 Please join me for a few moments of silence as we center ourselves and come together in the service. And now please remain seated as we sing our in-gathering hymn which is number 123 and the words appear in your order of service. Morning. Welcome to the first Unitarian Society of Madison. This is a community where curious seekers gather to explore spiritual, ethical, and social issues in a 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 Gredler and on behalf of the entire congregation I would like to extend a special welcome to any visitors who are with us this morning. We are a welcoming congregation so whomever you are and wherever you may be on your life's journey we celebrate your presence among us. Newcomers and others are encouraged to stay for our fellowship hour after the service and to visit the library which is directly across from the middle doors of this auditorium. Bring your beverages and your questions. Members of our staff and lay ministry will be on hand to welcome you. You may also look for persons holding teal-colored stoneware coffee mugs. These are FUS members knowledgeable about our faith community who would welcome visiting with you. Experienced guides are frequently available after the service for a building tour of our entire campus. I am not sure whether there's one here today but if there is that person will materialize right over there in that corner of the front of the auditorium by the windows right after the service. If you would like to learn more about this sustainably designed addition or our national landmark meeting house across the parking lot please go there and hope that someone shows up. Oh I'm getting yeses so there must be somebody. We welcome children to stay for the duration of the service however because it is difficult for some in attendance to hear in our lively acoustical environment. Our child haven back in that corner and the commons outside the auditorium are excellent places to go if a child wants to move around talk jump up and down whatever and you can still see and hear the service well from those areas. I'd now like to acknowledge the people who help our services run smoothly. On sound we have Mark Schultz, hi Mark and Smiley is our lay minister for this service. Patty Witte, hi Patty, is our greeter who met you upstairs. Ushering for us this service are Patricia Becker and Karen Jagger and I believe our own Gene Sears is back making coffee. Plant care the orchids is done by Anne Smiley this week and gorgeous flowers are from March and Nick Schweitzer. Thank you all very much. Please the announcements in the red floors insert to your order of service where we see information about things coming up at FUS things that are going on now and tips about what you might want to look for. Again welcome. We hope today's service will stimulate your mind touch your heart and stir your spirit into this house of peace come in bringing all of who you are rest and quiet your weak worn spirit for you are here to touch again eternal springs of hope and renewal calm your hurried pace for this hour let the cares the fretfulness the worry be set aside forgive yourself you are so very worthy of moving on of making new efforts of trying again know that you are not alone there is strength and caring support for you here you will find comfort if you but ask look around you are part of a beloved community you can make it what you will enter into this house of peace and if you will rise now embody your spirit to join together in the words of affirmation printed in your order of service 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 before we join together in song if you'll take a moment to turn and greet your neighbor be seated and I'd like to invite anyone who would like to come forward for our story to come on up you're four and a half now you're gonna be five in October aren't you I can't believe you're gonna be five already I have a great story today that I'm gonna tell you a little differently what are these things do you know what are these postcards our story today is about a little girl who quite a long time ago in a time called the Great Depression she had a move to live with an uncle and our whole story is told with her postcards back to her family in the country and there's gonna be pictures up there where you're gonna get to see her to see her up there all right our first one is from August 27th 1935 dear uncle Jim grandma told us after supper that you want me to come to the city and live with you until things get better did she tell you that papa has been out of work for a long time and no one asks mama to make dresses anymore we all cried even papa but then mama made us laugh with her stories about chasing her up trees when you were both little did you really do that I'm small but strong and I'll help you all I can however grandma said to finish my schoolwork before I do anything else your niece Lydia Grace Finch so there's Lydia and she's packing up and getting ready to go so here she wrote him another one a couple days later September 3rd dear uncle Jim I'm mailing this to you from the train station I forgot to tell you in the last one three important things that I'm too shy to say to your face one I know a lot about gardening but nothing about baking two I'm anxious to learn to bake but is there any place to plant seeds three I like to be called Lydia Grace just like grandma your niece Lydia Grace Finch so there they are at the train station so here she's on the train September 4th now she starts writing back to her family in the country to let them know what's happening dear