The Unthinkable

 From the Heart Of The Minister - The Unthinkable:

In between my five zoom meetings Wednesday, I spent a part of day glued to my phone switching back and forth between my Facebook, Twitter and New York Times Apps. First, I was waiting to hear the final results of the Georgia Senate runoff. Then I was wondering what Pence and the Republican Senators would do in regard to certifying the election. I had no doubt what the outcome would be, but the concerted actions of the President, Vice President and certain Republican Senators to undermine the integrity of the elections still worried me about the future of our Democracy.

Unitarian Universalism believes in the free and responsible search for truth. We should remember the responsible part. There was a responsible search for election mistakes and fraud and there was nothing of significance found. No evidence was ever presented to the courts that indicated anything wrong. If anything we know Republican controlled states tried to suppress democratic voters. Even so Joe Biden won both the popular and electoral college vote by significant amounts. That is the truth.

The ongoing statements by the current President and Republican Senators that there was widespread fraud and he had actually won the election despite having no evidence created an atmosphere that led to yesterday’s coup attempt on the Capitol Building.

As Unitarian Universalists, “we affirm and promote the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.” The attempt to overturn the democratic vote of American citizens and the attempted coup is criminally seditious and immoral and against my religious values.

I do not understand why there was not more protection or a plan of action to defend the Capitol. We had known for weeks that there was going to be a pro Trump rally on that day. President Trump encouraged his followers to attend and even tweeted in advance encouraging people to attend and writing “be there it is going to be wild”. I would be remiss if I did not compare the preparation for this event compared to the preparation for the Black Lives Matter Event in DC this past spring to protest the death of George Floyd. At the spring event there was significant National Guard troop presence. There were aggressive and violent action taken to remove Black Lives Matter protestors, and there were a significant number of arrests. There was none of this on display this week as these insurrectionists took over the Capitol Building. The only logical conclusion I am left with is that the lack of preparedness was due to the issue that was being protested. White Supremacy was being challenged after the death of George Floyd and the government wanted to eliminate that challenge ruthlessly. This pre-coup attempt rally was in support of white supremacy overturning the will of the people and the government didn’t seem to think that was a risk.

The election of a Jewish Man, and a Prophetic African American Minister as Senators in Georgia which gave Democrats control of the Senate was another visible sign of the changing nature of the shift in power in our country away from white dominance. This fear of the loss of control and power exacerbated an already excited crowd at Trump’s rally. In fact, Trump incited the participants saying with the Senate in the Democrats control now, his Presidential Veto was the only line of defense to protect them. He had lost the election and was still trying to convince his followers he had won.

Rudy Giuliani in his speech the day of the insurrection encouraged the crowd that there should be “trial by combat” and in a speech that followed, the President after wishing that the Military and Secret Service could join them, encouraged his followers to walk to the Capitol and said “you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.” And then the unthinkable happened. Since he had no legal way to overturn the election, at the Presidents urging, his followers attempted a coup of our government.

So what do we as Unitarian Universalists here in Iowa do about this?

First let us be happy that in the end the coup failed and that Democracy is still standing if even tenuously. Let us continue to vociferously reject attacks on our Democracy.

Second, let our actions be guided by our values. Unitarian Universalist values of the democratic process should have us insist on getting the John Lewis voting rights act passed so there will be an end to voter suppression and gerrymandering, and an end to corporate funding of elections so that the will of all the people will be heard. We need to strengthen our democratic processes.

On a national level and as well on a local level.

Unitarian Universalist principles ask of us to act for peace, liberty and justice for all in a compassionate and equitable way. This requires us to see the overt and systemic racism that is embedded in the events of the last week and the last four and four hundred years. I encourage everyone first to become more educated about these issues and to get involved in our community to work to end the white supremacy culture of violence, power and control that were brazenly on display this week.

We all have fears. I am fearful of losing our democracy.

I am also fearful because people I know are suffering.

Suffering from COVID 19 or the loss of a loved one from this disease.

Suffering from the lack of empathy of our fellow human beings including governmental leaders who will not even wear a mask in public or distance themselves let alone put in place policies and procedures to mitigate the damage.

