Who Do You Think You Are?

Male … White … U.S. Citizen … Able-Bodied … College Educated … Privileged … Gay … Father … Son … Fiancee … Minority … Unitarian Universalist … Spiritual … Humanist … Leader … Organizer … Business Owner … Copywriter … Gardener … Artist … 

I bring all of these identities, roles, and more to a new life in a new town. 

Moving, although a stressful transition that can bring somewhat jarring and traumatic changes such as a new job or school, a shift in economic responsibilities, leaving behind friends, and losing comforting physical surroundings that represent memories made and relationships started … 

... is also an energizing opportunity that offers you the ability to shed roles and responsibilities that no longer bring joy or meaning to your life, let go of unfulfilled plans or dreams, and allow you to finish writing your previous chapter so a crisp, new page can be turned to start the next one.

In a recent Palm Beach Post article about why some people love South Florida and some do not and move away, it was quoted that “moving does not guarantee happiness”, and demonstrates that continually examining how we view ourselves (and others) and repeatedly asking “who do we think we are” is an important exercise in deepening one’s understanding of oneself and crucial to our lifelong spiritual journey.

All life transitions — be it moving, a birth or death of a loved one, the ending of a marriage — push you to take an introspective look at who you have been, who you are at the moment, and envision your future self.

This exercise of self-exploration and reinvention is hardly limited to moments triggered by external circumstances, but accessible from within at any time.

I have found that a very telling way to check who I think I am at the moment is to view the “curated” identity I present via my social media pages. 

It offers a quick visual representation of the “public” me by the things I “like” and “share, how and what I say in posts, and what confirmation biases I am displaying through them. 

This always forces me to examine how I am presenting myself as authentic versus an idealized or contrived self and exposes areas that I need to re-examine and question further.

Examining identities within a wider circle is an invaluable exercise -- and recently, I, along with many other UUs of the Florida Southeast Cluster had the opportunity to attend the annual meeting and the “Thinking -- and Living -- Outside the Bubble” workshop led by Rev. Carlton Elliott Smith at the Treasure Coast Unitarian Universalist Congregation in nearby Stuart.

A healthy number of our Congregation’s members attended and had the opportunity to (respectfully) burst our bubbles of birth-given privilege, protection, and isolation through exploring our roles and identities to develop deeper understanding of others. 

This Congregation has a wonderful opportunity right now to engage in meaningful conversations about how each of us as individuals and as a whole define this religious community as well as examine how the larger community perceives us.

Being new to this Congregation — I have a much different perspective than a member who has been involved for decades. I look forward to getting to know all of you better — and you me — by hearing your experiences, expectations, beliefs, and values and sharing mine with you.

But, by all of us raising our voices to share, listen, and redefine ourselves as a religious community  — we can both illuminate our congregation’s positive attributes and identify its “growing edges” — all invaluable for informing our developing a ministerial road map for our future. 

Much like the brightly colored and patterned strips of fabric that make up the tapestry panels in our sanctuary, all of our unique — as well as shared identities and roles — are woven into a vibrant and pattern that incorporates each individual into one cohesive whole. 

It takes a lot of stitching, weaving, and pricked fingertips to bring the whole forth, but the journey and the results can be magnificent.

This exploration of the mystery, and the movement of the unknown into the light, is one of the projects of our spiritual journeys.  Deepening our understanding of ourselves.  Gaining courage in exposing more of ourselves to others.   This is one of the important ways that we find meaning in our lives -- how we discover our truth.

Creating a safe space for this exploration is one of the important functions of a religious community.  Providing opportunities for people to know themselves better.  Encouraging respectful engagement … that allows us to walk together on the journey…  and to live more fully into the possibilities of human relationship. 

We are here to nurture these important human needs.  To know ourselves and to know others.  

As we move more and more of our lives in the sunshine, we have more light on our path, and more warmth in our relationships, and more energy to give back to the world.

