Opening Words

We gather as a community on this Sunday to celebrate many things.  The church year mirrors the academic year, so we are not at the end of our 2006-2007 church year.  We gather together to honor the season of summer that we are in.  And today is Father's Day, a day dedicated to our Dads, Granddads, and the father-like figures in our lives.

I want to take a moment for us to acknowledge those who are being honored today.  If you are a great-grandfather would you please stand, as you're able, or raise your hand?  If you're a grandfather would you do the same?  If you're a father would you rise?  And if you're an individual who has, or has had, a father or father-like figure in your life would you rise?

I dedicate today's opening words to you Dads, by offering a reading from a delightful little book by Cathy Hamilton, called "Dad'isms: What He Says, and What he Really Means."  In it, she shares with us the real meaning of those phrases that Dads just love.  For example:

Dad'ism # 24

"Did I ever tell you about the time...?"

This is the classic prologue to Dad's tired old stories of hardship, camaraderie, brushes with death, embarrassing moments, and sometimes romantic encounters.

Note: It does no good to say, "Yeah, Dad, you already told us that one."  You're going to hear the story again, so just sit back, relax, and go with it.

Dad'ism # 41

"Don't make me stop this car!"

In the odyssey that is the family vacation, this dad'ism should be considered a last-resort ultimatum.  It's the red flag that should alert the family that Dad is nearing his breaking point.  Should he actually have to stop the car, heaven forbid, all hell will break loose on the interstate.

Note: Rarely will a Dad actually pull over and stop the car because that would jeopardize making 'good time,' delay arrival at his destination, and forfeit his bragging rights until next year's vacation.  ("Yes, this year we made the trip in seven hours flat.  Last year it was 7:48.  Must be that new radar detector...")

Dad'ism # 86

"Go tell your mother...she's looking for you..."

Translation: I have had just about enough of you for the day.  Now it's your mother's turn.  Do not come back into this room until I have finished consuming this six-pack and fall asleep on the couch.

Dad'ism # 3

"Turn that racket down, I can't hear myself think."

Definition – racket (n): It is music of any genre played by the younger generation at decibels exceeding the volume of the television Dad is watching, particularly when Monday Night Football is on.

Dad'ism # 50

"We're not lost.  I know exactly where we are."

Translation: I have absolutely no doubt that we're exactly somewhere between home and our destination.  That's all you need to know!

Note:  'Lost' is not a word that exists in any Dad's vocabulary.  Actually, most Dads will go to extraordinary lengths to prove that they are not, in fact, lost but are just taking the scenic route.  All children should be taught, at as early an age as possible, never to ask Dad, "Are we lost?"  Women learn this shortly after taking their wedding vows, but children, whose little brains are not yet fully developed, cannot comprehend the meaning of this seemingly innocent question.

And the last and most important Dad'ism in the book, # 95

"I love you, kid."

Come, let us worship.

Reading

"We stand at the edge of summer.

The sun has at last warmed us enough that we begin to trust in its presence.

The last burst of spring blossoms, lavender and white and deep pink banks of rhododendron, are giving way to summer peonies and roses.

O source of the turning seasons, of earth, of life,

of promise gradually becoming fulfillment,

may your people find a lightening of the burdens with the brightening of [our days]."

"Summer Warmth" Reading # 548
by Helen Cohen
in the hymnal Singing the Living Tradition

Sermon

The words of Helen Cohen:

"We stand at the edge of summer.

The sun has at last warmed us enough that we begin to trust in its presence.

The last burst of spring blossoms, lavender and white and deep pink banks of rhododendron, are giving way to summer peonies and roses.

O source of the turning seasons, of earth, of life,

of promise gradually becoming fulfillment,

may your people find a lightening of the burdens with the brightening of [our days]."

Promise gradually becoming fulfillment.  Symbolically, summer is the season of fruition, of fulfillment.  And I thank Brian, Pat, and Peter for each having shared their reflections on what has come to fruition this season, what has come to fruition in our community.  I'd like to develop this theme a little bit further.

When I think of the season of summer, I think of phrases like "summer vacation."  I remember being a kid and looking forward to the summer school break, and when it finally arrived, those almost three months of vacation felt like they lasted forever.  It was an eternity.  With age, we catch ourselves saying things like, "Is it already mid-June?"  Time moves differently, somehow more quickly.  Perhaps because as a proportion of the time we've been alive, as we age three months gets smaller and smaller.

But, some things about summer don't change.  It remains a season when we do things differently.  Well, here in Florida we have to, out of necessity, do things differently.  Early summer brings intense sunshine, the kind that can broil your skin, and it brings temperatures that keep us in contained, air-conditioned spaces.  Late summer brings the hurricane season, and with it potential fear and danger.  Summer is a different time, a different mental space

At the extreme, we have hurricanes, but in its more benign forms, summer provides us the opportunity to go outside our usual routine.  I think this is a good thing – to do things differently for a season.  Routine is satisfying and comforting in its own way, but it's when we step out of routine, out of comfortability, that we grow.

