 The first Unitarian Society of Madison. This is a community where curious seekers gather to explore spiritual, ethical, and social issues in an accepting and nurturing environment. Unitarian Universalism supports the freedom of conscience of each individual, as together we seek to be a force for good in the world. My name is Karen Rose Gretler, and on behalf of the congregation, I welcome all in attendance, members and newcomers alike. We are a welcoming congregation, so whoever you are and wherever you are on your life's journey, we celebrate your presence among us. I am both pleased and sad to be welcoming you on this auspicious occasion of Michael's final sermon at FUS. As we say goodbye, may we join together to glimpse possibility, new vision, and the good that is yet to be. We will now sound the gong leading us into a time of silence as we catch up with ourselves, slow down and breathe, and come fully into this time together. Please remain standing for the opening words in the lighting of the chalice. Come dreamers and builders all. Come to reconnect, to recommit, and to rejoice. We are all dreamers of a larger dream, creators of new opportunities, builders not just of bricks and mortar, but of a world where freedom, justice, compassion, reign. Embraced by the spirit of life that is with us always, we are united behind a common purpose, we are sustained by a common faith and aspiration, we are dreamers, and we are builders all. So let us rejoice this day in what we have achieved and dedicate ourselves to what remains to be done. And now please join me in reading the words of affirmation printed in today's program. We drink from wells we did not dig. We have been warmed by fires we did not build. We light this chalice in appreciation for all those who came before, who passed their light to us. May we be equally committed to those who come after. And now on this fine June morning, please turn to your neighbor and exchange with them a dry and warm welcome. I'd like to invite any young people who are in our midst today to come forward for the message which is the song for all agents today. So this is a song about love, which seems an appropriate song for me to sing today. There's a lot of love in this room today. But if you had to think about a shape that love is in, what kind of shape would you think about if you thought about love? Would you think about a triangle? Like Frank Lloyd Wright? Or a square? Or a hexagon? What shape do you think love would be? How about a circle? You know, when I perform weddings for couples, as part of the wedding ceremony, they always exchange one of these, right? Rings. Most of the time they exchange a ring. And the ring symbolizes love that never ends. It has no beginning and has no end. So this is a song entitled Love is a Circle. And there's some pictures that go with it too. Love is a circle around and around. Love is up and love is down. Love is inside trying to get out. Love is whirling and twirling about. Love is a circle it knows no bounds. The more you give the more comes around. Love is us and it's beautiful. And love is a circle trying to bend. Love is pieces trying to mend. And love is darkness waiting for light. Love is mine. Love is a circle that knows no bounds. The more you give the more and it's beautiful. Love is a laugh. Love is a look. Love is a chance that somebody took. Love will hide, love will show. The more you give the more it grows. Because love is a circle that knows no bounds. The more love is a... It's beautiful. Love is a circle around and around. Love in the corner of squares can be found. Love is reaching and spreading its wings. And love will dance and love... Want to sing along with me folks? Love is a circle that knows no bounds. The more it's beautiful. Love is a... So now you understand why love is a circle? Alright. So we're going to sing you out now with the refrain one more time folks. And we hope you enjoy your summer fun classes today. Love is a circle it knows no bounds. The more you give the more comes around. So the first of our two readings this morning comes from Edward Hayes who was a Roman Catholic priest. And the story is based on an ancient Christian legend of the hermits who lived in caves and small dwellings in Egypt. So it seems that a young aspirant to holiness once came to visit the hermitage of an old holy man who was sitting in the doorway of his quarters at sunset. And the old man's dog was stretched out on the threshold as the young spiritual seeker presented his problem to this holy man. Why is it Abba that some who come to the desert to seek God and who are zealous in prayer, why is it that they leave after a year or so while others like you remain faithful to the quest for an entire lifetime? Why is that? The old man smiled and replied to answer your question I need to tell you a story. He said one day I was sitting here quietly in the sun with my dog and he suddenly jumped up barking loudly and took off after a large rabbit. And he chased that rabbit over the hills with great passion. And soon other dogs joined him attracted by his barking. What a sight it was this pack of dogs running and barking across streets, up stony embankments through thickets and through thorns. But then gradually one by one the other dogs dropped out of the pursuit, discouraged by the course, frustrated by the chase. And only my dog continued in hot pursuit of the rabbit. And in that story, young fellow, is the answer to your question. The young man sat there in confused silence and finally he said Abba, I don't understand. What's the connection between a rabbit chase