Empathy is a Survival Skill 

If people in other places had experienced empathy for the harm done to people in New York City by COVID-19, similar things might not have happened to them. 

Order of Service - Script 

for Sunday  November 7, 2021

NIUU, Chris Johnson, Jeanie Donaldson, Pastor Fred 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Prelude - Menuet by John Baptiste Lully 

Welcome:  

Come into this circle of love and compassion,

Come into this community where we can dream and

Believe in those dreams—

Welcome to North Idaho Unitarian Universalists where we accept, we support, we transform:  Ourselves, Our Community. Our world.   

Lighting the Chalice: 

By Eric A Heller-Wagner

Blessed is the fire that burns deep in the soul. It is the flame of the human spirit touched into being by the mystery of life. It is the fire of reason; the fire of compassion; the fire of community; the fire of justice; the fire of faith. It is the fire of love burning deep in the human heart; the divine glow in every life.

Opening Words: 

A Spacious Welcome

By Shari Woodbury

 Welcome, who come in friendship

who long for genuine community...

 May you be graciously received here

as your authentic self.

 Welcome, who come in curiosity,

full of questions or simply open...

 May you embrace wonder

and encounter new delights.

 Welcome, who come heavy with fatigue,

weary from the troubles of the world

or the troubles of your particular life...

 May you rest and be filled in this sacred space.

 Welcome, who come with joy

for flowing rivers and gentle breeze,

for changing skies and great trees...

 May the grace of the world

leave a lasting imprint in you.

 Welcome, who come with thanks

for the altruism of the earth

and the gift of human care...

 May your grateful heart overflow

and bless those around you.

 Come, let us celebrate together

this wondrous life.

Hymn #95: There is More Love Somewhere  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rKTQYpt34c

Covenant: 

Love is the spirit of this church, and service its law

This is our great covenant:

To dwell together in peace,

To seek truth in love,

And to help one another. 

Meet and Greet / Check-in  / Joys and Concerns /  Sharing

Story: 

Story shared by Adela Sussman

The Bird Story

 I got up and dressed after a very restless night. I was driving to work when I noticed a small Cardinal bird lying in the road. I pulled my car over, got out and started walking towards him. I expected him to either fly away or at least start struggling. He didn’t move. 

 

I picked him up. He never attempted to get away and I didn’t have to restrain him at all. Right away I knew something wasn’t right. I pulled him close to my heart. 

   

I continued to hold him while wondering how to help. 

 

Me and the bird formed an immediate bond. He would look me right in the eye and put his beak to my nose. 

 

I found a small box and gently put him inside next to me on the front seat of the car. Then I decided to take a day off work and bring the bird to the nature center for injured animals. 

 

At the center, a bird specialist examined him and confirmed 

that he had a broken clavicle. The specialist told me just like in humans, a broken bone is very painful for birds. Some birds make it and some do not. She said that he had a three-to-four-week recovery ahead. 

 

If the bird makes it, she said, he would need to be released right where I found him because Cardinals generally have a family.  

She went out of the room to make arrangements for his stay.

 

Suddenly, the bird began to sing. I gazed at the bird and he looked up at me. Tears began to fill my eyes. 

 

I thought, how can this tiny little creature with a broken wing still sing. He let out a couple more little notes.

 

I regarded him with empathy and awe.

 

After a few moments of silence, I reached over and gave him a gentle stroke on his head saying out loud,”Thank you, little one”. 

 

The nature center said he had a tough go of it. There were a couple of times he stopped eating.

 

However, he pushed through and I will release him back into his territory in a few days.

 

I share this experience with you because this little bird reminded me that we can still sing even when we are struggling.

 

People who are struggling and in pain can make a difference. 

 

The bird reminded me that every living thing is significant, no matter what. If it has life, it deserves love. That is everyone’s birthright! 

The bird also reminded me to stop, 

 

take it slow 

 

and allow love to lead. 

 

Adapted from a Facebook Story by Michele Jordan Colburn 

  

Meditation: 

The Worst Thing We Ever Did

by Chelan Harkin

The worst thing we ever did

was put God in the sky

out of reach

pulling the divinity

from the leaf,

sifting out the holy from our bones,

insisting God isn’t bursting dazzlement

through everything we’ve made

a hard commitment to see as ordinary,

stripping the sacred from everywhere

to put in a cloud man elsewhere,

prying closeness from your heart.

