This morning we celebrate an extraordinary songwriter, who just happens to belong to the Community Church of New York, Unitarian Universalist: Pete Seeger. Many of us had the privilege a couple of years ago at the General Assembly in Fort Worth, Texas, of hearing him play and sing along with a host of musical friends. For me, at least, it was one of the most spiritual experiences I had at that General Assembly.

Pete Seeger wrote a song in 1997 called “And I’m Still Searching,” which I find to be one of the best examples of a simple song with a profound message, something he is a master at:

And I’m still searching
Yes, I’m still searching
For a way we all can learn
To build a world
Where we all can share
The work, the fun,
The food, the space,
The joy, the pain,
And no one ever
Ever need or want to seek
To be a millionaire.

There is a wonderful interview with Pete at Beliefnet, with text and recordings, that sheds a lot of light on his story and his beliefs. While most of his most famous songs are from the Vietnam War protests, or part of the environmental protection movement, they all seem to have a common thread of a simple theology: Be nice to each other, don’t take more than you need, be fair and loving. Here are a few of those that speak most deeply to me:
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Theodore Parker (August 24, 1810-May 10, 1860), a contemporary of Emerson and Channing, among others, served the West Roxbury Unitarian Church in Massachusetts beginning in 1837. Now known as Theodore Parker Church Unitarian Universalist, the congregation still celebrates and wrestles with his legacy.

Parker is credited with being a pivotal figure in bringing Unitarian theology beyond a purely Biblical basis, and was in fact denounced as not practicing Christianity, after delivering A Discourse on the Transient and Permanent in Christianity (The Works of Theodore Parker, volume 4, pg. 1) at an ordination in 1841.

For a brilliant account of Parker’s life and writings, see Dean Grodzin’s Book, American Heretic: Theodore Parker and Transcendentalism, excerpts of which are available on Google Books.

This prayer, published in 1864 in The Life and Correspondence of Theodore Parker (p. 39), illustrates Parker’s holistic view of god and his sense of the constant reaching, stretching, deepening that human beings attempt in order to be closer to what he called the “Absolute Religion” in his famous sermon in 1841.

Prayer

by Rev. Theodore Parker

O Thou eternal One, may I commune
With Thee, and for a moment bathe my soul
In Thy infinity, Mother and Sire
Of all that are? In all that is art Thou;
Being is but by Thee, of Thee, in Thee;
Yet, far Thou reachest forth beyond the scope
Of space and time, or verge of human thought
Transcendant God! Yet, ever immanent
In all that is, I flee to Thee, and seek
Repose and soothing in my Mother’s breast.
0 God, I cannot fear, for Thou art love,
And wheresoe’er I grope I feel Thy breath!
Yea, in the storm which wrecks an argosy,
Or in the surges of the sea of men
When empires perish, I behold Thy face,
I hear Thy voice, which gives the law to all
The furies of the storm, and Law proclaims,
“Peace, troubled waves, serve ye the right—be still!”
From all this dusty world Thou wilt not lose
A molecule of earth, nor spark of light.
I cannot fear a single flash of soul
Shall ever fail, outcast from Thee, forgot.
Father and Mother of all things that are,
I flee to Thee, and in Thy arms find rest.
My God! how shall I thank Thee for Thy love!
Tears must defile my sacramental words,
And daily prayer be daily penitence
For actions, feelings, thoughts which are amiss:
Yet will I not say, “God, forgive!” for Thou
Hast made the effect to follow cause, and bless
The erring, sinning man. Then, let my sin
Continual find me out, and make me clean
From all transgression, purified and bless’d!

Source: Prayer by the Rev. Theodore Parker (August 24, 1810-May 10, 1860), published in 1864 in The Life and Correspondence of Theodore Parker (p. 39)

The Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich is the senior minister at the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in New York City, and preached this sermon on June 3, 2007.

What I love about Rev. Guengerich’s approach to this topic of faith and reason and how they might come together is that he’s more interested in how our reason and faith cause us to live our lives in the world as we stand on the seeming divide between reason and religion, rather than advocating for one side or the other. See what you think.

