The Great Work, Preached in Bend Oregon Sept 1 2013

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882.

It is important to remember that Labor Day was created to celebrate and value the American worker, not the American corporation. It does not exist to celebrate American employment opportunity. Labor Day exists to celebrate American productivity and creativity. This Labor Day let us celebrate the capacity to do meaningful work that is in all of us.

(Psalm 90:12-17 The Message) In the Hebrew bible, in psalm 90, the psalmist sings:

Oh! Teach us to live well!

  Teach us to live wisely and well!

…

Surprise us with love at daybreak;

  then we’ll skip and dance all the day long.

…

…

And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,

  confirming the work that we do.

  Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!

However we define the holy, as the beauty and wonder of the human community, the mystery and miracle of the universe, the interdependent web of all life, the spirit of compassion and love, the lure to diversity and complexity, the good...It is because of our connection to the holy that humans can work with purpose, power, and the right intent. Interestingly, the psalm does not bother to separate spiritual work from the work of daily life.

From birth it is embedded upon our minds that we should grow up and do something important with our lives. As adults, we learn that we must provide for our families, no matter what the personal cost. Our vocation and the labor of our hands can be all-consuming and encompassing.

Our capacity to be creative, to be productive, is blessed and sacred and there is more to our labor than merely sustenance. The phrase “Affirm the work that we do” or "Prosper the work of our hands" is a plea to the holy to participate in our labor.

How can the holy participate in our labor/vocation if we do not take our principles, our connection to the spirit of love, to work with us? Moreover, since we have been given this great and wondrous gift, the ability to work, should we not look to do the work where our passion meets the needs of the world? What has been laid before us to do is a blessing and all work is sacred.
(For more of this sermon see the sermon recording on my website http://www.amybeltaine.info/Home/ministerial-portfolio/Worship)

Some responses to the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman encounter, trial, and aftermath

There are those who would set fire to the world.
We are in danger.
There is only time to work slowly.
There is no time not to love.
(Deena Metzger)

There are many who have said "I want to live in a world where George Zimmerman offered Trayvon Martin a ride home, to get him out of the rain, that night." Yes. And what am I doing, what are YOU doing, to create that world?  (White folks and people of privilege, see the link at the bottom for some suggestions.)

I've noticed more than a few folks posting on their facebook that they are considering "unfriending" folks because they've discovered that these friends are less sympathetic to the challenges of being black and brown in America than they originally thought. Hearts are breaking and so are friendships and maybe even communities. Those of you who need to take care of yourselves, please do so. Those of you who still have some energy to continue conversations, please do so. Sending love to all. May we find the healing we all need and may we continue the work, even as our hearts break.

“full-bodied grieving acts like a tonic. It purifies and revivifies… Let your grief be as full of joy as it is of sorrow. Let it be proof of how much you’ve loved” (296, The Seeker's Guide by Elizabeth Lesser)

I'm not really having trouble with the verdict. The law is the law. As far as my non-legally-trained self can tell... the jury did what the law seemed to demand. I'm having trouble with the law that Florida passed, the systemic racism that permeated the Martin/Zimmerman encounter, the media frenzy, and the racist subtext (and maintext) affecting all the discussions about the encounter. Most of all, I have trouble, really big trouble with the reality that mothers of black boys have a realistic fear when their boys simply walk down a street carrying no weapon and with no intent to do harm of any kind, when mothers of white boys do not have that same fear. It is real that Women are in danger due to "isms", Gays Lesbians and sexual or gender non-conformers are in danger due to "isms", and people with darker complexions than mine are in danger due to "isms." NOT OK.

Focusing on the Zimmerman trial verdict is a potential red herring. I say... Focus on the systemic racism, hatred, micro-aggressions, outright aggression, inequalities, violence, fear, and flawed laws... all the things that contributed to the death of a young man that should not have happened. The loss to family and friends. The destruction of a man's life (I'm pretty confident that Zimmerman's life is forever changed, and not in a good way.) and that is only the stuff that made the news. So much more pain has cascaded from this one event. This event is not unique. We must focus and ACT: We won't do it perfectly, but we must try to make the changes to create a world more filled with compassion, love, and the kind of justice that is bigger than law books and statutes and procedures. The moral arc of the universe must bend toward justice. And it isn't going to do it all by itself. We need to help it!

