A woman dreamed she walked into a brand-new shop in the marketplace, and, to her surprise, found God behind the counter. “What do you sell here?” she asked.

“Everything your heart desires,” said God.

Hardly daring to believe what she was hearing, the woman decided to ask for the best things a human being could wish for. “I want peace of mind, and love, and happiness, and wisdom, and freedom from fear,” she said. Then, as an afterthought, she added, “Not just for me. For everyone on earth.”

God smiled, “I think you’ve got me wrong, my dear,” God said. “We don’t sell fruits here, only seeds.”

May we be emboldened to plant those seeds.

This was in my Spiritual Stretch file folder – several copies of a page in a meditation manual to which I subscribed when I was the Director of Pastoral Services at Taunton State Hospital. I remember making copies of it for those who attended the Spiriual Stretch discussion group. The members of the group added several more items to the list of desired purchases – one of which was ‘a good listener’. I think this item was at the top of the list for many in attendance.

Their discussion was about the seeds – “what good would it be to have a package of happiness seeds here? Put them in a Styrofoam cup on a windowsill and see if anything happens. It would be nice to have a happiness plant on the windowsill in my room!”

“Yah . . . I’d like to have some good-listener seeds . . . a whole window-box full of those plants sure would be great! I really try to listen, and I’d give blossoms to some staff members – maybe they’d catch on!”

After several more wishes about growing seeds on windowsills, one of the men who rarely spoke, said, “This is silly! You know there aren’t any of these seeds in packages, it certainly would be nice though. I think whoever wrote this was saying we can’t buy those things we want like whole plants. If we plant them like seeds in our thoughts, we can make them grow, kind of.” And so, the discussion about cultivating these plants in our thoughts and letting them grow in our actions became the focus of several more Spiritual Stretch discussions. (I led a Spiritual Stretch discussion group in place of the Bible Study I was asked to lead!)

I was surprised. Even though the members of the group spent most of their time in a locked unit, they were able to share their thoughts and difficulties to develop positive thoughts about peace of mind, happiness, freedom from fear and other “seeds.”

Our world today is in need of many, many gardeners of seeds which would produce the desires of the woman who walked into the new shop in the marketplace. As I read her list of what she thought were the best things a human being could wish for, I wondered if she was a UU! Had I been present I would have invited her to come with me some Sunday morning where she would meet friends who are actively ‘gardening’ to produce the items on her list. And I think she would decide this is the community where she’d feel comfortable and at home.

Do you know the UUA has developed a twice a month on-line Newsletter? It is intended to help you navigate your journey with UU Shared Values. Wayfinder will bring revelatory, insightful, spiritually nourishing updates right to your email inbox. Go to UU World Wayfinder – it is good reading and offers seeds to plant.

Minister’s Message April 2025

Why, it was wonderful; Why,
all at once there were leaves,
Leaves at the end of a dry stick,
small, alive
Leaves out of wood. It was
wonderful,
You can’t imagine. They came by the
wood path
And the earth loosened, the earth
relaxed, there were flowers
Out of the earth! Think of it! And
oak trees
Oozing new green at the tips of them
and flowers
Squeezed out of clay, soft flowers,
limp
Stalks flowering. Well, it was like a
dream,
It happened so quickly, all of a
sudden
It happened!

Archibald MacLeish

We gather again in worship, concern and celebration. We unite to care for one another, to live our lives with purpose, to be in harmony with the earth. In this community of fellowship, we look for wisdom, compassion, and strength to follow the rhythm of life’s mystery and join in its dance. Formed each moment by the way we live, we welcome life’s challenges together.
Happy, Hopeful Spring . . .

