First Unitarian Church

My name is Geoff and I am a boomer. It feels like a confession. We are the ones who have consumed the world, carved a big chunk out of the Brazilian Rain Forest and stuck it between two hamburger buns. The great glaciers of the world are puddles at our feet melted by the hot toes of our carbon footprints. We have nano-seconds of patience. Computers have trained us to expect lightening speed responses. And we are having a hard time giving up our magical thinking that science will be our savior or another Bill Gates will arrive on the scene to set in motion the next great wave of innovation that will get our country up and running again so we can continue with our big spending ways.

Oh yea, we did march for civil rights and to end war. We did get the feminist, LGBT, black empowerment and environmental movements up and running. We volunteered for every cause under the sun. We believed in the power of love, human potential, and not laying our trips on other people. We were hedonistic, idealistic, stuffed suits, and bell-bottoms. We were John Birchers and George Mc Governites. EST gave us zest. And Zen made us mellow. We made a bundle and barely made a living. And now this boomer bulge is finally the grey haired establishment that hopes that one day they too may be able to retire. But this recession does not respect age or seniority. All ages and income brackets have experience fallen fortunes and difficult job displacement. Lives are being broken up by a broken system and we are at crisis.

The question is what are we going to do about it? Will we feed our fears and sink into the deep pit of despair or will we see this crisis as an opportunity to re-invent ourselves? The choice is ours. It is up to us engaged citizens to began a culture change in this country. And it all begins with us changing our lives and the way we relate to each other and this planet.

My name is Geoff and I am a boomer.

The Beatles song we heard this morning is a bittersweet anthem for me because my father died at the age of 64. Whiskey shots and beer, cigarettes, and long hours on the job finally caught up with him.

My father was an optimist. He was outgoing, kind and reached out to people of all ages in a way that made them feel special. But when the owner of the nightclub that he worked at for the past 20 years died and the business was closed and sold, my father went into a tailspin. To add insult to injury his lover left him. He was now a middle-aged man and he didn’t know what he was going to do next. He became so depressed that he contemplated suicide. I was away at school. He didn’t say a word what was going on. He wasn’t the type to share his feelings and especially his finances. I didn’t learn all this until much latter after his death when I went through his papers and found his melancholy penciled in a stenographer’s spiral notebook.

He had to go out and establish himself all over again with a new business and he was exhausted and dispirited. He eventually pulled himself out of his funk. I don’t know how he did it. Perhaps he slapped himself across the face and said, “snap out of it” and started calling everybody he knew for a job. Maybe a friend called him on the phone or stopped by to see how he was doing and caring concern began his road to recovery. Then again maybe he just got lucky. There were no job support groups, just the want ads, the telephone and the pavement—on your feet all day trying to sell yourself and get a paycheck. He finally did land another job and until he became sick worked at a restaurant at a horseracing track.

I can’t help but think of all those millions of people who due to no fault of their own have lost their jobs and their life savings. Many of them were devoted to their work and had pride in what they did. Many enjoyed their work and where good at it, and made a contribution to their company or organization. They weren’t laid off because they weren’t pulling their weight. They were laid off because there was no money to pay them— or in a panic to keep from sinking, people were jettisoned as so much excess weight to the company’s bottom line.

Let us stop for a moment and pray together.
Let us remember and pray for all those people who have lost their jobs and livelihoods. We hope that they will find a community like ours who will support them in the tough times— doing what we and they can do to help people get back on their feet. May they know that their devotion was not wasted. They can feel good about how they have maintained their integrity even if the impersonal wheels of corporate realignment have casually cast them aside. Let them know that they will never be their work for their soul does not have a job description or bullet points of duties and responsibilities. Their souls have a one-word description that takes a lifetime to define and live out and that word is love. May all those confused and anxious about where their lives will be going next— rest and breathe in the uncertainty— knowing that they are loved and, that they are enough. Amen.

The key to solving this spiritual crisis is through our devotion to a higher power, be it God, the transforming power of love, or the solidarity with sisters and brothers uniting together in a common purpose to live simply— so that others may simply live.

Our faith is needed now more than ever. We are needed to comfort and support each other during the difficult times. We are needed to speak truth to power. Who are the people who are going to suffer the most? —Those with the least power— the young and the old. Everything from Head Start to Elder Care is on the chopping block. Who is going to advocate for their rights? If not us, who? We have done it again and again in our struggle for civil rights and for marriage equality, giving voice to the voiceless, and power to the marginalized and disenfranchised. We are called to keep social justice up front and center in our lives because the world needs us to speak the truth as we have always done in our long history as a religious movement.

When we think we can’t accomplish much in the face of such overwhelming forces arrayed against us, think again. Last Saturday we paid homage to a great soul, Marilynn Carstens. There was standing room only in this sanctuary as Marilynn’s students of 44 years came together to share the difference Marilynn made in their lives and to say aloud how much they loved her. Marilynn stood up against the odds of a long illness and a prior failed marriage and was broken open by the persistent notion that she was loved by something greater than herself. That love filled her to overflowing— so much so that she had to keep sharing it with every person (child or adult) she worked with and with every person she met.

The people who knew Marilynn never thought of her as old. She never answered the question, “When are you going to be old?” It was irrelevant. Her spirit was being recreated on a daily basis in her students, in her partnership with her beloved Patrick and in the way she made her love tangible by helping those who were in need as she did for many years at the Julian Street Inn for the Homeless.

So here we are as individuals and as a country breaking open. We have a choice to be open to new possibilities.

Elizabeth Lesser in her book, Broken Open-How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow says that:

“It is in times of brokenness that the soul sings its most wise and eternal song. I cannot hum you a tune or tell you the lyrics; each person’s soul has its own cadence. You will recognize its music, though, by the way you feel when you are listening: awake, calm, and suddenly relieved from the burden of control. You will take a big breath; you’ll sigh and say to yourself, “It’s okay. Everything’s okay.” You’ll unfold your arms and lean back, and say to the soul, “Just sing me your song. Teach me the words. Tell me what you know.”

