Trans Hostile States/Safe States Training with
Transforming Hearts Collective and UUSC

On Sunday, September 15th from 12:30- 1:30 p.m., we will watch a Ted Talk by Katherine Hayhoe. We’ll briefly present the five barriers to thinking about the climate crisis, and how to talk about climate to breach them. We’ll present a few additional tips from Katherine Hayhoe’s latest book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. And we’ll talk about all of this.

We’ll have a light lunch. Join us.

Those of us who appreciate how vital solving our climate crisis is must talk about the climate, and talk about the climate in the right way. Katherine Hayhoe, climate scientist and communicator, argues that this is “the most important thing you can do for the climate is talk about it.”

Yale Climate Communications surveys show that fewer than 25% of Americans hear anything about climate change once a week or more. Psychologist Per Epsen Stoknes summarizes research into five barriers the brain builds up to avoid thinking about climate change, and how to overcome them. Although most people report that they know climate change is real and needs action, it is not in the top ten priorities of most people. This allows many politicians to feel they can continue to cater to their big donors in oil and gas and do little or nothing to stop the climate crisis we’re in.

During the long fight to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the greatest climate action bill ever passed, the climate movement generated hundreds of thousands of messages to Congress. It barely passed, but pass it did, although it was declared totally dead three times.

So folks, talk more about the climate crisis. Out descendants will thank you

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.

Rev. Michelle LaGrave
September 8, 2024
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org

What does it mean to belong? How might we support ourselves and each other in cultivating a sense of belonging? Why is belonging important to building the beloved community?

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

A PLACE OF BELONGING AND CARING
by Kimberlee Tomczak Carlson

It is not by chance that you arrived here today.

You have been looking for something larger than yourself.
Inside of you there is a yearning, a calling, a hope for more,
A desire for a place of belonging and caring.

Through your struggles, someone nurtured you into being,
Instilling a belief in a shared purpose, a common yet precIous resource
That belongs to all of us when we share.

And so, you began seeking a beloved community:

A people that does not put fences around love.
A community that holds its arms open to possibilities of love.
A heart-home to nourish your soul and share your gifts.

Welcome home; welcome to worship.

Affirming Our Mission

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

Reading

BELONGING
– Brené Brown

We’re wired for love. We’re hardwired for belonging. It’s in our DNA. But let me tell you what belonging is. The opposite of belonging – from the research – is “fitting in.” That’s the opposite of a lot.

Fitting-in is assessing and acclimating. “Here’s what I should say. Here’s what I shouldn’t say. Here’s what I should avoid talking about. Here’s what I should dress like, look like.” That’s fitting in.

Belonging is belonging to yourself first. Speaking your truth, telling your story and never betraying yourself for people. True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are. It requires you to BE who yau are, and that’s vulnerable.

Sermon

On this day, when so many of our hearts are heavy, I offer you this invitation – to listen. Not with your ears, but with your hearts. To open your hearts to the possibility of change, the possibility of Love, the possibility of beloved community. This is an invitation to the possibility of belonging.

Belonging. Belonging to a family, a group, a community is essential to our ability as humans to thrive, to grow, to develop, to change, to transform. From the time of our birth, belonging is essential to both our physical and mental health. We belong to and with those who raise us, care for us, and teach us. Our very survival is based on interdependence with a group of humans, made up partly of family, biological or chosen, as well as a larger community of people who cooperate in growing and preparing our food, teaching us essential knowledge and skills, and caring for our health. We cannot survive as fully independent humans.

Independence is, at its core, a myth. We must belong. Somewhere, somehow, we must belong.

While belonging is essential to our basic, short-term survival as individuals, as a collective, humans aspire to more than basic survival. We are driven to grow, develop, and change. These abilities are essential to our survival as a species. And for these, too, belonging is also essential. To thrive, as a species, and as individuals, we must belong. We belong to families, groups of friends, classrooms, interest groups, congregations, neighborhoods, ethnic groups, faith traditions, towns, schools, clubs, and much more. At least, we might. The possibility, as well as the necessity, of belonging exists. If, or when, we don’t belong we feel excluded and trouble brews.

