{"id":135172,"date":"2021-05-02T15:30:54","date_gmt":"2021-05-02T21:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/?p=135172"},"modified":"2021-05-02T15:30:57","modified_gmt":"2021-05-02T21:30:57","slug":"waiting-to-exhale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/waiting-to-exhale\/","title":{"rendered":"Waiting to Exhale"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_5412\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-135172-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2021-05-02_Waiting_to_exhale.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2021-05-02_Waiting_to_exhale.mp3\">http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2021-05-02_Waiting_to_exhale.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2021-05-02_Waiting_to_exhale.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/?powerpress_pinw=135172-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.austinuuav.org\/audio\/2021-05-02_Waiting_to_exhale.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"2021-05-02_Waiting_to_exhale.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Guest Speaker Rev. Bill Sinkford<br \/>First Unitarian Portland<br \/>May 2, 2021<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">When the justice system is bent against black lives, those black lives lose faith in justice until there is proof it is served. They hold their breath, bated and unsure, waiting to finally exhale when justice rings true. We have all been changed, we are all grieving, there will be more lives lost but perhaps there is still evidence for hope.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr align=\"center\" noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"4\" width=\"300\" \/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Chalice Lighting<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Call to Worship<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">THE HILL WE CLIMB<br \/>Amanda Gorman<br \/>(Biden inauguration poem)<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">When day comes we ask ourselves,<br \/>where can we find light in this never-ending shade?<br \/>The loss we carry,<br \/>a sea we must wade<br \/>We&#8217;ve braved the belly of the beast<br \/>We&#8217;ve learned that quiet isn&#8217;t always peace<br \/>And the norms and notions<br \/>of what just is<br \/>Isn&#8217;t always just-ice<br \/>And yet the dawn is ours<br \/>before we knew it<br \/>Somehow we do it<br \/>Somehow we&#8217;ve weathered and witnessed<br \/>a nation that isn&#8217;t broken<br \/>but simply unfinished<br \/>We the successors of a country and a time<br \/>Where a skinny Black girl<br \/>descended from slaves and raised by a single mother<br \/>can dream of becoming president<br \/>only to find herself reciting for one<br \/>And yes we are far from polished<br \/>far from pristine<br \/>but that doesn&#8217;t mean we are<br \/>striving to form a union that is perfect<br \/>We are striving to forge a union with purpose<br \/>To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and<br \/>conditions of man<br \/>And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us<br \/>but what stands before us<br \/>We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside<br \/>We lay down our arms<br \/>so we can reach out our arms<br \/>to one another<br \/>We seek harm to none and harmony for all<br \/>Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:<br \/>That even as we grieved, we grew<br \/>That even as we hurt, we hoped<br \/>That even as we tired, we tried<br \/>That we&#8217;ll forever be tied together, victorious<br \/>Not because we will never again know defeat<br \/>but because we will never again sow division<br \/>Scripture tells us to envision<br \/>that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree<br \/>And no one shall make them afraid<br \/>If we&#8217;re to live up to our own time<br \/>Then victory won&#8217;t lie in the blade<br \/>But in all the bridges we&#8217;ve made<br \/>That is the promise to glade<br \/>The hill we climb<br \/>If only we dare<br \/>It&#8217;s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,<br \/>it&#8217;s the past we step into<br \/>and how we repair it<br \/>We&#8217;ve seen a force that would shatter our nation<br \/>rather than share it<br \/>Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy<br \/>And this effort very nearly succeeded<br \/>But while democracy can be periodically delayed<br \/>it can never be permanently defeated<br \/>In this truth<br \/>in this faith we trust<br \/>For while we have our eyes on the future history<br \/>has its eyes on us<br \/>This is the era of just redemption<br \/>We feared at its inception<br \/>We did not feel prepared to be the heirs<br \/>of such a terrifying hour<br \/>but within it we found the power<br \/>to author a new chapter<br \/>To offer hope and laughter to ourselves<br \/>So while once we asked,<br \/>how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?<br \/>Now we assert<br \/>How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?<br \/>We will not march back to what was<br \/>but move to what shall be<br \/>A country that is bruised but whole,<br \/>benevolent but bold,<br \/>fierce and free<br \/>We will not be turned around<br \/>or interrupted by intimidation<br \/>because we know our inaction and inertia<br \/>will be the inheritance of the next generation<br \/>Our blunders become their burdens<br \/>But one thing is certain:<br \/>If we merge mercy with might,<br \/>and might with right,<br \/>then love becomes our legacy<br \/>and change our children&#8217;s birthright<br \/>So let us leave behind a country<br \/>better than the one we were left with<br \/>Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,<br \/>we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one<br \/>We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,<br \/>we will rise from the windswept northeast<br \/>where our forefathers first realized revolution<br \/>We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,<br \/>we will rise from the sunbaked south<br \/>We will rebuild, reconcile and recover<br \/>and every known nook of our nation<br \/>and every corner called our country,<br \/>our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,<br \/>battered and beautiful<br \/>When day comes we step out of the shade,<br \/>aflame and unafraid<br \/>The new dawn blooms as we free it<br \/>For there is always light,<br \/>if only we&#8217;re brave enough to see it<br \/>If only we&#8217;re brave enough to be it<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Affirming Our Mission<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Learn more about Beloved Community at this link. &#8211;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thekingcenter.org\/#the-beloved-community\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The King Center<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Meditation Reading<\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">COULD WE PLEASE GIVE THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS TO THE GRANDMOTHERS<br \/>Junauda Petrus-Nasah<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Could we please give the police departments to the grandmothers. Give them the salaries and the pensions and the city vehicles, but make them a fleet of vintage corvettes, jaguars and cadillacs, with white leather interior. Diamond in the back, sunroof top and digging the scene with the gangsta lean.