The hymn that we started this service with has always been a favorite of mine, and I ve been

Transcription

1 1 Making Soup from a Stone Stewardship Reflections - January 31, 2016 From Rev. Dr. Wayne Arnason, Sarah Soper, Tom Smith, April Stoltz & Kathleen Rolenz Wayne Arnason The hymn that we started this service with has always been a favorite of mine, and I ve been singing it since I was a child in UU church school. At the same time, it sparks a little edge of irritation in me that I thought would be good to unpack as I introduce the theme and speakers for today. I wish it had a verse that said: Where is our holy church? Right down the street from me. It s where I go to find my truth, love and community. It s really easy for some Unitarian Universalists to identify their spiritual not religious approach to the world with all the progressive movements and leaders throughout human history, and not so much with that bricksand-mortar/bills-and-committees church down the street. We are told that three times more people in the United States identify Unitarian Universalist as their religion than are actually on the membership rolls or that make pledges to support UU churches. And that s a shame! We d be so much stronger if those people would own one of the key affirmations of a church like this one that religion is not so much about what you believe, as what you do what you do with other people, and what you do to make the world a better place. There is no perfect church anywhere that will totally embody exactly what you think or wish it could be. Our theme for this Stewardship Campaign, from the old folk tale about Making Soup from a Stone, reminds us about the two important truths that are at the heart of this year s campaign. The first one is that the two travelers in the story who convince the town that they can make a healthy hearty soup from a stone simply instigate the belief among the people of the town that what they bring to help make the soup will be enough. What the travellers actually put into the soup pot, the stones, are the sleight of hand, the magic, that attract people to participate. That s how we feel about our role quite often.

2 2 When the potato and the carrot and the onion start to show up and get added to the pot is when you start to get soup. That s the way church works as well, with everybody bringing what they can. Each person who brought a potato, a carrot, or an onion could have stayed home and made a thin soup with their one contribution, but they would be pretty weak potato, carrot, or onion soups. Putting them all together makes all the difference in creating a soup that can feed many, not just one. That soup will taste different than a potato soup all by itself, or a carrot or onion soup all by themselves! Similarly, we understand that the flavor of a church that holds hundreds will not always meet our own individual tastes in every respect, but it s a flavor that s unique and satisfying and brings nourishment to our life. Today we re going to invite three of our members to contribute to the Stone Soup of this service, and I m not sure which of them is bringing the potato, the carrot, or the onion. What I do know they are bringing is all they have contributed and will contribute to the unique flavor of this church, and we are grateful to them for sharing today what the Stone Soup we make at West Shore means to them. First up is Sarah Soper. Sarah Soper A year ago this month my husband Josh and I were brand spanking new members of Westshore. We started attending in the fall of 2014 after having had what might be kindly termed an interesting year. In June we welcomed our first children, twins. And if that wasn t enough change, we realized very quickly that our small house was going to be a tight squeeze for the four of us so we moved house. Our new home in Fairview Park was a good size for a growing family but we had lost our sense of place in the process. We needed to find a community to call our own. I also confess that we had an ulterior motive in trying to find a church: the prospect of a hour of free child care every week had an inspiring effect on our willingness to get us out the door on a Sunday morning for services.

3 3 We felt so welcomed immediately, between the classes and the members, that it was easy to make attending a regular part of our week. The services, the diversity of people and ideas, and the friends we made went a long ways towards making our new life as a family of four workable and hopeful, rather than merely wearying. The topics and issues we care about as a community; the extended family that adopted us almost as soon as we became members; the best friend that I never knew I needed before I found Westshore; all of these things wove us into the tapestry of Westshore s membership. I didn t realize how much I d missed worship experiences that spoke to my values and beliefs until I came to services at Westshore. I didn t realize how much I needed to take that hour of time away from my kids every week to refill my sense of alignment with my worldview and priorities. And I didn t realize how much people would love my kids with me, for me and alongside me, and make it easier to parent them. But what made the biggest difference for me was getting involved in the work of the church as a member of the Inreach committee. I have never been on a committee for anything before. In high school I was a confirmed introvert and that didn t really change until I started teaching large classes in graduate school. While that experience made me more comfortable speaking in public, and being responsible for organizing a large group of people, it was largely a solo experience of leadership. Being part of a team whose responsibility is the health and wellbeing of the church has shifted my personal center of gravity in ways that I didn t anticipate. I ve always been a self-described as well as an observed weirdo, and I ve taken a lot of pride in that label. Embracing that label has been one of the primary tasks of my adulthood, from finding myself in a small major at my college to selecting an even smaller area of concentration in graduate school to enjoying fairly off-the-beaten path activities and hobbies. As part of the Westshore community, I feel like I fit with this group of fellow weirdoes. Whenever I am physically here, I am surrounded by people who know me and who I know, and who I love and

