Last Wednesday my dear friend David invited me to a Passover Seder. The event was on a video conference, of course. David and his sister had planned the event and sent out a script of the service ahead of time. Their father, a Rabbi in Massachusetts, played a supporting role. Many family members read parts of the ritual. Jews everywhere remember, through the Seder ritual, the time in their ancient past when they were enslaved in Egypt and gained their freedom. This version of the Seder included an explicit extension of that idea to today’s world: who is enslaved by poverty? by oppression? The Seder hosts did a beautiful job of maintaining the traditions of the Seder and updating them to be relevant today. And above all, it was a family celebration in a time of COVID-19. Cousins and relatives in the Boston area, who would normally be at the same table, joined by Zoom instead. Other relatives, partners, in-laws, and friends (some Jewish, some not) joined from across the country, more than 25 in all. Mary and I participated from our apartment in Mount Pleasant. The most moving moment was when we could hear the voice of David’s grandmother, connecting by phone, joining the celebration and being with her loved ones on this high holy day. I come from a family that’s Christian, not Jewish. We don’t practice any religious ritual in the family comparable to the Passover Seder. However, since the pandemic has confined us to our homes, my extended family has been gathering on weekly Zoom calls. My two sisters, two step-sisters, step-brother and two of my parents all participate (one calling in from England). We check in on each other’s health, and kids, and talk about daily life. And we play O Heck. It’s not a Passover Seder, but the card game O Heck is as close to a holy ritual as it gets in my family. Children learn the game at a young age; spouses and partners experience it as an intense initiation into the family; the game is played at every family reunion and most other gatherings. Playing on Zoom was a mild challenge, but one of my eldest sisters is a statistician and one is an actuary—no problem. The cards are dealt by computer into files in Google drive; a dedicated camera is set up to simulate the board where the cards are played--like watching a poker game on ESPN, but with a lot of laughing and joking instead of sums of money being wagered. This familiar ritual is remarkably comforting. The feeling of love and family and tradition that go along with the game are the same across the miles as they are across the dining room table. I think that my friend David and his family would say the same thing about their virtual Passover Seder. Prayer: Yahweh, god of the Jewish people. Spirit of Life and Love, however you are named or known across the Earth, be here now. May every family – however defined and however separated – be blessed by love. May families know that they are connected to one another, children to parents, parents to grandparents, and on back through the centuries. The struggle and triumph of the ancient Israelites is the struggle and triumph of everyone in the human family. May all families know resilience; may all families connect to meaningful tradition; may all families know laughter and joy. May the Sokoll family be blessed. May the Frantz-Cook family be blessed. May every family on Earth be blessed, with no exceptions. Amen. Shalom. Aho. Blessed be. Andrew Frantz |
I am writing this column to address the elephant in the room: the coronavirus. As a daily consumer of national and world news, I’ve followed this disease during its outbreak in China in recent months. In a similar way, I followed the news of the Ebola virus a few years ago. That disease stayed “over there,” being confined to Africa. This disease has gone from “over there” to over here, currently with an outbreak emerging in Washington state.
In a few days, I will talk with the board of trustees about the Fellowship’s contingency plans for if and when the coronavirus is in this community—logistics and policies about risks and communication and best practices. In this moment, however, I am reflecting on the spread of this disease from a personal, human, emotional / spiritual perspective. I’m scared. The experience of following this disease on the news feels like a super slow-motion disaster…one that’s far in the distance and coming inevitably but unpredictably closer. Fundamentally, the epidemic is challenging my false sense of invulnerability. I’m 51 years old. My parents are both long-lived; I’m physically fit and don’t get sick very often. It’s tempting to think that I’ll be fine, even if the disease spreads here. I’ve lived a life of privilege. Hardships that have affected other communities and other countries haven’t hit me. And, I’m scared. This is the fear of death, my own death and the death of my loved ones (including my parents and step-parents). The spiritual work is to name this fear. The spiritual work is to confront the fact that we all are dying, and to come to peace with that. I’m writing this and I think—the Buddhists have a lot to say about this. I remember, “Thich Nhat Hanh said something useful about this, maybe I can find that again.” What I found was a 92-second video of Thich Nhat Hanh speaking about death and it is one of the most profound and wise things I’ve ever heard. It made my fear dissolve into laughter. Watch it here if you have internet and 92 seconds to spend: And here is the transcript of his words: When you look at a cloud, you think of the cloud as being. And later on, when the cloud becomes the rain, you don’t see the cloud anymore--and you say the cloud is not there. And you describe the cloud as non-being. But if you look deeply, you can see the cloud in the rain. And that is why it’s impossible for a cloud to die. A cloud can become rain, or snow, or ice, but a cloud cannot become nothing. And that is why the notion of death cannot be applied to reality. There is a transformation, there is a continuation, but you cannot say that there is death, because in your mind to die means from something you suddenly become nothing. From someone you suddenly become no one. And so, the notion of death cannot apply to reality, whether to a cloud or to a human being. And the Buddha did not die, the Buddha only continued, by his sangha, by his dharma, and you can touch the Buddha in the here and the now. And that is why ideas like being born and dying; coming and going; being and non-being should be removed by the practice of looking deeply. And when you can remove these notions, you are free and you have non-fear. (Thich Nhat Hanh) Prayer: Spirit of Life and Love, presence that transcends death, be with me now. Grant me the courage to name my fear, to bring it into the light where I can see it and deal with it. Grant me the wisdom to see that death will come-- I just don’t know when--and that death is part of life, not to be feared. Sprit of love and compassion, be with those who are sick with coronavirus. Be with those who are sacred that they might be sick. Be with those, the health care workers and officials, who are toiling to keep others safe and healthy, even though they risk their own health and safety. Give us strength and understanding as a nation, as a race, as a human species, in the face of this profound threat. May we be well in our spirits, minds and bodies. May we be free from fear. Amen. Aho. Blessed Be. Andrew Frantz This week marks the completion of the first six months of my ministry at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan. I moved here in the heat of late August and started at UUFCM on September 1st. My contract has been extended through June of 2021, so I will serve this Fellowship as minister for at least another 16 months.