I have decided to skip the canonization period and declare Marilynn Carstens a saint. She will forever be for me an avatar of the warmth of love, the light of truth and the energy of service. Hers was a well-lived life—an example of devotion to a higher power and love’s transforming potential.

Marilynn was very disciplined in music instruction and in leading Dances of Universal Peace. She believed that life deserves your focused attention. She always prepared as best she could so that when she was teaching or meeting the needs of people she could come from a strong and centered place.

This is what the Spirit in Practice Workshops offers participants. We will explore what we can give our hearts to so they we can also come from a strong and centered place in our lives. Today we start with a focus on the journey to a meaningful Unitarian Universalist Spirituality. Brand new folks who walked through our doors today as well as our established searchers of truth and learning are invited to join us from 2:30-4 in the Fireside Room. Go grab a lunch and then come back to feast with us at the Spirit’s banquet.

So here we are at what many people fear may be another Great Depression or as one pundit as called it, “The Great Disintegration.” The world as we know it is disintegrating right before our eyes. The lions of industry’s roar are now whimpers as our financial system goes through a complete overhaul and millions of people join the ranks of the unemployed at increasingly alarming rates. These are hard times. Reality is beating at our doors and the smell of fear is in the air. Even if our jobs are secure and our nest egg intact we worry that we might be next. And if we are lucky to get through this rough patch we still have neighbors that are suffering. Work is hard to find. Bills are piling up and mortgages continue to go into default. So where is the silver lining in this thundercloud? In this spiritual crisis something is trying to be born but we cannot see what it is but there are plenty of signs pointing us in the direction of our own evolution.

Gary Zukav in his article A Spiritual Perspective On The Ecomomic Meltdown, in The Huffington Post tells us that:

“Far beneath the vast political and economic consequences … of the implosion of the American consumer society, and the spreading of “toxic” investments around the globe lays a change in human consciousness and evolution unlike any before it. Like a tectonic plate in motion, everything above it is affected irrevocably. That change is toward responsibility, not away from it; toward sharing and away from hoarding; toward cooperation and away from competition; toward harmony and away from discord; toward contribution and away from exploitation.”

“Reconstruction of responsibility in economic and financial endeavors will follow deconstruction but the story is much larger than that. Both are symbolic of a species-wide change in human consciousness that is dramatically changing individual and collective experiences in challenging and profoundly positive ways and will continue to do so throughout our lives.”

The key to solving this spiritual crisis is through our devotion to a higher power, be it God, the transforming power of love, or the solidarity with sisters and brothers uniting together in a common purpose to live simply— so that others may simply live.

I think it may be time to resurrect simplicity circles that a few years back many Unitarian Universalists around the country became a part of to acknowledge the ecological and the spiritual crisis this world is in. How can we learn to live with less and be more in harmony with the earth that we so depend on for our lives? Now this time it may become a necessity learning to live with less because we have less to live with. A couple of weeks ago 15 of us gathered together on a Saturday at the church to imagine what would be the next evolution of our lifespan religious community. We looked at the total life journey from birth to elder hood and asked ourselves what would our community look like if we fed people’s souls?

What would an integrated program look like that brings the trinity of body, mind and spirit into harmony with each other? What would it look like if all ages came together to know one another, to do the work of justice, to break down the ageist barriers of our society that tells us what a young person cannot do or what an old person can do? We could be a part of the ripples of cultural change that will sweep through society. It is going to happen with or without us. Why don’t we get ahead of the curve and ride the wave before for it comes crashing down upon us? Hope will remain alive as long as we kindle its flame in this sanctuary and in sanctuaries throughout the world. Would you join us in building this new world? We need you?

Blessed Be
Amen
Shalom
Salam

My goals for this year included—serving as the lead minister for pastoral care in the congregation—providing pastoral counseling and outreach to our members and friends in collaboration and consultation with Rev. Nancy, pastoral associates and caring hands volunteers in the congregation.

In the life of a religious community, how we care for each other is a sacred practice. In the affirmation that we recite each Sunday we proclaim, “Love is the doctrine of this church.” In all that we do, love is our foundation. From this place of love we reach out to one another offering our support and resources. To me this is my highest calling—to make love manifest in our relations with one another. It is a sacred privilege and honor to be invited into people’s lives when they are healing from illness, when they are in turmoil and when they want to celebrate the successes and joys that life brings. Each month the pastoral associates meet at my home to discuss those that need our care. This is shared ministry at its best. Even the nuts and bolts of arranging rides, meals, and visits can be a spiritual practice for the caregiver when what we do makes a difference in people’s lives. Rev. Donna Lenahan leads the Pastoral Associates and our monthly meetings with her quiet grace and thoughtful stewardship. She also cares for caregivers by encouraging us to think about ourselves too. Pastoral Associates, Dena Dickinson, Debra Fenzel-Alexander, Carol Greene, Barb Zoellin-Malm and Joyce Miller multiply our caring presence in the congregation tenfold. Our love is real; it is practical and it is healing. I am grateful to be involved in a congregation that understands that this is our most important work.

Another of my goals for the year was working with the Religious Education Council to prioritize the Lifespan Religious Education Visions generated from feedback sessions in April and May of last year and to develop an operational plan—so that we might bring our collective vision to life!

On Saturday, May 30, 2009 we will be moving to the next phase in bringing our program in line with the needs of today’s families and broadening our scope so that we are truly learning and developing relationships as a lifespan community. Professional educators from the congregation will join together in helping craft a 21st century educational model. We want to understand how we can best serve our families both at church and home. What part can we play in creating strong and healthy families? And how can we ensure that the elders of our congregation as well as children and youth among us continue to have their spirits nourished and intellects fed? To be a transformational force in people’s lives and in our communities, we must deepen our relationships among all ages in worship, social justice, spiritual practice and fellowship. I am excited in this 200th anniversary year of Unitarian Charles Darwin’s birth that our religious educating community is evolving to serve the cause of life—abundant and meaningful.

We are blessed with many talented members who give of themselves so that this community may grow and flourish. Religious Education Council Members include: Patricia O’Hanian-Coffey, Tamara Payne-Alex, Jan Theiss-Guffey and Kasthuri Veeraraghavan.

