Unitarian Universalist Church of Houlton, Maine, 10:00AM Open Pulpit Sunday Service, August 31, 2025 - Unitarian Universalist Church of Houlton Maine

on August 31, 2025

August 30, 2025

“Market Square garden” photo by Dave

Summer holds the promise of long days and anticipated enjoyments. Well, the days of summer are mostly behind us (only two days remaining in August), but that doesn’t mean summer is over. It just means we have to make the most out of the days we have left. When I was walking through Market Square earlier this week, I couldn’t help but notice the color-laden flower garden next to the crosswalk. A moment of summer.

This week’s Sunday Service is an Open-Pulpit Service. These services are always amazing in how they tend to develop their own theme and timely structure in a spontaneity of the flow. We invite you to bring a reading, poem, a show and tell object or a personal observation to share with the group.

YouTube Channel content for this week is on the uncanny nature of perfect timing. Why do things occur when they do and how do you explain the unlikely odds of it happening at all? The title of the minister’s talk is “The Right Timing.”

There is also poetry and writings of poet Gary Snyder included in the service, whose documentary film O Mother Gaia is currently screening online.

We hope you can join us for one of the services online or in-person.

In Ministry,

Dave

Here is an excerpt from last Sunday’s talk on “The Right Timing.”

So, the scope of this talk is not going to delve too deeply into the philosophical implications of the topic I hope you’re not too disappointed), all I want to present are two points to consider related to the question, “What do you notice when the timing is right, and things just happen to come together?’

Here are the two points we are going to take a look at:

I had never heard of the Tevis Cup until two weeks ago.
If Donald Trump had not won the 2024 election, the Gunther Brown Concert would never have happened in 2025.

Point number one. Two weeks ago Stephen Kinney’s service topic was on the Morgan horse and its role in American history. During the course of his talk he made an interesting reference to an endurance horse race in California called the Tevis Cup. I had never heard of such a race before, and Stephen mentioned a friend of his, Denny Emerson, who competed in it and the only person to have both a Tevis belt buckle and an Olympic Gold medal. I remember Steve referring to the challenging terrain, and he may have shown a few slides of it, but I couldn’t see the screen from where I was sitting.

Earlier that same week, Linda and I were watching our favorite TV show, KYD Keep Your Daydream on the YouTube Channel. KYD is about a family of five who went on the road, living full time in an Airstream travel trailer, and the show documents their travels back and forth across the country. They are currently in year nine and have recorded over 450 episodes of their adventures. The episode we watched was about supporting their friend, Jeff Spencer, who was running in this year’s Western States Endurance Run; 100 miles in one day in Lake Tahoe, California. Interestingly enough, the race course follows the same trail as the Tevis Cup, but at that time, when we were watching it, it meant nothing to me. Later that week, after Stephen’s talk, I was sitting at home and I thought, “wait a minute, is this the same race that Steve is talking about?” So I texted him, just to confirm that it was the Tevis Cup Race he had mentioned , and he said yes indeed, it was.

I had never heard of the Tevis Cup Race until two weeks ago, and now I had heard about it twice within days. What kind of timing is that?

The camera follows their friend, Jeff Spencer through the 24 hour course of the race, though the night, the rest stops (or pit stops) and documents the effort and determination required to run and complete the 100 mile race. It was eight years in the making. What struck me at the end of the race was the level of gratitude and great appreciation expressed by Jeff for the content of the moment, for the contribution of his support team, and for his friends showing up and sharing the experience with him. He could not have done it without them. And although it was Jeff who actually ran the 100 mile endurance run, it was celebrated as a group effort and connected everyone who was involved. (When you have that type of group connection the emotional score is off the charts) Mark and Trish later noted that this episode was one of their most responded to shows. It made an impression on me in the same way; to see someone so moved and overcome by the emotion of the moment…Jeff is also my age, one year older, so perhaps that had something to do with it as well. I’m glad he was the one running it and not me.Here’s a link to the KYD episode in case you’d like to watch the entire adventure.

