All seven told us that they had done much and learned much in the church and that Lay Ministry seemed the next logical step, both as the next stage of personal growth and as a way of giving back some of what they had received.
We gave them a daunting list of books to read and met with them once a month for several hours. Over a year’s time the group had wonderfully deep and insightful discussions on many topics related to ministry, and Sydney and I feel that they have been adequately prepared for the responsibilities they are about to assume. They have worked hard; their knowledge has deepened; their perspective has broadened, and their sense of calling has strengthened. We send them forth among you now with pride and confidence. They will serve this church well in many ways over the coming months and years.
And when Sydney and I return from our sabbatical next fall, we expect to be able to announce the second series of lay ministry classes. At least two people have already expressed an interest. We hope several others will join us in this endeavor.
In the mean time, we want to acknowledge the work done and yet to be accomplished by these seven, by giving them an emblem of office. The robes that Sydney and I wear today are a symbol of the ordained clergy and would not be appropriate. Each will receive a special name tag identifying them as Lay Ministers, but that does not feel sufficient. So we opted to give them each a stole. The stole recognizes a particular level of training and preparation, and therewith a heightened level of responsibility and commitment. It connotes service rather than authority. In fact one version of its history shows that the stole is descended from the yoke of the water bearer.
Our seven lay ministers have come forth from the congregation, and they will work in, with, and among the congregation. We entrust them with the larger view of congregational life, the moral, ethical, and spiritual concerns of the church. It will be their job to speak truth, to keep the congregation on the path, to remind us frequently of our larger vision of ourselves and of our role in the larger world. They will do so with eloquence and sensitivity, so that their words will find a receptive ear and be considered.
Their ministries will depend on the support and cooperation of everyone in the church, which is why we have chosen to invest them formally as part of a covenant between them and the congregation. Each of them will now describe briefly how they understand their ministry, and then an officer of the Board will confer the stole on each of them. At the appropriate time, for each Lay Minister, we ask the congregation to repeat the words of covenant noted in the order of service: “We welcome your ministry and offer our support in return.”
Unison Reading written by James Vila Blake (adapted)
Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its prayer. This is our great covenant: To dwell together in peace, To seek truth in love, And to help one another.
The Call of Lay Ministry:
Eddi Carlson,
I have had many experiences at UUCR that were not available to me in my professional or social life. Serving on the finance committee, co-chairing several canvasses, serving on the board, would have been impossible without the help, guidance, patience and expertise of other church members. Participating in activities such as adult education classes, choir, flea markets and especially my covenant group and the Lay Ministry program have enriched my life. The members of this congregation have had diverse professional and life experiences, but share many of life’s passages.
At the first meeting of the lay ministry class Sydney and Dennis presented us with a long and comprehensive reading list and outline as part of our years preparation. This looked like an insurmountable task – several years of seminary in one year. I don’t think any of us anticipated the breadth and depth of our year’s journey. We studied church history, theology, how to put together a worship service, story telling, sermon writing and delivery to name a few.
Studying and sharing with my fellow sojourners has been a wonderfully enriching experience. We have each other’s love and support. We are so fortunate to be able to be inspired by Amy and share her experience as a ministerial student and minister as we enter uncharted territory.
When professional help is needed we will seek help from the minister or others who can provide the needed service. . As lay ministers we will help each other as needed by providing help with Sunday services, serving as liaisons to various committees and assisting with other situations as they arise.
A lay minister is able to relate to members and friends as an equal. A lay minister should be able to perceive situations and concerns the way other members of the congregation perceive them..
Two of the most important groups in my life are directly related to UUCR. My Dream group sisters all are or were members of this church. The second group is my covenant group. In both of these groups we have shared joy (marriage of a daughter or son, births of grandchildren, milestones in our children’s and our own lives) and pain (growing pains of adolescence, death of a sibling, a parent, a friend, illness, surgery, and cancer.) We have laughed, cried and prayed together. I chose pastoral care as my area of concentration to use experience acquired through over 40 years as a medical technologist and Unitarian Universalist and as an opportunity to pay forward the love and support my husband Al and I have received from many members and friends of UUCR during our own encounters with health problems and the years of my mother’s declining health with Alzheimer’s disease.