mama I feel so pretty in your dress that you made for me I hope you don't miss it too much dear papa I haven't forgotten what you said about recognizing uncle Jim just look for mama's face with a big nose and a mustache I promise not to tell him does he have a sense of humor and dear grandma thank you for the seeds the train is rocking me to sleep and every time I doze off I dream of gardens love to all Lydia Grace September 5th so the next day dear mama papa and grandma I'm so excited there are window boxes here they look as if they've been waiting for me so now we'll both wait for spring and grandma the sun shines down on the corner where I will live and work love to all Lydia Grace PS Uncle Jim doesn't smile what do you think Uncle Jim can you see him up there what do you think Greta you do these are the real words I copied him right out of the book I promise you love this book I do too I'm glad you're here to see this book what do you guys think of Uncle Jim does he look like a happy jolly sort of guy no what does he look like mad grumpy mad rude grumpy sort of guy well let's see what happens as what goes on here December 25th does anybody know what December 25th is what's December 25th Christmas is there anything up there that lets you know it's Christmas time in the picture what do you see him you see the Christmas tree on the table dear mama papa and grandma I adore the seed catalogs you sent for Christmas and grandma thank you for all the bulbs I hope you receive the drawings I wrote a long poem for Uncle Jim he didn't smile but I think he liked it he read it aloud then put it in his shirt pocket and padded it love to all Lydia Grace now let's see February 12th 1936 dearest grandma thank you again for those bulbs you sent at Christmas you should see them now I really like Ed and Emma Beach Uncle Jim's friends who work here when I first arrived Emma told me she'd show me how to knead bread if I would teach her the Latin names of all the flowers I know now just half a year later I'm kneading bread and she's speaking Latin more good news we have a store cat named Otis who at this very moment is sleeping at the foot of my bed love to all Lydia Grace PS Uncle Jim isn't smiling yet but I'm hoping for a smile soon March 5th dear mama papa and grandma I've discovered a secret place you can't imagine how wonderful it is no one else knows about it but Otis I have great plans grandma Trudy is right there isn't she that is so cool yeah if Grandma Trudy was my grandma I would want to go sit with her too I don't blame you she is awesome I have great plans thank you for all the letters I'll try to write more but I'm really busy planting all your seeds in cracked tea cups and bent cake pans and grandma you should smell the good dirt I'm bringing home from the vacant lot down the street love to all Lydia Grace April 27th dear grandma all the seeds and roots are sprouting what did you see that did you see her place there does that look like a secret lovely wonderful place to you what do you see when you look at that place that's right it's the roof of a building it looks kind of trashy it's not very lovely is it but Lydia Grace is seeing something in her mind it's dirty Owen and there's Otis that's Otis the cap all the seeds and roots are sprouting I can hear you saying April showers bring me flowers Emma and I are sprucing up the bakery and I'm playing a great trick on Uncle Jim he sees me reading my mail planting seeds in my window boxes going to school doing my homework sweeping the floor but he never sees me working in my secret place love to all Lydia Grace PS I'm planning on a big smile from Uncle Jim in the near future May 27th dear mama papa and grandma you should have heard Emma laugh today when I opened your letter and dirt fell out on the sidewalk can you see her envelope up there thank you for all the baby plants they survived the trip in the big envelope more about Emma she's gonna help me with the secret place hooray love to all Lydia Grace PS I saw Uncle Jim almost smile today the store was full well almost full of customers June 27th dear grandma flowers are blooming all over the place I'm also growing radishes onions and three kinds of lettuce in the window blocks is what do you think of it now how does it look now nice pretty some neighbors have brought containers for me to fill with flowers and a few customers even gave me plants from their gardens this spring they don't call me Lydia Grace anymore they call me the Gardner love to all Lydia Grace PS I'm sure Uncle Jim is gonna smile soon I'm almost ready to show him the secret place July 4th 1936 so that's tomorrow but how many years ago 80 right okay thank you I'm looking out at the grown-ups like 80 dearest mama Papa and grandma I am bursting with happiness the entire city seems so beautiful especially this morning the secret place is ready for Uncle Jim at noon the store will close for the holiday and then we'll bring him up to the roof I've tried to remember everything you ever taught me about beauty love to all Lydia Grace PS I can already imagine Uncle Jim smile all right here look at you see the signs this way you've arrived please go up July 11th what do you think of it now lovely isn't it I know but what about that what about that Uncle Jim he does he still looks mad and grumpy doesn't he maybe his cheek maybe his cheek muscles don't go up maybe they only go down do your cheek muscles go up and down oh you're good you got it yours only go up awesome Henry dear mama Papa and grandma my heart is pounding so hard I'm sure the customers can hear it downstairs at lunch