As We Build the Beloved Community …  

A Reflection on Gratitude and Recognition 

Often I pause to marvel at this “voluntary association” that is the First Unitarian Church of San José. Take our Fall Church Retreat, for example: Diana Wirt and Kelly Burnett voluntarily organized a beautiful gathering for us up in the Santa Cruz mountains, with congregants from the Mission Peak and Los Gatos congregations further enriching our time together. Folks volunteered their time and talent to offer a delicious smorgasbord of workshops and activities. It was glorious. And I hear it was wonderful to be in San José that weekend, too, with a beautiful worship service led by Rev. Geoff and a host of volunteer worship associates, with special music volunteered by Frank Farris and Patrick Smiley bringing people onto the labyrinth to walk the “path.”        

Honestly, it takes my breath away to recognize who we are and what we accomplish all because you choose to belong, you choose to contribute to this association out of your own free will and generosity, out of your belief in our mission. Think about it: First Unitarian exists—and has existed for 143 years—in downtown San José as a beacon of liberal religion, of social justice, and of personal transformation because you and our Unitarian ancestors have voluntarily given of your hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits to this spiritual collective. Wow! I personally owe every one of you and of those ancestors a heartfelt, handwritten thank-you note!           

In truth, we are still learning how to thank each other. We are getting better; thanks to creative, thoughtful folks like Genie Bernardini, we have added annual rituals of recognition that lift up our volunteers. But we can never really thank each other enough, because at the root, we are run—and the professional staff is paid—by your voluntary contributions of time, talent, and treasure. (Can I just say it again? Wow!)       

So, what about recognition for these gifts? Is public recognition itself a “good” or a “bad” thing? Should we not even try to recognize your generosity, just because we won’t be able to honor every single act of giving, and because surely we’ll miss some folks, which can be painful and embarrassing? To that I say, Let’s not give up; let’s simply become more and more mindful and creative in our recognitions!         

Does public recognition take away one iota from the generosity of the gift or throw into question the motivation for giving? I say, Not at all. Recognition keeps us honest; it says, “We wouldn’t be here without you!” Recognition is a crucial part of the spiritual practice of gratitude, expanding our hearts and minds, deepening our sense of connection. It can inspire and strengthen us in our own giving, too, making us more generous people. Hallelujah for you who are willing to receive public recognition!     

On the other hand, some folks like to give quietly, behind the scenes; they don’t want their names to be called out or scribed on a plaque. Hallelujah for you, too, because when we don’t know exactly who our beneficiary is, we are called to be grateful to everyone! Anyone might be our anonymous beneficiary, so everyone shines with an extra light because of your quiet giving.     

Want to know the truth? I am happier right this minute because I’ve spent this time focusing intentionally on your infinite acts of generosity. May you find joy in this practice of gratitude and recognition, too!

With my love,       
Nancy

As We Build the Beloved Community …  

Rumi-omancy, or Finding Space “Between the Layers of Baklava” 

At our Committee on Ministries meeting, chair Michael Payne-Alex launched our gathering by opening the Tao Te Ching at random and reading a passage. I confess, I don’t remember what the passage said (sorry, Michael; sorry, Tao), but I do remember my delight at this reminder of the practice called “bibliomancy.”      

Bibliomancy—it means “divination by interpretation of a passage chosen at random from a book.” The word first shows up in the mid 18^th century, but the practice goes way back. You may have heard about people using the Bible in this way: letting the Bible fall open where it will, then expecting to find in the passages on that page hints about the future or some special guidance for their life. In even earlier days, folks used the classical poets Homer and Virgil in just the same way.        

What is valuable about this history for us Unitarian Universalists? Simply this: that throughout time we human beings have craved more insight into the future; we have longed for inspiration and affirmation. We may go about it differently now, but we are all connected, through time, in these human longings. And that’s a good thing.    

I certainly don’t believe that these random passages, whatever their source, can predict our future. But I do find that when my mind and heart need a spiritual lift, this game of opening at random to a page from a well-loved source can provide something to puzzle over, can send my thoughts off in a new direction, or can simply give me a good laugh. Those are good things, too!      

The other night, I thought I’d give it a try. So I picked up The Soul of Rumi: A New Collection of Ecstatic Poems, translated by Coleman Barks, and opened it at random. This is what I found—this poem called “The Taste”: 

A walnut kernel shaken against its shell makesa

delicate sound, but

the walnut taste and the sweet oil inside makes

unstruck music. Mystics

call the shell rattling talk; the other, the taste

of silence. We’ve been speaking

poetry and opening so-called secrets of soul growth

long enough. After

days of feasting, fast; after days of sleeping, stay

awake one night; after these

times of bitter storytelling, joking, and serious

considerations, we should

give ourselves two days between layers of baklava

in the quiet seclusion wheresoul sweetens and thrives more than with language.      

After all we’ve been doing, let’s remember to give ourselves time “between layers of baklava” for a change. After all the talk, a silence. After all the worry, hope. After all the doing, being…. Those are good things, too!

With my love,       
Nancy             

As We Build the Beloved Community …  

Welcome Home! 

Welcome home, dear friends! Whether you have been “away” in body or in spirit this summer, or whether you have been in worship every Sunday and on the job every week, we here at the First Unitarian Church of San José welcome you to a new beginning! We’ll launch our new church year with Homecoming Sunday on September 7, with worship at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. As we celebrate the imagination and the joy of community, we will “gather the waters” of our inner and outer journeys in our annual homecoming ritual and regather our hearts, minds, and spirits for the life we will share in the coming months. Do join us—and bring a friend!           

 My own mind, heart, and spirit are filled with hopes and plans for the year ahead. In our next newsletter, Rev. Geoff and I will share our goals for the year with you. But I can sum up our hopes and plans with the slogan Unitarian Universalists nationwide use to describe our communities: We will “nurture our spirits, and help to heal the world.”What does this mean? It means that here folks of all ages and backgrounds have a chance to learn and to grow, to make and to deepen friendships, to discover what we hold in common even as we marvel at our differences. Here we turn inward to comfort and hold each other, to learn to love ourselves and each other, and we turn outward to express our love for the world and all its creatures by taking a stand for justice and deep respect.           

Our “daily life” is the text that we study: Our children and youth are returning to school; we may be wrestling with big life decisions; friends and family may need our care. We worry about money, or we are giddy with love. We are grieving, or we are recovering from surgery or illness, or we are focused on “being the change we want to see.” Or maybe we are experiencing all of the above at once! Here we have the time and space to reflect on these life experiences; here we realize that we are never alone.           

And the wider world is the page on which we write our faith: This November’s election and its ballot issues will have a profound impact on all our lives, whether we are eligible to vote or not. Here we support each other as we find ways—individually and collectively—to stand up for what we hold most dear, honoring our differences and reveling in our common causes. We will bring some of these opportunities right into our sanctuary: Join us on Homecoming Sunday at 2 p.m. for an interfaith training session on how to defeat Proposition 8, the proposed state constitutional amendment that would eliminate equal-marriage rights for same-sex couples. Defeating this proposition will mark a victory for love and fairness, and that kind of victory enriches all our lives. Let’s make sure it happens!           