The worst thing we ever did

was take the dance and the song

out of prayer

made it sit up straight

and cross its legs

removed it of rejoicing

wiped clean its hip sway,

its questions,

its ecstatic yowl,

its tears.

The worst thing we ever did is pretend

God isn’t the easiest thing

in this Universe

available to every soul

in every breath.

—From “Susceptible to Light.” Soulfruit Publishing, 2020.

Musical Interlude by Jeanie Donaldson 

Sermon: 

In the sermon for today, 

  I want us to think together 

    about the importance of caring for each other 

      in the difficult times we are all living through. 

Empathy is a particular kind of caring, 

  and empathy is the kind of caring 

    that I want to focus on. 

To understand more clearly 

  what I mean by empathy, 

    we can remember the saying, 

      "Walk a mile in my shoes." 

The truth is we can't really 

  take another person's place, 

    or experience what their life is like. 

At the same time, 

  we can care in a particular way 

    that enables us to imagine what their life is like. 

Imagination is the key. 

Imagination is a useful tool 

  in helping us understand each other. 

Imagination allows us 

  to keep a safe distance from each other 

    while learning enough 

      to enlist each other's help as allies. 

Likewise, imagination allows us 

  to offer our help to others, 

    enabling us all to survive, 

      even, and maybe especially, 

        if there are many things 

          about which we disagree. 

In large part 

  the crises we are facing now 

    are a result of a failure of imagination 

      leading to a failure of empathy. 

It can be difficult to imagine things 

  that we don't want to think about. 

Yet imagining unpleasant realities, 

  especially when those realities 

    are profoundly affecting us 

      and other human beings,

        can be vitally important for us all in our times. 

One of the saddest failures of imagination 

  that is affecting all of humanity 

    is our lack of emapathy for our own descendants. 

The children of our great-grandchildren 

  are likely to face horrendous problems 

    to which people of our time have contributed 

      unless we change 

        many of our ways of thinking and acting. 

Clearly, at least a part of what I'm speaking about 

  is global climate change, a result of too many years 

    of thoughtless overuse of our planet's resources 

      without enough conservation 

        and without empathy for those who face 

          the consequences of our excesses. 

Another word for empathy 

  within communities of living things is altruism.  

We can act with empathy and altruism 

  for each other today 

    and for those who will come after us. 

As we have noted before, 

  altruism is an evolutionary advantage 

    within and among communities. 

As such it is a survival skill. 

In other words, speaking of altruism 

  is another way of stating the title 

    of today's service and sermon: 

"Empathy is a survival skill." 

The blurb that described 

  the service and sermon said: 

"If people in other places 

  had experienced empathy 

    for the harm done to people in New York City 

      by COVID-19, similar things 

        might not have happened to them." 

I chose the example of New York City 

  because it is a place that often evokes 

    strong emotions, for good and ill. 

It is a unique place. 

The overwhelming crowds of people 

  can be exhilirating or intimidating, 

    depending on 

      one's own preferences and attitudes. 

The close proximity of everyone to their neighbors 

  in the great city

    led to a rapid proliferation 

      of the COVID-19 virus. 

I have been fascinated by the fact 

  that the first infections of NYC 

    did not come from Asia, 

      but from Europe. 

There is so much rapidly occurring contact 

  among people from all over the world 

    that viruses will naturally proliferate 

      unless precautions are taken. 

Therein lies the importance of empathy. 

People in New York City suffered greatly 

  from the ravages of the virus 

    long before people in most other places 

      began to experience the problems. 

It was all too easy to say, 

  "Well, that's just New York; 

      they are different from the rest of us." 

Sadly the kinds of tragic circumstances

  that struck NYC early 

    came home to many other places, 

      including our own neighborhoods in the PNW. 

If more people had moved toward empathy 

  and away from the feeling 

    that those people are different from the rest of us, 

      many of us could have avoided 

        the danger and grief 

          that affected the great city first 

            and then came for the rest of us. 

If we are paying attention now, 

  the experience of New York 

    could still come to us, 

      but now in a much better way.

The theaters of Broadway 

  are the beating heart of the City of New York. 