THIS WEEK’S YOUTUBE SERVICE:

HERE IS THE SERVICE LINK FOR THIS WEEK’S YOUTUBE SERVICE

(Please note it won’t be active until 10AM on Sunday morning)

HERE IS THE ZOOM LINK FOR SUNDAY COFFEE HOUR:

Topic: UUHoulton zoom coffee hour & check-inTime: Aug 31, 2025 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/85189312957?pwd=gRMTcTrq7oo80UirTXXRrJ7y2YwgmL.1
Meeting ID: 851 8931 2957

Passcode: 606989

Calendar of Events @UUHoultonAug 31 Sunday Service: Open-Pulpit ServiceSept 5 Opening Night of “A Moment in the Sun” documentary at Temple Cinema The film runs from Sept 5- Sept 11Sept 7 Ingathering Service led by David Hutchinson (followed by a bbq and pot-luck on the church grounds)Sept 7 Trivia Night at the UU’s Cup Cafe 5:30-7:30PMSept 8 UUHoulton board meeting in the parlor 4PM (Congregation members are welcome to atttend)Sept 13 LGBTQ+ Luncheon 12 NoonSept 13 Houlton Coffeehouse 7-9PMSept 14 Sunday Service: Rev. Dale HoldenSept 21 Sunday Service: David HutchinsonSept 28 Sunday Service: Randi Bradbury &Ira Dyer

Coming Events:

A Moment in the Sun Documentary showing at Temple Cinema

Runs from September 5 through September 11

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In April 2024 Houlton, Maine – a town of 6,000 – was the final destination in the United States to see the 2024 total solar eclipse,

and the people of Houlton expected tens of thousands of visitors to descend upon their home to witness this once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event. Filmmakers Mia Weinburger and Thomas van Kalken captured the community of Houlton as they prepared to host an influx of strangers and celebrate an incredibly rare privilege: living in the Path of Totality. See how many UUs from our group you recognize in the film! Opening night is Friday, September 5th. Red Carpet event at 6PM.

Trivia Night

September 7 Sunday 5:30-7:30PM

At the UU’s Cup Cafe

Following the tremendous success of our Fiesta Mexicana trivia night – and in response to the clamor for more brain-challenging fun – we’re DOING IT AGAIN!Join us at The Cup Cafe on the first Sunday of each month for Trivia Night. See what facts you can pull out of the depths of your mind (you’ll be surprised!), laugh with friends, and enjoy a light meal and coffee treats from the cafe.We’re starting out on SEPTEMBER 7 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and will continue at the same time on Sunday, October 5. As we head into winter, we’ll review the day and time – depending on feedback, we may move the event to earlier in the day to minimize nighttime driving on potentially messy roads (yes, they’re coming back).It’s $5 per person to participate…teams can be of any size, so bring all of your smartest besties. Word has it that the Nickerson Nincompoops, winners of the first Cup Memorial Cup competition, are ready for all comers!

In Between

Rev. Dr. Kate R. Walker

In between, liminal, that space where we wait.
Between moments; events, results, action, no action.
To stand on the threshold, waiting for something to end,
And something new to arrive, a pause in the rumble of time.
Awareness claims us, alert, a shadow of something different.

In between invitation and acceptance.
In between symptom and diagnosis.
In between send and receipt of inquiry and question.
In between love given and love received.

Liminality, a letting go, entering into confusion,
ambiguity and disorientation.
A ritual begun, pause . . . look back at what once was,
Look forward into what becomes.
Identity sheds a layer, reaches into something uncomfortable to wear.

In between lighting of the match and the kindling of oil.
In between choosing of text and the reading of words.
In between voices and notes carried through the air into ears to hear.
In between creation thrusts ever forward.

Social hierarchies may disassemble and structures may fall.
Communities may revolt or tempt trust.
Tradition may falter or creativity crashes forward.
Leaders may step down or take charge.
The people may choose or refuse.

In between, storm predicted, the horizon beacons.
In between, theology of process reminds us to step back.
In between, where minutia and galaxies intermingle with microbes and mysteries.
In between, liminal, that space where we wait: Look, listen, feel, breathe.