Listening in Hard Times 1 2 Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Society, Madison, CT The Rev. Jeanne Lloyd & Ann Kadlecek, TDRE January 20, 2019

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1 Sounding of the Gong Listening in Hard Times 1 2 Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Society, Madison, CT The Rev. Jeanne Lloyd & Ann Kadlecek, TDRE January 20, 2019 Gathering Music Prelude #2, George Gershwin Carol Wright, Pianist #Welcome Introduction to Service Barb Francese, Member at Large Board of Trustees Ann Kadlecek, TDRE Prelude A Medley of Spirituals Chalice Lighting (The flaming chalice is the symbol of our free faith) Opening Words Rev. Lloyd In honor or the life of Mary Oliver: Song of the Builders 3 [One] morning I sat down on a hillside to think about God a worthy pastime. Near me, I saw a single cricket; it was moving the grains of the hillside this way and that way. How great was its energy, 1 2 Portions of this service are inspired and augmented by Soul Matters January 20, All notes, research, sermons and other products are the sole intellectual property of Rev. Lloyd,

2 Page 2 of 11 how humble its effort. Let us hope it will always be like this, each of us going on in our inexplicable ways... building the universe. #*Opening 210 Wade in the Water Story Bell of Justice, adapted from Faye Mogensen Ann Kadlecek, TDRE The Bell of Justice (an old folk tale from Italy, Burma and Russia, adapted from a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem by Faye Mogensen) Once there was a good and wise king who wanted nothing more for his kingdom than for it to be famous for justice. To that end, he built a great bell tower in the center of town, and in it he hung a beautiful brass bell with a long rope that reached almost to the ground. It was the bell of justice. Anyone who felt they had been treated unfairly, was invited to ring the bell. When it rang, the judges would come together at once to hear the case. At first, the bell rang loudly and often, when a neighbor was greedy, or when a thief came visiting, or when a dispute could not be settled. The judges heard every case and justice was served. The kingdom grew famous as a land of fairness. In time, the people grew so accustomed to that fairness that they didn t notice as the bell ceased to ring, and cord grew worn and thin. Finally, little was left of the cord but tatters. It might have disappeared completely except that a vine attached itself to the cord and began to grow. Let us return for a moment to the time when the tower was being built. There was a soldier who was young and full of idealism. He mounted his horse and traveled out into the world to offer his services far and wide. He and his horse were skilled at battle; together they earned the soldier both fame and fortune. By the time the vine had wound itself around the bell cord, the soldier had grown old, and had retired high up on a hill in a grand estate.

3 Page 3 of 11 There he paid no attention to the affairs of the kingdom he was interested in little else but his gold. Like the townspeople, he had forgotten about the bell tower and its cord. Day in and day out, the old soldier counted his gold he loved how it gleamed. And he forgot his faithful horse. She had carried him into many battles and saved his life more than once, but now the mare was old and lame, and the soldier was too stingy to feed her. Instead, he let her loose to find her own food as best she could. It didn t take long before the horse had devoured the small amount of sweet grass that grew on the hillside. She wandered further afield, finding little to eat. Her skin sagged, her back swayed, her bones ached, and her stomach growled. One day, when she was close to town, the mare s nose twitched. She smelled something green and fresh. She followed the scent into the town square. The luscious smell was none other than the vine that now grew from the bell of justice. The horse began to gnaw on the vine. With every bite she took, the bell rang. She was so hungry that the bell of justice rang out over and over. The villagers heard it. The judges heard it. And the old king heard it. Soon the square was full of curious onlookers, who became all the more curious when they saw that the scrawny old horse who belonged to the old soldier on the hill was ringing the bell of justice. Soon the square was filled with murmurs about how the soldier was treating his faithful mare. How could he have allowed her to decline into such rough shape? When the soldier heard his summons, he laughed. What foolishness was this? How could a hero like himself be called a criminal? But when he arrived in the square, he found it full of outraged people and the judges sentenced him to pay a fine and to provide proper food and care for his faithful horse. From that day on, she had a green pasture on which to graze, a warm stall, and villagers who cared for her. The king had the bell cord restored. It would remind the soldier, and everyone else, that no one, not the rich or the famous or even the heroic, are above the bell of justice. No person or animal is beneath being served by that bell. Let it ring on!

