Presidents

Order of Service - Script 

for Sunday  February 20, 2022

 

In the U.S.A. the people tend to revere and despise their presidents, sometimes the same person at different times. The experience reveals many things about the nation. 

NIUU, Jeanie Donaldson, Chris and Connie Johnson, 

    Pastor Fred 

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Prelude: "Persuasion" by Jeanie Donaldson

Announcements

Offering Information 

Charity of the Month:

Love Lives Here CdA

"Love Lives Here CDA seeks to engage and educate our community in upholding and protecting the civil and human rights of all individuals regardless of their race, creed, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or immigration status."

NIUU

P.O. Box 221

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Welcome, Lighting the Chalice, and Opening Words: 

Connection as Resistance

By Erika A. Hewitt

In her 1975 theological treatise Suffering, German liberation theologian Dorothee Söelle* examines the ways that suffering can knit humans beings closer together, and can draw us more fully into the process of loving. She uses the term apatheia, “the inability to suffer,” to describe the condition in which people become “so dominated by the goal of avoiding suffering that it becomes a goal to avoid human relationships and contacts altogether.”

Isolation and apathy are forms of powerlessness. Both destroy—in Söelle’s words, “We are destroyed most thoroughly by that affliction that robs us of any possibility of loving any longer. . . . The capacity we need the most [is] the capacity to keep on loving.”

If pain and suffering tempt us to become isolated and apathetic, Söelle argues, we must instead give voice to our suffering by creating “a language of lament” that might draw us into solidarity.

The theology offered by Dorothee Söelle echoes that of her rough contemporary, Hannah Arendt—who was a political theorist, rather than a theologian. One of Arendt’s most well-known assertions, from her work The Origins of Totalitarianism, is that “totalitarianism is organized loneliness,” and that the seed of loneliness is isolation: “the experience of not belonging to the world at all, which is among the most radical and desperate experiences of [human beings].”

Therefore, resisting the isolation that breeds loneliness is not just an emotional, psychological, or even spiritual act, but also a political one. The blogger and critic Maria Popova puts it this way: “Our insistence on belonging, community, and human connection is one of the greatest acts of courage and resistance in the face of oppression.”

*Söelle is pronounced ZERH-lah

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.   

We welcome all, and all means ALL. 

Presidential Anthem: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AIAKVst7jw

Hail to the Chief

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

Fred - 

Story: 

My Own Kent State Story by Pastor Fred 

Although I have never visited the State of Ohio, I have at least two strong connections with Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. 

The connection that is most important to me is that my brother (a half brother whom I never met) was a professor of English at Kent State from 1961 until 1984. For a time he was the head of the English department there. 

The other connection is the tragedy of the shootings at Kent State in 1970. 

Four students were killed and nine wounded by the Ohio National Guard during a peace protest on the campus of Kent State University in Kent Ohio on May 4, 1970. It was the first time in U.S. history that college students were killed in an anti-war gathering. 

A President of the United States, Richard Nixon, had escalated the war in Vietnam by invading the neighboring country of Cambodia, and an already divided nation was further divided by the escalation of the war and by the tragic events at Kent State University. Those events in May of 1970 have deeply affected my life ever since. 

At my own Alma Mater of Trinity University in my home town of San Antonio, Texas, there was a gathering around a large fountain near the main entrance to the campus in memory of those killed and wounded a few days after the shootings at Kent State. There we lit candles and participated in prayers for peace and calm. 

At the same time there was a lot of anger about the things that had happened. The escalation of the war in Viet Nam angered a lot of people, especially many college students. All of us were, or at some point in our lives were likely to be, subject to the military draft, so it was much more than a matter of political opinion to us and to many Americans. 

A group of people who had gathered at the fountain began walking together after the time of worship had ended. We had made no plans for a protest, but a spontaneous gathering began moving toward the nearest military base, Fort Sam Houston, whose nearest entrance was about two or three miles from the campus of Trinity University. I walked with the group. Most of us, including me, had given little or no thought to the dangers inherent in what we were doing. I believe there were about a hundred people in the spontaneous march. 

There was no protection for the group, and the gathering was probably contrary to numerous ordinances since it was spontaneous, and we had no permits. 