Let us thank them for how they keep “the trains running on time” and our program moving all year long! And let us thank them for imagining how we might all grow into the harmony with the divine as our affirmation so professes

My third goal for the year has been facilitating a deeper spiritual grounding and Unitarian Universalist identity through intergenerational community building experiences in worship, social justice and fellowship activities—and through my work on the Church Board and Program & Operations Committee promoting the full participation of our children and youth in the life of our church and faith.

Every other year we offer a rite of passage program for youth in 8th-10th grades called
Coming of Age. It is a yearlong program where youth have a relationship with an adult mentor from the congregation. They may have not known each other before the program or had only a causal familiarity with each other. Coming of Age requires them to go deeper. Through monthly meetings, service projects and retreats throughout the year Coming of Age is a model of intergenerational community building. One of the highlights of the year is the Social Justice Retreat in San Francisco with the Faithful Fools Street Ministry (http://www.faithfulfools.org/). Youth and adults walk the streets of the Tenderloin section of San Francisco confronting first hand the realities of poverty and homelessness. They get to understand that reality on a personal level when they stand in line for an hour waiting for a meal with everyone else on the streets. These are the experiences that transform people’s lives towards the arc of justice. And if this Coming of Age Year is successful it will be in no small part due to the work of the members of the Coming of Age Taskforce: Carrie Doolittle, Nancy Johnson and Rick Merritt.

This year we are participating in an intergenerational worship experience once a month in our sanctuary. We have sung and danced together and engaged in rituals with all ages. Worship is the heart of our congregational life. It is the wheel from which the spokes of our community activities branch off from and find inspiration. Where else in our society do all ages come together to embrace the sacredness of life? We all need peers to share the struggles and joys of life at our own age. But we also need the cross-fertilization and creative interchange that happens when all ages come together to celebrate, mourn and ask the big questions about what life is all about.

And we must laugh and have a good time too, as we did when we celebrated everyone’s birthday in January of this year. What a great gift we have with the presence of children, youth and adults sharing their lives together. It is easy to forget the preciousness of our community life when we go back into our work-a-day lives and schools that separate us. Here we can bridge those boundaries and enrich our lives as we mentor, teach, work and play side by side with all ages.

My last stated goal articulated in August 2008 was to integrate seekers and new members into the life of the church by offering classes on Unitarian Universalism—and through my work with Wisdom University’s certificate program in spiritual direction create an adult study group for spiritual growth.

Beginning in March 2009 I will be offering a Unitarian Universalist Association Tapestry of Faith program called Spirit in Practice. Spirit in Practice is a 10-workshop model suitable for the newcomer to our congregation and the seasoned member.

“Spirit in Practice was created to help Unitarian Universalists develop regular disciplines, or practices, of the spirit—practices that help them connect with the sacred ground of their being, however they understand it. Spirit in Practice affirms religious diversity while seeking unity in our communal quest for meaning and wholeness. Whether participants follow a path they identify as Humanist, Jewish, Christian, Pagan, Theist, Atheist, Agnostic, Mystic, and/or any of the other paths we follow in our diverse congregations, the Spirit in Practice workshops offer a forum for learning, sharing, and growth that can enrich their faith journeys.”

Workshops will be offered once a month at the church and a person can attend one or all. Topics include: Toward a Rich and Meaningful Unitarian Universalist Spirituality; Personal Spiritual Practices; Body Practices; Justice Practices…

Like so many of our congregants and people in the community I have had to pare back my work with Wisdom University because of financial restraints. I am nevertheless committed to pursuing a certificate in Spiritual Direction because I believe it will enhance my ministry and pastoral care.

This year Rev. Nancy and I decided to move our monthly new member ingathering ceremony to the second Sunday of the month. Since we began this invitation to membership we have had new members every month join with our Unitarian Universalist principles and values. As a minister of the church I meet with prospective new members to discuss if our church and faith are the right match for them.

The Membership Committee holds monthly tours of the church and a discussion on Unitarian Universalism to newcomers. To complement the Membership Committee’s work I plan to offer in depth classes on Unitarian Universalism and spiritual growth such as the Spirit in Practice program. I plan in the future to hold regular Meet the Minister Sundays after services to talk about San José Unitarian Church, Unitarian Universalism and membership—perhaps on the second Sunday when new members are ingathered and interest is stimulated.

As I enter my 15th year of serving this congregation and the 20th anniversary as a minister in our tradition I am grateful to be both a staff person and member of this beloved community. And though we are living in uncertain times there is one thing I am quite certain about— this is a community of justice and transformation. We continually strive to improve ourselves and the effectiveness of our ministries. We can see it in our new governance structure of the board and program and operations committee. We can see it in our work for justice in working to defeat Proposition 8 and make civil marriage a civil right for all people regardless of sexual orientation. And we can see it in the way we care for those in our midst whose lives are turned upside down due to misfortune or illness. Love is truly the doctrine of this church. The quest of truth is our sacrament. And service is our prayer.

I want to express my deep appreciation for my esteemed colleague, the Reverend Nancy Palmer Jones. Ours is a team ministry. We are called to serve you and the cause of Unitarian Universalism. I know my ministry is more effective because of our collaboration and shared commitment to build the multicultural community that is our vision and mission.

Respectfully submitted,
Rev. Geoff Rimositis

On January 23-25 sixty-three youth and adults from seven congregations came together at the Unitarian Universalist Church of San Francisco for the Pacific Central District’s Coming of Age Social Justice Retreat. John Chung on Friday evening led us in an experience of Theatre of the Oppressed that was both fun— engaging with theatre games and deep as we explored together the causes and our experiences of homelessness. The heart of the weekend was working with the Faithful Fools Street Ministry who prepared us for a Saturday retreat walking the streets of the Tenderloin and witnessing first hand life on the streets and what it is like to be on the receiving end of care as we waited for an hour in lines at Glide Memorial or St. Anthony’s for lunch.