and the quest for holiness? You failed to understand, responded the old hermit because you failed to ask the obvious question. Why didn't the other dogs continue the chase? The answer to that question, they had never seen the rabbit. Unless you see your prey, the chase will become just too difficult. You will lack the passion, the determination necessary to perform all the hard work required by the discipline of your spiritual exercises. And the second is a short poem by the British poet John Orman. It is entitled Cathedral Builders. They climbed on sketchy ladders toward God. With winch and pulley they hoisted hewn rock into heaven. Inhabited the sky with hammers, defied gravity, deified stone took up God's house to meet him. And they came down to their suppers and their small beer. Every night, slept, lay with their tired wives, quarreled and cuffed the children, lie, spat, sang, were happy or unhappy. And every day again took to the ladders, impeded the right of way of another summer's swallows, grew grayer and shakier and less inclined to fix a neighbor's roof in the fine evening. Saw a knave's sprout arches, clear stories soar, cursed the loud fancy glazers for their luck, somehow escaped the plague, but got rheumatism and decided it was time to give up. Leave the spire to others and then stood in the crowd well back from the vestments at the consecration, envied the fat bishops their warm boots, but cocked a squinty eye upward and said, I bloody did that. Especially thank you, Doug. You're singing up there? There he is. Thanks, Doug. Thanks so much. In 1887, Vice President George H.W. Bush was positioned as Ronald Reagan's heir apparent. And at that time, and before the infamous Willie Horton ad that submarineed his Democratic opponent, Michael Dukakis' chances, at that time in 1987, George Bush was dealing with his own Achilles heel as it were. He lacked this sense of vision, and his campaign advisors were warning him about that. You have no real sense of vision. And Bush clearly wanted to serve as president, but it was true that he was having a very hard time conveying a clear convincing message of what he hoped to achieve. Would he be elected as president? And so it rankles him, a commentator said at the time. Recently, Bush asked a friend to help him identify some cutting edges for the next year's campaign. And instead, the friend suggested that Bush go alone to Camp David for a few days to figure out where he wanted to take the country. Oh, said Bush in clear exasperation. The vision thing again. His friend's advice did not impress him. George H.W. Bush was, generally speaking, a moderate workman-like president, never particularly inspiring, never comfortable with catchy slogans or grand plans. And although he did ultimately prevail in that 1988 election, his rather lackluster, don't change the team in the middle of the stream message in 1992, failed to kindle much excitement among voters. And so in 1992, the president was steamroller in his reelection bid by the Clinton campaign, whose catchy rallying cry was, it's the economy's stupid. Well, like candidates for high office, parish ministers are frequently referred to as vision casters. Charged with giving the congregation a sense of possibility, a high purpose to work toward. And in our own system here of policy governance, it is a function that we ministers share with the elected leadership. But because the bully pulpit belongs to us, we have repeated opportunities to give powerful expression to any such vision. And it is an important function. Whereas the story that I told earlier about the old man and his dog would suggest, to continue the pursuit, one must have to have caught a glimpse of one's horrid. Because otherwise, the dog might just as well be chasing its own tail. And so the same is true for human communities, whether they be great nations or whether they be humble churches. To be quite honest, I have never really fancied myself as some kind of visionary. True, the construction of this atrium addition several years ago required a great deal of pondering and planning. And it also required a major commitment from hundreds of families. And so I think I probably did help to conjure up a vision of this expanded facility and how it would serve our congregation and how it would also serve the larger Madison community. And in many respects, that vision, now some 12 years old, has been fulfilled. But generally, however, generally I have always believed that providing high quality worship, cutting-edge religious education, good pastoral care, and institutional leadership, week after week, year after year, that that's really what mattered. And during my time here, my coworkers and I have striven to be consistently relevant, nurturing, artistic, and efficient. And for the most part, I think that vision casting aside, we've performed passively well. And so as I deliver this, my last set of reflections as FUS's senior minister, perhaps it's a little late at this point to be casting any further visions. Because I am not going to be the one that has to see them through. And yet I would feel somewhat remiss if I did not share what I believe to be the few important considerations for the future. After all, were it not for Moses' vision of a land of milk and honey, it's unlikely that those newly liberated Hebrews would have endured 40 years of marching through the arid desert of the Sinai. The philosopher Michael Walzer reminds us that we need to be taking that kind of vision seriously. And so laying aside my own reticence, I will don the visionary mantle at least one last time, asking