Amen and blessed be.

(With gratitude to Rev. Kathy Schmitz of 1U Orlando for her inspiration in developing this service)

Excerpts from "Who Do You Think You Are", a sermon delivered by David Traupman at 1stUUPB, Oct 22, 2017. 

Meditation, by Amy Stauber

In this quiet, still space,

the dust can gently settle.

The sands can softly sift through the glass,

and we can hear the quiet voices.

The voices of Spirit

ever present beneath the buzz and hum of daily living.

We create sacred space here, now, together

for soul to emerge and flower within our hearts.

Words for meditation by Amy Stauber, delivered by the author from the 1stUUPB pulpit, Oct 29, 2017.

Alloween: the Spirit and the Mystery

I drink my coffee black and eat my chocolate dark.  Luna is the name of my black cat.  I even have a tall, dark and mysterious husband.  To top it all off, I was born under the sign of Scorpio, right smack dab in the middle of the time of year when it gets dark earlier and earlier each evening, so I guess it makes sense that I have a preference for things dark and mysterious, and that something comes alive in me during the fall.

I most became aware that I have an inordinate obsession with fall and in particular the celebration of Halloween when I was teacher at a Catholic school in Louisville.  I came up with a two week project on Halloween that had my students develop what I called a Halloween packet full of research on different aspects and origins of the holiday and stories revolving around it.  My principal, who meticulously went through our lesson plans asked, “Amy, isn’t this a bit much on Halloween for eighth graders?” Her reaction demonstrated to me that not everyone is as thrilled with the costumes, scary stories, and trick-or-treating as I am.

One of my main concerns about moving to south Florida 11 years ago was how much I would miss the changing of the seasons.   I can remember my disorientation that first year when October and November passed without any noticeable change in the heat or the vegetation.  I still struggle a little bit each year, and have learned how to make the most of Halloween and fall decorations. 

On the Autumnal Equinox Sarah Wilson shared a video that expresses my sentiments about fall in the South exactly. 

A woman wakes up on the first day of fall excited and happy.  She goes to her closet and pulls out a cozy sweater and scarf with fall leaves on it.  She puts on a pair of fuzzy boots and makes herself a big mug of pumpkin spice coffee.  Then she heads out the door only to find a couple of guys outside in shorts and short-sleeved shirts.  She immediately starts sweating in her scarf and too hot sweater and with a big frown on her face slams the door, knocking her fall leaf wreath right off.  She probably went straight to her air conditioner and cranked it down a few degrees just to get in the mood.

Needless to say, the killing frosts of autumn do not touch south Florida, but if you look closely, the signs of change are there.  We lose a fraction of the intensity of the sun.  Instead of 90 degrees it’s 83 or 84, and occasionally we get a South Florida version of a cold front.  Today might be the day. The ocean loses its aquamarine hue and no longer feels like bathtub water.  And we do have our own version of a killing force of nature. 

Hurricanes don’t freeze us.  In fact, it’s quite the opposite. They leave us sitting in our dark un-air-conditioned homes thinking about all the dead foliage we have to clean up.  And we’re grateful that’s all we have to do.  We’re grateful we have all of our loved ones accounted for; we still have homes standing, water to drink, and passable roads. 

This fall many people in Texas and the Caribbean came face to face with the killing and destructive forces of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Though it takes a different form, we are familiar in South Florida with the killing breath of autumn.

Our religious and cultural traditions reflect this dying time of year and ask us to take a look at death and perhaps make friends with it.  After all, it is as natural a part of life as birth. 

Many of you attended Bill Schoolman’s service on The Right to Die, last month.  In his discussion of the need for our society to take a closer look at how we allow people with terminal illnesses to suffer needlessly, he accounts for this cruelty by suggesting that we as a culture, a society, are so obsessed with youth that we almost make it seem unnatural to show age, to show signs of the passage of time.  We treat death as unnatural, but as I was explaining recently to a high school student that I tutor in English about the symbolism of Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, I haven’t heard of any one yet, no matter how great he or she was in life who was able to overcome death.    Maybe you could count Jesus, but even though many believe he rose from the dead, he still didn’t get to stay. 