I've been thinking about this. I'm not Trayvon. I'm not a 17 year old black boy. I don't have his experience walking down the street, buying a soda, applying for a job, interacting with school officials. AND we ARE all connected. Oppression ANYWHERE is oppression everywhere. We are one people. So I stand with Trayvon, and all the other black and brown people who survive, or not, in this United States. but I do not have their experience. When I pretend I do, I might forget to listen and be an ally and be the best ME I can be.

For white people who realize something isn't right, but aren't sure what the next steps are to help make it better. Here's one person's story. It rings with truth. And as I said about the bees. It feels so good to know that it is possible to DO something helpful! http://www.zcommunications.org/take-the-red-pill-reflections-for-people-struggling-with-the-zimmerman-verdict-on-how-the-rodney-king-verdict-changed-my-life-for-the-better-by-chris-crass

Easter-Roll Back the Stone

3-21-13 Skagit UU - Easter

OOS
Gathering Song (Come, Come Whoever You Are)
Chalice Lighting
Opening Words - “Thank you Mother Earth” by Susun Arrow(adapted for inclusive language)
  Thank you mother earth Thank you sibling water
  Thank you for my birth Thanks from your sons and daughters
  Thank you sibling sun Thank you air in motion
  Thank you everyone Earth air fire and ocean.
Welcome and Introductions
Hymn #1 - #397 “Morning Has Come”
A Time for All Ages - Amaterasu
Joys & Sorrows
Offertory
Meditation by Rev. Victoria Weinstein
Hymn #2 #266 Now the Green Blade Riseth
SERMON - Roll Back the Stone
Hymn #61 Lo, the earth awakes again
Extinquish Chalice - (see below) unison
  The circle is open yet unbroken. 
  May the peace we have found here be ever in our hearts.
  Merry meet, and merry part, and merry meet again.
Closing Words
Closing Circle Song

Sermon
Hoof and horn, hoof and horn
All that dies shall be reborn
Corn and grain, Corn and Grain
All that’s cut shall rise again*.

I’d like to tell you a story... this story is drawn from Christian and Nazarene gospels, modern scholarship, and universal truths.

Our story begins as the Jewish people are kicked off of their ancestral lands (again). This time the conquerors are the Romans. Their temple, has been destroyed. They are scattered,  with little hope. The hope for the prophesized savior during the years of occupation had failed. The Messiah! They had pinned their hopes on a warrior who would overthrow the Romans. But 40 years ago one savior’s campaign ended with his death on a cross. And then just recently another messiah has died in an armed insurrection.

A group of scholars lives among the scattered groups of exiles. These scholars and storytellers, who call themselves The school of Mark, feel responsible for the spiritual health of their people. They want, desperately, to find a way to give hope. They seek for it in the life of Jesus, the wandering, pacifist, teacher. (They knew that focusing on the militant leader would just draw more oppression from the Roman government.)

They listen to the stories people tell one another. They read the letters of Paul. And they write their own version of the story. It tells of Jesus’ life, teachings, and death. And then, at the end, there’s a tantalizing little bit, something unexpected, that happens after his death.

Here is how it is told in “The Message” bible. This part begins three days after Jesus is declared dead and put into a tomb, a cave. His apostles and family had taken Friday and Saturday to observe their traditional religious day of retreat, rest, and renewal.
“Chapter 16, Verses 1-8 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, “Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?”
Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished.
He said, “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He’s been raised up; he’s here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, exactly as he said.”
They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone.”

And there, the gospel, as written by those scholars from the school of Mark, ends.

What? Jesus just got up, rolled back his own stone, and wandered off to do, well, we aren’t sure what he’s headed off to do. But he clearly wasn’t interested in staying in the cave!

I love the way this story leaves out the details about the resurrection. There are no details about coming back to life. No proof. No grisly showing off of wounds. The rest of the story is left for us to create.