I have never in my life been more impressed with the actions of local police than I was that night. It did not take long after we departed the campus until the police showed up, some in squad cars, some on motorcycle, and a few walking among us. My only memory of their presence was that they were kind and friendly toward us, and they were clearly present simply to protect the group of walkers. Somehow a permit was produced, surely with the help of the police, and there were no arrests. 

The walk was peaceful all the way to the entrance of Fort Sam Houston. There we stopped, facing a line of armed soldiers. There was some shouting back and forth. I was filled with adrenaline, and I coped by saying, "We came here to say something. We have said it. Now let's go home." 

The group turned around and walked peacefully back to the college campus, with the police continuing to provide protection. 

It was an event I will never forget, needless to say. 

Meditation: Alternate Voices 

Chris - Eight Quotes for Meditation by U.S. Presidents: 

Connie - Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. 

- John F. Kennedy 

     --- Pause ---

Chris - Be fit for more than the thing you are now doing. Let everyone know that you have a reserve in yourself; that you have more power than you are now using. 

If you are not too large for the place you occupy, you are too small for it. 

- James A. Garfield 

     --- Pause ---

Connie - We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage. 

- Theodore Roosevelt 

     --- Pause ---

Chris - The object of love is to serve, not to win. 

- Woodrow Wilson 

     --- Pause ---

Connie - I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. 

- Harry Truman 

     --- Pause ---

Chris - Be patient and calm; no one can catch a fish with anger. 

- Herbert Hoover 

     --- Pause ---

Connie - In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest. 

- William McKinley 

     --- Pause ---

Chris - If we succeed, it will not be because of what we have, but because of what we are; not because of what we own, but rather because of what we believe. 

- Lyndon B. Johnson 

     --- Pause ---

Sermon: 

 

Presidents 

In the U.S.A. the people tend to revere and despise their presidents, sometimes the same person at different times. The experience reveals many things about the nation. 

Early in the years of Christianity, 

  in the First or Second Century of the Common Era, 

    a teaching document called the Didache 

      was being circulated. 

It reported early teachings and practices 

  of Christianity. 

Of interest in contemporary discussions 

  of presidents 

    is its description of the person 

      who presided over the Bread and Wine 

        of Holy Communion. 

That person was called the president. 

To this day among many Christians, 

  that person is called the presiding minister. 

Today in most democracies, 

  the term, "president," 

    generally refers to the chief presiding officer 

      of their elected governments. 

Among parliamentary democracies, 

  the president has a more ceremonial role, 

    but in the U.S.A., the president is, 

      generally speaking, 

        the most powerful authority figure 

          in the government and the society as a whole. 

Tuesday of this week, 

  February 22, is the birthday 

    of the beloved first president of the United States, 

      George Washington. 

One week ago yesterday, February 12, 

  was the birthday of the beloved sixteenth 

    President of the United States, 

      Abraham Lincoln. 

Washington's birthday used to be a federal holiday 

  on its own. 

Nowadays, the third Monday in February

  is celebrated as a federal holiday 

    known as Presidents' Day. 

This year, Presidents' Day is tomorrow, 

  February 21. 

Enough said about the calendar, 

  but I hope it's obvious why I'm choosing 

    to speak (or preach) about presidents 

      and the nation's relationship with them 

        on this occasion. 

As most of us have observed, 

  presidents are sometimes revered and beloved, 

    and sometimes they are disparaged and despised. 

That may depend 

  on one's own political party persuasion, 

    but it also may not. 

Much of the time, I believe, 

  a person's attitude about the POTUS 

    is more determined by the person's own attitude 

      about authority figures 

        rather than any good or bad qualities 

          in a given president herself or himself. 

From deep within childhood, 

  most of us have a mixed reaction 

    to the people in authority over us. 

Whether our own parents were effective 

  as the loving authority we all need, 

    they were all imperfect. 

Even if our parents were the best possible, 

  all of us have encountered authorities 

    who behave badly more often 

      than carrying out their responsibilities well. 

The case of President John F. Kennedy 

  is a case in point 

    for a president who was once reviled, 

      but who is now generally revered. 

He was far from a perfect president 

  or a perfect human being, 

    yet he is generally thought of 

      much more highly  in retrospect

        than he was in his years in office. 

His assassination turned attitudes 

  of many Americans 180 degrees around, 

    including my own. 