This is an important moment in the life of this Fellowship, and I am glad to be part of it. It was only about a year ago that Dawn Daniels, your former minister, ended her ministry. You had a congregation-wide discussion about what you wanted next, and moved to hire a full-time minister. This decision increases the budget substantially, and right now the congregation is being asked to make financial pledges for the coming year to support the new budget. Looking ahead, then, I think the questions for this Fellowship are: What do you get from having a full-time minister that you didn’t have with a part-time minister? What are the priorities for this Fellowship going forward—social justice? religious education for children and youth? adult religious education programs? increased membership? I look forward to having these conversations with you about going forward. As I look back on the past six months, here are some of the highlights for me: As a religious community, we grieve our dead together. I saw this in our Day of the Dead service in November when we added leaves to the Tree of Life monument in the building, honoring members who died during the past year. I saw this when we had a memorial service for Bob McBride earlier this month. This Fellowship supports one another. Again and again during joys and sorrows on Sunday mornings I see heartfelt testimonials about all of life’s challenges: physical illness, mental illness, family struggles, job and money struggles. I see love and support every time. This Fellowship cares about social justice. People are drawn to our fellowship by the Black Lives Matter banner and the rainbow flag. In January we had a retreat to prioritize two other social justice issues: the environment and voting rights. In November we held a Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony that brought in diverse members of the community. We welcome people just as they are. I have heard many people say that they feel at home and safe in the UUFCM community in a way that they don’t feel welcomed or safe any other place in their lives. That is the powerful magic that keeps me coming back to Unitarian Universalism and to this Fellowship. That is the life-saving, life-changing magic that I want to keep nourishing. I feel blessed and grateful to serve this Fellowship as minister. The first six months have been wonderful and I look forward to our time ahead: challenges, joys, and all. Prayer: Spirit of Life and Love, May this Fellowship thrive in the months and years to come. May all who associate with this Fellowship, as visitors, friends, or members, be blessed and strengthened by being here. May all feel welcome here. May this Fellowship continue to be a place where people question and challenge and grow. Where people feel safe enough to be vulnerable and accept care and love from one another. where people feel welcome and safe, just as they are, no matter who they are. Amen. Aho. Blessed Be. Andrew Frantz Last weekend I travelled to Ohio and went to Sunday morning worship service at the Oberlin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (OUUF). This is the Fellowship I was part of for 18 years living in Oberlin, Ohio and of which I am still a member. It’s the Fellowship where I was a lay worship leader, a committee member, religious education teacher, and choir member over the years. I was part of that Fellowship through four ministers (one of whom left under circumstances of major conflict); I was part of the Green Sanctuary process and the Welcoming Congregation process there (for deepening our commitment to environmentalism and LGBTQ rights, respectively). My kids grew up there, involved from preschool through high school. And during my time at OUUF I realized that I enjoyed being a lay leader so much, and it fit with my gifts so well, and I believed so much in the mission of Unitarian Universalism, that I decided to enter in the ministry. Since that decision, my studies and training for ministry have taken me away from OUUF.