Minister’s Message March 2025

Signs of change in the cold blue of our Northland’s skies and in the frozen earth, as winter’s pageant fades before the coming Spring.
These are the beautiful things to be remembered and cherished in our hearts.
The lavender shadows cast by the trees on the snow by the afternoon sun and the purple tints at twilight before the darkness lowers –
The Great Artist has spilled colors over the white forest floor.
The interlaced bare branches of trees in weird shapes and shadows cast against the night sky by the lights of the street; strange beauty of tangled arms together reaching upward to the stars.
O give us something of the rooted strength of trees!
The Pussy Willows, brave prophets of Spring and the rising sap in the trees, swaying in the March winds presaging the coming change in mountain top, river and plain –
What voice has whispered to you to open your satiny loveliness to the wintery chill?
The beauty and grace of the birds, riders of the North Wind – Red Poll, Chickadee, Nuthatch, Sparrow and Jay – flashes of color at the window and subdued notes of song on the wintery air.
Let us mortals share your courage, your beauty,and peans of gladness in a cold world!
The pale blue of distant peaks towering into bluer sky and the gleaming whiteness on the rolling slopes and upland fields –
THESE are the beautiful things we will remember always, as Winter dies!
~ The March 1966 Twelve Celebrations packet released by the UUA

A few days ago, I had to do something to change my mood. I’d been watching the news on TV, then MSNBC on my computer and my mind was in great turmoil. The world is in such a destructive mess and though I believe we ought to be able to work together to make life good for everyone – how? What can I do?

So, I put on my jacket and boots, called my little dog, Appi, and we went for a walk. An amazing number of cars and trucks use my dirt road and we all wave as we pass. Occasionally someone stops to chat for a few minutes or ask about little Appi. We often walk around my son’s raised vegetable beds, his enclosed blueberry bushes and his bee hives. When we were back home Appi had her dog treat and I, a cup of coffee.

Then I sat with the collection of seasonal packets I had put together for the Church of the Larger Fellowship families – to keep or add to the recycle box? In the 80’s I was the Director of Religious Education for this UU ‘church by mail’. My task was to create home and family educational programs – lessons, craft projects, stories, family ‘worship services’, readings and whatever other projects I hoped would be helpful for bringing up UU children where there was no church. This also included holiday celebrations, as well as baby dedications, special birthday and ‘off to college’ celebrations, and occasionally something for a child to read at a wedding or memorial service. This was such a unique and joyful position.

I opened one of the SPRING FESTVALS packets and there it was, “THINGS TO REMEMBER”. And I remember a phone conversation with a family living where there was no snow, so together we wrote a different seasonal change piece – which included something to remember – and I sent it to all the families in my next monthly note. I hope I find it as I poke through these packets.

I was feeling better. I cannot overlook the actions that right now have the world in turmoil. But calmer, I knew there are many of us struggling to find ways to work together so my, and your, great grandchildren will grow up and be able fulfill their potential in a less unsettled world.

I hope you, too, will find things worth remembering. I hope such memories will give us the will and energy to work together toward bringing about a world at peace. It is difficult to believe today, but surely a worthy goal. May we share our memories, our hopes and our struggles as we work together.

Minister’s Message- February 2025

Let It Be Done

Dear Unknown, Unknowable, Yet Known
by Many Names . . .
Keep us mindful that we are all related. That
when one of us is ignored and treated with
dis-ease, we all suffer.
Today let each of us commit to welcome the
stranger.
Let us move beyond our comfort zones and
connect with people labeled different and
pushed to the edges of society.
We can make a difference.
We can transform our lives.
We can bring harmony and healing to the places
and spaces where we live, work and play.
Let us keep our hearts and minds open and
receptive to the still, small voice that calls us
to stand witness for those who cannot stand,
to speak the truth for justice for those without a
voice,
and to lead the way on the journey toward
wholeness for those without sight.
In the spirit of love, compassion and community,
let it be done!
Blessed Be.
Rev. Monica Cummings

Rev. Cummings began working at the UUA in 2008 after serving as a parish minister for six years. She received a D Min in pastoral care and counseling and is a member of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. She says she is a proud African American and is grateful to have spent twenty-six months working in education and community development as a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa. She works with associations, district and regional staff, congregational leaders and multiracial and multi-ethnic families on programming to support the ministry needs of youth and young adults of color and their allies.

MINISTER’S MESSAGE DECEMBER 2024 – WHAT IS THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT?

It is the Spirit which brings a smile to the lips and tenderness to the heart.
It is the Spirit which warms one into friendship with all the world, which impels one to hold out the hand of friendship to every man, woman and child.
The Christmas motto is “peace on earth, goodwill to all.” And the Spirit of Christmas demands that it ring in our hearts and find expression in kindly acts and loving words.
What a joyful thing for the world it would be if the Christmas Spirit could do this, not only on that special day, but every day of the year.
What a beautiful place the world would be in which to live.
Peace and goodwill everywhere, always!
May each one of us resolve that, so far as we are concerned, peace and goodwill shall be our motto every day, and that we will do our best to make the CHRISTMAS SPIRIT last all year round.