4 Page 4 of 11 Reflection Martin Luther King: The Birmingham Response, Part 1 Rev. Lloyd Sometimes, the right thing to do is not what everyone else does. Sometimes it s especially important to take a stand against injustice, even if it seems out of the norm. But, how do you know when the right time is? Most of us do not have magic bells that wake us up and signal us that now, NOW is the right time. Were that it was that easy... On April 3, 1963, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the ones who led nonviolent protests, marches, and sit-ins against segregation and racism in Birmingham, Alabama. On Good Friday, April 12 th, he and other leaders were arrested and jailed... supposedly for parading without a permit... but in actuality they were arrested for challenging the unfair ways that blacks had been treated by whites for centuries. On that same day, eight white clergy leaders published in the local newspaper a letter charging King and his supporters with stirring up trouble (also known as resisting the norm). The headline read: A Call for Unity, and was written for their followers. It criticized the non-violent campaign and its leaders in a number of ways. King, from his jail cell, working on scraps of paper, responded with what came to be known as The Letter from Birmingham Jail 4. In it, he patiently, kindly, and respectfully addressed each of their points, explaining why the non-violent campaign for racial justice was grounded on a higher plane of morality. 5 I can t, on this day, review all the points he made, but I encourage you to read the full letter that will be posted with this service on our website next week. Today, I want to share with you two of King s responses. 1. The white clergy charged King with breaking the law. King responded, [There] are two types of laws: there are just laws, and there are unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that An unjust law is no law at all. Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law... Any law that uplifts human personality is just, [is fair], [this is what King refers to as affirming someone s somebodyness ]. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust [King calls this the practice of treating someone like they are a nobody ]. All segregation statutes are 4 January 17, January 17, 2019

5 Page 5 of 11 unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. To use the words of Martin Buber, the great Jewish philosopher, segregation substitutes an "I - it" relationship for the "I - thou" relationship[,] and ends up [treating people like] things. So segregation is not only politically, economically, and sociologically unsound,... it is morally wrong and [separates people]. [Through the practice of non-violent protests, I urge people] to disobey segregation ordinances because they are morally wrong. [emphasis added] PAUSE Not everyone gets a bell that tells us when to do the right thing or what that thing is. Some of us are so used to doing things a certain way, it would take a lot of bells to get our attention! But, I believe that humanity, as a whole, craves fairness, and in its best moments seeks to be fair to one another. We keep returning to the idea that we should treat others as we would want to be treated. That feeling of fairness is reflected in universal ethics, philosophies and theologies that encourage us to be fair to everyone in the same way, even when it is uncomfortable and different. Honoring our Joys and Sorrows As I explained last week, often for multigenerational services, we skip doing joys and sorrows, because there is so much going on in these services. But, I d like to try to include them. If you could keep your joys and sorrows brief for our multigenerational services, that would help. At this time we invite you to come forward to the mic as you are able. Or, we will bring a mic to you, as needed. PAUSE Let us reflect with reverence in our hearts for the joys and sorrows spoken and unspoken today. Instrumental Meditation Amazing Grace, John Newton