I was explaining to my student that Santiago, the protagonist of the novel, is fighting more than a fifteen hundred pound marlin and the sharks who want to feed on his great catch. 

He is an aging fisherman.  He feels his decline deep in his bones. 

Santiago doesn’t care that he has no money for food.  What’s most important to him is the will to live and to prove that he is still a hunter and a fighter. 

He’s still alive.  But no matter how he fights, the sharks keep coming, just like the deterioration of the body.  Just like death. 

We can die our hair, freeze our fat, and get Botox, but it doesn’t change the inevitable.  Nature’s passage into this darkening time of year helps keep us honest about that.

Celebrating this time gives us a chance to collectively take a look at death.  Coming together helps us examine it at arm’s length, maybe make friends with it, or at least develop an acquaintance, and as our cultural tradition of Halloween invites us to, maybe have a little fun with it. 

The ancient Celtic ritual of Samhain and the Christian versions of it All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and Dia de los Muertos provide an opportunity for deepening our spiritual understanding of death.  These traditions welcome connection with whatever lingers of the dead, the ancestors, those we have buried, or burned to ashes, those for whom our hearts still tenderly long.  We revisit their memory, rekindle their spirits by fire or candlelight and commune with them, talk to them.

And like Odysseus on his trip to the Underworld, we may receive news from home (our spiritual or ancestral home), and we receive something along the lines of prophecy, perhaps the direction we should go to get back home.

Can I provide a rational explanation for the times in my own life when I have felt the veil lift between the living and the dead?  Perhaps not, but I have had experiences that were for me powerful and spiritually moving, despite whether or not I can prove the veracity of them, or that they mean what I want them to mean.

Twenty years ago, I was living in a Benedictine monastery considering becoming a nun.  It’s an old monastery on top of a hill in Southern Indiana.  A gorgeous Romanesque chapel sits on top of that hill and at the foot of it is the cemetery.  On All Souls Day, the Catholic feast day that I now know derived from the pagan celebration of Samhain, the sisters led a procession from the chapel to the graveyard at Vespers, the sunset prayer service.  Gray skies threatening a thunderstorm, incense thuribles swaying on chains, sending out rich, piney and earthy scents of frankincense and myrrh.  Chanting and the litany of saints. 

A movie could not have set the stage better.  The wind threatened to blow out all of our handheld candles with the little cardboard disks wrapped around them to protect our hands from dripping wax. 

It wasn’t until we were all safely inside on our way to the dining hall that it started to rain, but the sun was shining in the westward windows when we reached the hall.  I turned to one of the sisters next to me.  Her post middle-aged face was bright like a little girl’s.  I bet there’s a big rainbow, she said.  We ran together to the colonnade that wrapped around the chapel.  Standing in the rain, we looked up to find a perfect half-circle of a rainbow arcing right over the top of the chapel.  Can I explain the occurrence scientifically?  Of course I can.  It was raining and the sun came out.  The water refracted the light.  But can I explain the timing and the placement?  Not a chance.  Can I prove that it was the souls of the departed reaching out, connecting for a passing moment with the living?  No, I can’t.  All I know is what my soul needs, what my heart knows and longs for. 

Last summer I visited another graveyard in Southern Indiana, my ancestral graveyard.  My grandparents, great grandparents and great-great grandparents are buried there.  My beloved grandmother who died 27 years ago is buried there.  It had been 15 years or so since I had visited her grave, yet when I stood there reading her name, remembering.  I found myself saying, I still miss you, Mamaw.  When I looked up, I saw through my sunglasses rainbows in the clouds.  I thought it was some trick of the eye with the sunglasses, maybe it was.  But it lasted until we got in the car and started driving the country roads to my uncle’s house.  It lasted so long I felt compelled to mention it to my Dad. 

