Poetry Plus

by Posted in Audio available, Chris Jimmerson, Sermons

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Chris Jimmerson and AJ Juraska
June 30, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

So often, we recoil against overly literal interpretations of the bible that at best seem irrational and at worst harmful. What if rather than a “literal- factual” understanding of biblical scripture, we embraced scholar and theologian Marcus Borg’s “historical-metaphorical” approach instead? Might then the bible become poetry of love and justice?

Chalice Lighting

This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.

Call to Worship

READING THE BIBLE AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME;
TAKING THE BIBLE SERIOUSLY BUT NOT LITERALLY
by Marcus J Borg

“… stories can be true without being literally and factually true … A metaphorical approach to the bible thus emphasizes metaphors and their associations … metaphors can be profoundly true, even though they are not literally true. Metaphor is poetry plus, not factuality minus.”

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

“The Bible is like Santa Claus and sex. Children hear about it on the playground or on the street, whether or not their parents discuss it with them. And as an adult, if you don’t enjoy it and wish to abstain, you can successfully avoid it only by taking extreme measures such as total social deprivation or profound isolation.

The Bible is holy scripture because it is the living document and foundation of many important faiths, including Unitarian Universalist. To abandon the Bible would mean alienation from one of the world’s most important influences on religious thought-liberal and otherwise …. Our concept of respect for the web of existence, for instance, emanates from a stream of thought that flows through the Psalms and the Prophets from that same God of Genesis who declared the goodness of creation.”

– Rev. David McFarland

Sermon

AJ Juraska’s Homily

I just finished my first year of seminary. If you had told me five years ago I would be in seminary, I would have been shocked. Even more so by the fact that I am attending a Christian seminary.

I wanted to attend a Christian seminary in part because I knew that whether I end up being a chaplain, a parish minister, or working on social justice issues, living in Texas means that I will be exposed to Christian viewpoints and references to the Bible. The more I learn about the Bible, the more I realize that the Bible is hidden in plain sight all around us – in song lyrics, art, writing, common sayings, and so much more. The song we heard earlier, Turn Turn Turn by Pete Seager, is from Ecclesiastes Chapter 3. While working on this homily, I learned that Emily Dickenson’s works reference the Bible.

A part of me also hoped that, by going to a Christian seminary maybe I would find myself identifying as a Christian again. I grew up in a Christian church and I miss some of the magic I found there, and the belonging in having a shared text. Being a UU can be hard in that way. When I used to play roller derby I would often get asked “but where is the ball.” I think the equivalent in UUism is “where is the central text that you all read and agree on.”

As it turns out, though, even the Christians don’t agree on a central text. Catholics include different books of the bible than Protestants. So we’re not even all reading the same Bible. It took hundreds of years after Jesus’ death before there was even a semblance of agreement on what books to include, and the order to read them in.

The books of the Bible were written in a time and a place. As my New Testament professor says, some of what we are reading is essentially someone else’s mail. Paul is writing to early Christian churches to try to guide them in how to be successful in this new endeavor, especially at a time when Christians were persecuted and there was debate over who could be included in this new church.

So why should we read something written nearly two thousand years ago that has context and meaning for a time so long in the past? Unitarian Universalist Minister John A Buehrens answers us in his book Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals. He says, “Progressive people simply cede their power to opponents when they leave interpretation of our religious heritage, or the meaning of our nation, or authentic ‘family values,’ to the reactionaries, the chauvinists, and the bigots.” He goes on to say that if we reject the Bible, it, quote “doesn’t mean that it ever goes away. Rather it simply means that it ends up only in the hands and on the lips of others – often reactionary others-where it can and will be used against you.”

Buehrens is right. Louisiana just passed a law requiring public school classrooms to display the ten commandments. Texas tried to pass a similar bill last session, and we can bet it will be on the docket again come next year’s session. We can shout about separation of church and state all we want, but the Bible isn’t going to leave our political dialogue any time soon.

While the ten commandments are a part of the bible, they are cherry-picked, in that, according to Jewish tradition, there are actually 613 commandments or mitsvot in the Bible. Most of these mitsvot cannot be followed for a variety of reasons, including that they require being in the temple which was destroyed.

One of the big questions in the early Christian church was whether the early Christians needed to follow the law, in other words the commandments. The New Testament in part is grappling with this question, and there are different interpretations of whether the Jews and the Gentiles, the Christians who do not have Jewish heritage, need to follow the law.

Laws to post the ten commandments might still get passed, but imagine if more teachers knew this context, and could explain that the ten commandments are just a selection of the 613 laws that one ancient group thought were appropriate for governing themselves.

For all my humanist friends in the audience, I promise we haven’t forgotten about you. In fact, Buehrens calls himself a Biblical humanist. He points out that one can have a foundation in the Bible without believing it reveals something about the supernatural.

The Bible has a lot for us to learn. I took a class on the book of Judges last semester, and I’m taking a class on Revelation in the fall (fun fact, it’s Revelation without an S at the end, not Revelations as I know I had said my whole life). Judges is one of the harsher books in the Bible, with lots of violence including some of the most horrific violence against women in the text. Through analyzing the book, I came to learn all the ways it can be read, including as a feminist piece, one that in talking about violence against women is in fact speaking out against it. It can also be read as a tract against kingship, and many parts of the Bible are speaking out against empire.

Like much of the Bible, Revelation chapter 13 was written in a way that people of that time and place would have understood, but we do not if we try to read it literally. It talks about beasts but is in fact coded writing against the Roman empire. This is the chapter that includes a reference to 666, or 616 in some of the manuscripts. 666 and 616 are actually codes for Emperor Nero, not a literal devil.

So where do we go from here? I don’t have all the answers, and I know Rev. Chris has some more to share with us as well. I don’t necessarily recommend trying to sit down and read the whole Bible. I do recommend looking at a study bible and learning how to use the footnotes and references. If you’d like to learn more about how to do that, I’ll be teaching a workshop called Reclaiming the Bible on July 14th from 1-3pm here in the church. We’ll go over how to look up passages and the meanings behind them using study bibles and other reference tools. An announcement will be going out soon about that workshop if you are interested.

There are also great books like John A Buehrens’s book, which I have here if you’re here in person and would like to look at it. I also have a few other books up here that you’re welcome to look through after the service. If you want to take a deeper dive, you can audit a class at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary or another seminary. There will be a class in the fall on the Hebrew Bible taught by one of my favorite professors that is mostly asynchronous, for example.

The Bible that I have discovered in seminary is not the one that I was taught as a child growing up in a Christian church. It is both more violent and more beautiful and poetic than the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, and Jesus from my childhood had led me to believe. If you find yourself afraid of or unsure about the Christian Bible, know that you are not alone. There are many of us who share those concerns.

I know that many come here with religious trauma from Christianity and the Bible. If engaging with the Bible is painful for you, honor that. No one should have to engage with religious or spiritual practices that cause harm. I am still on my own journey when it comes to the Bible. I have discovered some verses that I really like, such as James chapter 2 which talks about how faith without works is dead, or James chapter 5 which warns rich oppressors that God sees the harm they have caused. I have yet to draw the spiritual comfort from the Bible that I see so many others have-something a part of me wishes I had too.

