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Spiritual Practice

Internal Perseverance

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As we watch the sun lighting across trees and bushes on this bright afternoon, hearing birds singing and looking toward spring, it seems easy to persevere. And yet, there are times, as the artist and poet often notes, that even when externally all is well, internally we doubt, stumble, and fall.

In thinking of this, we offer a few poems that might feed your spirit in times of hardship, when you need a little encouragement or a reminder of your own well of greatness.

“Invictus” by William Ernest Henley

 Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

\”Still I Rise\” by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I\’ll rise.
 
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I\’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
 
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I\’ll rise.
 
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
 
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don\’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I\’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
 
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
 
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I\’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
 
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I\’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
 
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

 

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes

 I’ve known rivers:

I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

“The Builders” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 All are architects of Fate,

Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.

Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.

For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.

Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.

Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.

Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.

Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.

Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.

January Letter from Rev. Jeanne

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Among the definition of Intention is one from medicine: “The healing process of a wound.” The more common usage of the word is:  an aim or plan.[1]  In the prior usage, the word deals with whether or not a wound has enough material to heal from connections of tissue and skin.  Is everything touching, are there any gaps?  In the latter definition we are speaking of our commitment to an outcome.  What do I want to happen?  It often arises when there is a gap between what we want and what we are living.  It is our resolve to see that gap healed.  But sometimes we have to admit, the gaps are wide and difficult to bridge.  Intention can seem a thin tool with which to do the hard work of building connections.

 

Our January theme of Intention is well timed.  We can all benefit from asking ourselves about how we are living and what we really intend.  Life is too often so fast paced and demanding that we can easily forget what we really intend in life.  In fact, we can go years without giving it much thought at all.  And all the while, we feel the emotions that always measure what it costs not to be yourself and not to live as we really want to live.

 

This January and throughout our winter, with the help of Rev. Sue Sinnamon and our adult formation programs, we want to go deeper.  Winter is a great time to do this important work.  The cold and darkness remind us to turn inward and take stock of ourselves.  Even if you live a busy life caring for children or others, we hope to help you connect with the opportunity to go deeper into the question of what you intend.

 

We hope we can all connect with our aims, strengthen our understanding, clarify intention and  connect with the steps that lead us closer to the personal alignment of life and values.  It always feels best.  So we are putting out the call to examine what we intend through the month of January.

 

What do you intend with your life and your living?  What is the plan you live and ends your serve?  How do you assess the connections around old wounds or recent injury? What is your plan for wholeness?

 

I look forward to our conversations on these foundational questions and to your answers to this question:  What is your intention?

 

Gratefully,

Rev. Jeanne

[1] Oxford English Dictionary

December Congregational Art Project

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Help us make luminaria of hope for the Christmas Eve Service! Visit the table by the Great Hall to decorate a paper bag with colorful tissue paper and messages of hope and inspiration. We will use them to line the chancel and entrance to the church on Christmas Eve.

(photo credit: Christina Thrasher)

December Letter from Rev. Jeanne

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Dear Ones,

Hope. Is the Possible, Positive?

In the twelfth month of the calendar months, we come to HOPE.
It slips in, in time for possible neglect amidst preparation for holidays and travel. Our calendars fairly begging us not to add one more thing. Our minds juggling how to get the work done and still take time off. Our disposition a bit rushed for thinking about a word that seems to do what we would rather not . . . to look outside ourselves and believe that the possible is positive.

Few of us are encouraged to take time thinking about what we hope for. We are assumed to hope for personal happiness and the happiness of family and friends but how much time do we take to reflect on “what does make me happy” and do I know how to be hopeful about that? Hoping, for many of us, is little more than a thin wish for unspecific good. We may not even imagine we should waste time on any sort of hoping.

Yet we know that the greatest psychological predictor of perseverance, the helpmate of happiness, even the support for compassionate living are rooted in our capacity to hold hope, even when it may be elusive. That makes hope the midwife of living well. Hope is no lightweight. It deserves our attention.

I invite you to give yourself a valuable gift this December.

Take time to consider hope in your life.

Think more deeply about it than you may yet have done. Look at how it is or is not working in your life. Take it apart, so that you may put it back together in a way that makes sense and life more valuable and true for you. Talk about it seriously and ask whether what you hope for has real roots and real branches upon which to grow your life well.

Your investment in hope, a real, adult and grounded hope, will nourish you and renew your self-understanding. It will make clear what is foggy. It can increase the peace.

For all of us, that is what I am hoping.

Rev. Jeanne

November Letter from Religious Education

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Though there are numerous observances during November, I have chosen to focus on
three.

Native American Heritage Month
World Kindness Day – Nov. 13
Thanksgiving Day – Nov. 23

Native American Heritage Month
May we pause throughout the month to reflect upon and honor the Unitarian Universalist
sixth source, which is the spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate
the sacred circle of life, and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Chalice Lightings & Blessings:
Where I sit is holy,
Holy is the ground.
Forest, Mountain, river
Listen to the sound.
Great Spirit circle
All around me. – Blackfoot Chant

Trembling with Joy
The great sea has set me in motion,
set me adrift,
moving me like a weed in a river.
The sky and the strong wind
have moved the spirit inside me
till I am carried away
trembling with joy. – Inuit Shaman Uvavnuk

“I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more.”
― Chief Joseph

How will we open our hearts to more abundance this month? Will it be in richer
conversation with our children, partners, neighbors? Will we hear the birds in the
mornings or notice the change in the light? Will we extend a helping hand where we
know it’s needed? Will we take time to sit with someone in pain? How might abundance
and justice be connected? Will we take time to express gratitude?