6 Page 6 of 11 Story Listening in Hard Times: James Luther Adams adapted fr. Jessica York Ann Kadlecek, TDRE James Luther Adams by Jessica York, adapted This is a true story about a time when a group of Unitarian Universalists had to make a difficult decision together and needed to listen to each other. Unitarian Universalists think that people should be free to believe what they must believe - the truth of their life experiences rather than what they are told to believe. This is what we mean when we say our religion does not have a creed. This means we can change what we believe, as we have new experiences and learn new things, and as we listen to the experiences of other people. In 1948, most congregations in the United States were segregated (separated) based on the color of their members' skin. This was true for the First Unitarian Church of Chicago. Although the church was in a neighborhood with many African Americans, the rules of the church said that only white people could join. The day came that many members began to believe they needed to take action against racism, if they really wanted to live their values and principles. The minister, the Reverend Leslie Pennington, was ready. So was James Luther Adams. James Luther Adams was a famous liberal theologian and social ethicist a person who studies religion, beliefs, and values. And he was a member of the congregation's board of directors a leader in the congregation. Along with some others, Reverend Pennington and James Luther Adams proposed a change in the church rules to desegregate the church and welcome people whatever the color of their skin. They saw this as a way to put their values into action. When the congregation's Board of Directors considered the desegregation proposal, most of them supported it. However, one member of the Board objected. "Your new program is making desegregation into a creed," he said. "You are asking everyone in our church to say they believe desegregating, or inviting people of color to attend church here is a good way to tackle racism. What if some members don't believe this?" Desegregation was a very controversial. In 1948, anything about skin color and racism was controversial people had different opinions and they argued about what to do. Some people, even some who supported African Americans in demanding their civil liberties, believed in a separate, but equal policy that kept people apart based on their skin color.

7 Page 7 of 11 So, the Board of Directors had a meeting, and the debate began. Both sides were convinced they were right. Perhaps they were so busy trying to be heard, they forgot to listen. And so, they kept on talking. The debate went on until the early hours of the morning. Everyone was exhausted and frustrated. Finally, James Luther Adams remembered to listen. He asked the person who had voiced the strongest objection, "What do you say is the purpose of this church?" Suddenly, everyone was listening. Everyone wanted to hear the answer to this important question. Probably, the person who objected was listening especially hard to his own heart, as well as to the words he had heard from others through the long discussion. The Board member who opposed opening the church to people of color finally replied. "Okay, Jim. The purpose of this church is to get hold of people like me and change them." The First Unitarian Church of Chicago successfully desegregated. Reflection Martin Luther King: The Birmingham Response, Part 2 Rev. Lloyd Earlier you heard our pianist, Carol Wright, play the song, Amazing Grace, written by John Newton. John Newton, an Englishman, lived much of his early life as the captain of a ship and a slave trader. While on a sailing trip, and while sick, he had an experience that acted like a bell, awakening him. It was a soft bell at first, but over time, it rang louder and louder, convincing him that slave-trading and his part in it was appalling and abhorrent to humankind and to G*d 6. From that experience he wrote the song Amazing Grace, became ordained as an Anglican priest, and perhaps most importantly, worked to change the English laws so that slavery was peacefully abolished in England in 1807, nearly 60 years before this country did so, and, after it had gone to war over the issue. 7 Now often, we, as Unitarian Universalists shy away from the use of religious language. I don t think that s always necessary and it can be disempowering when we do so. John 6 Rev. Lloyd does not spell out the word, G*d, because the term is loaded with many misconceptions and preconceptions. That which is the spirit of life and community, the spirit of love and death, the spirit of humanity, cannot be relegated to one three letter word. Rev. Lloyd invites others to reconsider the meanings of this word, and, to contemplate whether it is a noun or verb. Is G*d Love? The reader is invited to expand their vision and understanding January 17, 2019

8 Page 8 of 11 Newton was redeemed. He was changed from being one kind of person, and became another, a fairer, person. The man that James Luther Adams talked about was redeemed, and could, when pressed, say that the purpose of our church is to get a hold of people like me and change them. Sometimes we need something, a bell, another person, a church, our conscious, the world s best ethics, G*d, to redeem us, to help us change from a destructive path that we are on, and to set us on a path that seeks fairness for all people, not just those who look and think like us. PAUSE 2. When responding to his white clergy colleague s advice that blacks should wait to realize their reward in heaven, King responded as follows... I guess [it s] easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say "wait." But when you have... seen the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cannot go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, [when you] see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son asking [sadly], "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your [car] because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored";... when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never knowing what to expect next, and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodyness" -- then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.