We, members and friends, learn to give and receive support by ministering to each other.
We each have special gifts. Not all of us can be soloists, but with guidance and cooperation we can make pretty good music. This is my offering to you.
Marjorie Lane,
In “my life so far” I’ve worn many hats, and the career one has been psychotherapist. Five years ago I decided to push the “pause” button on that identity, and am now in “student” mode, working toward a Master of Theological Studies degree at Wesley Seminary. Most of my classmates , some of them Unitarian Universalists, are preparing for ordained ministry, and so I’ve had a wonderful opportunity to explore my own “call” at this point in my life. Not surprisingly, it is leading me back to where I began: to curiosity about people and relationships. The new part is that with the lens of churches and theology I have a different way to apply my understanding of how people can help each other.
At UUCR I am looking forward to using my experience in my former life as a group therapist to help with the small group ministries we call “covenant groups.” We began to organize these groups over four years ago, and they have become part of the fabric of our congregation. Many of you know this well because you have been members. We have been pioneering these groups because as UUs we believe that our fragmented world needs more connections and better relationships. We need to talk to each other at a deeper level than a brief Sunday morning coffee hour chat, or between the lines on a committee. Covenant groups are a place where we can explore the questions of what our lives can mean. They are a place to discover how we can connect our convictions to our day to day experiences. They give us a place to rejoice with each other in triumphs and to be comforted in our discouragements and failures. They are a place where we can inspire each other in the living out of our faith.
My part on the lay ministry team will primarily involve continuing to meet regularly with the Covenant Group leaders and helping with the process of connecting prospective new members to a group that will fit their schedules and interests. I am also looking forward, along with Linda, to continuing my role on the Worship Services Committee. My time at Wesley has deepened my interest in what goes into a worship experience that enlightens, inspires and connects, and I hope I can continue to grow in this understanding. I have had my own dream that here in Reston we will come together on Sunday mornings in such important ways that we will attract our neighbors, those here in Reston who want to belong to a spiritual community and find with us the liberal religion they have been seeking.
Tom Day,
When people ask why I want to be a lay minister, the truth is that I was 6 months into the program before I realized that we weren’t actually going be paid for this, and by that time I was just too embarrassed to quit. So here I am.
10 years ago, when we lived in Ohio, when I had a little more on top and a little less around the middle, I can remember telling Salena how I wished there was a church that we could attend that revolved simply around reinforcing the basic elements of kindness and compassion. A church that focused on the family and community, not dogma and deity. A church that valued practicing more than preaching. Little did I know that such a church existed, but that it would take a 500 mile move to find it. To quote a familiar refrain, “I once was lost, but now I’m found. I was blind, but now I see”.
Over the last 5 years, I’ve met so many wonderful people here, and shared many great times and memories with you. This is my extended family, and I’m extremely grateful for that. I told a friend just this week that I really can’t imagine what our life in Reston would be like without all of you in it.
The lay ministry program has given me the opportunity to understand more about myself and others, and share insights with Dennis, Sydney and my fellow lay ministers that I never would have had the opportunity to do outside of this program. In short, it’s been a blessing that I hope many of you consider taking advantage of in future years.
And now it’s giving me the opportunity to give back in a whole new way. The term ‘chain of influence’ really means something to me. Everyone from my parents, family, friends, the ministers here, and all of you are part of my chain of influence, and I want to do what I can to extend that chain. We have such a close-knit community, and we do a phenomenal job of taking care of one another. As a lay minister specializing in pastoral care, I want to do my part to help each of us continue to grow, be inspired, or if needed, just get through the day. I’m not an expert on much, but I do know the value of a friend. And if I can be that for just one of you, it will enrich my life more than any other job I have.
Life here on earth is a gift that’s been given to us; it’s a song that we sing together. We sing a song about compassion, and providing comfort to each other in times of need. We sing a song about celebration, and providing cheer to each other in times of joy. And we sing a song about caring, and providing a shoulder to lean on, or an ear with which to listen. This is a song that I want to help sing, and I want to sing it here at this church. This is my offering to you.
