From the Minister

It has been a particularly horrifying week in the USA. I will be taking to the streets this weekend along with many of you, because I can, and because I need to be surrounded by a feeling of shared resistance.  

Often these days, I’m asked “what can UU’s do to counter the erosion of rights, the corruption, the misuses of power, and so many other things?”  Just like you, I wish I had an easy answer. If there were such an answer, we’d know it.  

For myself, I think about where we are this way:  First, I need to stay aware.  Not consumed by information, but also not in denial.  I need to be ready to move — to change, to help, to respond – in ways I may not be able to imagine. I need to be courageous. I need to be clear about what my values are and what I’m willing to risk to keep them alive.  I think this is what love means now. What I’m willing to risk, to give up, to lose.  When I say I try to live with love at the center, love as the guide, it’s a serious commitment, not at all sentimental.  I don’t know if I’m up to it or if I’m capable, but I know I have to try. 

And, we need to be helping, supporting and protecting those who are most at risk – especially refugees, immigrants, and trans people — in all the ways we can.  But you know all this as well as I do.  And knowing that helps me.  

I’m grateful that this week we are once again hosting my colleague and friend Rev. Mwibutsawineza F. Ndagijimanayburundi. Rev. Mwibutsa lives in Ottawa, ON, where he settled after going to Canada as a refugee from his homeland, Burundi, in East Africa. It was in Burundi that Mwibutsa, then studying to become a Dominican priest, heard about Unitarian Universalism, and eventually established the first UU congregation in East Africa, becoming a UU minister along the way. I have shared in that process with him – a beautiful international form of shared ministry. He has continually been an inspiration and a guide for me, especially in my learning that Unitarian Universalism is not just a “casual faith” but can be a lifesaving force. These are days in which we need to lean into and learn more about that aspect of who we are, and who we can be.

Some of you will recognize that Mwibutsa is a new name for the person you originally met as Fulgence Ndagijimana. There are reasons for this – having to do with the legacies of colonialism, a need to understand oneself in changed circumstances, and more. Mwibutsa will tell some of this story in his sermon on Sunday morning.

For more than ten years the Fellowship has supported Mwibutsa’s work to sustain and grow the UU presence in East Africa ( Burundi and Rwanda), through the NGO he created, Flaming Chalice International. Our support has made a difference not only in individual lives but in the survival of one of the newest UU communities in the world. It is my hope that this relationship with Flaming Chalice International will continue to be a part of the Fellowship’s dedication to outreach and justice for a long time to come. Please join us on Sunday to welcome Rev. Mwibutsa.

On May 22 the Fellowship hosted a meeting of leaders of local religious congregations plus a few community service organizations.  The invitation was issued at the request of our own justice teams:  could we bring together other religious folks to begin to create networks for resource sharing and shared response to the effects of government cruelty we’re all seeing?  More than 30 people attended the meeting, from seven or eight congregations and several agencies.  All were grateful to be able to talk together, to tell each other what they are seeing and experiencing in their own groups.  Folks losing livelihoods as government jobs are discontinued, immigrants and refugees in deepening fear for their safety, the effects of discontinued federal funding on shelters, schools, family support, healthcare and more basic needs. 

What didn’t happen, and remains to be seen (and needed) is leadership.  All necessary movements require someone(s) to take a step and articulate next steps, to invite and organize.  Or, necessary movements need to emerge within already operating structures.  Corvallis has many networks and agencies working for common goals and the common good.  All of the religious organizations who attended the meeting have working structures and are part of wider networks. Possibilities for shared response certainly exist.

The next clear step to a broad religious network, to coordinating efforts for greater impact, did not emerge in this one meeting.  That doesn’t mean that we haven’t begun.  Out of the chaos of the immense changes that are happening, I’m convinced that what we need to be doing together is being formed, little by little.  Here at the Fellowship, that means staying engaged in the work we are doing and step-by-step connecting our work with the work of others.   If you have not yet found your place in the work of the Fellowship, you are most definitely needed and invited.  Please, join in!

Our Annual Meeting is this Sunday May 18 at noon.  In it, all members present participate in the essential business of sustaining the Fellowship.  This is one of the main ways we live up to and live out our commitments to democratic ways of governance. And, it is one of the primary responsibilities of membership. What are some of the other responsibilities of membership?

 Membership means taking your religious life seriously, helping to sustain the life of the Fellowship, and supporting it with time, talent and money according to your own means and needs. 

Membership means being present and accountable in this vital, dynamic congregation, joining hundreds of others as we work for justice, nurture freedom of thought and religious expression, advocate for the worth and dignity of every human being, and dedicate ourselves to environmental stewardship.

Membership is required for taking part in the governance of the Fellowship – electing the Board of Directors who are charged with overseeing policies and finances for the health and wellbeing of the congregation, renewing and changing bylaws when needed.  Membership is required for serving on the Board and for being eligible to vote at official congregational meetings. Members receive the UUA World, the bi-annual journal of the Unitarian Universalist Association.  

In all of these ways, and more, being a member of the Fellowship is a source of fulfillment, of learning and growth, and of making a difference.  I look forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting.

My decision to retire from the ministry has set in motion a huge transition for me. I’ve worried about the fact that it has set in motion a huge transition for the Fellowship as well.  I’ve worried, but I’ve also begun to be very encouraged by this time of change for all of us.  The life of the Fellowship is a story in chapters – and new chapters are about to begin!   For those of you who are relatively new, I can’t think of a better time to be part of this congregation and its movements and growth.  For those of you who are not new, I have so much faith that making changes will be enlivening and inspiring for you as well.