“Nurturing our spirits, helping to heal the world”—or, as we say in this congregation: Sí, se puede—yes, we can!           

Welcome home, dear friends, welcome home! 

Warmly, 
Nancy   

As We Build the Beloved Community …  

Announcing: The FUCSJ Summer Challenge! 

It’s here! The latest in “reality shows”! A dynamic, action-packed drama, filled with laughter, tears, sweat, and surprising turns. Broadcast in the prime time of summer downtime, across the airwaves of summer breezes, available around the world on your summer travels and right in your own living room. Prizes galore: New Friends! A Meaningful Life! A Better World! Starring: YOU! Enter now: it’s the “FUCSJ Summer Challenge!”

The Backstory: Conversations in recent weeks about First Unitarian’s budget for the coming year have prompted a rush of energy and inspiration. Lively contestants have offered input and leapt into action. The “producers” (your congregational leaders and ministers) are awash in gratitude for the care and commitment you bring to our Spiritual Cooperative! Now comes the REAL challenge!

A few months ago—before the “FUCSJ Summer Challenge!” was even a gleam in your minister’s eye—some of our producers (your Board of Directors), um, produced a draft of our “Ends Statements.” These Ends are statements about why we are here at the First Unitarian Church of San José, and what we are willing to give in order to fulfill our purpose. The “global” statement—both overarching and wide-reaching—goes like this:            

“Through our worship, education, service, fellowship, work for social justice, and stewardship, we build a loving compassionate multigenerational community that embodies our Unitarian Universalist values and that is multilingual, multicultural, multiracial, and anti-oppressive. We are willing to extend ourselves by giving our time, talent, and treasure to meet these expansive ends.”

The Challenge: How will YOU, the star of the show, bring this Ends Statement to life? This summer, we invite you to think about how you will accomplish these ends in the coming year!

The Possibilities:

·        How many people—people you haven’t been close to already—can you reach out to this summer, this year, to express your love for their unique selves, to offer compassion (which means to share their feelings), to comfort them (which means to share your strength), and to remind each other of how good it is to be alive?
·        How will you, this summer, this year, make a new friend who is not close to you in age? What will you learn from this new friend who is much younger or much older than you? How will you share with others what you learn?
·        How will you, this summer, this year, spend time with people who come from a different culture, race, or country than your own, with people whose first language is different than yours? Whom can you invite to dinner? What new friends can you make across these seeming boundaries?
·        What actions will you take, this summer, this year, for justice? Will you call our governor NOW to tell him you support equal marriage rights for same-sex couples? Will you show up for at least TWO social-justice events in the next six months?
·        How will you, this summer, this year, serve those most in need in our community? Will you help hand out food to the homeless with Food Not Bombs? Will you serve a meal at the Julian Street Inn?
·        How will you, this summer, this year, have fun and care for yourself? Will the activities listed above add joy to your life? Will you show up for the all-church campout or the fall retreat? Will you bring your precious self to Sunday services and small-group gatherings?

Be a Star! Join the Challenge! Take the Risk! Earn the Rewards!

And stay tuned to this channel, for news of the Ratings and the Results.  Happy Summer, My Friends! 

Warmly,
Nancy

As We Build the Beloved Community …  

Just an Ordinary Extraordinary Afternoon 

In mid April, my clergy group, the Sparks for Growth, spent our spring retreat on the Monterey Peninsula. We “Sparklers,” as we affectionately call each other, fill each of our two-day retreats with worship, check-in, and a varying program that allows us to dive deeply into some aspect of our congregational and ministerial lives. We learn from each other and from other teachers, and then we bring these learnings back to you. Knowing that at this April retreat many of us might feel just a wee bit weary, our “program” this time was a spacious afternoon to use as we wanted—to walk on the beach or into town, to nap, to read, but most of all, to contemplate two big questions: What is the purpose of my life? And how do I express this purpose through my ministry?          

Well! I had planned an invigorating walk along the coast, journal in hand, to be capped by an afternoon coffee in Pacific Grove. But lo and behold, I was too tired to battle the strong winds that day, so I drove partway to town. “No pushing,” I promised myself. In a sandy turnout, I parked the car and lay down on a bench where I could feel the sun warming my face. With my eyes closed, I could hear, to my right, the waves breaking offshore. To my left, I could hear the wind rustling through bushes, trees, and ice plant, and sometimes I could hear the thwack of a golf ball from the 18^th tee of the Pacific Grove Golf Course, which reminded me sweetly of my spouse. I lay there just listening and drifting, for half an hour.          

Later, I had walked only a few blocks toward town when I heard that inner voice say again, “No pushing!” So I turned back toward the car, and instantly my still-weary body was so grateful that I began to talk to the animals—to squirrels darting in and out of holes in the cliff, to birds drifting by. This talking-out-loud to animals is a longtime habit of mine and always a sure sign that spontaneity and joy are returning.

Still, the wind was fierce, a force to reckon with. On impulse I spread my arms out like wings, which somehow felt more natural than plodding along with my arms by my side. The ocean beckoned, so I climbed up on a rocky outcropping and spread my arms again. The wind blew me backward, made me hop on the rock. And suddenly, I knew with my whole being what it must feel like to be a bird! I could sense how, if I had feathers and a slightly different shape, the wind would lift me off the ground. I understood the kind of buffeting that birds must feel, the strength of the wind coursing along their bodies. It was a moment of transcendence.          

Just then, as if to say “yes” to my imaginary flight, a flock of pelicans rose from below the cliff, flying close by, at my level, as though to welcome me into their formation. I laughed and thanked them—and then clambered down to my car.           

So, what learnings do I bring back to you from this retreat? First, if we will listen to our bodies’ needs, often we will find our joy again, with “no pushing.” And if we will open ourselves to this world, we may sense our place in the interconnected web in ways we might never have imagined. What did I discover about my purpose in life? Ah, that’s a subject for another column—but it’s a great question, isn’t it? May you feel the wind beneath your wings as you consider it!

Warmly,
Nancy

City Councilmember Sam Liccardo, from our congregation’s District 3, asked me to offer the invocation for the City Council’s meeting last Tuesday, March 25. This is one of those honorary invitations, with both the inviter and the invitees rotating among the council members and the local clergy, respectively. Last year I was asked by Supervisor Blanca Alvarez to offer the invocation before a meeting of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, so I had some sense of what the procedure might be, even though the location and the specific audience were different. It’s always fascinating to step into this secular world of government, bringing our Unitarian Universalist message! Let me describe the experience for you.         

It was going to be a big day at the City Council; the agenda included more discussion of the controversy over naming a largely Vietnamese business section of our city “Little Saigon.” The council was expecting about 2,000 people to show up for that portion of the meeting, and although attendance was sparse as the meeting began at 1:30 p.m., special security measures were already in place, causing us all to walk a labyrinth of special hallways and elevators and doors and stairs to get into the council chambers. I was met by Sam’s assistant, Khan, and an intern from San José State, whose name escapes me at the moment (forgive me!); we had time for a warm and lively conversation. Then Sam came over and gave me a hug before taking his place on the dais, and we laughed about his last appearance in our sanctuary, in preparation for last Thanksgiving’s Turkey Trot. (I promised that we would bring more of a First Unitarian team to the Turkey Trot this coming year!) As the meeting began, he offered one of those lengthy introductions for me that’s kind of embarrassing, while I perched on the edge of my seat ready to trot up to the podium as soon as he paused.

