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Minister's Musings - March 2012

While preparing for writing the sermon for this Sunday, I am learning some interesting history about the city of Eugene, Oregon and the valley in which it is located. Archeologists say that the first people to live in the Willamette Valley were the Kalapuya Indians. There were eight related groups that spoke three different languages, depending on which part of the Willamette Valley they lived. A staple of their diet was a vegetable resource that was plentiful in the valley: the Camas Lily. We have Camas flowers growing under the trees at our current location. When their soft purple flowers began to appear last spring, I was not sure what they were. Reading about them, I learned that the livestock that the settlers brought found them tasty, devouring a significant amount of the bulbs, leaving them less plentiful as food for the Kalapuya people.

The Settler known as the founder of Eugene, Eugene Franklin Skinner (1809-1864) built the first cabin here on Skinner's Butte because a resident Kalapuya member advised him to build up high to avoid flooding. Skinner became active in commerce and law. He, like many other male settlers here who went into business or a profession, was a Mason. You can visit his grave at the Masonic Cemetery in Eugene.

Since UUCE is moving to what was the Scottish Rite Temple, I am especially curious about the history of the Masons here as well as the history of our future church home. A man is supposed to be a third degree Mason, a Freemason, prior to admittance to a Scottish Rite Temple. Looking at the website for the Scottish Rite Temple in Eugene, I found their equivalent of our Seven Principles: "Human progress is our cause; Liberty of thought is our supreme wish; Freedom of conscience is our mission; The guarantee of equal rights to all people everywhere our ultimate goal." The last statement in the creed makes me wonder if it was adopted after allegations that some Scottish Rite Temples were sympathetic to the Klu Klux Clan. When I tried to track down the answer to this question, the only item that appeared to be undisputed dates back to the 1800's and a Confederate General in the Civil War. I'm sure there is more to be found, but is a project that goes beyond the timing and the parameters of this newsletter article. It is known that the KKK thrived in Oregon. However, it is definitely the case that upstanding citizens who settled Eugene belonged to the Scottish Rite Temple, and men in our Unitarian Universalist movement that we treasure, such as Thomas Starr King, were heavily involved with Freemasonry.

Following the link to "Philanthropy" I was struck by the fact that they have one charity. They have founded and are now supporting 178 RiteCare Clinics for children with speech and language disorders, as well as learning disorders. Seeing this, I remembered that my Uncle Samuel was very active as a Mason. He was especially proud of the one charity his branch of the Masons supported: The Shriner's Hospitals for Children. To become a Shriner, a man must first be a Freemason. At a Shriner's hospital, no religious requirements are made and no child is turned away because their family can't afford the cost. Admittance requires that the child is under eighteen and has a treatable condition. There are twenty-two hospitals in the United States and others in Mexico and Canada. 500,000 members support what has been called "The World's Greatest Philanthropy."

The philanthropy of the Masons draws them into a common effort that makes them a strong community. My uncle used to talk about how wonderful it was to go just about anywhere and make new friends because one recognized the ring worn by the other. Have you ever been recognized as a Unitarian Universalist because you are wearing a lapel pin with a chalice, or a necklace with a chalice?

More importantly, are we asking ourselves if we are going about our philanthropy in a way that is most beneficial to ourselves as a community as well as to the needs we want to address outside our own church doors? What would it be like if we followed the model set by other organizations, such as the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry? Three issues are voted into position for focus and attention. The priority issue receives the all-out effort, with the second kept in mind as one on the way and the third noticed but kept on the back-burner. Each issue is approached with objectives and an estimated amount of time required to address them. Rather than a band-aid kind of support, assistance is linked with ways to make systemic changes that address the roots of a problem. Education is ongoing, programs for youth are incorporated and none of the issues addressed are left behind unless they are resolved.

What would it be like to all work together to make a significant and lasting difference here in Eugene? Members of UUCE are very generous, but do we keep our personal interests and commitments at the cost of a more unified sense of community in addition to moving in a way that carries a palpable sense of achieving what we stand for as Unitarian Universalists? My perspective of what is taking place now is that the outcome of possibilities is being diluted by too many directions of interest.

As long as there are homeless and hungry people in Eugene, with farmers, shelters, food distribution centers and other possibilities for affiliation, I know what I would vote on as priority number one if I was a member of UUCE. I know that I would feel empowered by love and would be transformed through working as one with my congregation to change an urgent need outside our doors.

Warm regards to you,

Rev. Alicia Forsey

Listen to an audio recording of Rev. Forsey's "Eugene: City on the Edge".
 
