Church Politics

 

Order of Service - Script 

for Sunday  June 5, 2022: 

Church Politics 

All politics seek to make things better, sometimes for everyone, sometimes only for a few. 

NIUU, Jeanie Donaldson, Pastor Fred 

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Prelude: "Prelude" by Jeanie Donaldson

Welcome and Announcements: 

Where do we go from here?

NIUU Semi-Annual Meeting

The time has come for us to re-envision how we manage all that is NIUU. How we meet, how we organize, and we move forward. Please join us for our semi-annual meeting on June 12th at 10:30am on Zoom or in person at the Harding Center. We will not be having a Sunday Service prior to this meeting as it will require our full attention and participation. The NIUU board requests that you consider the questions: Where do we go from here? What is required of us as a UU congregation? What does it mean to you to be a member of this beloved community? How do we continue to seek truth in love and support for one another? Together we will explore these questions and share our unique perspectives.

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.   

Offering Information 

Charity of the Month:

International Eye Institute

"At its origin, our mission is both medical and ethical. We strive to create unity among communities through charity and healing.

By providing adult and pediatric eye care to people of impoverished regions around the world we are restoring their health and empowering them to be self-sustaining."

NIUU

P.O. Box 221

CDA ID 83816

Lighting the Chalice: 

A Communion of Heart and Soul

By Bruce Southworth

For the gift of this day and for our community of spiritual nurture and compassion, we give thanks.

We light this chalice as a symbol of our faith.

May our many sparks meet and merge in communion of heart and soul.

Opening Words: ­­­

The beauty of the whole

By Meg Barnhouse

We gather to worship, our hearts alive with hope that here we will be truly seen, that here we will be welcomed into the garden of this community, where the simple and the elegant, the fluted and frilled, the shy and the dramatic complement one another and are treasured. May we know that here, each contributes in their way to the beauty of the whole. Come, let us worship together, all genders, sexualities, politics, clappers and non-clappers, progressive or conservative, may we root ourselves in the values of this faith: compassion and courage, transcendence, justice and transformation.

Hymn #298: Wake, Now, My Senses 

1 . Wake, now, my senses, and hear the earth call;

feel the deep power of being in all;

keep, with the web of creation your vow,

giving, receiving as love shows us how.

2. Wake, now, my conscience, with justice thy guide;

join with all people whose rights are denied;

take not for granted a privileged place;

God’s love embraces the whole human race.

3. Wake, now, my vision of ministry clear;

brighten my pathway with radiance here;

mingle my calling with all who will share;

work toward a planet transformed by our care. 

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. 

Greeting each other  (Those present in person can leave our seats for this, if we wish.) 

Joys and Concerns (with lighting of candles of caring) 

Story: 

God Gave Me a Word

By Amy Petrie Shaw

I was talking with God the other day, ‘cause we’re cool like that.

And God said “Hey, I want you to tell people something.”

And I was kinda busy, so I pretended like I didn't hear.

And God poked me and said, “I’m not kidding. Pay attention,”

(‘cause while we’re cool, we aren’t that cool

And I know when I have pushed it way too far.)

So I put down my coffee cup and I turned around.

And God said, “Let me hang a Word around your neck, so that Everyone can see it. And you better speak it when you’re out, ‘cause I’ll know if you don’t.

And it will be heavy,

So heavy,

On your soul.”

And a Word was hung around my neck to take out to the people standing in the streets.

A Word was preached into my ear and laid into my mouth and burned into my Heart until all I could see was the shape of the Word and the Word was all.

And the Word was Love.

And God said “Now get out because

You don’t have all day, and that Word is gonna get heavier.

And you got some work yet to do.

So I’m taking my Word out into the world.

Love came down on this green earth.

Love came down and turned over the tables and set the world on its end

Love made it clear that it was the Word for the poor and the broken hearted. For the queer boi and the angry girl.

Love was the Word for late night hookers and the long haul truckers, for the

heroin junkie and the runaway cutters.

Love was the Word for all of the screwed up and pushed over and too tired and I can’t take no more.

Love was the Word for the HIV patient and the man with no papers.

Love was the Word for me and for you, for the saints and the sinners and the scramblers in between.

Love came down and made a way

for there to be a way

and then

Love said “We are never going back.”

(he who has ears let him hear)

Love said we are all a part of something bigger and if you cannot rise with us, if you

cannot Love with us

then you should get the Hell out of the way because

We aren’t going anywhere and you

are in the path.

(he who has ears let him hear)

Love came down for the World to know and

I'm holding out this Word so

even when you and God are just like that you can’t pretend you didn't know.

I cannot put it down.

Not for a politician spewing hatred.