The podium was facing out toward the audience on this afternoon, instead of toward the raised row of elected city officials. This was dismaying since I had written my invocation specifically to them, and now they would be sitting behind me, shuffling papers or nodding off or whatever they wanted to do while I “preached.” Because, yes, although I knew this pro-forma invocation was supposed to be short—still, if you know me, you won’t be surprised that I offered what I felt called to offer, and damn any limitations on length. This meant that I had to summon up reserves of determination when I hit the fourth paragraph or so and was faced with the distractions of aides and assistants who began to walk about and talk, not even sotto voce, amongst themselves, mere feet away from me. I wondered if the mayor had some prearranged signal that set them in motion, to give invokers a clue that they should draw their invocation quickly to a close! Nevertheless, I stayed the course to the end of my message, after which the mayor immediately asked, in a monotone, that we rise and face the flag (which, again, was behind everyone) for the Pledge of Allegiance—and then I beat a hasty retreat.         

Here is the invocation I offered, followed by the few “responses” it received. I hope you enjoy! 

Invocation: 

Good afternoon! I want to thank Councilmember Sam Liccardo for inviting me here today, and I want to thank each and every one of you, our mayor and city council members—because, although you are sitting behind me today, I am speaking directly to you!—and I want to thank you all for serving this city that we love. Would you join me now for a brief meditation? 

I invite you to do something radical. I invite you to sit comfortably, and breathe deeply, and in your mind, to get up on the balcony, where we can see, once again, what we are truly called to be and to do. Teachers Ron Heifetz from Harvard and Gil Rendl from the Alban Institute remind us that there is a difference between being a manager and being a leader. Our jobs—yours and mine—ask us to be both.

As managers, we help to define problems, to consider possible solutions, to pick the best one available, and to take action. As managers, we ask ourselves, How do we fix this? … and then we delegate the fixing. But ultimately we are judged based on how smoothly things are running. Managing is a good and important part of our jobs.

But we are also called to be leaders, and as leaders, we face problems where the possible solutions are not clear, where even the problem itself may be hard to define. In the face of such challenges, we must enter into a wilderness of not-knowing, a terrain where the future is not certain and the Promised Land may seem very far away. As leaders, we must ask ourselves—and those we serve—not “how do we fix this?” but what do we need to learn? Whom do we need to listen to? How do we need to grow? What do we need to learn? As leaders, we hold our people in the questions, we inspire them to participate in creating change, we model the faith that we can get where we long to go, and we stay in the wilderness alongside our people, learning and growing and changing with them. For my friends, servants of this city, you and I are in the business of transformation, and ultimately we will be judged based on how much we and those we serve have learned, on how much we have all been transformed in the direction of more life.  

May you have the courage to set yourselves free from old ways of thinking, to enter into the wilderness of transformational change, and to be the leaders that the citizens of this beautiful city have called you to be. Shalom, salaam, amen, and blessed be. 

Responses: 

One policewoman caught me as I hurried out the door of the council chambers, saying sincerely, “Thank you for your message”; down the hallway, a security guard turned from an animated conversation he was already engaged in, to add his thanks, too. It was moving to feel that these folks had heard some words that meant something to them; we never know who our real audience is, do we?         

Later that night, I showed the invocation to my spouse Kevin. Kevin, having been in government for over twenty years before becoming a minister himself, is a tough critic in these situations—so I didn’t show it to him until after I had delivered it! He chuckled a little and said gently, “Gosh, you were giving them a lot of things to do.” And then he explained, paraphrasing the words of a famously short blessing before a meal: “Well, you know, they were expecting ‘God is great, God is good, now we thank God for this City Council’—and then you gave them a sermon.”

Yep! I know. Oh well!         

Councilmember Sam Liccardo’s thank-you note was more reassuring and very kind. After some adjectives of the kind that every minister really does want to hear, here’s the part that means the most to all of us: “I loved the emphasis on leadership and learning and growth,” he wrote—he was listening! (did he write the note while he was still up there on the dais?)—and he went on, “You’ve inspired me to re-read Heifetz! … Please let me know if and how I can be of any use.” Thanks again, Sam!         

And that, my friends, is a little window onto one part of a day-in-the-life of a minister. Thanks for visiting my blog!

Leading Our Congregations into a Multiracial, Multicultural Future:
Now Is the Time!
Saturday Morning MeditationLed by Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones
Double Tree Hotel, San José, California
February 23, 2008

Ringing of the Bell

Centering Practice

Learning    Spanish Lyrics for Two Familiar Songs 

                     (Translations by Ervin Barrios)       Rev. Marta Valentín-Chase

Chalice Lighting                words of Howard Thurman

We must proclaim the truth that all life is one

and that we are all of us tied together.

[Each of us] is made for one another.

 *Singing     Fuente de Amor (Spirit of Life)

Fuente de Amor, ven hacia mí.

Y al corazón, cántale tu compasión.

Sopla al volar, sube en la mar,

hasta moldear la justicia de la vida.

Arráigame, libérame,

Fuente de Amor, ven a mí, ven a mí.

Reflection                                 Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones

Fuente de Amor, ven a mí, ven a mí.

            Almost every Sunday during my first year here in San José, at some point during our 9:30 Spanish-language service, I would begin to cry. I was crying for joy because I had been longing to be immersed in a multicultural, multiracial community ever since my childhood in San Antonio, Texas. Growing up and learning to be white there in the 1950s and 1960s was like being encased in a bell jar: I could see the potential for Beloved Community all around me, but I couldn’t reach it; I could see the friends, or the almost-friends, but I couldn’t wrap my arms around them or be hugged in return, and whenever we would begin to share our stories, the bell jar would descend again and cut us off. So the first year here in San José, I was crying because in those 9:30 services I was immersed in multicultural, multiracial hugs and I was surrounded by stories, and I was crying because, for this and many other reasons, the First Unitarian Church of San José is my dream congregation, and by grace, I have been called to serve them.

            I was also crying for joy because of the revelation of hearing Unitarian Universalism in another language. Here was our message, our faith, embodied in folks from so many different countries and cultures—and it works! There is hope and salvation and freedom and meaning in Unitarian Universalism across language and cultural boundaries, and we don’t have to go overseas to experience that. Hallelujah!

            And I was crying in frustration because my brain was frying. I could almost-but-not-really make sense of the Spanish that was streaming into one ear, which made it tough to grasp the English coming in the other through the headset. I could read my then-once-a-month (now twice-a-month) Spanish sermon but I couldn’t ad lib, which is like wearing a straitjacket while preaching. Sometimes I would read it well enough that folks would come up to me afterward, speaking to me as though I were fluent, sharing intimate stories that I couldn’t really understand. It was my own mini-experience of what it must feel like to be a non-English-speaking immigrant to the United States. I felt ashamed—too ashamed, at first, to ask people to speak more slowly or to speak in English, if possible. And I felt unworthy. Did I deserve to be there, after all?

