October 5, 2024

Autumn in Houlton’s Monument Park

Fall is here! The autumn colors are starting to emerge and peak foliage for the Houlton area is about a week away. The above photo shows the autumn view of Monument Park from the front steps of our church across the street. Although it’s starting to get a little cool in the sanctuary on Sunday morning, we’re hoping to get a couple of more weeks in the sanctuary before we move back into the parlor. You might want to plan accordingly and bring an extra layer of clothing or a cozy blanket. 
Sunday Service is a continuation of our theme for the year with Part Two; Love at the Center. Unitarian Universalism has a long history of theological reflection and diversity of thought. As we know, nothing stays the same, and that includes our ideas about theology and religious community. We will explore two aspects of UU Theology as it relates to the recent change in article II of the UUA Bylaws. Perhaps this sounds dull, but once we get past the procedural language it gets quite interesting. We also have organ music during the service and I have more “show and tell.” You will find study material for this week’s service included in today’s Support Page; an excerpt from chapter 5 of Love at the Center submitted by Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray titled “Beloved Community is Love at the Center.” YouTube Channel content for this week is a service led by Randi Bradbury and Ira Dyer titled 

“Rhythm of Life: The Sound of Science.”  Randi and Ira recently attended a sound healing workshop and will share from their experience. Ira provides special music. We hope you can join us for one of the services online or in-person.