I’m grateful for the UU value of pluralism, which celebrates diverse theology and honors that we can draw from more than one source of spiritual wisdom. The Christian Bible is one source of spiritual wisdom, but it is not the only source, and I appreciate the opportunity to explore all these wisdom traditions in this religious community. Thank you.

Rev. Chris Jimmerson’s Homily

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

That’s the Gospel of John chapter 3, verse 16 of the New testament.

King James Version. Don’t you just love the King James language? “Believeth.” “Begotten.”

Some of you have heard me talk before about how I was raised as a Southern Baptist and said I wanted to be a minister when I was a very young child, even preached sermons into the cassette tape recorder my parents had given me.

One such “baby” sermon was based upon that bible verse.

It is amazing to me that all of these years later and having rejected the fundamentalist religion of my childhood, I can still remember John 3: 16 word for word. King James version, no less.

Here’s why I think that matters.

Regardless of our religious upbringing, despite a culture that has gown more and more secular over time, the words and images and metaphors of our largely bible-based religious history have become embedded within our our cultural symbols, mythologies, values, rituals, traditions – indeed the very language with which we think and communicate, and therefore imbedded within our individual subconsciouses as well.

So, as our reading earlier describes, the bible is still pervasive in our society, and is a large a part of our Unitarian Universalist liberal religious heritage.

So to though, are more fundamentalist interpretations of the bible, like that of my Southern Baptist childhood, also imbedded within our cultural landscape.

And so part of my spiritual journey through adulthood has been to reclaim the biblical narratives that got so implanted into my formational inner psyche in ways that parallel my evolving values and understandings of life.

I have learned to reinterpret and re-embrace the sacred texts of my younger self – like that one from John 3:16.

More on that shortly!

Marcus J. Borg, author of our Call to Worship earlier, urges us to read the bible as poetry plus rather than factuality minus.

Instead of interpreting the bible as literally and factually true, we may find greater wisdom if we mine it for historical and metaphorical truths.

So, if for example we take the well known story of Noah and the flood, and has so often been done, try to accept it as literally true, we are forced to either reject it entirely as defying rational belief or to read it as a fantastical tale of an angry and vengeful God extinguishing almost all life on earth, as retribution for the wickedness of humankind.

But, if we understand that historically, civilizations that predated the origins of the Noah story had similar mythology about floods – floods that were both terribly destructive but also in some way washed cleaned the world and created circumstances through which new life might arise, then, then, we might come to understand the Noah story in a quite different way, metaphorically.

Brothers were killing brothers. Injustice prevailed. Violence had grown rampant.

Humans were engaging in physical relations with the angels.

We were filled with hubris and disregard for our fellow humans. We had moved away from love and justice.

And so, symbolically, the story may be seen as humankind cleansing itself of these violations of our deepest, most life-giving and fulfilling values and rebirthing a rootedness in love and justice.

God, then, becomes a profound inner calling toward our deepest values that move us toward thriving and fulfillment.

And over and over again throughout the bible, a literal-factual approach, too often leads to using the bible to inflict a vengeful God upon other people we don’t like or want to dominate.

But if we move instead toward this historical-metaphorical approach, then over and over again, we find story after story in the bible that becomes a poetry of love and justice – over and over again, a calling to cleanse ourselves of greed, violence, and injustice – over and over again a fervent cry for living lives of love and justice.

And I think developing our ability to return the bible to its poetic grounding in love and justice is vital for at least two reasons:

The first is that, as already mentioned, the bible is a fundamental part of Unitarian Universalist heritage. If we throw it out, we lose a rich metaphorical inspiration for many of our most cherished concepts and values.

The second though, it that we are seeing in this country an eruption of mostly white, Christian Nationalism that would brandish literalistic interpretations of this scared text to banish love and justice for all but themselves and turn our government into a white, Christofacist patriarchy.

And lest we think that is hyperbole, just consider that Louisiana has made in mandatory to post the ten commandments in every school classroom, and Oklahoma has just required that the bible be taught in every classroom.

I can only cringe at what literalistic, fundamentalist take on the bible will get taught.

I want to ask them just how they plan to teach commandments such as “Thou shall not commit adultery” or “Thous shalt not covet thy neighbors wife … nor his manservant.”

I know I’m always telling my neighbors, “don’t you go coveting my manservant.”

Once again, gotta love the King James.

The editor and chief of Christianity Today recently told of several pastors relating to him how after preaching about the sermon on the mount, several of their church goers complained that it was too “woke”.

And that returns me to the Christ story encapsulated by John 3:16 with which we began.

You see my beloveds, we have to be able to counter these selectively factual, fundamentalist readings of the bible with our own metaphorical perspective, proclaiming love and justice.

We have to proclaim and reclaim Jesus as the preacher of that sermon on the mount where he declared:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn, those who hunger, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peace makers, those who are persecuted for righteousness.

Jesus was no blond haired, blue eyed, white, Christian nationalist warrior. He was a dark skinned, ultra woke, anti-empire, champion for love and justice, who over-turned the tables of the money changers in the temple, expressed a preference for the poor, and disenfranchised and hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors and the chronically unemployed, also know as his disciples.

For me, John 3:16 is a poem about a love so powerful, so selfless and boundless that we’re willing to give all of ourselves all we have begotten to create love and justice for all in our world so that humankind may flourish and thrive.

And that, is our life everlasting. Amen.

Extinguishing the Chalice

We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.

Benediction

And now, as we go out into our world today, may we see the poetry in our lives.

May we find the holy metaphors in all of the sacred texts of our tradition.

May we encounter the sacred in all that surrounds us.

May center ourselves in love and justice.

May the congregation say, “Amen” and “blessed be”.

Go in peace.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 24 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776

Reclaiming the Bible Workshop

by Posted in Uncategorized

While Unitarian Universalism comes out of Christianity, many of us have–at best–mixed experiences with the Christian bible. Whether you are bible-curious or concerned about what’s in there, this workshop is for you.

Join UU seminary student AJ Juraska on Sunday, July 14th from 1-3pm in Room 17 to learn tools for understanding the bible from an academic/historical perspective, rather than a “literal” one. You’ll walk away not only knowing more ways to investigate this commonly referenced text, but also feeling more confident in how to approach the Christian bible on your own terms.

Stop Killing Our Climate

by Posted in Uncategorized
Climate Crises/Solutions meeting. with Bob and Victoria, Sunday, July 2nd in Howson Hall at 6:30 pm for  pot luck & 7 pm for the meeting. MAKE A DIFFERENCE & HAVE FUN
 
As we look at transitioning Green Sanctuary Leadership we must examine what we have been working on and how to go forward. 
    Burning fossil fuels produce CO2 and other gases that trap the heat over us like a green house.  Harvard/UT study. 
 
Here are our primary working projects: Stop Killing our Climate/all life:
 
1. Replace Austin Energy’s new fossil fuel burning gas plant proposal with the The Community Plan created by energy savvy volunteer Austin Community Members and voted unanimous approval by the  city Electric Utility Commission.
Our role: We are part of a city wide team that is promoting The Community Plan to our community and City Council.
 