            And finally I was crying in fear because, in my culture, success is measured by size, and our Spanish-language services are small. Because of cultural differences around time, and because the Spanish service is early in the morning, sometimes we start the service with just Roberto and me and our pianist Gildardo and two other people in the sanctuary. There are more people by the time we get to the sermon, but not tons more. Why is it so small? Were we going to fail on my watch, I asked myself in that first year.

            We are talking about stories this weekend, and about how stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end (before they merge into new stories, with another beginning, middle, and end—they never really “end,” I believe). Maybe the story of those tears of joy and fear and frustration, the story of the struggle and the confusion and the longing that are wrapped up in coming face to face with our different languages (in every sense)—maybe this is a good image for the beginning of the story when it comes to creating a multiracial, multicultural future. Just two and a half years later, First Unitarian of San José and I are already deep into the middle of our story, and those of you who can come to our worship service at 9:30 tomorrow [Sunday, February 24, 2008] will experience some of that. I hope you’ll tell us what you see.

Just recently Unitarian Universalist minister and Alban Institute presenter Larry Peers offered a group of clergy a new tool for telling our congregational stories when we are striving to partner our congregations in transformational change. Larry invites us to leap ahead and “visit” the end of the story of that change. When we really are the Beloved Community, what will it be like? We’ll all experience a new way of being. Describe it, Larry challenges us. What will our mood be? How will we talk to each other? What will our bodies feel like, look like in this Beloved Community? And what will be the results of that shared new way of being? Let our mind and heart play, let imagination soar, let Spirit enter in—and describe it in great detail! Then, look back from that “happy ending” and tell the story of some of the obstacles we had to overcome, tell the story of some the celebrations we had along the way.
         Suddenly, we are not looking up at the huge mountain of change, with the path upward almost indiscernible and the obstacles looming huge and seemingly insurmountable before us. Instead, we are looking down from the mountaintop, and there are those same obstacles, but now they don’t seem insurmountable because we’ve imagined ourselves past them, and the story begins to unfold about how we “did” it, about how we can do it, and the path becomes brighter and clearer.

You can read what I saw when I did this exercise on my blog, which you can get to through our website: www.sanjoseuu.org. I hope you will—actually, I beg you to, because you will be able to see more than I can, and part of the point of our being together here in San José is that we can share in new visions, new solutions, new partnerships.

            Let me offer one more thing. The folks who did the congregational study on which these books are based—United by Faith, Against All Odds, and People of the Dream—with whom Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis [the keynote speaker for the Now Is the Time conference] worked, tell us that there are four things that intentionally multiracial, multidimensional congregations have in common. Here they are:

            First, intentionally multicultural, multiracial congregations express their commitment to racial and cultural equity explicitly. As one Baptist church in Texas launched into this process, they created a new mission statement that says they are “God’s multiethnic bridge, drawing all people to Jesus …”.[1] And their logo is a cross with the words for “love” written in many different languages around its edges, and then in a circle encompassing the whole thing, it says, “Love in any language fluently spoken here.” “Love in any language fluently spoken here.” I know—it’s perfect, isn’t it? How might we translate such an explicit vision and logo into Unitarian Universalist language?

Second, all of the successful multicultural, multiracial congregations have “a common purpose that supercedes racial [and cultural] equity.” In other words, becoming multicultural and multiracial is not an end in itself but is a means to a greater end. We become intentionally multiracial not because it would make us feel good but because we understand that we must be multicultural and multiracial in order to live out our faith.

Third, becoming multicultural and multiracial takes reaching out to the surrounding community. Duh! When we at the First Unitarian Church walk out into the neighborhood for La Posada every December, our neighbors peer out their windows, and some join our procession! Who are these Latino and white people walking and singing together in the traditions of our country? our neighbors seem to be asking. We are participating in more and more of these community-inclusive events. Now we need to ask, How many more ways can we reach out?

Fourth, multicultural and multiracial congregations engage in an ongoing process of education and reflection as they confront the internal barriers of racism and culturalism that we have all been given. And this is what we’ve been doing here at this conference, and what I’ve tried to do as I began this reflection.

So: how do we become intentionally multicultural, multiracial congregations? By making our intention explicit and visible. By understanding that being multicultural and multiracial serves the larger calling of our faith. By engaging with our community. And by being open and honest about the struggles that being multicultural and multiracial entails.

Wherever we are in the story, we can begin right here and now. We can embody how each of us is “made for one another.” Then we can sing “Ven, ven, cual eres, ven”—Come, come, whoever you are—with authenticity, with confidence, y llenos del Espíritu de Amor—and full of the Spirit of Life.

May we do that now?
*Singing    Ven, ven, cual eres, ven                      (Come, Come, Whoever You Are)      
2x in unison, then 3x as a round
Ven, ven, cual eres, ven, nómada en búsqueda, si amas la vida. La nuestra es la caravana de amor. Ven, otra vez ven.

[1] The quotations in this section come from Emerson, Michael O. with Rodney M. Woo, People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2006.

Dirigiendo Nuestras Congregaciones Hacia un Futuro Multirracial y Multicultural
Ahora es el Momento!
Meditación del Sábado por la Mañana
Dirigido por la Rev. Nancy Palmer JonesHotel
Double Tree, San José, California
23 de February de 2008

Toque de Campana

Práctica de Meditación

Aprendiendo    Letra en Español para Dos Cantos Conocidos

                     (Traducciones por Ervin Barrios)       Rev. Marta Valentín-Chase

Encendiendo el Cáliz             Letra de Howard Thurman

Debemos proclamar la verdad de que toda la vida es una sola

Y que todos nosotros estamos atados juntos.

[Cada uno de nosotros] estamos hechos el uno para el otro.

 *Canto     Fuente de Amor (Spirit of Life)

Fuente de Amor, ven hacia mí.

Y al corazón, cántale tu compasión.

Sopla al volar, sube en la mar,

hasta moldear la justicia de la vida.

Arráigame, libérame,

Fuente de Amor, ven a mí, ven a mí.

Reflexión                                 Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones

Fuente de Amor, ven a mí, ven a mí.

