First Parish Unitarian UniversalistLooking Forward at Year's End
A sermon preached by the Reverend Diane Teichert
First Parish Unitarian Universalist - Canton, MA
June 9, 2002
In West Africa, Sankofa is a mythical bird depicted with its feet facing forward but it's head looking back. It's a rather uncomfortable looking position, not one that the human body easily assumes, not mine away! And, it has its limits. How many of us remember our mothers saying-or said to our own children-for heaven's sake, look where you are going!
But, sankofa conveys an important idea in living our lives, nevertheless. Commonsense dictates, and many cultures recognize, the wisdom of looking back so that we might better go forward. In Akan, one of the languages of Ghana and the Ivory Coast, "sankofa" is a word that carries the meaning, "we must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to be who we are today."
It's not a bad theme in this commencement season. To make good decisions about where you are going, you must know from whence you came.
It's not a bad theme for the ending of our worship and fiscal year, either. Here at First Parish, we've been looking backwards at the year soon ending, writing our Annual Reports. And, we've been looking forwards to the year ahead, projecting our income and expenses, trying to make sure there's enough of the former to do all that we want to do in the way of spending!
In my annual report, I stated that I am very encouraged by four new initiatives that are bringing vitality and a heightened (or is it deepened?) sense of purpose to First Parish. In a few moments, I plan to come back to them, plus bring up a fifth that I forgot in writing my report. But, first I want to discuss the context, the national and world-wide context, in which we have lived our lives--our personal lives as well as our First Parish life, since September 11th.
The worship year began with our usual Ingathering Service with Water Communion on the first Sunday after Labor Day, but two days later, on September 11th, the year began again. As in most houses of worship, our pews as well as hearts were fuller than usual in the ensuing months, as was my pastoral care and interfaith work calendars. Many found worship and the sense of community at First Parish to be important sources of comfort, grounding, and perspective at that difficult time, and since.
I have been struggling, though, to know what it all means for me, for us.
I know one thing it has not meant for me. I do not feel that the world changed on September 11th. It's our perception of it that changed; the world stayed the same. We simply see it more clearly now.
On September 11th, we saw the world for what it had already been. We saw more clearly than ever before that some-even many-people in the world view the American way of life as evil-our power and our wealth angers, and the export of our material goods and cultural values offends. If we did not already know it, now we know for sure that we Americans are hated. We are hated for our liberties, our dominion, our level of consumption of the world's resources-these are things about ourselves that we mainly take for granted. What does it mean to us to know now that we are hated for our very way of life? Is there some truth to be found here?
On September 11th, we saw the world for what it had already been. We saw, we felt, we experienced what others around the world know all too well, the horror of terrorist attacks-from the sky, in our mail-and now the fear, what will be next?
This newer view of the world was frightening. For anyone whose footing was already shaky, anyone who was at the time suffering from depression or dealing with difficult life transitions, and that would be many people, the events of September 11th felt like losing your footing during an earthquake. Whereas you used to be able to count on the outside world to be kind of normal, stable, a relatively-steadying influence while chaos or despair threatened to reign inside, now all of a sudden, the outside world mirrored the fear and insecurity of the interior world.
Months have passed, and we all have survived. We survived by reaching out to others, by nurturing our inner selves, by connecting with a source of comfort beyond ourselves and others that we might call God or the spirit of life, the Goddess, the transforming power of love, the beauty of the natural world, mystery of the universe.by whatsoever name you worship. We survived, however we survived, for here we are.
I have been struggling, though, to know what it all means now. I have the sense that events are occurring that I should care about and do something about, but more than ever before they feel outside my reach.
Our military continues fighting in Afghanistan. For how long, and why? The refugees there are returning to rubble and ruin. Are we helping to rebuild? Our government is lately criticized for a failure to predict and stop the events of September 11th, so it responds by announcing that there will be a Cabinet level Department of Homeland Security. Is that a right and reasonable thing to do? The Israelis, who receive three billion dollars from the U.S. each year, have destroyed many Palestinian homes this year, but it is Iraq who makes the news for distributing $25,000 to each displaced family. Might the United States be so generous? India and Pakistan are threatening each other with nuclear weapons and the Globe reports that we don't need to worry, the radiation won't travel this far. Do Americans only care about ourselves? Finally, President Bush makes statements suggesting that he believes a nuclear offense may well be our best defense. What is happening?
The phone rings. It's the Interfaith Alliance, a progressive clergy organization of which I am a member. Asking for money to support their effort to challenge a bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives, with 110 people signed on already and the backing of the religious right, that would allow a religious organization to give up to 20% of its income to political campaigns. I'm stunned. This I hadn't heard about. Do we want churches and synagogues, mosques and temples, funding political campaigns? Maybe we do. Maybe religious people ought to be permitted to buy candidates, since corporations and unions and professional associations and advocacy groups and every body else can. And then wow I can't believe that I'm thinking so cynically! And, yes, I'll make a contribution.
I have to work at fighting off a feeling of despair in regards to the global scene. If I am brave enough, over the summer I will allow myself to descend into that despair, with the hope of coming up out of it with a clearer sense of my prophetic voice, our collective Unitarian Universalist prophetic voices. From our best ideals and inspirations, what are we called to say, what are we called to do? I invite you into such reflection yourself. Thinking globally, what might we be saying and doing locally?
