Most Precious Gifts
by the Rev. Kerry
Mueller
Service at UUCSS on June 18,
2000
A Flower Communion Service
Opening Words
#435 Kathleen McTigue
We come together this morning to
remind one another
To rest for a moment on the
forming edge of our lives,
To resist the headlong tumble
into the next moment,
Until we claim for ourselves
Awareness and gratitude,
Taking the time to look into one
another's faces
And see there communion: the
reflection of our own eyes.
This house of laughter and
silence, memory and hope,
is hallowed by our presence -
together.
Opening Hymn #130 "O Liberating Rose"
The Lighting of the Chalice and a Uniting Statement
May this light warm our hearts with love and caring
And guide us in the way of truth.
As we gather here for worship,
We pledge ourselves to the endless search for truth;
To the right of each to believe as mind, heart, and conscience Dictate;
To accept the responsibilities this freedom commands;
And to implement our belief in the essential worth and dignity of
Every human being.
- from the Preamble of our Constitution
Offering Words
# 673 Arthur Foote II
Freely have we received of gifts that
minister to our needs of body and
spirit. Gladly we bring to our
church and its wide concerns a portion
of this bounty.
Staff Appreciation
I would like to use this time to express my appreciation of all those who
have helped to make this year of interim ministry a success.
1. Staff -- please stand, and stay standing
Natalie Fenimore -- DRE
Kathleen Weichbrod -- Outgoing administrative assistant
Donna Simonton -- Choir Director
Phyllis Stanley -- Pianist
Becky Hedin -- who rescued us in the office in April
Ben Johnson -- who will serve in the office this summer
Susan -- Nursery attendant -
in the nursery looking after our children
Richard -- Janitor -
who cleans up after us, here when no one sees him
I want to thank these staff members who have made my job not only a lot easier,
but made it possible for me to do it. You have kept me organized, prepared
newsletters and orders of service, educated the children, provided wonderful
music, the very soul of our worship. You have arranged rentals, so that our
buildings might be of service beyond the confines of this community, and have
also brought significant income to the church. You have made a welcoming home
for newcomers to choir and Sunday School and nurtured the old guard. You have
provided referrals and pastoral care and new ideas. You have done all these
things and more -- lot's more -- under difficult circumstances, with minimal
resources and often under appreciated, not to mention keeping the rest of your
lives going at the same time. Will the congregation join me in thanking the
staff?
2. Board -- This year and last Please stand
Ed Johnson
Olivia P. [full names abbreviated by webmaster]
Rob D.
Janet C.
Tom F.
Deb F.
Janet H.
Chris L.
Jimmy S.
Ed W.
Andrew K.
You have kept the vision before us, you have made policy and solved problems.
If I try to list everything that you have done, we'll be here til Liz arrives.
Thank you.
3. Interim Ministry Committee
Hank D.
Rolf G.
Kate K.
Jo P.
Deb W.
You have kept me sane and focussed. Thank you.
4. Search Committee
Larry M.
Jim A.
Sally H.
Cathy J.
Carol S.
John S.
You have led the congregation to the next step. Thank you.
5. Officers and Committee Chairs
Is all this standing getting to anyone? Sit if you have to. For the rest
of you, hang on. It won't be long. They say that a great speaker could keep
an audience spellbound by reading the telephone directory. I'm not going to
put that one to the test. Officers and committee chairs keep everything going.
Will you please rise as well? Thank you.
6. Committee Members
You're the ones that do all the work. You please stand, too. Thank you.
7. Gardeners, cleaners, web site producers and everyone who works outside
of committees or alone or in one-time jobs. You are essential. Thank
you
8. Members, friends and donors.
Nothing would happen without you. And indeed many of you are just on sabbatical
between doing one of the more active jobs. Thank you.
9. Children
You are our future. You stand too. Thank you.
10. Visitors
I imagine you visitors are pretty impressed with all these people standing.
They have made this church available to you today. But you are important, too.
You are one of the reasons we are here. So please stand also as you are able.
Thank you.
Is everyone standing? Have I forgotten any category? Please stand. Good.
Now thank each other.
Now, you may sit down. Except for Ed Johnson. Ed would you come forward on
behalf of the congregation? I have a little farewell gift for you as a congregation.
Ed, would you accept it, and open it?
-------------------------------
There's a lot of wisdom here in these books. They can evoke in you the wisdom
that you already possess. May you use them in good health. Thank you.
Homily
Most Precious Gifts
by Rev. Kerry Mueller
This year marks the 77th anniversary of the creation of the Flower Communion.