 
2. Close, cleanup and replace the coal burning Fayettee Power Plant with battery storage and clean renewable energy generation. 
Our role: We are part of a long standing community team that continues to keep this issue in the City Council and community group’s focus.  See more about closing down Austin Coal Plant.
 
3. Climate Actions:
 
A. Increase Climate awareness and promote practical actions: Continue to host/promote Bob & Victoria’s WHAT YOU CAN DO monthly Climate Crises/ Solutions Mtgs and follow up actions. 

B.  Encourage and support our church participation in preparing for the National UUA Climate Revival-August/September. Church Members/staff are attending UUA free trainings on getting ready to rollout the Climate Revival activities.
 
C.  Support Bob Hendrick’s continued Leadership and organizing around the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) share availability of those financial resources with our congregants and community to lower their carbon footprint/electric bill.
 
4.  Watch dog the attempts to overcome (appeal) the court decision to not allow high level nuclear waste be shipped by train and dumped in West Texas near the Ogallala Aquifer. 
 
 
 
More good climate news from: talkingclimatenewsletter@outlook.com
“The climate and biodiversity crises are bigger than any one of us. The only way we can create a better world fast enough is to work together – and stay informed. The good news is there are many ways that you can help. I challenge you to bring people along with you on this journey.

  1. Stay Curious – if a headline seems too good or too bad to be true, look further.
  2. Counter the Narrative – be willing to wade into the difficult conversations because, as Katharine says so frequently, talking about these crises is one of the most important things you can do.
  3. Ask Hard Questions of your community leaders and the businesses that you support – how are they showing up for climate and for nature and for people?
We have years, not decades, to solve these crises; but I’m confident that, together, we can find a way.” 
 
We will keep you posted as New Leadership for Green Sanctuary Ministry emerges. Contact Rev. Chris if your interested.
 
Beki & Richard Green Sanctuary Ministry green@austinuu.org         
“Together We Nourish Souls, Transform Lives & Do Justice to build the Beloved Community”  

Denominational Connections

by Posted in Uncategorized

Denominational Connections

 

The UUA General Assembly was held from June 20 – 23. GA is the annual gathering where UUs gather to worship, celebrate, and make decisions.  This year GA was completely virtual.  

At this year’s General Assembly delegates debated revising Article II of the UUA bylaws, which outlines our UU values and sources.  The revision passed with a strong 80.2% positive vote.  Delegates also adopted a business resolution “Embracing Transgender, Nonbinary, Intersex and Gender Diverse People is a Fundamental Expression of UU Religious Values.”  Three Actions of Immediate Witnesses were approved, addressing climate change, support for Palestinians, and responses to epidemics.  

More information is available on the Article II revision and the three Actions of Immediate Witness.

For 2025, General Assembly will be held in Baltimore, MD, and virtually. Contact David Overton at denom@austinuu.org if you would like more information about General Assembly.  

A Quest for Freedom

by Posted in Audio available, Guest Speakers, Sermons

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Addae Ama Kraba
June 16, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

Whatever way we choose to become indebted economically, thereby chaining ourselves to a workforce that we hate out of necessity is a personal choice of imprisonment. However, true freedom is a natural right that every human being is born with.

Chalice Lighting

At times our own light goes out and is redindled by a spark of another person. Each of us has couse to think with great gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

Call to Worship

ETERNAL MYSTERY
Carol Meyer

May we open ourselves ever more fully to that Eternal Mystery which lures us onward toward life and creativity.

May we find the courage to live our faith, to speak our truth, and to strive together for a world where freedom abounds and justice truly does roll down like water.

May we know the fullness of love without fear, and the serenity of peace without turmoil. May we hold one another in the deep and tender places with compassion, and may we grace one another by sharing our own vulnerabilities, being ever mindful of the divinity within that makes soulmates of us all.

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

THESE WORDS

These words are dedicated to those who survived,
Because they refused to give up and defied statistics.
Because they had faith and trusted in the holy,
Because the expected the worst and were always prepared,
Because they were angry,
Because they could act,
Because they endured humiliation,
Because they turned the other cheek,
Because they looked the other way.

These words are dedicated to those who survived,
Because life is a struggle and they struggled.
Because life is an awakening and they were alert.
Because life is a flowering and they blossomed.
Because life is a gift and they were free to accept it.

These words are dedicated to those who survived.

Sermon

Text of this sermon is not yet available.

Extinguishing the Chalice

We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.

Benediction

As you go out into the world
in the face of hate,
in the face of exclusion,
in the face of homophobia,
let us answer the call to love.

In the face of racism,
in the face of misogyny,
in the face of bigotry,
we answer the call of open-mindedness.
we answer the call of hope.

As Unitarian Universalists,
now more than ever,
we answer the call to love.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 24 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776

Green Sanctuary update Friday, June 14, 2024

by Posted in Uncategorized

Hi Earth Ship Partners,

If you know Seniors who are vulnerable to these Historic Heat levels there are lots of resources presented in last week’s newsletter.   Go there and check them out. Lots of ways to help Seniors.

and


“Women leading on climate, senior citizens at risk, and more climate voices to follow


Last week, my newsletter focused on the risks of extreme heat around the world, and how to stay safe: but I could write about this every week. The US National Weather Service just introduced a new Heat Risk forecast map showing where people will face dangerous levels of heat. The entire southern US, from California to Florida, is baking in yet another early-season heatwave, with Phoenix, AZ setting a new daily high of 112F (44C) last Thursday.

I also mentioned last week how heat disproportionately affects elderly people—and this new article goes into depth on exactly why that is.” more @ talkingclimatenewsletter@outlook.com

and

Hello! Wouldn’t it be cool if the world’s wealthiest companies — you know, the ones worth trillions of dollars — paid the bill for the shiny new technologies needed to achieve 24/7 clean power? Sigh. What a nice, idealistic dream. hello@canarymedia.com

 

Important Announcements:

Talks are underway with Austin Energy (AE) to replace AE’s proposed fossil fuel new gas plant with a renewables-based community plan. We will keep you posted. Come to or zoom into the next Climate Crises/solutions meeting @church.

July 2, 6:30-8PM, Next Climate Crises/Solutions mtg at Howson Hall. 6:30 potluck, 7 PM MTG. begins. Ping Bob for zoom link, roberthhendricks@aol.com, or join us in person.

The Unitarian Universalist Church (UUA) is about to take up the Climate Crisis with real actions at a grassroots level, here at our church, churches across the USA, and at the National office. The plan is already put together. Trainings are beginning now. Go to : https://www.uuclimatejustice.org/sponsorship and FAQ’s here.  Let Chris know you want to help out chris.jimmerson@austinuu.org

As previously mentioned, after 15 years as Green Sanctuary Ministry (GSM) Co-Chairs, Beki and I are retiring. If you are interested in Chairing Green Sanctuary Ministry and or managing the upcoming Climate Revival (much of the work is scripted to make it easy) Please let Chris know you’re interested.
It is a blessing to work with all of you on this Environmental Justice initiative to save our Home Planet.

Big THANKS to all Inside Books donors. The Spanish/English dictionaries were lifesavers!