But before looking ahead, to the promise of summer, let's consider a bit further what has been brought to fruition, adding to those reflections we've already heard.  As your minister, my number one goal for this past church year was a very practical and somewhat simple one.  I wanted to spend as much time as I could getting to know as many of you as I possibly could.  It is one of my basic beliefs that in order to minister effectively, we needed to be a part of one another's lives.  And so, over the year, I have spent time with many of you, over lunch, coffee, dinner, through phone conversations, email conversations, conversations in the park, conversations on the beach, in my office, in your home, in other people's homes, in committee meetings, after Sunday worship, at social functions here and elsewhere in the community, and in so many other ways.  To varying degrees we have begun understanding one another and, in the process, trusting one another and sharing our lives.

It has been humbling, and deeply moving.  Because with each individual in our community who I get to know, my life is changed.  There is someone new within my circle, of care and love.  When we allow ourselves to love others, to care for others, we create a point of connection and recognize that we are making ourselves available to the life struggles, the life journey, of others; we agree to care, and put some of our own heart and soul on the line.  We do this in two important ways.  First, by showing up for one another.  When life does throw us the unexpected, or we just need the comfort and support of another, one of the most essential things we can do in religious community is show up for one another.  Secondly, as is inevitable in any community, disagreement and misunderstandings need to be handled well.  These two aspects of community are so basic that it's impossible, I think, to do anything else without them.  Forget about goals, and plans, and restructuring, and revisioning, and changing the world we live in – none of that is possible if we are not present to one another as human beings.

We have done that this year in spades, and we continue to do that.

As I now prepare to take a few months of professional and personal summer leave, this work of ministering to one another will continue.  The minister being on leave does not mean that the work of ministry stops; your lives go on, with all the joys and struggles that are constantly unfolding.  It's important that you know that I'm not the only minister in this sanctuary.  Each of you is a minister, a lay minister, an Ambassador of the universe's love.

Many of you are experts at lay ministry, because you've led this church through points in time when it did not have a minister.  You know how to engage the community when a need appears.  But, I also recognize that many of you are attending church for the first time in a long time, maybe even for the first time in your life.  As needs and situations emerge, I encourage you to call on the other ministers (the lay leaders) in our midst.  And, if you're not sure who to call, call the church office.  Our church manager, Peter, you might not know, is an ordained minister, but of even greater importance, he knows how to connect people in the community, and who to connect with whom.

Summer is a time for lay ministry, for each of us to shine and care for one another.  It's also an opportunity for us to inspire one another.  In addition to having outside guest preachers this summer, we will also have lay led preaching.  You have seen, hopefully, over the course of this church year how moving, how inspiring, it can be to hear the spiritual lessons we each possess – the wisdom we have gained and can share with others.  (This is actually how my career in preaching began, it was as a lay preacher.)  Our summer season offers the possibility of getting to know others in our congregation better, by hearing them preach and share their lives. 

In fact, if the interest is there, you can even try your hand at participating in or helping organize worship.  You can do what I did years ago -- talk to our Worship Committee, and just try it out.  (No permanent obligation required.)

Summer offers the possibility of breaking out of routine.  I'd encourage you to think what that opportunity might be in your own life.  Is it a new pastime, a new sport, a new hobby?  Is it traveling to a new place and seeing new things?  Is it the opportunity to deepen longtime friendships or make new ones?  Is it the chance to learn something, by taking a class or reading some books?  Is it spending more time with your family, deepening your experiences and relationships with them?  Or is it just finding some time to relax and be with yourself?  Within our different limitations, there are opportunities to make this season one that matters.

I can already see that I will have many stories and learnings to share with you in the next church year.  I spent the first week of my summer leave in the red rock country of southern Utah.  The word -transformative- doesn't even begin describe what I experienced – it was a spiritual sojourn, an experience of the holy.  You'll hear more from me about that in our new church year. 

As my professional leave begins, I'm traveling tomorrow to represent our congregation at our annual Unitarian Univeralist Assembly.  Over 6000 Unitarian Universalists will be present, the largest Assembly our faith has ever had.  And, I have been told that our congregation will have the honor of being mentioned by our faith's President during his keynote annual address; he will be mentioning our work in the city of Largo, in support of Susan Stanton. 

In addition to this honor, I have drafted and will help present a resolution which, if passed, will be our Assembly's first-ever public statement on the topic of gender identity diversity.  Surprisingly, our national Assembly does not previously taken a position on this.  God willing, the universe willing, I and others are going to help change that this summer.

By the time we next meet in August, I will have been hiking, kayaking, white water rafting, camping, meditating, journaling, catching up with some very dear friends, and hopefully lazily spending some hours reading books that serve no purpose at all for the greater good of humanity -- books that begin with the words -Star Trek- in the title...

Many adventures lie ahead, and there will be much to share in our new church year.  I hope that something similar will be true for each of you.  I hope you will find that -your burdens have been lightened with the brightening of our days.-  I hope that you will find in one another the wellsprings of love and inspiration that you have found, and helped bring out, in me.  In your own unique ways, I hope that you will each reach out and grasp the promise of summer.

May it be so.  Amen.