central nervous system has taken over. . . Our thinking brain is hijacked.

But, if I take a breath, maybe more, I start to make a plan; I start to think about what is best to do at the moment. I get quiet. I might look very angry.

At church, we have friends who are very close; and we have a caring committee. We have organized a plan to do the work of holding each other up.  It's a proactive organized group.

I  keep cards and stamps on hand to mail things to folks. I carry them with me in my binder. Still, I send emails or text messages. In this digital age, I kind of feel that cards in the mail are a minimum that I can do. And still, I miss the mark. I believe in prayer, though. So, I do take a moment and think kind healing thoughts.  I suppose that the stronger the relationship you have with a person, the more likely you are to put yourself right there with the person or do as they ask...which sometimes may be to visit at specific times or wait before visiting.

We do find a way, though.  We find a way or many different ways to hold each other up. Because as that song goes "everything must change. . .  because that's the way of time. No one and nothing goes unchanged."


Everything must Change- George Benson

I'm Gonna Lift My Sister Up

What does it mean to say revelation is not sealed?

Last month, I answered the call to participate in the reading of Martin Luther King's Breaking Silence speech. The public reading was held at Monroe United Methodist Church. Many local organizations participated in this reading. Many organizations across the nation, called by the National Council of Elders participated...including...Rev. Dr. William Barber.

This is a link to the MLK speech.

The significance of the speech is that as a Civil rights leader, King was compelled to speak out about the Vietnam War and the many ways the United States had acted inconsistently in dealing with foreign powers.

I was happy to do my part reading the section of King's Speech where he calls for a revolution in values.

A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies. (Source: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkatimetobreaksilence.htm)

This part affirmed for me the reasons I seek a mature understanding of Unitarian Universalism. While King came to his conclusions from the Christian faith, I have come to this conclusion based on my direct experience in change making efforts in low-moderate income neighborhoods in Toledo, Ohio as well as that principle that states that we are- all beings interconnected. . . and that as Rev. Barber says, we need a fusion movement that unites people of faith with people of no faith, with LGBTQ people with women, with the poor....everybody.

Because we are a free faith, we have the freedom to accept and choose to ally with those folks whose rights are constantly in question. If UU's have a gospel, I would say that it is in the responsibility we have to take in information and take practical action about it. John Buehrens writes in A Chosen Faith, that we are responsible for shaping our destiny and capable of making it better (p. 158).

As a  liberal religion, revelation is not sealed.

This idea can be welcoming and freeing to people who fear being told that they must refrain from their own thinking in making moral decisions in the world. If you carry the burdens of being socialized in any orthodox religion and have felt a tightening grip on your heart when that right teaching has pounded your mind into a headache of cognitive dissonance, this UU good news is that we are open, free thinkers.

Trust your own thought. Trust your direct experience. And act on it.

David Bumbaugh in his  Unitarian Universalism: A Narrative History says that in the early movement following Jesus... this movement later known as Christianity .....there was a shift from from an ethical movement to a creedal movement. This shift happened in 325 c.e. when the Council of Nicaea came down with the authoritative decision that answered two questions:

• Who was Jesus; and
• What should the movement believe about Jesus as it related to his human and or divine nature (Bumbaugh, p.8)

The answer was the doctrine of the trinity.

However, there were those who did not fully accept this doctrine of Trinity and the power of Rome.

If you can imagine this is at a time, when most people could not read.  It was in 1440 that the printing press was developed and thus forever initiated the change in our relationships with authorities as information in the form of books could be standardized and disseminated.

Still, there was resistance to ideas that were in contrast to authorities. In Spain, the prevailing position of Ferdinand and Isabella was One Nation, One Monarchy, One Faith.

This sounds familiar. . . .

The 1478  Spanish Inquisition marked a time period of prejudice and intolerance. Eight- hundred thousand  Muslims and Jews left Spain.

People were literally being killed for what they professed to believe.

Did you know that the word for the place of worship for those who practice Islam is derived from this time? The dread of Muslims in Spain were compared to the dread of mosquitos. Mosque. Mosque is a misnomer. The word is actually Masjid. I learned this at an FBI Hate Crimes meeting in Cleveland around the 2000’s, while I was working for a local civil rights agency.

So, just a reference point, in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. . . .to the New World.

If we examine the early history of 16th century free thinkers we claim as Unitarians and Universalists of Europe and then in America, plus studying the Unitarian Universalists in the 1960's, then you could become emboldened.  Emboldened, because  women and men paid with their lives in exchange for their religious ideas.