only that you take at least some of what I have to say under advisement. I would first note that generally speaking, these are not very good times for American faith communities. Almost every mainline denomination is in serious decline. United Methodist, ELCA, UCC, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic. The old guard is dying. Many younger folks, suspicious of institutional commitment to begin with are finding grist for their spiritual mills in other places. And it doesn't help that the church in many quarters has gained a reputation for misogyny and intolerance and hypocrisy and irrationality, thanks in large part to scandals and the skewed priorities of the religious right. But despite this challenging cultural environment, the First Unitarian Society and Unitarian Universalism in general have been holding their own. And to the extent that our faith tradition can present itself consistently as a progressive alternative to the general run of churches in America, we should be able to buck the current trends. As Parker Palmer recently observed, serious seekers want churches that will support them in a lifelong exploration, a lifelong exploration of faith and action. A church that will help them keep sorting and sifting what they are learning. And that's exactly what we are about here. So in thinking about what this congregation might become, I'd like to begin with an observation that the church consultant Lyle Schaller made after he visited here in 1987 just as Max Gabler was hanging up his spurs. Having taken a close look at the demographics of FUS at that time, Schaller said, do you want to maintain your present appearance? Or do you want to become our heterogeneous religious community? And if the latter, are you willing to pay the price for that? Now what Lyle Schaller noted in 1987 was a lack of generational diversity, the modest number of families with younger children who were actively involved in the society. 31 years ago, FUS was what the literature called an upstairs downstairs congregation in which young people and adults occupied separate well-defined spheres. And except for a four poorly attended intergenerational services every year, the children seldom darkened the door of the adults' worship space. Now what we have done over the years is to create a more welcoming environment for parents and kids. And in this sense, First Unitarian Society is not nearly as heterogeneous as it was in 1987. Now our challenge moving forward is to think about what it would take to become the kind of multiracial, multicultural faith community that our inclusive values would seem to require. But as Schaller asked the congregation 31 years ago, are you willing to pay a price for that? Now over the past 10 years and even more frequently, after the racial equity issue and the hot button here in Madison and Dane County, the question that I have been fielding time and time again is the question, why is FUS so white? The congregation's racial homogeneity is clearly a source of concern for a significant number of people. Do I wish it were otherwise? Absolutely. But even with the high profile support that we give to the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing engagement with local communities of color on the part of many of our members, this de facto Sunday morning segregation that Martin Luther King complained about in 1964 still largely prevails here at FUS. And I can say from experience that this problem is hardly unique to us. The demographics of a vast majority of Protestant and UU congregations resemble our own. And for our part, there are very real barriers to greater inclusiveness. We are embedded in an upscale and very white part of Madison. And stylistically, our ways of worship may not respond to the spiritual expectations and needs of many African-Americans and Latinos. Theologically, we don't prioritize Christianity. And moreover, in Madison and in many other places, people of color may risk alienation if they join majority white congregations. I'm not going to say today that these are insurmountable problems, but they are ones that we do need to face squarely. And I'll also say that it is neither fair nor realistic to ask the institution itself to solve those problems. Homogeneity is, rather, a reflection of our own social circles and more often than not, those social circles are comprised of folks who share our economic and racial identities. Studies show that some 70% or more of people who will visit an unfamiliar faith community do so at the urging of a friend or a relative, oftentimes the friend or the relative, accompanying them to the service. So in other words, diversity starts at home. And until it does start in more of our homes, we're probably not going to see a lot of changes in our faith. Now, that's not to say that the institution bears no responsibility for fulfilling this vision. We need to walk our talk, expanding our outreach efforts, and demonstrating that we can be reliable, trustworthy allies in the struggle for racial justice, especially in such divisive and perilous times as these. Internally, internally we must continue the discomforting process of self-examination, identifying the ways in which we unwittingly reinforce America's white supremacy culture. As my colleague Rob Hardy said, All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C. wrote, and All Souls was one of our most diverse congregations. He said, communities all across this nation, congregations foremost among them, must commit, must fortify themselves to make this dream a reality by serving as laboratories, as