Beki & Richard Halpin, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, Green Sanctuary Ministry
green@austinuu.org.

July for Justice

by Posted in July for Justice, Reproductive Justice

During July 2024, we are offering a series of events to learn, give, share, and take action in the fight for reproductive justice.  There are both in-person and on-line activities to choose from, and childcare is available.  All events are free, although donations are accepted to support our community partners.  Click on items below for more information.

  1. July for Justice Poster
  2. July for Justice Calendar
  3. Educational Workshops
  4. Film Screening
  5. Anti-Abortion Center training and action
  6. Special Worship Service Sunday July 21
  7. Black Mamas ATX Community Partner donations

Lessons from Chalice Camp

by Posted in Audio available, Chris Jimmerson, Kelly Stokes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Chris Jimmerson and Kelly Stokes with Chalice Campers
June 9, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

This week we hosted Chalice Camp, a summer day camp exploring UU history, theology, values, and traditions. During worship this Sunday, the campers and counselors will be sharing some of the songs and stories from camp. Join us for this youthful – and very joyful – worship service.

Chalice Lighting

We are Unitarian Universalists,
now we light our chalice.
We are the church of the open minds,
we are the church of the listening ears,
we are the church of the loving hearts
and helping hands.

Call to Worship

It’s a blessing each one of us was born.
It matters what we do with our lives.

What each of us knows about god is a piece of the truth.
We don’t have to do it alone.

– Sheri Prud’homme and Laila Ibrahim.

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

LET THIS BE A HOUSE OF PEACE
by Jim Scott

Let this be a house of peace.
Let this be our house of peace.

Let this be a house of peace,
Of nature and humanity,
of sorrow and elation,
Let this be our house,
A haven for the healing,
An open room for question,
and our inspiration.

Let this be a house of peace.
Let this be our house of peace.

Let this be a house of freedom;
Guardian of dignity
and worth held deep inside us,
Let this be our house,
A platform for the free voice,
Where all our sacred differences
here shall not divide us.

Let this be a house of peace.
Let this be our house of peace.

Let all in this house seek truth,
Where scientists and mystics,
abide in reverence here,
Let this be our house,
A house of our creation,
Where works of art and melodies
consecrate the atmosphere.

Let this be a house of peace.
Let this be our house of peace.

Let this be a house of prophecy,
May vision, for our children
Be our common theme.
Let this be our house
Of myth and lore and legend,
Our trove of ancient story,
and cradle of most tender dreams.

Let this be a house of peace.
Let this be our house of peace.

Let this be a house of peace.
Let this be our house of peace.

Sermon

Every day this week, the counselors acted out a play for the campers about our UU history. Today we are sharing two of these. In these stories, we see how UU’s in the past have helped others.

On Tuesday, we talked about how it matters what we do, and we sang this chant.

 

We’re UUs and we’re here to say,
we’re making a difference in many ways;
some are big and some are small,
but they make a difference
for one and all.

 

CHALICE CAMP THEATER

SCENE 1: Classroom

NARRATOR: You see before you a classroom at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Anywhere. The teacher and children have just finished lighting the chalice when Miguel asks a question.

MIGUEL: So now do we get to learn how Unitarians and Universalists became one church?

NARRATOR: Not yet. We have another tale to learn. This one is about the chalice. For this we must go back to the 1940’s during World War II.

STORY OF OUR THE FLAMING CHALICE

SCENE 2: Nazi Border

NARRATOR: You see before you a group of Jewish refugees escaping from Eastern Europe due to the Nazi occupation. They come upon a border patrol.

GUARDS: Stop. You may not cross unless you have papers.

REFUGEES: We are going to Lisbon. Here are our papers.

GUARD 1: What is this?

REFUGEE 1: These are papers from the Unitarian Service Committee in America. They are expecting us.

GUARD 1: (speaking to Guard 2) I’ve never seen this seal before, but it looks official.

GUARD 2: Yes, let them through.

GUARD 1: You may pass.

NARRATOR: The refugees went on to Lisbon where they were helped by the Unitarian Service Committee.

UNITARIANS AND UNIVERSALISTS WORK TOGETHER AND UNITE

A few years later, after the war was over, people in Europe did not have enough food, blankets or clothing. The Unitarian Service Committee worked to send supplies from the United States to people in Europe.

Members of Unitarian and Universalist churches packed up goods such as food, blankets and medicine to be sent to Europe. Like this Universalist family from Maine:

SCENE 3: Universalist family home

CHILD: What are you doing?

PARENT: Packing up a box of goods to be sent to Europe. The people there need food, blankets and medicine .

CHILD: But the war is over.

PARENT: It will be awhile before the people there have all that they need.

CHILD: How will it get there?

PARENT: It will be sent by the USC – the Unitarian Service Committee.

CHILD: But aren’t we Universalists, not Unitarians?

PARENT: Our two churches are working together on this project. We have a lot in common with the Unitarians. Here, Becky, help me draw this symbol – it’s called a Flaming Chalice.

CHILD: Why are we drawing this on there?

PARENT: That’s the symbol of the Unitarian Service Committee. They used it during the war on documents which helped refugees leave Europe. When they see the symbol they will know this box contains help.

SCENE 4: (Back to the classroom)

NARRATOR: Thank you guys. Good work on the play.

The Unitarians and Universalists realized that they had much in common. They decided to merge in 1961, becoming one church. Around that same time, the chalice started to be used in churches around the country and now throughout the world. Chalices don’t have to look a particular way. People make them out of clay or wood or metal. Even play-dough. I’ll bet you’ve made chalices in Religious Education.

CHORUS: (singing chalice lighting song)

We are Unitarian Universalists,
now we light our chalice.
We are the church of the open minds,
we are the church of the listening ears,
we are the church of the loving hearts
and helping hands.

NARRATOR: You got it. Now when you go home you can quiz your parents to see if they know the origins of the flaming chalice.

CIVIL RIGHTS LIBERATION MOVEMENTS

NARRATOR: We are going to transport ourselves to three different times that Unitarian Universalists fought for Civil Rights.

Womens’ Suffrage Movement

SCENE 4: (Protest Sign that says “How long must women wait for liberty?” goes up in the air.

UU GROUP: (CHANTING) Voting rights for women. Voting rights for women.

NARRATOR: Women deserve to have a voice in public affairs! Our voices must be heard. It is no longer tolerable that we cannot vote! I say to you all that it is only fair that we be given full emancipation!

UU GROUP: (CHANTING) Voting rights for women. Voting rights for women.

CONSERVATIVE GROUP: (CHANTING) Women at home keep our country strong. Women at home keep our country strong.

UU GROUP: (CHANTING) Voting rights for women. Voting rights for women.

CONSERVATIVE GROUP: (CHANTING) Women at home keep our country strong. Women at home keep our country strong.

UU GROUP: (CHANTING) Voting rights for women. Voting rights for women.

CONSERVATIVE GROUP: (CHANTING) Women at home keep our country strong. Women at home keep our country strong.

UU GROUP: (CHANTING) Voting rights for women. Voting rights for women.