I know there are lots of things I want to believe, and I want to believe that something of those nuns, something of my grandmother, and something of my mother who died last year lives on, even if it is only in my memories and in my heart. 

And there is great wisdom, great consolation
in celebrating this great inexplicable mystery, this darkness from which we all come and to which we all must return.

When my mother died, I was by her side along with the rest of my family.  Let me tell you, when death overcame her, I understood the ghoulish masks of Halloween and how they mock the face of death.  I left the hospital that night with a twisted and distorted image of my mother’s beautiful face burned in my memory.

And that night I dreamed of her.  She was alive again and had an important message. “I’ve come back to make amends,” she said.  The dream was so powerful it woke me up shaking a little bit and I had to remind myself that my mother’s “ghost” would never hurt me.  In the middle of the night after such a loss, it’s easy to lose your grasp on the rational world.  

The next day, I told my Dad about the dream, and he shared with me that all during the time my mother was dying, he kept whispering in her ear to make her peace and to forgive her siblings.

My parents are devout Catholics.  Dying in a state of forgiveness is very important to them.  And my mother really struggled with forgiveness when it came to her family.  She was the oldest of eleven.  They were all victims of abuse and alcoholism is a family trait.  There were many misunderstandings and hurt feelings over the years.

We have no idea whether or not Mom made her peace with them in her heart.  She was in a coma when the priest gave her last rites.  This gave my Dad some anxiety about her soul.  But love has a way seeing things through despite the seeming finality of death.   You see, my Mom had us, the family she created and we became her agents on this earth. 

Dad called each and every one of the living siblings and invited them to the services and to our house.  At the visitation, an aunt I had never met before, but who was my mother’s maid of honor appeared.  I walked her and some of my other aunts over to a table and showed them pictures from my mom and dad’s wedding at which they were all present.  An uncle I barely knew showed up and agreed to be a pallbearer.  My sister, brother, and I spent time during the visitation and after the funeral getting to know them all, hearing stories that helped us understand the pain my mother carried.  Perhaps together, my Dad, my siblings, my aunts and uncles and I, did for my mom what she could not.  We invited each other in.  We made amends. 

Forgiveness, the healing of souls, the connection of love that is stronger than the grave — THAT is what Samhain, Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and Dia de los Muertos are all about.

Do I know for sure whether my rainbow experiences at the monastery and at my grandmother’s grave, and the dream I had about my mother are real connections to the beyond, or not.  No.  I don’t.  Are they figments of my imagination?  Maybe.  Probably.  But, I do know for sure that part of me needs these little miracles.  They keep me strong and they keep me alive and thriving.  They keep my grandmother and my mother alive in me.  They passed me the torch of love and I’ll carry it with me to the end. And when it’s time.  I’ll pass it on too. 

Another thing I know for sure is that one thing doesn’t die.  Love.  The way we touch the hearts of others.  The loss others feel when we die proves that.  The love I still feel for my grandmother 27 years later proves it.  She lives and will continue to live because she taught me to love, and I will give my love to others.  Her love was the product of her mother’s love and all those who loved her.  And my presence here today is the product of my mother’s love.

So let’s take this time these next few days and dare to look at the grave.  Stick our hands in the ashes and the dirt and remember and listen for the messages from home about how to get back home, and most importantly feel the love that doesn’t die.

Alloween: The Spirit and the Mystery, a sermon delivered by Amy Stauber from the 1stUUPB pulpit on Oct. 29, 2017.

