 That is how we say good morning and welcome to another Sunday here at First Unitarian Society where independent thinkers gather in a safe, nurturing environment to explore issues of social, spiritual and ethical significance as we try to make a difference in this world. I'm Steve Goldberg, a proud, highly esteemed, multi-talented member of this congregation, and gotta be truthful once in a while. I'd like to extend a very special and warm welcome to any guests, visitors or newcomers. This is your first time at First Unitarian Society. I'm sure that you'll find it is a special place and we invite you to join us for our fellowship hour immediately following the service. Speaking of the service, this would be a perfect time to silence those electronic devices that you just will not need for the next hour because during the next hour you'll be enjoying today's service which I know will touch your heart, stir your spirit and trigger one or two new thoughts. We're really glad you're here, we're especially glad to have so many youngsters with us and we're gonna get to meet them in a few moments and I invite you to enjoy today's service. Please join now in a moment of centering silence so we can be fully present with each other this morning. Please join in our in-gathering hymn. Please rise in all the ways that we do. Sing together hymn number 12, Oh Life That Make It, All Things New. We gather in community to rest from our labors, to greet our neighbors and to open our being to insight and intuition of that greater reality of which we are a part. May we find in our time together inspiration and renewal. May we touch the holy in one another and be touched by the graciousness of life. May we find here a calm that will carry us through the days ahead. And if you will join together in the words of affirmation printed in your order of service as we light our chalice. May this flame symbol of transformation since time began. Fire our curiosity, strengthen our wills and sustain our courage as we seek what is good within and around us. And if you will take a moment now to turn and greet those around you. Today we continue our worship service with one of the more meaningful and beloved moments in the life of a congregation, the right of dedication. This is a time when we who are gathered here in this meeting house have the wonderful privilege to welcome our children into our family and religious community. And today it is our cherished assignment to welcome and pledge our care to Margaret, Rosalind, Gabriel, Isabella and Charles. Today all of us gathered here are more than casual witnesses to life's gifts and nature's marvelous creations. We are all being invited to share the joy with these parents that they take in their children and in or more fully into their lives. I speak for us all when I say that I'm grateful for this privilege as are all of us. We continue this time honored ritual because children are our present delight. By them we are reminded of life's small and large joys and wisdom and reminded of our responsibility to all of our children. Here in this community we strive to be a place where all children will find ears to listen, arms to embrace a world of experience to encourage their inquiring minds. We are blessed by their presence among us and pray that our lives will be a blessing to them. And so now I invite our parents and children to be dedicated to join us up here on the chancel. And if you all will rise in all the ways we do and join together in the pledge of dedication that is found on the insert in your order of service. It's hard. For the gift of childhood whose innocence, laughter and curiosity brings hope, joy and new understanding into our lives. We lift thankful hearts. We welcome Margaret, Rosalind, Gabriel, Isabella and Charles into this spiritual community and extend to their parents our love and support in the joys and challenges of caregiving. As these children grow we will share with them our insights, our values and dreams that we may enjoy the rich benefits of our religious heritage. Thank you if the adults will be seated but the kids will remain standing. Today we welcome Margaret, Rosalind, Gabriel, Isabella and Charles into our first Unitarian family. Soon they will be a part of our classes here and will be growing and playing and learning with you. I ask you to join us in welcoming them. Will you try to be true friends to Margaret, Rosalind, Gabriel, Isabella and Charles? Will you speak to them with kindness, treat them fairly and help them to feel at home here? If so please say we will. Thank you guys. You can be seated. And now to those who stand here with their children before us, Rudy, Christie, Larissa, Travis, Sylvia, Zach and Nora. As caregivers it is your privilege and obligation to provide an environment both of security and challenge in which these young souls which you bring before us today will grow. Do you commit yourself to promote their physical, emotional and spiritual well-being? Will you respect as well as protect these children and bestow your love as a free and unmerited gift? If so say we do. We have many people here with our children and if you will please stand as your names are read. With Gabriel and Isabella are Jennifer Moran-Folland and Karen Archambault. With Charlie are Lindsay Dave Farnsworth, Bridget Daly, Connor, Willie Choi, Julie Katz, Grinn and Lewis, Big Brother Thomas, Nancy and Michael Fredricks, Claudia Ramirez, uh yeah is that