<p

Civil Rights Protest

NARRATOR: All Americans deserve the right to vote.

SCENE 4: Protest 2. (Sign that says “Unitarian Universalists for Voting Rights” goes up in the air.)

NARRATOR: None of us will be free until all of us are free. We stand in support of fellow Americans who are fighting for their right to vote. We join in the struggle with Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. All Americans deserve the right to vote regardless of the color of their skin. The arch of history is long, but it bends toward justice. Civil rights for everyone. Voting rights for everyone.

UU GROUP: (CHANTING) Civil rights for everyone. Civil rights for everyone.

CONSERVATIVE GROUP: (CHANTING) Whites only. Whites only.

UU GROUP: (CHANTING) Civil rights for everyone. Civil rights for everyone.

CONSERVATIVE GROUP: (CHANTING) Whites only. Whites only.

UU GROUP: (CHANTING) Civil rights for everyone. Civil rights for everyone.

Gay Rights Protest

SCENE 5: Protest 3. A sign goes up that says: “Civil Marriage is a civil right.”

NARRATOR: Same-sex couples don’t get the same rights and responsibilities as our straight friends. We have been granted a separate and unequal status. We are second-class citizens. This is wrong. This is un- American. This is not an example of our nation living up to its highest ideals. This must end. Civil marriage is a civil right.

UU GROUP: (CHANTING) Civil Marriage is a civil right. Civil Marriage is a civil right.

CONSERVATIVE GROUP: (CHANTING) Defend traditional marriage. Defend traditional marriage.

UU GROUP: (CHANTING) Civil Marriage is a civil right. Civil Marriage is a civil right.

CONSERVATIVE GROUP: (CHANTING) Defend traditional marriage. Defend traditional marriage.

UU GROUP: Civil Marriage is a civil right. Civil Marriage is a civil right.

NARRATOR: Great job you guys. Come sit down. Let’s talk about this. It is so hard to believe that women couldn’t even vote.

ALL: Yeah!! Maybe in 100 years people will think that about gay marriage.

NARRATOR: So what did all those protests have in common?

They were fighting for people’s rights.

They were making our country better and more fair.

Even people who had those rights were fighting for other groups to get those rights.

NARRATOR: You guys nailed it. Those were the three ideas I wanted you to learn:

1) They were fighting for people’s rights;
2) They were insisting our country live up to its best ideals;
3) Even people who already had those rights were fighting for those groups to get those rights.

And the reason that we are talking about this in church is that Unitarians, and Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists were involved in every one of those liberation movements. That is something to be proud of. Our religion asks us to make a difference in this world.

NARRATOR: That concludes Chalice Camp Theater. (Performers bow.)

Extinguishing the Chalice

Let us remember that each of us is a blessing, that it matters what we do, and that we are not alone, until we light this flame next time.

Benediction

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
Ev’rywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine.
Building up a world, I’m gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Go in peace.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 24 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776

</p

Staying Cool in the Summer Heat

by Posted in Uncategorized

 

Hello all Earth Ship travelers,

It’s a wonderfully 78 degrees cool at our casa this Wednesday morning, June 5th and forecasted to be back up in the 90’s or 100’s the rest of this week. This week will be a fine time to reach out to our friends, family and church Members who may be heat vulnerable. You never know who may be heat suffering in silence in their apartment or home. 
 
Here is a link to a hub for Elder Care services in case you find someone who needs assistance in these hot days: Aging Services Hub for Older Adults in Austin | AustinTexas.gov after the two words “in Austin” there is a down pointed arrow you can click on then “open link” to reach this service HUB. DON’T WAIT. If you find someone who needs elder help check them out. Also, Family Eldercare has fans and lots of health related resources you may find useful.
 
For extra Heat info for you from Texas Climate Scientist Mom, contact talkingclimatenewsletter@outlook.com
 
“My friend Patricia Solis is a geographer who studies resilience and helps people prepare for climate-induced disasters. Not long after she arrived at Arizona State University (ASU), she was working with community members to map heat-related deaths in the city and noticed a peculiar hot spot. “Why would death rates be clustered there?” she wondered. “It must be a data error.”
 
She says, “In this era of climate change we need everyone to be prepared and be able to adapt their own homes. This work will prevent barriers for some of the most vulnerable people to keep themselves cool.” To paraphrase anthropologist Margaret Mead’s famous quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change their community.”
 
Speaking of heating up our climate by burning fossil fuels:  Remember we have two proposals for Austin’s Generation and Climate Protection Plan   This is our cities energy plan for the next 5 years. Austin Energy (AE) has a proposal for Council that includes a gas power plant. Our Community (1st time in the last decade) was excluded from AE’s design process. Our Community rallied with knowledgeable willing Austin Climate Community leaders who have produced a fossil fuel free 5 year plan. This was reviewed & voted on and  recommended by the City Electric Utility Commission (EUC) to Council as the preferred 5 year plan for Austin.
 
Council asked the two groups to work together for a final plan. AE has hired a consultant who has designed community workshops on the Austin Generation and Climate protection Plan but only a small group of community folks will be invited & allowed to speak. You can help: Send a note to the Mayor and Council like:  
 
‘Dear Mayor and Council Members, Please make sure Austinites will have at least 3 minutes each to speak to this critical issue of our Austin Generation and Climate protection Plan. I’ve heard the community is not allowed to speak only AE preselected folks’. Check out Austin City Council Contact Information.
 
Visit AustinTexas.gov for city heat care info for people and dogs. Open link by clicking down arrow after ‘gov’ then scroll down  Austin City Council.
 
Together we can and must save our Earth Ship!
 
Beki & Richard Halpin, 
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, Green Sanctuary Ministry 

“Together, we nourish souls, transform lives, and do  justice to build the Beloved   Community”
 
 
 

2024 Flower Communion

by Posted in Audio available, Chris Jimmerson, Michelle LaGrave, Sermons

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Chris Jimmerson and Michelle LeGrave
June 2, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

This Sunday we will hold our annual Flower Communion Service. Please join us for this much-loved Unitarian Universalist ritual exchange of flowers. During the service you will have the opportunity to add your flower(s) to large bouquets we will create in the sanctuary and to take a different flower with you, symbolizing both the unique, sacred beauty of each of us and the even greater beauty we create when we share that sacred uniqueness with one another.

Chalice Lighting

This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.

Call to Worship

“You who have an eye for miracles regard the bud now appearing on the bare branch of the fragile young tree. It’s a mere dot, a nothing. But already it’s a flower, already a fruit, already its own death and resurrection.”

– Diego Valeri

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

FLOWER COMMUNION
Lynn Unger

What a gathering-the purple
tongues of iris licking out
at spikes of lupine, the orange
crepe skirts of poppies lifting
over buttercup and daisy.
Who can be grim
in the face of such abundance?
There is nothing to compare,
no need for beauty to compete.
The voluptuous rhododendron
and the plain grass
are equally filled with themselves,
equally declare the miracles
of color and form.
This is what community looks like-
this vibrant jostle, stem by stem
declaring the marvelous joining.
This is the face of communion,
the incarnation once more
gracefully resurrected from winter.
Hold these things together
in your sight-purple, crimson,
magenta, blue. You will
be feasting on this long after
the flowers are gone.

