"The deep meaning of spirituality is breath. Breath is the taking in of life-giving essence from the world around us, and the release, in turn, of life-giving essence. It is a metaphor for our interdependencies: the fact that we change and are changed by our environment in a continuous play of creation. Spiritual practices are aimed at helping us understand that connectedness, to sense our oneness, to the end that our yearning is appeased in actuality. For whether you call it God/dess, Nature, Spirit or Oneness (or some other word), the feeling of presence is very real for many of us. It is a feeling which sustains me, and fills me with appreciation for all that is my life."Sermon
I wonder if there is one among us who has never had a really tough time in their life, at least one moment of utter discouragement and despair. I wonder if that is even possible in this world. As the old saying goes, "In every life a little rain must fall." Yes, some lives have more of their share of rain, but everyone has some. At moments we may feel unable to help ourselves. We feel alone and abandoned and we don't have the strength to reach out. We feel wounded and "our spirits long to be made whole." We long to breathe a life-giving essence deep within our lungs; we long to make a connection to something beyond us and to release, in turn, that life-giving essence. We say, in our different ways, "Come, Spirit, come."
I, too, have experienced those times of helplessness and despair. I remember when I was little, first my sister and then my brother, both of whom I adored, went away to college. I was left alone at age eight with just my parents. They weren't bad parents. It was just so hard to suddenly be the only child at home. I hated being what psychologists call a "pseudo-only" child, but I was rather shy and found it hard to reach out to other children. I withdrew into a quiet depression and my own little fantasy world. It was only by going away to an overnight summer camp for two months which helped me to reconnect to something meaningful and life-affirming. It was the presence of some caring counselors and a couple of wonderful little friends that helped me recover my spirit that summer.
There was something else at camp that helped. Although I was only eight, I also felt great awe in the presence of nature. The camp's outdoor worship services under towering pine trees on bright, sunny mornings had a healing effect. I loved being outdoors in the beauty and peace of the pine grove. And the singing. Yes, the singing. When I sang, I felt pure joy. As one of my ministerial colleagues says in so many words: "When I talk, I doubt the existence of God. But when I sing, I believe." In singing, my spirit became more whole.
Our third Unitarian Universalist principle says that we affirm "acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations." First Parish Church's mission statement says something similar. It includes the goal to "nurture and grow our spiritual lives." In our picnic-table conversations last June, many of you expressed a wish that the church be more spiritual. I wondered at the time (and still do) what each of you meant, for there are many ways to look at spirituality, especially in a faith as open as ours. I have thought a lot about what it might mean for a church to be more spiritual and to nurture an individual's spiritual deepening. Your thoughts may be different, so I'm sharing mine with you... and perhaps later you'll want to share yours with me.
Many of us bring prior assumptions and even some negative "baggage" around the world "spiritual." In most orthodox faiths, it means simply one thing - being less concerned with the material or worldly goods and being more concerned with relating to a higher deity or life force. You may believe that this relationship was fostered mainly through prayer and meditation, alone or in a worshipping community. Historically, the spiritual came to mean something which was connected to a religion, a church, a temple or a mosque. I say that is fine and is certainly what people have thought for centuries. But we should not be limited to this one view or approach. And, in fact, over the past few decades, there has been a split in this country between the meanings of 'religious' and 'spiritual". As a good many Americans have become cool to organized religion, many are quick to say they are "spiritual without being religious." Maybe you are one of these and as a Unitarian Universalist you are not alone.
For many of us, being spiritual means feeling a deeper connection with all of nature or to the simple wonders of everyday life. It may mean making deeper connections to other people... whether in a close community of like-minded folks or in any group sharing a worshipful or meaningful experience. Through such experiences, we feel our spirits made whole, at least for a time.
I think of the times I have stood in a prayer vigil for peace or justice and felt a powerful spirit of solidarity with those around me. I recall as college student standing at a silent peace vigil protesting the Vietnam War with a handful of students and a group of Quakers from the town. And my spirit was deeply moved. I remember attending the Poor People's March in Washington and experiencing for the first time being in a huge interracial crowd, with liberal whites from the North and many poor African-Americans from the South. Although we were from vastly different backgrounds, I felt we were joined together in a common and holy cause.
I think of the massive march and rally in Washington DC I attended two years ago for women's reproductive rights. I stood with other Unitarian Universalists at an interfaith service near the Capital Building and was moved by the eloquent speeches, including that of our UUA President Bill Sinkford.
And I also think of the five day meditative retreat with the Buddhists this summer at Stonehill College. There I learned to simply sit - having no particular goal in mind, no sense of striving. I sat in silence, attentive to my breath and to the growing feeling of peace and calm within... and a sense of connection to the universe.
I think the basis of our spirituality is our connection to whatever is of worth and meaning, to whatever makes us most human. To deepen that spirituality is to allow those connections to grow slowly, like roots underground.
