The Reverend Mark DeWolfe Sermon
THAT WAS THEN, AND THIS IS NOW
Today’s session is called night time at our house right about now the children are finger painting with chocolate pudding young young. As they make night pictures and talk about fears and wondering so they’ll have a story and light a candle. After circle time. The children 7 to 11 are in the stepping stones class. This is the curriculum written by Gooding who spent many years in Canada the art of my church. And they’ve been studying math about creation this fall. They’re hearing this from several cultures as well as the 2 biblical versions of creation. But today with penny Higgins they’re experiencing the myth of the great earth goddess. H.. Imagine them now dancing to this story. Going to read you just a bit of. In the beginning there was only guy and the 48. Nothing this. No waters around neither sees nor rivers no lakes. No land could be found neither mountains north valley snore planes. No plants group now the trees or flowers no grasses. No creatures moved neither birds nor fish no animals. Into this nothingness danced gotcha. Rolling around and around until she became a great spinning ball. Mountains were molded from her spine. Valleys and hills and meadows were formed from the shape of her body. The moisture of her body created range and life began. Tiny wriggling creatures swim in the pools formed in her hall of places little green shoots sprang up from her pores. Springs of water appeared growing into Brooks and rivers flowing on were to become great lakes and my T. C.. The plants multiplied and covered the. The tiny wriggling creatures group in Rome the land and swim in the waters. After a time I brought forth from her womb 6 women and 6 men and from them more human life came into being. Mexico’s on from there something different from what I learned about creation. We’ll cross the hall now in peak into the boardroom where the Barnstormers children over 12 have been meeting. Their curriculum is called how can I know what to believe and they began this fall with the unit on questions of religion. Today’s session with Maureen largest teacher is called unitarians versus faith in action they’re making posters for producing skips about 3 famous Unitarian Universalists. Albena Reynolds singer songwriter and social activist Linus Pauling Nobel Peace Prize winning chemist and peace activist global peace prize Novell prize we can’t. Emily Stowe first Canadian woman doctor and activist for women’s rights. These stories give vivid examples of ways in which people have chosen to carry their unitarians versus values into their lives. Each has had an impact making things better for others along the way. Bill Dixon is down with the class today no yes you can okay bill is going down with the class today and singing some of Melvin Reynolds songs with them. Here’s a little piece from her biography. Delfino thing so I think for the women who still don’t have the same opportunities as men and I think for the minorities who still don’t grow up as equals in American society and I think for a peaceful world which is still being threatened by men in power who want to compete instead of cooperate and I think for free speech so that all ideas can be heard and considered no matter how strange they may see and I think for the natural world for the beautiful earth which is becoming polluted by human carelessness I think for love and life and laughter and freedom and gentleness so you can see why I feel at home in the Unitarian universalist you nomination. I think that’s why quite a number of us feel at home in unitaria resisting on the nation. Well mark what would you like to say about this is that. Can. When Unitarianism Celeste dedicate their children we often read the words of Kahlil Gibran. Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself. They come through you but they are not all of you. You can give them your love but not your thoughts they have their own thoughts you can house their bodies but not their souls for their souls to well we’re in a place of tomorrow which you cannot visit not even in your dreams. With children among us we can begin to glimpse that house of tomorrow even though we cannot visit at. But you see it we have to look at them closely and not jump to conclusions. Every generation is learning the world for the first time. And what it does with what it sees and what it learns will not be obvious while they are learning it. One set of religious education class a week actually at ferry beach are unitarians or schools conference center on the coast of Maine I listen does pay good and asked a circle of about 20 children of different ages what they wondered about when they were alone with their thoughts. Slowly the answers came. Where did the world come from and the stars why am I ni how big and how far the universes how do I fit in how can we make the world a better more peaceful place. Those children listed off without being prompted all the big religious questions in their own words. Growing and learning as children is not all that different than growing and learning as adults. They wonder about the same things you and I do so they may see the world differently from a different angle sometimes it lower down. The church is a great place to grow and learn together across the generations for just as children need the