Maybe that is exactly what the writers intended! Perhaps the hearer was expected to fill in the end of the story themselves — specifically, with themselves. Jesus may have risen, but suffering and persecution remained realities for Mark’s community. Mark’s readers may have been expected to complete the gospel themselves by living their lives as Jesus had taught. They would create the rest of the story.

The Rest of the story. Paul Harvey was popular on the radio when I was in High school. He would tell most of a story, then go to a commercial break. Then come back with “The REST of the story.” Back in the centuries following the writing of the gospel of Mark, Matthew, Luke, John and others wrote about Jesus showing up and talking to Mary Magdalene, to Peter, to Paul, and to all the disciples. They wanted the REST of the story. In their stories Jesus promises the kingdom of heaven is coming….soon, to a community near you. Not later, but paradise right here, and right now. And he charges his followers to make that happen! YOU are the resurrection and the life!

Nine centuries later, those stories got rewritten again, and more stories were told. But that is the REST of the story according to those folks. What is the REST of the story according to you?

Jesus’s death and entombment CHANGED his followers’ faith in Jesus. They had to completely revise all their expectations. All the earth was made anew. The time in the tomb changed Jesus. One understanding is that he changed from his human self to his divine self. Loss changes people. And invites us to write our next chapter. The earth is made new.

The Jewish people lost their homes and their routines; Jesus’ family lost a loved one; His followers lost their hopes that a savior would magically make everything perfect; I imagine that for each person who went through those times he or she lost the old definition of who “I” am… These sorts of losses are not unusual. Human beings have been experiencing these changes since the beginning of time.

We are experiencing loss and change now. The last few years have been hard for too many of us. We have been experiencing losses as a planet, as a people, and as individuals. You know these things, you need only check your facebook feed, or watch TV and there is an endless parade of change, oppression, loss, death… It can get incredibly overwhelming. Honey bees, dying. Transgendered people being told they can’t use public restrooms. Gay youth kicked out of home and living on the street. The list goes on.

A friend of mine dug herself her own cave. In her back yard she escaped from the usual pre-teen troubles, and the dislocation of her mother’s terminal illness. Each day she dug, and finally had a room sized hole in the back yard, covered with boards she found at neighboring building sites. It was her retreat, her womb. It was her private space where nothing changed while all was changing around her. This cave of silence cushioned her in the soft, fragrant earth, and forgiving coolness, until she was ready to emerge once again. Luckily her father understood her need to take breaks from the family home while it was filled with pain and loss. Those retreats allowed her to return.

There are times when we will find ourselves in the cave. Maybe the cave is of grief. Maybe it is silence. Maybe solemnity. Maybe rage. But we must rest into the cave, as the seed sinks into the soil, in order to emerge once again. We emerge... Changed. All the earth is made new.

The cave is there for us in times of heartbreak, grief, and bereavement. The cave is there for us like the earth receives the grain when planted.

But sometimes that place of retreat and healing can feel like a trap. A breathless, weighty, vacuum. A place without Air.

As Musician, DOMINIC OUVRY sings:
Roll, roll, roll back the stone
Let me breathe ...
Breathe the sweet air once again

For some of us that enclosed feeling is more than enough to drive us back out into the light. For others the cave is seductive. There are so many reasons to stay inside.

When you’ve been deep inside yourself, coming out can feel risky. You can feel as fragile and as tender as the first tiny green-leaf in spring. But, look around. You have companions! Others who have had similar experiences, whether it was last week or ten years ago. Others who have retreated. Others who stayed inside during the long, dark, cold winter. Others have emerged as tender and fragile as you.

Maybe you are wondering “what’s the point?” I want to know the rest of the story before I start living the next chapter. Rumi promises: “As you start to walk out on the way, the way opens.” You will write the rest of your own story.

You may ask, who am I to write my story? I’m not perfect yet. Who am I to share myself with the world. You are perfect just as you are at this moment. St. Theresa of Avila invites you to roll back your stone, and to bloom.
 (she says)
“We bloomed in Spring.
Our bodies are the leaves of God.
The apparent seasons of life and death
Our eyes can suffer; but our souls, dear,
I will just say this forthright:
They are God...”

You may find the courage to come out of your cave simply because you have no other choices. You surrender to what is. That willingness to accept and start the new journey: that is grace.