everybody? Okay. With Margaret is Big Sister Evelyn Krueger, grandparents Loreen and Neil Krueger, Susan and Jeff Greavy and Great Aunt Sharon. And with Rosalyn is Big Sister Ella Winnie and her friends Rosalyn Woodward and Justin Woodward. To all of you I now ask, do you take upon yourselves? Yep remain standing. You're not done yet. Get back there you go. Do you take upon yourselves the privilege and responsibility to nurture, defend and support the inherent worth and dignity of these children to whom you bear a special relationship? Will you encourage them to grow in freedom and spirit and to always seek the truth? Finally will you help them to grow in love for the larger human family, to love and respect the larger community of life to which we all belong. If so please make this sacred promise by saying we will. Thank you. Please be seated. In the act of dedication we use the symbolism of water as a sign of our common heritage. There's no suggestion here of a washing away of inherited sin. Children come into this world with the limitations natural to our species but they arrive here innocent. Water here stands for vitality, the essence of life, the foundation of being. Its use here reminds us of our common bond with all embracing and ever-sustaining nature. It's also the water of our community, the waters of the world gathered at our annual water communion service. Its use here reminds us of the ever-sustaining and embracing love of community. Nora, name this child. Isabella Beth Moran. Hello down there. We dedicate you in the name of truth, the promise of love and the fellowship of this society. May you be granted clarity of thought, integrity of speech, and a compassionate heart. Nora, name this child. Gabriel John Moran. Hello. We dedicate you in the name of truth, the promise of love, and the fellowship of this society. May you be granted clarity of thought, integrity of speech, and a compassionate heart. Name this child. Charles Albus Ramirez. We dedicate you in the name of truth, the promise of love, and the fellowship of this society. May you be granted clarity of thought, integrity of speech, and a compassionate heart. This child, Rosalind Eugenia Moore. We dedicate you in the name of truth, the promise of love, and the fellowship of this society. May you be granted clarity of thought, integrity of speech, and a compassionate heart. And name this child. Margaret Grace Kruger. We dedicate you in the name of truth, the promise of love, and the fellowship of this society. May you be granted clarity of thought, integrity of speech, and a compassionate heart. We have some gifts that we wish to offer. As a token of their dedication, we give to Margaret Rosalind, Gabriel, Isabella, and Charles a rosebud. Fragrant symbol of beauty, promise, and love. This rose has no thorns, symbolizing the better world we would give our children if it were in our power. While we know that the world is not as altogether lovely as this rosebud, we hope that these children will learn to recognize the beauty and goodness which does exist, and that they will grow in wisdom and compassion, adding their own beauty to the world. And to each of them, we wish that as this flower unfolds and all its natural beauty, so may your life unfold. We also have, as a remembrance of their dedication, we give to each child a blanket, a gift from the members of our Shaw Ministry program. When you see and touch and wear this blanket, maybe you be reminded of the warmth, the support, and love of this community for your children and your family. You keep going. And we're really glad that you're here. There you go, sweetheart. I think I got it. Margaret, there you go, sweetheart. I'm working on it. We're fine. We're fine. Today we have dedicated these children. May we also dedicate ourselves this day as we contemplate the miracle of new life, as we renew in our hearts a sense of wonder and joy. May we be stirred to a fresh awareness of the sacredness of life and the divine promise of childhood. May we pledge to build a community in which all our children will grow surrounded by beauty, embraced by love, and cradled in the arms of peace. May we pass on the light of compassion and courage, and may that light burn brightly within us all. And if you will join us in welcoming these children. Bravo! Now rise in all the ways that we do for our next hymn, as our children and teachers. Hymn number 338, I seek the spirit of a child. Let's sing together. I seek the spirit of a child, the child who meets life natural, who sings the word and greets the morning sun. Thank you, Drew. You may be seated. As we begin our time of reflection, we start with a reading taken from the writing of Nicola Yoon and her novel, Everything, Everything. She writes, I read once that on average we replace the majority of our cells every seven years. Even more amazing, we change the upper layers of our skin every two weeks. If all the cells in our body did this, we'd be immortal. But some of our cells, like the ones in our brains, don't renew. They age and age us. In two weeks, my skin will have no memory of your hand on mine, but my brain will remember. We can have immortality or the memory of touch, but we can't have both. Here ends the reading. So here we are in April and thus a new theme, the theme of renewal. And it is fitting, I believe, that we turn to nature as one of the most meaningful sources of wisdom as we approach this theme and the season. As writer Don Quadstrup