In Ministry,Dave

“Love at the Center” Study Material for session #2

Beloved Community Is Love at the Center

Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray”There are two aspects of the nature of love that are especially important when we consider love as at the center of our tradition as Unitarian Universalists. The first is the fact that love implies relationship and the second is that love is expansive and active, both noun and verb.
Let’s start with relationship. Love is never just singular. It always signifies a relationship, a feeling or quality between a person and something else. It can describe how we feel toward a partner, our children, our family, our religious community. It can also signify how we feel in moments of joy and pleasure, like when the sun warms our shoulders, or the sunset takes our breath away. We can love the first snow of winter, the beauty of spring flowers, or the smell and feel of fresh dirt when we are preparing our gardens. Love describes something that exists in between, it is the language of connection, whether that connection is to others, to the natural world, or to existence itself.
As Unitarian Universalists, relationship is more than just important to us. Many of our current seven Principles describe the values we hope define human relationships: compassion and justice, democracy and peace, respect and acceptance. And one of the things that most often draws us together is not any one shared belief, but a desire for community. Not just any community, but a caring community that enriches our lives, holds us in times of need, and helps us make a difference in the world. A community that reminds us who we are and encourages what is good and true in us and in humanity. Another word for this is Beloved Community, a community with love at the center.
One of the clearest and most compelling definitions of the beloved community comes from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King described the Beloved Community as one animated by an overflowing love and care for all people, a community that seeks the fullest unfolding of each human personality, as well as a community that cannot tolerate conditions of poverty, racism, and discrimination because of the ways these inhibit the full development of humanity.
This concept of love as universal—not just personal between people or within a family or group, but as a desire for the welfare of each and every person—is a reflection of the theology of our Universalist forebears. The belief in universal salvation meant that no one was ever cast outside of God’s love. God’s unconditional love for all of humanity inspired the religious imagination of Rev. Hosea Ballou, who was one of the most influential ministers to articulate and shape our Universalist theology. Ballou spoke of God’s desire for humanity’s happiness and joy and for a society that would nurture in its conditions the quality of love and care that God has for all people.
This Universalist theology, with love at the center, still animates our tradition. But other sources have also come to shape our tradition in similar ways. In the 1980s with the advent of the Seven Principles, interdependence became another core value, rooted in the ways that the teachings of science and a reverence for the natural world inform our faith. But for Unitarian Universalists, interdependence is more than just a value or principle. It is an existential understanding of humanity and our relationship to the world and creation. In other words, it is not just a belief, but an undeniable quality of our existence.Unitarian Universalism is an active faith. To outsiders, we are most known for our justice and advocacy work in our communities. This is something to be proud of and to continue. May we always be a justice-seeking, justice-making people. At the same time, there are those who mistakenly believe that justice is the heart of our faith. What is so powerful about the new proposed language for Article II of our bylaws, and its articulation of the centrality of Love, is that it begins to point to the deeper “why” behind our justice work. Justice is not the heart of our faith. It is the outward manifestation of our belief in the fundamental interdependence of all life and the moral and faithful call to have these bonds of interconnection be woven in love. In other words, we work for justice because we center love in our religious lives.
Growing up a Unitarian Universalist in the 1980s, before I ever knew anything about the Seven Principles, I found a little red wallet card in the visitor’s section of my congregation titled “What do Unitarian Universalists Believe?” The statement, written by Rev. David O. Rankin, listed ten statements attempting to encapsulate our UU values and beliefs. I carried that wallet card with me for decades. It described eloquently what I believed as a Unitarian Universalist. One statement so captured my theology that I memorized it by heart. Rankin wrote, “We believe in the motive force of love. The governing principle in human relationships is the principle of love, which always seeks the welfare of others and never seeks to hurt or destroy.” The motive force of love—I still treasure and return to that imagery and articulation of love holding us together and playing a role in moving our lives and the world forward. Of course, it is not the only force that moves the world, but it is an animating force for our religious lives and values as Unitarian Universalists.
Rankin’s treasured words echo in the language that the Article II Commission has drafted for the new proposed Article II to the UUA bylaws “Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love.” This concept of love, is not just emotional or sentimental. And it is not a mere abstraction. It is a form of love that both inspires and requires action. It burns like the fire at the center of our chalice. It’s fierce in a way that compels us to demand justice in our world, but also fierce in how it calls us to courageous conversations, to radical practices of welcome, compassion, forgiveness, and belonging. It is a love that animates how we care for each other within community, and the courage and commitment we bring to promote our values in the wider world. It is an expression of our faith made real in the world—made real in people’s lives. It is also a form of love that requires practice and discipline to continue to live, deepen, and grow. Living into practices of the Beloved community is not just an intellectual exercise. Fundamentally, it is deeply spiritual work. It requires humility, deep listening, forgiveness, and open-heartedness. And with practice, it helps us live more fully into all the values and covenants our tradition aspires to—values including equity, justice, generosity, interdependence, transformation and covenants of care, respect, learning, and commitment.

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 hourTime: Oct 6, 2024 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)      Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/87336332721?pwd=PZwnNux5R5wVRzdMSQDWoaWtLHPHtS.1
Meeting ID: 873 3633 2721Passcode: 313710

Calendar of Events @UUHoulton

Oct 6 Sunday Service: David Hutchinson

Oct 8       Meditation Group  4PM  (online)

Oct 12     Aroostook Apple Day      10AM-2PM     UUHoulton Church & The Cup Cafe     sponsored by Southern Aroostook Soil & Water Conservation District

Oct 13 Sunday Service:   Isaac St. John   Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians       “A Tale of Two World Views”

Oct 14 UUHoulton Board Meeting   7PM in the cafe

Oct 19     LGBTQ+ Luncheon   12 Noon in the cafe

Oct 19     Houlton Coffeehouse   7PM Oct 20     Sunday Service:  David Hutchinson

Oct 22 Meditation Group  4PM  (online)

Oct 27 Sunday Service:  UUHoulton CUUPS Group    

Virtual Offering Plate
If you would like to send in your pledge or donation simply drop an envelope in the mail. The address is listed below.  You can also send your donation electronically with our payment system on the church website.  Simply go to uuhoulton.org and click “Donate” on the menu and it will explain how the system works. You can set up a regular monthly payment plan or donate in single transactions.  Thank you for your generous support!  
UU Church of Houlton

