X-Men Days of Future Past (or is it days of past future) – a 6 out of 10 on the JWO Movie Rating Scale

I admit, I am sentimental about the X Men because I grew up reading their comics. I was particularly fond of Wolverine because in the comic he was short (nothing against Hugh Jackman – I think he is a fine, but tall Wolverine) and at times Wolverine focused on a  Japanese Bushido theme.  But really, how many X Men movies has it been now? I lose count. I think with the Wolverine movies it is up to 7. I don’t know. At some point they all seem to blend together.  I think time travel is poor plot contrivance for a movie. Yes, I know, how is it I can easily accept the concept of mutants but not time travel.    There was a nice unexpected twist at the end, and I think it points out how even one action we take for better or worse can affect the/our future, but otherwise, saving everyone by changing the past is too simple a solution to a complex world. This seems to be a common plot theme in transition movies – Star Trek with Kirk and Picard, and then later with both old and young Spock. And now once again with younger and older X Men (and on that note, why do they call them X Men when the team includes women.) I don’t know, but I found myself bored after over two hours. And for God’s sake, do not make me sit through the entire credits to see a 20 second coming attraction for the next X Men Movie, which is now an annoying common practice for Marvel Movies.  

Heart of the Minister – May 2014 – Looking Back and Looking Forward.

At the Interfaith Yom HaShoah service that I participated in recently, I said “The philosopher, George Santayana once warned, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” But I don’t think that goes far enough.  Just because one remembers the past does not lead to the conclusion that we will avoid the same outcome.”  We not only need to remember, but we need to change the way we act in the future to avoid the same outcome.

In that light, at this time of year, our leadership group starts to look back upon the past year and evaluate what has worked,  what has not worked,  how we can improve, and what are the ongoing needs of the community.  This past year we have launched two major new teams, The Spiritual Practices and Programs Team and the Lay Pastoral Care Team. Outside the building we now see the beginnings of our Giving Garden led by our Green Sanctuary program, and Children’s Religious Education expects to break ground on a new Playground this spring. Our BGLQTIA social justice program has been very active this year and they have requested that the Congregation vote at our Annual Congregational meeting to reaffirm our “Welcoming Congregation” status. The Green Sanctuary social justice program has also been very active in all areas of Congregational life and will be submitting their final paperwork to have us recognized by the UUA as a Green Sanctuary Congregation.  I also want to point out that after trying a couple of methods over the past three years that did not work as well as hoped, our Welcome Team continued to be innovative and has implemented “Hospitality Teams” that seeks to include the entire Congregation in the process of Hospitality. This has improved the Sunday morning experience tremendously.  I thank the team for their perseverance and reminding us of the need to reinvent ourselves if our methods are not working.  I could go on and on with the additional programming of other Social Justice programs, Connection Circles, Music,  Nominating,  Welcome, Forum, Children’s and Adult Religious Education, (and others who I cannot think of off the top of my head as we reach the newsletter deadline) but space does not allow.

For next year, I am already in discussions with various members about their desire to start an Earth Centered Tradition and Christian “Source” programs. My vision is to create an environment where congregants through teams can find or create programs that allow them to delve deeper into a particular theological source of inspiration.  I want to give a special thanks to the Growth and Strategic Planning task forces which have given us a roadmap for the future and the generosity of the Congregation which has given us the opportunity to implement the Strategic Plan. 

With everything listed (and unlisted) above, there are still areas we need to improve upon.  After increasing for two years, overall attendance at our Sunday Services decreased. Some of this is due to committed members who have moved out of town, or are spending more time in Arizona during the cold winter.  Some of it I believe has to do with the new schedule we implemented this year.  Over the next few months we will be discerning what is the best way to move forward next year with the Worship Schedule.  I have started discussing this with the Sunday Morning Program Teams (Religious Services, Music, Forum, Children’s Religious Education and Welcome) . Throughout the discernment process we will be asking for feedback from you as to the best way for the Congregation to move forward to achieve our mission and vision in regard to worship.  Once I have a had a chance to meet with all the Teams that are responsible for creating Sunday programming,  I will hold a town hall meeting with the Congregation to hear your feedback before making a final decision on how to move forward.  As always, if you wish to discuss this or anything with me personally, please make an appointment to meet with me. I look forward to these conversations.

When I was called by the Congregation to be your minister, you shared with me your hopes and dreams for the Congregation’s future. Every action I take is guided by what I believe is necessary to fulfill the vision and mission of our Congregation.  I understand that not everyone is going to agree with every decision that is made. Even if you do not agree, I ask for your support in our common endeavor.  In governance parlance, there are multiple styles of congregations.  The first style is a family congregation, which is small, and where all decisions are made by a few people and is often lay led. The next style is a pastoral congregation, where the Minister sees and knows everyone personally, and makes all the crucial decisions about all aspects of community life.  The third style is a program congregation, where the program teams are delegated authority to make decisions for their teams.  We have for 50 years or so have been a  pastoral size Congregation.  The past 5 years, the Congregation has taken intentional steps to put in organizational structures so we can become a program style congregation.  The purpose of this is to be able to offer more quality programs and to reach more individuals in the community with our message of religious freedom.  Moving from a pastoral congregation to a program style congregation does create change. And change creates anxiety. Change can require hard work and hard conversations.  Let us engage in those conversations with an open heart and an open mind.  Let us not shirk from change.  Let us remember what has happened every other time we have faced this precipice and stepped back.  This time, let us go far enough to change in order to achieve our Vision and Mission.

with a grateful heart

Rev. Jay