Sermon

On June 4, 1923, Rev. Norbert Capek, the minister of Prague Liberal Religious Fellowship, a Unitarian church, created what has become our flower communion.

Rev. Capek needed a symbolic ritual that would bind people together as they faced the impending threats from Nazism in neighboring Germany ..

Capek turned to the beauty of the surrounding countryside and created a communion where congregants would bring flowers from their gardens, fields or the roadside and share them with one another – symbolizing that just as no two flowers are exactly alike, so each of us has an inherent and unique beauty.

Capek’s wife, Maja, also an ordained minister, came to the United States in 1940 and introduced the ritual to U.S. Unitarians while she was here.

Unfortunately, she was unable to return to Prague at the time, because World War II had broken out.

It was only after the war that she learned that the Nazi’s had sent Capek to a concentration camp.

However, even in the concentration camp, he held a flower ceremony with his fellow prisoners, using whatever flowering weeds they could find, testifying to a love larger than themselves and that would outlive them – a ritual we still practice today – a ritual still symbolizing both the unique, sacred beauty of each of us and the even greater beauty we create when we share that sacred uniqueness with one another.

Extinguishing the Chalice

We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.

Benediction

As we go out into our world now, let us continue to share our unique gifts.

May we flourish and flower in communion with one another and all that is.

May we bring one another and our world delight.

May the congregation say, “Amen” and “Blessed Be”.

Go in peace.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 24 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776

Climate Protection

by Posted in Uncategorized
Hi Earth Champion,
 
The UUA General Assembly will happen (zoom) in June. If you attend will you check out any info they make available for us to know more about this climate and how we want to participate?
 
The critical global Climate crises is about to be taken up by our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) in a “National Revival” rooted in our UU Churches across the US National Climate Revival.
 
We have this Summer to get our heads and hearts around this great opportunity. Summer events: Sermon, music, art, contest, RE curriculum and more are being planned for this Summer. Big kickoff planned for September. See what workshops may be happening now.
 
 
Update
We still have a chance to urge our City Council to:
  1.  Decide that our new Climate Protection and Generation Plan will be the fossil free community plan vs. AE’s plan that includes a new gas plant. Come August we will need to begin actions for September votes.
  2. Closing, cleaning up and replacing the deadly generation at the Fayette Power Plant (FPP). Actions on this will pick up again in late Summer/ early Fall. View this Harvard study on how coal power.
 
Climate Mom, Catharine Hayhoe, talkingclimatenewsletter@outlook.com share her good & bad climate news for free. check out, Dr. Joellen Russell: Oceanographer & Science Mom. Joellen grew up in a fishing village north of the Arctic Circle by the Chukchi Sea. As a child, she grew curious about what happened to the sea ice at the end of each winter: so she decided to study it!

 

Meeting Dates:

  1. IRA FastTrack Monthly Meeting Tuesday, June 25, 2024 from 7pm – 8pm (CDT)
    This meeting will be on Zoom.

  2. Climate Crises/Solutions meeting is next is Tuesday, July 2nd. The potluck will begin at 6:30 pm and meeting will start at 7 pm in Howson Hall. 
 
Beki & Richard Halpin, Green Sanctuary Ministry 
512-658-2599 or 512-917-6018
 

UNWOUND SOUND presents: ELECTRONIC THROWDOWN

by Posted in Uncategorized

 

 

Unwound Sound presents a multimedia evening by cutting-edge composers Anuj Bhutani (Los Angeles) and Albert Yeh (San Francisco). The program features Bhutani’s performance of his electronic song cycle manu whilst Yeh evokes cinematic sonics from his innovative Motors/Pulses album. The composers will also join forces on a collaborative work with Unwound Sound artistic director, Brent Baldwin.

A freewill offering will be gratefully accepted, the proceeds of which will support the Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry. TUUJM works to bend Texas toward justice  and equity for all.

About Our Guests:

ANUJ BHUTANI is an emerging composer/performer who crafts genre-fluid music with narrative depth. Since 2020, he has won an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning Grant, 1st Prize in Cerddorion Vocal Ensemble’s Emerging Composer Competition, and Verdigris Ensemble’s ION Composer Competition. Bhutani has been selected for the American Composer’s Orchestra’s Earshot, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and residencies at Avaloch Farm Music Institute and Atlantic Center for the Arts (twice). His music has been commissioned and performed by Ashley Bathgate, Metropolis Ensemble, and more. 
Anuj earned his master’s degree from University of Southern California and his bachelor’s from University of North Texas. His primary teachers have included Andrew Norman, Ted Hearne, Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother), Joseph Klein, Andrew May, Sungji Hong, Drew Schnurr, and Bruce Broughton. 

ALBERT YEH is a performer and composer from San Francisco who makes experimental electronic music. His sonic palette combines diverse influences ranging from the Western musical canon, electronic/electroacoustic genres, and progressive rock. Albert’s solo work is currently focused on examining the intersection between musical procedures and processes, as well as the meeting points between emotional states and qualities. Albert is involved in various musical projects, including the experimental metal bands Lotus Thief, Forlesen, and Wreche, and the chamber music group Insight Chamber Players.

About the Presenter:
UNWOUND SOUND is a forward-reaching arts presenting organization and performing ensemble created by award-winning composer/director/multi-instrumentalist Brent Baldwin. U/S draws upon Baldwin’s extensive collaborative work across all artistic disciplines and genres, promoting a diverse roster of audacious artists while supporting progressive non-profit organizations in Central Texas. In February 2024, U/S performed its sold-out Indie Orchestra series in partnership with KUTX, Austin PBS, and the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.

2024 Youth Sunday

by Posted in Audio available, Guest Speakers, Sermons

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

First UU’s High School Youth Group
May 26, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

This Sunday, our High School Youth Group will take us on a journey of coming of age in the twenty-first century. The youth will share music and readings that have resonated with them this year, along with very real and sometimes challenging stories and reflections on mental health, being a teen, and being a UU.

Chalice Lighting

ELEVEN
Sandra Cisneros

“What they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when you wake up on your eleventh birthday, you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t. You open your eyes, and everything’s just like yesterday, only it’s today. And you don’t feel eleven at all. You feel like you’re still ten. And you are – underneath the year that makes you eleven.

Like some days, you might say something stupid, and that’s the part of you that’s still ten. Or maybe some days you might need to sit on your mama’s lap because you’re scared, and that’s the part of you that’s five. And maybe one day when you’re all grown up maybe you will need to cry like if you’re three, and that’s okay. That’s what I tell Mama when she’s sad and needs to cry. Maybe she’s feeling three.

Because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk or like my little wooden dolls that fit one inside the other, each year inside the next one…”

Call to Worship

What connects us all is bagels and coffee and talking in Howson Hall after service.

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

BELONGING
Toko-pa Turner

For the rebels and the misfits, the black sheep and the outsiders. For the refugees, the orphans, the scapegoats, and the weirdos. For the uprooted, the abandoned, the shunned and invisible ones.

May you recognize with increasing vividness that you know what you know.

