Sleeping Soundly

It’s three o’clock in the morning and the hallways of First Unitarian are quiet and still.  It’s not typical for me to be at church at three in the morning, much less be awake at church at three in the morning, but tonight is a special night.  It’s the final overnight for our Our Whole Lives class for middle schoolers and I’m on “firefly” duty.  

The church was far from quiet three hours ago, with a raucous card game going on in one room, teens singing passionately along with the soundtrack to Rent in another and soft piano music floating in from the sanctuary.  Even that was calmer  than immediately after dinner, when squeals of laughter rang throughout the whole building and the pounding of footsteps thudded through the halls.  

I can’t help but watch their enthusiasm with a kind of wonder.  They are children and they are no longer children.  Their child-like selves shine through their growing up and it is evident that they are living in paradox each and every moment.  And in the midst of this confusion, we have this to offer: this class, this night of difficult learning and deep fun.  All for one end, to expose and prepare for one truth, which is that we are not alone.  We cannot act as if we are alone, either to our benefit or to our detriment.  Relationship surrounds us.  Right relationship is work as well as joy, comfort as well as struggle.  

Down the hall the teachers slumber too.  They need their rest.  It takes a brave soul to look these beings of paradox in the eye every week and love their both-ness, always shifting, never certain.  The OWL teachers are perhaps the closest we get to Universalist evangelists: preaching the gospel of right relationship.  

In a few hours I will wake the kids/not kids.  It will take at least thirty minutes to prod them awake, possibly more, despite the lure of breakfast.  But in the meantime, the sounds of the city swim around us in our little building and it sounds like a living prayer, of thanksgiving and of possibility.  

May their dreams and yours be filled with the deep peace of hope, for we are not alone.

Union Sunday Story for All Ages

Each year, on the first Sunday in May, the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore welcomes visitors from other Unitarian Universalist congregations to join in celebrating "Union Sunday" in commemoration of William Ellery Channing's landmark "Baltimore Sermon," of 1819. The following is the Story for All Ages from this year's service:

Opening the Door

by Becky Brooks

Once upon a time there was a teacher named Sophia. Sophia had been a teacher in the town where she lived for so long that the kids she first had in her class grew up and had kids of their own and sent them to her class too. Nearly everyone in the town knew Sophia and loved her because not only was she an excellent teacher, but she was also very kind.

One day when Sophia got to work, she found a note on her desk. The note read:

Dear Sophia,

I will be around tomorrow afternoon.

I wonder if I might stop by your house for tea.

Your Friend,

God

At first Sophia thought it was a joke. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that if it was a joke, it wasn't a very funny joke. And she couldn't think of anyone who would play a joke on her like that.

Then she thought: what if it wasn't a joke? What if God really was going to come to her house tomorrow afternoon? Sophia thought she should get ready, just in case.

On her way home from work, she stopped by the store and bought one of those mats people put by their door that says, in big letters: WELCOME!

When she got home, she cleaned her house from top to bottom. She brought in fresh flowers from the garden and put them in a vase in the living room. She cleaned and cleaned until everything was sparkly.

In the morning, Sophia realized didn't know what God liked to eat, so she baked bread and made a casserole and fruit salad, and baked some cookies too. And what about the tea? Did God like hot tea or iced tea? She thought she better make both. And what if God's favorite thing in the whole world was lemonade? She thought she should make some of that too.

She was so nervous! She didn't know what to expect.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Sophia's heart went pat pat pat.

She opened the door slowly and on the other side was...the Mayor of the town.

"Hello Sophia! I was walking by and smelled the delicious fresh baked bread!"

Sophia said, "I'm so glad you're here, come in, come in! I am expecting a very important visitor who you might want to meet! Please come in and make yourself at home."

Sophia and the Mayor sat, having a nice discussion about their town when there was a knock at the door. Sophia's heart went pat pat pat. She opened the door slowly and on the other side was...a group of children from her class.

"Hello Miss Sophia! We were walking by and noticed the smell of fresh baked cookies!"

Sophia said, "I'm so glad you're here, come in, come in! I am expecting a very important visitor who you might want to meet! Please come in and help yourself to some cookies."

The children were giving the Mayor some much needed advice about town planning when there was a knock at the door. Sophia's heart went pat pat pat. She opened the door and it was...the entire women's covenant group from church!

"Hello Sophia! We heard the tea kettle and laugher and thought you might be having a party!"

Sophia said, "I'm so glad you're here, come in, come in! I am expecting a very important visitor who you might want to meet! Please come in and join us."