experience of their elders so do elders need the experience of their you. Mark but I should have the last word so off the top once more. And we’ve come to the part of the sermon that mark call so watch. What is there to glean from these memories and glimpses. What I have learned is that while some things change in religious education some things will always remain the same. I can identify 5 universal things that will always be important. The caring community. Worshiping together. The learning environment. The stories we tell. And the role models that we provide. The caring community that was what kept me in Rosedale United church all those years. It was what I thought for my sons in Norwalk and again for our family when we moved here. Times have changed places have changed I have changed but the need for the caring community is the same. South peel is just such a caring community. It was where I prefer to do my field education because I knew you’d be accepting as well as teach me a lot. The children here know that they are loved and wanted. All the signs the greetings the worshipping together at the beginning of the service the special space made for them downstairs all confirmed to them that they are of value to you. The question I draw from this. Is it self peel is a growing church as I understand it is. In this congregation expand and sustain the caring community to include the many more people out there who are seeking. Can it invited absorb not just more children but the many different kinds of adults who would like to immigrate. I believe it can. I believe worshipping together is important. It is here that we do the valuing in the celebrating that is central to our religious lives. It is here that are religious tradition is passed along for the rituals are learned and the hymns and the words of the stories which express our values are shared with each other and our children and newcomers. It is that worship that our children see both men and women in leadership roles see the kind of gifts that people bring to worship. It is here that they find that they have gifts to offer. The question that arises here for me is is there more that can be done to involve the children and other adults in worship. I’m not suggesting that the children spend more time here longer time they have their own work to go on with downstairs but can individuals be invited occasionally to offer gifts of music. Readings greeting at the door passing the collection plate candle lighting and so on. I’m sure there are opportunities for this sort of thing to be happening more often. I believe the learning environment is important learning theories change and priorities in content change but the need for warm clean attractive safe space and enough of it never changes. The learning environment of my early religious education left a lot to be desired. Mark sounded much more nurturing to me even want those interminable Bible story discussion sessions that I injured were in part necessitated by the crowded quarters. Perhaps if I had been able to do plays and skits dancer painter working clay some of those stories would have come alive for me which they never did. Perhaps less formal conversations would have allowed me to express some of my confusion or doubt or wondering. The challenge to a growing church is to continue to provide a good learning environment as more and more children begin to use it. There’s a more subtle challenge to hear I think. We entertain Universalists are often accused of being left brain oriented intellectuals. Do we offer ourselves and people who would like to be part of us ways of learning by the right brain. Perhaps we adults could do more with skits and play along with our media discussions. I believe the stories we tell our children are really important and perhaps the ones that we don’t tell them are equally important. I didn’t hear stories about women. The stories I heard as a child inside the school were all about men or boys and they described a patriarchal universe what women wear women’s presence if it wasn’t knowledge that all was of Serbia or evil. Many even many of the stories that mark the members were sex role stereotypes and not entirely inclusive of all people. I believe it is very important that our children here inclusive language here. And that we all hear stories about women as well as men colored people as well as quite poor people as well as rich old people as well as your own. We need to hear about Canadians we need to know about people with different cultural heritage sex role orientation mental and physical abilities and people who don’t lead exemplary lives the ones that get themselves so messed up that they can’t be fixed within the half hour time allotment of the TV situation comedy. We may never know what learnings are children take away with them but we can hope that they will be inclusive people who carry their U. U. values into active meaningful lives. Lastly it seems important that children and adults get to know each other as individuals in this community. We adults are living breathing role models of Unitarian Universalists. I think it’s rewarding for adults to spend time with the children on their own turf downstairs as teachers guests or involved in special activities or projects. When you are next to a child you can sometimes share a little of your own personal story