December 2010

At our Thanksgiving dinner table we took turns naming what we are grateful for. I surprised myself a little bit by how emotional I felt when I related that I am grateful to be living in Maine. While I have lived in grand and exciting landscapes all over the country, this is the place where I have chosen to raise my children, this is the place where each day I feel that I receive the goodness of humankind, and can be open and flexible rather than wary and on-guard. This is home. The 20-something city girl that I was for so long still recoils in shock every time I get into a long conversation with a stranger in a grocery line, or hand my debit card to the receptionist at the doctor's office and walk away, or allow my children to run free at our favorite beach, but the woman I am now rejoices that there is this place of relative safety and freedom where you can count on people to be good-hearted, under most circumstances, most of the time.

The one complaint I hear from people who, like me, love raising ourselves and our families in Maine, is that there is a lack of diversity. I am fully aware that there is a lack of ethnic diversity in the towns in which I spend the majority of my time, and that it is all too easy for most of the people I encounter during this holiday season to say, with all good intentions, "Merry Christmas", assuming that that is, indeed, the holiday I will be celebrating. The deeper truth of December is that there are a multitude of cultural and religious celebrations at hand, an incredible diversity of beliefs, purposes, rites and rituals that human beings will celebrate this month, both in Maine, and around the world. As Unitarian Universalists, we can hold in our intentions, and include in our conversations, the celebrations of Luut'aa, Masa'il, Sharaf, Hanukkah, Yule, Maunajiyaras, Tohji-taisai, the death of Zarathustra, and Kwanzaa, as well as Christmas. Becoming educated about the many holy days people experience in December makes our lives richer, and extends a warmer welcome to friends and strangers alike. Being willing to ask "What are you and your family celebrating this holiday season?" and listening to the answer, makes us true interfaith ambassadors, even if, in most of the towns we spend most of our time in, the answer will be full of Christmas plans and good cheer.

Which leads us to another kind of diversity - the diversity, and even divisions, within extended families who gather together in December. For many of us this is a time to see friends and family we haven't seen for months, or perhaps all year. We are excited about the visits, full of plans and fun and laughter. For many of us there will also be difficult emotional situations to navigate when our larger tribe gets together - old hurts can surface, or the usual tensions simply simmer, making us feel stressed and small rather than warmed and loved. Be generous with yourself, and you will be able to be generous with others, even those who push all your buttons, and all at once. Remind yourself before each gathering that you are beloved, faithful, caring and good, and that no matter how challenging others might be, they are struggling to do their best, overcome their own fears, feel that they have enough in the world. Driven by motivations you may not understand, they are still vulnerable human beings, seeking safety. From this place of generosity you can be compassionate toward everyone, while getting your own needs met. I wish you and yours all the love, warmth, laughter, wonder-filled sights, and sweet smells of the season. And, I look forward to hearing what you are celebrating in the fullness of December.

Many blessings,

Rev Jennifer

September 2010

Homecoming is a blessing. Each year, as the the staff and I work to prepare this place of spiritual and social homecoming for all of you, I feel the excitement of return within myself, and the pull of familiarity in ritual, and in the voices and faces of those I know and hold dear. It feels right that this preparation takes place each year as the Jewish high holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are being celebrated all over the world. These are the days of elation, preparation, forgiveness and reciprocity. This time of year leads us to Jubilee.

In the ancient Hebrew tradition, the Jubilee is to be celebrated every 50 years. During Jubilee all the inequities that have built up over the ensuing years are to be redistributed. All debts are forgiven, all slaves freed, and all land given back to those who owned it when the original maps of Judeah were drawn. According to Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, the most popular tradition of Rosh Hashanah - the blowing of the shofar (horn) - reminds us of the Jubilee. The blasts of the shofar horn are a reminder of the music played at the Jubilee, a reminder that hope is alive, that justice will come, and that each person and family is of worth regardless of their present circumstance. Each year as the shofar sounds, according to Rabbi Hirshfield's interpretation, we have the chance to return to "our holding" to "what is most deeply our own".