I shadowed two youth for the day and they decided to eat at Glide. We were sitting at a table when a hard living man asked one of the youth if he was going to eat his lunch since he wasn’t eating with the same vigor that the man was. The youth gave over his entire lunch to the man who gave a wide tooth-gaped smile that he was going to have enough food to satisfy him. The youth who was still hungry and had not eaten was given a tray by a girl who didn’t want her food. The cycle of care and compassion was moving right before my eyes. What comes around surely goes around and it is extra special when it comes from the heart.

We also had evening worship circles on Friday and Saturday night. We pressed our painted hands onto a banner—symbolizing how we reach out our hands in friendship to each other and to those we were going to meet on the streets the next day. On Saturday evening our own Meg Trask led the group in an affirmation circle where we went around and placed our hands on the shoulders of closed eye participants as we responded to prompts such as: affirm someone who made the retreat fun or affirm someone who you learned something from. I have to admit it felt really good when those hands were laid on my shoulders.

We also attended the Sunday service in the sanctuary with members of the church. With Obama’s inauguration less that a week ago the service was about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. realized in the election of our first African American president. One of the staff of the church sang MLK Jr’s favorite hymn, My Precious Lord, from up in the balcony and it sent goose bumps running up and down my spine. It was the prefect Sunday service for our social justice retreat.

And of course youth being youth there were the Saturday night games of tag and sleeping bag bumper cars, mask making, clay work and just hanging out getting to know each other more fully and deeply.

Many thanks go to Deanna LaTorre and Genie Bernardini who drove up from San Jose not once but twice as they had to have their own street retreat in the Tenderloin before they could shadow youth on their own at our retreat.

Staff from our church included: Bruce Halen, V Kingsley and Rick Morris. Meg Trask served as a graduate assistant. She had completed the program two years ago.

The Coming of Age experience is of course different for each person but we can say with some degree of certainty that we created community together. We were real with each other—sharing from the heart about the difficult reality of poverty and homelessness. We experienced Unitarian Universalism as a lived faith—living out our covenant to promote peace, liberty and justice for all and to honor the inherent worth and dignity of every person. And most importantly we made friends—many of whom continue to grow stronger with time (and text messaging).

Blessed Be. Amen. Shalom. Salaam.

I was fortunate to have had the chance to celebrate the New Year with friends in Albuquerque. During our time there we took a ride on the largest tram in the world to the top of the Sandia Mountains at eleven thousand feet. There was about three feet of snow at the summit and we took a walk on the ridgeline enjoying impressive views of the valley below. On our return trip as we docked into the platform we watched the next riders pressed up against the large plate glass window. I noticed a young girl who was all decked out in a pink jacket, pink hat, pink scarf and pink gloves. I pointed out to my spouse Patty how cute she was. Then I saw another older girl looking through the window and I remarked how much she looked like our next-door neighbor’s daughter, Riley. And then I saw their mother, father and other sister and I realized that they were indeed our next door neighbors. I was flabbergasted! What were the chances of us meeting so far from San Jose—at that exact time and place so that we ran into each other? It made me stop and reflect. What was the universe trying to tell me? I asked myself: “Have I been a good neighbor?” “Perhaps it was time to invite them over for that long delayed meal.”

And then it hit me how close we are to each other. You know—just six degrees of separation from anyone anywhere. Our lines of connection are drawn to each other stronger and clearer then anyone could imagine. That’s why it makes a difference to us what is happening in Gaza. It is more than disturbing news we quickly change, because we don’t want to take in all that sorrow, pain and destruction when we think there is nothing we can do about it. We may be separated by an ocean but as human beings we are not that far apart. And if we tease out the thread you know that we would be astounded to find someone we know who has a connection to that war plagued land when we thought we were so far removed from it.

Then again it might even be closer to home. How could we not feel hurt and injustice over the death of 21-year-old Oscar Grant, who was shot in the back and killed on New Year’s day by a Bart police officer. It didn’t take much imagination to understand what Oakland and Gaza have in common as people watched helplessly while Oakland erupted in violence with the pent-up frustration of a community that once again sees delayed justice for another young African American man.

And how many of us have lost money in our retirement accounts due to the likes of Bernie Madoff—who made off with many people’s futures. It is unbelievable that we gave billions of dollars to the financial institutions that have depleted our savings—without so much as an accountant keeping the books. Who is accountable? We cry to the high heavens. Who will take responsibility? Where does the buck stop?

Accountability seems like a hot potato no one wants to hold onto for too long less they get burned. But accountability is how we live. It is how we function as a society. It keeps the water flowing in our pipes. It picks up the trash from our streets each week. It keeps our children safe at school. It demands that crimes should be punished—reparations made—reconciliation attempted. We cannot escape accountability. Our very health depends on how we care for ourselves. What medicines we must take. How often we see our doctors.

As Unitarian Universalists we are morally accountable to life—the life that is beating in our breasts, in our cantankerous neighbors across the street, in the rock throwing Palestinian youth in Gaza, and in the starving polar bears in the Arctic—because we are connected to each other in a grand web of interdependence. As Martin Luther King Jr. said “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”

On this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and on the eve of the inauguration of our first African American President it is a good time to ask ourselves: to what have we dedicated our lives? How deeply do we carry this dedication? And is it time to rededicate ourselves?

I have dedicated as of this year 20 years to the Unitarian Universalist ministry. As those who have been with me for the past 15 of them here at the First Unitarian Church of San Jose can testify I have gotten a lot more wrinkled and white haired than that young sprout that you can still see on the donor wall downstairs inside The Third Street Community Center entrance. I have done much good work for this community and Unitarian Universalism. And I have made my share of blunders over the years but I hope I have learned from my mistakes. I have been blessed with a congregation that has nurtured and guided me in my ministry. You have told it to me straight and you have encouraged me to put my whole self into our common work. I came back from sabbatical last July and rededicated myself to helping our congregation to be a healthy and effective institution for all of us—children and adults alike.

Where do you need to put your heart? What will make you come alive? What is your sacred intention that will bring the light of love into the world?

As Unitarian Universalists we are blessed with many options to find and make meaning as is so beautifully displayed in the gold tablets arrayed behind me. The one that I would like to raise up today is the last gold tablet to your left that signifies the wisdom of the world’s religions. One of the symbols depicted on that tablet is a lotus flower representing Buddhism.