61 Military Street

October 12 – AROOSTOOK APPLE DAY sponsored by the Southern Aroostook Soil & Water Conservation District will be held at Unitarian Church and Cup Cafe on Military St in Houlton. Aroostook Apple Day celebrates northern fruit orchards with classes on fruit growing and orchard care, lots and lots of apples to taste, apple and pear displays, and cider pressing. You can view class descriptions, speakers, and times under the Education tab. Aroostook Apple Day is FREE and open to the public. The Unitarian’s Cup Cafe will be offering up harvest pastries and lunch for purchase, as well as drinks from their coffee bar. Event partners include MOFGA, Fedco Trees, and Maine Farmland Trust, who will be on hand to chat about keeping agricultural lands working lands.

ACTIVITIES

Fruit Variety Displays

Samples of the many apple and pear

varieties grown in Maine will be on display. If

you have unique or favorite varieties to

share, please bring some.

Apple Tasting

This is a great opportunity to taste different

varieties of apples grown in Northern Maine.

If you have varieties you would like others to

taste, please bring at least six of each variety

so they can be placed on the tasting table.

Please bring the fruit in a bag labeled with

the variety name, your name, and your

address so that if someone wants to learn

more about the fruit they can contact you.

Cider Pressing

Bring your own apples or pears to press,

along with containers to take your cider

home. Volunteers will be on hand from 10

am – 1 pm to help you press your own fruit.

Please bring only fruit from a tree that has

been washed, no drops please

.

Visit with Maine Farmland Trust

Come visit with some of the staff of MFT and

learn what you can do to keep agricultural

lands working and help farmers and

communities thrive.

WORKSHOPS

Things I Wish I’d Known

with Mark Coté

10:00 am – 10:45 am

An introduction to growing fruit trees with a

focus on apples. Mark will cover basic

information about tree planting, growth, and

care, including skills and lessons learned

over several years as an orchardist. The

discussion is intended for novices but will

include information of value for many levels

of experience, including resources and

references for further study and assistance.

Espalier Orchard: Suitable for Framing

with Claus Hamann

11:00 am – 11:45 am

Ever wonder about an alternative to big

trees with hard-to-reach fruit? How about a

smaller-footprint orchard, raising kernel and

stone fruit like grapes on a frame or trellis,

known as an espalier orchard? Fruit trees are

suitable for framing, and ergonomically

good for older and little humans. Come find

out about your future espalier orchard!

Proactive and Preventative Approaches to

Fireblight Management

with C.J. Walke

12:00 pm – 12:45 pm

C.J. will cover fireblight biology, how to spot

signs of infection, and identify other pest

damage that can be confused with fireblight.

He will also share how fireblight is managed

in MOFGA’s orchards (though not always

successfully!), including cultural methods

and materials approved for organic

production.’’

Selecting Cultivars for Your Orchard

with Laura Sieger

1:00pm – 1:45 pm

Laura will discuss what traits you might

consider when planning for new trees or

grafting other varieties into your existing

orchard. We’ll discuss many of the classic

New England apples that grow in Maine, as

well as more modern cultivars and some wild

and seedling selections. The discussion will

be geared mostly towards home/hobby

orchardists, but everyone is welcome.

At capacity

If we can’t remember the things we’ve read and watched and even loved, do they still “count”?

Everyone I know seems to be talking about their memory lately, how it isn’t what it used to be. Mine isn’t, and there’s some comfort in commiseration. Yes, we’re getting older, isn’t it something to observe, how we can no longer so easily recall names or events or what it was we were just about to say.

My memory used to be so good I’d have to hide it so it didn’t weird people out. I’d pretend not to remember someone’s full name and their kids’ names and how they used to own a coffee shop outside Albany, lest they think I’d freakishly compiled a dossier on them after our brief conversation at a party three years ago. Now, I’m rewatching a TV series I remember liking in 2022 because I can’t remember even the broadest outline of the plot. I constantly jot notes on stuff that used to surface in the normal churn of my brain’s functioning: funny remarks people make, bits of gossip, summaries of conversations. I take minutes on my own life.