Linda Holloway,
In one of my favorite books, The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran, the prophet is approached by a crowd of people, each of whom requests, in turn, “Speak to us of love, marriage, children, work.” I would speak to you this morning of lay ministry, worship, literacy as social action, and of service. It is not that I think of myself as a prophet, but perhaps if you accept the phrase “the priesthood and prophethood of all believers,” then there may be room for my small contributions to “prophecy.”
The word laity comes from the Greek laos meaning the chosen people. As Unitarians, we know we each must choose ourselves to step up to service. As Universalists, we know all are chosen, all are called.
From the moment I joined this “uncommon denomination” in January 1973, I have seen that Unitarian Universalists truly believe, and truly try to live the belief that each one of us can choose to bring our special and unique gifts to our shared congregational life. There is no “power-over” here, no hierarchy of revealed truth holders! Our professional ministers bring gifts of their calling and their rigorous training, and they walk hand-in-hand with the laity, and together we co-create the mutual ministry of this church. What a joyous concept! What “good news!”
Until I found this church, most of my life was determined by hierarchical systems. How could I not respond with excitement and enthusiasm when, as a UU, I was challenged to be all that I could be? How could I not respond when I was embraced in full partnership within this circle of fellow searchers? I could only say “Yes!” as we do together the work of this church, of the world – not to be made holy ourselves, but for us to choose to make sacred each small and large task we share. Lay Ministry is what I have been called to do for the past 33 years, and what I hope to be doing for the next 33!
Speak to us then of worship. Worship, the finding of worth, is perhaps the single most important act with the most participation by the most of us of our shared UUCR life! As a Lay Minister with a special commitment to support our worship activities, I hope to continue learning and working on the art and craft of worship so that each Sunday, we all may be inspired and challenged, awed and gratified, comforted and restored.
Now speak of literacy as social action. It has long been my dream that UUCR would join many local faith communities who provide English-as-a-second-language to our large immigrant population. This cause calls to me; I hope to use my lay ministry to answer.
And lastly, speak of service. “Love is the spirit of this church, and service is its prayer.” We say these words every week; we take that charge seriously here. I take that charge very seriously, and I shall give myself happily to service as an invested lay minister and as your comrade in our shared journey. It is my dream that, if we who come before you today make the contributions we hope, all of you will be inspired to sign up, too, until UUCR truly is a congregation of people who choose to serve, a laity invested in ministry to make this a better world.
This is my offering to you.
Elaine Schwartz,
Being a Unitarian Universalist isn’t just about attending church on Sunday. It is also about how we live our lives every day. It is about how we approach decisions and problems. Our faith is, I believe, a life affirming, life enhancing faith. Our Seven Principles call us to carry our faith into action. All are called to be part of our interdependent web of relationships here at UUCR. Each of us, in her or his way, contributes to our interdependent web of relationships and ultimately to the “interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”
As a Lay minister, I have chosen a path which has enriched my own life for many years. That path is Life Long Education now known at UUCR as Lifespan Religious Education. I am committed to education, a word which comes from the Latin word educare, in English to lead out.
Education is a process and through shared inquiry it may lead us to the realization that in an ever changing world we need to reshape and adapt our views. By engaging in an examined life using shared inquiry, we are encouraged to question our assumptions and to broaden our experiences and our self understanding. It’s a challenge that I feel is worthwhile and will lead us to develop a deeper connectedness in our beloved community.
Classes about UU topics, forums about current events and other topics of interest to our members as well as spiritual practices and other activities have been a way to deepen our connections with each other. I envision my calling to be one of helping to enrich our congregational life through the Lifespan Religious Education Committee. The Committee will provide a venue for classes for congregants who wish to further develop and understand their faith, their world and the issues we face in everyday life. Lifespan RE will facilitate a forum for ideas and opinions…a “free and responsible search for truth and meaning” as well as “acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth” for congregants of diverse ages and backgrounds.
Ultimately, I have a vision of my ministry that includes creating an exciting opportunity for growth that might reach outside these walls to include members from the larger community who would join us in exploring the wonderful world of learning. This is my offering to you
Karen Curnow,
Something happened to me at each of our Lay Ministry meetings this year – I could count on it and I looked forward to it. An old fire was rekindled in me; a part of me was stirred and opened up by a very clear voice inside which I have known and ignored for many years – the voice of vocation and inspiration.