I imagine that Amaterasu’s friends tried to remind her that she was of value, and that for her own sake she needed to stop punishing herself for something that was someone else’s wrong-doing. Maybe this time, that is what lures you out of your cave. But that didn’t do it for her.

What lured Amaterasu out of her cave was the promise of joy and mirth. What invited Amaterasu into her next chapter was the promise of paradise and the promise of being her full shining self and sharing that with others.

This is what sustained those early Christians. In the first ten centuries as Christianity was emerging there are no pictures of a Christ on a cross. There was no focus on death. There was a joyful focus on paradise. And that paradise wasn’t about the “after-death” heaven. That paradise was the one that was being created in the here and now.

The loss is not most important. We must give ourselves permission to retreat and renew, and then it matters what we do next. Write the rest of your story. Write the rest of our collective story. Create paradise, create the world we dream about. It takes every one of us. Each one of us becoming our full and shining selves. Every one of us connecting with another.

So. Roll back your stone. Maybe you’ll find out who you really are! See who walks with you. Discover the next steps. Your heart and soul will be changed during the period of retreat. Then as you emerge, you will be welcomed. All the earth shall be made new.
When our hearts are saddened, grieving or in pain,
By love’s touch You call us back to life again;
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green**.

You don’t have to roll back your stone just once. You have to do it over and over and over. Every year, every season of loss. Every time you sink down into your cave. You must roll back that stone anew. The earth does it with the spring.
Now the green blade rises from the buried grain,
Wheat that in the dark earth many years has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green**.

A savior isn’t going to show up and do all the work for us. We must roll back our own stones and rise for the sake of the love that he taught. We must retreat, change, then return, renewed, to the work that must be done. We don’t need a savior “out there”, be he Buddha, or Jesus, or be she Harriet Tubman or Elizabeth Warren. “YOU are, we all are, the resurrection and the life.”

We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to one another to treat each person we meet tenderly. Every person we meet is a walking miracle, just blooming. Each person is embodied in the green leafy aliveness of god. Perhaps just this morning she or he made the personal effort to make it back from heaven, or maybe from hell, but certainly from death, to be by our side***.

It may take a while to figure it out. But, what glorious shining light and joy when we can finally roll back the stone.

*Pagan traditional. no known author.
**Hymn in "Singing the Living Tradition"
***From a meditation by Rev. Victoria Weinstein

The Courage of Queen Esther, Arizona 2-24-13

Friend, I have lost the way. The way leads on. … Then I'll make here my place, (The road leads on), … I cannot find the way. The way leads on. … Have you ever had a fragment of something get stuck in your mind’s ear? A bit of song, a piece of poetry, a phrase from a book or essay or conversation? That happened to me with these lines from Edwin Muir’s poem, “The Way”. It perfectly expresses a feeling I often have. I wish to stay right where I am, and I hear the call, the invitation to take the next step. Things don't always work out perfectly. And…The way leads on. I can’t take one more step. The way leads on. Sometimes you get ridiculed. The way leads on. Sometimes the price is painful. The way leads on. Sometimes it takes years of baby steps. The way leads on. Sometimes you don't get credit. The way leads on (and it is worth it.) Sometimes it seems that nothing is accomplished! Is it really worth it? Yes, it is worth it. In an overcrowded world, it’s easy to underestimate the significance of one. There are so many people who have so many gifts and skills. Who needs me? What can I, What can Little ol’ me, do? What can our little congregation, do to help heal our hurting world? But the truth is, you are the only you in all the world. You are the one who is here, now. Nobody can do the things that you are called and gifted to do. What are you going to do with that one precious life that you have? What risk are you taking? What stand are you making? What action calls to you? How do you answer? As Reverend Channing, one of the founders of Unitarianism, said: Each of us is meant to have a character all our own, to be what no other can exactly be, and do what no other can exactly do. There is only one you. You’re the only person with your exact heritage, your precise series of events in the pilgrimage and sufferings of life that have brought you to this moment. You’re the only one with your personal convictions, your skills, your appearance, your touch, your voice, your style, your surroundings, your sphere of influence—you are the only one. The poet says: I am only one; but still I am one... I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. ... Find the full Audio version of this sermon on my website.