Flower Communion is a hallowed Unitarian ritual. "Hallowed Unitarian ritual" may
seem like an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. For many years, one could
hardly say the word "ritual" in Unitarian circles without prefixing the word "empty." As
Unitarianism -- note that this is long before merger with the Universalists,
so it is proper here to speak of Unitarianism alone -- As Unitarianism moved
away from its earlier Christian roots, many -- but not all -- of our congregations
ceased to celebrate the traditional Christian Eucharist, finding it devoid
of meaning. For some this change was a relief, for others a loss. But in the
last fifteen years, Unitarian Universalists have come to recognize a deep hunger
in the human spirit, a hunger for ritual. The rituals we celebrate are not
externally imposed empty forms, but artistic moments by which we express in
living symbolic action our hopes and fears and deepest desires. The Flower
Communion, first among these, is what you might call a full ritual. It is full
of meaning for us as Unitarian Universalists. Let me tell you something of
what it has meant to Unitarian Universalists.
On June 4, 1923, the Rev. Dr. Norbert Capek, founder of the Unitarian Church
in Czechoslovakia, created the flower communion as a way of celebrating the
inherent worth and dignity of every person and binding together the whole congregation,
adults and children alike.
Capek composed a prayer consecrating the flowers, a prayer which speaks of
friendship as "the most precious gift." In this he was right. But Capek himself
was also a most precious gift, not only to his church in Prague but to all
of humanity. Capek had begun life as a lukewarm Orthodox Christian, and later
became an ardent Baptist. But when he studied at the Union Theological Seminary
in New York City he learned about Unitarianism, the faith he served for the
rest of his life. (Interestingly, his wife first found the Unitarian church
when she was looking for a religious education program for the children). He
returned to Prague and founded a church there -- once the largest Unitarian
church in the world, with 3000 members!
During the rise of Hitler, Capek bravely stayed in Prague even though he
had many opportunities to come to the United States where he would be safe.
He knew that his humanity-affirming preaching and leadership were needed much
more desperately in Europe. Even after the Nazi takeover of his country in
1940, he ignored the warnings of friends, continuing his work, knowing where
it must eventually lead.
The Nazis could not tolerate Capek's preaching the good news of universal
human worth and dignity. Capek's actions also threatened their plans -- among
his congregation he had hidden a number of Jews, people who eventually escaped
from the Nazis through his protection. Court records say that Capek was ".
. . too dangerous to the Reich to be allowed to live." He was arrested in 1941
and died at Dachau the following year. His widow came to the United States,
bringing the ritual of the flowers with her.
And so, when Unitarian Universalists celebrate the Flower Communion, we affirm
the principle that says every person is worthwhile. And we also celebrate the
most precious gift of Norbert Capek's life, and the courage he showed in being
willing to die standing up against the most brutal sort of evil. Here is one
of Capek's prayers:
It is worthwhile to live and fight courageously for sacred ideals.
Oh blow ye evil winds into my body's fire; my soul you'll never unravel.
Even though disappointed a thousand times or fallen in the fight and
everything would worthless seem,
I have lived amidst eternity.
Be grateful, my soul,
My life was worth living.
The one who was pressed from all sides but remained victorious in spirit
is welcomed into the choir of heroes.
The one who overcame fetters, giving wing to the mind is entering into
the golden age of the victorious. Amen.
Capek wrote this prayer in prison, near the end of his life, when he knew
the high cost of courage and a commitment to justice, equity and compassion.
He knew that each human being is a most precious gift, so precious that he
was willing to pay the highest possible price for that gift.
I would like to add that for me, our time together has been a most precious
gift. Although here in Silver Spring we have been far removed from the drama
and terror of the evil that Norbert Capek faced, we too tried to live so as
to implement our belief in the essential worth and dignity of every human being.
We have worked towards healing together from all the pains and wounds that
every life brings. We have struggled together to create a new spirit of hope
in this community. You have reminded me again and again of the preciousness
of each individual. You have reminded me of the power of dedicated individuals
working in concert with each other. I am grateful to each one of you.
As we say goodbye today, I hope you know that you have touched my heart.
You are to me the most precious gifts. May we all so live that we are worthy
of the heart connections between and among us. Amen.
Introduction
And now, the table of flowers is before us, a welcome table for
all. Let us celebrate the flower communion. Will you stand and join me in a
spirit of prayer as we consecrate the most precious gifts of these flowers.
You will find the words in the back of the hymnal, #724.
Consecration of the Flowers
Infinite Spirit of Life, we ask thy blessing on these thy messengers
of fellowship and love. May they remind us, amid diversities of knowledge and
gifts, to be one in desire and affection, and devotion to good and beauty.
