Question: What’s up with UU’s and all those they claim as ancestors?

Posted on June 15, 2012 by revsteffi

Ancestry is a tricky thing.  Via the Genome Project I’ve traced mine back thousands of years to Mongolia and Africa.  But when asked to identify my ancestry I tend to speak of those elements that I recognize as core to who I am today:  having both sets of parents come to America from small towns in the Ruhr region of Germany.

While I grew up in New York and was born in America and have lived in California these past ten years, German is my first language and primary culture.  And when I look in the mirror I don’t necessarily see traces of Africa or Mongolia.  And I’ve never been pegged as connected to either of those ancestries.  So when asked about my ancestry I say:  German!

Unitarian Universalism, born as I was in 1961, also can be traced back thousands of years to the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Hebrews.  How?  In part through the traits we share, which includes an emphasis on reason, democratic process, justice, and the idea of a unified divinity.

Each of those traditions fed into what came to be known as Catholicism, which gave rise to many alternate understandings of Christianity via the Protestant Reformation.  That revolution of thought led an awful lot of rebellious free-thinkers to undertake the hazardous journey to this continent upon which we find ourselves today.   As Unitarian Universalism’s religious ancestors they brought with them the emphasis upon a loving God and the right of conscience.

So, this land was taken over from its inhabitants and restructured as a deistic, “God-fearing” Christian nation, tolerating religious diversity (specifically, in terms of how devotion to God is expressed).

Up until the 20th century Unitarians and Universalists were generally Christian deists, inspired by Jesus (worshiped as the son of God).  Their churches had spires and crosses, organs, baptismal fonts and stained glass images of biblical figures.

Over time, new discoveries were made about other philosophies and religions, inspiring appreciation for different ways of thinking about reality and the many diverse manifestations of God.  The increasingly horrific experiences of war in the 19th and 20th centuries gave rise to even more questions about and critiques of traditional teachings about Christianity.  So agnosticism and humanism found their way onto the religious stage, which had been dominated by Christian deism.

Each of these movements can be claimed by Unitarian Universalists as ancestors.

But they can also be claimed as viable spiritual paths for those drawn to Unitarian Universalism today, who keep reason, democratic process, justice and love alive.

 

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Question: To whom does one pray if one doesn’t believe in God?

Posted on June 12, 2012 by revsteffi

Typically, prayer is thought of as “communicating with God”:  articulating your fears and concerns; your desires, fervent wishes or vows; relief, gratitude, joy or devotion.  In a nutshell:  your reality.  This articulation can take the form of prescribed prayers spoken from memory, from a religious text, or from your heart – with or without the aid of hands or body in a variety of positions.  Standard is the belief that God “hears” all these prayers and has it within his power to “answer” them (generally meaning to respond in a way that is in alignment with your wishes).  The belief that God hears our prayers and will answer them is said to give great hope where otherwise there would be only despair.

The problem with this, I’ve always found, is that so many prayers made my good people of faith are clearly NOT answered – not in a way they would recognize as a loving response.  So often not in a way that anyone “deserves”.  Bad things happen to good people, right?

So, is there another way to think about prayer?  Well, if the expectation of God’s ear is removed from prayer, what we are left with is:  an articulation of our reality.  And I believe that has tremendous value in and of itself!

Sometimes it is precisely in putting words to our reality that we gain insights into it, developing new perspectives (including much-needed hope).  Sometimes wrapping words around our experience gives us the courage to follow up in practical ways by resolving to commit ourselves to more helpful attitudes or choices.  Sometimes it’s enough to just be able to “vent” without fear of judgment (mortal or divine).

Whether or not your words of prayer are lifted up to “God”, and regardless of whether or not they are answered in the way you most desire, I encourage you to let them arise from the truth of your existence.  And let them be cherished as a sacred gift.

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Question: Why do bad things happen?

Posted on June 7, 2012 by revsteffi

If God is Omnipotent and Omniscient than how or why do bad things happen?

Omnipotence means all-powerful, and omniscient means all-knowing.  So if there is a God, and if God is “that”, why do bad things happen?

In the book of Job in the Hebrew Bible there is a story of a faithful man who was stricken horribly by illness and loss and poverty.  He was tempted by his wife and friends to curse God because that certainly would have been justified.  He did not.  But finally he did rage, wanting to know “why”?

The response was silence, a whirlwind, and a recitation of all the great things God has done – none of which human beings could possibly understand.  I always hated that answer.