Ostara: Vernal Equinox McMinnville 3-17-13

"Ahhhh, Spring: a heart lifting in hope and a shoe squishy with mud." Today is St. Patrick’s day. It is a day to wear green in celebration of the Irish, of the Celtic heritage and to celebrate Saint Patrick. The story goes that Saint Patrick got his sainthood because he drove the snakes out of Ireland. There are pictures of him wielding a big stick and looking fierce. There’s even one of him punting that last snake off the shore. There’s a small problem with that story. There have never been any snakes on the island of Ireland. So… What “snakes” did St. Patrick banish? Well, we are talking about a Catholic Saint here. So, Hmmm… What is the most famous snake in Christianity? Yep, you got it. The snake who talked to Eve in the Garden of Eden. The snake who gave her the knowledge of good and evil. That snake gave Adam and Eve the power of using their minds to understand things. Who did St. Patrick drive out of Ireland? He drove out the druids and wise women. The cunning men, the hedge witches, and the midwives who had the power to ease the pains of childbirth and even turn a child in the womb in order to ensure a successful birth. He drove out those who practiced the old religion. Those disobedient “snakes” who related to the earth and the Goddess and didn’t accept the teachings of the invaders. So. In that case… I’m on the side of the SNAKES! I’ve been boycotting St. Patrick’s day for years. I’ve refused to wear green and instead I wear a snake. But…Turns out that Ireland is actually the place where the wisdom of the sages was preserved during the dark ages. While books were burned and mouldering in the rest of the former Roman empire, language, writing, the philosophers, Latin, and learning survived because of the monks in Ireland. Also, there is an Irish SAINT named for a Celtic goddess! Saint Brigit of Kildare, the other patron saint of Ireland, along with St. Patrick. The two of them, Brigit, and Patrick, are symbols of the old religion and Christianity. Two supposed opposites that each pass down their gifts to us. Today I’m happy to celebrate the gifts that the Irish passed down to us. They passed down a deep reverence for the earth, for learning, for poetry, and for a flexible and joyful spirituality. Today I’m wearing the Green, AND a snake! Maybe I should be wearing a snake wrapped around a green growing wooden cross. Both/And. The balancing act is difficult, but without both, we would miss out on half our heritage. ... look for the Audio on my web site for the REST of this sermon.

Nothing Better to do than Listen 10-21-12 in Astoria Oregon

Sermon "Nothing Better to Do Than Listen" Amy Beltaine

 In the Hospital a man lay dying in a room down the hall. His 5-year-old daughter and I played together with some brightly colored toys while her family paced, wept, and raged. This sweet little girl had pink and yellow barrettes in her hair. Her green lollipop had turned her mouth green. She said that her aunt had told her that her daddy was going to be an angel. I asked her if that would be OK, for her daddy to be an angel who watched over her. She said “no -- I don't want my Daddy to be an angel.” I had no words for her. I wished for words. I wished I could fix it or failing that, Run Away from this terrible situation! I wished that something I could say would make it better. I could not do either. Nothing would make it all better. It is a perfectly normal response, the fight or flight response. When something feels bad or wrong or scary, your instinct is to fix or flee. Luckily, we humans are more than just skills and instinct! What that little girl did need was a safe space where she could rest into her own truth. To allow, to let be. We both created that space as we played quietly together. We talked about the bunny rabbit we played with. I stayed open and calm and waited for her to share with me. I was a safe person, not falling apart or needy. I didn’t want her to do or be anything except herself. I began to learn to truly listen and not just wait for my turn to speak. My path to ministry required that I learn to actively listen. To succeed, I needed to wait for the other person to set the level of the encounter. Deep or Receptive Listening is a time away from time. A time when people meet one another, holding the awareness of the divinity within each. You may have heard it called Spiritual Direction. That term doesn’t quite work for me. The “director” in spiritual direction does not DIRECT! The spirit of Spiritual Direction happens when a person who is seeking, is companioned by a person who is listening. It’s when people encounter one another, without fixing or fleeing. A better term might be “spiritual friend”. Spiritual direction helps people tell their sacred stories, hear their own truths, make decisions, and take actions consistent with their best selves.. Like prayer, contemplation, and meditation, spiritual direction nourishes the spiritual aspect of being human. Each moment can be a moment of contemplative listening. It’s important after a national tragedy or when visiting a loved one in a hospital. It is also possible to have a spiritual encounter every time another person is met, not just during times of sorrow or loss. Often someone has asked you to listen, like your best friend’s latest tale of woe. You can practice deep listening during the coffee hour after the service, or when you arrive home. You can practice reflective listening at work this week, or the next time you answer the phone. How can we nurture an attitude of contemplative listening? We recognize sacred space. How can we listen to the soul and hear its truth? We create an… “atmosphere … of spaciousness and underlying peace; of openness and receptivity; of a kind of quiet clarity in which it is easier to allow and let be” (Gerald May) This can be really hard work! To allow and not to fix. To let be, and not to control. We need that space of listening when we get bad news or hear of tragedy. At times we all need a safe space to be our hurting or grieving selves. We need a safe space and a companion who doesn’t fix, or flee. (More on the Website: Amybeltaine.com... Preaching)