I assume this was composed by a conversation group of older teens and young adults in one of our churches. That is what I had written at the bottom of the page, along with the date – 1979. I had typed just this before leaving for a physical therapy appointment. I was surprised to find a crowded waiting room. Apparently the three primary care physicians were running late, and I was a bit early for my PT appointment. I sat in the one remaining empty chair, pulled out from a corner and angled toward two women who were just becoming engaged in conversation.

One of them had sighed loud enough for us all to hear as she turned to the woman closest and said, “I just can’t get into the spirit this year. There’s too much happening – the man where we buy our tree is late getting them and we ought to have it lighted in the window by now, one of the strings of our outdoor lights isn’t working, there’s a hole in our big, blow-up snowman, I’ve purchased only a few of the things on my three children’s lists – these are all things they really want. I haven’t started to write cards . . . and baking! That’s why I’m here, I just haven’t any energy, I don’t feel well – and I keep hearing about the Christmas Spirit!”

We all heard this tale of woe, and I sensed no one wanted to engage in conversation. Then the woman to whom she had addressed her tale spoke up. “Yes” she said. “This is a tough year. Our world really is in a mess and it’s hard to know what we can do. We made some decisions, though. We had quite a few family members for Thanksgiving dinner. After we cleaned everything up we talked about Christmas. My children are only 10 and 12, but they, too, watch the news on TV and have a hard time wondering how we can have a merry, merry Christmas. So, we made a few plans. We’ll have a tree – we go to a place to cut our own. We always make several new ornaments, and we’ll do that next week. We’ll have our Advent Wreath and decided to use partly burned candles from past years, we have so many, rather than buy new ones. Instead of exchanging gifts, we’re going to make donations to two organizations we have yet to choose – the kids can help. We’ll go to our church candlelight service and some of the family will come for brunch on Christmas Day, then maybe we’ll watch a movie, go for a hike, tell some family stories. I’m looking for a new board game we can learn to play, or maybe bake more cookies. Oh, we always invite friends to join us around our fire pit on the Solstice and we serve warm cider and cookies – that’s why we may need to bake more on Christmas afternoon. I know our plans aren’t going to solve the world’s problems, but maybe they’ll help a little and we’ll have fun doing something a little different.”

“Oh! My teens wouldn’t go for that! They’re past the Santa phase but love to see the wrapped gifts pile up under the tree. And we have the brightest yard in the neighborhood – people come by just to see it. The kids see the news and know horrible things are happening, but what can teenagers do about it? I sure hope my doctor can give me something to help me get through the next few weeks.”

The room was very quiet, the complaining woman continued to sigh. I’m sure the woman who had responded was very happy to be the next called in to see her doctor. I sure was glad to be called into the PT room.

I did not plan to tell a story, but this incident illustrated the ‘Christmas Spirit’ so much better than anything I could say. So, I wish you a Merry Christmas . . .. may peace and goodwill be our motto to help keep the Spirit among us ‘all the year round’.

Minister’s Message August 2024

A year is gone.
It matters not when it began
For it has ended now.
There were other years,
And some began with a birthday
And some with a death.
Some with one day of the month and some with
another.
Some began with a song and others with a lament,
But now I start another year, this month, this
season;
It is what lies before me that concerns me now.
There will be decisions and tasks;
There will be drudgery, achievement and defeat;
There will be joy and grief.
All the raw stuff of experience
Waiting for me to shape, to fashion as I will,
And it will never become just what I planned.
However it may appear to others
I can turn it to knowledge and wisdom
Or folly.
If it be hard, I can make of it strength:
It may become bone, sinew and steel
Or ashes and waste.
Someone might say, “It all depends on what the
year may bring.”
But what I make of it depends on me.
~ Rev. Robert T. Weston, from Rejoice Together, edited by Helen Pickett

I was browsing through this collection of ‘prayers, meditations and other readings for family, individual and small group worship’ and this piece by Rev. Weston caught my attention. I’ve used other of his writings in services but had not seen this suggestion for approaching a new year – and that is exactly what I am doing. What made it even more attractive is that he was called to pastor his first church the year I was born. I had the strange feeling that he was speaking directly to me!