The Dangerous Edge of Things

By Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich

Several nights ago, over dinner with friends who are not part of the All Souls community, my wife Holly and I found ourselves engaged in a wide-ranging conversation about religion. This seems to happen rather frequently when I’m around, though almost never at my instigation. With our friends—he’s a sardonic Jew, and she’s a wistful Congregationalist, both quite lapsed—we decried the appalling state of religion in the world. We wondered how people came to believe things that science tells us can’t happen, such as the virgin birth and the resurrection. We mused about whether Christianity could be reformed thoroughly enough to become gender-neutral and still survive.

Then the wistfulness set in, as the Congregationalist longingly recalled the power of the hymns and Bible stories of her small-town Christian upbringing. Maybe Thomas Jefferson was right, Holly remarked, when he took the New Testament gospels and a scissors, and literally cut out the miracles and supernatural elements, keeping the rest. The sardonic Jew objected. Every religion has irrational elements, he said; that’s what makes it a religion.

Not necessarily, I countered. Mystery and magic aren’t the same thing. I don’t believe in events that contravene the laws of nature, but some important elements of human life can’t be put into a test tube or under a microscope. He persisted: if you can’t prove something, it’s irrational. Mathematicians can’t prove the principle of addition, I responded, but that doesn’t make belief in addition irrational. And so it went.

An hour later, we paid the check and said good night. It had been a wonderful evening: engaging, provocative, even profound. It reminded me of the conversations people must have had to entertain themselves before radios, televisions, and the internet presented themselves as substitutes.

But the evening was more than entertainment. Without intending to do so, we had stumbled upon what I believe is one of the most important issues facing our world today: the difference between science and religion, between reason and revelation, between knowledge and faith. The usual way of parsing this relationship is to say that knowledge is based upon human reason, and that faith is based upon a supernatural revelation. For those who accept this dichotomy, the problem comes when reason and revelation clash, requiring that one or the other be given precedence. We live in a world roiled by this dilemma. Within this setting, my goal is to clarify what we mean when we describe ourselves as people of faith.

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Unitarian Universalism draws from many sources, as written in the principles and purposes of our faith, one of which is the “words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love.”

Rumi (September 30, 1207–December 17, 1273) is one such prophetic person. Decidedly not a Unitarian Universalist, but rather a Muslim poet, his words reach across the ages to inform our ways of living in the here and now. The 800th anniversary of his birth is next week, and to celebrate him, I bring you “Love Dogs.” You can also view a beautiful video of translator Coleman Barks reading this poem with accompanying music here.

Love Dogs

by Rumi

One night a man was crying,
Allah! Allah!
His lips grew sweet with the praising,
until a cynic said, “So! I have heard you
calling out, but have you ever gotten any response?”

The man had no answer to that.
He quit praying and fell into a confused sleep.

He dreamed he saw Khidr, the guide of souls,
in a thick, green foliage.
“Why did you stop praising?”
“Because I’ve never heard anything back.”
“This longing you express is the return message.”

The grief you cry out from
draws you toward union.

Your pure sadness
that wants help
is the secret cup.

Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.
That whining is the connection.

There are love-dogs
no one knows the names of.

Give your life
to be one of them.

Source: “Love Dogs,” by Rumi, interpreted by Coleman Barks.

Today, words from the poet John Albert Holmes, Jr (January 6, 1904-June 22, 1962). A prolific writer, he penned seven volumes of poems and the texts to two of the hymns found in Singing the Living Tradition, #11 “O God of Stars and Sunlight,” and #164 “The Peace Not Past Our Understanding.”

In his Address to the Living (1937), as quoted by the Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography, John Holmes wrote:

“We live, we are elected now by time,
Few out of many not yet come to birth,
And many dead, to use the daylight now,
To stand up under the sun upon the earth.
Then break the silence with a voice of praise;
Open the door that opens toward the sky;
Press mind and body hard against this world,
Before we fall asleep, before we die.”