While in high school, I wrote a report about the Reformation. I recall using a typewriter to write about how in 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to Wittenberg and started the Reformation.  

That was 6 years after Michael Servetus was born.

As I have recently read in Unitarians Universalism: A Narrative History, Michael Servetus was very concerned about the doctrine of the trinity.   He later met another reformer in the movement, John Calvin. Calvin was not so interested in revising  doctrine so much as church politics.. . . polity.

This relationship reminded me of a relationship of a graduate student and a university professor.

Because it seems to me- and this is my interpretation- that Calvin felt like, hey let me take this kid under my wing . . maybe impress him with my thoughts.. . But Servetus was adamant about his anti-trinitarian position. . . In short. . very short,  Calvin sold Servetus  out to the church authorities and Servetus fled.  He was caught though and burned at the stake.

That’s the really short version of one person who spoke out.  There are more. . . Do you want a list? You know this, right?

I’m still reading this narrative of Unitarian Universalism, but I can tell you that later freethinkers fared as well as Servetus. Many of those free thinkers, anti-trinitarians,  were  jailed, left to die or just plain executed.

And you think we have issues with tolerating a change in the set-up in coffee hour? How would you like to be sold out to John Calvin, arrested  and burned at the stake just for forcing your point?

That’s trivial, I guess when I think of many in our faith who question is this a place where I too can belong? Is there room for me in this faith.

Emboldened. Emboldened by the fact that since the Spanish Inquisition, free thinkers, though having a poverty of societal support, still put forth their thoughts and arguments. So with this kind of legacy, how can you stay quiet?

We have UU Good News!  Why aren’t we shouting and praising. . . wait, what now? who?

Humanists have stated that science and economic changes have disrupted old beliefs (Buehren's, p.157). I surely abdicate a condition of filiopiety.

Filopiety- I like this word. Bell hooks used it in one of the books she wrote talking race, sex and class--intersectionality. What I mean by using that word is that I have no love for the old ways of doing them just because that’s the way it has always been done.

I don’t do church the way I was socialized to do church. In fact, I’m not sure I did that as a kid, now that I think about it.  I was trying to sit outside and commune with the breeze and the trees and divine the future by scavenging through a junk drawer and interpreting the items I found there. . . . But wait. . . That’s irrational, right?

And we UU’s are rational, right?Rational, logical, scientific, cold and unfeeling, dispassionate. . .  say what, now?

The culture of our association has been one where we don’t evangelize and we may refrain from making too many joyful noises during a sermon. . maybe a few giggles at own expense.

The origins of how we worship are  derived from the founding culture of Unitarian Universalism (Rolenz, p. 23)  I am mostly reserved in my spiritual practice, though, there have been times when I have wanted to get up and sing Praise Song  by Hall Walker of the Kent UU church or I’m Gonna Lift My Sister Up.  I also imagine myself being carried out by in a white straight jacket afterwards. . .  

My point is our faith allows us to merge new ideas with old ideas- letting go of that which encourages intolerance and opening ourselves to inquire. And Inquiry requires humility and curiosity and a willingness assume good intentions.

Humanists are saying that that revelation is not sealed.  It is okay and necessary to inquire, ask questions, make mistakes and empathize. So where is our revelation of me too?

Empathy.

I can see how that could be harmful. . I wouldn’t want something like that to happen to me. . wow, I can relate to that. . you know. . I’ve been a position where I have have been scapegoated.

Empathy.

Because, I know what it feels like to be thirsty, how can I not be Defending the right to water; how can I accept a Water Crisis any where.

Emapthy.

Because I have learned new information about the indignities that my fellow human beings have suffered for seeking a better life, so  I stand up and speak out for their rights, knowing that injustice there means it could affect me too.

Empathy.

Because I too need Fair pay  to care for myself as well as the Guest at my table.

Empathy.

Because my conscience will not allow me to stay quiet.

We must refrain from sinking into helplessness but rise to responsibility. I think this is an important part of telling people who we are and more important in terms of how we behave our way into communicating to the world the values of Unitarian Universalists. Unitarian Universalism is a cause for hope.   

Who do you think UU think you are? - A reflection preached at Maumee Valley a UU Congregation.

Who do they say we are?  Who are Unitarian Universalists? What do we believe and how do we worship? And what if anything do we worship?

I've heard folks says that we can believe anything we want. How true is that? What does that mean?