As I look back over the past year, I fortunately feel the opposite of despair about First Parish. I feel vitality, purpose, commitment, caring.I feel deeply hopeful, and I know many of you do, too. I feel tired today, too, and I know many of you feel tired, too. It was work getting here. It's not that we weren't already doing the work before this year began, but whether related to September 11th or not, the work seems to have taken off this year.
Maybe the despair at the global level is related to the hopefulness-and the tiredness-at the local, parish, level. Maybe we worked extra hard this year creating a healthier, more vibrant congregation because we could see what to do and how to do it here at First Parish, whereas in the global arena we see only dimly. We directed our energy where we were sure we could make a difference.
And, maybe the global issues directed a spotlight on our local needs in difficult times: our need for a deep worship experience, our need for community with each other, our need to make an impact in the world immediately around us. For it is in these areas that we strengthened our First Parish life this year.
There are five heartening new initiatives that we've undertaken at First Parish that contribute significantly to my sense of encouragement here at year's end. First, our improving music program with the hiring in December of Allan Friedman as Choir Director/Music Coordinator, a most fortuitous match. Parishioners have been wanting to sing in and listen to a choir here for years! This year, it is taking off! I do believe it promises to enrich our worship experience in ways we cannot yet imagine.
Second, the Covenant Groups which began in March involving thirty people regularly-meeting for meaningful conversation in small groups, each led by a facilitator to whom I express my gratitude (David, Barbara, Elaine and Jill). I meet with the facilitators regularly and at our meeting yesterday, we planned a sort of "open enrollment" period for the fall, during which we hope so many new people indicate an interest in participating that we will need to create even more Covenant Groups. We also planned a Sunday night potluck supper for September 22nd where you can hear a few testimonials and sit at tables with current Covenant Group members to hear more about what it's like.
Third (and the one I forgot to mention in my Annual Report) is the introduction of what we've called "Sermon Circles," an opportunity for those who may be interested in discussing the theme of the worship service to move into the Chapel after they've gotten something to eat and drink at Coffee Hour. We are providing child care in the parlor so that even parents of young children may participate. For those who cannot make the time commitment required by a Covenant Group, attending the Sermon Circle is a more doable opportunity for meaningful conversation. Sometimes Sermon Circle is displaced by a congregation-wide activity such as the picnic today, but I hope next year that on most other Sundays, the Sermon Circle will consistently happen. For that to be, we need a somewhat larger cadre of potential conveners, one of whom each week will ring the chime to announce it's time, set up a circle of chairs, start and end the conversation and see to it that the airtime is equitably shared and the chairs returned when it's over.
Fourth, our consideration of issues facing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and the possibility of becoming more intentionally inclusive thereof, especially promoted by Elizabeth and Peggy, and supported by numerous Adult RE, worship and other events-like Diversity Days-during the year. I was astounded when twenty-five people showed up at the Listening Session on May 30th, to hear and express views and feelings about what we've done so far. And I was heartened by the affirmation that we should continue in this direction. A brief written report about the Listening Session is available today on the table as you enter the Parish Hall.
Finally, the fifth heartening initiative I'll mention today is our new outreach effort led by the Social Action Committee. A small but growing number of parishioners are helping the homeless through the Friday Night Supper Program at the Arlington Street UU Church in Boston and also (upcoming on June 29th) Habitat for Humanity. Rather than becoming inwardly focused, it's great that we are becoming more intentional about serving others around us. For example, we raised more money for the Canton Food Pantry this year than in recent years, maybe ever. Additionally, next year the theme for the children's Religious Education program is Social Justice. This will provide a way for families to get involved in service and justice projects, and an opportunity for collaboration between the Religious Education and Social Action committees. Today, during the picnic, I encourage you to peruse the Social Justice curricula selected for next year and to sign up for the privilege of learning from our children-before all the teaching slots are filled!
It seems that First Parish is determined to change the world, if not globally, then at least our own world here at First Parish and that of the needy closer to home. This was a lot in just one year. (And I haven't even mentioned all the work that we did on the physical property, or the successful pledge drive for this year's Canvass, or the many Adult RE classes, etc. etc.) .
I'm not sure we need to-or can!-do much more next year. It may well be enough to continue these five initiatives next year, learning more about how to do them well. Being that sankofa bird, looking behind so that we can move forward better.
But, if you tempt me to say where I hope we headed after that.. Well, I do have just a few more dreams!
One is to begin reflecting on and sharing our hopes for this worship space. The Music Resources Committee has proposed we change the cushions and carpeting, for acoustical reasons that I think make sense. I hope we consider these changes in the context of developing a vision and then a plan for this meetinghouse. For the vestibule, the first thing you see when you enter-how could it be brighter and more inviting? For the sanctuary, how shall we make room in our pews for wheelchairs? For the pulpit, altar table, the walls behind and to the sides of the pulpit, the area near the piano.this is what you see from the pew. let us consider not just the acoustics, but also the aesthetics.its artfulness, its ability to comfort and inspire visually, its versatility for creativity in worship. It's an old building, but this is, as we like to say, a living tradition. How might we convey this in our worship space itself?
And another dream is about taking our message to Canton and its surrounding towns, to your friends and neighbors, and bringing them in to this place (in the spirit of our opening words), this place of peace, so that its silence might heal their spirits, too; into this place of memory, so that its history might warm their souls, too; into this place of prophecy and power, so that its vision might change their hearts, too.
Then, together, with that many more changed hearts, warmed souls, and healed spirits.our prophetic voices and our collective actions might really change the world, might change that global world! So may it be.
Amen.