Until these past few years I celebrated the beginning of a new year with everyone else on January 1st. Some years the day slipped by with little attention, others with a special family dinner, and a few with
much activity. When I was the resident in the UUA guest house on Beacon Hill, I let folks know the door would be open and such activity that house had never seen!

More recently, though, instead of waiting to see the ball descend in Times Square, I’ve had a good night’s sleep. My new year celebration has been on the weekend nearest my August birthday when most of my family gathers in Vermont. This is now the day I choose to celebrate the beginning of a new year – it matters not what day it is on the calendar.

What lies before me today is what matters. I’ve not been following my past schedule of cleaning, putting everything in its proper place, keeping the cobwebs out of the corners, reading magazines when they arrive so they can be dropped into the box at the Coop for others to enjoy, and there are very few checks on my daily ‘to-do’ list . . . every jacket hung properly? no! three healthy meals a day? usually! books back on the shelves instead of piling up on the table by my chair? not much room left on the table! a few dishes in the sink when I go to bed? oh! how upset my Mother would be! and this list of “I never thought I’d” continues to grow year by year.

As I look back through the new years I am amazed to see where I am today. I grew up planning to be a nurse and the nearest I got to that was being the Director of Pastoral Services in a state hospital. I had no thought of ever living on Beacon Hill right beside the state house, but I sure enjoyed those years and thought Boston was where I’d stay. Now I’m happy living in Vermont on a dirt road in a very small town with goats in my front meadow, cows next door, my granddaughter’s sheep farm beyond the cow pasture. And when I shopped for fresh corn in the grocery store I didn’t know I’d discover truly fresh corn is picked and eaten within 20 minutes!

I wish I could tell Rev. Weston how right he was! All the “raw stuff of experience” plus what I chose to do with those experiences certainly shaped a life I never could have planned. And I can assure my family, now grown well beyond my own six children, that they each have the opportunity to choose how to manage “what the year may bring”. New Years will certainly astonish them.

So, pick a day to start a new year. Keep in mind past experience and present day hope, past mistakes and present day events, for now you have the wisdom to make this new year memorable. Do be ready for surprises as the year slips along – only you, and I, have the tools to give it shape and substance.

A final word from Rev. Weston:
I will lift up my voice and sing;
Whatever may befall me,
I will still follow the light which kindles song.
I will listen to the music
Arising out of grief and joy alike
I will not deny my voice to the song….

I hope you know you belong to this community in which we listen to one another’s songs and join in the chorus with love. Happy New Year!!

Minister’s Message Spring 2024

From Rev. John Pastor, at Rev. Meredith Anderson’s request: Spring Arrives!

Spring officially arrives on the 19th of this month. It has not been a bad winter. Many of the days already felt Spring-like. Our gardens here in Petersham did not have the benefit of much snow, referred to as “poor man’s fertilizer.” The mild winter can make it a challenge to celebrate the arrival of this season. But celebrate we will! We will celebrate with all the hope that accompanies this new season. We will sense the newness of life present here in the world of nature and in our own natural lives.

Colleague Jennifer McGlothin writes:

“As the first hint of green begins to peak through the barren ground                        
As that little sprig grows into a healthy stem                                                  
As that stem grows into a stalk and forms a bud
As that bud opens with each new day
To form a yellow daffodil
Let us be, like that first hint of green, renewed by the warmth of the sun’s rays
And ready to emerge with a new energy, ready to face the day”

Like the little green stem, we are ready to rise up once again. To lift our faces toward the sun’s rays and to continue the work of creating a bright future for ourselves and for those who will follow.

May you find blessings in this time of new growth. With Love, John

Minister’s Message, February 25, 2024 – Good Last-Sunday-of-February Morning!

“There is a spirit that brings us together in wonder and worship. It is the spirit of life calling us to reverence the gift of our own being and becoming, to reverence the splendor of life wherever we find it – in plant or animal, fish or bird, insect or human – to respect and to revere the web of life, the ecology of nature, the oneness of creation.

It is the spirit of truth calling us to inner integrity and wisdom, the voice of conscience impelling us to choose what is good and right and just in human society and relations, the impulse to know life and reality in all its fullness, till the sheer magnitude of all there is to know turns into wonder, and wonder into wisdom, and wisdom into joy.

