MEDITATION

There is joy in this community; there is service; there is love.

As we gather from so many different homes,

We remember that we have so many differing backgrounds

experiences, cultures, interests, abilities, and influences.

In joining with one another, we do not give ourselves away,

But, rather, as in marriage, we come to find a new part of ourselves

In those we love and care for, in new friends and acquaintances.

We not only have the wonderful opportunity to grow ourselves,

But in this company of seekers, we may also teach, even the least of us.

For the unique backgrounds and perspectives of each member and friend,

we give thanks.

For the wonderful openness, generosity, and liberality of spirit here,

we give thanks.

For all that is our life: our hopes, our loves, our care, our enthusiasm,

we give thanks.

For one another, for friends old and new, and for the sprit of friendship

we give thanks. AMEN.
 
 

Back in Tennessee this would be one of the last weekends we could run down to the swimmin’ hole. We boy cousins would troop out to a creek and spend the afternoon swinging on a rope out into the water, yelling and screaming as boys do. Mind you, by this time of year, the creek was nearly dry, and sometimes we could only wade and lie down in the water. Still, after one of my grandmother’s giant meals, the hot rooms, and "being nice" to all our old aunts and uncles, this escape was pure pleasure.

There is an almost universal saying: "You can never step in the same river twice." After we boys had been swimming, that would be a good thing! Like all good folk wisdom it sounds something like a Zen koan: it is brief, both obvious and challenging. Clearly the opposite view is also true: for it to be a river or a lake or an ocean, that is to have some identity as a river, lake, ocean it must be there tomorrow — the same river, in the same place, flowing just as it has for ever. That is what it means to be a river, so how can it not be the same river? We boys went to the same creeks each summer, even if it was not the same creek we had played in last year, or even last month.

The saying is both true and false: the river is the same, however its constituent elements are different. It has an identity, even as it accommodates changes in its flow and speed, in the elements dissolved in it, what the air around it absorbs, and the creatures, large and small, who live in and around it. Scientists remind us that molecules of water constantly move through the river to another place, so even the water is not the same today as yesterday.

I heard an interesting interview a few years ago. Someone at King’s College involved in their annual Service of Lessons and Carols was being interviewed on public radio. Little more than an ad, it contained a memorable few lines in response to the perceived naivete of the interviewer, concerned about putting on an event that had not changed over centuries.

The Choir Director responded with some emotion that the event changed every year. There always was new music, both the choral pieces and the hymns changed each year. The readings changed, and even the Order of Service varied with the times and special events. Not to mention, of course, the people changed, choir members, readers, officiants, congregation.

Well, yes, the people changed. That great event’s identity did not change although many changes had been incorporated over the years. Even more, little changes occurred all the time. In fact, the great fame, popularity, of the King’s College Service of Lessons and Carols derives in part from its ability to incorporate change over time. This is the lesson of all nature: in order to exist we must incorporate some change.

I often call our Unitarian Universalist movement an ad hoc religion. We acknowledge the great truth that what happens here and now, among those gathered here, is the core element of religion. Religion is not about what was said or done years ago, no matter how impressive. Religion is not concerned with the grand pronouncements of ecclesiastical leaders, nor even of prophets. Religion is always what you and I are doing ourselves.
 
 

Like the river, UUCR is never the same church twice. Every new person changes its character. Every significant event in the life of a member changes its daily routine. Every action in the larger society (from specific events like 9/11 to great causes like civil rights) has its reaction, howsoever muted, among our folks. Yet, UUCR has not changed in its forty-three years. Next week we remember the bombing of a church in far away Birmingham, Alabama forty-nine years ago. That year seemed to mark a watershed in the civil rights movement, and so many of our members were involved. They still are. So are we all: involved, dedicated, sensitive, concerned, hopeful, alive.

That is our common identity: alive to the world, sensitive to one another, creative and inspiring, hopeful, joyful. The changes that occur here, even so momentous as the new building, will be incorporated into our identity quickly and smoothly. In no time, it will seem like "home." That is because it will be our home, just as these buildings are our home, because, while we are never the same church as we once were, we are always the same church: the same love, the same service to the community, the same care for one another, the same dedication to the great principles of free religion. Let us embrace the life that makes all things new, fresh, and wonderful!
 
 

Introduction: JEA.

We might be forgiven our little moments of ecstatic pride in our accomplishments these past three years. We pursued the dream of additional space for worship, religious education, and adult programs despite the most difficult impediments short of real war. The stock market hemorrhaged, and terrorists attacked our city and New York, killing thousands and sentencing the country and the world to a period of darkness and despair.

Despite all these significant impediments, we have persevered. Today we break ground on our new building. This wonderful new addition to our campus is not ostentatious or extravagant. I have seen church buildings that shouted their pride; ours does not. Its aesthetic beauty is clear and unmistakable, but we all know that its real beauty comes from the people who gather inside and around this new building: what they do and how they treat one another and the guests who make their way to our doors.

This building has been in process for years, even decades. The original plan for construction in the early Sixties provided for this addition. Some time ago, the Rev’d Jack Young began to encourage the congregation to move ahead on planning and construction. The time had come, and his work lead to the various committees of dedicated volunteers who brought us to this time. It is my pleasure to introduce my predecessor, the Rev’d Jack Young.

The Rev’d Jack Young

Introduction of the Capital Campaign and Building Committees and guests.

Groundbreaking: Mary Dycus, President of the Congregation

Responsive Reading: Deborah Kahn, DRE and students
 
 

Closing Prayer: JEA

O God of a grateful community,

We bow our heads in thanksgiving this day.

We embark on yet another journey of discovery and possibility

With the construction of this new building.

May our actions in the forthcoming years express our gratitude

Through service to the wider community around us

And in a growing sense of trust, affection, and hope within this church.

We know that our efforts are in vain if we do not use this building

To advance the cause of the free church, of human development, and of peace.

May this new doorway to our community extend the hand of friendship

To the world outside our doors, in the spirit of those who left this church

To drive to Selma, Alabama and participate in that great effort for justice.

May history shine through its windows, bright as the sunshine this day,

And may the brightest future for its members, the community, and the world,

be preached from its pulpit and classrooms.

We give thanks, and in humility, recognize the awesome duty that awaits us:

May we give as much of our lives in service and other gifts as have

Those who build this structure.

May we live our lives to worthy of all our blessings,

For which w give thanks, in part, by returning gifts to the world

Through the service, worship, education, and joy we promote here.

For all this we give thanks and say, Amen.

CHALICE LIGHTING

This is taken from the prayer of the Conservative Jewish congregations for Rosh Hoshanah to be said before Kiddush, slightly edited.