9 Page 9 of 11 There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over and [we] are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where [we] experience the bleakness of corroding despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. PAUSE The title of this service is, Listening in Hard Times. What the soldier heard from his community were hard words to hear. What the man at James Luther Adams church heard, were hard words to hear. What John Newton heard from his own conscious as he realized how racism and slave trading had corrupted his life and soul, were hard thoughts to hear. What King heard from the powerful elite who ran Birmingham, and even from his clergy colleagues, were hard words to hear. But, the time comes. The time comes when the bell of freedom and justice rings loud and clear. The time comes when we can no longer ignore it. It comes when the way we are treated, the privileges we have,... no longer feel right,... no longer feel comfortable. The time comes that we realize our privileges were unearned, and that others were never given the same opportunities. When that time comes, we awaken to the bell of freedom and are called to live by a moral law that calls for justice for everyone one of us. Activity It can be hard to listen to someone who is telling us something that is uncomfortable to hear, something that might change us. And it can be easy to focus on how they need to change, what they need to work on and do differently so we can have a conversation. Right now, though, we re inviting you to consider what you want to bring to those moments - and what qualities within you help you to listen to things that are hard to hear? What that is within you would you like to work on, to practice, so that maybe you can listen more deeply? What you like to have more of? We thought of a few qualities that might be useful, and we re offering them to you to take away with you. There are three tables (two here in front and one in the back) with colorful cards on them. Each has a quality written on it, and we invite you to choose one something that, if you had more of it, could help you to be a better listener. As a

10 Page 10 of 11 bonus, on the back is a quote from Martin Luther King related to that quality, that we hope will inspire you. There are 8 to choose from but don t spend too long thinking about which is the one you need today I suggest you go with the first one that calls to you. There are many copies of each card, so everyone should be able to get the one you want. If you would prefer to stay seated, we also have the same cards in a basket, which we will bring to you. We ll do this row by row, so if you are in the back row, please walk to the table in the back, choose your card and then sit down. As that row finishes, the next row can move to the table. And in front, we ll do the same thing starting with the front row, working toward the middle of the room from both ends until everyone has had a chance to choose a card. Again, please choose a quality that you would like more of within yourself, to help you listen more fully to those around you. Our pianist will play some walking music as we each choose our card. Hymn 1023 Building Bridges Offertory Words January Share the Plate Winter Fuel Assistance to Shoreline Residents in Branford, Guilford, Madison & Clinton Offertory Words Here, we share what treasure we have with others whose needs are greater than our own. Our Share the Plate program donates half of our cash offering each week to a designated community program that serves others. This month your cash contributions will go for Shoreline Winter Fuel Assistance programs in Branford, Guilford, Madison & Clinton. Please give generously. Offering & Offertory Music One Bright Candle, Natalie Sleeth Amy Buckley, Soloist Question What is Your Blueprint for Life? 8 Martin Luther King Video *Hymn 1024 When the Spirit Says Do 8 January 19, 2019

11 Page 11 of 11 *Closing Words & Extinguishing the Chalice Please remain standing as you are able and join hands as you are willing. King ended his letter with these words, If I have said anything in this letter that is an understatement of the truth and is indicative of an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything in this letter that is an overstatement of the truth and is indicative of my having a patience that makes me patient with anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me. (Emphasis added.) We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. We extinguish this flame, all the while knowing that our principles call us to bring forth brotherhood, sisterhood, and loving fairness to all those we meet. Let us hear the bell of our heart and conscious. Let us move forward together to make a fair and just community. These thoughts we carry in our hearts until we are together again. Let the congregation say, Amen. Closing Hymn Love Will Guide Us, Sally Rogers Love will guide us, peace has tried us, hope inside us will lead the way on the road from greed to giving love will guide us through the hard night. A Moment of Silence Announcements * Please rise in body or spirit. # Latecomers may be seated. Barb Francese Board of Trustees