Minister's Musings - February 2012

The Good, The Almost Good, and The Needs a Lot More Work

Seven months remain on my two year contract with UUCE. Two of those months are vacation time. Five months will pass by quickly, so I am thinking about what has been accomplished and what still needs attention. The category of what still needs attention will spill over into next year with your new interim minister. If you attended the New Year's Day sermon offered by Marilyn Junkins, you heard about what members of UUCE have managed to do during the last church year. Here are some of the things Marilyn mentioned:

• New Mission Statement

• Covenant of Right Relations

• Board Covenant

• Policy for handling disruptive behavior

• Adjustments to staff

• Good start on new governance model

• Understanding long-term and short-term staffing needs

• By-laws revisions in process

• Clarity about accountability (Streamlining Committees, Affinity Groups, and Task Force Groups)

• Relationships between areas of church

• Leaning toward a Public (Not Private) Church

• Refined how income is accounted for

• New model for Annual Fund Drive

• Planned Giving Program in the works

• Expectations of Membership


In addition to these, Marilyn highlighted the work of our volunteers at the new location, the generosity of members of the church in meeting the financial needs of the new location, and more.


The Board of Trustees is hard-working and dedicated. They have been more than supportive and receptive to the suggestions I have made. Change usually causes anxiety and tension, but the Board and the congregation has proved worthy of any challenge that presents itself.


A little tweaking and some practice may be good in order to integrate some of the changes that have taken place. For example, since the Covenant of Right Relations was voted on in November, I have observed a few occasions where a member of the church was blatantly out of step with the agreement to always assume good intentions or to practice giving and receiving forgiveness, or to communicate with direct address. Not to blame. We all need time to make adjustments to changes. Practice, practice.


I hope that we can make some more progress in adjusting the culture of the church from its former, small size to where it is now. From family size to program size is a leap, The infrastructure is well on its way toward serving the needs of a larger church. It will take some time, but a sense of direction is guiding the work remaining to be done. It is only natural that some members prefer the environment of a small size church. That is why we have the Small Group Ministry program, the men's groups, the sister circles and other opportunities for small groups to get together and come to know others in a way that is not possible in the larger context.


The most important adjustment waiting to be more fully understood and addressed is hospitality. Part of the problem may be that you are not feeling met with appreciation and hospitality during these somewhat stressful times at UUCE. Much is being asked of many of you. Perhaps you don't have a sense of there being a balance between what you are giving compared to what you are receiving. Understanding hospitality in the fullest sense of the word comes when we experience being in the embrace of it. It comes with a sense of balance. There is not one who gives or one who receives. In the realm of hospitality the giving and the receiving cannot be measured. It flows organically and without constraint.

I have heard from members who have been well cared for by the UUCE community when they were ill or in need. I have heard from members who feel alone and have not received the care of the UUCE community. I have heard from visitors who were hoping to join UUCE who received no welcome and cannot understand why that is, aside from lack of hospitality. I once was last in line at a potluck and there was no food left on the table. The Christmas Day dinner was carefully orchestrated with a request for an RSVP and an indication of what item would be brought, so we could make it a real Christmas dinner for everybody who attended. We filled in what seemed to be missing. After the worship service, some individuals headed for the Social Hall, where they were asked to wait because the food was still being set out. Tables were quickly being set up in the sanctuary, with tablecloths and Christmas centerpieces. What followed informed me in a major way that hospitality is still in need of a lot of attention. My fantasy of us all sitting down together for Christmas dinner and sharing a blessing was nothing more than that -- a fantasy. Forty-eight individuals had given an RSVP. There were seventy people at the dinner.

Hospitality is especially a high priority as we get close to moving to our new location. There were a few people at the Christmas dinner that long-time members had never seen before. How will we extend hospitality to ten or twenty times the few who showed up as unknowns for Christmas? Hospitality requires us to accept our guests unconditionally and to give to them freely. They are not strangers who make us wonder why they showed up.

I told a couple who took the time to write me a letter about how unwelcome they felt when they visited that they could find my thoughts on hospitality in this newsletter. This couple could have just walked away, but they are Unitarian Universalists and they value good communication. In my letter to them, I said that we do need to be more aware of hospitality. This is especially true outside the comfort zone of our own circle of friends.


The more we can manage to care for one another in our ever-growing church, the more we all will feel like we are part of the whole church. And, the more inclined we will be to welcome others into our community.


With love and warm regards,

Rev. Alicia Forsey
 
Minister's Musings - January 2012

This week I went to our new site and stood a while, alone, in the sanctuary. I felt an odd mixture of sadness and appreciation. Also some satisfaction because I have been diligent in attending to the work that I could do to help the congregation make the transition from your current location to what will be a completely different environment. Different, but full of promise.