Not belonging leads to feelings of loneliness and isolation. And not much that is good comes from loneliness or isolation. These are to be avoided, if at all possible. Today, you are all here. Either in person or online. And so the possibility of belonging exists for you, right now, right here, in this moment. The possibility of belonging to a spiritual community, a faith tradition, yourself exists right now. You are invited to belong.

This congregation’s mission, its purpose, is to build beloved community. Beloved community probably means many things to many different people. It was first clearly articulated by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr during the civil rights movement. Beloved community in that context is a lot about social justice, especially economic justice and so it is already a lot about belonging, about the possibility and promise for all people to not only survive but also thrive.

Building beloved community here, in this congregation, is partly about how if we can learn to do it well here, we can learn to do it well out there, in the wider world.

That doesn’t mean we aren’t actively working on doing justice out there, in the wider world, at the same time. We’re doing both. I’d like to suggest that building beloved community is also about building connection; getting and staying connected to each other. We cannot cooperate in a group endeavor to survive and thrive if we do not know each other and if we are not connected to each other. Beloved community is about being known, loved, cared for, and by, and connected to each other. Building beloved community is about working to minimize those all-too-common feelings of isolation and loneliness. And so, building beloved community requires us to show up as our authentic selves and to support and encourage each other in doing the same.

You are invited to belong. You are invited to belong to yourself. You are invited to belong to this beloved community.

So let’s pretend, for a moment, that you’ve said yes, yes to belonging. How does one go about the process of belonging? There are three key components: to show up as your authentic self, to support and encourage others to do the same, and to allow for the possibility of change, maybe even transformation.

1. That’s show up, yourself;
2. encourage others to show up, themselves;
3. and be open to change.

1. Show up as your authentic self

• Be true to yourself (don’t betray yourself in terms of who you are) Don’t try to “fit in”. Church is not a personality or a popularity contest. Neither is beloved community.
• Be vulnerable (sharing your authentic self, your thoughts and feelings, your lived experiences is how people build trust with each other.)
• If we limit the ways in which we share our authentic selves, our experience of beloved community will also be limited.

2. Support and encourage others in showing up as their authentic selves.

• Be curious about other people, be open to learning about each other, about how we experience similar life events differently. e.g. my grief might be different from yours, even though we both lost a child or a parent or a spouse; my job loss might have additional layers of trauma due to systemic oppression. This one is all about gentle, warm, open, non-judgmental curiosity.
• If we limit the ways other people show up as their authentic selves, if we pressure them to try to fit into our own boxes, our own ways, then their and our experience of beloved community will also be limited.

3. Be willing to be changed by what you learn about yourselves and each other.

• This one is not about changing who you are, or trying to fit in, but about
• knowing yourself and growing into more of who you are
• This one is about making room for possibility, for change, for transformation. It is about being open to changing the way we do things and not only accepting, but also supporting and encouraging each other in doing things differently. There is no one right way. There is no one right path.
• More about this one next week.

How? What this congregation is already doing:

• Small group ministry (Chalice Circles, Wellspring)
• First UU Cares (including new Caring Companions ministry)
• Grief group, soon to come Caregivers Group
• Religious Education for all ages – including ways to reflect on our own experiences and ways of being in the world, and to change
• Working together to create a healthier environment for people to share, to be vulnerable, through shared Healthy Relations Covenant, Healthy Relations Team, shared values, etc.
• And so many other ways…

As a Gen X’er (which you’ll hear more about next week), I have a healthy dose of cynicism and idealism. And as a minister, that is extra true. I am realistic. I know what the world is. And I believe a better world is possible. In the meantime, I live in a world that could be but is not yet.

What I’m saying is that I know, I know that building beloved community is hard work. I’m not naive. And I know that showing up as our true selves is also hard work. Being vulnerable is the most courageous thing we can do because it is a choice. Unlike other situations in which courage is so often lauded, when our bodies react to extreme situations by going into fight, flight, or freeze mode, being true to ourselves, showing up as our authentic selves is a choice. A courageous choice. Beloved Community, and all that it entails is possible. Belonging is possible. You are invited to belong. Will you join me?

Amen and Blessed Be.