Class: the bleeding edge of social change

I've been having adventures in the meaning of class and how class privilege works in my own life. I was raised "landed class". My parents both grow up in families where they owned their own homes. Then, when they got married they bought a home. By the time I graduated from high school our family owned three pieces of property. I was raised "educated class". Both parents had bachelors degrees. My dad had a doctorate. I earned a bachelors (and when I decided to pursue a second career, earned a masters.) So I carry class power and privilege (along with my skin color privilege) with me wherever I go. However... Now I am an upperclass attitude inside a working poor body. I rely on food stamps and unemployment, my spouse, and piece-work to make the food and shelter and health care commitments I have. The first time my beloved went with me to a grocery store she was horrified. Watching me select organic vegetables. High end processed foods. Watching me walk past sale items and select products based on how much I enjoyed them, without once looking at the price tag. She recalls feeling physically ill. -I've had to learn that money isn't something that just automatically appears if you work hard. -I've had to learn that without money, it is hard to make money. -I've had to learn that if you spend money on priorities like organics, you might not have money for priorities like fixing a filling in a painful tooth. Slowly I'm learning to think like someone who needs to pay attention to money. Slowly I'm realizing that I hold the belief that paying attention to money is "crass" and is not done by civilized people. Slowly I'm learning to erase that old message. I'm wondering if unlearning that message, which is carried by people who share my class background, is a fruitful place for us to start unlearning classism. Maybe my next blog post will be about how the privilege operates in my life. Even now when I actually don't have the money, just the attitude!

introducing the Amybeltaine.info web site...

I am ready to begin the ministry for which I have trained and prepared. I offer:
 -A compassionate personal presence, holding each person in loving regard, and calling forth your deepest and most authentic self. Whether in pastoral care after the death of a loved one, or in spiritual direction as you explore your relationship with what you hold holy, I create a safe sacred space that invites your healing and growth.
 -Ceremonies, rituals, and worship experiences which celebrate and integrate our life milestones, and connect us into one human community of beloved souls. Weddings, memorial services, Sunday morning worship services, celebrations of other life milestones and of holy days are all occasions to affirm life and love and renew ourselves for the work we must do. I create a sacred space that invites reverence, healing, and inspiration.
 -Learning experiences which deepen our relationship with the divine and the holy, our relationships with our selves, and our relationships with one another. Drawing on the wisdom of world religions, insights from psychology and myth and story, the awesome power of nature, and the creativity within every human being, I create a sacred space that invites exploration, vulnerability, creativity, and growth.
 -Coaching and companioning for those who wish to develop their ministries. Whether your ministry is governmental leadership, caring for young people, or rising up for a just world, I create a sacred space that invites your experimentation, growth, application of your skills, and development of new skills. I have done my work when I see a board president facilitate a meeting that used to scare her, or when I see a parent express patience and hope with a teenager who was spiraling out of control.
 -A grounding in the theologies, values, aspirations, hope, and love which inform and inspire us to create a just and compassionate world.
Main Web Site

Spiritual Direction

Amy's Spiritual Direction Web Pages

As a Unitarian Universalist minister I celebrate the inherent worth and dignity of each and every person. It is a blessing you were born. What each of us knows about the sacred is a piece of the truth. It matters what you choose to do and how you choose to be. You do not need to do it alone. I also begin from a conviction that we are all interconnected, people, animals, earth, indeed the whole universe. We will find the sacred in all our relationships.

