Resources on Community and Covenant

Transcription

1 Community cannot for long feed on itself; it can only flourish with the coming of others from beyond, their unknown and undiscovered brothers. -Howard Thurman A community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings. You, the people must give it this soul. - Pope John Paul II Traveling Mercies: Some thoughts on Faith Most of the people I know who have what I want which is to say purpose, heart, balance, gratitude, joy are people in community, who pray, or practice their faith; they are Buddhists, Jews, Christians people banding together to work on themselves and for human rights. They follow a brighter light than the glimmer of their own candle; they are part of something beautiful. Our funky little church is filled with people who are working for peace and freedom, who are out there on the streets and inside praying, and they are home writing letters, and they are at the shelters with giant platters of food. When I was at the end of my rope, the people at St. Andrew tied a knot in it for me and helped me hold on. The church became my home in the old meaning of home that it s where, when you show up, they have to let me in. They even said, You come back now. -Anne Lamott The life history of the individual is first and foremost an accommodation to the patterns and standards traditionally handed down in his community -Ruth Benedict, In our hectic, fast-paced, consumer-driven society, it's common to feel overwhelmed, isolated and alone. Many are re-discovering the healing and empowering role that community can bring to our lives. The sense of belonging we feel when we make the time to take an active role in our communities can give us a deeper sense of meaning and history. -Robert Alan It is vain to talk of the interest of the community, without understanding what is the interest of the individual. -Jeremy Bentham No man is an island. -John Donne

2 The central task of the religious community is to unveil the bonds that bind each to all. There is a connectedness, a relationship discovered amid the particulars of our own lives and the lives of others. Once felt, it inspires us to act for justice. -Mark Morrison-Reed Then God said to Noah, As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. -Genesis 9:8 When spider webs unite they can tie up a lion. -Ethiopian proverb When you sing with a group of people, you learn how to immerse yourself into the community. That is one of the great feelings to stop being me for a little while and to become us. That way lies empathy, the great social virtue. -Brian Eno We started off trying to set up a small anarchist community, but people wouldn t obey the rules. -Alan Bennett Covenant is, first-most, not a verbal agreement but a practice. Our verbal promises are the frosting on the cake. They aren t the cake itself. -Rebecca Parker To promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very thing. -Mark Twain If I could dry your tears, I would. If I could take the pain, I would. But all I have are eyes to cry with you, arms for you to run to and a promise that you ll never bear the pain alone. -Author Unknown The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace, and a soul generated by love. -Coretta Scott King A Human life is like a single letter of the alphabet. It can be meaningless. Or it can be part of a great meaning. -Jewish Theological Seminary We have all known the long loneliness, and we have found that the answer is community. -Dorothy Day

3 from 1998 General Assembly In the dissenting [religious] tradition the individual is primary and community, however valued, is secondary. But this voluntaristic notion of community, however treasured, is unable to bear the weight it is expected to carry. without powerful rituals and sacraments--practices that make our beliefs tangible, physical--and without the powerful symbols and narratives that resonate with those rituals and sacraments we may begin to really believe that we have created ourselves out of nothing, that our selves are "the only or main form of reality." It easily leads to the idea that humans are nothing but self-interest maximizers, and devil take the hindmost. It is that version that we see all around us. I don't think we can challenge that version until we come to see that the sacredness of the individual depends ultimately on our solidarity with all being, not on the vicissitudes of our private selves. -Robert Bellah Pluralism is not a birthright in America, it s a responsibility. Pluralism does not fall from the sky; it does not rise up from the ground. America is exceptional not because there is magic in our air but because there is a fierce determination in our citizens. The greatest of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote. Every generation has to affirm and extend the American promise. -Eboo Patel What They Dreamed Be Ours to Do, 1998 General Assembly Let us covenant with one another to keep faith with the source of life knowing that we are not our own, earth made us. Let us covenant with one another to keep faith with the community of resistance never to forget that life can be saved from that which threatens it by even small bands of people choosing to put into practice an alternative way of life. And, let us covenant with one another to seek for an ever deeper awareness of that which springs up inwardly in us. Even when our hearts are broken by our own failure or the failure of others cutting into our lives, Even when we have done all we can and life is still broken, there is a Universal Love that has never broken faith with us and never will. This is the ground of our hope, and the reason we can be bold in seeking to fulfill the promise. -Rebecca Parker

4 One of You from Never Far From Home (pg52-54) Many years ago there was a monastery that had fallen on hard times. People had grown skeptical, and governments had grown harsh, and first the young monks and then the middle-age monks and finally most of the old monks left. At length only the abbot and four monks lived in the old abbey, and they were all over seventy. In the woods by the monastery, there was a little hut where the rabbi from a nearby town used to come to pray. One day the abbot went to see him and tell him about the great defection. He told the rabbi that even the five who were left found their faith faltering. The rabbi said, I know just how it is. It is the same in my town. The spirit has left the people. Almost no one comes to prayers any longer. And so the abbot and the rabbi wept together. Before the abbot left, he asked, So have you nothing to tell me? The rabbi shook his head, paused, and said, Perhaps one thing. I can tell you that the Messiah is one of you. The abbot told this to his four fellow monks, and they were all quite puzzled, wondering what the rabbi could possibly mean. Could the rabbi have been speaking of the abbot? Certainly, he had been the leader for more than a generation. On the other hand, he could have meant Brother Thomas. Now there was a holy man if ever there was one. He couldn t have meant Brother Eldred. He s very crotchety, but when you think of it, even though he was a thorn in the flesh, he was often right. So maybe the rabbi meant Brother Eldred. But surely he could not have meant Brother Philip. He was so passive, a real nobody, but then he always seemed to be there just when he was needed. He just appears, as if by magic. Maybe Brother Philip was the messiah. Now, of course, the rabbi could not have meant me. I m ordinary. Yet supposing he did? No, that s impossible. As they considered the rabbi s statement, the old monks began to treat each other with respect on the off chance that one of them might, in fact, be the Messiah. And when people came to visit the monastery on walks and picnics, they began to notice that the monks had an aura of respect and affection that seemed to radiate from them and fill the monastery and the surrounding grounds with a beautiful spirit. Hardly knowing why, the people began to return, first to play and then to pray. Then they brought their friends. Then it happened that some of the younger men who came out began to talk to the older monks, and after a while one asked if he might join, and then another, and another. In a few years, the monastery became a thriving order again, and all this thanks to the rabbi s remark and the wonderful thought that he had implanted in the old monks minds. So who knows, dear listener, the messiah whom you seek, the wise man you ve been looking for, the Christ who is to come, may already be living in you house, or possibly the one next door. The Messiah may be working at your office, or worshipping with you at your church of synagogue. Or could the Messiah possibly be you? -Carl Scovel