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

All of you, each and every one of you, is Loved.
You are loved in all of your strengths and might and challenges, and mistakes, and imperfections, and foibles, and plain old quirks.
You are Loved, wholeheartedly and unquestionably as your real, true, authentic self.
Go forth knowing that you are loved.
Go forth knowing that you are blessed.
Amen and Blessed Be.

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 Only Guaranteed Things in Life…are death and taxes.

We are honored to have church member Liz Nielsen, Founder of Nielsen Law and estate planning attorney, share wisdom and best practices around getting one’s affairs in order in advance, so that one’s wishes may be carried out as fully as possible. She will also discuss some tax efficient charitable giving techniques.

Please join us on Sunday, November 3, from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. in Room 13A. Register here!

1st UU has really stepped up. We estimate that 1st UU members have written about 3,000 postcards and counting. 3,000! Utterly amazing.

This Citizens Climate Lobby Postcard Project is sending postcards to registered voters who do not regularly vote, who have a score indicating they care about the Climate Crisis, and who live in a district with a competitive U.S. House or Texas State Legislature race. We also have read studies with a control group which show that, to reach a large number of voters to go vote, postcard writing is the most effective method. Those same studies discovered what should go on the postcards and when to send them for the greatest effect. They tested dozens of different messages. We strongly feel that your time writing these postcards is well spent. We also think that voters who care about the climate will also care about other social justice causes and will vote for people more in accordance with UU values.

We’re holding a Postcard Writing Party from 1-2 p.m. at Howson Hall this Sunday, September 8th. We’ll have light lunch eats and music. We’ll ask writers to suggest one of their favorite songs, and play all we can during the party. If you prefer to pick up postcards and write them at home, the more power to you. But those of you who might enjoy writing in community, please come. And leave with a song in your heart.

Intersections, any social justice fight is a fight for climate justice

Climate change hurts us all. We all suffer from wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, etc. But generally, people who are oppressed or discriminated against suffer the most. They live in flood prone areas, next to fossil fuel plants that contaminate air and water, in houses that offer less protection. When disaster relief comes, it come first and most to higher income households. As you can see on our climate justice movie night on Tuesday, September 24th, people from poor neighborhoods die from heat waves in much, much larger numbers than those in middle- to upper-class neighborhoods.

One of the areas that cuts most clearly across areas of social justice is Democracy Justice/Voting. If we have more legislators who advocate for social justice, we clearly can get more done. That is why we’re holding a special Postcard Writing Party this week.

We also plan to do a social justice map with some of you. Many of us volunteer to help with many different causes in our fight for social justice. We’re want as many as are willing to place a small magnet on a chart under the type(s) of social justice you fight for. Also remember that many of us have a social justice issue we really fight for, but when needed, we should all be ready to sign a petition, write an email, or make a phone call for the other causes.

We’ll also provide an opportunity for you to sign up with any of the 1 st UU Social Action Committee Pillars: LBJT, Reproductive Justice, Democracy/UU the Vote, Anti-Racism, Immigration, and Climate (Green Sanctuary).

Presentation on “Status of Climate Crisis and What To Do About It

Presentation in Room 13 from 12:30 – 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 1st: “State of the Climate Crisis and What You Can Do About” It by Bob Hendricks.

Bob Hendricks is the top climate volunteer leader for the two largest grassroots climate organizations in Texas, chair of the state Sierra Club ExCom and state coordinator for Citizens Climate Lobby. He has given climate presentations at the national, regional, state, and local levels.

We will quickly note how the situation is worsening despite positive efforts to stop it. We’ll cover the challenge of tipping points which can accelerate global warming and cause irreversible damage. We’ll briefly cover the most important things we can do to stop it, most of which take little time or effort and do not involve significant lifestyle changes. Finally, I’ll summarize how we can help accelerate reducing U.S. carbon pollution through the Inflation Reduction Act, the most important climate legislation ever passed. The U.S. is the world’s worst carbon polluter over time and we must move faster to cut our carbon pollution.

We’ll provide sandwiches and drinks for those who come. See you there!

Write Get Out the Vote Postcards

The climate crisis continues to worsen. Catastrophic events will become more frequent. We need action now. First UU has many leaders in the climate movement and has supported Austin climate organizations well, dozens of 1st UUers have already written postcards for our TX Climate PostCard Project, and dozens more have taken action to lower their carbon footprints. But we need to do more.