            Casi cada domingo durante mi primer año aquí en San José, en algún momento de nuestro servicio en español a las 9:30, yo comenzaba a llorar. Lloraba de gozo porque yo había deseado estar inmersa en una comunidad multicultural y multirracial desde mi infancia in San Antonio, Texas. Cuando crecí y aprendí a ser blanca allá, en la década de los 1950s y 1960s era como estar encasillada en una campana de vidrio: yo podía ver el potencial; de tener una Comunidad Amada alrededor de mí, pero no podía alcanzarla; podía ver a los amigos, o casi amigos, pero no podía abrazarlos ni ser abrazada por ellos, y siempre que comenzábamos a compartir nuestras historias, la campana de vidrio bajaba otra vez y nos separaba de nuevo. Así que mi primer año aquí en San José, yo lloraba porque en esos servicios de las 9:30 yo estaba inmersa en abrazos multiculturales, multirraciales y estaba rodeada de historias, y lloraba porque, por ésta y por muchas otras razones, la primera Iglesia Unitaria de San José es mi congregación soñada, y por gracia, he sido invitada a servirles.            También lloraba de gozo por la revelación de escuchar el unitario universalismo en otro idioma. Veía nuestro mensaje, nuestra fe, personificada en individuos de tantos países y culturas diferentes—y funciona muy bien! Hay esperanza y salvación y libertad y significado en el Unitario Universalismo más allá de las barreras culturales y lingüísticas; y no tenemos que ir al extranjero para vivir esa experiencia. Aleluya!Y lloraba de frustración porque mi cerebro se me consumía. Yo podía casi, pero no completamente hacer sentido del español que me entraba por un oído, lo cual hacía difícil entender el inglés que me llegaba al otro oído a través del audífono. Yo podía leer entonces mi sermón en español una vez al mes (no dos veces por mes), pero no podía improvisar, lo cual es como tener una camisa de fuerza mientras uno predica. Algunas veces podía leerlo bastante bien de manera que algunas personas se acercaban a mí después del servicio, hablándome como si yo tuviera fluidez, compartiendo conmigo historias íntimas que yo no podía realmente comprender. Esa era mi propia mini-experiencia de cómo se debe sentir un inmigrante que no habla inglés en los Estados Unidos. Me sentía avergonzada, al principio, de pedirles a las personas que hablaran más lento o que hablaran en inglés si fuera posible. Y me sentía indigna. ¿Era yo digna de estar allí, después de todo?            Y finalmente lloraba por temor, en mi cultura, el éxito se mide en tamaño, y nuestros servicios en español son pequeños. Dadas las diferencias culturales en cuanto al tiempo, y puesto que los servicios en español son temprano por la mañana, a veces comenzamos el servicio solamente con Roberto y yo y nuestro pianista, Gildardo, y otras dos personas más en el santuario. Hay más personas para cuando comenzamos con el sermón, pero no tantas. ¿Porqué es un grupo pequeño? ¿Vamos a fracasar mientras yo estoy aquí? me preguntaba en ese primer año.

            Estamos hablando de historias este fin de semana, y de cómo las historias tienen un comienzo, un centro y un final (antes que se fundan con otras historias, con otro comienzo, centro y final—nunca se acaban realmente, yo creo). Quizá la historia de esas lágrimas de gozo y temor y frustración, la historia de la lucha y la confusión y el anhelo que las envuelve al enfrentarse con nuestros diferentes idiomas (en todos los sentidos)—quizá ésta sea una buena imagen para el comienzo de la historia cuando se trata de crear un futuro multirracial y multicultural. Solamente dos años y medio más tarde, la Primera Iglesia Unitaria de San José y yo estamos ya en el centro de nuestra historia, y aquellos de ustedes que puedan venir a nuestro servicio a las 9:30 de la mañana (Domingo, 24 de Febrero de 2008) experimentarán algo de eso. Espero que nos comenten lo que vean.

Recientemente el ministro unitario universalista y presentador del Instituto Alban, el Rev. Larry Peers, ofreció a un grupo de ministros, una nueva herramienta para contar nuestras historias de las congregaciones cuando estemos tratando de acompañar a nuestras congregaciones en un cambio transformador. Larry nos invita a dar un brinco y adelantarnos en el tiempo y “visitar” el final de la historia de ese cambio. Cuando seamos realmente la Comunidad Amada, ¿cómo será? Todos nosotros experimentaremos una nueva forma de ser. Descríbanlo, nos reta Larry. ¿Cuál será nuestro humor? ¿Cómo nos hablaremos unos a otros? ¿Cómo se sentirán y se verán nuestros cuerpos en esa Comunidad Amada?  ¿Y cuáles serán los resultados de esa nueva forma compartida de ser? Dejemos que nuestra mente y nuestro corazón jueguen, dejen volar la imaginación, dejen que entre el Espíritu—y descríbanlo en gran detalle! Luego, miren hacia atrás desde ese “final feliz” y cuenten la historia de algunos de los obstáculos que tuvimos que vencer, cuenten la historia de algunas celebraciones que tuvimos durante la jornada.De pronto, ya no estamos enfrentándonos a una enorme montaña de cambio, con el camino empinado casi indetectable y los obstáculos amenazantes y casi invencibles ante nosotros. En cambio, estamos viendo hacia abajo, desde la cima de la montaña, y allí están esos mismos obstáculos, pero ahora no parecen invencibles porque nos hemos imaginado que los hemos pasado, y la historia comienza a narrarse sobre cómo lo hicimos, sobre cómo podemos hacerlo, y el camino se vuelve más brillante y más claro.Ustedes pueden leer lo que yo vi cuando hice este ejercicio, en mi blog, al cual pueden entrar desde nuestro sitio web: www.sanjoseuu.org. Espero que ustedes lo hagan, se los ruego, porque podrán ver más de lo que yo puedo ver, y parte del objetivo de estar juntos aquí en San José, es que podamos compartir nuevas visiones, nuevas soluciones, nuevos compañerismos.            Permítanme ofrecer una cosa más. Las personas que hicieron el estudio de congregaciones sobre las que se basan estos libros—Unidos por la Fe, Contra Viento y Marea, y Gente del Sueño (United by Faith, Against All Odds, and People of the Dream)—con quienes la Rev. Dra. Jacqui Lewis [la oradora  principal para la conferencia Ahora es el Tiempo] trabajó, nos dicen que existen cuatro cosas que las congregaciones intencionalmente multirraciales, multidimensionales tienen en común. Aquí están:             Primera, las congregaciones intencionalmente multiculturales y multirraciales expresan su compromiso con una igualdad racial y cultural de manera explícita. Cuando una iglesia bautista en Texas se lanzó a este proceso, ellos crearon una nueva declaración de su misión que dice que ellos son “El puente multiétnico de Dios, que atrae a toda la gente hacia Jesús…”.[1] Y su símbolo es una cruz con las palabras para ‘amor’ escritas en muchos idiomas diferentes alrededor de sus orillas, y luego en un círculo que encierra todo el logotipo, dice, “El amor en cualquier lengua, se habla de manera fluida aquí” Yo sé—es perfecto, ¿no? ¿Cómo podríamos traducir dicha visión explícita y su logotipo a un idioma unitario universalista?Segunda, todas las congregaciones multiculturales y multirraciales que han tenido éxito, tienen “un propósito común que sobrepasa la igualdad racial [y cultural]”. En otras palabras, el convertirse en multicultural y multirracial no es en sí una meta, sino que es un medio para alcanzar un final más grande. Nos convertimos en una congregación intencionalmente multirracial, no porque nos haga sentir mejor sino porque comprendemos que debemos ser multicultural y multirracial para poder vivir de manera honesta nuestra fe.Tercera, el convertirse en una congregación multicultural y multirracial, involucra el alcance de nuestra comunidad que nos rodea. ¡Claro! Cuando los miembro de la Primera Iglesia Unitaria caminamos durante La Posada cada diciembre, nuestros vecinos se asoman por las ventanas, ¡y algunos se unen a nuestra procesión! ¿Quiénes son estos latinos y blancos que van caminando y cantando juntos en las tradiciones de nuestro país? parecen preguntarse nuestros vecinos. Estamos participando en más y más de estos eventos incluyentes de la comunidad. Ahora necesitamos preguntarnos, ¿En cuántas maneras más podemos alcanzar la comunidad?Cuarta, las congregaciones multiculturales y multirraciales participan en un proceso constante de educación y reflexión al mismo tiempo que confrontan las barreras internas de racismo y culturalismo que hemos heredado. Y esto es lo que hemos estado haciendo aquí en esta conferencia, y lo que he tratado de hacer cuando comencé esta reflexión.Entonces: ¿Cómo nos convertimos en congregaciones intencionalmente multiculturales y multirraciales? Haciendo nuestra intención explícita y visible. Comprendiendo que el ser multiculturales y multirraciales sirve al llamado más grande de nuestra fe. Involucrándonos con nuestra comunidad. Y siendo abiertos y honestos sobre la lucha que implica el ser multicultural y multirracial.Donde sea que estemos en la historia, podemos comenzar aquí y ahora. Podemos personificar como cada uno de nosotros “está hecho para los demás”. Entonces podemos cantar “Ven, ven, cual eres, ven”—Come, come, whoever you are—de manera auténtica, con confianza, y llenos del Espíritu de Amor—and full of the Spirit of Life.¿ Podemos hacer eso ahora? 
*Canto    Ven, ven, cual eres, ven                      (Come, Come, Whoever You Are)      
2 veces en unísono, luego 3 veces en canon.
Ven, ven, cual eres, ven, nómada en búsqueda, si amas la vida. La nuestra es la caravana de amor. Ven, otra vez ven. 