-Rhonda Wingfield

November Letter from Rev. Jeanne

Dear Ones,

How Not to Talk About Abundance:
It was second grade and Father Mullen had come to speak to our class in preparation for our First Holy Communion Service, the following Saturday. He had a message for us to take home to our parents, he said. The good Father, a Ph.D. in History, a celibate, scholar, and someone who rarely engaged in a conversation with anyone younger than
high school may not have been the best spokesperson to connect deeply with seven year olds.

Father Mullen began to tell us what would not be allowed on Saturday by way of behavior, dress or parental behavior. He described in words we did not understand what was expected at the Saturday Mass. This was the 1960s, and though we did not understand much at all of what he was telling us, we could tell from his fervor that it
might be best to sit quietly, hands on our desks as he, the holy priest, continued to speak over our heads. Though I tried to process it, I could not catch much more than his absolutist manner. When parents could take photographs, something about not leaving early unless, something about a memento something. Whatever it was he expected us to
relay to our parents was way more than my second grade mind could make sensible. I could only read the anxiety around me knowing if I was struggling, so were others. Signaling a big finish, Fr. Mullen told us all…“Let me make myself abundantly clear…”

Oh yeah, I thought. I don’t know what I am supposed to tell my Mother. Nothing is clear but now, at last, I will be told what it is I am about to say…but nothing after that was any more sensible than what went before. For some reason, I could sit silent no more. Shooting my hand in the air so purposely, it was not ignorable, he relented before going on.
“Miss Pupke, what is it?”
Father, what is an “A-bun- dant-ly”. What does it mean?

He stopped, looked at us, and realized we were more polite than comprehending. Defeated, he looked at our teacher and he left the room. Our teacher, beloved by us all said: Abundant – It means a lot, a whole lot. Like God’s
love for you, like your parents love for you. Father Mullen just wants you all to show them all how much you love them too when Saturday comes.

Okay.
I can do that.

October Letter from Religious Education

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Conversation is Key:

It can be difficult to talk with children about courage, what it means for them, how to engage with it, etc., most especially if parents/adults have not “checked themselves” about how they are engaging children.

The following article, How to Raise Kids Who Are More Tolerant Than You, from Greater Good Magazine (Sept. 26, 2017) offers five important suggestions:

1. Use specific, individualizing language, not generalizations

2. Highlight common ground instead of exaggerating differences

3. Check whether your body language matches your intentions

4. Remind kids of their choices of social groups with positive missions

5. Talk about when it’s time to take a stand

The entire article is an informative, short read at https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_raise_kids_who_are_more_tolerant_than_you

With hope,
Rhonda

Rhonda Wingfield, DRE
First Unitarian Universalist Church
Richmond, VA

 

October Letter from Rev. Jeanne

A Letter from Reverend Jeanne
Dear Ones,

Courage is not about not being afraid.

It is about being afraid and doing what you need to do anyway.

The way we see courage depicted in literature, art, and drama is all over the map. We see the coward who suddenly seems converted to bravery, the strong, admired hero who cowers when confronted with the truth and the anti-hero who winds up sticking around to take a with strangers. It makes sense that we don’t agree on courage, the need for it and whether we ought still to imagine we can encourage it in our culture.

This plays out in interesting ways. Parents often teach their children to be more risk adverse than brave out of a fear that they might be injured. Those with significant fears seek therapies or martial arts trainings. Some practice heroism rescuing Zelda. Others face the challenges of Marine boot camp. We all have some strategy for figuring out courage…including denial that it matters to us at all.

What I think is important for each of us to learn, know and remember about courage is this: it happens with fear. Being afraid is usually found right along with courage. People who are brave without fear are just reckless. Courageous always know a lot about fear and yet they also know about doing what is required anyway. They are in touch with the heart within. They know the possible cost. They understand the risk. But they will not excuse themselves from what is required just because they fear what might follow. What must be done, must be done anyway.

I admire courage more than just about any virtue when it serves others, risks for others. When I first saw the photos of Birmingham youth braving the water cannons and dogs of that city, I was amazed at their bravery. When I read the story of Wesley Autrey, who leapt to the aid of a stricken subway rider by flinging his body over the man on the tracks, I was in awe. When I think of the firefighters walking up the World Trade tower, I am humbled. But I am also taken with the politician who takes responsibility, the bystanders who get involved, the teacher who challenges the system or the employee who complains about how someone else is being treated. Which is to say…I am often privileged to be proud of you.

Rev. Jeanne M. Pupke
First Unitarian Universalist Church
Richmond, VA

October Services & Minister’s Class

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Minister’s Class:  “Covenant Reconstruction”

Led by Rev. Jeanne
Wednesday October 4, 11, 18 from 7:00 – 8:30 PM

We spent a good deal of time last year discussing covenant.  Now we consider what our present covenant contains and whether it can or should be renewed.  What do we promise to one another and how can we deliver?

 

October Sermon Topics

October 8th, 2017
“Courage- For Those Who Would Rather Not”
Rev. Jeanne

We sense that the times when courage is required are not the best of times.  Does the evidence really support this idea? Does the spirit within?

October 15th, 2017
“Collectively Brave: Courage as Team Sport”
Rev. Jeanne

    Lone acts of courage are not always the hardest things.  Acting courageously together…now that can be a true test. Join Rev. Jeanne in asking if we are people courageous enough to “go together.”

October 29th, 2017
“Harvest:  What Have We Grown?”
Rev. Jeanne and Others

In many voices, a reflection on what the community of First UU has done, experienced together, lost and regained.