Category Archives: ministry

May10

Summer Worship

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My life has been so rich and full that too often I push aside this writing opportunity. Months ago I resorted to a simple spreadsheet to keep track of projects and deadlines, people and promises. Perhaps I should have a similar spreadsheet or an even more visible reminder of personal interests.

With a newsletter deadline coming up next week, I need to focus on Summer Worship. The summer theme is Power and Justice: Out in the World. We’ll have a Hogwarts Camp for children and youth and I was thinking of Harry Potter and his friends’ quest for justice!

My intention is to recognize that while we may not agree on specific problems and solutions, we can learn something about how relationships with those who have very different views, opinions, and passions. It’s a spiritual challenge for all of us.

June Sundays

June 2, I’ll launch the series with a look at personal power: Authentic Power. What can one person do? What difference will it make?

June 9, the Rev. Christina Branum-Martin,  who moved last year to Decatur, Georgia, will preach on The Arc of the Universe. How can we relate to the stranger beyond the current political environment? How can a bystander become part of the solution? Christina’s older daughter is an activist against bullying in her school. How do we increase awareness of bullying and what do we do?  In the afternoon we’ll dedicate Christina’s baby with a special Blessing Service.

June 16, the Rev. Dr. Leonora Montgomery, on The Unique Power of Men. She is making a point to interview men in multiple generations to get a better sense of their understanding of power or frustration over lack of same.

June 23, the Rev. Bob Tucker on Justice from Jail. It has been 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous letter from the Birmingham Jail. Bob will address King’s understanding of justice and his movement to bring that to fruition.

June 30, the Rev. Bob Tucker will return for a sermon he calls “I Am a Man,” to speak on King as a full, rich human being. King was a deeply spiritual man, well grounded in his prayer life. He was passionate about economic justice and an end to war as well as racial justice. The complex nature of King as a person has been lost over the years, distilled into a clip from his “I Have a Dream” speech.

In July I’ll launch a mini-series of 3 sermons on independence and immigration (not yet set in stone):

July 7: Independence for Everyone? Many of our ancestors came here undocumented; today they would be denied entry. Who do we have yet to serve? Why don’t “they” just come here legally?

July 14: A Day in Court, based on experiences and observations of retired judge Susan Yarbrough and her new book (I’d better call her to make sure she’ll be in town on the 14th!) Bench-Pressed: A Judge Recounts the Many Blessings and Heavy Lessons of Hearing Immigration Asylum Cases

July 21: America’s Second Kitchen, with a focus on restaurant workers who cook and serve our food. Even with tips, a minimum wage of $2.13 that has not risen in a decade leaves millions in poverty. Some unscrupulous employers cheat workers out of the tip pool, too. Who are the people behind the scenes of our happy practice of dining out?

For  July 28, Aug. 4, and Aug. 11 , I’m contemplating a 3-week series on local justice issues. One good possibility is our own Healthy Parenting project with our African-American neighbors. We provide tutoring for school aged children, tutoring for single moms who are in college, and nurturing childcare for those moms while the tutoring and workshops are in session.

I wonder what other Houston-area issues I should address? Maybe I’ll also revisit the entire summer and look at local work in the areas of racism, immigration, and/or bullying. Actually, I’d like to keep those 3 weeks relatively open for the moment. The suggestion box is now open in the Comment section. ♥ Help me out, won’t you?

Incidentally, Daniel O’Connell will be back in the pulpit Aug. 18 and 26 with a two-part survey of Unitarian Universalism, especially geared to church shoppers.

Apr13

Transformation as a sermon idea

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What is your take on transformation?

I just finished a very rough draft and condensed it to an outline for my sermon 2 weeks from now. This Team ministry is an extraordinary way to push each of us to pull our thoughts together early, to offer relevant material and ideas, and to suggest appropriate music and a story that will become the Big Idea for all ages.

The sermon series on Transformation begins April 20. My sermon, Life Story, is secheduled for the 28th at our Mid-Town location. Two weeks later, my content will be delivered live or via video at our two satellite locations. Fun stuff!

I hope to “get at” the dreams we have as (children and) adults to imagine ourselves and the world as different, ultimately accepting it (and ourselves) as beautiful, and discovering our own transformation. The basic steps I’ll address are these:

Acceptance

Imagination

Liminality (the transitional period from the old to the new)

Transformation

Spiritual Fulfillment / Acceptance and Gratitude

So now’s your chance to help me shape this sermon. Yes, I have a rough draft filled with my own reflections, stories, and message, but there will be more wrestling with all of it until that last moment before delivery. A gestational period, I suppose.

But now, it’s Friday evening at 6 p.m. I think I’ll have a glass of wine with my neighbors!

Mar21

20 years and counting!

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Today marks the 20th anniversary of my Ordination!