[1] Las citas en esta sección provienen de Emerson, Michael O. con Rodney M. Woo, People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2006.

Back-to-Back Beautiful Days at FUCSJ! 

My heart overflows with gratitude. Truly we embodied the Beloved Community on Sunday, February 24, and Monday, February 25. How this community has been shining!

Let me try to capture the essence of what you created:
On Sunday morning, February 24, at both the 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. services, you demonstrated the depth and breadth of your hospitality as we hosted special guests from all around the country. At our 9:30 service, 50 Unitarian Universalist guests from the Now Is the Time conference (Leading Our Congregations into a Multiracial, Multicultural Future) shared in our Spanish service, with English translation provided (truly spontaneously!) by Laura Diaz Shadeed. The choir sang two gorgeous pieces, which they offered at 11 a.m. too. Ervin Barrios told the story of the Exodus in a vastly entertaining way (the “Hollywood version,” as he quipped); Rodrigo Garcia read a portion of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech as though he were a Spanish-speaking King himself; and Roberto Padilla preached such a magnificent sermon that folks from the Unitarian Universalist Association offices in Boston and in Washington, D.C., have asked for copies of it in both English and Spanish. You can read Roberto’s sermon by going to our homepage at www.sanjoseuu.org, then scroll down to “blog” beside Roberto’s picture. Once you get to the blog, you will find the English version of the sermon below the Spanish.          

I was honored to open and close the service, as well as to offer Saturday morning’s worship to the conference itself that weekend (you can read that homily by going to my blog from our homepage, too). Our amazing members who regularly attend the 9:30 service surprised us all with a delicious brunch during the Social Hour following the 9:30 service. This thoughtful Latin-style generosity was moving to everyone: Wow!

Our UU guests came away moved to tears by the service and your hospitality, inspired and enlivened in their vision of Unitarian Universalism. One Puertoriqueña minister-in-the-making said that attending this service fulfilled a lifelong dream of hers to be able to worship in her own faith in her native language. The questions and comments that Roberto and I received when we returned to the conference afterward were overflowing with admiration and affirmation. We feel so fortunate that the UUA chose to locate the conference in San José this year, so that attendees could experience our Spanish-Speaking Ministries. We here at FUCSJ have been promised more support of every kind, as a result.          

At 11:00 a.m. on that Sunday, you offered a warm welcome to friend and colleague Rev. Steve Crump, who shared stories of serving the folks most affected by the Gulf Coast disasters and created more visions of Radical Hospitality. Thank you for giving our guest preacher a sense of homecoming.          

Then, on Monday evening, February 25, our PACT (People Acting in Community Together) Local Organizing Committee simply took our breath away with what was, as moderator-extraordinaire Patti Massey said, a “Green Vision Love Fest.” The sanctuary was packed with folks from our own congregation—thank you, thank you!—along with guests galore. Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmember Forrest Williams truly seemed to enjoy themselves, and we know (from the difference between earlier versions of the mayor’s responses vs. the more positive ones that we received from him at the event) that we have already made a difference in the mayor’s plans for Greening San José. The Peace Chorale sang gloriously from our front steps before the event—let’s do THAT more often—and Ad Hoc, with Lisa Hettler-Smith singing the lead, brought “We Are” to life. The PACT credential from Bob Miess, the research report from Doug Reid, the time-keeping by Melanie Lanstrom, the testimonials from Carol Stephenson, Ben and Benji Cadena, Sra. Marquez, and the amazing Third Street Community Center youth, the questions posed by Lisa Hettler-Smith, Diana Wirt, Mary Idso, and Michael Pelizzari, along with some rousing congregational singing (“Let’s be seen, All Ways Green, San José!”—thank you, Genie Bernardini!), energized us as we worked not only for environmental sustainability but for environmental justice as well. Marla Scharf closed out the evening with a beautiful prayer. Diana Wirt and Carol Stephenson were interviewed by the press (did you see us featured prominently in that Sunday’s Mercury News?); Mary Martin wrote the brilliant skit performed the day before; Bill Ardrey, Lloyd Eater, Nancy Hada, Jeff Norment, Robin Goka, and others also served on the PACT LOC; whole Small Group Ministry groups came to the event instead of holding their Monday night meeting; and truly a cast of “thousands” made it all happen. Our endless thanks go to our amazing PACT facilitator, Karen Belote, who taught us how to pull it off so beautifully; we couldn’t have done it without you, Karen!          

To all of you who generously contributed your time and vast creative talents to make these events the beautiful expression of our Unitarian Universalist faith that they were, thank you!

To all of you who were able to be present for one or more of these special moments in our life together, thank you!           

To all of you who could not make it but who sent a special thought our way, and to all who contribute to this community simply by being its members and friends, thank you!

In a sermon at the beginning of this church year, I reminded us of what “Beloved Community” really means (you can read that sermon on our website, too). In two back-to-back glorious days, you embodied this rare and beautiful thing for our wider community. Bravo, First Unitarian—bravo! 

With warmth and gratitude, 
Nancy

Mientras Construimos nuestra Amada Comunidad…  

¡Evento tras Evento, Hermosos Días en FUCSJ! 

