Dancing With Power Sermon preached by Robert H. Werme, Jr. Mattituck Unitarian Universalist Society December 17, 2017 I have to say I feel no small amount of ambivalence about stepping up here onto this chancel and into this formidable pulpit. The architecture of this space reflects a high view of the preaching craft which was popular in the 17 th century and has been re-emergent episodically during the past 5 centuries of American Christianity, and American Patriarchy. I went to church in a large building with a high pulpit like this, and I was educated in the preaching craft and practiced that craft for nearly two decades every Sunday. I still consider preaching to be an honorable craft. At the same time, like most of us, I don t generally appreciate being talked down to. So, as we re thinking together about power this morning, I freely acknowledge as I stand here, in front of, and above the rest of you, I recognize I occupy a spatial position of power. I also hold each of you in profound respect, and humbly invite you to exercise your discernment, your conscience, as you listen to what I have to say with as little prejudice as you can afford. I would call your attention to Unitarian Universalist Principle #5: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. I will try to convince or persuade with the power of my words, but each of you retains the power of your conscience to receive my words, or to reject them. Power is something of an over-used word. Many things have power I remember one of the choir s favorite pieces Just a Single Voice with the refrain of the power of music, the power of song when voices come together, the message can be strong. I still love that composition! Robin asked me to make a salad for supper last night, so I went to the fridge and pulled out a package of lettuce, kale and spinach. The label announced that these were Power Greens. You see, we are already dancing with power. The fundamental definition of Power is the ability to make something happen. Ancient Greeks had their word, dunamis
[ ], from which we get dynamic and dynamite. They understood we live in a universe primarily characterized by dynamism change, movement and power. What I m doing here this morning is exercising my power to make something happen to inspire you if you re perhaps dispirited, to comfort you if you re afflicted, and perhaps afflict you if you ve become maybe a bit too comfortable with things as they are. This is me, dancing with power; this is you, dancing with power. We are always channels of some kind of power; we project power, and power is projected at us. Someone is trying to make something happen in my life every day. Sometimes what they want to happen is my money coming out of my wallet and into their cash register. Sometimes others want to make genuine happiness happen in my life. I have decided it s a good thing to be in the dance. We are all dancing with power. What do I mean by dancing with power? Among the gifts my father bequeathed to me was a deep appreciation for the power of the ocean. I learned as a young boy on the beach in Harvey Cedars, New Jersey (Long Beach Island) to respect the power of the surf, the churning riptides and sometimes unpredictable currents. I learned to swim, to catch the waves with a surfboard or just my body, to roll with the currents and float to conserve my own breath and power. I learned to dance with one of the greatest powers on this planet. Who among you considers him or herself a dancer? For those of us who have danced even just taken dance lessons as a child or been dragged to the dance floor by a son or daughter celebrating their wedding can you recall the feeling of exuberance? Can you recall even a feeling of power? The sensation of moving feet, legs, hips, arms in some kind of rhythmic concert with another body dancing. It s also possible the whole notion of dancing makes you anxious. Many of us have felt humiliation when we ve risked stepping onto the floor. If that s your memory, I hope this morning you might begin a journey of healing, embracing your right to dance, and the power it could ignite in you. Robin and I love to dance, and we ve danced in some unique places including churches!
Author Barbara Ehrenreich tells the history of dance in her 2007 book, Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy. What s stunning about Ehrenreich s telling is the degree to which the dancing of common people has so often in western culture, been experienced as threatening to those who possessed wealth and political influence. Dancing in the street has been outlawed and seen as subversive. Starhawk The Spiral Dance. Of course, I m using the word dancing this morning both in its literal and metaphorical sense. Dancing is popularly associated with courtship rituals, especially among certain animal species. When I googled mating dance, I learned that Carol Schlegel of McCook, Nebraska leads Prairie Chicken Dance Tours. If you re still making plans for your spring vacation Carol s YouTube video shows these birds dancing their prairie dances. Dancing in the U.S. has nearly always been viewed as scandalous to some degree. From the outlawing of Native American sacred ceremonies like the Ghost Dance of the Lakota nation, to the swing and bobby socks generation of Benny Goodman, to the rock n roll dancing of the 50s and 60s to the Raves of the 70s and 80s dancing has been seen as dangerous or even seditious. Before this sermon becomes excessively abstract, let me say the impetus for it was the recent wave of publicized accusations by women of sexual predation, harassment and abuse by men in positions of political or economic power. It took weeks before I heard anyone comment that these were acts against women by men abusing their power, rather than merely bad boys doing bad things to innocent girls. The conversations have grown more substantive and nuanced as the weeks and months have come and gone. I ve been pondering the nature of power as we experience it within all our human relationships for some time.
I was disciplined in 1999 by church authorities for what they considered misconduct the dating of a recently divorced woman in my congregation. Clergy professional and sexual misconduct became a particularly frequent complaint in Protestant denominations during the last couple decades of the 20 th century, and on the heels of so many Roman Catholic men bringing accusations of having been sexually abused by priests. These cases were troubling on many levels, not least because of the litigation costs denominations were having to shoulder. It was not a pleasant experience for any of us, and my growing and healing continues. For the record, Robin and I will celebrate our 14 th wedding anniversary next June. We still are dancing with power in our marriage mostly with the power of love. I share this personal note only to convey that the issue of men misusing our power in our relationships with women is familiar to me from my days as a local church pastor, and has intersected my own professional life. During the past nearly two decades since then, I ve taken ever deeper dives into the world of men s healing work, and learned how important it is for men to claim the power of our gender in healthy, respectful and productive ways. Today, I work with other men to promote these goals. Men are slowly learning to hear women s voices, feminist voices, womanist voices with new ears. We are less afraid of Me Too testimonies than some would suggest, and more eager to define our manhood through deepening relationships with other men than through any kind of competitive struggle with women. Women, at the same time, are claiming power, stepping onto the floor to dance with men (or women), without any motives than simply to enjoy the ecstasy of rhythmic movement. Power is. It simply, and powerfully, operates in all our lives. As human beings, of course we must recognize and affirm our personal, individual power. Each of us is a powerful being. But the real and I would say, yet to be realized power of our species, results from the ways we learn to open our most deeply personal feelings and truths, our consciences, to one other; our courage to cultivate diverse relationships, our tenacity in nurturing our intimate relationships, our determination to strengthen our communal and, yes, even our political
relationships. Power implies risk. As powerful human beings, we will know hurt, defeat, disappointment, heartbreak. And we will grow stronger as we step out together in love. There is some wisdom in the Bible, and I offer these words of encouragement in the letter called Ephesians : For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Yeah I know that s a bit Woo-woo. Yeah, there are lots of misuses of power in our world. Power is; it just is. And you and I will struggle in order to grow as dancers with power. I believe we WILL learn to trust ourselves, to open ourselves more broadly to this dynamic universe, and ultimately be penetrated by the transformative power of love that pulses at its center. Maybe it s that Spiral Dance. Maybe it s body surfing in the ocean. Maybe it s just resting into the risky business of deeper intimacy with one another. May we take the necessary steps to learn our steps in the dance, and may we, together, make more healing happen wherever we dance. Amen.