Mary in today’s reading from Jack Kornfield said that if someone wants to become a follower of Buddhism all that person has to do is recite, “I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the dharma [the teachings], I take refuge in the sangha [the community of practioners.] There is nothing to join, nothing to become—simply this turning of the heart.” There is of course culture, tradition and ritual that has been layered over these simple vows through the eons but Buddhism at its core is a practice more than it is a religion. And that is why Unitarian Universalists find so much inspiration in Buddhism.

I believe that there are great parallels between Buddhism and Unitarian Universalism.
We too take refuge.

A Sufi story in Jack Kornfield’s book illustrates a refuge Unitarian Universalists take.

“ A man who had studied much in the schools of wisdom finally died in the fullness of time and found himself at the Gates of Eternity. An angel of light approached him and said, ‘Go no further, o mortal, until you have proven to me your worthiness to enter into Paradise! But the man answered, ‘Just a minute now—first of all, can you prove to me this is the real Heaven and not just the wishful fantasy of my disordered mind undergoing death?’ Before the angel could reply, a voice from inside the gates shouted, ‘Let him in—he is one of us!’”

As Unitarian Universalists we take refuge in our heretical history—which exemplifies the wisdom of great questioning. We agree with Socrates that an unexamined life is not worth living. We want to be fully engaged with our lives and not accept something simply because an authority says it is so. Of course it has gotten many of our forbears into trouble when they stood up for their beliefs. It cost them their reputations and even their lives. But our ancestors also asked themselves: how can society be better? How can the marginalized be served? How can the unrepresented get their fair share? We carry forth their legacy today in the way we honor each person’s journey of faith and how we take an active role in the betterment of our communities by not shying away from asking the hard questions no matter how unpopular they may be.

Our Coming of Age Youth will hopefully be experiencing that lived history next weekend at the Unitarian Universalist Church of San Francisco when they join with seven bay area congregations for a Social Justice Retreat. The heart of the weekend experience will be a daylong retreat into the Tenderloin section of the city with the Faithful Fools Street Ministry. Our youth will see homeless people on the streets who find refuge in each other’s company and in the daily meals at St. Anthony’s and Glide Memorial Churches. They will see hard living people who find refuge in drugs and alcohol to deaden the pain and misery of a life of daily survival. It will be difficult to view such suffering but if they look closely enough they will also see hope and community. For often the most generous and caring people are those who have nothing or next to nothing. The Tenderloin is a place where our youth will see the human drama played out in all its agony and ecstasy. We hope that the experience will open them up to discover the places of their own refuge and what it means to live a justice filled life. We hope that they will see people’s humanity and not define them by their circumstances or their addictions.

May I take this moment to praise our Coming of Age youth, their mentors and this congregation for the over one thousand dollars we raised for Second Harvest Food Bank at last year’s Empty Bowls Luncheon in November. You know that money is going to make a difference to the many people in our valley who are having a difficult time even finding enough food to eat.

Unitarian Universalists along with our Buddhist brothers and sisters also take refuge in the sangha, the community. Simply put, we need each other. We need each other when we mourn. We need each other when we celebrate. We need each other to help our children grow and learn. We need each other when we are alone and in need of care. We need each other to marshal our resources and energy to do the good work of our lives. Desmond Tutu puts it simply, “In Africa when you ask someone ‘How are you?’ the reply you get is in the plural even when you are speaking to one person. A man would say, ‘We are well’ or ‘We are not well.’ He himself may be quite well, but his grandmother is not well and so he is not well either…The solitary isolated human being is really a contradiction in terms.”

Where are the places you find refuge from the weary storms of life? Who and what gives you the strength to carry on in your life?

Buddhism’s and Unitarian Universalism’s last refuge is the dharma (the teachings, the truth). 2009 is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Unitarian Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth . Unitarian Universalists and people around the world will be making a re-commitment to the scientific veracity of evolution.

Our faith is also evolving and dynamic because it is the nature of life. We must test our hypotheses. Call into question our assumptions. Do they hold up to the facts? Is what we believe true? During my sabbatical last year I confronted my own belief in God by asking myself “is this belief true?” Of course based on empirical evidence I would say it is not. I rested in that place of doubt for a long time until I had a personal experience of Spirit. Was it God? I don’t know but I filled in that blank gold tablet up there with my own experience of the transcending mystery and wonder of creation that it represents. I believe in a Spirit that moves in our lives and in the world.

As Unitarian Universalists we take refuge in the truth as we come to understand it. This truth is not fixed—for we live in a reality of constant change. I once again draw from Jack Kornfield’s wonderful book on Buddhist Psychology, The Wise Heart to illustrate that point. He tells of his favorite cartoon—a Bedouin family travelling across the vast desert landscape. The father is first, on the largest camel, followed next by the mother and then the three children, each on slightly smaller camels. The father has turned his head to respond to the smallest child: Stop asking if we’re almost there yet. We’re nomads for crying out loud!” And so are we Unitarian Universalists. We are nomads, pilgrims, in search of truth that will guide our lives and make our communities justice filled. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I still believe that standing up for unarmed truth is the greatest thing in the world.”

The dharma, the truth, that I take refuge in, is the fact that I am a white man of privilege who is accountable to people of color, and marginalized communities. I am called to speak up against racism and discrimination in whatever forms they rear their ugly heads. I must reach out from by bubble of false security, the obliviousness of privilege that keeps the reality and the story of people’s lives away from my consciousness so I don’t have to deal with it. The Dean of Students and Community Life at Andover Theological School in her Baccalaureate sermon last May related a story when she attended a small Christian college in the middle of Indiana and had an African American roommate named Rhonda.

“Rhonda was the first African American person I ever got to know well. As we grew closer she shared with me that each year every new African American student at the school received a letter from the Indiana Ku Klux Klan letting them know that the Klan knew who they were and where they lived.”

I vow not to be oblivious any more. I vow to educate myself about racism in all its forms, including the racist enculturation that still influences me today.

