Category Archives: spirituality

Jul17

Some things ventured . . .

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In my July 10 sermon “Nothing Ventured . . .” I invited the congregation to write down one thing they would do toward fulfilling a long-held dream. I mentioned that intentions could be to do less, to heal yourself, to set on a new path, or any of an infinite array of possibilities. When I read them aloud a collective excitement built among the congregants. Here they are in random order:

  • Look at the stars at a very dark site here in TX
  • Relax, stop sweating the small stuff
  • Take more risks
  • Be more reflective
  • Nothing ventured, nothing gained–Shuttle Atlantis
  • Ministry in THIS CHURCH
  • Adopt child
  • Hike the Appalachian Trail
  • Finish the children’s book I’ve started
  • I want to start training for running a 5K race in November
  • Buy a Harley and ride it across the USA
  • Get ready for our 3 Denver grandchildren and ex-daughter-in-law who are coming soon
  • Retire and return to a life of the mind
  • Take a trip
  • Work in my shop in cool weather
  • Become more independent
  • Write poetry
  • Stop trying to control others
  • Retire, start new career growing butterflies
  • Travel and make new friends
  • Swim with dolphins = plan vacation!
  • Tell Kayla that I love her
  • Love myself fiercely
  • Backpack around the world
  • Publish more writing
  • More nothing but plenty of everything
  • Volunteer
  • Swim in spring water
  • Meditate every day
  • Figure out how to free myself from the slavery of possessions
  • I want to teach people to knit and crochet wherever I am

What do you need or long to do?
Would you do it if someone offered you $1,000?
Would you do it for yourself, for nothing?

Jul5

“When I hear music” –Libby Roderick

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How is the musical side of your brain working? Austin is so full of music it’s pretty easy to find music of any style. Recently I enjoyed hearing The Harmony Brothers (Max, Al, and Mark) at Artz Rib House. Good food, good music, one tip jar, and a set during the break by Austin Kessler. Nice!

I know those musicians in part through The Bakery Jam, founded in 2005 at Texas French Bread on S. Congress. (We were so sad when that TFB location closed!) We’ve been “spreading the music” for six years now in member homes week after week. Since there were plenty of guitars, I decided to dust off my flute. Depending on who shows up, we also have many vocalists, percussion, bass, violin, mandolin, harmonica, keyboard, melodica, and even an occasional trumpet (muted) or banjo (run for your lives!). Our motto is just right for a group of amateurs: “We’re all good at something else.”Among the harmonies have been romances that blossomed into permanency  and the benefits of professional musicians among us.

I grew up in a family of musicians–mostly piano, organ, and voice. My sister taught me to sing 3-part rounds when I was 3 years old. She and our middle sister needed a third voice for “White Coral Bells” (“White coral bells upon a slender stalk / Lilies of the Valley deck my garden walk. / Oh, don’t you wish that you could hear them ring? / That will happen only when the fairies sing.”) and “Johnny” (“Here we come singing / and here we come calling / for Johnny, Johnny. / Well! Well!)

How time flew while we washed, dried, and put away dishes after supper! Both my grandfather and my eldest sister were church organists for years. Mama could have been a concert pianist but she gave that up when she married and started a family. I started in “training choir” in 2nd grade at our Episcopal Church, moved through all of its choirs for 10 years, into college choirs, and now Tapestry Singers, the Austin women’s chorus since 2003. (No auditions necessary! All women who love to sing are welcome, and our director is terrific.)

New venture this summer: The Summer Symposium of the Texas Choral Consort, directed by Brent Baldwin. After an intense month of rehearsals 3x/week, we’ll sing in concert Aug. 20. Rehearsals begin July 23, so there’s still time for men and women to sign up to sing! From their website:

“In August, TCC will present two of the greatest titans of the classical canon: the Requiems of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Gabriel Fauré. The program will also feature the world-premiere of a Requiem-based work by Austin luminary Peter Stopschinski, and “Out of the Silence” for orchestra and piano by William Grant Still.”

Saturday August 20, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.
Northwest Hills United Methodist Church
7050 Village Center Drive, Austin TX

Purchase tickets

 

Such fun to get out of my logical brain and into my musical brain! Where do you go to feed your artist within?