As we come home from our summer adventures and routines, as we re-enter the rhythm of our Unitarian Universalist worship and community life together, let us relate to one another from our deepest selves. Let us be conscious of our own worth, our own strengths, and our own failings, so that we may truly celebrate the strengths of others, and have compassion for their failings. In the spirit of the high holy days, may we strive to know ourselves deeply, so that others may know us. May we strive to let go of past hurts, and old projections, so that we may truly see and feel for every person in our sanctuary, in our partnerships, and in our wider community. As we worship, work, mourn and celebrate together this year may all that we do be life-giving. May all that we do point toward the Jubilee, when all people will be free. Free in body, and in spirit, too.

See you Sunday!

Rev. Jennifer

To read Rabbi Hirschfield's article on Rosh Hashanah click herehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-brad-hirschfield/rosh-hashanah-2010-libera_b_702705.html

Many groups involved in progressive Judaism are doing a great job getting their message across to youth and young adults. For a fun video about the high holy days, aimed at younger folks, check out this link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/25/rosh-hashanah-makes-the-s_n_694640.html

And if you'd like to explore this time of year with the young children in your life, try books such as Gershon's Monster by Eric A. Kimmel

July 2010 - Annual Report

I hope you got a chance to be at our Annual Meeting on Sunday, June 20th. To read my Minister's Annual Report to the Congregation, click on the Beloved Community page to the left. If you'd like to have a full copy of the Annual Report, please contact Cheryl Miller in our church offices.

An amazing amount of ministry has happened in and because of this church this year. It's truly a treat to read the recaps of all that we've accomplished, and the myriad hopes for our future. I'm in Minneapolis at GA right now, and on the plane on the way down here I just happened to sit next to a Hungarian Unitarian Minister from Kolozsvar, Romania. Thanks to our Partner Church and our Faith In Action program he and I had LOTS to talk about! He was pleased to be speaking with an American who knew his church, followed the policies of his Bishop, and loved his city. I was pleased that when I said I was the Minister of the Yarmouth church he said immediately, "Oh yes, you are partners with Gyepes." It is wonderful to know and be known, to care and be cared for, in Southern Maine and around the world. I deeply support our Board of Trustee's mission in the next year to have our church known and attracting new members, while also raising our ability to be generous stewards of our mission, our programs and our campus. Truly, this is a dynamic, beloved community. What a year it has been.

In July I shift gears and use my time to both engage in my study weeks and join with DRE Jenn McAdoo in leading youth mission, but I'll be back in the office in August. I look forward to seeing you then, and at Ingathering in the fall. Happy Summer! - Rev. Jennifer

June 2010

Looking for a few excerpts from the journal I kept while I was on pilgrimage in France? Just click on the Pilgrimage and Mission Page to your left.

I'm hoping that it's time for a pilgrimage trip with all of you. If you're interested in traveling to France on pilgrimage next spring, please email me at yarmouthminister@yahoo.com

Be well -
Rev. Jennifer

May 2010

I have the great joy of being mother to a daughter. She often hands me little love notes, and I've been honored this year that three of the basic words she's learned to spell on her own are "I love Mommy".

Last week she handed me a note on bright yellow paper while I was working away at something in the kitchen. It's a picture of her with a big heart on a purple dress and musical notes trailing out behind her - she is dancing and singing. She presses the note into my hand and says "This is for you" and then my real-life daughter dances away across the kitchen and out into the living room, humming a tune under her breath, shaking her arms and hands in patterns that make her brother laugh. I am struck, completely struck, by her natural exuberance for life - her complete comfort in her own skin, her willingness for all things to be silly and new and full of song.

In May we enter the season of Beltane, of life reproducing itself, of continuation, growth and the blooming of all living things. The world is exuberant, luxuriant, passionate. Is your inner six-year-old dancing through this spring? Are you singing to yourself and maybe telling a silly joke here and there? Are you taking time to play? I wish that for you, and yours. I am interested in the song that echos in your heart and mind.

I decided to take a page out of my daughter's book, and allow myself the freedom to travel in the company of women this month, singing and dancing and praying our way to three ancient pilgrimage sites in France. Many "mothers" worked together to make this trip possible for me - the people who invited me, those who encouraged me, those who affirmed the trip with grant monies and those who are staying home to take care of my children while I roam. I have never felt so grateful for the sheer existence of parenting in the world - our ability to care selflessly for one another when we are in need.

