The theme of Sabbath is so timely. The church theme service we use, called Touchstones, has been amazingly, eerily, spot on for most months of this year for where this congregation is and what is good to explore further. The Covid 19 pandemic is forcing us to slow down, to reassess what is most important in our lives. Yes, many of us are working from home, and it is still a different rhythm, when we are not leaving our homes to go to work. And yes, there are many of us still working who do not have the privilege of working from home. We honor those who are risking their lives to serve the needs of others, whether it is health care, food service, or other essential services.
Sabbath requires us to slow down, to rest, to do things differently, to reflect on what is most important in our lives. What brings us relief and inspiration? What are the needs of the church now? What is it that we’ve been holding inside, that we can now take deep breaths and let our dreams and aspirations come forth? How do we connect with others in meaningful ways? How do we balance work and rest in these unusual times?
The month of May in the lives of some Unitarian Universalist congregations and ministers is generally not a time of rest. It is often the time when final decisions are being made of which ministers will serve which churches. Some ‘matches’ were already made in April - these are mostly for called ministers, where a majority of the whole congregation has decided they will enter into a very special relationship with a settled minister. Settled ministers have no time limit for when they will leave the congregation that has called them. The first part of May is when the Interim, Contract, and Developmental ministers begin the interviewing process, with most matches made by the end of May. Sometimes this goes on into June.
This process can also bring a time of unrestfulness, when first choices between ministers and congregations may not match. And uncertainty even when there are good matches, when moving to a different part of the state or country is bringing up concerns for ministers and their families for their health and safety. Some are choosing not to move while we cannot or at least should not be meeting in person, for the unforeseeable future. Many of my colleagues believe we will not go back to physically in person church until the fall of 2021.
There are bright spots still in this time for this church. For the first time in years there is a Worship Committee, and the first worship service they created was a breath of fresh air. Timely too, that they can provide worship services while we are sheltering in place. It was good to see so many congregants contributing. I would love to have congregants write personal reflections on the themes coming up. This month is Sabbath, June is Good and Evil, July is Harmony, August is Creation. At the annual meeting on May 17, there are people newer to the church who will be voted into leadership, bringing fresh ideas. At the meeting you will be able to see near final designs for the new building. Groundbreaking will happen in late July, and though we cannot have the big celebration we hoped for, we will still honor this next big step for UUCBV. Occupancy of the building should happen in July 2021, which is the best guess of when we will go back to physical in person church.The current Board of Trustees is starting decision making about how to maximize the time and finances until you occupy the new building. Your staff continues to do good work in new ways, and John Faber has been able to get us to the place of having a true digital community. Enjoy seeing each other in these new ways - See you in church! Take good care of yourselves and your families, and be in touch if there are pastoral concerns where I or the Pastoral Care Team can help.
Tell the world I'll survive
Tell the world I'm alive
I want you to know
All is blacked out but continues to grow
I need you to see
Nothing can change unless you believe
I won't let it go
I'll stick to the plan
Now we're deep in the throws
I won't let it go
I'll fight til the end
And then you will know
Who will save you now
Tell the world I'll survive
Who will save you now
Alone with this vision
Alone with this sound
Alone in my dreams
I carry around
I will not take from you and you will not owe
I will protect you from the fire below
It's not in my mind
It's here at my side
Go tell the world that I am alive
Alone with this vision
Alone and blind
Go tell the world i'm still alive
Who will save you now
Who will save you now
Tell the world I'll survive
Who will save you now
Who will save you now
Tell the world I'm alive
I will not take from you and you will not owe
I will protect you from the fire below
Alone with this vision
Alone and blind
Go tell the world I'm alive.
Some of us are born
And then some of us are born again
Some of us are scared to death
And some just don't believe in it
Something's always wrong
There's a line
An idea i cant get behind
No one knows whats right
Some try
Some just try to find a king
They say
Who will save us now
It's our life
But we don't want to live it
We want to be told how
By something or someone
Who's better than us
Who we know we can trust
Who will always protect us
Keep us scared to death
So we never ask questions
We'll dictate the consequences of our actions
And give us peace of mind about our miserable lives
Find it content all we want is a place we can hide
We can hide
Someone always fought
You can rest assured
It's the young and the poor who fought all out wars
Led to death by men who they chose
And hoped would protect them
Who will save us now
It's our life but we don't want to live it
And all you'll get is down
Cause the people you elect to protect your best interests
Will just protect themselves and all their investments
And even the few with the best of intentions
Will just push their views on what they think is right for you
And everyone else, you can't think for yourself
Cause you've chosen to let someone else do it for you
So we're left to drift between our waking life and all our dreams,
Reality is relative,
And that's all the advice I'll give.
And that's all the advice I'll give
Life and death are hard
They're such strange and complicated issues
So listen listen well
For insight
And no one knows what's right for you
Who will save us now
It's a wrong
And irrelevant question
We figure it out
With the people who love us
Who call us our brothers
Through lessons we've learned
From our fathers and mothers
Now looking for someone to find our solutions
To fight all our battles
Or show us what truth is
By working hard to find our own piece of mind
Living and learning till we know what's right for our lives our lives
Photo byPascal van de VendelonUnsplash