4 4 respect because they love and respect me. My contributions are appreciated and valued, and as part of a committee, I feel like we all make things happen here that are helping to change and grow the church towards a more perfect reflection of who we want to be. One of the first services we attended here at Westshore featured a sermon presented by the president of the UUA, Reverend Peter Morales. In his sermon, he described the disaffiliation of much of country s population from traditional religious institutions and its effect - the creation of a refugee crisis in our religious landscape, one that UU churches are trying to cope with. As a wildly diverse denomination, we take in virtually everyone who needs a faith home regardless of background or beliefs. In this place, among other refugees, I have found a place to belong and be part of something bigger than myself that squares with my passions and values. I get to celebrate that shared purpose every week within these walls and within this community, with you. Like any refugee situation, pooling resources to survive and thrive is a key element of success. When we discussed joining the church, and committing to a financial contribution level amidst the aftermath of a big relocation, we knew we wanted to put the health of Westshore on par with many of the other necessities in our budget. Things like keeping up with repairs around our new home, buying clothes for two rapidly growing babies, affording supplies for my diabetes - all of these things compete for our income in any given month. Unlike bigger, and more authoritarian, religious organizations, Westshore relies on us, its members, to make good on its financial responsibilities. If we don t make that commitment, and fulfill those obligations, the church faces the same consequences we would - a deteriorating physical space, too-small resources to feed and clothe our programs and our congregational life together, and worst, the curtailment of our ability to make the world reflect our values. To fail at these goals would be to say that the importance of Westshore in our lives, and the lives of our membership, is peripheral, not central.

5 5 Tom Smith Good Morning! My name is Tom Smith. I have been a member of West Shore since 2007 and a hanger-on since my wife Pam joined in We attended church functions and pledged during all those years but I didn t want to sign the book until the fading of other commitments allowed me the time to jump in with both feet. Now I feel like I ve jumped into committee quicksand. I think I should have jumped in a long time ago. Now I find that working on West Shore committees and causes provides personal connections to other members that are among my most valued life experiences. Your values, enthusiasm and experience rub off on me and make me a better person. So, Stewardship Sunday is a good time to say, What is all of this worth to Pam and me and what can we do to help our church grow and prosper? First let me give you a little background. Pam and I started out like many of you, living in a second floor of a double in Lakewood. We both gave up careers in teaching to try other paths. Financially, we ended up in the same place we would have been if we stayed in teaching. We have had exciting adventures, raised two wonderful children who are now self-supporting, continue to enjoy good health and get to live in this great country. We feel that our cup runneth over, and so the sharing of our time and treasure with our community and church is both a moral obligation and a blessed privilege. As a result of joining the Finance Committee in 2012, I was well aware of the looming deadline for one of the Capital Campaign s goals of cutting our $500,000 mortgage in half at the October 2015 interest reset date. Pam and I discussed the church s need for cash on hand on that date and how, up to this point we had been generous but measured donors. Through our involvement in church and community fund raisers we knew that all of these groups depended on at least a few people deciding that now was their time to go big, and do

6 6 something beyond what they might be able to do on a regular basis. So we decided it was our turn to join the list of those at this church who go big and donated my inheritance from the sale of my mother s condo, $50,000, to the Capital Campaign. When you give away a large amount of money you can get caught up in questions like What if I need it for some emergency in a few years? Well, our answer is that we will prepare for the known future but we will worry about the rest when it gets here. We will continue to set our heat at 65 and cut fabric softener sheets in half, but we must continue to financially support the many good causes whose work we endorse. Among our yearly donations, West Shore is number one on our list. It seems that what we find at West Shore becomes more important to us every year and we have been increasing our pledge by 5% - 10% each year. Theodore Roosevelt once said Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. At West Shore, Pam and I find work worth doing. We hope you do also, and that you will join us with a generous increase in your pledge. Thank you. April Stoltz Good Morning. My name is April Stoltz. I have been a member of West Shore since My two daughters Samantha and Melissa grew up in this church. West Shore has both nurtured me spiritually and supported me in living out my core values of challenging injustice and building beloved community. In this yearly conversation we have around our annual pledge drive, we are always challenged by the important balance between asking for your dollars for the very real financial necessities to pay our mortgage and make payroll for our AMAZING staff AND honoring that each of you has your own very real budgets including your own rent or mortgage and monthly financial obligations. We do not come from a tradition of tithing - a forced expectation of 10%