To deepen our spirituality is to let our unconscious feelings and desires arise to consciousness. It is recognizing even the unacknowledged fears and other shadows of the deep. It is facing all these thoughts and feelings, both positive and negative, hopefully in calmness, but not necessarily. It may be done by writing in a journal or in times of silence contemplation or prayer to a divine spirit or the life force. It may be done while talking to a trusted spiritual guide. Then slowly, one at a time, it is letting go of hate, fear, envy and anxiety. It is coming to a place of self acceptance and love. It is coming to a place of peace and joy, understanding and compassion for oneself and for others.
That to me is spiritual healing and health. But it does not come without effort. It is often a struggle. And we may lack the discipline or the knowledge or the tools to face this struggle on our own. Often we need others to help us on the way.
We Unitarian Universalists covenant or vow to accept one another and to encourage each other in our spiritual growth. "If acceptance affirms us as we are, encouragement pushes us toward whom we might become. As crucial as acceptance is to our spiritual and emotional health, we need frequent nudges by others to grow lest we stagnate. Our religious community helps us grow beyond ourselves, both personally and communally."2
"The word 'encourage' literally means to put courage or heart into another. All of us need reassuring as we face [life's difficulties]." We encourage each other with a hug or by saying, "You have what it takes to face the struggle." Encouragement may come from a sermon, or a piece of music or a poem. We support each other's first hesitant steps forward until we are stronger and more confident. We support each other along the common quest for spiritual growth. Even the strongest, most confident and independent among us may turn again to a community for renewal. Yet to acknowledge the need for support is difficult for some UUs, heirs to a proud heritage of independence and self-reliance.
In most congregations, the Sunday morning worship service is the only opportunity for group worship. As powerful and moving as a Sunday morning service may be, it is not the only vehicle or even the best vehicle for everyone's spiritual growth. There need to be more options. Since the rise of interest in a renewed spirituality, many Unitarian Universalist churches are looking for better ways to guide this growth. It has been organizations like UU Buddhists and UU Women and Religion groups who have been trailblazers in this area. Out of this have come meditation groups and the new wave of small group ministry.
The UUA's Commission on Appraisal recently did a study on Unitarian Universalists across the country to find out what holds us together as a faith community. It found we were a really diverse group, perhaps no surprise to those who have been in the movement for a while. The results of the study and the commission's conclusions and recommendations were published last June in a book titled Engaging Our Theological Diversity.
One recommendation was to continue the efforts to "develop and educate congregational members about UU-compatible spiritual practices." At the same time, it recognized that not everyone had the same need for spiritual depth and hoped that "those with a lower level of need" would not feel imposed upon or belittled because they lacked this interest.
The commission also stresses that there should be several alternatives within each church. Or if a church membership is too small, among a cluster of neighboring churches. The report lists common alternatives such as Buddhist sitting meditation groups, small group ministry groups, and women's spirituality circles. It says that many UU congregations offer adult religious education courses, "but a cursory review of existing curricula shows that they are slanted toward the intellectual and the historical and include few opportunities for the achievement of spiritual depth. There is no clear path of devotional, meditative, or spiritual practice that is made available through most UU congregations."
It seems that First Parish Church is not unique in this lack of alternatives, which may be small comfort. And we are doing well, I think, to begin a sitting meditation group, which meets on alternate Wednesday nights.
A real problem the commission recognized was the continual lose of our youth and young adults "who feel spiritually unfulfilled by standard UU fare." In response to this challenge, some churches in Boston and Cambridge developed youth-oriented evening services called Soulful Sundowns. Not being young myself, I've never been to a Soulful Sundown, but it sounds like it borrows the best features of the more evangelical churches without the heavy handed message. One will be held in Newport on Friday, November 4th. To quote the advertisement: "Soulful Sundown is an alternative Unitarian Universalist worship experience that celebrates the mystery and wonder of life, without claiming to know all of the answers. Soulful Sundown services combine live music, inspirational readings, video, and audience participation to create an experience that moves, challenges, and transforms." Wow! I'd love to go and be young in spirit! Another finding of this commission report brought a smile to my face. I found it ironic (having just graduated ago from seminary 3 years ago) that many UUs "see seminary is the only way to explore what it means to be a UU in a deep and committed way." Although I think going to seminary is a really great experience for those who want to go into some form of ministry, it's really too bad many UUs feel this is the only opportunity to explore deeply what this UU faith is and how to live it. I agree that there should be many other opportunities for growing one's spiritual depth.
The UUA needs to develop more spiritually-focused adult education curricula to be used in our congregations. Only a small handful are listed in the UUA bookstore catalog,3 And the UUA districts or maybe clusters of churches could offer more intensive classes and retreats centered on developing spiritual practices. These could be much like those available at our UU camp and conference centers.
I ask you to think of how we can encourage each other to greater spiritual growth in this congregation of First Parish Church. How can we give each other courage and heart to pursue our unique and individual but similar paths? How do we do give each other the means and the inspiration? How do we enhance the feelings of connection to something greater than our alone and lonely selves?
Let us say, each in our different way, "Come, Spirit, come."
May we breathe in the life-giving essence around us,
And let our spirits be made whole.
May we, in turn, breathe out a life-giving essence to each other and to a world in need of healing.
Amen and blessed be.