First Parish Unitarian UniversalistMinistry as Gardening
A homily by the Reverend Diane Teichert
First Parish Unitarian Universalist - Canton, MA
May 1, 2005
Readings (Poetry): “Beauteous May” by John Milton, “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth, “Poppies” and “Peonies” by Mary Oliver, “The Round” by Stanley Kunitz, “The Man Born to Farming” and “1991-II” by Wendell Berry, “An Observation” by May Sarton, and “How to Plant a Garden” (anonymous, found in many church newsletters).
Ministry is somewhat like gardening. Congregational life is the garden, the community from which it draws is the soil, and uncontrollable conditions affect its growth like sun and rain on a garden. The annuals and vegetables must be sown year after year, but the perennials, fruits, evergreens and shrubs also need care. Some seeds grow easily; others need patient tending. Some plants require pruning, and weeds have to go!
The compost we spread is the result of laughter and learning decomposing the mistakes, tensions and troubles that are inevitable in congregational life. As they say, manure happens!
Although the minister is called to broader and deeper responsibility, I consider myself to be one among many gardeners who grow the garden, the congregation. Together we share the burdens and the joys of pastoral care, prophecy, spiritual leadership, teaching, administration and stewardship. So, as a leader, I try to be collaborative. And, I try to remember the interplay and influence of luck, wisdom, and perseverance and to welcome the transforming power of love to make life new again and again.
Ministry is like gardening because a healthy congregation, like a healthy garden, grows. The messages of Unitarian Universalism are sorely needed in our world at this time and, so, we should share our good news and draw more people in. In this regard, I have felt that my previous organizing experience in various settings is of use in my ministry. But, numerical growth is only one kind of congregational growth. I also work to grow the spiritual well being of its individual members and friends, the congregation’s sense of community through deeper sharing and active caring, and its efforts on behalf of justice in the world.
Ministry is like gardening because of what makes for beauty. A blooming rose garden or vast cornfield may be beautiful, but the gardens I love most are spectacular in their variety of colors, textures and shapes. I value the diversity of religious backgrounds in our Unitarian Universalist congregations and seek to build on it—drawing on the resources of the traditions represented plus others, looking to welcome new kinds of diversity, and addressing the issues that inhibit that progress. My past experience building bi-racial organizations and living in economically and racially-mixed neighborhoods for much of my adult life, and my friendships with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, have acquainted me with some of the rewards and challenges of heterogeneity. I bring that knowledge with me into my ministry.
Ministry is like gardening because both demand the work of cultivation. Cultivation of congregational life requires first the drawing together of the community in inspired worship. Like gardening, it also requires attention to detail, including pastoral care to individuals in need.
Both ministry and gardening call one to have a broad vision, yet also to be able to respond flexibly to unforeseen possibilities and problems. As your minister, I work to envision where we might be heading. I inspire trust in others as we determine our direction and move along, remembering that we hope for progress, not perfection. And, I know that all ministers, ordained and lay, must regularly rest from the work of cultivation and also take time to enjoy its fruits.
However, the gardening that ministry is like is not ornamental! Rather, it resembles running a truck garden that supplies the community with vegetables and flowers. Likewise, a congregation has equally vital purposes: to foster the spiritual well-being of its members and to increase justice in this world. Remarkably, each purpose both requires and enables the other.
A vibrant congregation nourishes the spiritual health that can sustain our efforts to make our communities, cities, nations, and even the world more just. And, a vibrant congregation working for justice helps create the conditions for increased spiritual health, for ourselves and for others.
Toward these vital purposes, I join you in being, as the poet May Sarton says, “the always hopeful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, as without light nothing flowers.”
Amen.