April 2000
 From Your Minister
by Rev. Jane Ranney Rzepka, minister, CLF
A few years back, in the Himalayas, our family trekked for days among people who had never seen a road or a car or a bicycle or a wheelbarrow. These were people who knew, however, precisely how to live simply in the high country. There I was, nearing the end of a day's climb, wearing the customary long trekking skirt, and huge hiking boots, and a down jacket, a back-pack, a wide-brimmed hat, mountaineering glasses, a camera around my neck, and globs of sunscreen. It was Easter, so for my kids I had brought along a garish little Easter basket and in it a small stash of jelly beans that I carried importantly. Periodically, when I couldn't resist the temptation to further mortify the family, I'd burst into song about Peter Cottontail and how much he liked to hop up up up that trekking trail.
In fact I was singing Peter Cottontail when I looked up, and in a sobering flash, discovered that we had reached the Buddhist monastery, and that the venerable reincarnate high lama himself was standing in his simple robe, staring at me. He spoke then in Tibetan to our Sherpa guide, and later I learned what he said. As I stood before him in my full regalia with my basket of jelly beans, he said: "I will never understand these Christians, their songs, or their gods. But invite them in for yak milk tea, and I will bless them." It was a happy Easter.
For you, it's now the month of April. But for me it's a sunny December Saturday morning, and I am writing to you from a little village in northern India. It's cold out. The dogs are barking, the women, all bundled up, are hauling water, and the men are bustling about—mostly pounding things with hammers, from the sound of it. I don't see the children yet.
Today is Christmas morning.
No sign of Santa, or Rudolf, or for that matter, Jesus, though there are plenty of monkeys around and a few sacred cows.
As the April Quest deadline approaches, as it does at the end of December, I am reminded that a number of CLF members will wake up on Easter morning or during Passover without Easter baskets or matzo. Perhaps you're in Guatemala, or a college dorm, or in Kenya. Or maybe you're at home, but feeling far from signs of the surrounding culture or too busy to make much of a fuss. Some of you welcome a break from the traditional holidays; others miss the spiritual boost or the simple fun that the holidays can bring.
Though I am a Unitarian Universalist who experiences our religion as solid and of a piece, I do appreciate our flexibility when it comes to holiday observances. We can always have our holidays, wherever we are!
Are you a sunrise service person? Do you appreciate a ritual meal? Singing maybe? Are you one to plant a tree? Will you open your doors and invite people over? Sit in quiet meditation? Your holiday is yours to create.
This morning the Buddhist monks are sounding their horns and a woman is sifting grain on the roof next door. Someone is selling bananas, and by now a child is sweeping the street with branches. And on this Christmas morning I am wishing you a satisfying Easter, Passover, and time of new light wherever you are.
Jane Rzepka, Minister
Quest April 2000 Contents
 REsources for Living
Betsy Hill Williams, Religious Education Director, CLF
Last month on the REsources page I invited you to broaden your definition of "faith" and to go treasure hunting through your life to find evidence of your faith in what you do every day. This month I invite you to continue the journey I took with the European Unitarian Universalists at their fall retreat, to broaden your definition of worship and develop resources for a
personal worship life.
Worship, by my definition, is the intentional bringing of resources and activities into our lives that will help us find and connect with what is most meaningful in our lives. It has become almost clichéd among UUs to look to the root meaning of the word worship, "worth," for this broad definition: worship or "worth-ship" is the consideration and
celebration of what is worthy to us.
In my first month as Director of Religious Education at CLF, I was asked to review the soon-to-be-published new hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition. In this review I came upon what has become one of my favorite Emerson quotes: "A person will worship something—have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts—but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thought will determine our lives, and character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming."
One of the things I particularly like about our new hymnal is the way the hymns and readings are grouped together by our "sources," those five (now six) statements that describe the sources of our faith tradition: direct experience, words of wisdom from prophetic men and women throughout the ages, teachings from the world's religions, humanism, and earth-centered spirituality. Our "sources" are resources for us in finding and defining our own spiritual paths.
In my theme talk I examined each resource, describing, and later discussing in small groups, how individuals or families could use specific activities and practices to draw from these resources. The goal would be to connect with and celebrate what is most worthy to them. Though space limitations in Quest prohibit a thorough review of our discoveries, I refer you again to Scott Alexander's book, Everyday Spiritual Practice, (reviewed in Quest, May, 1999) for excellent examples of most of the activities and practices we identified.
Within all the "everyday practices" we discussed—from reading and meditation to prayer beads and personal altars—we can find common elements. In Everyday Spiritual Practice, Jane Mauldin writes about four elements, four steps if you will, in developing a spiritual practice. For her, this practice focuses on what is most important and meaningful (and demands most of her time)—her personal everyday relationships. As I describe these steps, think about what relationships or activities you could apply them to. How would it make a difference in your way of doing them?
The first step (#1) is AWARENESS. It's so easy to start each day barely noticing the people around you as you gulp down your coffee, slap the sandwiches together, or glance through the paper, and speed out the door. Awareness starts with stopping, pausing, and just looking—really looking—at your partner, or your kids, or your dog. If you're lucky, you might get the added benefit of their awareness, too. They'll look back. I have to admit that I get that most often from the dog….but occasionally my husband or kids and I will catch each other's eyes and just smile. Don't let that moment go unnoticed! It's a sacred moment. It's not a big moment. It is a moment to truly
appreciate.
And that brings us to #2: APPRECIATE the present moment. We've all heard that before. And we all experience life filled with moments when this seems impossible. Maybe you're struggling to get a meal on the table at the end of a stressful day. Or you're waiting for your turn at the pediatrician's office, knowing you're missing an important meeting at work. Moments of adversity like these more easily call up resentment and frustration, not appreciation. But appreciation is exactly what will save us from our resentment and frustration. Stop the self-talk that gets in your way of seeing the good, seeing the holy, in what you are doing at that very moment. Detach yourself from whatever image of productivity, accomplishment, success, happiness, has you focused on a different reality than the one you are living that moment. Develop appreciation.
#3 Detach from attachment. Many traditional spiritual practices (i.e. meditation and yoga) help us wean ourselves from attachment to transitory, material things. In relationships, the attachments we need to let go of are often self-imposed. Maybe you're attached to an idealized image of what your life, or your partner, or your children should be like. Maybe you're attached to an image of happiness that includes very specific things—like expensive skiing vacations, or kids with good grades. When we let go of attachments to unrealistic expectations or idealized images, then we're on the path to unconditional love—compassion with no strings attached—and we can appreciate others for who they truly are.
The final step could also be the first step: (#4) COMMITMENT. Every spiritual practice, especially personal
relationships, will have pitfalls, challenges, and pain. We will not grow, deepen, achieve greater knowledge and understanding unless we are willing to make a commitment that will last us through the inevitable difficulties. Commitment creates an opportunity to practice awareness, appreciation and detachment from unimportant, or unrealistic,
expectations.
Look at the sources again. Which one or ones are you most drawn to? Among ourselves, let's share the resources we have found and the activities we have developed that have made our lives more worshipful, helped us to live with greater awareness, appreciation, detachment and commitment. Call, write, or join us online on the CLF-RE list.
Quest April 2000 Contents
Last updated June 12, 2005
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