April 3, 2024
Dear Members and Friends,
Today I share a spiritual reflection on staying engaged with a hurting world and two readings that that keep me going when my heart is broken again and again. These follow an explanation of how the Congregation shall determine together the recipients for our Share the Plate Sundays.
Currently, on the second Sunday of the month, the Congregation gives the entire Sunday morning collection to an organization that lives out our UU values. The Share the Plate beneficiary is currently selected on a monthly basis by the Social Justice Council. I’m please to share that the Social Justice Council wishes to widen participation in the nominations and determination of these worthy organizations. I hope you will consider participating in this new process of selecting Share the Plate beneficiaries.
During the month of April, members are invited to nominate an organization with a 501c3 status to the list of potential beneficiaries. The Congregation will vote on at the Annual Meeting that is on June 9. In May, the list of nominated organizations will be shared with the Congregation along with their websites and a brief blurb about their mission. On one Sunday in May, there will be an opportunity for members to share briefly about each nomination. On June 9, all members who attend the Annual Meeting in person or online will be able to vote for up to six of the organizations.
Reviewing the results, the Social Justice Council leadership and I will determine the monthly beneficiaries for our Second Sunday Share the Plate offerings. In addition, the Social Justice Council may approve additional requests for emergency situations or if the pulpit speaker represents a specific organization.
Reviewing the results, the Social Justice Council leadership and I will determine the monthly beneficiaries for our Second Sunday Share the Plate offerings. In addition, the Social Justice Council may approve additional requests for emergency situations or if the pulpit speaker represents a specific organization.
We can make a difference by supporting local organizations. Just as important is the spiritual sustenance the Congregation provides through its ministries so that our members can participate in social justice and culture change work.
Living with an open heart in these times is truly challenging. It’s so tempting to simply close our hearts when reading the newspaper or turning on the nightly news or scrolling through the latest news stories on the web. Who has wanted to avoid the news altogether? But our faith as religious progressives requires finding ways to engage our world with compassion and conscience. It’s a perennial challenge how to live with openness and compassion when so much pain and suffering comes into our awareness.
Yesterday, I participated in a circle launching a friend’s walk from Chicago to Montgomery. Rachelle Zola, a white 70 year old woman, moved to Chicago four years ago to simply listen to the stories of Black and Brown people. Last year, she created a 1-woman play entitled “Late: A Love Story” that shares her journey of waking up only late in life to the reality of systemic racism. She now is taking her play on the road and walking for the sake of embodying the love and longing that she has encountered—and sharing the reality of the pain of suffering that often comes with being Black.
I have long been touched by Rachelle’s capacity to listen and reflect on what is real and genuine. She recognizes our interdependence and invites others to join her in participating in culture change. For her, grace is born of curiosity and love calls her to create brave spaces for sharing. Some of her conversations are online. If you’re curious, you can learn more about Rachelle at latealovestory.com.
Here at UU Westport, we hold faith in the power of living into our core values. The question is how to do this effectively. One step is building relationships with our beneficiaries—and I look forward to learning in June what beneficiaries are most important to this congregation.
The more I engage with people who share our commitments—and learn their stories—the more I can joyfully engage the sorrows of the world.
Warmly,
Alan
My Heart Is Moved by All I Cannot See by Adrienne Rich
My Heart is Moved by All I Cannot Save
A person, in silhouette, stands under the sheltered lip of a strong waterfall
My heart is moved by all I cannot save:
so much has been destroyed
I have to cast my lot with those
who age after age, perversely,
with no extraordinary power,
reconstitute the world.
Continue by Maya Angeloue
My wish for you
Is that you continue
Continue
To be who and how you are
To astonish a mean world
With your acts of kindness
Continue
To allow humor to lighten the burden
Of your tender heart
Continue
In a society dark with cruelty
To let the people hear the grandeur
Of God in the peals of your laughter
Continue
To let your eloquence
Elevate the people to heights
They had only imagined
Continue
To remind the people that
Each is as good as the other
And that no one is beneath
Nor above you
Continue
To remember your own young years
And look with favor upon the lost
And the least and the lonely
Continue
To put the mantle of your protection
Around the bodies of
The young and defenseless
Continue
To take the hand of the despised
And diseased and walk proudly with them
In the high street
Some might see you and
Be encouraged to do likewise
Continue
To plant a public kiss of concern
On the cheek of the sick
And the aged and infirm
And count that as a
Natural action to be expected
Continue
To let gratitude be the pillow
Upon which you kneel to
Say your nightly prayer
And let faith be the bridge
You build to overcome evil
And welcome good
Continue
To ignore no vision
Which comes to enlarge your range
And increase your spirit
Continue
To dare to love deeply
And risk everything
For the good thing
Continue
To float
Happily in the sea of infinite substance
Which set aside riches for you
Before you had a name
Continue
And by doing so
You and your work
Will be able to continue
Eternally