Mi corazón desborda de gratitud. Verdaderamente personificamos una querida comunidad el domingo 24 y el lunes 25 de febrero. ¡Cómo esta comunidad ha estado brillando!  Déjeme intentar capturar la esencia de lo que ustedes crearon:  

El la mañana del domingo 24 de febrero, en ambos servicios a las 9:30 y 11:00 de la mañana, ustedes demostraron la amplitud y profundidad de su hospitalidad mientras que recibimos a nuestros huéspedes especiales de alrededor del país. En nuestro servicio de 9:30, 50 Unitarios Universalistas de la conferencia Ahora es el Tiempo (que conduce a nuestras congregaciones a un futuro Multirracial, Multicultural) compartieron nuestro servicio en español, con traducción al inglés proporcionada (verdaderamente en forma espontánea!) por Laura Díaz Shadeed. El coro cantó dos piezas magníficas, las cuales cantaron  también a las 11 de la mañana. Ervin Barrios contó la historia del éxodo de una manera sumamente entretenida (la “versión de Hollywood,” como él bromeo); Rodrigo García leyó una fracción de “Yo Tengo un Sueño del Dr. Martin Luther King”, un discurso como si él fuera King mismo hablando en español y Roberto Padilla predicó un sermón tan magnífico que la gente de las oficinas de la Asociación Unitaria Universalista en Boston y en Washington, D.C., le han pedido copias del mismo en inglés y en español. Ustedes pueden leer el sermón de Roberto yendo a nuestra pagina de Internet  en www.sanjoseuu.org, entonces vaya al “blog” al lado del retrato de Roberto. Una vez que usted ingrese al blog, usted encontrará la versión inglesa del sermón debajo de la versión en español. 

Yo fui honrada  en abrir y cerrar el servicio, así como de ofrecer el servicio religioso el sábado por la mañana en la  conferencia de ese mismo fin de semana (ustedes pueden leer esa homilía yendo a mi blog en nuestra página de Internet también). Nuestros maravillosos miembros que acuden regularmente al servicio de 9:30 nos sorprendieron a todos con un delicioso almuerzo durante la hora social que siguió al servicio de las 9:30. Esta generosidad al estilo Latino nos conmovió a todos: ¡Wow! 

Nuestros huéspedes UU que vinieron de tan lejos se conmovieron hasta las lágrimas por el servicio y la hospitalidad, inspirado y animado en su visión Unitaria Universalista. Una ministra Puertorriqueña dijo que acudir a este servicio satisfizo un sueño que siempre había tenido, el de poder asistir a un servicio de su propia fe en su lengua materna. Las preguntas y los comentarios que Roberto y yo recibimos cuando volvimos a la conferencia desbordaban de admiración y afirmación. Nos sentimos tan afortunados de que la UUA haya elegido realizar la conferencia en San José este año, de modo que los asistentes pudieran tener la experiencia de nuestros ministerios de habla hispana. En consecuencia,  han prometido más ayuda de toda clase a la  FUCSJ. 

A las11:00 mañana de ese domingo, ustedes ofrecieron una calurosa recepción al amigo y colega el Rev. Steve Crump, quien compartió historias de servicio de la gente más afectada por los desastres de la costa del Golfo y creó más visiones de la hospitalidad radical. Gracias por darle a nuestro predicador huésped la sensación de estar en casa. 

Entonces, el la tarde del lunes 25 de febrero, nuestro comité de organización local de PACT (Gente que Actúa Junta en Comunidad) simplemente nos corto la respiración de la emoción; como extraordinaria moderadora Patti Massey dijo, una “Visión Verde un Festín de Amor.” ¡El santuario fue abarrotado con gente de nuestra propia congregación-gracias, muchas gracias! – junto con abundantes invitados. El Alcalde Chuck Reed y Forrest Williams, miembro del concilio de la ciudad,  se veían que verdaderamente lo estaban disfrutando, y nosotros sabemos (la diferencia entre las anteriores versiones de las respuestas del alcalde contra las más positivas que nosotros recibimos de él en el acontecimiento) que ya hemos hecho la diferencia  en los planes del alcalde para hacer verde a San José. El Coro de la Paz cantó gloriosamente en los escalones de la entrada antes del evento-déjenos hacer ESTO más a menudo-y estuvo ad Hoc, con Lisa Hettler-Smith como líder cantando,  “nosotros Somos”  la vida. Bob Miess con credencial de PACT, el informe de la investigación de Doug Reid, Melanie Lanstrom con el control del tiempo, los testimoniales de Carol Stephenson, Ben y Benji Cadena, la Sra. Márquez y la asombrosa juventud del Centro Comunitario de la Calle Tercera, las preguntas planteadas por Lisa Hettler-Smith, Diana Wirt, Maria Idso, y Michael Pelizzari, junto con algunos inspirados cantos congregacionales (“Déjanos estar viendo, todos los Caminos Verdes, San José! ” -gracias, Genie Bernardini!), energizados de como trabajamos no sólo para la sostenibilidad ambiental sino por la justicia ambiental también. Marla Scharf cerró la tarde con un rezo hermoso. Diana Wirt y Carol Stephenson fueron entrevistadas por la prensa (usted nos vio presentarnos prominente en las noticias del Mercury News ese domingo?); Mary Martin escribió el brillante relato realizado un día antes; Bill Ardrey, Lloyd Eater, Nancy Hada, Jeff Norment, Robin Goka, y otros, también ayudaron en el evento  de PACT; todos los integrantes de los ministerios de pequeños grupos vinieron al evento en vez de celebrar su reunión del lunes por la noche; y verdaderamente un reparto de “miles” hizo verdad que todo lo que sucedió. Nuestras infinitas gracias van para nuestra asombrosa facilitadota de PACT, Karen Belote, que nos enseñó cómo llevarlo tan maravillosamente; ¡no habríamos podido hacerlo sin usted, Karen! 

¡A todos ustedes quienes generosamente contribuyeron con su tiempo y sus grandes talentos creativos para hacer de estos acontecimientos la hermosa expresión de nuestra fe Unitaria Universalista lo que fueron, Gracias!  

¡A todos ustedes que pudieron estar presentes en uno o más de estos especiales momentos en nuestras vidas juntos, ¡Gracias! 

A todos Ustedes que no pudieron hacerlo pero que nos enviaron sus buenos pensamientos y a todos los que contribuyen con esta comunidad simplemente siendo sus miembros y amigos, ¡Gracias! 

En un sermón al principio de este año eclesiástico, les recode lo que significa realmente “querida comunidad” (usted puede leer ese sermón en nuestra hoja de Internet, también). En dos días gloriosos uno tras otro, ustedes personificaron esta cosa rara y hermosa para todo el resto de nuestra comunidad. ¡Bravo, Primera Iglesia Unitaria-bravo!

Calurosamente,
Nancy

Being the Change We Want to See—Part II 

In our most recent newsletter (and my most recent blog entry), I mapped out an approach to transformational change that Rev. Dr. Larry Peers introduced to Unitarian Universalist clergy in January. We begin by imagining our “way of being” once the change has been made: What kind of language will we be using with each other? What is our posture, how do our bodies feel? And what is our mood? Then, we picture the results of this change, describing them in as much detail as we can. And finally, we tell a story about the obstacles we faced and the joys we celebrated as we made our journey through this “sacred shift.”

