Category Archives: Uncategorized

Feb14

Chocolates and Chennai

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Chocolates and a sweet card (in Spanish) were waiting for me on this beautiful Valentine’s Day. Jon and I will enjoy a special lunch today; our next chance will be well into March!

My bags are packed (and repacked) for tomorrow morning’s departure toward Chennai! Reading the Lonely Planet travel guide was a real help: There was a link to travel tips especially for women. You can get information about countries all over the world. Based on those tips, I changed out some of the clothes to take with me. Check out http://www.journeywoman.com

The trip to Chennai via Washington Dulles and Frankfurt will take about 25 hours of travel time each way, plus trips to and from airports and getting through security and customs. India is 13.5 hours ahead of Central Time. [Gee–I’ll just be 1.5 hours behind son Rob in Japan!] Other websites of note: http:/www.incredibleindia.org and http://www.mapsofindia.com.

Just a little bit of business today–trips to the bank and the grocery store and I’ll be nearly ready. In a way, the shorter my list gets, the more room there is for anxiety to fill in the gaps.

But it’s Valentine’s Day! A time for special attention to love in all its forms. We are sisters and brothers who share SO much in common. Love your neighbor, everyone! My neighborhood will soon get a lot bigger, halfway around the world. I’m expecting to see, hear, taste, smell, touch, and sense an entirely different world view. I send neighborly love to all of you–no matter where you live! What will you do today to show a little love?

Feb12

Sweet Honey Harmonies

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CENTER Institute, the first large scale continuing education conference for Unitarian Universalist clergy, took place last week in Pacific Grove, CA. Nearly 400 of us gathered at the Asilomar Conference Center for five days of learning, worshiping, and walking on the beach. Food was great; collegiality was even greater!

Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, founding member and lead songwriter of the a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, offered her seminar on Building the Vocal Community. She writes and sings songs with a purpose: inspiring us to listen to the sounds of nature; assuring us that freedom will unfold in time; filling us with the holy spirit! (Go to http://www.sweethoney.com/ for more info.)

As a long-time fan of Sweet Honey in the Rock, I was eager to attend Ysaye’s seminar, work she has done for 27 years, about 8-10 times per year. She knows a LOT of African-American music history along with the songs. About 40 ministerial colleagues formed a double circle as we sang chants, spirituals, gospel, and justice songs. The circle was for community. Ysaye taught the songs, yes, but we looked into each others’ faces and sang our harmonies with a lot of heart.

The first chant became an intricate blend of several phrases. We chose one line, learned its rhythm and repeated it until all of the text worked together rhythmically: 1) Go down into the market. 2) Mama! 3) I won’t go down to the market, Mama! 4) I just came from the market, Mama, go down! When we added movement and walked around to greet one another, the sound and rhythm grew in intensity. Fantastic!

One side benefit is that the “Barnwellians” were asked to sing at several worship services during the Institute. One song evoked the sound of God, from a tribe that understands that the Rain Forest is God. Another repeated lines that mean, “The works of God can never be destroyed.”

We also sang, in English,
“Tell all my friends that my ship just came sailing in.
It was filled with the Holy Spirit, it was filled with joy divine,
Wouldn’t you like to sail on a ship like mine?”

We learned about quadlibets, in which several related songs are sung in succession or simultaneously—like a modern-day musical mashup. One pure joy was singing along with Ysaye for about 30 minutes as she sang one Civil Rights song after another. We joined in as we learned the tunes.

I plan to bring several of these songs back to Live Oak Church, possibly with the help of Ysaye Barnwell’s instructional CDs, Singing in the African-American Tradition and/or Building the Vocal Community.

Feb9

Afternoon Meditation

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Afternoon meditation sits on the edge of life and death. Layer upon layer unfold before me as I hear and see and feel power beyond imagining. Waves crash against rocks, sweep sand and castle and footprint and crab, then deposit new treasures on this shore.

It is our shore, Asilomar State Beach in California that draws us the living–human, dog, gull, and fly–to greet the dead–rock, sand, shell, seaweed. But none of it is dead. Slowly but continually transformation changes everything. There is no choice. Only this moment to breathe … in awe.