All afternoon people stopped by Sophia's house, lured by the yummy smells and happy sounds. The townspeople filled her house, upstairs and downstairs and overflowed into the back yard and the front yard. As they got hungry, they made dinner together and ate as the sun set and the moon rose.

It was a great party. People were playing games and telling stories and baking and playing music and talking together. Sophia had such a nice time that she completely forgot about her very important guest. Even as she waved goodbye to her friends at the end of the night, she felt only contentment at having such a lovely party.

In the morning, though, Sophia woke up and remembered everything. She was confused. Whatever had happened to God?

All during her walk to work she tried to figure out what had happened. Along the way she smiled and waved to the people she ran into who had been at her party. She thought to herself that she really should do that again sometime.

When Sophia arrived at work she was surprised to find another note on her desk. It read:

Dear Sophia,

I had such a wonderful time yesterday. The bread was delicious, the cookies were divine! Tea mixed with lemonade is my very favorite! Thank you for being such a wonderful host. I hope we can do it again soon!

Love,

God.

The end.

Spring!

Returning leaves, cut grass, cherry blossoms, short sleeves, allergies, sun shine, baseball...welcome Spring!

This Sunday is the annual Springfest worship service.  I hope you’ll come to the beginning of the service to see what our children’s worship group, the InFESTers, have been working on.  After Time for All Ages, the children and teachers will adjourn to have our own Spring celebration in Religious Education class.  All the kids will meet together in the downstairs RE rooms for some special Spring celebration activities.  

Immediately after the service, the kids will host an art installation in the parish hall.  If your children would like to participate, they can prepare their art ahead of time and bring it to church on Sunday.  Choose from one (or more!) of these projects:

• a painting or drawing of their favorite springtime activity

• a diorama of an outdoor sports scene

• a photograph or drawing of a nature scene

To participate in the art installation, simply have your kids bring their art to class and we’ll prepare it for display before coffee hour.  

See you on Sunday!

Seder Snapshot

Many families and communities celebrated the first night of Passover last night with a Seder meal.  Tonight First Unitarian will hold our own Seder.  For a flash presentation to learn more about Passover, see http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/flash/flash.html.  chabad.org has several really interesting videos.  Click here to learn more.  However you spend your holiday week, Gut Yontif!

Thanks for reading our week of Seder Snapshots!

Seder Snapshot

Many religious holidays ask adherents to make temporary alterations in their diets.  The practice of not eating “chametz,” (grain products not completely cooked within 18 minutes of flour meeting water) during Passover has symbolic significance that relates the practice to the story of the Exodus.  In addition, the spiritual practice of altering one’s diet can help us pay attention to the world around us in new ways.  Noticing where our food comes from, how it is made and what it is made from can help us feel connected to others and the Earth. 

Seder Snapshot

“Passover Seders have helped us to identify oppression for thousands of years.  During the civil rights movement in America, for example, Jews, African-Americans, Native-Americans and many other people gathered together at Passover Seders to renew their commitment to their fight for equality.  ...While we read the story of Exodus at the Seder, we should remember that there is still work to do to guarantee justice and equality for all people.  

Oppression does not always mean slavery or punishment.  Sometimes it means discrimination against someone because of a person’s race, or religion, or age, whether or not they own a home, or the people they choose to live with and to love.  ...Sometimes oppression means other people do not seem to care enough about problems that hurt people, like AIDS or child abuse."  We can say these problems are our “mitzrayim” or “narrow places”  —from Nancy Cronk’s “Oranges and Olives: A Modern, Interfaith Family Passover Haggadah”  

(find out more at http://www.shalomctr.org/)

Seder Snapshot

“How easy it is for us to relive the days of our bondage as we sit in the warmth and comfort of our Seder.  How much harder to relieve the pain of those who live in the bitterness of slavery today.”  —Congregation Beth El, Sudbury, MA

Participants in the Seder ritual meal use the words "we" and "us" as we discuss escaping the bonds of slavery in Egypt.  Putting ourselves in this perspective is a reminder that our fates are interlocked, not only in history, but in the present as well.  Fleeing one's native land in pursuit of a better life is a story woven into the fabric of the world.  How many of us have ancestors who did just that?  Whether across the sea, across the border or through secret tunnels, our ancestors reached for a place of safety and hope.  They were not the first, nor were they the last.  The journey toward freedom, toward a better life, is part of our minds and souls and bodies.  The very food we eat comes to us as part of this journey, passed through the fingers of travelers in search of a better life.  

What can you do to help others who are on a journey toward freedom?

In what ways are you yourself on a journey?