From the Minister

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!

This beautiful spring!  Days of looking through blooming trees at lingering snow on Mary’s Peak. Days of rain and hail, daffodils now fading and tulips beginning to bloom.  And, this struggling world!  Days of horror and cruelty, of war and destruction, of juvenile incompetent insane leadership.  “This being human is a guesthouse,” Rumi said.  All of the unexpected visitors – the joys and the sorrows, the beautiful and the horrible – let them all in, he said.  (Because there is always something to learn).  I’ve long appreciated these sentiments, but now – they feel a little too sentimental.  This house is on fire, and has been for some time.  Everything is at risk, including ourselves.  Including our humanity.

Where we are today is in the position of taking stock of our humanity.  (Thank-you Cory Booker!) Of letting go of our attachments to things and habits which kept us merely entertained and distracted.  If there is love, if there is justice, if there is compassion and peace, these things live through us and must be our focus now.  To be a covenantal community means to make these truly our highest ideals.  There is in fact much to learn.  That is what we are doing together.

All of the changes happening in the Fellowship – the renewal of our building, the coming changes in leadership at the Annual meeting, the re-imagining of our justice work, our continual welcoming of newcomers, our work on strategic planning for the grounds, my coming retirement and the beginning of interim and new ministries – these are all part of the learning and of the focusing of our energies.  It’s hard some days, even harder on others, and also life-giving in many ways.   For the changes we must be part of, we are just beginning to prepare.  Stay with us, keep coming!  May we each be a blessing to each other and the world. 

Last Sunday I mentioned the need to “practice practicing practices” – which means to cultivate small rituals to help keep ourselves steady amidst the daily tumult of our lives, our times.  Three years ago, at just this time of year, I was also pondering the need for steadiness, as part of the Daily Practice ritual we shared.  Here is what I wrote: 

Good morning friends – A month of days comes to an end – an arbitrary designation like all the rest – yet a way to mark what we call time, part of our constant need to understand.  (So often, by giving something a name, we think we understand what it is).  Everything moves – breath, wind, cells, clouds, sun, moon, water, thoughts, everything is in motion.  Perhaps this daily practice – this being present to breath as it releases and returns – is a small way to momentarily exist beyond names, beyond descriptions – many of which are more imagination than approximation.  

I look again at the candle flickering beside me, and feel my breath again.  My mother is ailing – first news of the day. My granddaughter was up early, in full conversation with the morning light.  Spring continues to unfold.  War continues to pound and destroy.  All women – across a huge continuum of bodies – have in common the dangers of patriarchy. What we call March has been full of these constantly moving and intertwining currents and truths and moments. 

I return again to the candle, and let myself feel the calming breath. I have been carrying a question from yesterday, or it has been carrying me? It asked me “how much joy am I allowed?”  Today I have a sense that though it appeared as a question, it was more of a reminder, for joy is essential.  It is not the same as pleasure – for pleasure can come at the expense of others.  It is not the same as happiness.  It is not found in denial or aversion or in trying to forget. Maybe it comes mostly in gratitude, or perhaps always in the presence of gratitude.  Likely, joy is always present, beyond naming and expectations. Not to be achieved or attained by certain ways of living, but the living itself.  

This candle is still beside me.  In its light I pause again and let myself be breathed. A day, a month of days, a moment, joy and gratitude – Life, moving.    And I’m sending love to you all —  Jill

I am more and more at a loss for what to say about where things are in our country.  The age-old needs for power and control, for creating enemies, the greed – these have been standard human activities forever.  A colleague related a story this week: in their congregation at joys and sorrows someone shared that it was “a good thing in the long run that the British Empire declined, but it is extremely hard to be living through the decline of THIS empire.”  We live among people for whom these are glory days – and that is extremely difficult. 

I try to stay focused on the Fellowship, on our togetherness, our mission and goals, what we mean to each other and need from each other.  At the very least, we can, maybe for the first time, take our ideals and values very seriously, instead of as topics for casual conversation.  These ideals are worth keeping alive – that’s our work now.  Love and respect, inclusion and generosity, compassion and peace – there is more than enough to be dedicated to.  Do we know how to be dedicated?  

Here’s a way.  Last week I noted this about our Stewardship events, which are happening now.  I’m sharing it again, because I’m afraid some folks missed it. “ I imagine a big, beautiful, wide and deep conversation – with several hundred people taking part!  (There are more than several hundred of us, you know.)  Will you enter in?  Will you be part of the wealth of resources we share?  Will you offer you time and perspectives, and your presence?  Here is the only thing you need to know in order to take part:  You are needed and you are invited.”

I can’t imagine a better time to be part of the UU Fellowship of Corvallis.  It is a time of immense change, which means it is also a time of great potential and possibility. It is a generational shift in the midst of a political shift in the context of changes on the earth – and more! I often think of a song we sing on Sundays:  “What we need is here.” It reminds me that between us we have the courage, experience, skills, curiosity, expertise, creativity and faith we need to nurture and sustain this religious community into new ways of being– as did those who came before us. 

This month there are opportunities for everyone to join into conversations about these changes, with and for each other.  Five events are planned as part of the annual Stewardship pledge drive – you can find the schedule and registration link in these weekly announcements. I imagine a big, beautiful, wide and deep conversation – with several hundred people taking part!  (There are more than several hundred of us, you know.)  Will you enter in?  Will you be part of the wealth of resources we share?  Will you offer your time and perspectives, and your presence?  Here is the only thing you need to know in order to take part:  You are needed and you are invited.