Sometimes, we let some folks act in ways that are the antithesis of our principles, because we are free. We say things that don't really match up with that principle of inherent worth and dignity.  Maybe, we don't pay all our pledge, because we didn't like a few sermons, or we  hold back from participating fully in congregational life because, you know, you don't have to go to church every Sunday or in the summer. We break covenant or are out of right relationship with each other, because we are free.

We are creedless, we have no doctrine, no test of faith. We are free and bondless in what we can believe. We can believe anything or nothing at all.

When I decided to take this journey to become a commissioned lay minister, I was seeking a more mature understanding of this idea of free thinking.

The Central East Region (CRG) has a program in which a person can study, learn, and reflect on Unitarian Universalism. In the program, a person is paired with a mentor. My mentor is Rev. Lynn Kerr.  I also have a list of required reading and with the guidance and feedback of Rev. Lynn, there are activities-such as this- that are suggested. I expect this process of becoming a Commissioned -Lay Minister to be about 3 years before, I would be considered for the process of commissioning.

And in the process of commissioning there is an interview where there is more discussion and contemplation about spiritual growth. Successful commissioning means that the chair of the CLM program would write a letter of acceptance and a copy of that would go to First Unitarian Church of Toledo. And then there is a celebration at church. Yay.

Of course, it’s possible that I could be asked to go back and study longer. So, metaphorically that would be like, pulling a cake out of the oven and finding that it needs to cook a little longer- too moist in some areas and when pressing the cake with your finger, you see it doesn’t bounce back quite enough to indicate that it is dry enough on the inside. And that’s ok, because as I said, I am seeking a mature understanding of thinking freely.

Free is a word that is so often misunderstood in my profession of librarianship, too. Librarians promote the freedom to read. Read whatever you want- just read. And the librarians are there to assist you in the search for relevant and accurate information.  For me,  librarianship is informed by the late 19th century American theory of pragmatism.

The democratic ideal is created by resolving social and political problems, according to Educational Psychologist  and pragmatist, John Dewey. People must inquire about an issue, define it and identify the who, what, and how of its relatedness. William James, pragmatist and psychologist, in talking about truth looks at the  instrumental value of information based upon its relations. To understand the situation in which a person finds theirself, find also, its relations.  These elements of pragmatism make the idea of a free public library being the cornerstone of democracy come alive. And in my opinion, these ideas are the reason that free libraries are said to be the People's University. It is because, you are free to read it and to think your own thoughts and make active sense of the situation.

Just like Unitarian Universalists you are free to think and come to conclusions based on your direct experience.

I am a free thinker.  And for me, acting in accordance with that free thinking is important. If it wasn’t important, surely, I never would have never acted upon the information I was assimilating in graduate school studying sociology and community development and community organizing in the early 1990’s. Because in addition to my current profession, I’ve spent a lot of time in my life as a community worker for housing civil rights and teaching about racism and sexism and classism- the isms- what presently is studied as intersectionality,

Even now, my passion is connecting people with resources to become financially literate.  With that literacy, it is my hope that people will be less susceptible to fraud and predatory lending. It is my hope that the least of those among us will be equipped to address financial situations with confidence instead of fear, desperation, and trepidation.

I threw myself into this kind of work on principle and on purpose. Just because, I am free thinking with no belief in a particular doctrine does not mean that I don’t have principles.

In A Chosen Faith by John Buehrens and Forrest Church, they discuss one of our twentieth century Unitarian Universalist theologians, James Luther Adams. Adams discussed how, even we UU’s can be fundamentalists by making freedom an idol.

By fundamentalist, I mean that the word free is taken expressively as opposed to instrumentally. In contrast with inquiring about a situation or responsibly searching for all the related and interconnected processes or parts of a problem and acting on that situation freely, we declare that we are free. We declare our faith as free.

Yet, faith without works is dead.

Surely, we uu’s know what this means. I was raised by a father with a Baptist religious background and a mother who attended a Pentacostal church that her family established in a small southeastern Ohio city.

Though, my mother went to church religiously and learned about Jesus and his teachings, she was less likely in her life to help the stranger or assist the poor. Her salvation was based on accepting doctrine. It was enough for her to accept Jesus as her personal savior.

Yet, one part of the Bible used in her faith, James 2:14-26 says:

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your[a] works, and I will show you my faith by my[b] works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?[c] 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”[d] And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Footnotes:

James 2:18 NU-Text omits your.
James 2:18 NU-Text omits my.
James 2:20 NU-Text reads useless.
James 2:23 Genesis 15:6
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


So, I experienced some cognitive dissonance when I observed church going folks who could have faith and declare being free from sin, yet did not necessarily embody the work.