Suffering from medical issues without adequate or affordable health care and facing the lack of available medical care including mental health care.

Suffering from loss of work due to COVID and a government that seemingly is unwilling and uncaring to act to help in a significant way.

Suffering living with with food and housing insecurity.

I am sure these people who participated in the coup, were fearful. Violence always stems from fear.

Perhaps they are fearful of losing their sense of what they believed about this country, and their position in it. The question is what do we do with our fear? Do we lash out and create harm? Even worse do we let our fear paralyze us and prevent us from acting? I have found the best solution is to face our fear, recognize it, be compassionate towards ourself and then move forward with fear as our companion.

Let us move forward to do the work to change the systems to improve the lives of people who are suffering in whatever small or large way that we can and to protect those who are most vulnerable in our society.

Let us never hesitate to speak up and out about injustice that we see.

Let us be open to hearing the pain of those who are suffering.

Let us wake up each day with hope and a sense of wonder and work to build the world we dream about. That is the only way it will come to be. With us being committed and coming together to do the work that needs to be done. Take a deep breath. Be gentle with yourself.

Remember the words of Unitarian Universalist Minister Wayne B Arnason:

“Take courage friends.

The way is often hard,

the path is never clear,

and the stakes are very high.

Take courage.

For deep down,

there is another truth:

you are not alone.”

With a grateful heart

Rev. Jay

Letting Go – Bungee Jumping and Life.

        I remember many years ago, my son “encouraged” me to bungie jump.  They put me in a vest, and a crane pulled us high in the air.  As I got higher and higher in the air all I could think of was “why in the world did I agree to this and how do I get down”  The most insidious part of the event was that once we reached the very top I had to pull the cord that would release us.  I wondered if I never pulled the cord, how long they would keep us up at the top dangling in midair.  As I dallied around high above the ground, I heard in the speaker above me someone with a German accent telling me to pull the cord, everything would be all right.  For some reason with my bias of feeling secure in Germany’s engineering prowess, I pulled the cord.  Everything after that happened very quickly.  I didn’t have time to wonder if I was going to die, I only experienced the joy of what it felt like to fly.  It was an exhilarating, wonderful feeling.  And then I came back to earth slowly.

Now I am not suggesting that you become a thrill seeker.  However I do ask you to think about what are the things that are preventing you from reaching your full potential in life?  What are the things in life that we can let go of that are holding us back?  Do we have grudges that we have held onto for too long? Have we had beliefs, biases or habits that we have held on to for too long?  Is there something we fear that prevents us from trying new things?  Sometimes it just takes one split second decision to change our world.  To pull the cord, or change our mind, or take an action. And if we do let go, we can feel an exhilarating wonderful feeling of freedom, possibility and hope. Just finding the courage to take that step forward can help us feel grounded in who we are. So I ask you to consider letting go of what holds you back, and find your true, whole self.  

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

March 2017 - "Its that Time of Year"

March 2017 – “It’s That Time Of Year”

I am so excited that there is such a depth of programming at our Congregation that adds meaning to so many lives.  Our new daycare center that we opened two years ago with its sliding scale fees, now helps 25 low income families find safe and enriching child care for their families.  I am also extremely proud to announce that our Director of Religious Education, Sarah Moulton, helped organize an Interfaith Youth Group within the Quad Cities that is working to create a peaceful and environmentally sustainable future for our community. This summer, we are looking at starting our weekly UU Day Camp.  Our long term plan calls for us to start a charter school with an emphasis on ethics education.  Our Emerson Series of lectures on Religion and Science has received national attention as we explore new ways to share our religious views with others in the community. We have experienced continued expansion of our offerings from our “Spirituality Center of the Quad Cities,” which offers many paths to enlightenment and awareness, to a diverse group of people.  Our new Ministerial Intern has developed more fully our Campus Ministry program expanding from Augustana College to include St. Ambrose as well.  Our Community Garden has grown significantly from our first few raised beds in 2014. We have so much food that we are considering purchasing some land to start a Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurant to spread our belief in healthy and ethical eating.  I am continuing my work with Quad Cities Interfaith as we try to create a more just Quad Cities. It is heartening to see so many of our members in their “Standing on the Side of Love” tee shirts at local social justice events in the community. Unitarian Universalism is alive, well, and vibrant in the Quad Cities. 