today Uncle Jim put the clothes sign on the door and told Ed and Emma and me to go upstairs and wait he appeared with the most amazing cake I've ever seen covered in flowers I truly believe that cake equals 1,000 smiles and then he took your letter out of his pocket with the news of Papa's job I'm coming home love to all and see you soon Lydia Grace PS grandma I've given all of my plans to Emma I can't wait to help you in your garden again we gardeners never retire so do you see and then look at so Lydia Grace went to a pretty cold and maybe grumpy kind of place and how did she make it better it's the eyebrows it's the eyebrows making him look grumpy yeah it could be yeah well and now he's sad because she's leaving so how did she make the place better flowers she found beauty in a pretty unexpected place and she brought a lot of beauty and happiness into their lives in a pretty sad time and we can all do that right we can all find the beauty and the happiness so you know what we're gonna do we are gonna stand as we are able we are gonna sing our next him number 338 I want to say and you all get to go and have some fun in summer fun from Terry Hershey in the latter in the backyard of her home in northern Florida my grandmother had a porch swing she liked to sit and swing and hum old church hymns such as rock of ages cleft for me I can still see her there wearing a white scarf over her head a concession to chemotherapy's unrelenting March when as a young adult I visited her she would always ask me to sit with her on the swing for a spell she would pat my leg and call me darlin as long as my grandmother lived and in spite of her pain there was always a place for me on the swing if I were asked to explain grace I would paint the picture of my grandmother's swing there I never had to deliberate or explain or worry regardless of the weight I carried the porch swing my grandmother's presence bestowed grace without conditions and I am here today because of that porch swing I am here today because of a sanctuary everyone has a sanctuary if only in the mind even if we can't say what it is we know of its power it is a place where we feel grounded unhurried and renewed we go there whenever we can which never seems often enough a sanctuary is a place that restores us replenishes us nourishes us in this renewal we are reminded once again of what is really important we are wired to need this kind of grounding yes I believe it's in our emotional DNA so you would think creating sanctuary would be at the top of our priorities but there's the sticky wicket we end up making choices with our time and with our days that are detrimental to our emotional and spiritual well-being if I had my brothers I would put my pen down yes I still write with a pen and invite you to take a walk with me we're not going far off to the side of my garden and tucked under a maple tree is a swing it's for thinking and sitting for a spell I can tell the weeks when I do not get my recommended dose of sanctuary or in my case garden time and I can tell when I do take my sanctuary time because it restores me it is a dose of grace sent straight to the heart and this second one from Wendell Berry if we will have the wisdom to survive to stand like slow growing trees on a ruined place renewing enriching it if we will make our seasons welcome here asking not too much of earth or heaven then a long time after we are gone the lives our lives prepare will live here their houses strongly placed upon the valley sides fields and gardens rich in the windows the river will run clear as we will never know it and over it birdsong like a canopy on the levels of the hills will be green meadows stock bells in noon shade on the steeps where greed and ignorance cut down the old forest an old forest will stand its rich leaves falling drifting onto its roots the veins of forgotten springs will have opened families will be singing in the fields in their voices they will hear a music rising out of the ground they will take nothing that they cannot return whatever the grief at parting memory native to this valley will spread over it like a grove and memory will grow into legend legend into song song into sacrament the abundance of this place the songs of its people and its birds will be health and wisdom and indwelling light this is no heavenly dream in its hardship lies our possibility when despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be I go and lie down where the wood Drake rests in his beauty on the water and the great Heron feeds I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethoughts of grief I come into the presence of still water and I feel above me the day blind stars waiting with their light for a time I rest in the grace of the world and I'm free come into the presence of stillness rest for a time in the grace of the world come into the peace of wild things things which are stronger than fear mightier than despair now I don't know about you but recently despair has been mighty within me I have called on these words from Wendell Berry many times especially in those dark hours of night when the despair lying deep within me rears up in mind and body and I'm overcome with fear for this world fear for our lives the lives of our children the lives of children strangers in strange lands far from here who live with a terror that is unknown to me and I wrestle with how we live in a world so bruised and so hurting and not give in give over give up in the face of pain the reality of despair and it is summer it is time for careless evenings counting fireflies sipping lemonade and swinging in