5 Suggested Small Group Process A process on the Community and Covenant theme for small groups: There are a wide variety of small groups that meet within our community. Below is a simple process on the theme that can be used in small group or even committee settings. Introduce the Community and Covenant theme by having those present read selections from the Resources on Community and Covenant. Feel free to select those that speak to you, but a suggested sampling follows. Each person reads one. Longer selections can be read one stanza or paragraph at a time. Make sure you select enough short readings so that everyone has her/his opportunity to read one. Allow a bit of silence after each selection is read. Opening/Chalice Lighting: We have all known the long loneliness, and we have found that the answer is community. -Dorothy Day When spider webs unite they can tie up a lion. -Ethiopian proverb When you sing with a group of people, you learn how to immerse yourself into the community. That is one of the great feelings to stop being me for a little while and to become us. That way lies empathy, the great social virtue. -Brian Eno We started off trying to set up a small anarchist community, but people wouldn t obey the rules. -Alan Bennett Covenant is, first-most, not a verbal agreement but a practice. Our verbal promises are the frosting on the cake. They aren t the cake itself. -Rebecca Parker To promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very thing. -Mark Twain If I could dry your tears, I would. If I could take the pain, I would. But all I have are eyes to cry with you, arms for you to run to and a promise that you ll never bear the pain alone. -Author Unknown The central task of the religious community is to unveil the bonds that bind each to all. There is a connectedness, a relationship discovered amid the particulars of our own lives and the lives of others. Once felt, it inspires us to act for justice. -Mark Morrison-Reed

6 A Human life is like a single letter of the alphabet. It can be meaningless. Or it can be part of a great meaning. -Jewish Theological Seminary Community cannot for long feed on itself; it can only flourish with the coming of others from beyond, their unknown and undiscovered brothers. -Howard Thurman Pluralism is not a birthright in America, it s a responsibility. Pluralism does not fall from the sky; it does not rise up from the ground. America is exceptional not because there is magic in our air but because there is a fierce determination in our citizens. The greatest of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote. Every generation has to affirm and extend the American promise. -Eboo Patel Then God said to Noah, As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. -Genesis 9:8 Traveling Mercies: Some thoughts on Faith Most of the people I know who have what I want which is to say purpose, heart, balance, gratitude, joy are people in community, who pray, or practice their faith; they are Buddhists, Jews, Christians people banding together to work on themselves and for human rights. They follow a brighter light than the glimmer of their own candle; they are part of something beautiful. Our funky little church is filled with people who are working for peace and freedom, who are out there on the streets and inside praying, and they are home writing letters, and they are at the shelters with giant platters of food. When I was at the end of my rope, the people at St. Andrew tied a knot in it for me and helped me hold on. The church became my home in the old meaning of home that it s where, when you show up, they have to let me in. They even said, You come back now. -Anne Lamott

7 from 1998 General Assembly In the dissenting [religious] tradition the individual is primary and community, however valued, is secondary. But this voluntaristic notion of community, however treasured, is unable to bear the weight it is expected to carry. without powerful rituals and sacraments--practices that make our beliefs tangible, physical--and without the powerful symbols and narratives that resonate with those rituals and sacraments we may begin to really believe that we have created ourselves out of nothing, that our selves are "the only or main form of reality." It easily leads to the idea that humans are nothing but self-interest maximizers, and devil take the hindmost. It is that version that we see all around us. I don't think we can challenge that version until we come to see that the sacredness of the individual depends ultimately on our solidarity with all being, not on the vicissitudes of our private selves. -Robert Bellah What They Dreamed Be Ours to Do, 1998 General Assembly Let us covenant with one another to keep faith with the source of life knowing that we are not our own, earth made us. Let us covenant with one another to keep faith with the community of resistance never to forget that life can be saved from that which threatens it by even small bands of people choosing to put into practice an alternative way of life. And, let us covenant with one another to seek for an ever deeper awareness of that which springs up inwardly in us. Even when our hearts are broken by our own failure or the failure of others cutting into our lives, Even when we have done all we can and life is still broken, there is a Universal Love that has never broken faith with us and never will. This is the ground of our hope, and the reason we can be bold in seeking to fulfill the promise. -Rebecca Parker Question 1: Where have you found community most powerfully in your life? What made it so powerful? Question 2: Does community mean most where you receive support or where you are most able to contribute or both? Question 3: Does community define for you an us that is different from some them? Who defines and patrols that boundary?

8 Question 4: Rebecca Parker says that our verbal covenants are the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. How would you describe our covenant in practice at First Church? Closing: The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace, and a soul generated by love. -Coretta Scott King