Go Love the World Curated by Rev. Tera Klein
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  • Sermons
    • September 17, 2017: "Like A Mighty Wind"
    • August 20, 2017: "Faith From the Ground Up"
    • February 5, 2017: "The Next Scary Thing: The Call"
    • January 15, 2017: "Integrity of the Spirit"
    • November 20, 2016: "Joining Role and Soul"
    • November 13, 2016: "Post Election - Our Work at Hand"
    • October 9, 2016: "We Begin Again in Love"
    • October 2, 2016: "Blessing of the Animals"
    • September 11, 2016: "Gift of Community"
    • June 12, 2016: "Sabbath Economics"
    • June 5, 2016: "Interrupting Time"
    • May 29, 2016: "Wrestling with Grace"
    • March 15, 2016: "Grace-Filled Leadership"
    • May 8, 2016: "Flower Communion: In Each A Gift"
    • April 17, 2016: "Earth Day Sunday"
    • April 3, 2016: "Liberating Women, Liberating Earth"
    • March 27, 2016: "Easter Message"
    • March 20, 2016: "The Act of Remembering"
    • March 6, 2016: "May Nothing Evil Cross This Door"
    • February 21, 2016: "A Spirituality of Work"
    • Christmas Eve Prayer: "Angels in the Stars"
    • December 2014 "Winter Solstice Finding the Light Within"
    • December 2014 "Long Road Home"
    • November 2014 "Resistance: Surrender"
    • June 2014 "Freedom From or Freedom To?"
    • May 2014 "Half the Sky"
    • June 2013 "Staying Awake at the Wheel"
    • May 2013 "Growing into Beloved Community"
    • April 2013 "Heaven Is Here On Earth"
    • April 2013 "One Voice"
    • March 2013 "Called Back To Life"
    • March 2013 "From Locusts to Honeybees"
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"Grace-Filled Leadership"


"Come, come, whoever you are; wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving ... " - Rumi

Come, come, whoever you are. 
        
Come, those who rise up in the midst of destruction and lead in freedom; 
    Come, those who speak honestly and look squarely 
        at sorrow & outrage, 
            look squarely at tenderness and wonder; 
                Come, those who invite others to be 
                    completely themselves, without fear. (1)

Do you hear that and think, 
    that’s me? 

Do you hear that and think, 
    that couldn’t be me?

Rebecca Ann Parker’s meditation describes a grace-filled leader. 
    This morning I want to talk about leadership
        in part because today is 
        our annual congregational meeting, 
            and leadership is a perfect tie-in. 

And also because this is a church where so many people are leaders. 
    Last year when we honored our active volunteers
        in a Sunday service, 
            almost every single person received a thank you
                for the part they play in making this place 
                    the Throop UU we know and love. 

For some people - that was an incredible sight! 
    A vivid visual of all the energy and commitment and love
        that we pour into our community. 

And for others, honestly, it was a little intimidating. 
    A newcomer told me, 
        she just wasn’t ready to attend a church
            that would require so much of her. 
                I understand that. 
                    Most of us feel that way 
                        at one time or another. 

And I assure you - 
    if you are looking for a religious home 
        that will allow you to come in, 
            take a deep breath, 
                and rest in the grace of the world ... 
                    you can do that here. 

However, be warned!  
    Often people become 
        inspired and motivated and ready 
            to have a hand in shaping and sustaining 
                this beloved community. 
                    Don’t be surprised if one day, 
                        you find yourself raising your hand, 
                            eager to lead. 

And when you do, 
    you’ll discover that leadership here 
        has more to do with developing relationships
            than particular expertise 
            (though of course there is that, too).               

 Leadership has more to do 
                    with our promises to walk in covenant 
                        with each other. 
                            More to do with how we 
                                hold each other 
                                    to that promise. 

We practice a grace-filled leadership here. 
    One grounded in relationship, covenant, and accountability. 

We don’t leave that up to one person. 
    It’s not my job as the minister to remind everybody 
        that you’ve promised to 
        walk faithfully and humbly together, 
            through times of strength and times of struggle. 
                It’s not George’s job 
                as the President of the Board. 
                    
It’s up to all of us. 
    As January mentioned in her reflection earlier, 
        it’s about moving from 
            “I” mentality to a “we” understanding. 

And this is the reason our collective participation in this 
    church community is crucial. 

Not just because we need to get things done - 
    and we do! 

But because central to our theology and structure
    is the importance of the involvement of lay people. 
        In our responsive reading, 
            you heard James Luther Adams call 
                the goal of a free church                 

the prophethood and priesthood of all believers... 
the one for the liberty of prophesying, 
the other for the ministry of healing.

Meaning that we all take on some of the priestly functions
    associated with religious communities. 
        All of us have direct access to the 
            unfolding mystery and wonder of life, 
                and each of us has the responsibility 
                    to shape the components 
                        of our spiritual lives. 