and perhaps she will offer you a little of hers. Our children are you used to and as mark points out they can teach us amazing things. The question here is can we offer them ways to join us in activities in which we are working for a better world. Not just in church school but in the larger life at this church the issues and the priorities of our social actions change but the need to work for a better world never changes our children will carry on after us can we find ways to walk with him for awhile. Those are my thoughts which spring up out of today’s exploration. If you have reactions and responses being delighted to have you share them with us. Hello. Okay very. Her engagement to add features. My younger daughter yeah. Sure school and stuff he’ll. And a few years at all of that sort of. All you know people who are no longer here and 2 years ago and all. For calling. As a follow up on. She made it a minute. Positive comments but overall you should realize that the one lasting memory she had was what fining people those teachers could be. And so on we call it role model for international models with all these years she does remember that on this. Sure. Story going. Also in the United church. Fortunately or unfortunately only about. Unitarians. R. in the early sixties. Sure school market registered in my class 312. And they were all cool. One day there was no one in the room they were all in these huge. Here’s. One. One of the more important. Not sure of the. Sure school everything. I think I’ve told this story before but. And you might imagine I could lose my story could be hello I alert. That I was holding hers. And I learned that I had a lot of snow. Yeah the issue about 10 years old and I learned in my country school in Michigan. Our son is going to change plus our. Regular teacher and I’ll always school times and she was a default Methodist as she rode a bicycle for miles every day from the spring like to come out to our country school in order to teach us. And then she came back to haunt her classical although some days he just some days ago. And also the more of my life. When I had the Christmas tree. Some information. Yeah I was. 10 years old. Yeah I had a baby sister was just one of the following. Also we had a Christmas pageant. At first we had a Christmas tree Ponomarev and headline candles. And all that kind of thing but we had a terrible. And I thought it was the mother of Jesus. This was my sister who was a baby girl. For all over the world. Yeah he lost some. How. And then anybody. Yeah very. Another. Your user if you mentioned a lot of those children yeah yeah sure. Yeah I love meeting here and. And he anything and I along with the couple and their 3 daughters but he learned. We were all very active in these regions from the yellow line. Why are you younger than you. And you know how you gauge in the L. O. Y. and last name and 6 times you have seen. Any activities happening you have you are you for what you get in your time you’re pretty much in the way and very few details yeah that combination. So. Right reason I if you others started feeling that we need to come back to the congregation there is a need for bodies that way but we had a lot of struggle because. Details and I can understand why you can trust okay we were young and young people who are going out of line confiscation and fortunately he did everything good with the bad memories in 19. One thing I know having an early hello this is Steve run anywhere a lot of things that. Yeah. I got everything I will be reviewing the evil. And we actually need a man we we were somebody so you can imagine that we have all the kids. For their programs and we demand that we would have a life. So there were a lot of disagreement down calls left after using the weighted weight rather than white high where does crack a joke and. So it went back and forth and we we showed them and we. L. close to the end of the week. We took over the rocky our advisory board L. so that we could go to travel across the country can gain. 2 workshops on it yeah he would be the final race before but it also would begin our responsibility on the building that we had and we show the congregation every week that we were capable of holding down a pretty important responsibilities anybody will know if we are going to go off well. And yeah we traveled. You represent of our age group and we like our rooms and we got it a member on the board. And exactly what we’re doing. Everybody learn from everybody and I and I know it’s a I can you can you know have a good evening yeah. Yeah. Right hander congregation yeah we’re going to need your. 4 A. M. conference for young people she’s also going to recently and then and she’s going to have a life or limb okay. A lot of. The market yeah. What. The. Marketing the love that they were there and I thought yeah right. And remember last. In about 2:00 hours right now they’re on vacation. Having a service. I. More yeah yeah yeah. What. Yeah. This year. Yeah. I think rather. For the. I have. With. Where. And. In all communities where you usually. Not available. Where did it all wrong. Happy new year. That. And then there’s a lot of. Yeah. Actually. Strong. And then my. I. I mean I had a. Yeah yeah. Yeah. The. 1 user for the user 13 all and we’re. Going through it with this growing fears. Which we’re going to have to rethink our