Dear Members and Friends,
I am grateful to the UU Players for a fun and provocative production of the Thornton Wilder play, The Skin of Our Teeth. I was delighted to see it with my daughter, Erica. Afterward, she quipped, “It was a chilling play, literally in the first act.” In the first act the characters endured great cold, in the second they faced a flood, and in the third, war raged in the background.
In all three, this sense of impending doom was dotted with humor and an apparent breaking of the fourth wall. Erica and I loved it–and she introduced me to this phrase, “breaking the fourth wall,” which means a character apparently steps out of character and talks to the audience.
What I especially loved about the production was that the actors, crew, and producer are all people I have come to know and have great affection for. In the two weeks prior, I happened to overhear conversations about costumes, props, and sound effects. Even one wondering whether everyone would be able to remember their lines. And although I can’t vouch that every line got said on opening night, I can enthusiastically affirm that the collective project was made possible by a lot of work—and that the sharing of the play amplified the sense of community that surely developed during the rehearsals.
Now that the play is done, there still is an existential angst. Sometimes it feels like all the world is a stage–and what we need are people to break the fourth wall!
In the weeks and months to come, may other collective ventures capture your attention, whether they be making music, providing for the needs of others, seeking social justice, or gathering for a spiritual practice whether it be knitting, meditation, or participating in a small group.
You are welcome to join me tomorrow at 11am on Zoom for the final gathering of Poetry of the Spirit: Let Your Life Speak. The poems that will begin our sharing are below. The link is HERE.
On March 30 and April 13, we will have two guest ministers: Rev. Ana Levy-Lyons, the former minister of the First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn, and Rev. Marjorie Anderson, a Lutheran minister who provides leadership for the Council of Churches for Greater Bridgeport.
And please note that April 6 is “Bring a friend Sunday” and we will have a multi-generational worship service with guest musicians playing strings that will accompany The Choir along with the Teen Choir. May you be nourished when you come, whether for worship or one of our many activities.
Warmly,
Alan
PS: I will be in Westport April 4-8 and April 16-20. I am available to you in person when in town and otherwise via ZOOM and phone. Feel free to be in touch with me at
alan@uuwestport.org.
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
Everything is Waiting for You by David Whyte
Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.
A Journey Continues Until It Stops by Mark Strand
A journey continues until it stops
A journey that stops is no longer a journey
A journey loses things on its way
A journey passes through things, things pass through it
When a journey is over, it loses itself to a place
When a journey remembers, it begins a journal
Which is a new journey about an old journey
A journey over time is different from a journey into time
An actual journey is into the future
A reflective journey is into the past
***
A journey always begins in a place called Here
Pack your bags and imagine your journey
Unpack your bags and imagine your journey is done
***
If you’re afraid of a journey, don’t buy shoes
