This I Believe

I believe we are each powerful beyond our imaginings.

I believe in using our power for benevolence in collaboration with this Spirit of Life and Love that breaths into the Universe.

And while I don’t believe in an anthropomorphized or anthropopathized God or a triune God, I’m totally okay with and grateful that that concept and relationship with God works for others. I believe in translating religious terms within a spirit of “best possible motivation” and for “best possible understanding” in authentic religious and theological dialogue. I am careful to try to not misappropriate or mislead. For me personally I believe and trust in a Universe that sustains me. And I believe I am most powerful when I free-fall back in full surrender, to its universal oneness.

I believe we are born from and into original goodness. And because of that there is a just imperative for religious communities and individuals to eradicate social and spiritual barriers and oppressors of our emerging wholeness. I believe that by doing so brings us closer to God. Closer to more fully knowing God reflected in each others’ eyes, in our outstretched hands, in our life stories. I believe we are walking, dancing holographic mirrors of God for each other and that is our salvation. It becomes a spiritual practice, perhaps even a sacrament, to be radically open and responsive to the transformative opportunities that we offer each other through our theological diversity and experience of the divine and holy.

I believe sin is anything which takes away from or breaks our relationship from God and our wholeness. This includes the self-righteous notion that we have The One True Answer. This includes the self-deprecating thoughts and media messages that we aren’t good enough or worthy of love and connection. Evil is choosing deadness, pain, inflicting misery and power-over. I believe that some sin and evil is humanly irreparable and/ or unforgivable. And sometimes people need to be removed from beloved community/ religious community or even society. But I do believe in unconditional love and I do believe in grace. I’m not sure I fully understand them, but what I do grasp drops me to my knees in utter amazement. Sin, evil, love, grace are all complicated and intertwined. God is in our response.

I believe we are bodily made from star dust and physically return through the earth like nurse logs to nourish generations to come. I believe that as we socially we come from community and are woven into community we achieve a humane immortality as our lessons and love continue in the living community. I believe our soul comes out of the Spirit of Life, remains connected to the Spirit of Life and returns. Every single one of us. Regardless of how we lived our lives. I believe our human brains and current science do not at this point in time and evolution have the capacity or tools to begin to know and understand this phenomena we name God.

I believe that my most holy mission and purpose is to be a mother. I believe God gave me my husband Alex as a helpmate, a co-parent and a teacher of love and trust.

As a Unitarian Universalist minister all these things I believe while they hold my center strong, do not play center stage. My role is to coach, witness, mid-wife, cheerlead, plant, tend, unattached, and then if I am very lucky gasp in awe, “look at them go!”

I regularly play hide and seek with God and find Spirit in folk art, wonder, uncontrollable laughter, singing in a choir, meditating in a group, gratitude, crying in the struggle, church potlucks, trying again and the welcoming of my dog.

I believe God is not the answer. I believe God is in the questions, the searching, the stretching.

Amen.

Young Adult Ministry

Young Adults and Campus Ministry on my mind…

Where are your Bridgers? Where are they going? Please either alert the church in their new town that they are coming or alert me and I’ll make the connection. Please encourage youth and young adults to register on www.connectuu.org and keep their contact information current. You may find young adults in your area through this continent-wide database.

If you receive an alert that a young adult has moved to your area, please contact then to welcome them and see how your community can help with the transition (rides to church, invitation to church events, connection to other young adults in your area, a mentor family…)

Homecoming Events – it’s not too early to get a Thanksgiving Weekend homecoming event on your church calendar and start spreading the word. Planning a Welcome Home social event is a great way to let your “grown up youth” know that you’re still interested in their grand life adventures. Perhaps a “where are they now?” bulletin board for Thanksgiving Sunday so the entire congregation can enjoy and support their news.

On a personal note…

I was a college student in the late 80s in Bowling Green, Ohio. I was part of a group of students that strongly believed that it would be a religion that saved the world. One based on the support of our individual spiritual journeys and demanded that we put our faith into action to make the world a better place. We wrestled with how a religion could guide our burning young adult questions: Who am I in the Universe? How can I truly know right from wrong? What is the purpose of life? (Are you nodding your head as you remember your own young adult experience?)

A professor kindly put her arm around me and told me she’d pick me up for church on Sunday. She took me to a little church that met in the town hall with awful acoustics and uncomfortable aluminum chairs. I didn’t quite connect with the congregation of perceived “gray-hairs” (insert chuckle here, as my hair is now graying) but I fell in love with their religion. For once I didn’t feel alone! We didn’t need to invent this new religion! It was already here!