penned, each harvest renews promises made in the spring. We live with a continuing cycle. This gives us a taste of eternity. And so we turn to examples in the lessons of nature because they remain a powerful source to us all, for even though we have worked very hard to distance ourselves from nature's power. I would argue there are still significant echoes within our very being of the ancient rhythms of life itself, profound and transformative, playful and heartbreaking, predictable and yet ever mysterious. These echoes speak of cycles and the more that we pay attention to their ancient voices, the more that we are reminded of the constant sea of change and the gift and challenge of this reality. For every bud that flowers in spring, there is a movement into the full beauty and from that place to one of waning and decay that will then in turn nourish potential renewal. It is true of the earth, it is true of humanity, both as individuals and as a community. Both the individual renewal and the renewal of community are so intricately intertwined. In some ways I have concluded I am in the renewal business. The essence of what really happens in this time of change is a renewal of energy and a focus on your shared future. The thing is that over and over again as I'm preparing to leave a congregation so many people will come to me and say I knew that this was a time of change in the congregation but what I wasn't prepared for was the power of thinking about change in my own life in the midst of this time and how much of my own life, my own important choices, my own deeper spirit has been fed by this ongoing process of thinking in the larger sense of what we are called to do. Every congregation comes to this time with some essential work and every member of the congregation as well. So how could that not be a deeply intertwined reality? Because the work of the congregation is to care for, to challenge and comfort, to continue to support the sustenance and health of every conduit of that work which is the community itself. When we talk about what we do together it is either for the people who are within this community for the greater human family or for the planet itself. And so in keeping with the lessons of nature and the seasons, William Bridges who is an expert in change has pointed out that there is a particular creativity and insight that is possible within periods of transition. In particular, Bridges calls out the idea of the nun zone, in O-N-E zone. The time between when one era ends within an organization and another one has not yet really fully begun. It is a time where there is great anxiety but also great potential for change. Great creativity is possible and far-reaching transformation can happen but it is not easy, Bridges writes. Before you begin something new you have to end what used to be. Before you can learn a new way of doing things you have to unlearn the old ways. Before you can be a different kind of person you must let go of old identities. He concludes, so beginnings depend on endings and the problem is people don't like endings in so many ways when we commemorate and honor religious times that are deeply linked with ancient holy days that are earth-centered. We are placing our liturgical finger on some ancient pulse that is very powerful and so it is with the season of Lent because underneath it all it reminds us that loss and change and at least metaphorically some sort of death is necessary for powerful life-changing transforming renewal to happen. I wonder as you are gathered in this place what are your own places in your life where change for you right now is a struggle. In the larger life of this community, this country, this world where is the change rubbing you in a tender space and in this congregation what changes continue to be difficult for you but underneath that what is possible when we journey through this time to the other side what new life may be waiting you and the larger gathering in this place what is it that we are being called to journey towards as french philosopher Henri Besson wrote to exist is to change to change is to mature and to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly so may it be. Hello everyone. I just want to say thank you again for FUS supporting the UW Odyssey project. My name is Char and the piece that I've written is called endless possibilities. The journey of education renewal interruptions the state of feeling whole again. My mind clear in focus new roads to walk hurricanes pain and circles of zen Odyssey provided me with understanding and the skills to give back tutoring youth to be exact the Madison school system was my training ground my experiences were rewarding yet some were just down right wrong no child left behind sounded on point however 12th grade senior no reading comprehension no math solving skills and no possibilities to move forward where did this cycle begin children with no hope in darkness no love for themselves poverty homelessness mental illness suicide a wicked circle where does it end my presence of showing patience encouragement conversation and love renews their empty spirit I can strive to evolve as I leave their presence body language speaks don't go I need you help inspire my hope my stomach is twisted in knots signals everywhere forget me not for one moment in my cycle of life uplifted a child created a poem listen to them read renew their inner strength to close their eyes my name is marisol consales