This article started with a typo. I meant to write March 2014, and accidently wrote 2016. When I did that, I wondered what I might be writing in March of 2016. After having some fun imaging all the things we could possibly do, I realized it would take more than two years, so I changed it to 2017!!  Unitarian Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Shallow people believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong people believe in cause and effect.” (The Conduct of Life, 1860.)  None of us know what the future will bring. However we know if we hope to fulfill our vision and mission, we will need to plan for it. It will not happen by chance. For almost a year, leaders of the Congregation have been working to create a Strategic Plan.  We believe through the implementation of this plan we can change people’s lives for the better. To do this, we need to maintain and to add to the quality programs we offer in the Congregation.  To make this so, now is the time to start implementing the Strategic Plan, not some time in the distant future.  NOW.  So I am asking you to discern what this Congregation means to you and how it has impacted your life.  Just as important, discern what it could mean to you and others in the future. We can make a difference.  We need you to help us make that difference.   I ask you to consider this when you consider your pledge for this year.  We will be kicking off our annual budget drive this year with a Celebration Brunch as part of our service on Sunday March 16^th.  I hope to see you there. If you have any questions about your pledge or the strategic plan, please do not hesitate to set up an appointment to talk with me.

with a grateful heart

Rev. Jay

Aspirations

     This time of year we are asked to make New Year’s Resolutions.   I believe we could take any day to make a resolution. However it is never a bad idea to use a point in time, or multiple points in time to do this.  Throughout the year, we can reassess how we have performed on previous resolutions and adapt as necessary.  But I think resolutions have to start with aspirations. I have found it easier to achieve resolutions if I know what it is I hope the outcome to be. I have found it helpful to be very specific in my outcome. The specific outcome will make the specific resolution very different. If I want to lose 10 lbs. over three months, my resolution would have to be different than if I wanted to lose 10 lbs. over 12 months.

Even more importantly, I ask myself why I want that outcome.  My aspiration is to live a healthier lifestyle in 2014.  Specifically I want to lose 20lbs over the next 12 months by eating healthier food and exercising at least 3 times a week. Feel free to check in with me throughout the year to see how I am doing.  I will still be bringing bagels on Sunday, but I may have to cut back on my personal intake of them!! The reason I want to be healthier is to have more energy for our Ministry together and to be able to live a longer, active life, so I may see my children and grandchild(ren) continue to grow older for as long as possible.  I ask you to think about your aspirations and resolutions, but more importantly to ask yourself why?  There is power in focusing on why.

As we do this for ourselves, I also discern what my resolutions and aspirations are for the Congregation.  The aspiration is easy. We have our vision and mission to guide us. The question is why and how.  The why for me is to have a positive impact on facilitating changes for the better in individual lives, our Congregational Community, and the Quad Cities.

To achieve this, my resolutions for myself and the Congregation are:

To have patience in moving forward.

To not be resolved to personal outcomes, but to the Congregational Mission and Vision.

To experiment with different ways of experiencing Congregational Life

To remain open to new people, new ideas and new ways of being in the world.

To be open to change.

To listen more and judge less.

To forgive each other for failures, including our own.

To move forward with hope for a better future.

To be willing to act to make that better future real.

To act with compassion in all our interactions both within and outside the Congregation.

No one knows what the future will bring.  Knowing that we will be together to explore the future, should give us not only comfort but the courage to face that uncertainty.  If not us, who? If not now, when? The Quad Cities needs us.  The Congregation needs you. We need each other.  Let us be resolved to journey towards our greatest aspirations.

with a grateful heart,

Rev. Jay

A Walk On The Beach

            It's been fourteen years since I visited Ft. Myers Beach and Sanibel Island.  I remember it so well because it was where we chose to spend New Years Eve 1999. People don't think about it today, but there was a real fuss about the turn of the century, as I suppose there is every 1,000 years.  The turn of this past century was heightened by the worries over the potential Y2K computer failure. We thought if the world is going to end, what better place to spend it than at some place that had fond memories and majestic beaches.  Not much has really changed over the 14 years since we last visited. Some of the restaurants have new names. Some of the hotels have fresh paint while others have worn out paint.   It is a beach town, like many other beach towns. With cheesy tee shirt stores, tattoo parlors, plenty of happy hour bars, and a long sandy stretch of beach. The beach is the reason we are here. Everything else is a moot point. 