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Let the cars be badass!<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">You would hear the old school jams like Patti Labelle, Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker and Al Green. You would hear Sweet Honey in the Rock harmonizing on &#8220;We who believe in freedom will not rest&#8221; bumping out the speakers. And they got the booming system.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">If you up to mischief, they will pick you up swiftly in their sweet ride and look at you until you catch shame and look down at your lap. She asks you if you are hungry and you say &#8220;yes&#8221; and of course you are. She got a crown of dreadlocks and on the dashboard you see brown faces like yours, shea buttered and loved up<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">And there are no precincts.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Just love temples, that got spaces to meditate and eat delicious food. mangoes, blueberries, nectarines, cornbread, peas and rice, fried plantain, fufu, yams, greens, okra, pecan pie, salad and lemonade.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Things that make your mouth water and soul arrive.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">All the hungry bellies know warmth, all the children expect love. The grandmas help you with homework, practice yoga with you and teach you how to make jamabalaya and coconut cake. From scratch.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">When your sleepy she will start humming and rub your back while you drift off. A song that she used to have the record of when she was your age. She remembers how it felt like to be you and be young and not know the world that good. Grandma is a sacred child herself, who just circled the sun enough times into the ripeness of her cronehood.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">She wants your life to be sweeter.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">When you are wildin&#8217; out because your heart is broke or you don&#8217;t have what you need the grandmas take your hand and lead you to their gardens. You can lay down amongst the flowers. Her grasses, roses, dahlias, irises, lilies, collards, kale, eggplants, blackberries. She wants you know that you are safe and protected, universal limitless, sacred, sensual, divine and free.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Grandma is the original warrior, wild since birth, comfortable in loving fiercely. She has fought so that you don&#8217;t have to, not in the same ways at least.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">So give the police departments to the grandmas, they are fearless, classy and actualized. Blossomed from love. They wear what they want and say what they please.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Believe that.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">There wouldn&#8217;t be noise citations when the grandmas ride through our streets, blasting Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Alice Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, KRS-One. All that good music. The kids gonna hula hoop to it and sell her lemonade made from heirloom pink lemons and maple syrup. The car is solar powered and carbon footprint-less, the grandmas designed the technology themselves.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">At night they park the cars in a circle so all can sit in them with the sun roofs down, and look at the stars, talk about astrological signs, what to plant tomorrow based on the moon&#8217;s mood and help you memorize Audre Lorde and James Baldwin quotes. She always looks you in the eye and acknowledges the light in you with no hesitation or fear. And grandma loves you fiercely forever.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">She sees the pain in our bravado, the confusion in our anger, the depth behind our coldness. Grandma know what oppression has done to our souls and is gonna change it one love temple at a time. She has no fear.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><b>Sermon<\/b><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Text of this sermon is not yet available.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr align=\"center\" noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"4\" width=\"300\" \/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Most sermons during the past 21 years are available online through this website. Click on the index link below 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.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/category\/sermons\/indexes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>SERMON INDEX<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Podcasts of this and other sermons are also available for free on iTunes. You can find them by clicking on the podcast link below or copying and pasting this link. https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/podcast\/first-unitarian-universalist\/id372427776<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/podcast\/first-unitarian-universalist\/id372427776\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>PODCASTS<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to the sermon by clicking the play button above. Guest Speaker Rev. Bill SinkfordFirst Unitarian PortlandMay 2, 2021 When the justice system is bent against black lives, those black lives lose faith in justice until there is proof it is served. They hold their breath, bated and unsure, waiting to finally exhale when justice&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19,18,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio-available","category-guest-speakers","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135173,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135172\/revisions\/135173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austinuu.org\/wp2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}