May you give up your allegiances to self-doubt, meekness, and hesitation.

May you be willing to be unlikeable, and in the process be utterly loved.

May you be impervious to the wrongful projections of others, and may you deliver your disagreements with precision and grace.

May you see, with the consummate clarity of nature moving through you, that your voice is not only necessary, but desperately needed to sing us out of this muddle.

May you feel shored up, supported, entwined, and reassured as you offer yourself and your gifts to the world.

May you know for certain that even as you stand by yourself, you are not alone.

Sermon

Homily 1: Pheonix Holley-Hurt

Homily 2: Adlai Parry

Homily 3: E.B. Parry

Homily 4: Isaac Braman-Ray

Extinguishing the Chalice

We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.

Benediction

THE COMPETITION
Kimya Dawson

I got good at feeling bad and that’s why I’m still here.

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 24 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776

The Force of Possibility

by Posted in Audio available, Guest Speakers, Michelle LaGrave, Sermons

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Michelle LaGrave
and Casandra Ryan, VP of the UU Service Committee
May 19, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

From fighting for climate justice in the South Pacific, to assisting refugees in Ukraine, supporting migrants in Central America, and helping rebuild civil society in Haiti, please join us to learn about UUSC’s work around the world and how UU’s are partnering to promote peace, justice, and global solidarity.

Chalice Lighting

This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth that we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.

Call to Worship

Our first task in approaching another people,
another culture,
another religion,
is to take off our shoes,
for the place we are approaching is holy,
Else we find ourselves treading on others’ dreams.

– Max Warren, adapted

Affirming Our Mission

Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.

Reading

SUMMONS
by Aurora Levins Morales

Last night I dreamed
ten thousand grandmothers
from the twelve hundred corners of the earth
walked out into the gap
one breath deep
between the bullet and the flesh
between the bomb and the family.
They told me we cannot wait for governments.
There are no peacekeepers boarding planes.
There are no leaders who dare to say
every life is precious,
so it will have to be us.
They said we will cup our hands around each heart.
We will sing the earth’s song,
the song of water,
a song so beautiful that vengeance will turn to weeping,
the mourners will embrace,
and grief replace every impulse toward harm.
Ten thousand is not enough, they said,
so, we have sent this dream, like a flock of doves
into the sleep of the world. Wake up. Put on your shoes.
You who are reading this, I am bringing bandages
and a bag of scented guavas from my trees. I think
I remember the tune. Meet me at the corner.
Let’s go.

Centering and Meditation

This is a prayer for all the travelers.
For the ones who start out in beauty, who fall from grace,
who step gingerly,
looking for the way back.
And for those who are born into the margins,
who travel from one liminal space to another,
crossing boundaries in search of center.

This is a prayer for the ones whose births
are a passing from darkness to darkness,
who all their lives are drawn toward the light,
and for those whose journeys
are a winding road that begins and ends in the same place,
though only when the journey is completed
do they finally know where they are.

For all the travelers, young and old, aching and joyful,
weary and full of life;
the ones who are here, and the ones who are not here;
the ones who are like you (and they’re all like you)
and the ones who are different (for in some ways, we each travel alone).

This is a prayer for traveling mercies,
And surefootedness,
for bread for your body and spirit,
for water,
for your safe arrival
and for everyone you see along the way.

– Angela Herrera

Sermon

THE FORCE OF POSSIBILITY
Casandra Ryan, VP of the UU Service Committee

Hello Friends! It is a joy to be with you on this beautiful day.

Thank you for welcoming me, and thank you to Mary and David Overton, for inviting me to be with you today, and to also be a part of last night’s celebration of legacy giving.

I know that many of us are working in different ways to promote justice in the world and at home – you are working to help your local community and protecting our nation’s democracy-thank you! And I know that there is so much strife and devastation around us, in Ukraine, Palestine and Israel, Central America, and in the U.S. So many important causes that demand our attention.

It’s why I am especially grateful to be with you, to share a bit about some good that is happening.

***

In her 2019 message of support to the youth climate strikers, author, Rebecca Solnit shared some important guidance … she opens her letter with this,

  • I want to say to all the climate strikers today: thank you… for being un- reasonable.
  • Your actions matter, and your power will be felt.
  • Today you are the force of possibility.

 

***

At the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, we are blessed to be in relationship with partners who imagine what is possible. It is this fundamental principle that I believe is needed, for the sake of a world that reflects our commitment to peace, and justice.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share stories of UUSC’s history, and the work we are doing, with our members and our grassroots partners around the globe, and with you.

***

UUSC has always depended on the support and vision of the UU community. And the values of UUSC are at the center of our congregations.

More than a hundred years ago, Lewis Fisher, dean of the Ryder Divinity School in Chicago, famously said, “Universalists are often asked to tell where they stand. The only true answer to give to this question is that we do not stand at all… we move.”

I have the honor to travel around the country visiting UU congregations, and each UU community is so unique. The elements of the service, the configuration of the space, the ambiance; all very different from each other.

However, there is one thing that solidly connects us. At every single gathering, there is a chalice, lit to begin our time of reflection.

It is the chalice itself, the very thing that binds UUs together, that calls us to the work of resisting oppressive systems, such as racism, sexism, and fascism, promoting human rights for all people, and caring for the earth we share.

***

Our chalice was not always the symbol of the Unitarian and Universalist faiths. In 1940, Reverend Charles Rhind Joy was sent by the newly created Unitarian Service Committee, to Lisbon, to aid refugees fleeing the Nazi regime. Dr. Joy worked with Hans Deutsch, an Austrian refugee and artist, to create documents with an official seal to match other travel papers. That seal was the flaming chalice.

It was at this same time when Waitstill and Martha Sharp, were also sent to Europe by the Service Committee-and from these efforts, UUSC was born. If you are interested in learning more about our founding and the Sharps, the terrific Ken Burns documentary, Defying the Nazis, will be shown in this congregation on Wednesday at 6 PM!

***

So, the thing that binds Unitarian Universalists together –the chalice– was founded on our commitment to human rights. Since the founding of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, we have been committed to supporting the work of liberation, even when, and maybe especially when, it involves making trouble for the powers that would deny anyone’s full humanity.

***

UUSC now works with more 30,000 members and over 50 grassroots partners in 20 countries. We galvanize our members to advance Climate Justice, Emergency Response, and the rights of displaced people.

The key to our success is our very dedicated membership and working in close partnership with locally led groups. We invest in these grassroots groups to help them implement their own plans for relief. UUSC engages in the work of human rights through what we call “radical trust.”

Our mission affirms the inherent dignity of all people. We are often the first funder of these partner groups, helping them launch movements for justice and to grow into mighty forces for good.

UUSC partners consistently and stubbornly claim their power and reject the notion that there is little we can do. We are committed to standing with them and helping them achieve their goals-our shared goals.

***

How can we use the power of possibility to imagine action that can lead to different and better futures?

UUSC’s grassroots partners see a better future. Getting to know their work offers us a chance to see new possibilities. Through them, we reach beyond ourselves, to marshal our efforts and resources, to create a new world.