I look forward to sharing my pilgrimage with you - you can read all about it on this blog. If I can post entries and pictures while I'm away I will, if not I will post everything when I am home - home in time for Mother's Day. May these beautiful spring days continue, may they lift you up and hold you close, may you know mothering and warmth, and may you sing and dance and send little messages of love to those who care for you, and for whom you care.

Warmly - Rev. Jennifer

My body is a living temple of love

My body is the body of the goddess

My body is the body of the goddess

Oh, oh, oh I am that I am

Oh, oh, oh, I am that I am!

- from Women With Wings

http://www.examiner.com/x-35413-Bangor-Paganism-Examiner~y2010m1d13-Women-with-wings-a-femine-chant-group

Palm Sunday Reflection

can be found on Sermons Page at http://uuyarmouth.org/sermons.html

PS

Another quote from the Anam Cara, for all of us who love the water, and the rhythms of music and of life:

"Rhythm is the secret key to balance and belonging. ...It is the rhythm of a dynamic equilibrium, a readiness of spirit, a poise that is not self-centered. This sense of rhythm is ancient. All life came out of the ocean; each one of us comes out of the waters of the womb; the ebb and flow of the tides is alive in the ebb and flow of our breathing. When you are in rhythm with your nature, nothing destructive can touch you. Providence is at one with you; it minds you and brings you to your new horizons. To be spiritual is to be in rhythm."

April 2010

"We often remain exiles, left outside the rich world of the soul, simply beacuse we are not ready. Our task is to refine our hearts and minds. There is so much blessing and beauty near us that is destined for us, and yet it cannot enter our lives because we are not ready to receive it. The handle is on the inside of the door; only we can open it." - John O'Donohue from Anam Cara

So, here we go - Luddite that I am I have succumbed to the pressure of our excellent Office Manager, Cheryl Miller, and taken the leap, and begun a blog! Now wherever I am in my month, or in the world, I can stay in touch with all of you - another small step forward in our quest to stay in communication with one another, and to deepen the relationship between Minister, staff, church leadership, and church members - Thank you, Cheryl!

Many of my Christian friends and colleagues - and a few of my UU colleagues (and parishioners!) as well - are deeply engaged in their Lenten practices in these weeks leading up to Easter. I have had many deep and meaningful conversations with them (and you) in preparation for our Palm Sunday and Easter celebrations. I've also been thinking a lot about my one of my favorite feel-good movies: Last Holiday.

http://www.lastholidaymovie.com/

In Last Holiday a shy and retiring young woman, played by Queen Latifah, believes that she is dying, and becomes determined to use her last weeks on earth to experience all the things she was saving up for "some day". In this wild and wonderful exploration that includes great food, good company, skydiving, snowboarding and a trip to Eastern Europe she discovers that she is, indeed, a beautiful woman full of heart - "a woman of distinction and courage."

There are so many things we put off doing, things we save for "some day". We are practical, intelligent, responsible people who know our own limits and the limits of those we love. There is value in this . But we forget, or have never been told, that our limits are often limits of our own making: They are not absolute truths, but variables - they can and do change. Easter is a wonderful time to contemplate which limits serve us and help us to feel empowered and fulfilled, and which limits have become the rock we push up the hill, over and over again.

I am here to tell you that you are a beautiful person full of distinction and courage. What you can dream for yourself and your family you can do. You are beloved on this planet, and you do not have to settle, or stay in the box you were told to stay in in order to be accepted and loved. You are free to reinvent yourself. You are free to transform. You are free to become the jester when you've been raised to be the serious one. You are free to take a trip that's all about a mystery you've always wanted to explore, whether it's in the next town over or around the world. You are free to say no when you mean no, and Yes! to something you've always thought was beyond your reach. Don't wait, do something splendid, now, today, something that shines your particular light on our aching world.

It is the spring. We are reborn. We rejoice in life anew. I wish you courage in your new endeavors, and joy, and most of all room to grow and change and the desire to allow even those you most count on to grow and change as well. Bloom, and flourish, in the light and the life of our interdependent web of existence.

See you soon,
Rev. Jennifer.