November 2008

Dear Ones,

As I ponder what it is I want to write to you this month, I am thinking about how much you have taught me already. In just a short time, I have learned so much about this community and how much you love this congregation. It shows in all the ways you step forward to care for one another, and in the depth of passion which each of you brings to the beloved community.

I have found in you models for how to care for the world, for what it takes to step out, over and over again, in courage and in hope, to be good stewards of this faith we love.

The times in which we live are not for the faint of heart. There is so much going on that threatens to disturb all the foundations we took for granted in the past. Not the least among these is the upheaval we have seen in our country’s financial status.

I hear on the radio and on the TV the warnings to stay calm, to stay the course, to not panic, to avoid rash decisions, and all this makes sense to me. At the same time, I wonder about how those among and around us will make do with less, how people will learn to stretch further and further the meager dollars they have to get through the month. It takes courage to step forward, into the unknown, over and over again.

I take comfort in the knowledge that we are survivors of all sorts. Those of us from the northeast, particularly upstate and western New York, have already had too many years of being smart about making dollars stretch. I think we could be the people who write books about this for others to read in detail, so good are we at this, instead of the ones reading and listening to the pundits telling us what to do.

But then I wonder: What else can we learn?

Perhaps the question should be: What else is it that we have to teach?

I think there is still much to be hopeful about and much to celebrate. This congregation has stood through many years of hard times, within a community that has withstood hard times, and yet you still meet and sing with joy and heart every Sunday morning.

You still gather here in this building on the corner of Clinton and Court and work with RAIHN or organize and plan your ministries. You teach your children, or one another; you know every square inch of this building, top to bottom, and you love its peculiarities, even as you struggle with its challenging and aging design. And you write notes of care and concern, make visits and phone calls, check in with one another, always looking to the future, while relishing the present moment.

I look forward to our time together whenever we meet; I know I still have so much to find out about who you are.

In the coming season, as we anticipate ramping up for visitors, special celebrations and times that have, in the past, called for spending extra money, when we can expect to feel swept along with the holiday hype, let us take some time instead to listen to one another, plan in some quiet reflection time, take walks in the brisk fresh air sweeping in off the lake, make tea or cookies and invite the elderly neighbor to come and visit. Find and create new ways to recall what it is that has named us into being in the first place, and practice one of the most important of the ‘holy manners’: that of listening for the voice within that calls us into full interaction with life.

May First Universalist continue to stand proudly here and remain a symbol for the future. May we continue to grow in our knowing of one another and the world, and may we continue to find ways to fill our mission to “Nurture the Spirit and Serve the Community.”

In love and faith,

Greetings from the Ministry of Mirth and Merriment. The surveys are in and tallied. Our thanks to the 41 of you who gave us information. Here are the activities which had the most interest:

• Pot lucks of all kinds dessert/dialog sessions
• movies small group dinners
• going to baseball games game nights
• card parties GEVA
• a New Year’s Eve get-together gourmet dinners
• Thanksgiving dinner at church year-end picnic
• Mardi Gras party open mic coffee house

Most responses indicated that Friday afternoon/evening, Saturday morning/afternoon/evening, and Sunday afternoon/early evening were the best time for events, with some interest expressed in having weekday evening events.

You also gave us an incredible list of other possibilities, from Talent Night to adult (yes, adult) sleep-overs and Laughter Yoga. This list will be posted on the bulletin board in the Clara Barton Lounge in the near future.

So what now? What do we do with all this wonderful information? This list will only be a list, unless people step forward to organize these events. It’s not complicated! Pick an idea ( or bring one of your own.) Pick a date/time. Get your information to Kris at the office…check for room availability and other possible conflicts. Get it on the calendar and write a blurb for the Outlooks and the order of service. Put up a sign up sheet if you need one and… VOILA! Mirth and Merriment!

Please be sure to put these upcoming events on your calendar:

• The Great Cookbook Cookoff (rsvp to the office) on November 14, 2008.
• a soup and salad lunch after church on November 16, 2008 sponsored by the Membership Committee
• Thanksgiving Dinner at First U…the signup sheet is posted in the Clara Barton Lounge. Look for more information about this very soon. Thanks to Karl Abbott for organizing this event.

Our surveys show that there is a real desire for more “community” in our community. Won’t you be the next person to step up and get something started?

October 2008

“I wonder if the fall has rheumatism?  Do the limbs of the full grown, aging trees have aches like the one in my right shoulder?  The tree, like me, is a perennial.  It too may get weary and crotchety after too many cycles of seasons.  The annuals demonstrate life’s most efficient wisdom, to have one spring and one summer, and have done with it.  Let all things seed through the cruel winters.  If life can be born again in the spring, it does not get involved in hibernation and releafings. “ From Reverend Kenneth Patton, Unitarian Universalist minister, in his book All Blessedness: a Book of Psalms.

As I am writing this, I have a dull pain in my right shoulder that comes when I do too much leaning over a keyboard in just the wrong way.  I have to pay attention to how I sit and make sure I get up and move around every once in a while.  Not altogether a bad thing at all.  I never used to have such strange body aches and pains.   But I am no longer the youngster I once was, when I could get little sleep and work and play long hours with no physical consequences.  Now intentional daily stretching is part of my morning routine.  If I forget, watch out!

And so it is with our congregation.  Paying close attention to where we show our age, where we might be stuck in a pattern of activity that no longer serves us, is good work for any religious community.  We must stay nimble and flexible if we want to be part of the changing landscape in which we worship and gather, stay fresh and alert.

But I am happy to report that I like being a perennial, having the chance to hibernate a bit in the winter, become more reflective, take time to enjoy the short days and long nights.  For the moment, however, I am even happier being part of the change from summer to fall, from temperatures in the mid-eighties to the fifties in twenty-four hours. I think these swift shifts in weather makes us resilient and attentive beings.

With that resilience and flexibility in mind, I have been attending as many committee meetings as I can this past month, just to get to know who you are and find out how you do things, how you meet and greet one another, how you share your ideas and dreams with one another.  I hope to be helpful to you, as a new-comer here, and share feedback and perceptions with you as we learn one another and grow together in our ministry.   We have much to offer the world and one another, and it is good to know the world needs our gifts as much as we need to share them!

See you in church!