hammocks it is time for sparklers and soccer games lazy afternoons and long weekend hikes barbecues and family vacations summertime when the livin is easy summertime when we step out of the daily routine traveled to places near and far take a break from the worries of the world and the worries of our lives and awaken once again to the beauty of life Lila Crawford writing from Barrington New Jersey in the Sun magazine gives us this memory of summer my mother's second job as a family therapist kept her away from home at dinner time my siblings and I would make boxed macaroni and cheese and watch TV while her work lines answering machine picked up again and again recording for her all of those voices once every summer though we would pack up and leave the house for a vacation spot within driving distance somewhere not too expensive to start mom would take us to the denny's in town for breakfast we drink two small glasses of chocolate milk and eat short stacks of pancakes and sides of extra crispy bacon and cram our pockets with jelly packets which made great snacks in the hotel room then we'd get back in the car with our walkmans and Beverly Cleary novels and we'd go north to Mystic Connecticut or Block Island Rhode Island or Boston or south to Gettysburg or Baltimore or Washington DC using paper maps to find our route once we'd arrive we would stay at a Howard Johnson's and swim in the pool and play war and UNO on top of our double beds we would request more towels and soap from the front desk and make endless trips to buy chips and candy from the vending machines we would sweat our way through walking tours and pretend that we were reading those historical markers we'd smile for the 35 millimeter camera and my sisters and I would fight over who got to carry it like a bracelet on her wrist at night there would be salad bars with croutons on the ride home we would fall asleep the batteries in our walkmans dead or dying our books finished or splayed out on a towel to dry from a spill our wrists and ankles covered in friendship bracelets I would know we were home by the dip at the base of the driveway and then that long moment of stillness before mom pulled the key from the ignition and we all stretched and gathered our dirty laundry and duffel bags and carried them into the house and went our separate ways to the bathroom the couch the fridge the answering machine but there in that driveway a siblings arms smashed into mine warm but not too warm my little brother always asleep with his mouth hanging open my sisters weren't talking or arguing and the blisters from my sandals had turned to calluses and didn't hurt anymore and I wasn't even that hungry for just that moment before life returned and we went our separate ways life was good life was perfect and we were all renewed renewal it's the key to the process of life and is deeply embedded within us Gerta once wrote that we must always change renew rejuvenate ourselves otherwise we harden we see it in the cycle of the plants the cycles of the seasons in procreation is one generation gives birth to the next we see it in each night's sleep as we are renewed physically and psychologically to prepare ourselves to meet a new day we must always change renew rejuvenate ourselves otherwise we harden this is a worry I carry this summer Orlando Istanbul here at home the sadness the violence the cruelty how do we live within this how do we live aware of deep suffering and not lose ourselves to it not harden under its weight what is it that you want renewed within you for me I know I need a renewal of love courage kindness understanding curiosity patience and all else that has been depleted in the face of pain the possibility of renewal is real but it must be experienced to be truly believed the French Algerian philosopher and writer Albert Camus experienced just this he wrote in the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer this sentence comes from his essay return to Tupasa at the age of 40 Camus returned to the rain drenched city of Algiers in December he was trying to experience again the beauty of his homeland but there was more in a real sense the Holocaust World War two the challenges of rebuilding Europe these were all a devastating experience he was trapped in profound despair an existential condition from which he felt there was no escape during a brief reprieve from the rain he visited Tupasa which is located on the Mediterranean coast 50 miles from Algiers Camus was last there when he was 20 years old he explored the ruins and discovered a safe harbor a sanctuary an utterly unexpected inner invincible summer in the middle of ruin in the middle of despair surrounded by a world of pain and turmoil he experienced a renewal of possibility and hope it was life affirming it was heart awakening and life changing Camus reminds us of the possibility of an inward reality the dawn that arose in him with its power to awaken him as if from a deep sleep Unitarian Universalist Association Peter Morales he's our president one said that we you use claim to have a lot of theological diversity yet every you you I have ever known whether that person is a humanist theist pagan Christian Buddhist or those who refuse all labels all of them share a core conviction we all believe that things do not have to be the way they are we refuse to accept that inequality hatred environmental destruction racism refuse to accept that these are an inevitable part of the human condition we believe that we can make things better especially when we act together we believe this because we have experienced life's