It never dawned on me that the term minority would be offensive until I read Keenan Freeman’s essay on the election of Barack Obama. It makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? If we call someone a minority we are classifying him or her as the “other.” I never thought of myself as the other because I have rested comfortably in the majority—but with demographic changes happening in this country that will not be true for long.

So we can say that as Unitarian Universalists we take refuge in our heretical history—which exemplifies the wisdom of great questioning through the ages. Our questions lead us to solutions for the betterment of our lives and society’s welfare.

We take refuge in the sangha, in the community. We need each other to be all that we can be in the fullness of our humanity.

And we take refuge in the dharma, the truth. We find it in our principles; in the sources of wisdom we draw from and most importantly from each other when we open our hearts in fellowship and friendship.
As Unitarian Universalists we are morally accountable to life—the life that is beating in our breasts, in our cantankerous neighbors across the street, in the rock throwing Palestinian youth in Gaza, and in the starving polar bears in the Arctic—because we are connected to each other in a grand web of interdependence. As Martin Luther King Jr. said “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”

Like E. B. White we might find ourselves caught between the tendency to savor or save life. Do we need to chose? No. We need to do both. We need to go to the wild places and see the kingfishers, folding up their wings, and making spectacular dives into Bodega Bay to catch their dinner. We need to go the sanctuaries and see the Great Blue Herons standing in trees near their nests—looking so majestic and awkward with their tall lanky bodies.

We need to stand with our eyes closed and feel the warm sunlight on our faces until our whole body smiles in contentment.

We need to love one another even when it is messy and inconvenient. Because when we put ourselves out there just beyond our comfort zones we find the true refuge of an open and compassionate heart—and we receive in the bargain a most wonderful gift—we feel good about ourselves.

Amen
Blessed Be
Shalom
Salaam

The Bitter & The Sweet —Rev. Geoff Rimositis
November 9, 2008

Church member, Kristin sat with her son Julian on election night watching Barack Obama’s victory speech in Chicago and told him that our new president was blended,bi-racial just like him and that one day he too could become president. And Julian looked up at his mom and said in a matter of fact voice, I know. I know, as if it was commonplace and normal and not the monumental achievement that had Jesse Jackson crying all evening as he stood in front of the stage in Grant Park seeing all his work for civil rights, justice and equity find a world of possibilities in the election of our 44th president, Barack Obama. They’ve been saying that Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King, Jr. could march and Martin Luther King marched so that Barack Obama could run. I think all of our steps are lighter now believing that a new era is dawning for our country and for race relations in America. Obama’s victory was sweet, oh so sweet.

But Kristin and Jean who joyously celebrated their marriage in this sanctuary also have a bitter taste in their mouths with the passage of Proposition 8. If we want to get married or not what difference does it make to anyone else? It is a private and personal decision between couples. It shouldn’t be anyone’s business but our own. Unfortunately many people did make it their business to deny thousands of couples and families across our state their fundamental right to live their lives as Americans, free—free to love those they love. We stood up for love and we had our houses’ egged, No on 8 signs stolen and bumper stickers scraped off our cars. All we want to do is love each other and raise our families and contribute to our communities. Intolerance and hate reared its ugly head and it is hard for us to feel safe in our own neighborhoods after experiencing such violence.

And so here we are with the bitter and the sweet. I know we have much to celebrate with the overwhelming mandate for change that was given to Barack Obama. And yes, we came very close to defeating Proposition 8 and in the process created allies from all corners of the state and nation. The interfaith coalition that formed was amazing. The co-workers we thought were on this side of red startled us when they came forward and said in plainspoken language that Proposition 8 was wrong. Many sectors of society: teacher’s unions, Santa Clara County, The Mercury News, even Google said that it is time to give our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and fellow citizens the rights we all enjoy. And I do believe that it will happen.

But for now we can’t see the future for the tears in our eyes. We are tired of fighting the good fight. We are weary to the bone. We are angry. We are scared. We are deeply disappointed. Thank God we have each other to hold when the weight of the world comes crashing down on us. Thank God we have this community and this Unitarian Universalist faith that believes in the inherent worth and dignity of all people—that has put itself on the front lines across our state and across our nation time and time again throughout our history for the liberation of all people.

And once we collect ourselves, get some rest and perspective we will be back to make things right. We will be victorious because we have love on our side. I am hoping with all my heart and soul that Barack’s presidency will be the beginning of a cultural change in this country that will restore the rights that have been denied for same sex couples, for the environment, for working people, for the sick and disabled, for children who will no longer be left behind in education or policy. In Barack’s own words: “This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time—to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm the fundamental truth—that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us we can’t, we will respond with the timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.”

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul,
what wondrous love is this, O my soul?
What wondrous love is this that brings my heart such bliss,
and takes away the pain of my soul, of my soul,
and takes away the pain of my soul.

Out of the many, we are one. This is the Universalism whose name we bear and whose creed is written on our hearts. This is the great love that compels us to wholeness. As Universalists our task is to discover what it is we love and once we find it to give ourselves over to it.

This is a love that holds the bitter and the sweet, the good and the bad, success and failure. Everyday we experience pleasure and pain. In a day, life can bring us joy and happiness and it can be hard—frustrating and infuriating. We as spiritual people, as Universalists, have to hold the tension between those polarities, between the shadow and the light—for out of that nexus a third thing can be born—the creative third—the place where the Holy Spirit dwells.

Our spiritual task is to live with the tension between our extremes and embrace both as essential parts of ourselves. The middle way is not a cop out, a median point of equal but opposite views. It is a place of possibility where something new, something unexpected, may emerge, if we but surrender to its awakening.

The work we did against Proposition 8 was a labor of love. At times we felt angry, frustrated and overwhelmed with the enormity of the task set before us. But at the core of that work was love and it motivated us to come down to the phone bank week after week. It inspired us to stand on rain soaked corners with our children to wave placards and let it be known what side we were on-the side of love.