We are here to do contemplative listening together. We are not alone, the divine is present with us and listens to us - and we are here to listen to the holy as well. 

I listen with compassionate and joyful curiosity to your story and the meanings you make from your life.

Our time together is a time when we are open to what is, what arises, and what calls to us. We may be silent together, talk together, or use one of the many techniques available (see below) to help us to listen and to go deeper.

I will listen with you to the call of the holy and seek to invite you to a more authentic life, a deeper understanding of your self and your place in the universe, and a stronger connection to the love that flows through all life.

Spiritual landscapes we may explore include "What is calling to me now?" "How do I experience my relationship with the holy?", "Where is my source of strength/inspiration/love?", "How might I become more whole?", "How can I live in integrity with mind, heart, body, and soul?"

All our lives are works of art in progress, whether they be a dance, painting, song, journey, or something else. What are the colors, sounds, movements, feelings, and guideposts of your life? What do you choose for yourself from now forward? What are you being called to do? Who are you being called to be?

We may meet one-on-one for an hour per month, you may wish to join with a group experience, or to participate in a topic-specific class, or to meet for 3-4 sessions focusing on one area of discernment. We may be together at my office in SE Portland, or speaking over Skype, or in a larger space with 4-15 others.

The Bounce: Sermon from April 15, '12

Click to hear the Sound File for BOUNCE Sermon (April 15, 2012)

Mercy

Wednesday Afternoon Reflection on MERCY, with the Staff of First Unitarian of Portland

OPENING SONG: "White Wing Mercy", by Ferron

CHALICE LIGHTING:

"Sisters Of Mercy" Leonard Cohen

Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone. 

They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can't go on. 

And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song.

Oh I hope you run into them, you who've been travelling so long. 

Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control. 

It begins with your family, but soon it comes around to your soul. 

Well I've been where you're hanging, I think I can see how you're pinned: 

When you're not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned. 

Well they lay down beside me, I made my confession to them. 

They touched both my eyes and I touched the dew on their hem. 

If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn 

they will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem. 

When I left they were sleeping, I hope you run into them soon 

GUIDED MEDITATION on Guanyin, Boddhisatva of Mercy, who "hears the cries of the world" 

TRIAD SHARING:

Share an experience when you received mercy. When someone heard your cries of pain or distress.

Share an experience when you forgave someone when strict justice would have you not forgive. When you showed mercy.

CHALICE EXTINGUISHING:

We are all in this together, Carole King

The just are seeking justice

The meek are reaching out

For something only children

Can really know about

And some men cry for mercy

While they deny their brothers' pain

And some men laugh for reasons

They can never quite explain

We are all in this together

And maybe we'll see that one day

When we conquer our fear together

When we finally find a way

And we all need forgiving

For all the damage done

For the things we do, not thinking

For the hurt that we've caused someone

But me, I keep on living

Caught somewhere there between

The reason and the meaning

The vision and the dream

We are all in this together

ENDING SONG:"Mercy" by Dave Matthews  (Thanks John Boelling for learning and performing this not-yet-released song!)

Coming Up in May!