Words from the Pulpit, Oct 15, 2017

The Road Ahead or The Road Behind by George Joseph Moriarty

Sometimes I think the Fates must
Grin as we denounce and insist
The only reason we can’t win
Is the Fates themselves that miss

Yet there lives on an ancient claim
We win or lose within ourselves.
The shining trophies on our shelves
Can never win tomorrow’s game. [but]
You and I know deeper down
There’s always a chance to win the crown

But when we fail to give our best
We simply haven’t met the test
Of giving all, and saving none
Until the game is really won

Of showing what is meant by grit
Of fighting on when others quit
Of playing through, not letting up
It’s bearing down that wins the cup
Of taking it and taking more
Until we gain the winning score

Of dreaming there’s a goal ahead
Of hoping when our dreams are dead
Of praying when our hopes have fled
Yet losing, not afraid to fall
If bravely, we have given all

For who can ask more of a man
Than giving all within his span
Giving all, it seems to me
Is not so far from victory

And so the Fates are seldom wrong
No matter how they twist and wind
It is you and I who make our fates
We open up or close the gates
On the road ahead or the road behind

John Wooden, UCLA Basketball coach, described success not as winning but, he said,

SUCCESS IS PEACE OF MIND WHICH IS A DIRECT RESULT OF SELF-SATISFACTION IN KNOWING YOU MADE THE EFFORT TO BECOME THE BEST YOU ARE CAPABLE OF BECOMING.

Quiet Time/Meditation/Prayer

 Fond Words by Andrew M Hill

Hard words will break no bones:

But more than bones are broken

By the inescapable stones

Of fond words left unspoken.

So, let us in the quiet of our minds speak fond words:

for those to whom we are close and who are close to us;

for those whose presence is now a memory;

for fond friends and helpful neighbors;

And let us in the quiet of our minds speak fond words for those we too often forget:

for those who are struggling with poverty, with tyranny, or with disasters

for those who seek work, a home, or better health

for those who are discriminated against because of who they are.

And let us in the quiet of our minds try speaking fond words for those for whom we find it difficult to speak fond words:

for those who we never see but on whom we depend

for those who irritate us because they are only doing their job

for those with whom we are out of sorts

And let us in the quiet of our minds just hope that someone else is speaking fond words:

for those who we love to hate

for those who we cannot love and who are unlovely to us

for those who we have forgotten.

Hard words will break no bones:

But more than bones are broken

By the inescapable stones

Of fond words left unspoken.

Reading: Ysabel Duron

For this reading, I would like to share the story of one of the many Purpose Prize winners. The purpose prize was founded in 2005 by Marc Freedman, CEO of Encore.org. Since that time, the Purpose Prize has generated nearly 10,000 nominations and produced more than 500 winners and fellows. Marika and Howard Stone became Purpose Prize fellows early in the program. In 2016, the program transitioned to a new home at AARP. The AARP Purpose Prize™ award honors extraordinary individuals who use their life experience to make a better future for all. These are extraordinary stewards who make a difference in the lives of others

One of the Purpose Prize winners is journalist and cancer survivor Ysabel Duron. In 1999, Ysabel Duron’s gynecologist discovered a golf ball-sized cancerous tumor in her pelvic region. The diagnosis: Hodgkin lymphoma. She is an inspirational cancer survivor.

After she recovered, she was haunted by how few other Latinos she had seen receiving treatment. Questions about how, and where, Spanish-speaking cancer victims got help plagued her. She had survived. But how many did not?

In September 2003 she founded Latinas Contra Cancer (Latinas Against Cancer), an organization committed to educating, supporting, and providing essential services to low-income Spanish speakers suffering from the disease.

The call to action answered by Ysabel Duron has had an impact far beyond the Bay Area where she lives. Her passionate commitment is helping Latino communities across the U.S. gain access to cancer support, information, and treatment about cancer. Duron’s game-changing networking, partnerships, and legislative advocacy have been the hallmark of an encore career with significant social impact.

The social need is great. Cancer is now the leading cause of Latino deaths in the U.S., killing one in five, a rate higher than heart disease. And for Duron, framing the message of cancer prevention and helping organize social and psychological support for those most in need has become her mission.