And in 1950, in The Double Root, he wrote this lovely poem, as quoted by The Harvard Square Library’s “Notable American Unitarians.” Enjoy.

The Double Root

by John Albert Holmes, Jr.

Ready with meaning in the pulpit of today,
This morning on my face, and both hands light,
the book before me and the ritual bright,
I wonder how in God’s name I can say
In any church to anyone of my kind
Gathered and hushed and willing for the word,
The Tree. The Tree’s law. The truth I heard
When I was dark, a root, and deep and blind.

But you are near me, You are my people. You
Know what it is to sodden a season through.
How should I lead you, though you charge me to?
Yet listen to me. I have learned a thing to do.

We grow, we grope with a few unfolding leaves
Upward and opening toward the sun — the sun
that draws whatever green we are, and drives
Roots opening downward toward the single source,
Sun under, sun over earth, one law, one force.

Be in your earth, and there will be well begun.
Climb in the dark. All ground is open door
To the open sky. Break through, reach up the air
To air above, and there green yourself round
Planets, as roots on deep-struck rock are wound.
Grown tree; boughs big; under leaf fruit found.

Source: “The Double Root,” from the poetry collection of the same name by John Albert Holmes, Jr, as quoted by The Harvard Square Library’s “Notable American Unitarians.”

The Rev. Mark Stringer, who serves the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, Iowa, earned himself quite a bit of attention when he performed the first, and only, legal same-sex wedding in the state of Iowa, literally moments before the ruling allowing this wedding was placed under a stay order. You can read his account of the wedding, as presented to his congregation this past week, here.

While performing that wedding ceremony was certainly a headline-grabber, Rev. Stringer’s sermon from almost a year ago, on October 22, 2006, demonstrates it to have been an act of deep faith, of the courage to live in one’s convictions. Unitarian Universalism is at its core a religion that calls us to walk our talk, to covenant with creation itself to live in service and in love.

Please enjoy these words, which, I think, illustrate beautifully the struggle and the commitment this faith shows to our principles.

The Inherent Problem with Inherent Worth and Dignity

by the Rev. Mark Stringer

Today I will consider the first of the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism, as articulated at a General Assembly of our association in 1985: “We the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person.” This first principle is a foundation for all the principles that follow. It is, in my estimation at least, a principle that exemplifies Unitarian Universalism.

But its importance in our religious tradition does not mean that it is revered by all UUs. In fact, I have heard from several people for whom this first principle is a concern, if not a major stumbling block. As one newcomer recently told me [paraphrased], “Mark, I don’t know about this inherent worth and dignity stuff. What about sex offenders…or murderers…or Osama Bin Laden? Do we have to affirm their inherent worth and dignity? I don’t think I can.”

(Read on … )

There’s a chill in the air in the mornings now, as we go deeper into September. And though I have not been able to have a garden in years, this time in early fall always brings to mind, for me, that last session of weeding, before pulling up the last of the harvest, the last few weeks of a farmer’s market, filled with squash and gourds, and soon, pumpkins. There’s something about growing food for your own table, or meeting the person who grew it for you.

From Rev. Max Coots, minister emeritus of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Canton, New York:

Gratitude for the Garden

by Rev. Max Coots

I am finished with my garden for the year—almost. Oh, I’m still playing that game of hide-and-seek with the inevitable frost. Every night, when the temperature counts down to begin the game, I do run out to help the last tomatoes hide.

It was a good year, more or less—more for the snow peas than for the corn, less for the spinach, more for the rest. The turnips were immense, like spheres of opulence, though the radishes went more to maggots than to me. My potatoes remind me of that old country quip: “How’d your padadas do?” “So-so. I got some the size a beans, I got some the size a peas, and then I got a lotta little ones.”