It appeared to me that accepting the doctrine, released the faithful from any responsibility to do the work. But it is this work that brings about the Beloved Community.

Marilyn Sewell in her essay, The Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Person, says that our faith is free. And this freedom allows us to respect the various choices that people make about their spiritual needs.  Moreover, it is this freedom that allows UU’s to be advocates for the oppressed.

So when we say we can believe anything, are we walking down the road toward worshiping freedom that is accountable to just freedom?

I think that a more mature understanding of this idea of free thinking, includes this statement by Francis David:

We need not think alike to love alike.

You see, my free thinking has inspired me to walk a path toward Beloved Community.  Congregations exist because we are walking together toward a cause bigger than ourselves.

 Is that cause not the creation of Beloved Community in this life?

To me, the creation of Beloved Community comes from living together in covenant and acting in right relationship. And that requires principles. We are free from doctrines and we are free to embrace all the life-giving and life enhancing information from sacred texts, inspirations, and direct experiences.

We are walking many different paths yet we are making the road to Beloved Community. And it will take all of us walking our different paths in this big wide world in order to create Beloved Community.  This is the mature faith I seek. When asked who I am, I want the world to know that she is walking a path to the Beloved Community. She is a  UU and that is a faith that makes the road by walking it.

Looking for UU Leaders going full-time? Why yes, I am.

"I think the most disappointing thing about poor leadership is that everyone thinks its ok to act that that way too."-Something I said in 2017

I had the best conversation with the Worship Team for Summer Institute. I am serving as their worship associate this year as I did last year.  But, I do a little more than just act as a worship associate.

It's kinda like coordinating all the parts of service. . . But it is every single day for a week.  It is the most joyous thing that I have done at SI outside of  vulnerably singing my heart out. And, just so you know, it was at SI that I was convinced that I would like to be a Commissioned Lay Minister.

We are planning worship around how to model communicating our values in our world.  How do we do it when we interact with folks who are not UU's?  This is so important at this time in our world. And it is a challenge for all of us.

But we are made for these times.

It always seems that as soon as I say yes to one thing, life brings in some of the opposite to make sure that I really mean it. So, I signed the book to be a member of First Unitarian Church around 1998, and I've been growing pretty steadily spiritually, if not in other ways.

Then, people asked me what church I attended and I just said so and went about my business. Perhaps, people had questions. Maybe I had questions...mostly those questions were solved by the time I decided to sign the book, though.

My alter ego, kept asking questions as usual though.

You sure? These folks don't look like you?  But, they think like me.

You sure? What will your closest friends and family think about you going to church with these folks?
Eventually,  I asked my biggest supporters to join me at church. My aunt and my mentor visited me and we attended church together.

My High School Mentor and National Honor Society Advisor:

She always sent me Happy Black History Month cards, in February, what would she think?

Well, it was a service during Black History month that we attended. She was impressed. My mentor, known for speaking out and speaking up, also made a great impression on the interim minister at the time. When I asked the interim minister if she had met my mentor, her eyes widened and she shook her said and said YEEESSSS!

My Aunt:

My aunt, a community worker like me, often said of our family church that they never did anything for poor people. She came to church with me once when she was visiting, I was a young adult then and gave her the full tour of what I did. . . church service and  the usual visit with the folks in the young adult group. She said to me later in a phone call, I need to get me a church like that. So, she, too, was okay with my choice of church and community.

So, I thought, alright, I'm cool.

My mother and my father?

Well, taking the easier answer first, I told my father that I found a church and that when they talked about Jesus, they talked about what Jesus taught. My father answered affirmatively.

His affirmation meant a lot to me. You, see, my father never ceased to run to the front door before any of  my family members when people came by proselytizing the "gospel." My dad had a lot to say to them...lots of arguing and chasing people away.

It was something I never understood until recently, when I found out that the father I lived with ....who I never saw go to church...was a Sunday school teacher in his family's Baptist Church!

My mother.....wellll. . .

My mother was saved in her family's Pentecostal Church. So one holiday season,  I told her that I was spending Christmas Eve with a homeless family staying at our church. My mother said, she couldn't be doing that. I don't know what she meant. It could mean anything.

But what matters most is what I think and what I say about what Unitarian Universalism. What does it mean to me.