possibilities we have experienced love beauty joy friendship a piece that transcends our understanding we have all had some variety of spiritual experience we need to remember when we witness brutality injustice the craziness of our politics the heartless human exploitation by the economically powerful and the wanton devastation of our natural world when we find ourselves becoming bitter we need to remind ourselves of our most treasured experiences and actually we need to do more than remember we need to experience life's gifts and possibilities once again renewing contact with what is most precious in life is really a spiritual practice it is an essential practice if we do not feed our spirits they will wither even the good deeds we strive to do will become acts of anger and joyless obligation rather than efforts to share and to heal we all need to ask ourselves what does my spirit need right now perhaps it is quiet time in nature maybe a visit to a museum some time in the garden a concert a walk with an old friend possibilities are endless how about creating something play some music sing in a chorus paint sculpt knit quilt so cook up something new and special play with a child now and then we all need to visit the world we are trying to create perhaps for you it is standing on the shore with the waves beating out their rhythmic crash and the water rushing over your feet maybe it is the stars at night somewhere beyond the bounds of the city lights or the stunning colors of the southwestern desert or the unfolding green or yellow or pink in your own garden my colleague Kendall Gibbons tells us we humans have an immense capacity for good and we have an immense capacity for cruelty and misery perhaps the most essential tenant of liberal religion is that each one of us must decide for ourselves how we will respond to the breathtaking beauty that surrounds us how do you become the person who rises intuitively to the demands of the good who lives in the heaven of the present who is fed by the beauty of creation it is through discovering our own invincible summer by building our own inner reserves of strength within we can then go forth to face the world without at those times when the world is too much with you and its busyness and noise and strife overwhelm you seek renewal take a moment and simply stop stop striving stop thinking stop doing instead attend to the beating of your own heart and the rise and fall of your breath become still allow yourself to rest in that moment there's nothing you need to fix no problem you need to solve direct that energy toward healing yourself toward resting in peace allowing the quiet to permeate your being radiating through you and into the world I will admit that there is a part of me that feels guilty and self-indulgent when I do things that I enjoy and feed my spirit there are always reflections to write people to call meetings to attend emails to answer projects to move forward causes to champion connections to make yet deep down I know better just as practices such as prayer and meditation give us clarity and strength to re-engage with the world so to do other practices that get us in touch with what is most precious and so I urge you on this summer's day to make some space to reflect on what your spirit needs right now deep down you know we all do our deepest longings will guide us make space for beauty and silence and play let your spirit soar for when our spirits are strong and reconnected our work for compassion and justice has enduring power when our spirits are renewed we can face the pain without turning to despair and we truly can be blessings to one another and to the world and I now invite you into the giving and receiving of the morning's offering our summer offerings go toward the continued work of this community and we thank you for your generosity each week we gather a community with joys and sorrows written on our hearts we gather to share our stories lessen our burdens and hold up our gladness this week we hold in our hearts Lorna Aronson whose brother Ray Banks died on Father's Day of complications from agent orange related Parkinson's she says may he rest in peace we're also thinking of Jeanette wheat whose husband Pete Kruger passed away on Thursday evening and so we are holding Jeanette and their family in our hearts we are also thinking of Ellie Vizell who passed away yesterday we're holding him in our hearts and also the memory of all for whom he gave a voice and all those in our community and around the world who experience violence in their lives may they find support and nurture in their healing spirit of life who draws us together in a web of holy relationship make your presence known with us and in us and among us remind us that we are not alone in our times of grief and pain comfort us with your spirit manifest in human hands and voices remind us that we are not alone in joy and wonder inspire us to honor and extend the beauty we find in this world source of stars and planets and water and land open our hearts to all of our neighbors open our souls to a renewal of faith open our hands to join together in the work ahead let's it be and if you will rise now in body or spirit for our closing him number six leave this community of the spirit may we remember the difficult lesson that each day offers more things than we can do may we do what needs to be done postpone what does not and be at peace with what we can do and can be therefore may we learn to separate that which matters least from that which matters most of all blessed be go in peace and please be seated for the postlude