by WUUC | Oct 26, 2017 | Minister Blog
Abundance (n)
Copious quantity or supply – from French abondance and directly from Latin abundantia
“fullness, plenty…”
Also related to “overflowing.”
So says the online Etymology dictionary. Using this idea of “plenty” and “overflowing,” take this month to look at your life. In what ways do you experience abundance? Or do you experience its opposite, scarcity? If so, what would have to shift in your life either internally or externally for it to contain abundance? Is there anything you are “full up” of? Even overflowing with?
This isn’t a trick question. And there isn’t a right or wrong answer. It’s not even a charge to “count your blessings.” Rather it is an invitation to do an abundance inventory of your life.
Rev.Lo
by WUUC | Sep 28, 2017 | Minister Blog
When I think of “courage,” I think of the character of the Lion in “The Wizard of Oz.” The Lion is supposed to be the king of the jungle. But this Lion is, by his own definition, a “coward.” He says, “I haven’t any courage at all. I even scare myself.”
So he joins Dorothy and the Tin Man and the Scarecrow in their quest to find the great Oz who will give them what they want: “a heart, a brain, courage, and a way home.” When they do meet the Oz and the great Oz’s true nature is revealed by Toto, the four are distraught. They are desperate for the things they came seeking from him. But Oz says, “You’ve had them all along…”
Yes, the Lion does come away with a badge that says, “Courage” on it. But the point is, no one can give you courage. It is something that is within you all along, waiting to be drawn out of you. Wear a medal if it helps to remind you of this fact. Courage is a state of mind as well as our actions.
by WUUC | Sep 27, 2017 | Minister Blog
I am fond of saying that if anyone could come up with a system of communication that worked for communicating information and events in a church, they would make a fortune. We have email, Facebook, the newsletter, an insert in the order of service, verbal announcements, posters, and good old-fashion phone calls and face-to-face interactions. And still, someone is always bound to say, “No one told me about that!”
What also needs to be in place at a healthy church is a system of input and feedback. This became clear to me when a long-term member asked who they were supposed to give feedback to about worship services. The Worship Associates evaluate every service once a month during our meetings. We ask, “What was the intent of the service? Was that communicated? What went well? What were the glitches or could be improved upon?” But what I realized is that it is a closed system or feedback loop: those responsible for creating and leading the services were the same ones evaluating or providing feedback about them. How are folks not involved in the leading of worship able to give their input or feedback?
It is not just Worship that has this problem. It is every program we have here at WUUC: how do members and friends provide input and feedback. The most obvious answer is “directly.” If I have said or done something that has upset or offended you, please tell me directly. Just this past week, someone wanted to talk to me about something that was seemingly minor but was actually theological at its root. They prefaced the conversation with, “We probably aren’t going to agree on this but…” And once I heard them, we were in absolute agreement.
That is an easy fix. But who do you go to give input or feedback about worship or Lifespan Education or the color of the building? Again, please do all of this directly through these channels: the Ministry Leads and or committee/task force chairs. The ministry leads oversee the three areas of ministry at WUUC: Sustainability (BAG, IT, Endowment, Finance, Stewardship, Human Resources). Kathy Fosnaugh. Transformation and Action: (Worship, Social Justice, Lifelong Learning). Jan Radoslovich. Community and Engagement (Membership, Cares and Concerns, Circle Suppers, Hospitality, Visual Arts Ministry). Alaine Davis.
If you are still unsure who to get in touch with to provide input or feedback, contact Lori Varosh in the office and she can help direct you. And please remember that there is no such thing as anonymous feedback. This is a community dedicated to growth on all levels and having potentially difficult conversations is a huge area of growth for many of us.
Oh, and remember: not all input or feedback is negative. Folks need to hear positive feedback as well. We cannot say “thank you “enough to all of the work that so many of you do to ensure that WUUC remains a vibrant community.
May we continue to build a community of service, gratitude, and connection,
Peace, Shalom, Salaam,
Rev. Lo
by WUUC | Aug 25, 2017 | Minister Blog
On Sunday, Sept. 17, Adam Fass, WUUC’s Board chair, will be preaching. I have already had the pleasure of hearing him preach its draft stage. What I said to him when he was through was, “I wish I had preached that sermon.” The content is an invitation and exploration of the notion of service and its potential for personal and institutional transformation. I would invite all of you to be present that morning to hear Adam.
Preaching is always a daunting task. How to “preach” rather than “lecture?” What distinguishes what is said in a sermon from what you can hear at an event at a University? How many quotes should be used? How long should a sermon be? Is it okay to use the pronoun “I?” If so, how many times? What about personal stories? How many of them used as anecdotes are illustrative and how many are “all about me rather than about ‘UU’?” What is the point — if I have one. Am I pushing my own agenda rather than the call of something larger than myself? How to speak to the intellectual, the emotional, and the spiritual? To say nothing of the atheist, the Buddhist, the Jew, the agnostic, and the Theist? Someone once said that if you haven’t pissed someone off during a sermon, you haven’t done your job.
I have come to believe that there are two kinds of preachers: those who have sermons so well-crafted and inspirational that they can preach them to any congregation anywhere at any time. And then there are those who are “relational preachers”: those whose sermons start with the question, “What do the people need?” In other words, they know the members and friends of the congregation and they preach with a knowledge of what folks are bringing with them to Sunday mornings. When I was in the candidating process here, I remember telling the search committee that I was not an intellectual preacher but rather an intuitive preacher. I still remember the pause and then Janet Putnam saying, “Well, can’t you try to preach an intellectual sermon?” The one time I did try that, I looked out over a sea of glazed eyes.