and this is my piece called I am a thief I am a thief because I decided to steal my destiny my destiny the one predetermined before I was even born to do to do to do to do to the country and the environment in which I was born the color of my skin favoring language love opportunities the alcoholism of my parents early pregnancy immigration etc my destiny the one that the people with power one for me and for the majority of the people who were born in the same circumstances the fate of the person who has exploded in the fields working the soil that produces every vegetable of fruit that we put in our mouths the fate of a single mother who abandons herself to work they and I to provide for her children the fate of the undocumented immigrants who are forced to leave their low ones behind to become worthless poorly paid harass and necessary but not wanted in 2017 the uwodc project give me the hand I needed to get out of the dark hole call predetermined destiny I grabbed tight and I discovered that I am the owner of my own destiny I read and learned that it's possible to overcome poverty by changing my way of thinking by believing I am capable of achieving my dreams and by knowing that I can succeed even when I was set to fail my mind is my biggest enemy or my greatest ally today I am not a victim of my circumstances today I am a successful immigrant business owner a bilingual writer a Spanish teacher a hard worker mother today I am renewing my quest to be a god flag fighting injustice I am a humble human being who is not afraid of the future because I know I have the ability to change it I am the thief of my destiny thank you char and thank you mary soul for the gift of your reflections and stories it is truly the season of renewal every april when I was in seminary one of my professors would write these words from a verse in the song of songs in the hebrew scriptures across the board it would say for look the winter is past the flowers have appeared in the land the season of singing has come and the voice of the turtle dove has been heard and then he would produce a bouquet of daffodils or tulips or a hyacinth from under the table with great flourish and lead us in singing whatever him was on his heart that day and every single year even though we knew it was coming we waited for the words and we waited for the flowers we grinned from ear to ear and sang from a place deep inside that was so very grateful that we had made it through the winter and that spring was truly here my professor would then have us reflect on the same question every year he would say what in you is most alive I love that question because it speaks to renewal and it reminds us that renewal is indeed possible both within and among us we feel it when we see those first flowers of the season we feel that sense of life and possibility rising up within us yet part of me always wanted to ask him what in you is most alive how exactly do you figure that out the author immanean kozana wrote renewal of the mind is good for the soul because it allows you to be focused and gain understanding of your life choices it allows you to renew your spirit and become uplifted filled with hope renewal in this sense takes a great deal of courage and also involves a belief that these inner seasons are actually subject to both our desire and our will to change we find ourselves considering the idea of renewal as a symbolic possibility as a metaphor for the life force that is awakened within creation every year as spring emerges in full bloom what in this season can be renewed within you what in you is wanting to be most alive love courage kindness understanding whatever else within you waiting to awaken or be replenished after being depleted by time and circumstance every spring we encounter a newness which embodies hope and potential for the wholeness which is yet to be so in every april i think of that question and i think of the professor's joy in the possibility of renewal and i'm reminded of the words of margaret weatley i always thought that these words of hers would be her answer to that question of how do we find what is most alive within us notice what you care about she says assume that others share your dreams be brave enough to start a conversation that matters talk to people you know talk to people you don't know talk to people you never talked to be intrigued by the differences you hear expect to be surprised treasure curiosity more than certainty invite in everyone who cares to work on what's possible know that creative solutions come from new connections remember you don't fear people whose story you know real listening always brings people closer together trust that meaningful conversations will change your world rely on human goodness stay together so perhaps we find an answer to the how of what is alive in us here in community in hearing the stories and learning the experiences of others in sharing our own stories we can find renewal in relationship truly each week each day is a new page open to us a new opportunity for living for loving for creating justice building and rebuilding relationships renewing ourselves for finding that which is most alive within us and within others and in those connections finding a greater sense of renewal a renewal of community of this greater life we share remember that meaningful conversations will change your world may we come to greet each day each moment as the gift it is and renewed by that gift