Part 1 1 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,000 As you it 2 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:21,000 enjoy full service 3 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:30,000 and now we'll have the chalice lighting. And this is a submerged chalice lighting for challenging times. By Lisa 4 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,000 Dush 5 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:41,000 By a flaming chalice. The question comes, is the cup of life. We answer a couple of blessings overflowing a cup of water to quench our spirits 6 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:51,000 thirst, a cup of wines and dedication. The flame of truth. The fire of purification. Oil for anointing and healing. 7 00:00:52,000 --> 00:01:01,000 Out of chaos, fear and horror. This was the symbol crafted a generation ago. So might be for us. 8 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:11,000 these days. Some uncertainty, sorrow and rage and delight to warm our souls and guide us home. And now we have our. How 9 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,000 can I keep from singing 10 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:21,000 ? Make sure your audio is muted. Everybody 11 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:54,000 . That was beautiful. So now I'm going to have a reading to Bless the World by Rebecca Parker. 12 00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:04,000 Your gifts, whatever you discovered them to be, can be used to bless or curse the world. The mind's power, the strength of the hands, the 13 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:14,000 reaches of the heart, the gift of speaking, listening, imagining, seeing, waiting. Any of these conserve to feed the hungry 14 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:23,000 , bind up wounds. Welcome the stranger. Praise what is sacred. Do the work of justice. Or offer love any 15 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:33,000 of these can draw down the prison door for bread, abandon the poor, obscure what is wholly comply with injustice or withhold love 16 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:43,000 . You must answer this question. What will you do with your gifts? Choose to bless the world. The choice to bless 17 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:53,000 the world is more than an act of will a moving forward into the world with the intention to do good. It is an act of recognition, a 18 00:07:53,000 --> 00:08:02,000 confession of surprise, a grateful acknowledgment that in the midst of a broken world, unspeakable beauty, grace and mystery abide 19 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:12,000 . There is an embrace of kindness that encompasses a life even years. And while there is injustice, and this that is sation or 20 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:21,000 evil, there moves a holy disturbance of benevolent rage, a revolutionary love protesting, urging, insisting that which is sacred 21 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:31,000 will not be defiled. Those who bless the world live their life as a gesture of thanks for this beauty and this rage. The choice to bless the world 22 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:40,000 can take you into solitude to search for the sources of power and grace, native wisdom, healing and liberation more the choice 23 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:50,000 will draw you into community. The endeavors shared, the heritage passed on, the companionship of struggle, the importance of keeping faith 24 00:08:50,000 --> 00:09:00,000 , the ritual of love and praise, the comfort of human friendship. The Company of Earth, the chorus of life welcoming you 25 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:08,000 . None of us alone can save the world together. That is another possibility. Waiting 26 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:18,000 . Each week we designate time during our service to express joys and sorrows from our weak and from our lives as we move into 27 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:28,000 this ritual, you are invited to unmute yourself or type into the chat. Any joys or sorrows that you would like to share with the congregation? 28 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:38,000 Diana will be dropping pebbles to represent those joys and sorrows their shared and to represent the interconnectedness of this beloved community. 29 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:47,000 As Mother Teresa said, if we have no peace. It is forgotten that we belong to each other. Dropping a pebble into the water creates ripples throughout 30 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:57,000 the entire fish tank. Just as the love, sorrow, joy and service that you bring to this community, transform it and create it, we will 31 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:04,000 stop recording for this portion of the service and will now move into joys and sorrows Part 2 1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 . We'll be finishing the series 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:15,000 I'm sorry. Today, Reverend Deanna Black will be finishing a series of sermons on our mission statement. You'll be speaking on the fourth component of our mission statement titled 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:25,000 Joyful Service. Her sermon is titled How Joyful Is Your Service? And I will hand the service over to her now. Thank you. 4 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:26,000 Deanna. 5 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Good morning, everybody. 