It is the spirit of love calling us to be one with each other in all the pain and glory and mystery of this sweet and sad existence. It is the spirit that says be healed, be whole in body, mind and soul – overcome estrangement – forgive and be forgiven – make peace – be reconciled – lay claim to joy and compassion – bear no grudges – what can’t be changed let it go, let it be – change the only thing you can change with any luck and grace, your own inner being and response to life.

There is a spirit that brings us together in wonder and in worship. It is the spirit of life, truth and love calling us to be all that we can be and more children, sons and daughters of the universe.”

A copy of this was in each hymn book rack when I arrived at our Norwell, MA UU Church as the Director of Religious Education in the late 70’s. Rev. Richard M. Fewkes told me they had been discussing the reasons for attending this church. He said, not only attending, but the reasons for belonging to a church, and in this instance, a UU church. There had been many stories – from those who had grown up in a UU church as well as those who had grown up in other churches or had grown up attending no church. Though they had planned 3 sessions for this topic, they added several more. The discussions had brought forth an amazing number of memories – good and not so good, lessons learned and kept and lessons learned and rejected, beliefs required, beliefs rejected and new beliefs.

So, Dick wrote this to share with those who had not attended those discussions. One of the men suggested they place a copy in the hymn book racks so anyone visiting might read it, might reject it, might agree with it – and might ask questions leading to further discussions. In those days discussion groups were very popular and well attended!

We will be gathering together again next Sunday . . . I’d like to hear your reasons for attending the First Universalist Church of Orange!

Minister’s Message February 11, 2024

From Rev. Victoria Safford
Trees for Starters . . . .

A child in our Sunday School was overheard to say about his church, “I don’t know the name of it, but where we go we’re really interested in trees. All of us believe in trees.”

His mother called us shortly afterwards to report this unusual confession of faith, and to see if we thought it was time to supplement her boy’s understanding with a more comprehensive Unitarian Universalist theology.

I don’t know if there is a more comprehensive Unitarian Universalist theology. All of us believe in trees. Like my young comrade, that littlle Buddha back in New York state, I’ve always been “very interested in trees,” meaning I have always (as far back as I can remember) had a spiritual orientation that unfolds itself, reveals itself outside, and inside, and it cannot be contained within any single creed or book or building or tradition, and it cannot respond, and never has, to small-minded anthropomorphic gods in beards or turbans or suits and ties, these deities who are larger than life but smaller than soul. They have never spoken to me in words that I can understand. Even as a tiny girl, singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” I remember thinking maybe there is a Jesus and maybe there is an embracing love, immortal, invisible, radiating through the cosmos, touching even me – but if there is, it cannot be because the Bible tells me so; it must be deeper, older, wider, wilder, more reliable than that. I remember wanting those sky gods to rise up from their thrones and become little birds, flying up beyond the sky to fix themselves as stars, or fluttering down to earth, spilling down as drops of rain splashing on my hand. Even as a child I knew, and perhaps most clearly then: A throne is no place for a god.

Which is not to say that I was deaf, for I was not, to all the stories, songs and psalms, the mysteries and ethical teachings out of all those traditions of the West and of the East, which do speak to my heart and open it continuously (including, absolutely Jesus, and the radical love, agape, at the core of Christian mysticism – absolutely, and why not?) But for me these are just windows through which we can gaze upon and sometimes apprehend the sacred; they are not the thing itself.

Even stars and water, even trees, are not quite the thing itself.

Minister’s message for February 2024…

I ask you to sit quietly, place yourself in our sanctuary, feel the presence of those sitting with you, and hear these words from Rev. Richard S. Gilbert:

We belong to the great community of all souls –
a long procession of humanity
stretching back into time beyond our
comprehension,
sharing life with us in this time and space,
scattered around the globe in all our diversity,
poised to enter a future we cannot yet imagine.
We are privileged to be part of such a race of
creatures –
creatures who have marveled at the miracle of birth,
who have found meaning in the midst of life,
and who stand humbly before the mystery of death.
We stand proudly in the company of saints and
seers,
prophets and poets of the human spirit
who have rendered life more than mere existence.
In this hour of reflection we pledge ourselves anew
to our part in this great cloud of witnesses,
who commit our energies to the Beloved
Community
of which we are members – one of another.
We are servants of life
and wish to be counted among those
who will work for justice, love and compassion
in this blessed community of all souls.