Jun27

A Harsh Wake-Up Call

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The Berry Street Essay was established by the Rev. William Ellery Channing in 1820. His church was the Federal Street Church in Boston, but his study faced Berry Street, thus its name. It is now the longest annual lecture series in the United States!  A Unitarian Universalist minister is asked each year to deliver the lecture on some aspect of ministry.

This year the Berry Street Essay was delivered by the Rev. Deborah Pope-Lance. She is a psychotherapist and a consultant to clergy and congregations, and a minister affiliated with First Parish Church in Wayland, MA. Her expertise is in healing the aftermath of clergy sexual abuse–the scourge of congregational life. Deborah has provided consultation to multiple denominations and faith communities.

What is a faith community all about but to provide sanctuary? Community, spiritual growth, social action, yes, but within a safe place. Unfortunately the sanctuary is sometimes violated.

When professional boundaries are crossed it is always the individual in authority who is ultimately responsible. No matter how tempting a counselee or congregant might be; no matter how he or she might pursue their affections, clergy have to draw the line clearly and forthrightly.

This is not an egalitarian relationship! Ministers in their work settings have an unspoken “authority” by virtue of their office. Boundary violations hurt not only the congregant, but all the family members, the children, the congregation, and the very office of Minister.

I was stunned to hear some estimates: In a 400-adult member congregation, 7 women have experienced clergy sexual violations. In addition, 32 women in that congregation have witnessed this in one of their congregations. Women can also be perpetrators of abuse, though the incidence is lower among reported cases.

Deborah said that ministers who serve as Interim Ministers estimate that 67 percent of congregations have some kind of sexual abuse in their history. The ripples continue for years and for generations unless there is appropriate intervention. And we’re talking about Unitarian Universalists here–just as prevalent as any other faith tradition.

Members of congregations can lean on ministers, but we may not lean on you. We are your ministers–we are not your friends in the same way that you are friends with one another. We must have friendships outside the congregation; we must have strong collegial connections; and we must become more and more spiritually grounded.

I have witnessed the aftermath of sexual boundary violations, I have seen men’s ministries devastated, and I have helped women recover from trauma. My experience as Resident Advocate for a women’s shelter opened my eyes back in the 80’s. Wednesday’s lecture by Deborah Pope-Lance was another wake-up call.

A few bad apples spoil the pie, the cider, the applesauce, and the entire orchard. Let me know if you want to share your story.

Jun20

Prayer Journal

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Thanks to Karl, I’ve started a prayer journal. On a recent Sunday he mentioned having done this for a couple of years, once a week, and sent me samples from his book. Since I keep a journal and I regularly meditate or pray, why not combine the practices? The idea is to spend some time (perhaps an hour) once a week to write to whatever/whoever seems appropriate: Spirit of Life; Mystery of the Universe; Holy One; My Higher Self . . . and just put your inner needs or desires into words. I started with a different journal from my usual one. It had been given to participants of a yoga retreat in April, and seemed just right for my new purpose.

Here’s a sample prayer, fresh off the keyboard:

Mystery Beyond My Understanding,

Be with my friends and parishioners who are hospitalized, in rehab, under Hospice care, and recently deceased. Each of them has been a teacher to me and continues to teach me without a single lesson plan.

They show me that we are frail vessels who might suddenly become ill or injured or in need of surgery. I particularly pray for my neighbor Ken, whose surgery is very soon. He is afraid and anxious, not just of the surgery but of the aggressive cancer. Another neighbor, a nurse, has been a steadfast companion.

They show me what it means to live and die with dignity, how dying brings out both the best and the worst of patients, family members, and friends. That we will die is not a mystery, but we prefer to ignore that fact.

Mystery of Life, Mystery of Death, open my eyes and let compassion guide me into good ministry and loving friendship.

Shanti, Peace, Aloha

Here’s a link to How to Keep a Prayer Journal. It suggests keeping a Bible at hand, but any scripture or book of poetry might be your preference. Let me know if you decide to try this–and check with me to make sure I keep it up!
Keeping a Prayer Journal