6 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:44,000 Start us off. I wanted to read a quote that if we were in church, I would say, look, in the back of your hymnal because it's back there. It's by Edward Everett Hale. 7 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:54,000 He says, I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything. But I still can do something. And because I cannot 8 00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:00,000 do everything, I will not refuse to do this. Something that I can do 9 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:07,000 . This sermon is, as Norma said, the fourth in a series examining our congregations mission statement. 10 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:17,000 We recited it earlier. But let's take a look at it again and briefly review the other aspects that we've discussed in previous sermons since it's been a couple of months since the last one. 11 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:25,000 Our sir our mission statement begins. We gather as an inclusive community 12 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:35,000 in our sermon in January. How inclusive is your community? We talked about making sure our mission is continues to be welcoming to LGB LGBTQ 13 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:44,000 people and make sure that aspect of our service doesn't fall by the wayside. We also talked about how to maybe make our congregation more diverse 14 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:54,000 . The next part of our mission statement is we gather to inspire spiritual growth. So in February, we discussed how inspired 15 00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:04,000 is your spiritual growth. And we talked about the stages of spiritual growth and how it's often prompted by a dark night of the soul, which you might be having now. 16 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:13,000 It's also important to remember that whatever challenges you're having now are likely part of your own spiritual journey. And the lesson 17 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:23,000 in March recovered How compassionately are you living? This was our first online service and it seems like a really long time ago to me. We 18 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:32,000 talked about how difficult it is to be compassionate when we're in fear and the part of the reptile part of our brain that is reactive. We also talked in each of the sermons 19 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:42,000 about how there's this beautiful progression that's present in our mission statement. The spiritual growth part that we do, which is self focused, leads to compassionate living 20 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:51,000 , which is community focused. And as we build a Balt beloved community, that naturally leads to joyful service. So bear this progression in mind as we go through this 21 00:02:51,000 --> 00:03:01,000 service today. So today we wrap up with how joyful is your service? And as we think about this, I'd like to ask you, what does 22 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:10,000 joyful service look like to you? What times can you think of when doing something for someone else brought you unparalleled joy 23 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:20,000 ? Because those moments when we feel like we've made a difference for someone are the ones that keep us serving joyfully. But it's worth mentioning that all of those 24 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:30,000 the sermons were given in what now seems like a different world than were before the tornado that hit Cookeville. And then 25 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:39,000 the compassionate living was the very first week that we went to quarantine and online services. And as I read through them briefly, as I read through them briefly in preparation 26 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:49,000 for this service, I felt sort of stunned at how much has changed so quickly in only two months. But of course, our mission hasn't changed because the world 27 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:59,000 has changed. But it's worth re-examining it in the light of the new way we are meeting and living. And it's worth examining whether what we're currently doing 28 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:08,000 as a congregation still lives up to our mission. We're going to talk about the needs of the congregation going forward and what each of us can do to step up and meet those 29 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:18,000 needs. We're going to look at service as a spiritual practice and we're going to talk about the service of taking care of one another. And that's never been 30 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:28,000 more important than it is now. So as Ivan reminds us regularly, our mission statement was born of a need to reexamine our motivations in meeting 31 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:37,000 . Why he has said to us, do we do this thing called church? We have defined our why? It's our mission statement. And today we recite it 32 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:47,000 at each service to remind ourselves why we're here. Except we're not here. I mean, we're here, but we're not literally at church together. We're in our living 33 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:56,000 rooms. And maybe there's a distraction in the other room. Or maybe it's harder to concentrate because of the strange format. It seems like it strikes at the very heart of our mission that we 34 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:06,000 gather part that we're not gathering, except we are. I think of this virtual meeting as the worst thing I've ever been this thankful for. 35 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:16,000 This past week, I received an email from Reverend Susan Frederick Gray, who is president of the Unitarian Universalist 36 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:25,000 Association. In a moment, when many churches are rushing to get back to in-person services, our organization is being more cautious. And I'd like to add that our