I don’t have time to share her entire story today but here is her message:

“I knew I had a responsibility to represent this community of color, that I had to operate with integrity and shine a light. All the challenges kept preparing me to stand up for something.” To stand up for something.

Duron is now committed to reshaping federal policy, law, and funding. An advocate for extending the Affordable Care Act to cover more immigrants, Duron believes “everyone deserves the best treatment they can get when they’re ill.”

After her own experience fighting, surviving and “putting a human face on the big C,” Duron’s great empathy for cancer patients has made her absolutely clear on her bigger purpose in the second stage of her life. “I was meant to do this — to be a voice for an underserved, underrepresented population without a voice.”

Ysabel Duron exemplifies what it means to stand for something.

CLOSING WORDS

A POWER AT WORK IN THE UNIVERSE

Adapted from words by Tom Schade

There is a power at work in the universe.

It works through human hands,
but it was not made by human hands.

It is a creative, sustaining, and transforming power and we can trust that power with our lives and with our ministries.
It will sustain us whenever we take a stand on the side of love;
whenever we take a stand for peace and justice;
whenever we take a risk.

Trust in that power.
We are, together, held by that power.

May we stand for what we believe in.

May we seek thrive-ability for our environment, our Congregation, and for ourselves; moving from surviving to thriving.

May we never shirk our responsibilities to ourselves and the universe

May we strive to be, not so much the best in the world but, the best for the world.

May it be so.

Words spoken by Paul Ward from the 1stUUPB pulpit on Oct 15, 2017. (His sermon follows.)

Sustainability and Stewardship: From Surviving to Thriving

I spent much of the summer at my home in Portsmouth, England. Portsmouth is the home of the British Navy and my apartment overlooks the harbor entrance. When I arrived, the USS George HW Bush, one of the largest aircraft carriers in the world, was anchored just outside the harbor, in sight of my apartment. It was good to see the U.S. Government was providing special security for my visit.

The UK Government must also have got wind of my being in town. They also sent an aircraft carrier but not just any aircraft carrier -- they sent Her Majesty’s Ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, the newest and largest vessel of the British Royal Navy. I was there to witness the ship’s first entry into Portsmouth Harbor. Portsmouth will be the home port for this aircraft carrier which is expected to be the Flagship of the British Royal Navy for the next fifty years.

According to Rear Admiral Chris Parry, aircraft carriers combine the sustainable reach of maritime platforms, the striking power and versatility of aircraft, and the multi-role possibilities of distinctly large chunks of deployable sovereign territory. Sustainability is an important theme for this aircraft carrier and for my sermon today.

One last reflection on HMS Queen Elizabeth: when the ship was launched in Scotland last year, rather than the traditional champagne launch, it was a bottle of Scotch whisky that was smashed against the hull to launch the ship. What a waste!

I want to start with some “What if?” questions:

·    What if we focused on sustainability rather than allowing our valuable resources to be used without concern about their replenishment?

·    What if we focused on stewardship rather than leadership?

·    What if we focused on thriving rather than just surviving?

So, I am going to talk about sustainability and stewardship in three distinct areas: first of all, linking to our Justice Action Ministry, I will address environmental stewardship and sustainability. Then I’ll move on to stewardship and sustainability for our Congregation. And finally, I will address personal stewardship and sustainability.

But what is stewardship and what is sustainability?

I like the definition of stewardship as a theological belief that humans are responsible for the world, and should take care of it for the greater good -- Humans are responsible for the world, and we should take care of it for the greater good. It is about the careful and responsible management of something or someone entrusted to our care.

The definition of sustainability that I like is: something that can be continued or a practice that maintains a condition, meeting current needs without harming our environment and without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by balancing environmental, economic, and social concerns. So, something that can be continued without harming our environment.