The sadness is that I will not be with you (aside from possibly a few weeks late in this church year) in your new church, your stunningly amazing accomplishment which is a testament to your passion and commitment to The Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene and to the Unitarian Universalist movement. I will not be with you because I am not going to be in Eugene as you enter your third year of Interim Ministry. The decision I made about this was very difficult, and mostly based on personal matters. I do think my decision is best for UUCE, too.  You may or may not agree with me on this now, but hopefully you will find that having a different perspective and a new voice is a good thing.

My appreciation for you is immense. I look forward to reading about how this congregation blossoms into your fullest potential. During the remainder of this church year, I will continue to do all that I can to help you prepare for your future.

With love and all good wishes,
Rev. Alicia McNary Forsey
 
Minister's Musings - November 2011

I have been with you a little over a year now. In some ways, time has gone by quickly. In other ways it seems like I have been here much longer than a year. It took quite a bit of time to get to a place where I felt I had a clue about the dynamics at play here. Every congregation is different as far as how it feels to me. I do mean to use the word "feels" because so much depends on being able to get a grip on how we respond to each other. It isn't so much about individual personalities as it is about the overall sense of the whole church.

Extracting from this overall sense, I ask myself what it would feel like to me if I was a member of this congregation, or if I was a visitor seeking a place where I felt I belonged. What is working well makes up a lengthy treatise that glows in the dark. What needs tweaking is already apparent to many of you, and in many areas there is work underway to address the things that need attention.

That leaves me with a few observations that are more philosophical than practical -- more observational than quantitative information. One of these observations is really more of an impression. I have the impression that the Unitarian Universalist Principles and Purposes that we hold as values are sometimes subverted to the agenda of an interest group. It may not be a specific, well-defined group. It may be an amorphous preference group that does not recognize itself as being particular or defined.

Our Principles and Purposes begin with "We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Covenant to Affirm and Promote: We have made the covenant as a congregation. When new members join, it is expected that there is an agreement with our covenant as a congregation. How do we interpret our responsibility to this covenant? I think most members of UUCE are earnestly working on trying to hold the Principles and Purposes as values of personal importance.

What I see that may benefit from consideration is the tendency to refer back to the Principles and Purposes as a justification for why the church ought to behave a certain way. Sometimes there is a missing link in this approach. For example, when members are upset because they are not asked to vote on something they consider important, I hear the use of the democratic process as mentioned in our Principles and Purposes used as the rationale for why we all need to have a say. That may have been true when UUCE was a fellowship or a family - size group. It does not work in a congregation with close to 350 adult members and growing. The concept of what is intended by including the democratic process in our Principles and Purposes needs to expand in accordance with the size and governance of UUCE. For me, it gets bumpy when lack of trust in the Board surfaces, or when a decision is made by the Board and there is a lot of talk about why the congregation should have voted on the decision rather than trust it to the Board. Anyone who has a passion for governance should let the nominating committee know that they are interested in serving on the Board.

Another example would be our use of the principle that calls for the "inherent worth and dignity of every person." I couldn't agree more. Every person means every person who is quiet, introverted, extroverted, depressed, seeking a place of peace in a chaotic life, suffering, grieving, facing loss and much, much more. The divisive, hostile, obnoxious, loud disturbers of the peace of others are also included.

A question for me arises when I see that the quality of an experience for many is being compromised by the behavior of one. Am I really violating the inherent worth and dignity of every person if I request an earnest conversation with the one, on behalf of the good of the whole? And, if that conversation is held and it comes to pass that there is no adjustment in respect of the whole, do I, as your minister, respectfully request further efforts to address the situation or do I give up and let the good of the whole suffer for it? If it goes too far, and I see that there is a danger to the whole, am I not responsible for moving decisively and quickly in order to protect members of the church?

Doing so is taking responsibility and does not translate as denial of the inherent worth and dignity of every person. If I see the many suffering from the behavior of one, it is my responsibility to call that out and to deal with it. I don't see why we would think that our first principle has been dishonored as long as we are being fair, offering dialogue, requesting respect and making a few compromises when that is possible as we try to sort out difficult situations.

If we allow ourselves to become ill-at-ease, anxious and upset by continued disruption, are we honoring our own inherent worth and dignity? How much of our resistance around this question actually relates to our wanting to avoid conflict? If you need help with conflict, after attempting to address it directly, you have the Committee on Congregational Ministry to call upon, in addition to your minister.

These are the kinds of bigger questions I have as we head into a new church year. I hope we can explore the meaning of our covenant with other congregations as well as our expectations among each other. Do try to come to the meeting after the service (there is only one on this Sunday) November 27. We will be talking about the Covenant of Right Relations

Warm regards,
Rev. Forsey
 
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