board is also 37 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:34,000 being cautious. I'd like to read this message that she sent to you, because I think it's important that everyone here at 38 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:40,000 this message from the UCLA president updated guidance for gathering 39 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:50,000 their leaders as states around the country begin to loosen guidelines and take actions to reopen even as covered 19 cases. And Deskins 40 00:05:50,000 --> 00:06:00,000 decline. We have received many questions from congregations about returning to in-person gatherings over the past several weeks. The UK has consulted with 41 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:09,000 multiple public health officials in order to update the guidance we provided on March 12th regarding recommending congregations stop gathering in person 42 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:19,000 based on advice from experts. We continue to recommend that congregations not gather in person. We also recommend that congregations begin planning 43 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:29,000 for virtual operations or the next year through May twenty twenty one. Take a moment to breathe. I know this is significant 44 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:38,000 . While there is much public conversation about reopening. The reality is public health officials consistently predict a long trajectory for this pandemic. A majority 45 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:48,000 of our congregational members, leaders and staff members are in high risk categories. Our care for the well-being and safety of our members and staff must be a priority in this pandemic. 46 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:58,000 Additionally, religious gatherings are considered highly contagious events. The act of singing the familiarity of people across households multi generate 47 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:08,000 community of children, gives adults and seniors things that make our congregation so special. Also create more risk for spreading the virus 48 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:18,000 given that so much uncertainty and risk remain. Anticipating a year of virtual operations allows for much more creative long term planning 49 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:27,000 while still being flexible if conditions change significantly. We recognize that with time and depending on their specific conditions and recommendations of local public health officials, 50 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:37,000 small in-person groups of people and limited staff activities on site may become possible while wearing masks, observing social distancing guidelines and following 51 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:47,000 diligent cleaning practices and making our recommendations. We are guided by science and our deeply deepest held values. This pandemic teaches 52 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:57,000 that our actions directly impact the health and well-being of our neighbors. And so it is imperative that we make choices that people, our congregations and larger community, safer 53 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:06,000 as covered 19 disproportionately impacts people with disabilities, black people, indigenous communities, Latin text people, the elderly and essential workers. A majority 54 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:16,000 are women and women of color. Religious communities have a moral responsibility to do all we can to reduce risks for those already at such high risk 55 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:25,000 . Public health officials are clear that we need to be multiple weeks of reduction in infections, adequate testing, sufficient personal protective equipment available 56 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:34,000 contact tracing programs, and perhaps a vaccine before it will be safe for many of our congregations to fully gather in-person again 57 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:44,000 , all this said. Our ministries are essential services. I am moved by congregations who are increasing their services and generosity 58 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:54,000 of the larger community during this pandemic. I am inspired by those who are keeping their virtual doors open. Many congregations have committed to keeping their services widely accessible 59 00:08:54,000 --> 00:09:04,000 and available to new people and visitors, while also creating more opportunities for virtual small groups. The Jeonju, the social, spiritual, emotional and material needs 60 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:13,000 members. We hope that a vaccine or an effective treatment will be found soon to change this timeline. In the meantime, being able to plan the longer horizon of virtual services 61 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:24,000 offers an opportunity to be creative and planning for life-giving, a central ministry across physical distance. I continue to hold you, your community and all of our people in my 62 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:33,000 heart and in my prayers. I know adjusting to this new reality is heartbreaking. I also believe congregations who continue to lean into their mission and life 63 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:43,000 saving ministry will find ways to thrive in this time. Ministry is so deeply needed, as is moral leadership rooted in community care and in science 64 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:50,000 may keep offering this to our communities. Yours in love and gratitude. Susan 65 00:09:50,000 --> 00:10:00,000 So I confess that this hit me a little hard. I had known made in the back of my mind that we were heading for another spike in cases and that nothing's 66 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:10,000 really changed. And it's not time to go back to gathering, but continuing like this for another year, named for a couple of days anyway. Really overwhelming to me. I'm not just speaking about 67 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:15,000 services when I say that. I'm talking about life in general. 