So, let’s begin with

Environmental stewardship and sustainability

I am often impressed by the passion of advocates who speak from this pulpit. Leah Rothschild who was our service leader during the summer described herself as an eco-feminist which I found described as someone who combines ecological concerns with feminist concerns, both philosophically and politically.  Leah described her experiences of tree sitting, which is a form of environmentalist civil disobedience in which a protester sits in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down. Tree sitters are stewards of the trees and the forests.

I have never been a strong advocate; I am not really an activist but, as some of you know, I am writing a book on Conscious Leadership and conscious leaders stand for something. So, I have been challenging myself about what I stand for.

So, I stand for non-violence, I stand for freedom of speech but strongly believe in the philosophy of do no harm. I also stand for protecting our environment. 

Environmental stewardship refers to responsible use and protection of the natural environment through conservation and sustainable practices. We need to be good stewards of this earth.

Although the origin is uncertain, I really like this quote: “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” -- “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” While I was in England last week, I was told to expect another grandchild next spring. I am looking forward to having another grandchild. But, what am I doing to protect the environment for my children and grandchildren?

In my book, I have included the story of the Patagonia organization. Yvon Chouinard is the founder and owner of Patagonia, an organization that began life creating pitons and axes for the sport of rock climbing. Chouinard soon realized they were becoming, in his words, environment villains. The iron pitons hammered into the rocks caused major damage.

After an ascent of the Nose in Yosemite National Park, once pristine and considered impossible to climb, Chouinard became disgusted with the degradation he had seen and, despite the pitons being the mainstay of their business, decided they would phase out the piton business. In the event, in 1972, they replaced the damaging iron pitons with aluminum chocks that could be wedged in by hand and easily removed rather than hammered in and out of cracks.

Patagonia has become a very successful, environmentally conscious business and is now described as a supplier of environmentally friendly clothes and equipment for silent sports, none of which require a motor and where reward comes in moments of connection between people and nature. I love that: moments of connection between people and nature.

In his book, Let My People Go Surfing, Yvon Chouinard explains why he was in business. He said, “True, I wanted to give money to environmental causes. But even more, I wanted to create in Patagonia a model other businesses could look to in their own searches for environmental stewardship and sustainability, just as our pitons and ice axes were models for other equipment manufacturers.” This purpose is supported by a mission statement which is: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

An interesting tension exists between “building the best product” and “causing no unnecessary harm”?

In an interview with Rick Ridgeway, VP of public engagement at Patagonia, published in Conscious Company Magazine, he talks about this tension.

Patagonia has replaced the chemistry in the durable water resistant (DWR) coating on their shell jackets from one that was causing some considerable harm on the environment through fluorocarbon chemistry with one that is less harmful; but it is still harmful. In analyzing and considering all the other potential replacements they have found that coatings that do no harm to the environment last for only one or two years instead of the fifteen or twenty years for the current jacket. Patagonia cannot possibly be comfortable, much less complacent, with where they’re at, because it’s not nearly good enough but they are working on it and they are being transparent about it.

Environmental stewardship and the importance of the sustainability of our planet for future generations cannot be over-estimated despite what the U.S. president has to say about climate change being a hoax invented by the Chinese. I support the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

I have not yet seen Al Gore’s new movie, The Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power but from what I hear, it is optimistic perspective on just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Apparently, he pursues the inspirational idea that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.

Bringing this closer to home, let me mention the Climate Action Coalition of South Florida. I live on the beach and I know the sea levels are rising. I expect Singer Island to be underwater at some point in this century. I don’t think I can stop the sea levels rising but I can join in the those seeking action. I encourage you to support the Climate Action Coalition of South Florida and other environmental initiatives.

UU Stewardship

Let me move on to the stewardship and sustainability of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palm Beaches. As president of the Board of Trustees for this Congregation, I take stewardship and sustainability of this Congregation very seriously.

Our next stewardship campaign is some way off but I hope you will continue to be inspired to give generously in support of our Congregation.