We don’t come to church to be educated but to be inspired, challenged, opened, and transformed. Sometimes we come seeking answers. Or to dive down into unexplored territory. We come looking for something that we can relate to. That is why stories are so powerful. Often times, it is the story or the personal that people take away from a sermon rather than all the other words. Preachers in UU congregations walk a line between the intellectually stimulating but emotionally and spiritually accessible. We don’t always succeed.
What I can tell you is that Adam has succeeded with the sermon he will offer you on Sept. 17. It deserves — no needs — to be heard not just by the “regulars,” but by those who are on the outer boundaries of this community. It is an invitation and I encourage you to answer “yes” to it.
Peace, Shalom, Salaam,
Rev.Lo
by WUUC | Aug 25, 2017 | Minister Blog
Welcome. This is the theme for the month of September chosen because this is the month when many newcomers come through our doors wondering if this is the is a place for them, if this could be their religious home.
It can be a hard thing to welcome people. Once we get past the “is this your first time,” “how did you find us,” “what is your name,” “please fill out this Visitor card and name badge,” what do we say? How many folks stand around after the service feeling awkward and unsure? We made buttons for people to wear that say things like, “Ask me about my best decision” or “Ask me what I am reading” to try and make it easier for folks to start conversations.
It is easier for us to talk to folks we know. Of course it is. We often seek the familiar. But we were all once “new” here at WUUC. Many of you still remember the person who first welcomed or made you feel welcomed at WUUC. Some of you were ignored completely and took it on as a challenge to find a way in and a place for yourselves and your families.
Welcoming is not something that is done once. It is something that must become a practice. Let us practice it.
Rev. Lo
by WUUC | Jun 28, 2017 | Minister Blog
I struggled with whether or not to attend this year’s General Assembly in New Orleans. I don’t do heat or humidity. I had only been there once before with a group of senior high youth and only the young man who hung out with me all day didn’t get served alcohol. Everyone was salivating about the food. My mind was not on food. It was on heat and humidity and the events within the UUA that had cascaded since March.
What was clear to me was that People of Color/Indigenous have been hurt by this faith that has become home to so many of us who are religious refugees. The stories they tell are painful to listen to, much less have experienced. I was not afraid to hear their stories or their pain even though I did not know how to alleviate it. I was also aware that many of us who are white are in different stages of understanding cultural differences and navigating them with awareness and ease. And there were those whites who were vying to prove they were “more woke” to the issues of race than other white people whom they treated with disdain. For me, this felt like a recipe for disaster: hurt and pain mixed with uppityness and confusion and racism.
What tipped the scale in favor of me going was that my dear colleague was to be recognized with others who were celebrating the 25th anniversary of their ordinations. She and I have been G.A. roommates forever. She, too, was hesitant to wade into the mix this year but I convinced her to go. I also responded to the call from the minister’s association to facilitate a small group where folks could talk about all of these issues by getting to a feeling versus an intellectualization level.
My friend’s flights were cancelled from Denver to New Orleans due to the storm. She never made it to ministry days. Because of texts I received from folks here in Washington concerned about my safety in the predicted hurricane and tornadoes, I became aware that there was a reason that the trees were bending over and staying that way. Stores had run out of ponchos, umbrella’s and rain jackets. It never occurred to me to bring my rain gear. I arrived back at the hotel so wet that people just stared at me as I stood at the counter. But the storms went elsewhere and the sun and heat settled in.
I was grateful for the speakers and sermonizers and the worship at ministry days. I was grateful to see colleagues from all over the country. I was thrilled that leadership had shifted the entire program for us to explore racism in a way that shamed no one. I am grateful to the people of color who spoke to us of their experiences in this denomination. And let me tell you, they were shocking. White Supremacy is alive and well even in our progressive, liberal denomination. But I did not leave with a heaviness or despair. I left with a sense of possibility, of beginning again, and a commitment to do the work of dismantling white supremacist culture within our denomination. It will require a lot of listening to voices that have been marginalized, and trusting that those voices will be taken seriously and that we will commit to change even when it is as uncomfortable as it gets.
Though I did not stay for General Assembly, there were many speakers and workshops that were outstanding. Many of these are available to view online. I encourage you to watch the Ware Lecture as well as many of the worships. Talk to Grace and David Simons, Dawn Blomberg, and Carol Taylor who attended G.A. Listen to what they learned and what they took away from the gathering.
I walked away from G.A. with a sense that this was not the time to despair in UUism. It is a time of foment and possibility and it will require imagination and humility. In closing, I want to share with you the words of Olympia Brown who ministered in the late 1800’s in our tradition. These words were posted on Facebook during ministry days and can be found in the back of our hymnal:
“Stand by this faith. Work for it and sacrifice for it. There is nothing in all the world so important as to be loyal to this faith which has placed before us the loftiest ideals, which has comforted us in sorrow, strengthened us for noble duty and made the world beautiful. Do not demand immediate results but rejoice that we are worthy to be entrusted with this great message, that you are strong enough to work for a great true principle without counting the cost. Go on finding ever new applications of these truths and new enjoyments in their contemplation, always trusting in the one God which ever lives and loves.”
Peace, Shalom, Salaam,
Rev. Lo
