"Heaven Is Here On Earth"
Preached at Throop UU Church
April 21, 2013
Earth Day
For a long time, this Adrienne Rich poem
was taped up next to my desk:
My heart is moved by all I cannot save
So much has been destroyed
I have to cast my lot with those, who, age after age,
Perversely, with no extraordinary
Power, reconstitute the world.
I needed the reminder. It’s easy for our souls to get tired. Or to get so overwhelmed by the needs of the world that our minds shut down and we do the equivalent of driving on auto-pilot. Maybe our hearts close up, just a little, so we can keep on with our own full lives. If we were able to look at every single thing in need of our care - well, it would be too much and our hearts might break beyond repair.
The thing is - we, sitting in this room, we are the fortunate ones. Because no matter what is going on in our lives right now - no matter our aches and pains. Our disappointments and regrets. We aren’t in it alone. We decided to cast our lots with each other. We are here with and for one another.
What intention did you set for yourself during our ritual? What promise did you make to Mother Earth?
Now imagine that this intention of yours feels too good to keep to yourself. And you just know that the rest of us need to be in on it. Imagine that you don’t have any constraints on you - your job won’t get in the way, your worries won’t get in the way, your school work won’t get in the way. What would it look like for this whole congregation to be charged up and on fire around your intention?
We’ve proven that a small group of people can do what others would look at and say - impossible. My new motto is “small churches CAN and DO.”
We created a model permaculture-based organic garden that captures the imaginations of all who walk by. It is a place of respite, and a place that feeds people. It’s like our outdoor sanctuary.
What else will we do together?
What if we decided to market this big beautiful building as the Peace and Justice Center of Pasadena, and all during the week Throop Hall and our classrooms were filled with organizations and people doing good work in the world. Spreading their ideas to each other, collaborating on joint projects, and making a difference?
What if we began to see this space as a public commons, a place where people with passions for sustainable community could gather, to co-create and co-produce the world we all want to see?
What if we took our love for feeding people - seen weekly in our church potlucks, our donations to Haven House, our sharing of garden produce - and extended that to children in our neighborhood. And started an after-school program that filled Throop Hall with children who needed a place to go? And we fed them healthy after-school meals. And we offered classes that many children aren’t getting in schools these days: art, drama, music, gardening. And wove an thread of leadership development throughout.
What if in the summers, we hosted a justice ministry camp for high school youth, where we learned about the many facets of systemic oppression and how to organize communities and work within and outside of the system in order to change it.
What if we don’t stop with this one garden out front, but what if we joined a network of people who can’t keep their hands out of the dirt, and help create an interlocking urban agriculture expanse across Pasadena, growing fruit and vegetables that could be sold at little or no cost to people who do not have access to fresh, healthy food.
What if we joined up with Dr. Eric Walsh, Director of the Pasadena Department of Health, and helped the City of Pasadena create a policy that every tree planted on public land would be a fruit or nut tree, so those without enough would readily have access to pick their own?
Where is your what if? Bring it to our congregational visioning retreat on June 8.
We can do these things. They - and even more - are possible. We unite with the world in hope and peace. Tragedies happen. But so many people are there to pick up the pieces and weave communities into wholeness again - we create heaven here on Earth by our living, by our giving, by our Loving.
We the Power of the Dream. The fire of our commitment is sparked. Let’s let it reach a full flame.
April 21, 2013
Earth Day
For a long time, this Adrienne Rich poem
was taped up next to my desk:
My heart is moved by all I cannot save
So much has been destroyed
I have to cast my lot with those, who, age after age,
Perversely, with no extraordinary
Power, reconstitute the world.
I needed the reminder. It’s easy for our souls to get tired. Or to get so overwhelmed by the needs of the world that our minds shut down and we do the equivalent of driving on auto-pilot. Maybe our hearts close up, just a little, so we can keep on with our own full lives. If we were able to look at every single thing in need of our care - well, it would be too much and our hearts might break beyond repair.
The thing is - we, sitting in this room, we are the fortunate ones. Because no matter what is going on in our lives right now - no matter our aches and pains. Our disappointments and regrets. We aren’t in it alone. We decided to cast our lots with each other. We are here with and for one another.
What intention did you set for yourself during our ritual? What promise did you make to Mother Earth?
Now imagine that this intention of yours feels too good to keep to yourself. And you just know that the rest of us need to be in on it. Imagine that you don’t have any constraints on you - your job won’t get in the way, your worries won’t get in the way, your school work won’t get in the way. What would it look like for this whole congregation to be charged up and on fire around your intention?
We’ve proven that a small group of people can do what others would look at and say - impossible. My new motto is “small churches CAN and DO.”
We created a model permaculture-based organic garden that captures the imaginations of all who walk by. It is a place of respite, and a place that feeds people. It’s like our outdoor sanctuary.
What else will we do together?
What if we decided to market this big beautiful building as the Peace and Justice Center of Pasadena, and all during the week Throop Hall and our classrooms were filled with organizations and people doing good work in the world. Spreading their ideas to each other, collaborating on joint projects, and making a difference?
What if we began to see this space as a public commons, a place where people with passions for sustainable community could gather, to co-create and co-produce the world we all want to see?
What if we took our love for feeding people - seen weekly in our church potlucks, our donations to Haven House, our sharing of garden produce - and extended that to children in our neighborhood. And started an after-school program that filled Throop Hall with children who needed a place to go? And we fed them healthy after-school meals. And we offered classes that many children aren’t getting in schools these days: art, drama, music, gardening. And wove an thread of leadership development throughout.
What if in the summers, we hosted a justice ministry camp for high school youth, where we learned about the many facets of systemic oppression and how to organize communities and work within and outside of the system in order to change it.
What if we don’t stop with this one garden out front, but what if we joined a network of people who can’t keep their hands out of the dirt, and help create an interlocking urban agriculture expanse across Pasadena, growing fruit and vegetables that could be sold at little or no cost to people who do not have access to fresh, healthy food.
What if we joined up with Dr. Eric Walsh, Director of the Pasadena Department of Health, and helped the City of Pasadena create a policy that every tree planted on public land would be a fruit or nut tree, so those without enough would readily have access to pick their own?
Where is your what if? Bring it to our congregational visioning retreat on June 8.
We can do these things. They - and even more - are possible. We unite with the world in hope and peace. Tragedies happen. But so many people are there to pick up the pieces and weave communities into wholeness again - we create heaven here on Earth by our living, by our giving, by our Loving.
We the Power of the Dream. The fire of our commitment is sparked. Let’s let it reach a full flame.