Communities gather in many sizes and for many reasons. We are fortunate to belong to one with a great history of activity in the fields of education, medicine, politics, ecology, prison reform and science among others. Those of you who poke around on your computer may be familiar with some of these present-day UU movements. There are so many one could spend many hours a week attending webinars, lectures, demonstrations, book groups, classes and chat sessions. I meet with a group in Hawaii, mostly unchurched, that my second cousin invited me to attend before he died. I never dreamed I’d be ‘visiting’ friends there, but now look forward to the first Friday of every month.

This is a partial list of UU groups. If you do not spend time diddling on a computer at home, I’m sure your local librarian will be helpful.

New England Region UU –
We serve 232 Unitarian Universalist
congregations and communities in New
England.
UUSJ – UUs for Social Justice –
Vision: A just, compassionate, and sustainable
world community. Mission: Advance
equitable national policies and actions aligned
with UU values 
Unitarian Universalist Mass Action
We provide pathways towards justice and
identify opportunities in which we can live our
shared values.
UUSC – UU Service Committee
. . . a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization
advancing human rights together with an
international community of grassroots partners
and advocates.
UU Women’s Federation
building covenantal relationships among
UU women that equip us all to be better co-
conspirators and allies in the movement for
collective liberation.
Side With Love
a public advocacy campaign that seeks to
harness love’s power to stop oppression.

Good Sunday Morning… January 21, 2024

Please use your imagination  – you are now sitting with friends and have just sung this hymn :               Wonders now the world shall witness, never known in days of old, never dreamed by by ancient sages how-so ever free and bold.  Sons and daughters shall inherit wondrous arts to us unknown when the dawn of peace its splendor over all the world has thrown.

GOOD MORNING . . .

and thanks to Mother Nature the roads appear to be in good shape for traveling, so I will be driving home for several weeks before my next medical appointment here at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. I brought several books with me, most of them written by friends whose voices and expressions I hear and see as I read. I’m not good at meditating, for when I am that relaxed I fall asleep. So, I read a piece such as the following and it gives me something specific to ponder, keeping my body still but my mind quietly, occasionally not so quietly, working.

IMPATIENCE

Impatience grows in me,
I am a roaring river,
denouncing ignorance and innocence.
I race on
with rapid judgments.

Impatience grows in me,
I am a lava flow,
melting reasoned indifference.
I race on
with hot passions.

Impatience grows in me.
I am a whirlwind,
churning up forgotten hopes.
I race on
with frightening momentum.

Impatience, impatience
grows in me,
tiring my body.
Impatience throws my dreams,
one by one,
deep into the earth
where I watch them
languishing, dying
until I pick them up.
I pick them up
and reshape them with
patience, passion
and possibility.

Steve tells us why he wrote this book: Be The Change; Poems, Prayers and Meditations for Peacemakers & Justice Seekers . . .

“In a radio series I produced long ago, Studs Terkel, the intrepid Chicago radio personality and author, said something like this:

‘I wake up in the morning and read the papers and say the human species is not going to make it. Then,’ he continued, ‘I run into people who are making a difference . . . .’ I offer this book to those people, to you, who look upon the carnage of war, the cruelty of poverty, and the destruction of our environment with open eyes and simply say, ‘We can and must do better.’ This book is for you, the ones who, despite fears and limitations, give hope and courage to all of us by the way you live. It is dedicated to you who have a pestering need to love more boldly and live more courageously so that others might live better lives.”

You can see how Steve’s words give me a reason to sit and ponder. So many disturbing and destructive events are swirling around our planet today we can actually see, not just hear about, that passionate impatience often clutters my thoughts and I’m apt to sigh, feel helpless and think “what’s the use?” I try to be patient, choose one of my ‘dreams’ and examine it from different angles. I must remind myself that my way is undoubtably not the only way, so perhaps a little energetic, but patient, reshaping might help bring about the beginning of a passionate dream come alive.