Not for a minister vomiting out bile in the costume of a saint.

Not for money or for country or for kin.

I'm holding my Word in my mouth

‘Cause the next time I see God I wanna be able to say “You gave me a Word and I carried it just the way you asked.”

You gave it to me and I took it.

I showed it to everyone I met.

You gave it to me and I showed it to her and gher and ze and him.

I showed it to them and they and those over there.

I never put it down.

(I can never put it down).

I was talking with God the other day, ‘cause we’re cool like that.

And God said “Hey, I want you to tell people something.”

And I was still kinda busy, so I pretended like I didn't hear.

And God said, “I’m not kidding. Pay attention,”

(‘cause while we’re cool, we aren’t that cool

And I know when I have pushed it way too far.)

So I put down my coffee cup and I turned around.

And then God gave me a Word.

And now I've given it to you.

Start moving.

 

Meditation: 

Meditation on Hands

By Christine C. Robinson

I invite you into a space of quiet and peace, to ground yourself by noticing your contact with chair and floor, by sitting straight, by becoming aware of your breathing.

Look at your hands. They've been through a lot, those hands...they have strengths, scars, beauty...I invite you to remember that it is your hands that do the work of love in the world.

These hands may hold another's hands.

These hands may type emails to politicians, sign cards of consolation and congratulation.

These hands may patiently teach, quilt works of beauty or write words urging peace.

These hands may bathe children, feed elders, nurse the ill, work the earth, organize communities.

These hands clasp in prayer, open in release, grasp in solidarity, clench in righteous anger.

These hands are God's hands, your hands, our hands; a great mystery of flesh and intention, a great potential of embodied love.

"Intermezzo" by Mikhail Glinka

Sermon: 

As we slide, albeit reluctantly, 

  down the path into another political season, 

    I believe it's a good idea to reflect 

      about that we are doing. 

Our own UUA is in a serious political season 

  brought about 

    not only by the time of year with GA approaching, 

      but also by controversy about matters 

        that need not really be controversial 

          if only we consider 

            the application of our Principles. 

I spoke and preached 

  about good news last week. 

For our nation, 

  the political season can be good news 

    whether or not "our" side wins. 

If people simply begin to pay attention 

  there are many opportunities for all our lives 

    to improve in a variety of ways. 

For our church / association of congregations 

  the current political season 

    with all its controversies 

      can be good news 

       if we can again learn 

          to disagree 

            without being or becoming disagreeable. 

In both areas of politics 

  that I'm thinking and speaking of, 

    both church and state, so to speak, 

      the matters of race and race relations 

        are important areas of concern. 

Human relations among different races 

  have long been matters of concern 

    in all kinds of politics, 

      and even more than a political matter, 

        they are a spiritual matter. 

Our ways of caring - or not caring - 

  about and for each other 

    are at stake, 

      and that is a spiritual matter par excellence. 

As you know, a spiritual matter 

  is something I consider a matter of breathing, 

    since spirit means breath. 

Even more the spirituality of race relations 

  is a matter breathing 

    because it is a question of survival 

      for nations and for spiritual communities. 

There are many approaches 

  to the question of race, 

    and there are only a few 

      that are completely invalid. 

One is obvious: 

  claiming supremacy for one race over others. 

(Whites do that because of our obvious inferiority.) 

The most important matter to remember 

  is that there is only one race 

    in the final analysis: 

      the human race. 

There is a richness in the variety of kinds of people 

  within this one race. 

There is a variety of gifts, 

  but there is only one race. 

We are all gifts to each other. 

As individuals we have various talents. 

Those are more common within and across races. 

Some years ago, 

  I remember a friend saying 

    that there is no more segregated time in the U.S. 

      than Sunday morning at 11 a.m. 

It is no less true today than it was many years ago. 

Sadly, it is no less true 

  among us Unitarian Universalists 

    than in any other denomination. 

It need not be the result of ill will, 

  but even as a natural occurrence, 

    it can weaken and even disable us all 

      in many ways. 

While there is much separation of the races 

  we still need each other. 

Whether we come together 

  across racial divides or not, 

    there is often controversy on the subject. 

Too much controversy is being fomented 

  by those who cynically use insecurities of people 

    to increase their own political power. 

One of many controversies involves 

  a way of compensating for past errors around race 

    called affirmative action. 

The term refers to a way of acting 

  that gives advantages of people whose groups 

    were previously at a disadvantage 

      because of their race. 

Some of the wisest words 

  I ever heard on the subject 

    were spoken by a dear friend 

      who was an African American Lutheran pastor. 

She said that people of color 

  are sometimes amused by all the controversy. 