68 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:24,000 And I am enjoying our services. But still, it seems like they take just a little bit more emotional and mental energy. Maybe you're having that experience, too. 69 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:32,000 Xoom fatigue is real. So if you're having a lot of other media virtual meetings, it can take a toll on you. 70 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:42,000 I promise you that those who are preparing these services are feeling a little bit of an extra drain or maybe a lot. So please make sure you thank them for their hard work to make our services 71 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:52,000 feel as much like our in-person services as possible. The last sermon I gave as we talked about mothering ourselves, I gave you our chalice circle. Montre When it comes 72 00:10:52,000 --> 00:11:02,000 to volunteering. If it's not healthy, yes, it's no. And from the book, which I'm taking a lot of this service from, that's called Serving with Grace 73 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:11,000 Lay Leadership as a spiritual practice. The mantra is your no is as sacred as your yes. And yet none of us are here because 74 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:21,000 we enjoy complacency. We're here to challenge ourselves and one another to grow spiritually. And spiritual growth doesn't happen unless you occasionally 75 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:31,000 push yourself a little bit. I realize that this is a tough time to think about pushing yourself, but I would like for us to think collectively about the roles that need filling 76 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:40,000 our congregation. And I want you to be aware of where our needs lie. We have a team of about six people who coordinate our services 77 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,000 out of about. It is usually about 30 on a Sunday 78 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:54,000 since we've gone to online services. That number has shrunk to about three or four. Each person in our congregation. I want you to remember it needs time to 79 00:11:54,000 --> 00:12:04,000 give in, time to receive spiritually. I'd like to read an excerpt from the book Serving with Grace. Hopefully my e-reader 80 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:07,000 will cooperate. It's not as easy as a book 81 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:17,000 . This is under no is as sacred as yes. If there's one major barrier to the idea of lay leadership as a spiritual practice, it's that in far 82 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:27,000 too many of our congregations, only a handful of people do the vast majority of the work. This is sometimes referred to as the 80/20 rule. The oft repeated 83 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:37,000 statistic that 80 percent of the work is done by 20 percent of the people. Over time, those doing the work not only tend to stay a consistent portion of the whole 84 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:46,000 , but also are likely to remain the same people. Sometimes these stalwarts stay in the same positions year after year. Sometimes 85 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:56,000 they rotate seemingly endlessly through the various leadership roles of the congregation. But in too many congregations today, a small group does most of the work and has been doing 86 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:06,000 so for far too long. These church leaders are tired of always being the ones to step up and pitch in, tired of asking for help with no one coming forward. Tired 87 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:16,000 doing all the work and having all the responsibility, they ask. Isn't this supposed to be my spiritual home? Then they finally step down from all the leadership roles they've been holding 88 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:25,000 , and all too frequently leave the church altogether. Meanwhile, there are inevitably those among the other 80 percent who want to feel more closely connected 89 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:35,000 to their spiritual community to contribute to it in a tangible way, but feel that there's no place at the table for them. The first problem these folks face is 90 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:44,000 that they are overwhelmed. The people who seem to have been stuck doing everything have not only been getting the work done, but have also been modeling inadvertently 91 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:54,000 a particular understanding of leadership. That leadership in the church means doing everything. This can make it extremely difficult for the person who simply wants to 92 00:13:54,000 --> 00:14:03,000 do something to step up. The majority of congregations don't have very many examples of people doing something while other people do other things. 93 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:13,000 Rather, we often see the same people doing everything forever and then burning out. Not exactly a great strategy for recruiting new leaders, though. A lot 94 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:23,000 . These 80 percent folks don't step up because they just can't imagine doing everything that Jane, Dorothy or Tavia have been doing all these years. They don't want to burn out in their church 95 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,000 . They want to be lit up 96 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:35,000 . There's that old Protestant adage about many hands making light work. And, of course, that holds true. So I want to ask you, if you only had a co-coordinator 97 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:45,000 service about twice a year, maybe four times a year. Is it something that you could step up and do so that others can relax and enjoy the services more often? 