Way last century, back in 1993, I was ordained by the members of Northwoods Unitarian Universalist Church. After the laying on of hands I think I was floating for weeks. Both sons Rob and Fred Nugen participated in the service and surprised me with a simultaneous kiss on each cheek in front of the congregation.

The Rev. Dr. Leonora Montgomery preached the sermon–and now I’m back in Houston, where she is Minister Emerita of Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church, retired (though still extremely active), and a member of the church I now serve, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston.

In that summer of 1993, freshly ordained and graduated from Perkins School of Theology at SMU in Dallas, I was in search of a congregation but without an income. Leonora graciously offered her garage apartment and many late night conversations in her kitchen. It was a bonus to have a swimming pool just 2-3 feet from my door. I continue to feel grateful for her kindness, generosity, and wisdom shared with so many colleagues and congregations.

I plan to celebrate today by working on my sermon. What a privilege it has been to delve into a topic, reflect on its spiritual aspects and why they matter, and craft a coherent message for people who have a variety of experiences and spiritual understandings. My sermon this week is actually on a universal theme: “A Good Birth, a Good Life, a Good Death.”

Life is sacred all the way from birth through death and into whatever beyond one might imagine. We fear aging and debilitating illness more than death. We can’t quite imagine death–what that means for us and how life as we know it will change after we’re gone. We’d be glad to live forever if we could stay healthy, vibrant, and wise. (Few of us wish to return to our youth and go through all the tough times again.)

Tomorrow my loving husband Jon Montgomery will take me to dinner for a different kind of celebration. Meanwhile I will dive back into this vocation that has taken me on an adventure of a lifetime.

Jan1

Window into Self, Window onto the World

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8 window

The circle of life has brought us to a new calendar year that serves as a silent reminder of the passage of time. It comes one week after the longest and most elaborate cultural and religious holiday of the year. A natural pause after that frenetic season lends itself to reflection on another yearly journey around the sun.

Let light shine through the window into your self

and from you onto the world.

There is an underlying rhythm to a year that includes seasonal flows, recurring cycles, and ordinary days. A semester in school has a flow of preparation, instruction, study, and final exams. Recurring cycles include birthday celebrations, graduations, and anniversaries; they include the grief of layoffs, divorce, illness and death. It is important to celebrate well and to grieve well, but not to expect them to balance one another.

Most of the year fills with ordinary plans and projects while constantly weighing priorities. When someone asks, “How are you?” the most common answer is “Busy.” There is a long list of things to do, but I have seen plenty of idle time, too. A quick nap has become more acceptable so that we can then get busy again.

From time to time the world intrudes in unexpected yet predictable ways. Ordinary days are sometimes interrupted by news of natural disasters, public shootings, political battles, warfare. On the positive side are acts of courage that go with every tragedy.

Let’s turn a new page, shall we? We have seen the best and worst of society. We can live our ordinary days with their special rhyme and reason. But add this to your list: Reflect on your one brief life. Then find some courage to change something for the better. A “busy” life needs to mean something to yourself, to your loved ones, and to the world.

 

Dec22

Christmas Weekend

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Christmas weekend is upon us at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, like millions of other churches around the world. The longing for peace and a spark of hope is always strong at this time of year.

Tomorrow there will be an engaging sermon by the Rev. Dr. Leonora Montgomery, Minister Emerita of Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church. (No, not the Bay Area in California, but in Clear Lake City, Texas, home of NASA’s Mission Control.) Well into her 9th decade of life, Leonora will speak of her pilgrimage toward God and invite us to entertain at least the possibility of God’s existence. Her journey took many turns over the years. Now she no longer worries about whether or not she is right. Instead she is satisfied that, having explored many options from childhood on, her beliefs stand firm.

That sounds good to me. Believe what you believe without worry. Explore at your own pace if you wish, but don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers. Who does? No one really knows all there is to know about God.

Christmas Eve at First Church offers a double header. At 5:30, a family pageant coordinated by our Religious Educator Natalie Browne will be a treat for all ages. Adults will ponder lovely messages and food for thought and the children and youth move us all into and through one of the most beloved stories of all: the birth of a child. Shepherds and magi and angels add layers of importance to this child’s birth. Did the people who paid their respects know what he would teach during his lifetime? Could they have imagined ideas so progressive to his time that he would someday be executed?

But at Christmas there is only the birth of this holy child, reminding us that “Each night a child is born is a holy night” (Sophia Lyon Fahs).

At 7 we’ll have a service of lessons and carols. Choirs will sing at both services, but at the second one we’ll have a brass quartet. What a fanfare! The Rev. Dr. Daniel O’Connell will deliver the homily.

Both services will end in the traditional way: with candlelight throughout the sanctuary and Silent Night sung into the darkened space. “All is calm, all is bright,” we sing with hope in our hearts even knowing that this world is chock full of sorrow and tragedy. On this symbolic night let the spirit of love flow through every heart.