During this month, Climate Justice September at 1st UU will provide information and opportunities to learn and act, actions that take little time but have a large impact when done with others. September 1 – 7 Theme for First Week: Personal Actions to Take Every Sunday: Citizens Climate Lobby Postcard Project. Since public policy depends so heavily on elected officials, one activity we’ll continue each week will be writing postcards to get out the vote. We write to folks who want climate action but don’t always vote. Kudos to dozens of 1st UU members who’ve already written hundreds of postcards.

Sunday, September 1st from 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Presentation “Status of the Climate Crisis and What To Do About It” by Bob Hendricks, Chair of State Sierra Club ExCom and State Coordinator of Citizens Climate Lobby. Bob will highlight the worsening situation, the improving solutions picture, and what each of us can do.

Tuesday, September 3rd from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – Climate Justice September Art Share, folks share songs, art, stories, poems, etc., in Howson Hall with a mostly vegetarian potluck starting at 6:30 p.m.

Climate Justice September Art Share

Come kick off Climate Justice September by sharing climate feelings, music, art, stories, and more with food and fellowship. No judgment, just appreciation for those of us willing to reveal ourselves. Anything goes (well, almost anything).

On Tuesday, September 3, the First UU Green Sanctuary team and the Sierra Club Climate Crisis committee will join creative forces. We will start with a mostly vegetarian potluck at six thirty in Howson Hall, surrounded by visual art community members have brought to share. At 7 p.m, we will share essays, songs, (our own or beloved, inspirational pieces by others) with a theme of nature we love and want to save or our feelings about threats to that nature and to life on earth, human and nonhuman.  And of course, art about solutions is appreciated as are personal stories of moving or disturbing nature and
climate crisis experiences.

All, including young artists, are warmly invited to share or to attend and enjoy. So we can get displays and presentation order roughly set, please let me, Victoria, know if you have something to read, say, or show as soon as you can email seastarvsh@aol.com or text at 512-567-5985 (text preferred).

What: Climate Justice September Art Share
When: September 3, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Howson Hall in First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin at 4700 Grover Ave.
Why: To inspire and connect with one another and kick off Climate Justice September

Foster and Adoption in Austin

First UU Social Action Council is hosting an information session with Madison Pittman and Yaiika Fernandez, Foster Home Development Specialists from Austin’s SAFE Alliance (Stop Abuse for Everyone), on Sunday, October 20th at 12:30 p.m. in room 13.

Border trip registration + UU the Vote

This is the last week to register for the TXUUJM/Texas Impact border witness trip, coming August 18th – 21st, 2024. Continue here for more information and registration in the TXUUJM August newsletter. 

TXUUJM is also your source for Texas UU the Vote efforts this election year! We are thrilled to have a whopping 36 Texas UU congregations signed up for our TXUUJM Votes! efforts. We are more powerful together! 

NOTE: Action Hour is returning Thursday, August 15th.Thursday nights and the final Friday of each month — just in time for all the increased energy around the election. Sign up for TXUUJM emails, bookmark this page for events, and follow @txuujm on Facebook and Instagram.

Drive a Senior ATX

Building Relationships One Ride at a Time

Drive a Senior ATX enables older adults to live independently, avoid social isolation and age in place by providing free, volunteer-based transportation and other support services to senior adults in Austin since 1985, including

• Daily rides to medical appointments and errands,
• Weekly rides to HEB for groceries,
• Monthly rides for social outings and events,
• As needed handyman services, tech assistance, and social visits.

Our mission is transportation, but our impact is relationships. Our volunteer-based rides come with care, empathy, and inclusion. Our clients are treated like family and build meaningful relationships with our staff and volunteers.

First UU is a founding congregation of Drive a Senior, originally called North Central Caregivers. Our congregation formerly contributed annually to its work and has provided many volunteers since its inception in 1985.

The Green Sanctuary Committee has joined a Get Out the Vote postcard-writing project for the November elections. This project will send postcards to environmentalists who are less likely than average to vote and who live in a contested legislative district. Getting the right public officials elected is important for climate justice, indeed, for all social justice work. Come to our table in Howson Hall after the service to get more information and postcards to write.