7 7 giving. Nor do we operate from an open or not so open ask for money that is about duty or shame. This is not who we are. As we launch this year's pledge drive, what we call our Stewardship Campaign, I am aware that part of what moves me in my own giving is having a vision of what could be. What could we do if our pledges went above and beyond what we need to simply maintain what is? At our recent discussion of Robert Reich's book Beyond Outrage, I was struck by a statement one of the participants made. Essentially he stated that we have been so saturated by the constant talk of scarcity, that it was driving us to simply work at holding on to the little bit we have left. He then said "where is our vision?" "What is our vision for the world we WANT to live in?" So here is my vision What if we had the money to hire a person whose job would be community outreach. This faith, Unitarian Universalism is unknown by so many and yet so many are searching for this faith. A faith that is rooted in the right of each person to find their own spiritual path. A faith that does not require a weekly reading of a creed that no longer fits or feels believable. A faith home for all believers whether they be atheist, pagan, christian, muslim, jewish, agnostic, hindu or without label, who agree with our 7 principles and who understand that their personal spiritual beliefs and practices work for them AND honor there is not just one way. One church many paths. The world has never needed this faith more that it does now. I believe there are 100's if not 1000's of people in north east Ohio who are looking for just such a faith. So, what if we had the budget to hire a person whose job would be to find those people. Someone who would work outside of these walls using all manner of media to spread the word about who we are and what we believe. Someone who would organize meet ups in coffee shops and gatherings off site or here. Someone who would get the message out into this world that there exists a faith community that embraces their freedom to love who they want and explore their own beliefs

8 8 about why we are here, what we are meant to do in this life and what happens when when pass on. We are a salve to the many who can no longer do the religion of their family yet seek love and acceptance in a space that speaks to the moral and spiritual issues of the day without telling you how to feel and believe. This faith is ripe for rapid growth. I am not saying this from a competitive, pledge seeking mindset. We are authentically poised to provide real spiritual sustenance to so many people who are searching for us. Imagine connecting with this region in a powerful, non-proselytizing way to spread the work about who we are and what we stand for. Imagine what could happen if more people lived their lives in acceptance of the differences of those around them. With our pledge dollars we each have the power to change outcomes. What's your vision? Lets give what we authentically can like our dreams and visions depend on it..... because in the end, they do. Kathleen Rolenz There is a theme that runs through all three of these inspiring stories that you just heard. Nobody talked about Making Soup from a Stone very explicitly! What they did talk about finding community at different stages and places and needs of one s life. Sarah found a place for their family; Tom attended for many years before joining and then jumped in with both feet; and April found a place that continues to ignite her passion for justice and to reach out to the wider community who are also looking for their people, and let them know that there is a place for you here. When I first came to a Unitarian Universalist Church in the 1980 s, I didn t know I was looking for a community. In fact, almost all the members of the church I found at that time were older than me. As a twenty something, I was sure that I had nothing in common with those folks. I sometimes would come too late to catch the sermon, and so I would just hang out during the

9 9 coffee hour, wolfing down as many of the snacks as I could because, as a broke college student, I was always hungry. What I hadn t realized back then, that I do now, is that I was hungry for more than just food or a good meal; I was hungry for a community a place to call home a place where I had found my people. So maybe our three speakers didn t stray too far from the Stone Soup theme after all, in describing their experience of finding something here that satisfies a hunger we all share, a hunger for real community. The question that we are asking you to reflect on during this season of our Stewardship Campaign is What feeds you? Not what do you like to eat or what do you think you should eat, but what truly nourishes you? I have to tell you that in the end, it s not only the great ideas that inspire us, or the social justice work that rouses our conscience; or even the art and music that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary for me it s knowing I have found my people. That s what s truly nourishing. Because you ve probably had the same experience that I have of having pleasant acquaintances, nice work companions, decent enough relationship with family and extended families, good times with co-workers, but there is something unique about being part of a worshipping community whose focus is on providing sustenance for our whole lives from literally cradle to the grave; and beyond as the church is one place that holds both your memory and family close in mind, body or spirit. That s what has inspired so many of us to be willing to be out there where so many people who don t know about us and would love to find us actually are and be tell them that there is a place where your intellect will be respected; where your heart will be tended to carefully and where your spiritual life however you name and claim that practice can find full expression in and beyond these walls. The fire of that kind of commitment both inside and beyond these walls is what will sustain this congregation long into the future.