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The “Nativity of our Lord” carved in rock salt in the cathedral of Saint Kinga, in the salt mine of Wieliczka in Poland, 101 meters under the surface…
Sculptor of the figures: Mieczysław Kluzek
St. Kinga’s Chapel

Phote by Klearchos Kapoutsis

This photo was taken on August 1, 2009 in Lednica Niemiecka, Wieliczka, Lesser Poland, PL, using aCanon EOS 450D.

Nov27

Juggling by Threes

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This has been a great day to juggle several things: generating an order of service for a memorial service, meeting with a team of ministers, educators, and musicians about our collaborative worship plans, developing a proposed plan for a Rapid Response Network in the Houston area, and adjusting my 2013 calendar for incoming events. Interesting that I chose the word “incoming.” Rather indicative of my feeling that multiple things are coming at me at once. The dates in your calendar are closer than they appear.

Well okay then.

This morning I read some advice from Management Tools (a great resources with a free newsletter, podcasts, and the option to sign up for more). Not revolutionary but practical and easy as 1, 2, 3. When things are coming at you, fast and furious, or you find yourself stuck in the mire of inertia, there’s something satisfying about the number 3.

One: Pick the next three things you need to do.  Write them down on a post it or a piece of scrap paper.  Do them.  Every time you get distracted and think – what was I supposed to be doing? – go back to your short list.  When you’ve done the first three, do another three.  You’ll be amazed at how many completed post-it notes you’ll end up with.  I find this helps on days full of interruptions or when I’m feeling a little [overwhelmed].
Two: At the end of the day, pick the most important three things for you to do the next day.  Write them down.  Do those things FIRST, before email, before phone calls, before any meetings.  If you use this technique, you’ll always be working on your priorities.
Three: If your list is very long, pick three like things, and do just those.  Three phone calls, three emails, three pages you need to print, three pieces of filing.  If you like stability, do three more of those things until all that group is done.  If you like variety, do three of something different.
Part of their advice reminds me of another resource, a book with a great title: Never Check Email in the Morning by my hero Julie Morgenstern (Fireside/Simon& Schuster, 2005). In other words, take control of your day before it is swallowed by other (very important) information, requests, or events.
Busy days can be the most productive of all. When I had just 10 minutes before a meeting I sent out the first draft of that order of service, printed a document for the meeting, and showed up ready to participate. After the meeting I had received a reply that generated a second draft. Feels good to accomplish a lot. There’s also a down side, so read on.
Give yourself a break! Just as skipping a meal to lose weight just means you’re so hungry later you want to eat everything in sight, going non-stop from one task to another means you starve yourself of time for reflection. If you have to schedule time for yourself in your calendar, do it! Then you can honestly tell someone you have other plans.
So here’s what I’m working on, just for me: yoga in the morning, a walk every day after lunch, and learning and practicing a Bach aria assigned by my voice teacher. Easy as 1, 2, 3. Then I might pick another three or maybe even the same ones!
What works for you? How do you balance work, family, chores, and self-care? It won’t always balance on a given day, but is there a rhythm you can sustain over time?
Nov19

Bless you!

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Here’s the text of my sermon Nov. 11 at First Unitarian Universalist Church in Houston, TX. Bless You

A clip: “Blessings restore our souls. When you count them up the problems of the day diminish their hold. Be a blessing. Do you know that you are already a blessing? . . . Do you know that you bless one another? . . .”

As we approach our American Thanksgiving, our only holiday that requires no gifts or cards, just the hospitable tradition of sharing a meal. May you be blessed in many ways this week, no matter where you live!

If you have patience,  time, and interest, there’s a video link to the sermon   http://vimeo.com/53523519

 

Nov1

In brief

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It’s November! My six-month break from employment is over!

On Monday I’ll be moving to an apartment in Houston, thanks to the help of my husband Jon and his faithful little pickup truck Francis. I’ve tried to select the lightest and most compact furniture possible. Books are harder to compress, but I was quite selective and filled just five boxes. Most likely more will migrate to Houston as I travel back and forth.

The Administrator tells me that my name is on the church sign, business cards were ordered, and my office is ready. Sweet!

Meanwhile in Austin, I’ve written a meditation, selected a reading, and written the first draft of about half a sermon. Not ready for primetime, but it’s a start. Our sermon series is on Blessing, featuring four ministers and four topics: (Un)Expected Blessings; Blessed Are They; Bless You; and Choose to Bless the World. Our Big Idea is “Be a Blessing.” The work is done collaboratively with ideas contributed by the four ministers, three religious educators, and the lead music director. A blessing indeed!

Before running off to Houston, in just two days I’ll be singing with Tapestry Singers for our 25th Anniversary concert! Loose Threads, our small ensemble, will be singing five songs this time and I need to review some of them!