Let’s learn a bit more about the important ways we are all advancing justice:

With our migrant justice work, for example, UUSC focuses on three aspects of the crisis people are experiencing. First on supporting grassroots organizations working so people can remain safely at home, in Honduras and Nicaragua and Guatemala. And providing safety to people migrating along the trails through Mexico, and finally, access to asylum here in the United States.

One of the ways we are supporting access to asylum is in partnership with UU congregations, and other progressive faith communities, to provide support to the congregations as they sponsor and accompany asylum seekers. We are also doing similar work to support trans folks in the United States through the Pink Haven Network, helping them to relocate and resettle in safety and community.

Recently, in another area of work, 27 Pacific Islands Students worked with UUSC to form a group fighting Climate Change. They took their vision from a theoretical law school project to the floor of the United Nations General Assembly, where it was adopted by unanimous consent. UUSC was their first funder and, we were able to connect them with even larger funders, so that they could become a force for indigenous communities across the globe.

In Haiti, we have launched an emergency response fund to support our partners and people facing extreme violence and immediate threats to their lives. We do this by building upon the deep relationships we have established in the country over the last decade. This work at its core is all about relationships.

UUSC partners cannot deny the devastating systems of oppression that order so much of our world. Yet with courage and imagination, they resist.

In this work, we see possibility and courage, in our partners and with UUs across the country. And I love the way that our being a small organization makes BIG, important things possible.

***

A few weeks ago, I returned from a trip to Poland where we visited with partners who are supporting refugees from Ukraine.

One after the other, I found each of our partners, as I always do, to be immensely inspiring and dedicated to their cause.

One group, Toward Dialogue is working with Romani people in Eastern Europe, including Roma refugees from Ukraine, a largely ignored population. The Alliance for Black Justice Poland is a team that fights against the racism that is rampant in Eastern Europe and, among many NGO’s.

We are working with groups to support refugees and combat human trafficking. Martynka is the only group in Poland that exists specifically to protect refugee women from gender-based violence. And sadly, the need is great.

I am humbled by the brilliance and compassion of our partners. And they are so grateful to us and to you, and those who support UUSC. Margo from Toward Dialogue, told us that UUSC is different. We listen, our support is flexible, unrestricted, and long-term.

And I hear this again and again. From UUSC partners all over the world. They tell us that UUSC works differently. Ours is a better model, one that works. All of us together, we are creating possibilities. We are lighting sparks of hope that burst into fire of commitment and justice.

***

In rejecting the notion that there is no other way, and little we can do, aid workers in Poland, the Pacific Students, grassroots groups in Burma, feminist farmers in Nicaragua, water defenders in Honduras, democracy activists in Haiti, are recreating a world where all may flourish and thrive.

It is not always easy to see what is possible.

BUT, what our partners have shared with us, provides me with the hope that we can, and we, in fact, do effect change. Here are just a few more examples from what I have heard from them: Like,

  • Ana Lorena from Mexico City. She is working to reunite lost and displaced people, along the multiple migrant trails that runs through Mexico to the United States, who said that, together, “We are putting Justice on the Move.”
  • And Joseph from the South Pacific, who works with indigenous groups fighting to save their countries and cultures from the ravages of climate change, he boldly declares that “We are not drowning, we are fighting.”
  • Jasmin and Marissa, of LEGIS in Macedonia are supporting refugees from North Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. They shared that where larger aid agencies swoop in and absorb available resources and staff, their relationship with UUSC has transformed the organization, making it stronger so they can aid more refugees and save more lives.
  • Kasia from Poland, she works at the Association for Women’s Rights. Kasia said that she remains hopeful because she knows that where there is injustice, good people will organize.
  • And Juan Antonio, from Honduras – he is one of my favorites. Juan Antonio is a quiet, sweet man, defending human rights defenders from corrupt corporate and government officials who are stealing land and resources, and committing crimes with absolute impunity, exasperating the migration crisis. His life is constantly under threat. He has been wrongfully detained multiple times, and his friends and coworkers have been murdered. Yet he insists that “Hope is the act of defiance I commit each day.”

 

As a staff member of UUSC, it is one of my great privileges to travel to meet these partners and learn about their life-saving work. It is also my privilege to visit congregations, to thank folks in person for their social justice efforts.

I know this congregation is doing so much good both locally and globally. I am grateful to you for standing with UUSC. Though, I am hoping that more of you will join our ranks. A member of this congregation has offered to match donations of new or renewed supporters, up to $2,000!

A gift of any size will make you a member-and all gifts make a difference. To those of you who are supporting UUSC, I thank you.

Whether you are a current member or not, I want you all to be confident that this organization is doing great things in the name of Unitarian Universalism, and that you are a part of that.

The struggle for justice is real. But if you are ever tempted by despair, please remember UUSC and our partners. And know that we can all resist injustice, by joining together.

Together, we are a force of possibility. Thank you.

Extinguishing the Chalice

We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.

Benediction

We have a calling in this world:

We are called to honor diversity,
to respect differences with dignity,
and to challange those who would forbit it.

We are people of a wide path.

Let us abide in affection
and go our way in peace.

– Jean M Rowe

SERMON INDEX

Most sermons during the past 24 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link above to find tables of all sermons for each year listed by date (newest to oldest) with topic and speaker. Click on a topic to go to that sermon.

PODCASTS

Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link above or copying and pasting this link. https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/first-unitarian-universalist/id372427776

The Future of Our Planet

by Posted in Uncategorized
Hi Green Sanctuary Home Planet Champion
 
Our own Texas Climate Scientist Katharine Hayhoe PhD is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and Associate Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas Tech University. Her free newsletter is at talkingclimatenewsletter@outlook.com.
 
Dr Hayhoe shared this science festival (and more) with us. And, Home Planet Champion, the festival host country expedited phase out its last coal fired power plant! We are keeping up our ten year campaign to shut down our own Fayette (Coal Fired deadly*) We need your help. Let us know if this specific closing down this campaign connects for you.
Power Plant. *
 
STARMUS science festival. Co-founded by musician Brian May and astrophysicist Garik Israelian, the festival usually features astronauts and Nobel prize-winners talking about physics and the universe. This year, though, the festival was titled “The Future Of Our Home Planet” and included talks by Ukrainian climate scientist Svitlana Krakovska, paleoclimatologist Mo Raymo, environmental economist Nate Keohane, marine biologist Sylvia Earle, Animal Scientist, Jane Goodall and many more.
 
This year, the festival was held in Slovakia, a country that just last month phased out its last coal-fired power plant, the Vojany power station in the eastern district of Michalovce. The phase-out was expected to be completed at the end of the decade, but the country pushed forward the deadline to 2024. Slovakia now joins the ranks of other coal-free European countries, a list that includes Austria, Belgium, Portugal, and Sweden. Slovenské elektrárne, the company that owns the shuttered plant, plans to devote the space to a solar park or battery storage in the future.
 
So this critical global Climate crises is about to be taken up by our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) in a National Revival rooted in our UU Churches across the US  click here National Climate Revival . We have this Summer to get our heads and hearts around this great opportunity. Bib kickoff in September.
 
Beki & Richard Halpin,
Green Sanctuary Ministry 
512-658-2599 or 512-917-6018