go forth in hope and in peace we have been so blessed by the sharing of char a matter sold that it is a wonderful thing to be able to remind us that our offering is a recipient giving to the Odyssey project and so by your generosity we can allow more people to have that life-changing encounter with the humanities and to go on to rediscover what is possible for them we also invite you to take a moment to read more about what else the Odyssey project does in the red fours and they will be out in the commons and i know they would love to have you come by and find out even more and i know they're looking for volunteers as well so i hope that you'll take a moment to do that as we move into the offering may a deep sense of connection and abundance inspire our generosity thanks everybody for your generosity during our offering i know a little bit about the uw odyssey project and i can tell you as you could discern from the poetry we heard it's a real game changer for these students so that's much appreciated also much appreciated is the generosity of our volunteers who make it possible for these services to run smoothly every weekend and i'd like to acknowledge them now and give you a chance to maybe give them a hug or put them in your will as an expression of your appreciation for their volunteer support i'm talking about richard scoby who operated the sound system lois evenson who is serving as our lay minister lin scoby who served as our greeter our ushers pamela mcmullen dug hill and caron hill and the hospitality and coffee are being hosted by richard davida and gene hills and their information table is hosted by ross woodward in the commons after the service just a couple announcements one uh this is the time of year uh where passovers coming up and every year first unitarian society hosts a special Passover Seder right here and it'll be friday evening april 19 at 6 30 um it is a lot of fun and whether you were raised in a jewish family or not uh it's a great way to connect with that that tradition i was raised jewish and i can tell you that the the food at the Seder is always so good uh i wish Passover came more than once a year so again april 19 friday evening right here at 6 30 uh speaking of the calendar it's only 70 days until cabaret june 15 saturday evening the theme is game night it's going to be a lot of fun put it on your calendar more details to follow again 70 days from now friday i'm sorry saturday june 15 right here speaking of right here and in this very room uh after the service during the fellowship hour a couple members of the board of trustees will be here to answer any questions and talk to you about the interim process there'll also be coffee here so if you're interested in discussing that topic with some of the board members they'll be here to take your questions uh right after the service and the last announcement is about our stewardship campaign uh we are well on our way to raising the commitments and the resources that we need to make first unitarian society uh successful in all of its programs and services um we are well on our way to providing the resources that we need to fund and staff all of our religious education and youth programming and make good on the promises that we made to these five kids whom we dedicated uh earlier in the service that's what stewardship looks like by the way um we're on our way to having the resources we need to make sure that families can experience meaningful activities and programs here so that they can thrive in this organization and we're well on our way to making sure that we are a spiritual home for all generations we're well on our way to leveraging our music program as a community outreach tool we're well on our way to having the resources to make sure that we can host more community events thus deepening our connection to the community and developing a revenue stream at the same time and we're well on our way to adding our voice in social justice and environmental justice and it's all because of you it's all because of what you've been doing in terms of your generosity with time talent and treasure and the opportunity to pledge your treasure continues until June 30th which marks the beginning of our next fiscal year so if you haven't had a chance to pledge yet at whatever level is comfortable for you your opportunity uh continues through June 30th and because of you all these things are possible and i just want to leave you with one special thought because of you we're excited now because of you there's nothing that we cannot do because of you your stewardship is something you got the whole joint jumping because of you we are quite an awesome crew thanks to your stewardship f us is full of zip and it's all because of you that's right it's all because of you thank you steve i'll take it from here let's rise in all the ways that we do and sing together our closing hymn number six just as long as i have breath just as long as i have breath i must answer yes to i said yes and now as we prepare to leave this place may we remember to keep our face to the sun to play laugh and experience joy whenever possible to celebrate the world and our fellow human beings to say yes to life each day we extinguish this flame but not the light of truth the warmth of community or the fire of our commitment these we carry in our hearts until we are together again now i invite you to take your seat again and receive one more gift of music together in worship