Feb5

Wellbeing for Clergy

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I am so gratified that I attended the Clergy Wellbeing seminar in Santa Barbara, CA. The retreat setting is lovely–La Casa de Maria. The 26 acres were once Indian land, of course, then became a ranch, then was turned over or sold to the Catholic Church for a novitiate, where young women prepared to become nuns. However, some time or other, the women got a bit uppity–they wanted to ditch the habits, for one thing. The Bishop said No way, and the women said, OK, we resign!

It became a retreat center. There are still religious statues and iconography like Mary, angels, and stations of the cross, but it is open to people of all faiths. There was a monastery on site until it burned a couple of years ago. No one was hurt, but the building was a loss. There are both a large chapel and also a small meditation chapel. The smaller chapel was donated by a Dutch family. Its focal point is a large circle of light on the back wall, bisected by a vertical line and a horizontal line, also of light. In the dark space, the image is striking. I had no desire to turn on the room light.

For the seminar, Larry Peers facilitated about 30 clergy of multiple faith traditions in a very interactive process of identifying our lives as they are, how we would like for them to be, and specific changes (however small) to shift in that direction. The participants often became the teachers, when they shared their stories and Larry asked questions to help them figure out new directions. We were Unitarian Universalist, United Methodist, Lutheran, Episcoplalian, Ukranian Orthodox, Religious Scientist, and seminary professor, all as equals. We made lasting connections.

I’m very glad I attended. It exceeded my expectations and has given me a lot of food for thought!

Jan30

Mindful Multi-tasking

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Preparing for travel is one thing. Preparing for 2 very different trips almost back to back takes a different approach. My basic packing list is in my computer, so I have a running start. But my mind starts fibrillating with fleeting thoughts about what to take, what to buy, what to set up. An example of each: take an extra memory card, buy packets of dried fruit for the room, set up Skype for this netbook I’ve borrowed from Donna and Jon. (Thank you!)

Meditation helps me stay centered, but sometimes it also requires a pen and notepad. Normally I would let those thoughts float by and disappear like clouds. This time I feel an urge to remember them. The monkey mind is insistent. So for 20 minutes that’s how the meditation went this morning. Then I was able to sit in stillness, knowing that the latest notes could do the thinking for me.

Now back in Austin after several days on the road, including a Jim Scott concert and a rain-drenched walk on the beach in Galveston, I am more fully detached from my normal routine. Wet clothes are in the laundry and I feel relaxed and ready for the next round of packing, first for Santa Barbara and Pacific Grove, California. I continue to look ahead to the trip to India. Weekly malaria pills start today.

Far more interesting than packing is the perusal of Lonely Planet: India and National Geographic’s The Geography of Religion. I’m reading the sections on Hinduism and Buddhism. Also watching a series of videos called Phantom India. Though the documentary is dated, the traditions it describes have not changed in centuries.

I appreciate the tips by Sateesh and Carrie, who live in Austin and who both know from Indian and American perspectives about what to expect. Tips are appropriate; usually a dollar is plenty. Women are not always allowed to enter temples. Statues of Kali will likely be available and of course, Ganesha will be everywhere!

Jan27

Breakfast Tacos, Blessings, and Bamboozlement!

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Breakfast with friends I don’t see very often is a refreshing opportunity. Thanks to FaceBook we already have an inkling of each others’ lives and adventures. Better in some ways than FaceBook, we enjoyed the taste of a delicious repast accompanied by a boost of caffeine, friendly body language and warm hugs.

Travel will take one or more of us to a coast–Galveston and Port Aransas on the Gulf Coast and/or Santa Barbara and Pacific Grove on the Pacific Coast; to Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio, New York, or Massachusetts; to Italy, Switzerland, England, China, or India. We have been so blessed with one or more of these opportunities, past, present, and future, to encounter other parts of the planet we share with several billion people. Culture shock can take us by surprise even within the United States. Such a large country inevitably has a wide range of weather, customs, and dialects.

Ranging further afield, there are challenges of language, history, and currency, to name just a few. Life and the world look so different from the U.S., the U.K., Europe, and southern Asia.

The Lonely Planet’s guide to India tells me that I’ll be bamboozled by the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and atmosphere (not to mention the driving) that will wash over me from every side. For my own bamboozlement I’ll be glad to be part of a group of 12, two of whom hail from India though they now live in the States.

My friends and I also talked about family members, politics, and family members who are politicians. Elections, health care disparities, and the State of the Union all played a part in our conversations.