I didn’t go to the Maumee Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation every Sunday. Sometimes a college student just needs to sleep in. And a ride to church was necessary, but I didn’t want to bug my professor every time (what I wouldn’t have given for an organized pick up! Hint-hint…) I felt bad about not having much money, but no one ever asked me pledge or sign a book or get involved… and you know, I would have. I probably would have done just about anything for that little church (hint-hint.)

They truly won me over when during finals week I received a care package from them. It wasn’t anything elaborate. Probably something like microwave popcorn, m&ms, the comics’ page from the newspaper, some Unitarian Universalist inspiration quotes, and a handwritten anonymous note from someone at the church telling me that they were thinking of me during finals. Blew me away!

Well, both the Maumee Valley UUC and I have grown up and moved on. They have over 100 members and their own building now. I moved to Tacoma after graduation and went searching for a Unitarian Universalist Church before I even went looking for an apartment. And the rest is history…

There are young adults in need of your community. If you have a college or university within the reach of your congregation, you have an excellent starting place. If you would like guidance as to how to reach out, here are some good starting resources:

• Young Adult Information from the UUA: http://www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/leaderslibrary/41766.shtml
• Small Group Ministry specifically geared for young adults and campus ministry: http://www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/leaderslibrary/45430.shtml
• Young Adult Curriculum: Finding Your Path: http://www.uua.org/documents/congservices/yacm/findingyourpath.pdf
• Organizing Campus X (campus ministry manual): http://www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/organizingcampus/
• Powerpoint workshop, Growth By Young Adults: Worship, Programs and Outreach: http://archive.uua.org/ga/ga04/4051a.pdf

10 Easy Things You and Your Congregation Can Do To Support Campus Ministry

Rev. Cynthia L. G. Kane, USN

April 2001 (when she was the Director of CampUUs for the Joseph Priestly District)

1. Send names and contact information of graduating high school and current college students to the UUA Young Adult/Campus Ministry Office.

2. Contact the Minister of the local congregation where college students from your congregation are attending. And/or contact the Chaplain or Dean at the local college/university, and provide them with information about your congregation and Unitarian Universalism.

3. List in the congregational directory of members and friends the names and contact information of the students at the local college/university and the college students from your congregation.

4. Send the congregational newsletter to the students at the local college/university and the college students from your congregation.

5. At the beginning of each semester (September and January), create HUUGS (Hearty Unitarian Universalist Greetings) baskets for the students at the local college/university and the college students from your congregation.

6. Host Campus Ministry Sunday (odd years, the 1st Sunday after Columbus/Discoverer's Day).

7. At mid-term and final exam times (October, December, March, and May), send care packages to college students. If in a campus-congregation partnership, host an off-campus “chill-out” event or a special vespers service of silence, reflection, and meditation.

8. During the winter holidays (e.g., Christmas Eve service) and other times when college students are away from school and returning home (May-August), make a special welcome back to them during the Sunday worship service. Also at these times, host a special reunion event for returning students . . . perhaps in partnership with the youth group . . . or with another nearby congregation.

9. Throughout the year, drop an occasional card or email to the students at the local college/university and the college students from your congregation . . . just to say hello, they are remembered, their absence is felt, and to let you know you are thinking about them and wishing them well.

10. As a graduating gift for high school seniors, give them a membership to the Church of the Larger Fellowship and subscription to the World magazine.

Still have questions or a suggestion? Give me a call: 253-572-7693. Or email me: tkoerger@uua.org.

In faith, Tandi

Juneau Observations

1. Juneau has ravens like the Lower 48 has crows. The ravens run down-town Juneau. They are huge and opinionated. I was walking down the street wondering what would have happened to Christianity had Jesus not lived and taught in Persia, but rather Alaska. As I was pondering this, an audacious raven came down and gave me a sermon-full of her take. She was both hilarious and prophetic.

2. Of all the computers I have borrowed here each and every one of them use the weather page as their internet start-up page.

3. If you face the mountains, and you can still your mind long enough to breath through your eyes, the mountain goats come into focus. They dot the mountainside, but remain invisible to the busy, searching mind.

4. Residents of Juneau refer to the Mendanhall Glacier as “our glacier.”

5. They also refer to Governor Palin as “our Sarah,” but for different reasons and with different inflections and facial expressions.