But it was a good year, more or less. Most everything that missed the drought, overcame the weeds, and survived the bugs got home safe enough. From time to time I can go to the freezer and the shelf of jars in my cellar and count my canned contentment. The harvest will be an attitude, not a time of year. And maybe I’ll be wise enough to feel a sort of litany of gratitude:

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The First Unitarian Society of Madison, WI, is one of, if not the largest congregations belonging to the Unitarian Universalist Association. The congregation of more than 2000 members, friends, and children, worships in a Frank Lloyd Wright building, and supports three ministers.

The Rev. Kelly J. Crocker, Minister of Religious Education, preached this fine sermon (PDF) last summer. In it, she addresses the fundamental question–what is the point of Unitarian Universalism? Why are we here?

The Point of It All

by Rev. Kelly J. Crocker, preached August 13, 2006 at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, WI

A few months ago, I found myself in the middle of that conversation many of us dread. I was talking with a friend about work and she suddenly said, “what is that UU all about again? I know we’ve had this conversation before but I just don’t get it.” So I went into my standard answer about our long history dating back to the Reformation and even before and how we had evolved as a movement throughout the years, and how now we were theologically diverse, non creedal, social justice minded, focused on the here and now, finding salvation here on earth, seekers together on a common journey of exploration and so on and so on. I thought I had actually done a pretty good job when she turned to me and said “Well, what’s the point of that? You don’t give people the right answers to those big life questions; you don’t guarantee them entrance into some heavenly place when they die; you don’t even tell them the “right” path to follow or what to believe. So why bother?”

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We delve back into history today, with words from Universalist preacher Hosea Ballou (April 30, 1771-June 7, 1852). This little gem can be found in his book, A Voice to Universalists, from 1849, which I found through a great list of Google-digitized books hosted by Scott Wells.

Remembering that the text dates to 1849, you may want to substitute gender- and deity-neutral language.

The Unity of the Spirit

by Hosea Ballou, from A Voice to Universalists, 1849

And why do Christians thus contend
  For items in their creeds?
An enemy, and not a friend,
  Sows these contentious seeds.
‘Twas love to God and love to man,
  The dear Redeemer brought;
No metaphysic doctrine can
  Compare with what he taught.
Why do we judge each other so?
  This judging genders strife;
It is enough our Lord to know,
  And feel his heavenly life.
What if my brother disagrees
  With me in certain things;
Yet strives by works of love to please,
  And fruit abundant brings?
Shall I disown a brother dear,
  For whom my Saviour died?
Can I be rilled with gospel fear,
  And walk in all this pride?
O may we learn to walk in love,
  In charity abound;
Possess those tempers of the dove,
  Which rather heal than wound.

Source: “The Unity of the Spirit,” from A Voice to Universalists, 1849, by Hosea Ballou

Today’s piece is less about inspiration and more about connections.

Upon perusing websites of Unitarian Universalist churches in New Hampshire, where my maternal grandparents lived and now my mother and her family live, I came across the “First Sunday Speaker” series at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord, NH. Each month, a member of the congregation speaks about what brought them to be members of the church, and what they have learned on their spiritual journeys. I looked down the list, and noticed the name “Bob Soule.”

When I would visit my grandmother in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, I would often have tea with her neighbors, Bob and Dot Soule. I called them “Gunny and Bocky,” which is what their grandchildren called them. Sure enough, this is the same person! I never knew where Gunny and Bocky went to church, nor did I know that they once lived in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where they were founding members of the fellowship that is now the Bradford Community Church, Unitarian Universalist.

So today, I bring you a piece of history from an old friend.

It’s amazing, the connections there are between people.

Enjoy.

March 2005 Reflection for the First Sunday Speaker Series, Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord, NH

by Bob Soule

The story of how I came to be a Unitarian-Universalist can be told in six words — I was brought up a Unitarian.

Starting when I was about four-and-a-half, my family l ived across the street from the First Church in Roxbury, Unitarian. This church was founded in 1636 by Rev. John Eliot, Apostle to the Indians, who was also involved in starting Harvard College in 1636, and the Roxbury Latin School in 1645.

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