The Reverend Alice Blair Wesley who inspired me to go into the ministry twenty-five years ago when I served with her as the religious educator of The First Unitarian Church of Cherry Hill, New Jersey said that once we find those things that are truly worthy of our attention and devoted service

“…we are called upon-or love asks us-to be loyally and freely active on behalf of our beloved. We are asked to spend - our labor, our talent, our brain power, our money - whatever we have to spend that seems to us needed. Not for nothing do we say, “Love makes the world go ‘round,” or “Love conquers all” or “Love casts out fear” or “Love is stronger than death.” All these saying report the truth that when love is strong - for what is worthy of love - nothing can separate us from it - not flaws in or problems with our beloved, not the dangers of service in behalf of what we love, not the rewards of competing attractions, not even the death of those we love.

… The worship or spiritual practice of a free congregation is best understood as the deliberate return of a faithful and loyal community of people who come together - again and again - to be receptive to all that is worthy of renewed love. We come to church to be reminded of, stirred up to recall, and brought again to feel the charm of all that we love and cherish most.”

We may not have defeated Proposition 8 but we have gained so much because we put our love out into the world and by doing so it has made its way into the hearts of many people that would have remained closed to it. We increased the capacity of people to love outside of their preconceived notions of what constitutes love. And this love will continue to grow and transform lives. The election may have signified an end but our work lives on in those that have been changed.

So where do we go from here? Yes, the lawsuits have been filed and new strategies are being designed. I am not talking about our political objectives I am talking about what are we going to do with the power we have experienced in this campaign? How do we bring this power home to transform our own base—The First Unitarian Church of San Jose? We have proven time and time again Margaret Mead’s words: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”

We have been outwardly directed, rightly so. We have multiplied our power in coalitions. We got in touch with power within ourselves we didn’t even know we had. And our small band of liberal religious thinkers has accomplished more than our numbers would suggest. But we can’t forget the source of our power and how much we need each other’s courage, strength, and commitment. This religious community is our rock upon which we can build our dreams. But it must be strong as we are strong. It needs us to also look within to see what needs to be done to move us along to our next stage of growth to meet the spiritual needs of our families—of all of us.

Gordon McKeeman, former president of Starr King School for the Ministry, Universalist preacher and a past candidate for the Unitarian Universalist Association presidency wrote in an essay titled, A Theology of Power in the Ministry that as a minister he seeks “to help people realize that the religious community’s health and their own are intimately connected, and that their contributions to it of time, talent, health and self, are for their own welfare. We devote our lives to realizing the soul, the holy spirit, the inner light within ourselves, and try to practice what we preach by asking whether we can preach what we practice.”

One thing that Barak Obama’s historic campaign and No On 8 has proven is that an engaged citizenry is alive and well. The passive consumer culture does not speak to our values. We are taking back our country from the moneyed interests and in doing so we will take back the soul of our nation. We understand that it matters what we love and how we make that love manifest in the world. And it matters if this religious community thrives because our youth need it when they are faced with the dysfunction and intolerance of those who would dismiss who they are and what they believe. And it matters if this community thrives because we provide a place where every voice is heard regardless if they are theist or atheist because here the divine spark in each one of us is recognized and respected. And it matters if this community thrives because there is still much work to be done in the cause of justice.

We are a spiritual cooperative, a grass roots religion. We don’t know about the here-after but we do want to know what it is that you love and cherish most and how we can bring that transformative energy into our community. In January we will have discussions about our social justice and religious education ministries. We will ask ourselves how we as a church community can become a more effective instrument for the change we want to see in the world. How can we best organize ourselves to do the work of social justice? For example what if we voted on one major effort not to the exclusion of others but to create greater community and a more effective presence? What if we involved our whole church in the work of justice, by bringing together religious education, worship, hospitality, young and old, so we could learn together, worship together, act together and celebrate together as one community?

I look forward to this and many more ideas that may arise in our conversations together on how best to live out our Unitarian Universalist principles that get us closer to the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.

We will also be holding a summit on Re-Imagining Religious Education early next year. We would like to invite all those who work in the field of education, primary or secondary, public or private, to spend some time together helping us to begin to envision on how we can best serve our children and families by creating a new educational model. We want to think out of the box, get out of the old classroom paradigm, and provide a meaningful spiritual experience that builds relationships among our youth and adults and enriches everyone’s community experience.

In the words of Unitraian Universalist William Doherty in his essay on Home Grown Religion, “We need an approach to faith formation that puts family and home and intentional community at the center, that combines the I and the We, spiritual freedom and rich tradition. We will have to go beyond our traditional programming silos of worship, social justice, and separate faith formation activities for children, youth, and adults. Instead we will have to bring the generations into closer involvement and create experiences of spiritual depth and participatory engagement. It will have to address powerful cultural forces that inhibit spiritual living and active citizenship.”

As our affirmation states we are all about helping souls grow into harmony with the divine. We are all about transforming lives. It is not easy work and it takes all of us to make it happen. So keep a lookout for upcoming discussions about our social justice and religious education ministries and come with your ideas to help us craft this next phase in the grand history of The First Unitarian Church of San Jose.

What an exciting time we live in. The election of our country’s first black president is amazing beyond belief. Many of us thought we would never see it in our life time. For the first time in many years we have an optimism about our country and its future. As the anitracism curriculum, Building the World We Dream About, comes to a close after a year of semi-monthly meetings, we can see hope on the horizon for creating the beloved community where race and class unite.

Yet, our work is far from done. The economy is heading for a severe recession, thousands upon thousands are losing their jobs. Our state is in severe financial crisis and services may be cut for the most vulnerable among us. Our religious leadership is needed now more than ever. Our voice must be heard at the public square and our presence must be felt wherever the marginalize and the dispossed are ignored.

This is what it means to declare oneself a Unitarian Universalist—to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors like Susan B. Anthony, suffragist and women’s right activist and like her believe that failure is impossible when you have right on your side—and when you find what you love and devote your life to it.

Blessed Be
Amen
Shalom
Salaam
YES WE CAN!