I’d like to say that this rekindling, this opening-up experience occurred because of the great intellectual conversations and stimulating exchanges we had about issues relevant to church life, but it wasn’t.
This opening-up experience, this voice of vocation came from something far more stable, far more profound than stimulating exchanges and intellectual conversations can produce. It was the “something” that played in the background; it was the foundation on which all of our conversations took place; it fueled our determination as we had (and still have) moments of fear, confusion, vulnerability, joy, and discovery.
I believe this opening-up experience happened because a committed group of leaders came together out of love for something bigger than they are. We commit ourselves as Lay Ministers out of love for you. We love you. All of the words we speak today and the actions we will take as Lay Ministers come from love for who we are and who we will be together.
This opening up experience, this moving as leaders out of love for something bigger is what I call Shared Leadership and this is my ministry.
We are all leaders. We each have ministries – each one of us in this room. So, we 7 are ministers among ministers, leaders among leaders. It’s up to you to recognize the leader you already are – and to offer this to the congregation. This requires nothing less than you recognizing, developing, and offering the gifts you have – and more importantly, the gifts you are.
My promise is to support you as you step into leadership. You will have opportunities this year to attend programs in which you can learn more about the leader you are and about the vocational and leadership opportunities you can create at UUCR.
I am committed to increasing our capacity as individuals and as a congregation to play a bigger game, to dare to dream of and move into even greater service by putting into action these gifts of leadership and ministry.
The leader you can offer to us is the one who moves from this deeper place of calling. Have you been hesitant to share your passions, your interests, your talents with us? The time has come. We invite you, no – we dare you, to step into the leader you are. This does not mean you must be the person in the spotlight. It simply means that you move from a place of love for the sake of something bigger than you. Imagine. If more of us dared to do this, what kind of a difference would we make? Encouraging and insisting on Shared Leadership: This is my offering to you."
Hank Blakely
This is an ironic morning.
My life has taken many odd twists and turns, but surely this is the oddest...and among the most appreciated.
The irony lies not as much in my investiture as a Lay Minister for Social Justice as in the fact that I am here at all.
I was raised in a family that viewed religion as a sweet, absorbing confection that returned little or nothing to the worshipper. My parents disdained the very concept of organized religion in general, and religious leaders in particular.
Still, I maintained a steady, if lukewarm attendance in church until the age of 13, when I traded in religion for science and never so much as entered a house of worship for the next 50 years...
...Until I walked through those doors.
Whatever my reasons for coming here, they became irrelevant on the instant of my arrival. What I found was a community that shared my values, my beliefs and, inevitably, my heart. What I found was a community that, in the words of Dr. King, judged me solely by the content of my character.
Words are not adequate to describe the enormity of that discovery. Suddenly I was absolutely free to be who I was, rather than who I had to be. For the next three years I threw myself into an orgy of self-discovery, experiencing every aspect of this church--perhaps to find out who I could be when the restraints were gone.
In the process I literally found myself. Suddenly the skills I had once regarded as disjointed and self-indulgent pastimes snapped into sharp focus, became useful; became things I could do for others rather than myself.
And gradually they became an offering in appreciation of your acceptance and friendship. My life in your company--the laughter and gravity, the friendships, the artistic endeavors, the hours spent in committees, the vagaries of social justice—all these things, quietly and at first unrecognized, came to take on the color of ministry—of gladly offered service.
>>> Now with this ceremony, what began as an informal process becomes my work in this church.
I have a very simple task. All I must do is help you believe in magic. And then I must convince you that you are magicians.
The magic lies in your ability to transform your society; to just for a moment turn your back on the ordinary course of your life in order to build something beautiful that might well outlive you. To stand before a wall of ignorance and indifference and bring it down with nothing more than your hands!
Whether you know it or not, you can do that. You can become an instrument of justice. You can raise your voice and you can make the world listen!
There is a great deal of evil in this world, and you already know what must be done. All I have to do is help you do it.
And that will be my offering to you.