            There are two major changes to the beaches that I noticed.  The first major change is that there were a lot of dead fish (and even a couple of ducks) washed up onto the beach. I assume this is due to the rising toxicity of the waters due to pollution and oil spills. The second major change is that they no longer allow live shelling.  Many may not realize that the beautiful shells at the sea shore are live creatures.  Similar to hunting other animals, shell seekers would get up all hours of the morning, waiting for the  low tide, which was the perfect time to find live shells.  After collecting these live shells, people used special techniques to kill and clean the shells. Now I did not understand why someone on vacation would wake up early to do this. However my wife, Jan and  her family loved this ritual, which is why I now have a shell mirror, a shell lamp, and a diversity of other shells in our house. 

            As I walked down the beach which was now strewn with dead shells, fish, and ducks, I would periodically find a live shell.  I could not just pass by and let it die due to my inaction, so I would  pick it up and throw it back into the gulf to give it a chance at further life. As I came towards the end of the beach, there were two Comarant birds sitting, unflinching on pylons. They watched over all that was happening, unworried about the throngs of humans passing by, or dead fish around them, as if watching was their purpose in life. 

            So I ask you to consider, what is our Congregation's purpose in life?  Will we sit by inactive, watching, or will we take action to further the life of the Congregation? Will we be able to look towards the future and see what will damage the Congregation like the toxic dirty water that killed the fish, or will we maintain a clear vision that allows us stay a healthy, vibrant Congregation?  Will we worry about perceived dangers of the future, or will we put our energy  towards building something lasting and impactful? We must first answer these questions because everything else is a moot point. Let us create such a legacy, so that when the next millennium comes,  this Congregation will be the place where fond memories are made, and  where something as majestic and lasting as the beach is created

Unpacking

       As most of you know this summer we FINALLY sold our house in Florida and purchased a house here in Davenport.  When I first moved here two years ago, I brought with me just the minimal amount of things I needed to live.  There were a few pieces of furniture and many, many books.  It was enough, but it wasn’t complete. When we sold the house, we started sorting through the many boxes in the garage. Some of those boxes hadn’t been opened since we had purchased that house 9 years earlier.   In some of the boxes we found some fond memories, including drawings our children had done when they were in grade school.  In some boxes I found paid bills that were 10 years old. And so the process began of sorting. We shed unneeded things. We took a moment to appreciate nostalgic things and then we took pictures of them before throwing them out. There were some things which we couldn’t decide what to do with or agree on whether to throw out. For those items we deferred our decision and decided to continue to discern about them in Iowa.  We threw out a lot of stuff. And now that everything has been delivered to our new house, as we unpack, we are deciding where everything fits in our new location.   Everything old seems new again, and now each item will create new memories in our new house. In addition we have had to purchase a few new things to fit our new environment.

     Much like moving, our religious lives often include ideas we have collected over the years.  Some of them need to be shed.  Some hold nostalgic value to us. There is nothing wrong with nostalgia. It can bring us comfort particularly in times of stress. But we need to remain aware that it is nostalgia, and not necessarily our current religious belief. There might be religious ideas we are just not sure about whether we believe or not.  Discernment of religious belief is part of our journey here, where we provide the environment for a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.  Part of that journey also includes being open to finding new awareness and understanding. New ways of thinking and being may come in the form of old ideas in a new environment, or with new ideas that we hadn’t encountered before. Some of you may come with many ideas to unpack, and others may have come here with minimal religious background looking for depth to build a complete religious life. As we enter into Fall there are numerous opportunities, including many Religious Education programs and Connection Circles,  to help you unpack the past, discern the future, and live in the present moment.  I hope to see you all there.  If there is some form of religious education or spiritual practice that you are longing for that you have not found here, please do not hesitate to contact me.