Sure, age probably has a lot to do with it. For a while, I blamed quarantine and stress for dulling my edge (one friend suggested I might be in my “butter knife era”). But lately the metaphor that seems most apt is that of a computer: It feels as if my hard drive is full. I’m reading and watching and listening to so much content — in addition to living life and having actual experiences, never mind daydreams and nightmares and extended reveries — that it seems I’m running out of disk space. I can’t count on things to auto-save anymore. Since I can’t selectively delete stuff the way I would with an actual hard drive, I’m left creating backups in notebooks, mistrusting my own outmoded technology.

I’m particularly interested in how a full hard drive is affecting my consumption of culture. Cultural omnivores keep lists of the books they’ve read and the movies they’ve watched, adding to their knowledge and fluency with each item checked off. As I went through The Times’s recent list of the 100 best books of the century, I was gratified by how many I’d read but wondered if a book still counted if I couldn’t remember much about it.

What does it mean for a book, a show, an experience to “count,” anyway? Do you need to be able to recall the plot in detail? Should you be able to describe scenes or bits of dialogue, larger themes, cultural relevance? Or is it enough to just remember enjoying a book, or to be able to conjure a feeling it inspired? I was mulling these questions when I came across this essay by James Collinsfrom 2010. In it, he describes books that he loved about which he remembers nothing: “All I associate with them is an atmosphere and a stray image or two, like memories of trips I took as a child.”

Collins suspected, as I do, that the books he can’t remember must have had an effect on his brain anyway, that the experience of reading and engaging with the texts must have changed him in some deeper way, leaving “a kind of mental radiation — that continues to affect me even if I can’t detect it.” I want to believe that my immersion in the fascinating characters and rich plot of “Creation Lake” by Rachel Kushner are performing some kind of alchemy in my brain even if — and it seems unthinkable, halfway through the book — I am likely to forget it all.

Maryanne Wolf, a neuroscientist, confirmed for Collins that inability to recall a book’s details shouldn’t be taken as evidence that we didn’t assimilate it in some way. “We can’t retrieve the specifics, but to adapt a phrase of William James’s, there is a wraith of memory,” she told him. “The information you get from a book is stored in networks. We have an extraordinary capacity for storage, and much more is there than you realize. It is in some way working on you even though you aren’t thinking about it.” More computer parallels!

After reading Collins’s essay, I did what I always do when someone’s writing resonates with me — I looked him up. I found a charming 2008 article about him and his home in Virginia, learned about a book he wrote, which the Times review called “a great big sunny lemon chiffon pie of a novel,” and reserved it from the library. This, I realized, 15 minutes and six open tabs into my digression, is why my brain’s coffers are bursting. There’s too much information, and I’m absolutely helpless to resist it. I look forward to reading Collins’s novel, and I look forward to remembering absolutely none of it.

Melissa Kirsch is the deputy editor of Culture and Lifestyle at The New York Times and writes The Morning newsletter on Saturdays. 

Photo of Randi taken before the service last week

(notice the amazing crystal singing bowls on the left)

UU footwear photo 1

UU footwear photo 2

(Dale’s keyboard socks)

Prayer List
For those working for social justice and societal changePray for peaceful action and democratic process in our nationThe war in Ukraine continuesPrayers for those in Palestine and Israel as the war continues Prayers for the worsening humanitarian crisis in GazaPrayers for those affected by the tragic school shooting in Georgia.Prayers for those recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Florida, North Carolina and the South EastPrayers for peace in the Middle East as tensions in the region increase

The Four Limitless Ones Prayer

May all sentient beings enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.

May we be free from suffering and the root of suffering.

May we not be separated from the great happiness devoid of suffering.

May we dwell in the great equanimity free from anger, aggression and delusion.