incubators of this dream of a human family reconciled and whole. Now, I believe that this is a vision where it to come to fruition that has the potential to draw millennials and Gen Xers to us. I think this is exactly the kind of faith community that many people in the younger demographic are looking for. And I think the same is true of my second vision. And the second vision is of a society deeply committed to advancing Unitarian Universalism's seventh principle, respect for the interdependent web of existence, of which we are all apart. Far too few Americans are giving this issue the attention it deserves, despite dire warnings of planetary disruption. Political and religious conservatives deny the indisputable evidence of climate change, species loss, resource depletion, and overpopulation. While for the mainstream media, these are simply not newsworthy enough to carry on the morning or the evening broadcasts. So like the proverbial frog and the slowly heating cauldron, we have not yet grasped the gravity of our situation. Now Unitarian Universalists are probably more concerned about the state of the environment than most. Hey, here at FUS, we built this state of the art green addition to the landmark meeting house. We spent a great deal of extra money to conserve resources, to recharge groundwater, to prevent runoff into our lakes. And soon we will be adding an array of solar panels to further cut our utility costs and reduce our carbon footprint. All of this is to the good. But apart from our current sustainability task force that has been studying the society's consumption patterns, we do not currently have a ministry team that is actively collaborating with entities such as 350.org, the Sierra Club, Sustained Day, a thousand friends of Wisconsin, Gathering Waters, the Sand County Foundation, the Audubon Society, or Clean Wisconsin, not a single ministry team working with any of these entities whose mission is to preserve our land. It could be argued that many members of FUS already support these groups financially and give them time as volunteers. But faith communities are in a unique position to connect people with the natural world at a deeper level and at a level that may help to sustain their commitment. So back in 1988, the same year that I began serving First Unitarian Society, Thomas Berry's book, The Dream of the Earth, was released. In that book, Thomas Berry, a Passionist Priest and an Environmental Theologian, wrote, Our secular, rational, industrial society with its amazing scientific insight and technological skills has established the first radically anthropocentric society and has thereby broken the primary law of the universe, the law that every constituent member of the universe, especially those realized here on planet Earth, should be integral to every other member of the universe. Berry is talking about our seventh principle, the Interdependent Web of Existence and how much it ought to matter to us. And he then says that it may take a quasi-religious transformation of contemporary culture, a quasi-religious transformation for us to restore the sensibility that we have lost. And another Berry, Wendell Berry, shares his namesake concerns, faults the church for largely ignoring this issue. Faith communities' Berry complains routinely prioritize the building fund over the fortunes of the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field. It is high time that we begin promoting creation care, Berry suggests, spreading a gospel of love and care for the planet's millions of parcels of land, each in its own precious way different from all the rest. And only love, he says, can do this. Only love can bring intelligence out of our institutions and into the presence of the work which must be done. So again, to attract members of the younger generation, we must demonstrate in word and indeed that we are gravely concerned about the world that they are going to inherit and that we are prepared to partner with them in keeping this world of ours habitable, not just for human beings, but for myriad other species as well. So thus far, I've cast two visions that clearly would require the expenditure of time and of effort on behalf of two critically important issues. But faith communities have an obligation also to address the spiritual needs and the cravings of their members. So I suggest then that we might try harder to emulate those who subscribe to what is called engaged Buddhism. Engaged Buddhists are active practitioners of compassion out there in the world at large, while they also seek to maintain a stable contemplative practice in their homes and in their faith communities. So in short, engaged Buddhists try to balance the outbreath of service with the inbreath of self-nurture. Now here in FUS, we do encourage service, service to others. And we also invite people to participate in a number of inbreath activities in our centering prayer circle, our movement meditation sessions, our monthly contemplative gatherings for healing and hope, our insight meditation group that meets regularly on Sunday evenings, one or more of our chalice groups also focus on meditative and spiritual practices. But together these groups serve only a small fraction of our membership. And while attendance here at weekend worship can also qualify as a spiritual practice, it doesn't deliver the same goods as a contemplative discipline. The frustration, the anxiety, the distractiveness, the fear, the burnout that we see all around us. These are all, at least in part, a symptom of too little inwardness, as Albert Schweitzer put it. And so our faith