Oct2

Notes from a Successful Failure

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It’s so nice out today. Recent rain and a cooling off period! A cardinal brightens my view and a light breeze carresses this early fall in Austin.

This is a lucky time, a liminal time.  Between jobs I can simply fantasize about my next ministry; anticipate without the burden of specifics; reflect on generalized anxieties that stem from a lifetime of experience.

I would love to know if any of this applies to you, my faithful readers, so do let me know!

Self-deprecation, self-doubt: I am my own worst critic. I’m smart enough and experienced enough to know how inadequate I am to life, to vocation (in my case, ministry). Praise feeds my ego and every criticism goes straight to my stash of inferiority. Compliments from unexpected quarters leave me both grateful and amazed. Loved ones may say I’m great, but how can they be objective? On the other hand, doesn’t self-criticism place me smack in the middle of humanity? Believe in it or not, I know I can do  a good  job.

[Here’s where you can substitute your own fine qualities]: Speaking for myself, I have plenty of experience and ability; a gift for collaboration and synthesis, and a calming presence in groups and with individuals.  Whether or not I am called to a specific place, I can remain confident in my ministerial excellence

Perfectionism: Perfection is perhaps a worthy goal but it is neither attainable NOR necessary! My seminary friend Nan posted a quotation on her computer–“Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.” She was even more of a perfectionist than I and she was brilliant! The quote was not an invitation to do poor work nor to slack off but simply to say, Do Something and let go of the expectation that it will transform the world. The perfect sermon/essay/column/report is probably still a blank document. Plain paper, blank screen. Just do the writing then edit later if there’s time.

Until something is written there is nothing to edit. Until the text is read or the sermon is delivered there is nothing for reflection. Okay, then, I am a perfectionist by nature and always seek to do my best. However, I meet deadlines and come prepared. My sermons are rich, thoughtful, and full of content and story. My delivery is not flashy even after an acting class and an improv class but I am comfortable in the pulpit with notes or outline and there are plenty of people who like them!

Wounded Healer: I am aware of my family dynamics and from whence come the wounds and scars. I have had ample family systems training and use systems theory in my work.

But here’s the good news. My failings as a professional are simply failings as a person. They are part and parcel of my character. They mark me as human (imagine)!  That very simple statement brings me comfort today. Our work in no way expects perfection no matter how many complaints or snide remarks may be thrown our way. Indeed, ministry expects humanity.

We are expected to do our best with our gifts and challenges and within ethical boundaries. We love praise but we learn to live with the complaints that yea, verily, we disappointed or royally screwed up. Sure, we may not be right for a particular ministry, but we are inherently worthy. At the very least we have significant education, multiple supervisors, mentors, and evaluations along the way, and ever-increasing quantities of life experience. We can model what a compassionate and competent person can do when we fail.

Moving to a new home or city or employment is one way to make a new start, but still we bring our best and worst selves along for the ride.

One more thought. I can let God be God–hold all that perfection and ideal and power that eludes every single one of us–and I am human, just doing my best with the choices and challenges life brings. End of sermon!

P.S. About an hour after I wrote the earlier reflection, I accepted the offer of a nine-month ministry as assistant to the Rev. Daniel O’Connell at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston! The previous assistant had resigned abruptly and this is to finish out the church year. Back to weekly commuting to/from Austin as I have done before. I think I will learn a lot at First UU, a church that is anchoring a transition to satellite churches–4 clergy for 3 campuses. Hmm, a 3-ring circus!

Sep19

Multi-tasking

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The turn of the year, Rosh Hashanah, a bit of rain and slightly cooler weather has brought me back to life after a long summer.

Multi-tasking today to finish a one page resume (one page!), pack for a road trip, wrestle with an online banking problem, finish laundry for said trip, and meeting a roofer about a leak after said rain have me super conscious of time and efficiency.

Started out the day at Texas French Bread for a yummy breakfast with friends. I wasn’t quite awake enough to choose among the options, but the recommended breakfast tostadas are tasty!

The roof leak ruined a bedroom ceiling and made a royal mess. We did have buckets out and Jon punched a hole in the ceiling to keep the water under some control instead of spreading further. Fortunately we have a good company, Ja-Mar Roofing. Daniel and Lupe did a good job in finding a previous leak and tested it thoroughly. That one came through an outdoor electrical outlet and into the wall. This time my guess is that a seam where two sections of the roof come together is the source of the latest problem. I am thrilled with the rain; too bad some of it had to fall into my house instead of on thirsty trees.

The road trip is just to northern Arkansas. We’re aiming for Crystal Bridges Museum that friends have said is a good art museum in a beautiful setting. Travel is always fun, especially in a car. Side trips are always an option and no one is expecting us at any particular time.

The best part about having “too much to do”? I get much more done. Nothing like a deadline to keep me focused. Writing a blog was not on the essential list, but here ya go!