The longest running musical show on Broadway 

  has been "Phantom of the Opera" 

    by the great Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

The show was closed, 

  along with so many others, 

    because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Although the old saying goes that, 

  "The show must go on!" 

      "Phantom" was closed for 18 months. 

The city and Broadway survived, 

  and Phantom has now reopened. 

I'm sharing the information 

  because the revival of Broadway 

    can be a sign of hope for all of us, 

      especially if we can think of the City and people 

        of New York with empathy, if we can care. 

We ourselves have experienced losses 

  because of the pandemic. 

Our own beloved community 

  has been unable to meet in person 

    for far too long. 

We hope to be able to reopen 

  and gather face to face 

    again soon. 

Maybe just as much, 

  we hope that we can STAY open this time. 

We PLAN to reopen and meet face to face 

  and to STAY open this time. 

Like most people all over the world, 

  we have learned a lot. 

We know more now about how much it means 

  to be able to see and hear each other 

    as we gather in close proximity. 

We also have learned how good it can be 

  to be able to see each other virtually 

    when the better way is not possible. 

Maybe most importantly of all, 

  we have learned to provide the option 

    of sharing our time together virtually 

      for those who for any reason 

        cannot do so in person at the moment. 

Hence we have provided our hybrid services, 

  both in person and online. 

All of it can be an expression of empathy: 

  caring and compassion 

    by any of us for all of us 

      and by all of us for any of us. 

If you will bear with me, 

  I want to share a different kind of story of empathy 

    that comes from popular culture 

      as well as history. 

In the movie Titanic 

  there was a character near the end 

    who was noticed by Jack and Rose 

      as all of them were holding on to the railing 

        just as the ship was in the process of sinking. 

He was the chief baker, 

  and he was drinking a bottle of liquor. 

He was a real person, 

  not a made up character. 

Although it does not show in the movie, 

  he had been busy helping other passengers, 

    guiding them to stay with the doomed ship 

      as long as possible. 

He helped women and children board lifeboats 

  long before any men were allowed into them. 

He even encouraged many of them, 

  sometimes strongly encouraging them 

    to get into the lifeboats when they were reluctant. 

He threw deck chairs overboard, 

  and it's likely that he held onto one of those, 

    helping him tread water until his own rescue 

      became a possibility. 

His drinking may even have been a help. 

I've heard it speculated that the alcohol 

  served as a kind of antifreeze. 

That's an amusing thought, 

  but it's more likely 

    that it helped him relax and be brave, 

      not expending too much energy 

        or losing too much body heat 

          until he was rescued. 

He survived the wreck of Titanic 

  and served as baker 

    aboard other ships, 

      including some military vessels, 

        where he was remembered 

          as a person of compassion and empathy, 

            making sure that the people he normally fed 

              were able to continue to eat 

                even when their ship was sinking 

                  under enemy fire. 

We are not yet facing such crises and dangers 

  as shipwrecks and war, 

    but many of us are beginning to recognize 

      the outines of the hard times 

        that may be coming our way. 

As we face increasingly serious inflation 

  and worse struggles for survival 

    than most of us have ever known, 

      we will certainly need empathy and compassion 

        as survival skills to enable us 

          to care for each other 

            and to provide for each other. 

Then, instead of only competing with each other 

  we can help each other survive. 

Today I will need you, 

  and tomorrow you will need me, 

    so only mutual care and empathy 

      will keep all of us going. 

As we will come to understand better 

  later this month 

    in the familiar and beloved 

      holy day (holiday) of Thanksgiving, 

        giving thanks and sharing gratitude 

          can enable us to care and empathize 

            with each other 

              and so help each other 

                when we need it most. 

Amen. 

Let it be. 

So mote it be. 

Blessed be. 

Congregational Response 

Offering Information 

NIUU

P.O. Box 221

CDA ID 83816

 

Extinguishing the Chalice : 

The fire of love burning deep in the human heart, the divine glow in every life cannot ever be extinguished. 

Yet we can receive it into our hearts, and the fire of love will go with us from this time and virtual space into every place we may be. 

 

Welcoming Guests and Announcements

 

Closing words: 

By Annie Foerster

As far as our love flows;

as far as our hope grows;

as far as our yearning goes;

we are no farther one from another.