Midweek sharing and healing circle
Beltane: May Day and Workers Day. A celebration of the renewal of spring and a celebration of the work we all do, and the people who labor. What do these two have in common? Come for a sharing and healing circle. Come to share your stories of renewal through dedication to a cause or commitment or celebrate the common person’s struggle for dignity. Some may be invited to share their offerings again at the worship service the following week. Wednesday May 9th at 7 PM Buchan 202-203.
For more information, contact intern minister Amy Beltaine at abeltaine@firstunitarianportland.org

Midweek Service

Wednesday May 16: Beltane: May Day and Workers day
Beltane: May Day and Workers Day. A celebration of the renewal of spring and a celebration of the work we all do, and the people who labor. What do these two have in common? Bel-Tinne or Fire of the sun God (Belenos) is a Celtic holiday for blessing the livestock. International Workers Day commemorates the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when police fired at people striking for the right to an 8 hour workday.  Join us as we light a bonfire for the work that we all do and celebrate those who labor in factories, farms, shops, homes, and offices. Wednesday May 16th at 7 PM Buchan 101-102.
For more information, contact intern minister Amy Beltaine at abeltaine@firstunitarianportland.org

Sacred Fool Service

The Sacred Fool
The Trickster, the Prankster, the Jester and the Muse. Keep us humble by revealing our limitations; show us that anything is possible when you let go of expectations; teach us the healing power of laughter; inspire us to share our joy and sadness so that others may laugh and learn and grow; remind us to see the world with new eyes; and sting us out of complacence and stagnation, returning us to the path. Travel with Mona Warner (voice/banjo) and Amy Beltaine (intern Minister) to find the healing side of humor and surprise. 7 PM Buchan 101-102 Wed. April 18. More information: abeltaine@firstunitarianportland.org

HOMILY:
Wednesday Service Apr. 18
First Unitarian Church of Portland Oregon
The Sacred Fool
Order of Service

“When you step out in faith like the Fool, others may declare you insane. And the end result (or what I call “the form”) is never guaranteed. What is certain though, is that you can’t be The Magician unless you’re first willing to be The Fool.” ~Kimberly Schneider
--------------------------
(1) Prelude – “Turtles all the Way Down” by Cassandra Sagan performed by Mona Warner
(3) Welcome – Amy Beltaine - Story from Copper Woman by Anne Cameron
(2) Call to Worship - “Swans” from Swans by Mary Oliver
(2) Chalice Lighting - The Bluebird Wish
(3) Singing together – “Happiness Runs” by Donovan (See Music Notes)
(4) A Coyote Moment – Ministerial Candidate Kevin Lawson
(3) Singing together – Simple Gifts (See Music Notes)
(15) Homily - Sacred Fool - Minister Amy Beltaine
(15) Activity/Sharing – Your Fool’s Journey Fable - with Music by Mona Warner
(3) Singing together - “Surrender” (See Music Notes)
(1) Chalice Extinguishing – The Circle is Open (See Music Notes)
(1)Benediction – “For the Artist at the Start of Day”, from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings by John O’Donahue

To have fun.
To learn to make beautiful things.
To remember to finish what I begin.
To want to keep my temper most of the time.
To learn about trees and flowers and all of nature.
To have adventures with all sorts of things.
To make friends.

For the Service April 15th: The Bounce

The Bounce. Finding our resiliance. Why do many people and organizations crumble in the face of difficulty, while others use adversity to bounce back even stronger? The experience of bounce can range from an uncanny feeling of levitation to a supreme tranquil relaxation. It is precisely when all seems lost that the opportunity exists to rewire your brain. It's often during life's most difficult times that we discover our most critical hidden strengths and that we forge our most important capabilities.

-Harriet Tubman : “if you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches, keep going. If you hear them shouting, keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.

- bell hooks : “Contrary to what we may have been taught to think, unnecessary and unchosen suffering wounds us but need not scar us for life. It does mark us. What we allow the mark of our suffering to become is in our own hands.”

- Howard Thurman : I have never since lost sight of the far-flung mystery and redemption of the sacrament of pain.

It is small wonder that so much is made in the Christian religion of the necessity of rebirths.  There need not be only one single rebirth, but again and again a man may be reborn until at last there is nothing that remains between him and God.

[Alice Walker describes her  book, The Way Forward is with a Broken Heart as]...” the stories that came to me to be told after the close of a magical marriage to an extraordinary man that ended in a less-than-magical divorce. I found myself unmoored, unmated, ungrounded in a way that challenged everything I'd ever thought about human relationships. Situated squarely in that terrifying paradise called freedom, precipitously out on so many emotional limbs, it was as if I had been born; and in fact I was being reborn as the woman I was to become."
- Alice Walker