community needs to provide more opportunities for people not just to do, but simply to be. To rest in the moment for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, a half hour, and just put the future on hold. Gail Strauby says, if you already have a spiritual practice, treasure it like a beloved and make a warrior's commitment to stay with it for life. And if you have not found your form, your practice, make it your highest priority to do so. So I've saved what may be my most pedestrian, but not insignificant vision for last. In that list of recommendations that Lyle Schaller made to our congregation in 1987, he mentioned money, finances. He said, you all need more in savings. And to do that, you need to start asking members to include the society's foundation in their wills. Now at that point, our assets and our foundation stood a little south of $300,000. He said, by the end of the millennium, year 2000, it should be six to seven times that much so that the earnings can be used for necessary capital improvements. Lyle Schaller would probably be disappointed because we have not, on a regular basis, encouraged our members to leave bequests to the society. Now, our foundation currently boasts assets of around $3 million, but that has largely to do with a rising stock market. And moreover, unlike in 1987, when the society was essentially debt-free, we are now servicing a $4 million mortgage with interest and principal payments of almost $300,000 a year. So I don't need to remind you that every dollar that we spend to satisfy that debt is not going to be available for the transformational work that we need to do. So over the last 30 years, I have seen our members repeatedly rise to the occasion, increasing your annual giving, responding enthusiastically to three capital campaigns, contributing tens of thousands of dollars to local recipients of our outreach offerings. From a culture of scarcity in 1987, we have moved steadily toward a culture of abundance and of greater generosity. And we have this wonderful atrium auditorium and a restored landmark meeting house to show for it. It took many hands. It took many open-pocket books to bring us to this place. Like that Stone Mason in John Orman's poem, I sometimes like to think about my own modest contribution and say to myself, I bloody did that. Still, all the bricks and mortar and money aside, the world we have is not yet the world that we imagine. And that world, the world of our imagination, will remain forever elusive if we do not choose to invest in it. And so may our passion for these visions, a healed planet, a reconciled human family, a sound spirit, and a vital faith community, may these visions carry us into our next great adventure and far beyond. Blessed be. At this time, we do set aside a few moments for the sharing of joys and sorrows. We bring here our whole and sometimes our broken selves. We carry with us the joys and the sorrows of the recent past, seeking here a place where they might be received and celebrated and shared. So this morning we would note that longtime member Pete Dorner, age 93, passed away last Monday. He had been in ill health for quite some time, suffering from congestive heart failure, and there will be a memorial gathering for Pete at Middleton Glen in the fireside room on July the 7th. We ascend our condolences to his wife Lois and to their children. We also keep in our hearts Phil Carey, who is in the rehabilitation section of Capital Lakes, and Phil has been failing for some time, is expected to be entering hospice care within the next few days. And so to joys we offer our sincere sympathy and promise of healing. And then some good news. Phoebe Yancey, who was hospitalized a short time ago for a brain tumor, which was successfully operated on, is steadily improving day by day. She's still at Children's Hospital, but I'm sure that her parents and siblings are most pleased by the progress that young Phoebe is making. In addition to those just mentioned, we would acknowledge any unspoken joys or sorrows that remain among us. As a community of concern and caring, we hold these in our hearts as well. Let us sit silently for just a moment or two in the spirit of empathy and hope. And so by virtue of our brief time together, may our burdens be lightened and our joys expand. It is now time for the giving and the receiving of our offering, and your gifts today will contribute to the fine programming that we offer in society. Please be generous. Natural gifts for the support of our congregation, and we also thank those who have provided service this morning to help our services run smoothly. Mary Manoring is on our sound this morning. She reminded me she's been doing this for 25 years now. Karen Rose, of course, is our Lay Worship Associate, and Smiley, the Lay Minister, and has also served as an usher, along with Nancy Daly and Dan Bradley. Our greeters this morning, Claire Box and Dorrit Bergen. Hospitality being provided by Nancy Kostoff and Blaise Thompson. And following our service today, Rose Detmer will be offering a tour to people who would like to explore our facilities a bit more this morning. And Rose will be over there by these windows after the service to guide you on your way. And so I would invite you now, we have no other announcements to make, to turn to hit number 1008 in the Holy Place, and please join me. Are also beginnings. May the spirit of love dwelling in this community strengthen our hearts, lighten our way, carry us forward until we meet again. Our service is about to conclude. Our service to the world continues. Please be seated.