Dear Friends,

I have returned from my six month sabbatical on July 1. I am excited to get back on a writing schedule. I have always dreamt of this blog being devotional with poetry, prayers, meditations and affirmations. As I begin my ministry anew I have been thinking of my mission and how I can make it happen this year. The following is my mission statement with an affirmation/prayer on power. I invite you to reflect on your own life’s mission and sense of power. Do you claim it or give it away? I am begininng to see my power as a sacred intention to “be the change I want to see.”

Blessings,
Geoff

My mission is to bring the love of God into the hearts, minds and souls of the people I love and minister to.

I bring this love alive in my life by owning the power Spirit gave me at the moment of my birth— the power of transformation.

I claim my power from Spirit, the co-creative force that energizes my life and which has called me to serve.

I use my power so Spirit will grow strong by— doing justice, bringing healing wherever it is needed, and gathering people together into the blessings of God’s diversity.

Today I open myself up and set free the power within me.

I no longer fear the dark—for the light of love guides me on my way.

Today I will see God in a hundred different faces and seek audience with each and every one.

My soul with find communion with beauty in all its many forms.

Today, I will be present to all of life—even the dirty and difficult, the loud and obnoxious.
They too have something to teach me.

If difficult emotions well up within me I will take note of their origin and any actions they compel me to do.

And then—not a moment longer, I will let them go and bid them farewell as they fade into the background, returning to the void from whence they came.

Today, I will use my power to keep my spiritual center to uphold the wholeness of life, and to stay true to myself when the world conspires to overwhelm me with more than I can handle.

I will stand strong and firm on life-affirming values and guiding principles.
And I will take to task those that act out of selfish need (including myself) without considering the common good.

I will not put others down to lift myself up.

I will stay true to Wisdom’s voice guiding me on how best to Love—this Life—these people—and this wild and wonderful world.

Spirit, I beseech you to be with me every moment until my final breath, in all my comings and goings, highs and lows.

Let everything that comes into my life bring me into your Grace.

So Be It.

Blessed Be

Amen

Shalom

Salaam

The coil has been wound tighter and tighter
until one more twist
unravels the whole works
like confetti poppers
sending streams of paper in the air
lifted by the sound waves of cranky noise makers
and little honking horns.

Happy New Year!!!

It’s a spinning top
The metal tip ones with a plunger
you pull up and down
faster and faster
until eyes can no longer follow
the whirl and tilt of its dynamo

Happy New Year!!!

We’re ready to gather everything unto us
We’re static
and we like it!
All those pieces cling like a Kola bear cub
to the underside of its mother.

We will open our arms
and invite every bit of string and dirt
to create our patina,
a coat of arms
heralding a new generation
that is one
with all.

Happy New Year!!!

Our names written with bold strokes,
flourishes and accents
on documents rolled into scrolls
and held by fists with arms lifted
as if expecting God to reach down
and take it from us
proclaim
that these words are our standard bearer,
our common coin,
we gladly place in every outstretched hand,
until no pocket is empty
and every heart is full

Happy New Year!!!

These are the words:
I love you.

Dear Friends,

I will be going on sabbatical from January-June 2008.  As specified in our letters of agreement with the congregation, called ministers earn one month of sabbatical for each year of service.  Sabbaticals are usually taken every six years.  This will be my second sabbatical.  I was granted my first one in 2001.  I am excited about this opportunity for continuing education, research, travel and weekends with my spouse, Patty.

In January I will be taking a week long intensive at Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley titled Combating Oppression: Power Analysis through Anti-Ableist and Anti-Racist Lenses  http://www.sksm.edu/academics/intersession_2008.php  One of my ongoing personal and ministerial goals is to face the comfort of my own racial and class privilege and learn how I can be an ally to people of color and other marginalized groups as we create the beloved community in our congregation and the communities we serve.  I want to see our church grow into the fullness of its mission “to fostering the process of becoming a diverse and multicultural congregation.”  I want to do my part in helping to make that reality come true.

I will also be taking an intensive on spiritual direction in February at Wisdom University in Oakland, “Dreaming Our Dreams: Asleep and Awake,”.  Wisdom University was started by former Dominican priest Matthew Fox who began a program of creation spirituality that draws from the wisdom of all traditions.  I will be studying with Lauren Artress, an Episcopal priest from Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.  Rev. Artress has singularly helped to inspire the resurgence of interest in the labyrinth as a spiritual tool. In the course I will be doing dream work and using the mandala.

            The vision statement that we as a congregation crafted with the Rev. Fran Dew during the first year of interim ministry guides me in seeking out educational opportunities.  “Our vision for The First Unitarian Church of San Jose in 2010:  A church with a vibrant congregational life that reflects a supportive, joyful and diverse intergenerational community.  A church that offers a wide variety of opportunities for spiritual expression and personal growth…”

            I hope to bring back from my work with the Rev. Artress, Starr King School for the Ministry and research on contemporary models of children and youth ministry, ideas to enrich the offerings for spiritual growth that our congregation offers its members and friends.

And if all goes well, Patty and I will also be going on a couple’s retreat, seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time and traveling to Prague, Czechoslovakia for our first European adventure.

I am deeply grateful to the congregation for this opportunity to focus on improving my ministerial skills and knowledge, deepening my spiritual life, and having some precious time with Patty to renew our marriage and have some fun together!

I wish all of us could have a sabbatical, a time for reflection and renewal.  We all need now and then in our lives to stop and take stock of where we are and where we want to go to live a fuller life.  I am unbelievably blessed to have this chance to do just that.

I hope to let you all know what I am up to from time to time and to submit devotional blogs to this site as has been my goal.

 With deep gratitude and an exuberance beyond measure,

 Geoff 

P.S.  It is with great pleasure that I announce that Sonya Sukalski, graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry will be serving as the Sabbatical Religious Educator during my absence.  Sonya is currently completing her Pastoral Clinical Education as a hospice chaplain.  Sonya completed an internship at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Livermore.  She has extensive experience in Unitarian Universalist congregations and religious education.  She has twin daughters!  Sonya will fill you in with more details about herself in an upcoming newsletter in December.  Suffice it to say, I am excited that Sonya will be ministering to and with us beginning in January through June of 2008.  She will not only be helping us to maintain our programs but will bring her creative flair to enrich them. 

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