98 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:55,000 even if your first reaction isn't hell? Yes. Is this an area where you think you might be able to stretch your comfort zone just a little bit? I don't want to embarrass 99 00:14:55,000 --> 00:15:05,000 service coordinator today, but in response to a desperate need for a coordinator in a service about service, despite not feeling great and despite not being entirely 100 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:14,000 comfortable with the technology, she stepped up to service DEBASS LAWMA. Thank you so much for doing that. In addition, June is almost upon us and according 101 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:24,000 our congregation bylaws, that is when we left our next congregational ward. As it right now and of course, pending your vote, Charles is 102 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:34,000 expected to be president. Susie will be secretary. Jennifer will be the treasurer. And Norma, Cassandra and Lydia. Well, I think we'll be members at large as of right 103 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:43,000 now, we have no president elect in the past few years. Tracy, three years ago, I think served as president elect. And it was supposed 104 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:53,000 to be until someone else stepped up and then no one stepped up. So she had to be president again. And then she went off the board. And there was another vacancy when I became 105 00:15:53,000 --> 00:16:03,000 a minister and she stepped up yet again to be our president. And I I've lost count of how many hairs Tracy has been president, but it's a lot. President told us through some budget issues 106 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:13,000 , the change of minister, a transition to online services and a variety of other glitches of small and large varieties. 107 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:22,000 Doozie and Charles took a year off, but otherwise they too have been on the board for years. When you look at a flock of geese flying in that V formation that 108 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:32,000 is so familiar to all of us, have you ever wondered why they fly like that? It's because the aerodynamics re deduced the drag and their wings. So the geese 109 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:41,000 that are in the front couple of positions are doing a lot of work while they're making it easier for those who fly in the back. Ta ta 110 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:51,000 to do that long migration. So and as you might imagine, though, they take turns holding those front positions so that no 111 00:16:51,000 --> 00:17:01,000 one goose is forced to flap hardest per mile after mile of their long migration without a rest difference. If you can consider it 112 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:10,000 , if you've never tried service on the board, or if it's been many years since you have considered letting some of our other geese fly further back into formation for a while, you have questions 113 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:20,000 . We'd be happy to tell you what services President elect entails. It's really no more difficult than serving as a member at large, except, of course, that you have to think about 114 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:28,000 being president the following year, which our current board also makes very easy. So give that some thought, please. 115 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:38,000 So I'm reading from my Commission Lay Ministry Curriculum, a book called Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times 116 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:47,000 . And I think our times more than qualified is that this is what it says. The leader will need to challenge the congregation, anxious as they may be 117 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:57,000 to use anxious times as a springboard for change, learning and different functioning. What is at stake may be the very vocation to which God has 118 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:06,000 called and gathered these people together. Their ministry and mission. Whatever you think about God calling us here, we are called maybe by something 119 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:16,000 that says, I need these people. I feel nourished here. Maybe you believe it's a deity or maybe your human drive for community or maybe of 120 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,000 passion for social justice. 121 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:29,000 But as you ponder meaning this way for the next year, virtually. If we burn out the half a dozen people or so, we're taking the lead in the congregation now 122 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:39,000 , who will take the lead? Well, we find that meeting online is just too much struggle and it's no longer feasible. How will we determine our ministry and mission 123 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:48,000 in these different circumstances? As I think about this next year, I believe that we're gonna need to adapt to survive. We're going to need to have some out of the box 124 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:58,000 thinkers, and hopefully that means new thinkers. So let's think for a minute about our mission in light of these circumstances. How does a pandemic change 125 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:08,000 the fact that we gather? So far it hasn't. There's a couple of our dear friends who have been