When we begin the process of transformational change with this view “from the mountaintop,” we discover all sorts of gifts: Just by imagining it, we are already beginning to get the new way of being into our heart and body. When we see obstacles from the point of view of having already overcome them, we can imagine solutions to them that might not be so clear if we’re only looking at them from the “valley,” where those same obstacles may appear overwhelming. When we recognize that we will always have much to celebrate even in the midst of change, we can enter into the process with energy and joy, as well as with love and appreciation for our companions along the way.

When we clergy had the chance to apply this approach to an area of transformational change that we would love to see in our communities, I chose to focus on “The Sacred Shift to an Intentionally Multiracial, Multicultural Beloved Community of Faith.” Surprised? Probably not! Still, before I began, I thought, “I don’t know what this kind of congregation looks like. Most people say it’s not possible. How in the world do we get there?” But then, I set my imagination free, I gave myself permission to play, I allowed some Spirit to enter in … and here is what showed up:

What does our new way of being look like, now that we are a multiracial, multicultural Beloved Community of faith? Time and again, we hear each other saying: “I love how we’re the same and how we’re different! Our lives are so much richer because we are all here together! I love you!” The mood of the whole congregation is joyful, passionate, full of wonder and enthusiasm, and loving, in the bell hooks/Scott Peck definition of love as the “will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one’s own and another’s spiritual growth.” We can see the change in our own body and in the posture of the congregation as a whole: our bodies are open, flexible, fluid; we make expansive, embracing gestures, and we’re all “mixed up” together.

What are the results of this sacred shift? Families from all cultures have a variety of activities to choose from in order to nurture their spiritual growth. For instance, we have a two-hour religious education program on Sunday mornings, with lots of options for people of all ages. People come for an hour of religious education and an hour of worship; some come to both worship services. People show up for Social Hour between the two services so that they can see new and old friends. All our social justice activities and social events embrace folks from a variety of cultures, “races,” and backgrounds. The church is thriving so we are able to grow our staff to include more “races” and ethnicities. Other churches want to learn from us how we became this Beloved Community—so we publish a book about our story! Besides the increasing joy and compassion that are palpable within the congregation—besides the difference we know we are making in each other’s lives—the whole community of San José listens when the First Unitarian Church of San José speaks.

What were some of the obstacles along the way, and how did we overcome them? People really hated the idea of spending two to three hours at church every Sunday. Folks who grew up with the Catholic model of the “drive-by” mass were particularly shocked. But gradually, as folks of all ages tried it and as our religious education offerings became more responsive to the needs of our diverse people, folks started to form friendships and to love what they were learning, and then they couldn’t wait for Sundays to come. At first, some congregants were terrified of inviting people from a different culture or “race” over to their homes for social events. How would they understand each other? What would they talk about? Wouldn’t it be a lot of work? But some Circles of Eight dinner groups began issuing intentionally cross-cultural invitations, their participants all took some risks to find common ground, and eventually, rumors of the richness that resulted spread, inspiring others to do the same. At first some folks got bogged down in guilt—guilt about the privileges they had inherited, about feelings of discomfort or fear, about whether they could participate enough—but through shared spiritual practices and a culture of patience and care, we learned to let these fears go and to focus instead on loving and reaching out. People also struggled to understand how our Unitarian Universalist faith calls us to do this work … until enough of us had thought about it and studied it, and had gone to Now Is the Time conferences and attended Building the World We Dream About classes. Then we could see that Unitarian Universalism’s most complete expression lies in exactly the kind of Beloved Community we are building.

What were some of the celebrations we shared along the way? Participants in our first Building the World We Dream About class started a series of culturally and “racially” mixed social events that were a blast. The Beloved Community Project—a collaboration among our Social Justice Ministries, Spanish-Speaking Ministries, and the Third Street Community Center—offered more and more opportunities for us to come together, and these became much-anticipated events every year. Our Small Group Ministry team helped start small groups in Spanish, and then birthed some mixed groups too; these groups deepened the spiritual life of all involved and sent ripples into the wider community. Plus, each time we overcame an obstacle, we celebrated that accomplishment; the preceding paragraph lists at least ten other celebrations we shared!

That was what I wrote in January. As I share these imaginings with you today, I can hear my inner cynic begin to protest: “Hmpf,” she says. “People are too busy for all this hard work! This vision of the Beloved Community isn’t their top priority, anyway. Why can’t we just be comfortable?” Perhaps you are thinking some of the same things.

Or perhaps you are thinking, “Hey, we can do that! We’re already partway there. I love this vision—in fact, here’s what I would add: ________”—and you fill in the blank! Perhaps you are hearing some part of John Lennon’s great song “Imagine” beginning to play in your head, as it is in mine. Wherever you are in the midst of your own “sacred shifts,” whatever your vision of Beloved Community, you have gifts to offer. I hope you will join us, as we nurture new ways of being right here at FUCSJ. 

With much warmth,                       
Nancy

Being the Change We Want to See—Part I 

The second sermon I ever wrote was about change. It was delivered on a hot and sticky Sunday morning in August, and the sermon’s message was “Change is hard. Change is really, really hard.” It included lots of examples and had a somewhat happy ending, but basically, that was it, for 24 uncomfortable minutes: “Change is hard.”         

It wasn’t a very good sermon.         

Yet now, years later, I still believe that it’s fundamentally true: Change is hard—at least the kind of change that Harvard professor Ronald Heifetz calls “adaptive change.” Heifetz contrasts adaptive change with “technical changes,” for which there are clear steps to take and a fairly certain outcome. Changing an electrical fuse that has burned out, or taking some medicine known to cure what ails us, could be called a “technical change.” But to accomplish adaptive—or transformational—change, we have to change a complex series of behaviors and attitudes, and the outcome cannot be completely predicted ahead of time. Changing careers is a transformational change; adjusting to the loss of a loved one is another. Getting sober is a transformational change; so is developing environmentally sustainable habits of living or changing civil rights laws. We may have a few ideas about the steps we need to take in order to make such changes, and in community we will find allies, teachers, and companions to help us and cheer us on—but to accomplish transformational change, there is no “quick fix.” It takes heart, time, hope, commitment …         

In January, my clergy colleagues and I spent a couple of days with Unitarian Universalist minister and Alban Institute presenter, the Rev. Dr. Larry Peers, at a workshop called “Sacred Shifts.” Larry offered a fresh approach to transformational change that I find rich and inspiring. Let me sketch it out for you.          

Often when we think about making big changes in our lives, in our community,  or in our world, we think about the results we want—we create a vision of the outcome—and then we form an action plan to get us there. If our actions don’t quite produce the results we’d hoped for, we may figure that we need to rededicate ourselves to our vision, and/or we may come up with a new series of actions to take. This businesslike approach can be productive, says Larry, but if we focus solely on actions and results, we may be leaving out a deeper and more essential truth: When we’re talking about making a transformational change, we’re talking about changing our very way of being. This is what makes transformational change a “sacred shift.”         

So let’s step back from the “strategic plan” for a moment and, with an attitude of nonjudgmental curiosity, take a look at who we are as we enter into a process of change. Let’s describe our “being” using three interconnected aspects of ourselves that we can actually observe:
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