As Unitarian Universalist theologian Tom Owen-Towle once said, “Generosity involves openheartedness, the cardinal ability to give lavishly of yourself to others, to the world around you, to the divine communal Spirit in which we live, move, and have our beings.” He goes on to say this “generosity undergirds and underwrites all other values.

Without generosity, one loves sparingly, if not stingily;

without generosity, our acts of justice happen rarely;

without generosity, we hoard our precious gifts of time and soul and other resources.”

The tension between generosity and stewardship challenges the Board of Trustees. We want to be generous and caring for each individual and yet we must take action for the good of all. Decisions we take are not taken lightly.

Some might say we are surviving quite well even without a minister. So far this year, we are within budget. We are coping without a minister. With the active support of so many of our Congregation, I hope you will agree that we are doing more than just surviving -- we are thriving. That doesn’t mean we are complacent. Selection teams are working diligently to hire a settled minister for the long term and a contract minister for the short term. I will be providing an update in my Life of the Congregation presentation after the service today.

We have new members joining and existing members are actively engaged. If you are ready to get more involved, talk to members of the Board and members of the committees. Let’s continue to move positively towards an increasingly thriving Congregation.

Personal stewardship

So, I have talked about environmental stewardship and Congregational stewardship. I would like to end with a focus on personal stewardship. For me, this is about choosing service over self-interest.

Peter Block, who I met in New York about 20 years ago, wrote the book on stewardship. He wrote, stewardship is to hold something in trust for another; a choice to act in service of the long run and a choice to act in the service of those with little power. Although recognizing that the idea of stewardship is somewhat elusive and suffers from ambiguity, the practice of stewardship still provides a framework for thriving in the complexity of this modern age.

Ultimately, we must make a choice between service and self-interest. We exist in an age of self-interest and entitlement. But can we come from a place of service? Can we ask, how may I help you? How may I serve this person or this organization? How may I serve this Congregation?

As I look for examples of conscious leaders, I look for people who act responsibly for the good of all, not first and foremost for their own self-interest. One source of inspiration is the Purpose Prize™ -- an award that honors extraordinary individuals who use their life experience to make a better future for all.  I shared the story of Ysabel Duron in my reading. There are many other examples of exemplary stewards who have made a difference.

As I prepared this service, I was reminded of our sixth and seventh UU principles:

    6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

    7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

These principles run through this message of stewardship and sustainability. 

So, what are you called to do?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, “Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.”

Today, October 15, is the 288th day of the year 2017. There are 77 days remaining until the end of the year. What do you stand for? What are you called to do before as we begin to plan for 2018?

So, let me come back to sustainability and stewardship.

I have a growing passion for sustainability of our planet. Last week, the European Union hosted the 4th edition of the Our Ocean conference in Malta. At the conference, 437 tangible and measurable commitments were agreed.

Let me share one commitment. P&G Dish brands -- the world's #1 selling handwashing liquid -- announced it will continue to use 8,000 metric tonnes of recycled plastic per year in its transparent plastic bottles, using an average of 40% Post-Consumer Recycled plastic content.  P&G Dish Care are also using recovered beach plastic and raising consumer awareness of the ocean plastic issue. These initiatives complement P&G's support of the efforts of the Trash Free Seas Alliance to dramatically reduce the flow of plastic into the world's oceans. Members of the Trash Free Seas Alliance® aim to reduce and make continual progress toward eliminating ocean trash.

There are a lot of good things happening. I invite you to look for the causes that inspire you to encourage the survivability of our planet.

Our Congregation is doing more than surviving. I believe we are thriving while we search for a settled minister. I appreciate every one of you, and all you do as stewards of our Congregation.

I invite you all to consider the questions,

·    How may I serve?

·    How may I help sustain our environment whether it be our planet, our country, our state of Florida, our County of Palm Beach, or our own back yard?

·    How may I help this Congregation to thrive?

Put service before self-interest. May it be so.

Sermon by Paul Ward, delivered from the 1stUUPB pulpit on October 15, 2017.