These kinds of interactions crop up on FaceBook, texts, phone calls, on the Net, and browsing in libraries. One idea draws us in unexpected directions. Ideas multiply exponentially whenever one more point of view is added to the mix. That’s a benefit of community, strengthened by every encounter and blessed by every smile. :~)

Jan24

The Miracle Foundation – About Us

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The Miracle Foundation – About Us. Here’s the foundation reported on the “The Real Slumdogs” (upper right corner of this blog. Its headquarters are right in Austin, at 1506 W. 6th Street, making a big impact in a corner of India.

Jan16

Peace through Pie and other Ponderings

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Peace through Pie! A great idea launched by Luanne Stovall for MLK Weekend. Pie socials are a great way to bridge the gap between racial groups: inclusive circle, diverse ingredients, and everyone gets a place at the table. My sermon today highlighted the pie social yesterday at Sweet Home Baptist Church, near my house in Clarksville (central Austin). I think we just might do that at Live Oak next year!

I have been working through 3-4 lists to sort out work and local errands and things I’ll need in CA and in India. The India list is a lot longer! The Republic of India has an impressive visa. I’m happy it came through with no problem.

Questions: should I take my laptop or get by with my iPod Touch? What kind of adapter or converter will be necessary?

Someone mentioned an excellent map store on I-35. I can’t find it on the web, though. Anyone know about it?

Have you ever used Dr. Bonner’s soap bars or Soapies or bar-soap shampoo?

As I check things off my lists, one is this morning’s sermon, my last one for a while. Another is the conference call with the Southwest UU Women’s Board. A great conference is shaping up March 4-6 in Dallas. Check it out at http://swuuw.org/

Tomorrow, though, I’ll get ready for the annual Minister’s Retreat at Camp Allen, near Navasota. It’s an Episcopal retreat center in a lovely setting and a beautiful chapel. I’ll bring copies of the roster of attendees. And at least a little bit of the work I still need to complete!

In the midst of the busy making and checking of lists, though, I am taking time for meditation, yoga, and walks. Staying centered will help keep me sane.

Jan11

overview

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While Jon holds down the home fort, here’s an overview of my sabbatical plans. (Excerpt from Sunday’s sermon):

My sabbatical is coming up in two weeks, beginning the 24th. Unlike within the corporate world a sabbatical is not a time to look for another job. It is a time to enhance my ministry from a larger perspective. The term sabbatical comes from the Hebrew shabbat, a period of rest. I expect to rest, to acquire new skills, and to rediscover exactly what I love about ministry, especially serving this congregation. In fact, I will abide by a covenant that says I will not leave Live Oak for at least a year after my return. You can be sure that I have a plan with a schedule, places to go, people to see, projects to pursue, books to read. My plan is to begin with a workshop in Santa Barbara, CA, on clergy wellbeing, where we’ll touch on some of the same ideas Chuck and I presented in our sermon series on wellbeing.

Then I’ll go to Monterey where about 350 UU clergy will gather for our first CENTER Institute, a major opportunity for continuing education. My particular focus will be on the Vocal Community. The leader will be Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, who is a UU and a founding member of Sweet Honey in the Rock. She is a prolific songwriter and teaches in an oral tradition often found in African American churches—by rote and without written music. I can hardly wait to spend 15 hours with her and also sing in the choir for worship services.

Four days later I’ll make a giant leap to visit India! The 3-week trip will be led by a leading UU minister the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi and his delightful wife Lalitha. Some of you heard Janamanchi’s wonderful sermon at General Assembly a couple of years ago. We’ll visit several cities and their sacred places in southern, northeast, and north India.

After India I’ll travel to Boston with a colleague on some denominational work, so that will give me a chance to visit the UUA headquarters, and of course the bookstore, and across Beacon Street to Boston Commons. Close to my final weekend will be a yoga retreat held near Austin at the beautiful Hindu temple Barsana Dham. And, of course, I’ll spend some time with my entertaining husband Jon Montgomery mainly so he won’t get too used to having me gone!

That gives you an outline of my plans. But until they actually unfold day by day, I won’t really know what to anticipate. In fact, I fully expect to be surprised by people and places I encounter, especially when traveling in India. I expect intense spiritual growth that will take me far beyond my regular meditation practice. I expect to be changed. Already it is certain that my routine will be disrupted.