values. This is a direction. And so we ask you to or certain tools. There’s a very restricted even. However there’s a there’s something in common okay this is the United church of. I’m looking for the things that we seem to have a special resources there’s already a stately or reciting prayers for. 3 United church sure for me is in transition and I don’t really have a chance to answer lingering. The the only what I would do sure restorers names or north shore this was one of the most progressive man I have ever met. Right it was very much a room there really weren’t services in order to waste as a doctor usually. Jesus Christ was 3616 just save us from our sins. Uhhuh uhhuh. No. I believe these are common sense. It was probably the moment when I was. It was time for me to. On the. The United church. I. Very funny right. Yeah and United churches. The United States military and. They treat everything. I would say I can. Yeah. Yeah I mean what is yours. Yeah yeah. One thing I discovered is that. Remember what happened last more orthodox churches forties and fifties have lost one of those churches and changing so that I have shocked people you telling them that last week I was gonna be a lot of consultation with Ronald. The resource people were too radical Catholics and a. For whatever reason you’re studying yeah that is what they were saying was more radical around the subject around the subject the only nationality is more radical than many unitarians to be during the last few years it was. Right. You know like you they they say they face hierarchies unions that are less accepting than we would be able to access but the voices are there yeah the new costs are there we have a great deal to learn now I hate from orthodox already yeah the reason for that office where how high will be just like the justification stages one time it was marvelously energy. I have really enjoyed unilateral. Because he is not I am not never moved in on the action maybe on the edge of the Pacific. Yeah this morning. I don’t have any. Thank you. That we are well. All I wanted was a translation all of you. So we are a point right now. Beyond you you is a one. And let me tell you this phone. I think we’re going to need that and that I agree with you about what we continue to get you to call me as different from Unitarianism thank you D. as in the 19 eighties was repeated nineties. It is a time. Well for those of you later see not only the only the only way the if you for those of you looking. Live a life return the affection and for those of you who came here seeking a better way made away time for you and the courage to take it step by step. It’s our custom dental services by singing the 4 lines song from the cities from the I received to the ideas together we share and from this we live in Paris asked that we sing it pop up how long he’ll play the melody for us once but I think those are close to join hands here well we sing it here with like. This is a slightly longer chart here I have 4 homes for you. The first 2 R. Vinay certain. Is there. About what I mentioned before that meeting of of perception and an object that results in beauty. Then there are 2 problems one by Dorothy Livesay and then one which is a lyric from a song for with my band. That are about. Opening yourself to those perceptions. First one ‘s called love. Roger was a spider’s web hanging in space between tall grasses it is toward the game the game. A passing dog or simply the wind can do it. Several times a day I gather myself together and spend it again. Spiders are patient weavers they never give up. And who knows what keeps them out of hunger no doubt. And hope. Of the muse. There is no poetry analyze but in crude honesty there is hope for poetry for a long time now I’ve been deprived of it because of pride would not allow myself the impossible today I have learnt that to become a great cracked wide open door into No Way. This was the. When I was young I misunderstood the muse now I’m older and wiser I can be glad of her as one is glad of the light. We do not think the light but rejoice in what we see because of it. What I see today is the snow falling. All things are made new. Easter Sunday for Georgia ring road is born on Easter dawn 1971. A cold Easter coldest Christmas raw wind blisters advice on grass snow reaching on to the lilac buds. Is it that someone else is trying to enter in me and I keep closing the door. I leaned against the door panting. A crack a crack of sunlight on the floor. Don’s whistle I must wake up must keep waking up. Let the door be open let the life of that new face and. Persuade yourself to be too now new now within. Tomorrow the stone will be rolled away on her. We will come out of the cave 231. Same with the clothes. We walk under the same sun we talk with words formed by the same time. When his heart beats it pumps the same blood did you know. Love can be a tangible thing. No borders or ideologies. That marked her children off once more in the gentle breath of spring. And when the wind blows. When ashes blow on empty streets. It’s the same when the clubs. We live under the same rule we work using the same tools when this house stands it stands for all. With the same blood. And don’t talk about winning. You say your loss so far from home you don’t see a rainbow’s anymore. Well open 0516. Thank you.
Reverend Mark DeWolfe