What do we tell people when they ask who we are?

I had some time to think about this and talk about it, recently. One of the exercises, my mentor in the Commissioned-Lay Ministry program had me do, involved writing this out and talking about it.

Ok, so it was a sermon that I did with her and her congregation. I got to kinda test the waters...

Here's the point, I am going all UU full-time...just like Rev. Tim talked about in one of his sermons. And if you might be interested in figuring out how you can tell folks who you are -- who your religious community is, you might be interested in attended Summer Institute this year.

The theme is about Communicating our UU values.

I bet you are wondering...

When is she gonna speak from our pulpit? Where is she with worship at First Toledo?

Well, I'm working on it. And I will be asking for your help. So to get ready to work with me. And  look into Summer Institute this year.

You are gonna do what now?

The word minister means servant.

 It also means to attend to the needs of; to care for someone

Divine

a dated synonym for minister or clergy

 divine also meaning theologian

Teacher- to instruct someone in something

who can teach beliefs lead worship services 

I didn't announce it to a whole room full of people at first. I was doing the work of making meaning in my life. And then I had to sit back and contemplate. The contemplation with myself kinda went like this.

So you are gonna do what now?

I don't know. I just think about twenty years of social justice work and maybe 5 years of externalizing my anger about society; where I fit in it and how nothing has changed and I  think. . . .   This must be a moral problem.

You can't do that.

Why not me? Rev Lillie even said she thought I had a calling for this.

Ha! Yeah and then you got married in purple.

That was probably a sign . . . but she told me not to worry about it.

So why now? and here? Really? Have you seen you? 

I need something more. It's not about money. I'm not going to school again and I thought I had that settled a while back about comparing the superficial to the substantive. Yes, there are few African-Americans in this mostly white denomination. I read Mark Morrison-Reed's book. I know the stories about how it has been tried and failed and still. . you know he does it. And so do many more.

Why not me? Maybe me, because I have journeyed this particular road between worlds of black and white and middle class, working class and more.  Not a lot of people have lived that. I can see now, more than ever that we all need each other.  We have to get past this.

Plus, many UU Churches have more than one CLM. I would welcome someone else to do this. There's so much to be done.

Yeah, but Girl, you know you got issues?

Yes, but so does everybody. And I can. I do. And I am.

You know, my affirmation: I am human and divine and I have faith in my ability to succeed and I know that my possibilities are infinite.

 There you go with that Iyanla stuff; you know people are not gonna take you seriously with that. . . 

Well, her books are a part of spiritual practice. I do journaling and reading all these books- modern day mystics, you know?

I incorporate the words into my living. . . I make the possible real. You know, that's a quality of my Myers-Briggs personality.

And I am a rare type.


Eyes roll.

Plus, I've been reading  My Chosen Faith by John Buehrens and Forrest Church.  There is room for the transrational.

Say what now?

The transrational. . . synchronicity, metaphor, Jungian Archtypes, stories. . .

A person can be so rational that they give up the Mystery of life. . . the wonder and awe felt and unseen. . .like taking walks at the park. You don't have to be a liberal fundamentalist, you know. Anyone can make idols out of an idea and worship it and act like there is nothing else that is to be learned.  It is a kind of arrogance and self-righteousness.

New information. . novelty, learning, adapting in the present to the present.

Yeah, uh huh, I'm listening.

This is about living a life that is more spiritually centered. It's like I read in the book, Spirituality is about keeping your heart open through hell.

Hell, huh? Well, you might just be in for it.

Seriously!
 I'm learning new ideas all the time as well as affirming what I value. Freedom to be authentically me.

I don't know how much more you. . .  you can be or if  folks will stand for it. . .

Ok, ok, ok. Let me explain it this way. I am a free thinker.  And I can live a principled life where I can have an open mind. I am released from any doctrine.  I can keep the teachings from my Christian heritage that are life-giving and enhancing while foregoing that which is unhelpful. And I can learn from many sacred inspirations.

You know, people aren't going to like that.

Well, there are people in the world who are uncomfortable with many different things. People who only see this or that, black or white, people who see ambiguity and are comfortable with it. There are many different world views.

What I am seeking is that which is life-sustaining in the present.

Oooo, girrrl! What are you talking about?

You remember that Sunday when I did a workshop on forgiveness based on books by Iyanla Vanzant and Desmond Tutu?

Oh yeah... that was good. I had to go back and review my notes on that one.

Well!!