missing for the most part. We're still here together. Maybe we 126 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:17,000 need to reach out to those who are having challenges with the technology and make sure they can find ways to connect with us. Whether that's for Sunday service or just desperately needed 127 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:27,000 human connection in this lonely time out is a pandemic. Change our call to spiritual growth. What we need to make sure we're not neglecting our own spiritual development 128 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:32,000 in a time when our needs might feel threatened 129 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:40,000 . And also, how does life in our congregation spur us to greater spiritual growth? And how has this dynamic changed 130 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:50,000 ? Serving with grace recommends that we rethink our service, that we consider it not a cart compartmentalised. This is the spiritual aspect of church 131 00:19:50,000 --> 00:20:00,000 and this is the practical aspect of church, such as serving on the board or dealing with the money. It says this is a quote People who come to Unitarian Universalism 132 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:10,000 seeking spiritual goods are likely to be disappointed. So long as they have the outlook of consumers in search of material 133 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:20,000 goods, if their connection to our liberal faith is to grow into something more rewarding, they have to give up the consumer mindset and begin to think of themselves 134 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:29,000 instead as shareholders, investors, co owners of what happens in church. Lay work is a natural complement to worship 135 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:39,000 the opportunity to act upon and test your YouTube values. Reverend Alice Blair Wesley writes, Show me the patterns of your church organization and 136 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:48,000 I'll show you what the people of the church find worthy of their loyalty. Organization and theology are not two different things. Our organization is a function of our actual 137 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:58,000 theology. If you were to look at serving someone in the congregation as a spiritual practice just as much as your meditation or reading spiritual 138 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:08,000 material or your walks in nature, prayer or whatever you consider your spiritual practice, how would that change the way you approach it? How would that change 139 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:17,000 the way you deal with a difficult person who who challenges you when you have these interactions? And that question applies whether we've been serving 140 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:26,000 the congregation in some sort of traditional way for a very long time or we've just been associating for a few months 141 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:35,000 now. I know that some of you think about serving as worship coordinator or a board member is outside the scope of your joyful service. And this sermon is not a guilt trip 142 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:45,000 . We celebrate you just as you are, and we never demand that you serve in any particular capacity. What I am asking is that you consider some sort 143 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:55,000 of service and consider the ways that your service can adapt to this new congregational reality. You remember this story of stone soup? Many 144 00:21:55,000 --> 00:22:05,000 heard it in elementary or middle school this past week. Braver, wiser newsletter that he sends out talked about stone soup and I love it. So I'm going to read it to 145 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:14,000 this is by Liz James. I'm not sure those townspeople were being selfish in the stone soup story. You probably remember 146 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:24,000 how it goes when the old woman came into the village and asked for ingredients to make food. Everyone said they had nothing. She began boiling a pot of water with a stone in it. 147 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:33,000 and she said, Oh, I wish I had a little salt. Then someone came forward shyly with a tiny bit tucked away in the pocket, and she wondered out loud if she 148 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:43,000 could find a few root vegetables, and another person had that. Someone else had a few spoonfuls of rice and so on until a glorious soup was made. We're taught that this 149 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:53,000 is about tricking a meal out of selfish people, but I don't really think that's what happened. I mean, if someone asked me if I had a meal to share with them and I only 150 00:22:53,000 --> 00:23:02,000 have half a teaspoon of salt or a few old vegetables that are always in the back of my fridge, I would say I couldn't help. I wouldn't be lying when I said I 151 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:12,000 had nothing to give, I'd just be wrong. When we say that there's nothing we can do, we're not worrying that phone call. You might make that $5 152 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:22,000 . We might donate that quick email of encouragement. We might send these things feel so small that we think they're the same thing as having nothing to offer 153 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:31,000 the stone soup. Sorry isn't about selfish people, it's about people who thought they were powerless. It's about people learning that they had something to offer 154 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:36,000 that would feed themselves and each other 155 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:46,000 have been thinking a lot about connection