Steve is not asking for world changing actions, though I have heard him say “we’ll never know the result of every small good deed and every carefully spoken word – they might stop with your neighbor, they might circle the globe”. He speaks to those who give hope and courage to all simply by the way they live and dedicates it to you who live more boldly and courageously so others might have better lives.

May you be patient with your passion and it’s possibility – it is apt to travel far. I wish you good health along the way, Meredith

Good Sunday Morning… January 14, 2024 Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, celebrated in many ways. In years past townspeople have gathered at our church for coffee and snack before heading off to one of the designated community work sites. Covid brought a halt to the program and this year the Interfaith Neighbors Connecting group did not get to make plans for the day. Instead of writing about the life or works of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I am simply going to quote passages from a piece in the 2012 UU World and then from several of his speeches. I believe they illustrate our close relationship, something you may not have realized, as well as his vision for tomorrow’s world.

This from the UU WORLD, 2012:
Even if your family does not engage in social action projects together on this day, the holiday presents an opportunity for Unitarian Universalist children to learn about the power of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience, two key aspects of our religious heritage. One thing that my kids find really amazing is that even though Dr. King was not a Unitarian Universalist, he was heavily influenced by Gandhi, who was a Hindu, and through him, by Henry David Thoreau, a Transcendentalist Unitarian. King also drew inspiration from the Unitarian-Universalist utopian minister Adin Ballou whose idea of “nonresistance” influenced Tolstoy and Gandhi, and from the radical Unitarian minister  Theodore Parker , whose language about the “moral arc of the universe” King used in his speeches.

This from his Nobel Peace Prize lecture, December 11, 1964:
The quest for peace and justice . . . .
This evening I would like to use this lofty and historic platform to discuss what appears to me to be the most pressing problem confronting mankind today. Modern man has brought this whole world to an awe-inspiring threshold of the future. He has reached new and astonishing peaks of scientific success. He has produced machines that think and instruments that peer into the unfathomable ranges of interstellar space. He has built gigantic bridges to span the seas and gargantuan buildings to kiss the skies. His airplanes and spaceships have dwarfed distance, placed time in chains, and carved highways through the stratosphere. This is a dazzling picture of modern man’s scientific and technological progress. Yet, in spite of these spectacular strides in science and technology, and still unlimited ones to come, something basic is missing. There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.

And finally, from his UU GA Ware Lecture in 1966
“Don’t Sleep Through the Revolution”
I need not pause to say how delighted I am to be here tonight, and to have the privilege of being with you for this important meeting. And I do want to express my warm personal appreciation to Dr. Greeley and other members of the committee who extended the invitation. There are those wonderful moments in life when you speak before a group that is so near and dear to you that you don’t feel like you have to engage in the art of persuasion. You don’t feel like you are in the midst of strangers. You know that you are with friends. I can assure you that I feel that way tonight.

My own personal experience with Unitarian Universalism began when I was a student at Boston University, back in the early 50s. I can remember on several occasions visiting Arlington Street Church where your distinguished Dr. Greeley pastored at that time. And I can remember beyond that, in the early years of my ministry, indeed, beyond that in the early years of the bus boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama, three of your ministers visited and encouraged me during that very trying and often difficult period. I refer to David Cole, Alfred Hawkins, and my dear friend who’s on the platform tonight, Homer Jack. Since that time I have worked with Dr. Jack in Montgomery, in Ghana, West Africa, in Washington, in the world peace effort and also in Selma. I also want to acknowledge your massive participation through your commission on Religion and Race in the events in Alabama during 1965. Now this support expressed itself both before and after the death of your colleague and mine, the Rev. James J. Reeb. We grieved at the death of Rev. Reeb, and I was glad to participate in his memorial service in the historic Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which I have the honor of serving as president, participates with the American Friends Service Committee and the Unitarian Universalist Association in the James Reeb memorial fund. So far we have substantially helped the family of Jimmie Lee Jackson and other victims of racial violence. In Chicago we are also engaged in a campaign to end slums and the conditions that create slums. We are happy to welcome the cooperation of Unitarian Universalists in that movement. So you can see that in many ways and for a long time now we have worked together in a very meaningful way. I want to express my personal appreciation for your support and let me say that it has been of inestimable value in the continuance of our humble efforts.

May we continue to work toward the goal of those who have given their lives in the effort to teach us the simple art of living together as brothers.