May they also remind us of the value of comradeship, of doing and sharing with
one another. May we cherish friendship as a most precious gift. May we not
let awareness of another's talents discourage us, or sully our relationships,
but may we realize that whatever we can do, great or small, the efforts of
all of us are needed. May we be strengthened by the knowledge that one spirit,
the spirit of love, unites us, and may we endeavor together for a more joyful
life for all. Amen
(Capek, in Seaburg, p. 152)
Prayer
Please be seated. I invite you to join in a spirit of prayer. #723
In the name of Providence, which implants in the seed the future
of the flower and in our hearts the longing for people to live in harmony;
In the name of the highest, in whom we move and who makes the mother and
father, the brother and sister, love and loner what they are;
In the name of sages and great religious leaders, who sacrificed their
lives to hasten the coming of the age of mutual respect --
Let us renew our resolution -- sincerely to be real brothers and sisters,
regardless of any kind of bar which estranges us from each other.
In this holy resolve may we be strengthened knowing that we are God's family;
that one spirit, the spirit of love, unites us; and endeavor for a more perfect
and more joyful life. Amen.
Sharing the Flowers
From the Rev. David Bumbaugh:
Now, as we prepare to leave this place and our time together,
take one of these flowers,
take a different one than the flower you brought.
Take it not to keep forever and ever.
Nothing is forever.
Take a flower as a symbol
of gratitude for the beauty we did not create
of gratitude for blessings we do not deserve,
of gratitude for joys which come when unexpected.
Take a flower as a symbol
of your participation in the community of this fellowship
of your participation in the community of humankind,
of your participation in the community of all living things,
of your participation in the dedicated community.
If, by chance, you did not bring a flower,
take one anyway.
Take a flower as a symbol
that beauty
and grace
and joy
and love
are not matters of reciprocity.
In this world we cannot earn or deserve
that which is most important --
it comes to us as a gift.
Therefore, knowing how to receive
is fully as important as knowing how to give.
(Adapted from p. 168 Bumbaugh in Seaburg)
I begin the flower communion by setting aside a flower in memory of Larry
Ingraham, who meant so much to this community and to the greater movement of
Unitarian Universalism. I set aside another for all those who are part of this
community of memory and hope, who are not here in body today, but are present
in spirit.
A word of logistical advice. To receive your flower, please come to the front
through the outside aisles and back through the center aisles. Let us begin
with the rows in the rear of the sanctuary and move forward. This should minimize
traffic jams. Now, I invite you, all who wish to participate, to come forward.
Litany of Farewell
For the End of the Interim Journey
Although we make our formal goodbyes to Kerry today and release her from
the routine duties of interim ministry, she remains available for pastoral
care. Tomorrow she heads for General Assembly in Nashville, returning late
Tuesday June 27. Ed Johnson and John Sullivan will know how to reach her. She
is on call in July, and on vacation in August. She will be moving to Pennsylvania
sometime in late July or early August, but will be only two hours away in case
of emergency. Again, Ed and John will have her phone number.
Ed Johnson: A church family is constantly changing. Loved ones come
to the end of their lives. Individuals and families come and go in our church
life. It is important and right that we recognize these times of passage, of
endings and beginnings. Today we say farewell to Kerry, whose time as our interim
pastor has come to an end.
Kerry: I thank the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring,
its members and friends, for the love, kindness, and support shown to me these
last ten months. I thank you for accepting my leadership. I recall with joy
the many things we have been able to accomplish together and with sadness the
things we were not able to do. I ask your understanding and forgiveness for
the mistakes I made and for the time I let you down.
Congregation: We receive your thankfulness, and we offer our forgiveness
for any failures. We accept that you now leave us to minister elsewhere. Your
influence on us will not leave us, even though you depart from us. We express
gratitude for your time among us and ask your forgiveness for our shortcomings.
Kerry: I forgive you any failures and accept your gratitude, trusting
that our time together has been healing for all and that it has moved us closer
to the holiness and happiness which our Universalist ancestors believed to
be the natural state of humanity.
Ed Johnson: Do you, the members and friends of the Unitarian Universalist
Church of Silver Spring, now release Kerry from her special role as interim
minister?
Congregation: We do.
Ed Johnson: Do you, Kerry, release the Unitarian Universalist Church
of Silver Spring from turning to you for guidance in the special tasks of interim
ministry?
Kerry: I do.
Ed Johnson: Please join with me in a spirit of prayer.
Congregation: Spirit of Life, Living and loving as human beings requires
that we learn to trust. Help each of us to trust each other and the future.
During our time together, we have experienced laughter and tears, hopes and
disappointments. Be with us as we carry these cherished memories with us in
new directions. Amen.
Ed Johnson: Go now, Kerry, surrounded by our love, and our hopes for
your future and ours in this wonderful faith we share. Amen.
Hymn #346 "Come Sing a Song With Me"
Closing Words
#696 Mary Oliver
To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
To love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
And, when the time comes
to let it go,
to let it go.
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