in this time when we're all feeling very good. I've been thinking about Xoom fatigue and looking at all of your beloved faces through 156 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:55,000 screen when I can see you. And yet not quite make satisfying eye contact. I must speaking to you before service. And when I practice 157 00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:00,000 this part of the sermon, I cried. So if I do again, I apologize 158 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:10,000 . I missed speaking to you before service. And here he left after service. I miss Janie's piano. I miss sharing potluck meals with you. And I miss having you. 159 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:19,000 I know you're missing all of those things, too. I know that what we have right now is not what you would prefer. I also know that every one 160 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:29,000 of you is having your own struggles in this pandemic, whether you're at home or you're working, whether you're feeling very alone or very on top of your family members. 161 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:39,000 And I know that maybe sometimes this doesn't quite feel like the congregation that you've already invested in. On the good days 162 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:48,000 , we're so thankful to be able to meet at all. But on the bad days, we might close the blue jeans connection and feel just really sad that it's a shadow of the fellowship we're used to 163 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:58,000 . Though I'm going to ask you for one form of service above all else, take care of one another. 164 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:07,000 if you're feeling lonely. Reach out. I'm one for no reason other than you were thinking of them together in a little care package for a congregation member and 165 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:17,000 drop it in the mail to brighten their day. Check in with someone and let them know how very much you miss their in-person presence. If they need groceries, if you're 166 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:27,000 having a rough day, reach out and look for a shoulder to cry on. You're having a good day. See if someone else needs your steady presence. Make a commitment. A spiritual 167 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:37,000 practice of reaching out to your friends in the congregation. There is not one of us that can't do this. The board and the CLB committee and I 168 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:46,000 have been talking recently about putting together a circle of care to make sure we're reaching out to everyone and no one slips through the cracks. It seemed like to be officially on a list of people 169 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:56,000 who do that. Please let us know. We're still working out the details. But you don't need to put your name on a list to reach out. This is a form of service that can be done in just a couple 170 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:06,000 minutes. Write a note or you can take the time to plan a phone call or maybe even find a way to get together socially safely. Social distancing 171 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:15,000 , somebody's yard or something. How you reach out might not matter as much as just knowing you reached out. Sermon is probably already 172 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:25,000 over time. And there's so much more I want to say. Next week our topic is we need to talk. So we're going to focus on this last aspect of service. A 173 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:35,000 little more to talk about ways to connect with people, how to give them the precious gifts of empathy and presence. We're going to experiment with different conversational techniques 174 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:45,000 and ways of finding connection. And in some ways, it's part two in this sermon, because I really wanted to talk about how caring for one another is at the heart of our service to the congregation. 175 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:54,000 It's the point of the congregation. So stay tuned. In the meantime, you don't need to be told how to make somebody feel that warm, fuzzy feeling that we all get 176 00:26:54,000 --> 00:27:04,000 when someone says, I've been thinking of you. I hope to hear your experiences of going out of your way at least once this week. That's basically someone who's been on your mind and heart approach 177 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:14,000 as a spiritual practice and see how you can be present. You can be with that. And all of you are very much on my mind. And 178 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:23,000 in my heart. Many of you have already given me that warm, fuzzy, fuzzy feeling while rest has been sick, asking how we are and if we need anything. You are also appreciated. Hold one 179 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:28,000 another close in love. However, socially distantly may be 180 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:04,000 . And with that, I'll turn it to our website. 181 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,000 Oh, sorry. 182 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,000 You're putting it on the 183 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:21,000 OK. Thank you. And that that was a wonderful sermon. Though our services are on one, we are still accepting 184 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:31,000 donations for our offertory to contribute. Checks can be mailed to thirty one W4 Street in Courville, or you can find a link to our PayPal account on our Web site 185 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:41,000 . You cook bill dot org. And now we have the him for titled Be the Change 186 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:36,000 . Say 187 00:32:54,000 --> 00:33:03,000 we extinguish. It's the everyone will repeat with this. OK, now we come to that part of the service where 188 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:13,000 we extinguished the chalice. So if everyone will repeat with me, please, we extinguished this flame, but not the light 189 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:23,000 truth. The warmth of community or the fire of commitment. These we carry in our hearts until we are together again. 