Ok. . . I get your point.  This is a religion? Really? 

Yes!!!

But do you have to be a. . what do you call it?

Commissioned-Lay Minister?

Yeah. . . that. . .

Well, I like studying. . . . And there's a whole list of books about Unitarian Universalism that I must read and I'll have a mentor who is a minister... serving. .  teaching. .  .

Grandma, always called me  teacher.  Plus,  I like hanging out with the ministers.. . . learning stuff.

Geek!!!!

Whatever. I'm doing it.

Before the Isms

Before the "isms" there was an act. And the act violated the esteem of another. And that person was humiliated. 

So the humiliated person feeling low and without esteem, acted from a place of pain and projected that pain onto the world.

 And so there was it was. 

Pain. 

Pain that existed in the the people of the world. Each person lacking in esteem in their own particular way, acting. 

Each person 

                    in some particular and peculiar way 

                                                                     that was  associated with their

 pain.

Some people in pain sought money and would do anything base and/or profane to get it.

           People in pain were affected by those peculiar ways to seek money.

           

                                       People in pain worked from sun up to sun down with barely any rest.

                                       People in pain lashed out on to the backs of others, sisters, brothers, neighbors

People in pain told themselves all kinds of stories to try to ease their pain.

                                       Legends, Myths, Lies, Gossip

                                   

                                   They talked about acts that happened;

                                   They talked about acts they wanted to happen;

                                   They talked about acts that never happened;

                                   They exaggerated the acts of the people in pain;

                                   They judged, misjudged, prejudged, and 
                                                                                            underestimated the acts of the people in pain;

                                   They talked about heroes, heroines, victims, and tyrants.

                                   They talked about each other to each other

                                                                                     in BIG BOLD WORDS 

                                                                                               and in hushed small whispers

                                    They talked to everyone;
                                    They talked about themselves to themselves;
                                    They talked to no one.
                                   

                                 

 They told so many stories that there were people who told stories about the stories.

       But the pain never completely went away.                  

And for generations

                          upon generations,

                                                     upon generations,

                                                                                 up through the

                                                                                                        present...

People in pain projected that pain on to people in the world.  

The act that had started it all was forgotten. 

So a few of the people in pain, in attempts to ease the pain, became seekers.

                         

                                    Not knowing for what it was that was sought.

Dignity, Wholeness, Esteem

for their own distinct selves????

So Great was the pain of the people in the world.

It was 

Chaos.

But how could such chaos exist?

I am still seeking an answer to this question as I read and and study new books about Americans. More specifically, I am currently reading and thinking about racism.  Is it truly the original sin of America?

Our liberal faith, according to James Luther says:

"All relations between persons ought ideally to rest on mutual, free consent and not on coercion."

My ancestors- the way back ancestors- did they choose freely to be Americans?

I've never questioned that the categorization of people is where this country missed the mark. I know we are human with phenotypes based on the climate of our places of origin.

I was at the home of a lapsed UU with her children, nieces and nephews. They looked curiously at me as they were just old enough to recognize. . . something was different.

Why is your skin like this, the child said as he put his hand on my arm. And before he could fully tell a story about how God had made me, the other child interrupted.
I know! I know! said the other child. Melanin, she said smugly.There was a moment of nervous laughter from the adults.
And I thought, yes. Tell the babies the right thing. Teach them science. Tell them about melanin. Don't you tell those babies that God had me in the oven too long. Don't you tell the babies that God made a mistake with me.

However, there is a grievous mistake that has been made. We made it.
The act of treating people as if they are expendable or treating them less fairly and partially is the sin.

It's life killing. It's a violation of the of the Spirit and Energy of Life that sustains us.

The hope. . and I have had a challenging time with hope... that Unitarian Universalism offers . . . is that revelation is not sealed. We are always learning new information.


According James Luther,"[L]iberalism holds that the resources (divine and human) that are available for the achievement of meaningful change justify an attitude of ultimate optimism."

Hope.

So to live hopefully, I decided I needed to dig in deep. In my first blog post, I said that I needed a more mature faith.  And the only to get it, I suppose is to work on creating it.

Therefore, I thought that perhaps, being a seeker, we could look at all these stories that we have told ourselves and each other and see what about these stories up holds the principles of our faith and what does not.

It is challenging to explain in one sentence what  UnCommon Reads with Melissa  is really about.  I sense that it is more about  HOPE AND CREATING BELOVED COMMUNITY BEYOND THE WALLS of  the church building. . .