They watch quietly, 

  and then move quietly into new opportunities 

    while the melanin challenged among us 

      (white folks) 

        argue over ways of opening the doors 

          that others have already walked through! 

An important lesson for our UUA 

  and for our NIUU group 

    is to be found here. 

While we are not watching, 

  others will take care of human needs 

    that we may be neglecting. 

If we want to move into a better future, 

  we will need to pay attention 

    to the people around us, 

      not worrying too much about disagreements 

        as long as those who disagree 

          can manage to do so 

            without creating so much friction 

              that we ourselves become disagreeable! 

In the beloved community of our UUA 

  we are finding disagreements 

    along with a certain amount 

      of political disagreeability. 

After all, we (whoever we are) know what is right. 

Those who disagree with us

  must not be people of good will. 

Especially in church politics 

  we find this kind of attitude. 

It's one of the reasons I am no longer active 

  in Lutheran ministry. 

The controversy over treatment of LGBT+ people 

  became much too difficult for me to tolerate. 

The settled decision is not entirely unlike 

  our own UU position, 

    but it split the church. 

There are now new denominations 

  who want so much 

    to discriminate against LGBT+ people 

      that they could not remain in community 

        with those who disagreed. 

As I said about politics in the blurb for this service, 

  "All politics seek to make things better, 

    sometimes for everyone, 

      sometimes only for a few." 

Church politics aren't all the different in this regard. 

We seek our own advantage, 

  the advantage of our own denominations, 

    and the advantage of our own congregations, 

      even if that means working against the interests 

        of other people and groups. 

This way of understanding human behavior 

  may tell us a lot about what's really going on 

    in the controversy between a neighboring 

      UU minister and the wider UUA 

        administrative body. 

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, 

  please simply count yourself as lucky. 

Just know that our beloved community 

  at every level 

    is composed of flawed human beings 

      who are not so different from ourselves. 

There is even some controversy going on 

  about our UU principles. 

There is an attempt to add an eighth principle 

  to the Seven Principles that we have long had. 

The Eighth has to do with anti-racist work. 

I have long been trying 

  to avoid sticking my own neck out 

    by clearly stating a personal opinion, 

      but just indulge me for a moment, please, 

        and I will share a little of my own training 

          and experience. 

I have found that human institutions, 

  including church organizations, 

    will work for their own preservation and interests 

      even if that work goes against the very purposes 

        for which those institutions were founded. 

That simple fact can account for 

  a lot of the struggles 

    we find in every aspect 

      of our societies and civilizations, can't it? 

Let me try saying it in a simpler way. 

Self-interest governs a lot - or most - 

  of human behavior 

    at the personal and group levels. 

 

Accordingly, as of now, 

  I'm going to go ahead and stick my neck out. 

I believe that adherence to our own First Principle 

  will go much further toward healing racial problems 

    than the adoption of an Eighth Principle 

      that is too complex for most of us to grasp, 

        especially on a first reading. 

You have probably noticed 

  that I haven't read that Eighth Principle 

    as part of this sermon. 

That's just because I don't want to do so. 

But the First Principle is something that we all need. 

It's easy to remember and understand, 

  even if it's not always easy to put into practice. 

It is 

  "The inherent worth and dignity of every person." 

Now, a spiritual principle 

  doesn't get much simpler than that. 

If we all work toward adherence to this 

  as our First Principle (which as UU's it is), 

    we will also move toward justice 

      in matters of race, ecology, human relationships, 

        and on and on. 

I believe and feel 

  that I have shared good news today. 

We don't have to follow some complex political 

  gobbledegook 

    to be true humanitarians. 

We only have to begin to work toward following 

  the principles we already have 

    and have already agreed upon. 

I hope and believe with every positive feeling I have 

  that we will do so in the long run. 

In the meantime, there may be some church fights, 

  but we can choose to stay out of them, 

    and that's some of the best news of all. 

Amen 

So Let it Be 

Blessed be 

Congregational Response 

Extinguishing the Chalice : 

For the gift of this day and for our community of spiritual nurture and compassion, we give thanks.

We extinguish this chalice as a symbol of the sharing of our faith.

May our many sparks have met and merged in communion of heart and soul.

Now we go forth from this time of sharing in continuing communion of heart, soul and mind. 

We have good news that we can share about the continuing humanitarian faith we practice together, whether we agree on the details or not.

Closing words: 

Life is Political...

By Timothy Snyder

"Life is political, not because the world cares about how you feel, but because the world reacts to what you do. The minor choices we make are themselves a kind of vote, making it more or less likely that free and fair elections will be held in the future. In the politics of the everyday, our words and gestures, or their absence, count very much… The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow."

from On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (pp. 33, 32)