6. If you want to quiet a dinner party, look out the window and ask in what part of Juneau Governor Palin lives. (She lives in Wasilla and is trying to move the state capitol out of Juneau.)

7. Of all the homes I have been invited that are built on a hill, the mail living quarters are the top story with bedrooms below.

8. Of all the homes I have been invited there is a big tray inside the front door for snow boots. And often baskets of big fluffy socks and slippers to don while you visit.

9. Cramp-ons fit running shoes. I saw them.

10. This is the first time in a long time that I have full lung capacity. The air is so clean and oxygenated. My mind is calm and clear.

11. The Silverbow Bagel coffee-shop serves bagels and Alaskan lox. New York has nothing on this lox!

12. I have developed a swagger in my big snow boots. Fortunately as my attitude gets intolerable, the ice humbles me and forces me to stop swaggering.


Three words to describe Juneau Unitarian Universalists: scrappy, interdependent, (radically) authentic

Stories

Falling Man, Connected Man

My host Bev Haywood and I were coming home from the JUUF book club. Just as we were pulling in to her garage, a man walking his dog twisted and fell on the ice. I jumped out of the car to assist. A neighbor also saw and quickly brought out a cushion to get him off the ice while we assessed the situation.

The three of us managed to gingerly get him into our car along with his dog, Earl, the sweet, black lab. Earl is dropped off at Pete’s house and his wallet is picked up. Off we go to the Emergency Room. On the way, Pete shares that he is part of the Unitarian Universalist fellowship in Anchorage. What are the odds?

Bev stays with him the whole time. Broken leg just above the ankle. Tucks him in at home. In the morning we go into UU mode and tend to his needs. That’s what Unitarian Universalists do. He’s in good hands.

Advisors on the Bus

I enjoy the ease of public transportation. And the education.

“You aren’t from Juneau, are you? I don’t recognize you.”

“No, I’m in town to do some work with the Unitarian Universalist church.”

He goes off on a tirade about how churches should pay taxes and earn their keep, because they do anything for the people. I respond that I didn’t know about the Juneau UU church, but that the Anchorage church voluntarily pays their taxes. He looks surprised and continues to assess me.

“If you were King of the Universe, what would you have the churches do?” And I reach in my bag for a pen and paper.

The rest of the trip is filled with fantastic suggestions. Riders around us get off the bus and new people get on and join the conversation.

• Free legal advocacy
• Mail-boxes for homeless folks
• Adult foster care
• Larger shelter
• Free counseling for homeless men
• Mentors for people newly homeless
• Classes for newly homeless on how to be homeless
• Micro-lending for newly jobless
• Budgeting classes
• Parenting classes so people don’t lose their kids to foster care
• Parenting classes for teen parents
• Parenting classes for grandparents raising their grandkids
• Transportation for elders going to medical appointments
• Programs to understand new law changes
• More buses during tourist season, because they take over the buses
• Family services
• Affordable drug and alcohol rehabilitation
• More severe punishment for hate crimes
• Training for police about cultural differences
• Training for churches to welcome ex-offenders

When it is my stop I offer my card and extend my hand. “Thank you for this most valuable information. I will see that the churches get this. I’ll see what I can do to work on these programs. I’d love to see you at church on Sunday. 11:00. 5th and Main.”

He didn’t come to church. And I wondered if he would be welcome. If he would feel comfortable. We’ve got work to do. I’ve got more busses to ride.

What Every Pastor Should Know About Sunday School

What Every Pastor Should Know About Sunday School

By Elmer L. Towns and Stan Toler

This book recently caught my eye. While I don’t think it’s spectacular enough to run out and buy it, I did find the Table of Contents provocative. The Table of Contents lends itself to an exercise between the Minister, Director/Coordinator of Religious Education, and/or the Religious Education Committee. Get together over tea and for each of the 19 chapters, come up with three ways your congregation’s religious exploration program takes advantage of this aspect. What part does the minister play? The DRE? The REC? The teachers? Others? If you have trouble coming up with examples, perhaps it’s time to look at that aspect and use its gifts more fully. Which aspects are your strengths? Celebrate those!

Enjoy.