As part of these movements, the Committee on Ministry and I invite all leaders of teams, councils, projects, tasks (and the Board) to gather together for the next Leadership Supper, which is scheduled for Thursday May 29 at 6 PM.   Leadership Suppers have been happening here for more than 10 years, to help leaders remember and recognize that all the work we do, we do together.  At the coming gathering, we’ll talk about how the transition affects all of us, and what we need to do to be able to manage it well by working together.  

The familiar words of James Vila Blake can be our guide:  “Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its law.  This is our great covenant: to dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.”

In the pandemic years, in our isolation and worry, the daily practice we shared was a lifeline for me.  I needed to connect – to myself, to others and to the Earth.  Here is one of the musings of that time, from May 2021:  

“Morning comes early in this season, and I’m surprised how easy it is for me to awaken, to join in the unfolding beauty of these days. I need the beauty.  I need to be reminded of the vitality of life.  I often need to be lifted above the continuing challenges of navigating the human world.  I need help with the mixture of fear and anger which weighs on me – at people and their selfish, short-sighted ignorance. (And meanness).  I need help as I remember that I am one of the people too.  And that we all have egos which lead us astray. 

I’m pondering a Buddhist teaching – I don’t know the source.  It is two definitions side-by-side: “An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the non-living components of their environment, interacting as a system.  An ego-system is a community of old outdated voices in conjunction with the desire to make the moment other than it is, generating a false reality.” 

I’m not sure I quite agree with the first definition – some would say that every component of the world is alive in some way. (But yes, some are not breathing). The second definition is definitely worth pondering.  I’ve learned enough to know that we are always influenced by old outdated voices, within us and around us. Today I’ll try to identify some of my own.

I pause to breathe.  I remember that nurturing inner nobility and steadiness requires time and space and willingness to acknowledge where I am.    With thanks for this part of the path, and this day on the journey, I’m sending love to you all.” 

I caught my breath and sighed deeply at the news of the death of Pope Francis this week, another seismic change in the world.  Then I picked up a book I very recently received – his autobiography, published only a few months ago, titled “Hope.”  Day by day I have begun to read it, as I consider both the gifts of Christianity and its horrible perversions.  We are living in this country with the perversions, writ large.   Pope Francis had a much different perspective.

This is what he said in the introduction:  “People often say ‘wait and hope’ – so much so that the word esperar in Spanish means both ‘to hope’ and ‘to wait’ – but hope is above all the virtue of movement and the engine of change. It’s the tension that brings together memory and utopia to truly build the dreams that await us. And if a dream fades we need to go back and dream it again, in new forms, drawing with hope from the embers of memory.”  

Last Sunday we heard similar perspectives from climate activists such as Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Terry Tempest Williams, Leah Penniman, and more. Hope is the motion, the movement, that keeps us aiming and working for our highest goals.  Even when we think all is lost.  Love is the motivation.  

I also received this quote from the writings of Tennessee Williams this week, with gratitude:  “This world is violent and mercurial – it will have its way with you.  We are saved by love – love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share; being a parent, being a writer, being a painter, being a friend.  We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.”         

In these days of growing authoritarianism and oligarchy in the United States, these days in which we are living, it is important to name both the dangers and our commitments.  The values we hold in common are all at stake.   Love, and Justice, Equity and Transformation, Pluralism, Interdependence and Generosity are all at stake.  It is important to renew and restate our commitment to our Covenant of Right Relations, to being welcoming and affirming especially to those who are most in danger, to speak up and speak out against all threats to humans, to humanity, and to all of Life.  When we gather on Sundays, let’s remember that it is to encourage and strengthen one another, and to comfort those in most need.  We must maintain our dignity and humanity – our ability to laugh and sing and be joyful – at the same time that we become more vigilant and articulate about our values. 

These are days when community deepens into creating safety and solidarity, and growing our skills for both. 

These are the days of our lives!  Can you hear the Earth calling?  Can you hear the call of Love? 

The date for my retirement has been set:  Sunday July 13 will be my last day.  The Committee on Ministry, the Board and others are beginning to plan several events during which we can reminisce, remember, and celebrate our shared ministry.   A tentative plan includes a Friday evening gathering on July 11 – probably with a “Roast and Toast the Minister” theme, a Saturday picnic for all ages – at the Fellowship on July 12, and a final Sunday service July 13.  There will be music at all the events – involving beloved UUFC musicians and friends.  If you’d like to join in some of the planning for these events, please let Sonia know at office@uucorvallis.org. 

Between now and then we still have time to do much together, and we need to become more intentional about being in this transition and saying goodbye.  As I say this, I feel sadness welling up! Sometimes it is really hard to say goodbye, to move to new places, to start new ways.  All of us know that.  So we’re in this together.

Three months is a good long time to do lots of talking.  I have a need to answer as many questions and concerns as possible, especially about all the things I do.  I imagine making list after list, documenting everything – but that is probably not realistic (because I’m not a good detail person).   I’ll do what I can, and I’ll depend on many of you to help by asking questions, creating lists and more.  Already many of you are in that process, which is helping me remember that I can’t do it alone and I’m not doing it alone. 

At the same time we are all working hard to keep our balance, find our footing, hone our priorities for how to live in this country at this time and how to keep the ideals of a just, peaceful and loving community alive and well.  In other words, we are called to live our religious live with more courage and intention than most of us have ever known.  For the fact that we are doing all of these things together – I am grateful!