And, the prophetic role that we each play is just as important. 
    We believe in the strength of a church where 
        people think and work together 
        to interpret the world around us 
            in light of our faith, 
                and through our conversations together 
                    we decide how to meet the challenges 
                        of today’s world. 

Adams wrote: 

The prophetic liberal church 
is the church in which all members share
the common responsibility to attempt to foresee 
the consequences of human behavior 
(both individual and institutional), 
with the intention of making history
in place of merely being pushed around by it. (2)

Most recently we did this by banding together, 
    with local community organizations and activists, 
        to pass the ban on styrofoam in Pasadena! 

We signed petitions, 
    wrote to our Mayor and council members, 
        pledged to not use styrofoam for at least thirty days, 
            and showed up for city council 
            and committee meetings 
                to speak up for Mother Earth. 
                    Some of you cheered us on 
                        from the sidelines. 

It was fun. 
    It felt great to do this together. 
        And we made a difference. 
            We were not pushed around by the 
                big corporation that wanted to make
                     a sizable profit by polluting our earth! 

In advocating for this ordinance, 
    we practiced a grace-filled leadership
        grounded in relationship, covenant, and accountability. 

Grounded in relationship 
    by working together and with other organizations, 
        deepening ties and actually fomenting 
            a re-energized green movement in Pasadena; 

Grounded in our covenant 
    that we share with other UU Congregations, 
        to affirm and promote our 7th principle, 
            respect for the interdependent web of all existence 
                of which we are a part; 

And grounded in accountability 
    to those who cannot speak for themselves - 
        namely, Mother Earth and all her creatures 
            who are harmed and killed by plastics and other             pollutants;     
    speaking with the people whose 
        neighborhoods and health are often 
            at the most risk due to 
                environmental hazards; 
    and accountability to the political process itself, 
        going through the proper channels and 
            educating our elected officials. 

Our practice of a grace-filled leadership on this issue.     
    was more important than the outcome. 
        Though it felt great to win! 
            
And what of our practices here at Throop? 

It feels so good to get things done: 
    to see a garden bursting with summer bounty, 
        to see a room freshly painted, 
            to enjoy a cup of coffee and break bread together 
                    after worship. 

But how these things come about 
    is much more important than the end product. 
        One of my colleagues thinks the concept of church
             is much better when used as a verb. 
                So churching - 
                or around here we call it “Throoping”
                    is all about the 
                    engaged spiritual practice of process.                         
Rev. Alice Blair Wesley, UU minister and historian, wrote: 


Show me the patterns of your church organization, 
and I’ll show you what the people find 
worthiest of their loyalty. 
Organization and theology are not two different things. 
Our organization is a function 
of our actual theology. (3)
 
What type of patterns are created 
    in this congregation? 
        
        Do we whole-heartedly seek to form 
            meaningful relationships with others? 


            Do we attempt to stay in covenant with each other? 


                And do we hold one another accountable
                    when relationship or covenant is broken? 

Do we have patterns of wide open hospitality to newcomers? 


Do we have patterns of speaking directly, clearly, and respectfully 
    with one another, 
        showing the other person we value them, 
            even when we are hurt, angry, or disappointed? 


Do we have patterns of allowing people to experience 
    the consequences of their actions? 

None of these are easy or simple. 
    Our opening hymn today was 
    “Come, Come, Whoever You Are.” 
        There is a part 
            that didn’t make it into our hymnal: 


            Though you’ve broken your vows
                a thousand times. 


No matter our best intentions, 
    no matter how enthusiastically we walk through those doors, 
        ready to practice the fine art of “churching,” 
            we will fail. 
                Our ego, or stress, or family-of-origin issues
                    will rise to the forefront.  


We don’t attempt to be perfect here. 
    But we strive to stay in relationship. 
        That when a vow is broken, 
            we will find the grace to name what has taken place. 
        That when a vow is broken, 
            we will find the grace to 
                own the harms and hurts. 
        That when a vow is broken, 
            after the naming ... 
            after the owning ... 
        Then, we will find the grace to 
            welcome each other back 
                into relationship, covenant, and accountability, 
                    Come, come, whoever you are. 

We offer grace to each other, 
    and through these relationships, 
        we discover the meanings of our lives. 


Come, those who rise up in the midst of destruction and lead in freedom; 
    
    Come, those who are weary and in need of respite. 


Come, those who speak honestly. 
    
    Come, those who are broken. 


Come, be completely yourself, 
    without fear.                             


    Come, come, whoever you are.     


Notes: 
​1. From this morning's meditation by Rev. Rebecca Ann Parker. 
2. 
Ed. George K. Beach, The Essential James Luther Adams: Selected Essays and Addresses, p. 112.
3. 
Wikstrom, Erik Walker. Serving with Grace: Lay Leadership As A Spiritual Practice, p. 3.





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