Suddenly his mistakes and shortcomings 

  became much less important, 

    and his strengths and good decisions 

      seemed much more so. 

His handling of the Cuban missile crisis 

  in October of 1962, a year before his assassination, 

    (which took place on November 22, 1963),  

    almost certainly prevented a much larger disaster, 

      most likely a war, 

        and very possibly a nuclear war. 

As matters stand to this day, 

  JFK is revered, and his memory 

    is a blessing to many people. 

Another President whose reputation 

  shines more brightly 

    as a result of his assassination 

      was, of course, Abraham Lincoln. 

The Civil War is long over 

  in history as well as in most of our minds, 

    but Lincoln is much more kindly remembered 

      in states that remained in the Union 

        than in states that joined the Confederacy. 

Indeed, I believe that our society's divisions today 

  have deep roots in our national history. 

Our attitudes toward our presidents, 

  past and present, 

    are reflective of the things that unite us 

      and the things that divide us. 

At this point, we can see 

  how an understanding of our past, our history, 

    can help us cope with the circumstances 

      of our present times. 

Much of the time, simple understanding 

  can help us accept each other 

    and treat each other as sisters and brothers 

      rather than treating each other as enemies. 

As we look back to the past, 

  sometimes the things that used to divide us 

    seem much less important 

       than the things that hold us together. 

One president left office 

  with a particularly low approval rating, (34/55)

    but today he is widely respected 

      as an elder statesman, 

        and a highly effective negotiator for peace 

          and reconciliation among people and nations. 

It is Jimmy Carter of whom I speak. 

Today his approval rating as a former president 

  is much higher. (66 percent versus 34 in 1980)

The best U.S. Presidents have been 

  spiritual leaders for the nation 

    as well as political leaders. 

Both of the presidents we celebrate most this month 

  have had strong leanings in the direction 

    of Unitarian Universalism. 

Neither was officially affiliated with UU faith; 

  Washington was Anglican / Episcopalian, 

    which church is a kindred spirit and tolerant of our 

      kind of faith. 

Lincoln was more of a generic Christian, 

  which my experience has taught me is true 

    of many UU's, 

      even though our freedom or choice 

        in matters of faith 

          allows us a wide variety from atheism 

            to a sacramental form of faith in God. 

In my own faith, 

  the freedom of choice is best. 

What we hold in our hearts and minds 

  is far more important than the many things 

    we are told by political or religious authorities, 

      or by both in a blended way or at the same time. 

In fact, the blending 

  of religious and political authority 

    seems to me to be among the worst ideas 

      human beings have come up with 

        in the whole realm of governance. 

In the days very near the end of the Civil War, 

  Abraham Lincoln entered Richmond, VA, 

    lately the capital city of the Confederacy, 

      not as a conquering hero, 

        but as President of the newly 

          RE-United States of America. 

A telling moment took place 

  when a crowd of newly freed former slaves 

    gathered around him, 

      many of them kneeling before him. 

He said to them, 

  "Don't kneel to me. That is not right. 

    You must kneel to God only 

      and thank Him for the liberty 

        you will afterward enjoy." 

That is exactly the kind of humility 

  we citizens of the U.S. have the right 

    and the necessity to expect of our presidents. 

George Washington also displayed 

  a similar kind of humility 

    when he refused to accept 

      a third term as President, 

        a precedent now enshrined as law 

          by the 22nd Amendment 

            to the U.S. Constitution. 

It would not be possible to require humility 

  as prerequisite to holding the office of POTUS, 

    but I for one can wish that it could be. 

Indeed as the citizens who elect our presidents, 

  we can at least require the appearance 

    of a humble heart in those 

      for whom we are willing to vote. 

Amen 

So Let it Be.

Blessed Be! 

Congregational Response 

Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing words: 

John Avlon is a jounalist who has recently written an important work on a part of the history of the U.S. presidency. His work is titled, Lincoln and the Fight for Peace. Some words that summarize Avlon's book and the efforts of President Lincoln to achieve true peace after the end of the Civil War are also words for our time, words to close our time of worship together today: "Wage peace with an intensity that rivals war." 

Bonus Song (if there is time) 

Ohio by Crosby Stills Nash and Young (2017 remaster): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FpakQiF2Jk