In response to that timeless question some say it’s because God either wants to test your faith, warn you, punish you, or make of you an example to others – all of which possibilities make of this all-powerful/all-knowing God somewhat of a “bully”, in my opinion.

There are those who will draw attention to ideas like God’s will, fate or destiny:  which rule out judgments like “good/’bad” as accurate descriptions of what’s going on because whatever it is:  it was meant to be, so…“it’s all good”.

(That doesn’t help a lot when your child has Leukemia or your planet’s natural resources are dwindling; when tsunamis hit and, try-as-you-might, you just can’t pull yourself out of poverty.)

Others say it’s got nothing to do with God.  Rather, it’s more a matter of  “karma” – of your having set into motion a chain of events by virtue of your own actions, whether of this life or a past life; whether individual choices or collective; and whether or not they were made consciously.     Those choices would include the creation/toleration of cultural/political/economic institutions of power that negate and abuse individual worth and value, and the interdependence of all life:  sexism, racism, homophobia, animal abuse, environmental degradation, and the like.

I’d like to say that while asking “why bad things happen” may be an interesting past-time, it is not USEFUL because there are so many potential reasons, with or without God, over which we apparently have no control.  Things happen!

But noticing which ones we DO have control over CAN make all the difference – in terms of “what happens next”.  And, whether or not that’s going to be experienced as good or bad, holistically speaking.

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Question: Can UU’s believe whatever they want?

Posted on June 6, 2012 by revsteffi

Absolutely not.  Sorry.  It’s not about believing what you “want”!  If it were, I would choose to believe that ice cream has no calories, and maybe even that someday I’ll be sitting on a fluffy white cloud playing a saxophone, because someone else took responsibility for my sins, my shortcomings and failures (and I’ve always wanted to play the saxophone)!

If we could believe whatever we wanted, someone else might well choose to believe that what happens to the Amazonian rainforest has nothing to do with us, or future generations.  Or that it’s ok to designate certain groups of people as inferior beings, exempt from compassion or legal protection.  Or that the poisons we’ve been pumping into the air and water and soil will convert to fairy dust.

No.  Unitarian Universalism is not about believing whatever you “want”.

It’s about coming to a belief, NOT because someone tells you that’s the “acceptable” one, but as a result of responsible engagement with your affirmation of Unitarian Universalist values (for example:  individual worth, interdependence, responsibility, justice, respect, equity, love, compassion, peace, liberty)!

And I have to tell you that, very often, that means coming to some pretty painful conclusions about reality and responsibility.

Unitarian Universalism is not “religion lite”.  It demands more of us than any other religion I can think of at this moment.  Sure, maybe others expect you to fast or kneel or pray 5 times a day.  But over time that can become second nature; something you don’t necessarily have to put a whole of thought or energy into.

As a Unitarian Universalist, however, you are expected to “think” for yourself (whether or not you choose to fast or kneel or pray.  And know that all of those are options for you).  You are expected to THINK – not focused on what you “want” to “believe” but on how these values tell you to “be” in the world.

And when we talk about being a liberal religious haven for the “like-minded”:  do not be fooled into thinking the goal is to hang out with people who believe the same as you!

To be like-minded does NOT mean we believe the same things.  It means our minds have brought us to a similar way of “being” in the world.

And that is the way, as far as I’m concerned, of manifested love and justice (not fantasy).

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The Great Turning

Posted on May 15, 2012 by revsteffi
Excerpt from sermon entitled “The Great Turning”, Sunday, May 20th, 2012  
(inspired by the work of Joana Macy)

Many of our most beloved stories were constructed around misunderstandings, misinterpretations or “wishful thinking” at best – if not conscious, strategized manipulations of power.

What I’m talking about is stories of humanity’s God-given dominion over the earth; or of one race or sex over another.  I’m talking about stories of endless resources; of manifest destiny; of rights over responsibilities; and of individual identity over collective identity.  I’m talking about the stories that have fueled the sufferings of multitudes; that have inspired war upon war and the rape of the earth; and justified ongoing indulgence in fear, on the one hand.  Or supernatural rescue, on the other.

It is becoming ever more clear to me that the perpetuation of those stories are the problem; the big evil.  And that the solution (the long-term solution:  the one for which our great, great grandchildren will BLESS us) is to let our lives tell – a different story.