190 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:27,000 And Blake, Deanna has some closing words 191 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:34,000 . Deanna 192 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:50,000 , the Reverend Ashley AURIN, who is always organizing strategy director 193 00:33:51,000 --> 00:34:00,000 . The name of it is Another World is Possible. We say it again and again, even when the proof lies somewhere beyond the horizon behind our beyond 194 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:10,000 our reach, beyond our imagination. This is our faith. Another world is possible. Not somewhere else. Not another world. Another lifetime. 195 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:20,000 Here and now for us and for all. Another world is possible. There is no single path to that world. No 196 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:29,000 one strategy or approach that will restore balance, heal brokenness. So wholeness re creation. There are many routes toward liberation. 197 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:39,000 toward freedom, but the abundance of options does not absolve us of the responsibility of acting. Another world is possible. The call to 198 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:49,000 duty of each moment in history is to discern who are we? And what can we bring with humility, integrity and faith? What 199 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:58,000 is the context? And how can we address it with agility, resilience and skill? What is the vision and how can we realize it? With accountability, relationship 200 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:08,000 , enjoy. Another world is possible in this time of despair, of fear, of collapse. It's time that is both. Like every other 201 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:18,000 era and like no other time in history, it is audacious to declare our faith and to commit our work to a world that is more free, more just 202 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:28,000 more whole. But we are an audacious people in good company and with many kin, and we are ready to show up and work hard and stay humble. 203 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:38,000 and make friends and hold the vision. Starting care now today with us and persevering however long it takes until that other 204 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:44,000 world is not only possible, but another world is here. 205 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:50,000 Thank you very much 206 00:35:50,000 --> 00:36:00,000 . We'll have announcements. Talis Circle will be on Tuesday evening, 6:00 p.m. We're switching to the online platforms 207 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:07,000 and a link will be posted on Facebook Group, an email that on Tuesday 208 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:17,000 , as Jeff noted previously, we do need service coordinators. And I was somewhat leery of this 209 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:27,000 because of the technology and et cetera, but it actually was OK. So I'll probably sign up for 210 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:36,000 more days, but we would enjoy having other people try it out and see how it feels. So I reach out to Gates. If 211 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:46,000 you're interested or anyone on the board and they can point you in the right direction and they want us to keep sending pictures of flowers for our online 212 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:55,000 flower communion Sunday to Tracy and I have her email address. It's t a see 213 00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:05,000 you USAC at G-mail dot com and include any relevant information like the type of flower or it is or what signify 214 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:10,000 . Does anybody else have an announcement 215 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:18,000 ? Yeah. I think I'm probably going to do a T with D this week just to hang out. It'll be the asume 216 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:28,000 , so I'm not sure what they. If you have a day preference, let me know. I've been experimenting with different days and times. 217 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:33,000 Probably be on Friday. I don't know. Stay tuned. I'll let you know 218 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:42,000 . Anybody else 219 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:47,000 ? Patrick, are you here? 220 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:57,000 Patry? I am indeed here. Oh, would you please 221 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,000 ? Absolutely. You please. 222 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:10,000 And we will have. We will have reflections in about five minutes. So that would be about or maybe 223 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:20,000 five minutes, 11 0 5. Does that sound good? OK. Sounds good. Thank you, Patrick. We're ready for you. OK. 224 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:29,000 And all we Fleischman's in the kitchen for a few. Enjoy. We freshman's 225 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:35,000 . Thank you so much, Patrick. That's wonderful. 226 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:41,000 OK. See everybody in five minutes, so to speak.