Table of Contents:

Sunday School will…

1. Help you reach the lost.
2. Will give you extra doors into the church.
3. Will boost (Unitarian Universalist) knowledge.
4. Will help you minister to all ages.
5. Will help you meet needs. (If you solve peoples’ problems, they return.)
6. Will produce leaders in your church.
7. Will provide role models.
8. Will turn spectators into workers.
9. Will provide prayer intercessors (bind community together.)
10. Will provide teaching evangelism. (deepen Unitarian Universalist identity and commitment)
11. Will provide instant follow-up for new converts.
12. Will provide a friendship network.
13. Will provide life coaching.
14. Will teach churchmanship.
15. Will make use of all spiritual gifts.
16. Will provide spiritual care.
17. Will teach faithfulness.
18. Will build character.
19. Activates friendship evangelism.

Michaela

One year our youth group decided that as part of their church community service, they would each take turns greeting on Sunday morning. It was refreshing to see new and especially younger faces.

One person, however, took exception. Michaela. She put her hands on her hips and said, “How come they get to do that? No one asked me. How come I don’t get to greet?” Not waiting for someone to invite her, Michaela appointed herself the official child-greeter.

I find most Unitarian Universalist congregations have a Michaela, too. Our Michaela was 6 at the time. Just a little peanut of a girl. Very articulate. Very opinionated. With a wild streak of initiative.

She taught me that it’s never to early to develop our leaders. She turned out to be one of the best greeters we ever had. She knew all the members, especially the children. If someone was new, she’s spot them right away, and often ignoring the parents would grab them by the hand, “Hi, I’m Michaela. This is your first time, so I’ll show you around. You’re in third grade? Oh, good. You’re in Ms. Christine’s class and they’re telling Bible Stories. I’ll show you where to go when they sing us out. Come sit by me. Where do you go to school? Uh-hm. Do you prefer dogs or cats? Up here we sit on the chairs. We can’t stand on them with our shoes. Bob just bought them and they’re new. But once you go downstairs we can lay on the floor. Do you prefer cookies or crackers? We have both here. I’ll show you.”

Rather than say, “oh that’s so cute…” our wise Director of Religious Education helped our Membership Chair work with Michaela as a committee member. We are all spiritual peers of varying chronological, experiential, and development stages on our journies, right? The Membership Chair regularly met with Michaela after services to get the scoop on the new families. Michaela worked with the DRE to make sure families got the registration forms and knew where to turn them in. I learned a lot from Michaela’s example.

Religious Education is community-owned and multi-layered. Leadership development is important Religious Education.

That's What We Do, Mom.

The year was 1996. My home congregation had been faced with a building decision. Do we build on land we own, or do we renovate the very ugly, inadequate building we have? We used this issue as a distraction from relevant community work for way too long. We finally voted on saving the money and renovating the building ourselves.

I can always remember the year, because that was the same year that my eldest child began solidly walking and my youngest started talking. My eldest child was put in charge of bringing water to the workers and running various small errands. The first words out of my youngest son’s mouth were hammer, drill, sharp nail, ouch and Bob.

Bob was in charge of our building and grounds and orchestrated the work parties.

Fast forward to 2008. We’re still in that building. Bob was my eldest son, Quinn’s Coming of Age mentor. For his service project they built a fence around the church parking lot together. Bob pulled me aside to say in amazement that Quinn remembers the building renovation – heck if you ask him, he was a full-fledged member of the work party. (at age 3.)

Quinn also joined Bob’s Building and Grounds Committee when he became a voting member at age 14. Pounding nails and cleaning gutters is a healthy way to channel his teenage angst. Sometimes he and Bob will go make repairs at the homes of some of our elders’. Because, “That’s what we do, Mom.”

Religious Education teaches us we each matter. We each have a place. We each contribute to our collective story. There are common values that guide us, “That’s what we do, Mom.”

Soccer RE

I was doing some consulting work with another church and they were lamenting, cursing really, soccer. Soccer was the downfall of their religious education program. How could those soccer organizing heathens schedule games on Sunday morning?! I am amazed they got away with it, however, my response wasn’t very helpful to this particular congregation. I suggested they ditch Sunday School start a soccer team.

Really. That’s one of my fantasies. A co-ed soccer team that begins practice with the lighting of the chalice, an inspirational reading, a team go-around “what are you working on today, and how can the team support you?” Go practice guided by our values and principles. Close with a team go around, “what you appreciate about your team mates or what you’re proud of from today’s practice….”

And what if we call ditched worship some Sunday and went to cheer for our team… or even both teams playing…

Religious Education doesn’t exclusively happen on Sunday from 10:30 -11:30 am. Religious Education happens when life intentionally happens and we’re alive and awake in the world.