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What Cannot Be Taken Away

Posted on May 10, 2012 by revsteffi

“Extinguish my eyes, I’ll go on seeing you.
Seal my ears, I’ll go on hearing you.
And without feet I can make my way to you,
without a mouth I can swear your name…” – Rainer Maria Rilke

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The Great Turning

Posted on May 8, 2012 by revsteffi

Sunday, May 20th @ 10:30 am – The Unitarian Universalist Church of Santa Clarita Valley 

Pain and fear are natural responses to the “unraveling” of our world.  Compassion and insight are what will encourage the ability to transcend the inclination to get stuck there.

Invite a friend to this worship service dedicated to the work of Joanna Macy, and UUofSCV’s newest members.   (2290 Market Street, Newhall, CA)

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“Transcending Thoughts” (05/06/12 Sermon Excerpt)

Posted on April 30, 2012 by revsteffi

This service is entitled “Transcending Thoughts”. Which caused at least one Facebook friend to ask me if that meant I’d be sharing thoughts ABOUT transcending (something you might expect from “mainstream” clergy). Or, if thoughts themselves would be transcended during this hour (meaning, if we would be encouraged to “not think”)!

In the spirit of a Buddhist Zen Master of my acquaintance, my answer is, annoyingly: yes and no, on both counts!

Yes, it is about “transcending”- in that Transcendentalists sought to transcend/to rise above the idea made popular by Enlightenment philosopher John Locke: that our material existence (the here and now) is the be-all-end-all.

They sought to transcend the idea that reason/intellect is the “only” way to understand anything about life. They sought to transcend the growing materialism of the industrial revolution, and the awkward dependence this young country still had upon the cultural and intellectual standards of the European continent.

Transcendentalists sought to rise above race and class and sex, celebrating unity and equality and infinite human perfectibility! They sought to rise above restrictive relationship and living arrangement norms; to rise above the dry trappings of religious dogma and ritual in order to connect “authentically” with the timeless, universal, religious impulse – the mysterious Living Source of all True Religion!

The flipside is that this transcendence, recognized as so essential to the health of the soul, was believed to happen most readily when the intellect is de-emphasized. When we make room for intuition; when we allow ourselves to walk in silence, to observe and relish beauty; to pay attention to the physical world, allowing nature to breathe through us and, in so doing, bring Divine love to expression!

 

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Imagination + Generosity = Transformation

Posted on April 12, 2012 by revsteffi
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A Transformation Story

Posted on April 11, 2012 by revsteffi

A long time ago, there was a young woman, who woke up to find that she could not “wake up”! She slept and slept, for months, for years, shrouded in a cocoon of fevered dreams. Her hair fell out, her fingerprints dissolved; muscles, memory and life-savings shriveled.

When she finally awoke, it was as a “new creature”, unrecognizable even to herself: needing to relearn the skills of reading and writing, of remembering and imagining; needing to learn entirely new ways of moving through the world.

And that’s exactly what I did: with the help of those who, every step of the way, insisted that my physical form and abilities (or lack thereof) do not define me! That I have worth and dignity, a right to freedom and respect, even when I don’t have the strength to believe or to articulate or to fight for those things myself! This is my story, the details of which I’m more than willing to share with you one on one.

My point? My point is that I could not have become who I am today without that kind of support – without people willing to stand by me as my story evolved, especially when it was a really depressing story and the ending seemed hopeless to me!

I could not have made it without people willing to lift up a vision of who I am “beyond” that experience of incapacitation; beyond those spirals of fear and hopelessness; people who lifted up a vision of “wholeness” that could root itself in MY imagination and clear a path to meaning and purpose!

Ultimately, their imagination in those critical years gave rise to the kinds of “creative ideas” I needed in order to adapt every day to my reality (whatever the “new normal” was going to be that day). For example, ideas not only about medical procedures and treatments, but also about spiritual and financial resources that wouldn’t have occurred to me otherwise, but ended up making all the difference!

More so, it was their imagination that fueled my own as I slowly regained my strength and faced the future – hearing more persistently than ever the call to ministry I’d been ignoring for years!

The transformation to who I am today: a continually evolving, fallible being, committed to liberal religious values, to service and celebration, was (drumroll please…) a communal effort! And that story is precisely what makes me get up every morning in awe and gratitude for life, for second chances, and the intricate web of supportive relationships that make all of that possible!

Not just possible, but worthwhile: faithful, hopeful and loving!

Holy and beautiful is the custom that brings us together!

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