OUUF is a slightly smaller fellowship than the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan (UUFCM). They have never had a full-time minister, so lay leadership has always been important there. Two elders in the church, Barbara Fuchsman and Lisette Burwasser, were especially important as role models for me during my years there. Both continue to lead services and do committee work for the Fellowship; Barbara is especially involved in social justice work and Lisette is a pagan leader at OUUF. They both sing in the choir. When I walked in on Sunday morning, I took my seat next to Barbara and Lisette. As we stood to sing the first hymn (it was We’ll Build a Land), it struck me that this hymn is familiar and beloved to me because of my years at OUUF. Whenever I sing that song – and many others from our gray hymnal – I hear in my mind the voices of Barbara and Lisette, especially Barbara: We’ll build a land where we bind up the broken We’ll build a land where the captives go free OUUF is different from UUFCM in some ways: they are a little smaller (about 30 people were at Sunday worship), they have a part-time minister instead of full-time. And they are very similar: they are in a Midwest college town, their history includes years of meeting in homes and other places before getting a building of their own—and most importantly, they share our UU values. There are more than 1,000 Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships across the country. I’ve preached in more than a dozen and visited many more for worship or other events. Each one has its flavor and personality, and each one is connected by our shared UU values. I feel a sense of home in any UU space, and a special sense of home at the Oberlin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. It’s good to be connected, to be grounded, to belong, and to believe in something. May we all find our place of belonging. Prayer: Spirit of Life and Love: Allah: Yahweh: Mother Earth: God Above: Voice of Wisdom and Love Within: This is my prayer for myself; for everyone who has found a spiritual home in a UU congregation or another faith community; and for everyone who does not have a faith community they call home. May we find our way home. May we know that home is where we feel safe, trusted, listened to, where we are seen. May we find our place where we know others and they know us, where we feel the connection of love and acceptance flowing between and among us. This feeling of home may be in a family, in a classroom, in a house of worship, in a campground, in a meeting. We know it when we find it. We all want it and need it to be fully human and alive. May every person, with no exceptions, know the joy and love of feeling at home. Amen. Aho. Blessed Be. Andrew Frantz Today I am thinking about this poem by Mark Belletini. Mark is a retired minister who served the Unitarian Universalist church in Columbus, Ohio for many years. I’ll never forget the day that I met him. I was in Columbus for a weekend event. It was Friday night, I had just arrived and was being shown around the church. In the kitchen I met a man wearing blue jeans and a paper name tag that just said Mark. I said hello and I was thinking maybe this is an employee or volunteer who does cleaning and maintenance at the church. It turns out it was the Rev. Mark Belletini, senior minister of the Columbus church, the biggest UU church in Ohio.
The lesson for me was one of humility and not taking yourself too seriously. As UU’s, some of us (including myself) could use a reminder of being humble and not thinking that we are special or elevated in any way. Here is Rev. Mark’s poem: Reading for the Day Mark Belletini Let the sky above me unroll like a scroll, and let me read upon it today’s text for my life: “You are alive, here and now. Love boldly and always tell the truth.” Let the wind arrange the naked branches of the maples and aspens and oaks into letters which proclaim this sacred text: “Your heart beats now, not tomorrow or yesterday. Love the gift of your life and do no harm.” Let the eyes and hands and faces of all men and women and children with whom I share this earth be chapter and verse in this great scripture text: “Life is struggle and loss, and also tenderness and joy. Live all of your life, not just part of it.” And now let all the poems and scriptures and novels and films and songs and cries and lullabies and prayers and anthems open up before our free hearts. Let them open like a torah, like a psalm, like a gospel, like an apocalypse and let them proclaim: “Do not think you can take away each other’s troubles, but try to be with each other in them. Remember that you are part, not all, great, but not by far the greatest, small precious brief breaths in the great whirlwind of creation.” And remember that every single human word is finally and divinely cradled in the strong and secure arms of Silence. (from the collection Sonata for Voice and Silence by Mark Belletini, published in 2008 by Skinner House Books in Boston.) I love the whole poem, but especially I love the parts in quotation marks: “You are alive, here and now. / Love boldly and always tell the truth.” This is my call to breathe into my body and not be in my head, worrying about the past or the future. “Life is struggle and loss, and also / tenderness and joy. / Live all of your life, not just part of it.” This is my reminder to accept the sadness that is part of life. To love is to know that we will lose the things and the people we love. This is especially poignant this week as members of our Fellowship grapple with the death of a loved one. The pain of loss is acute. Leaning into the sadness can help us to live through it. Sadness shows where joy and love were. Two people last Sunday morning spoke of the death of a family member during our Joys and Sorrows time. In a Fellowship like ours, we hear each other’s truth—even hard and sad truths—and we support each other as we can. As Mark Belletini says, “Do not think you can take away / each other’s troubles, / but try to be with each other in them.” May it be so for our Fellowship, because we all have troubles in this life. Prayer: Spirit of life and love, bless the words of Rev. Mark Belletini and his long service to Unitarian Universalism. Bless the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan with love. May the love between us be shown in times of trouble and pain and grief. May each of us remember to breathe, to be in the present moment, to love boldly and always tell the truth. May we love ourselves, one another, and the whole world with no exceptions. Amen. Aho. Blessed be. Andrew Frantz |
Rev. Andrew FrantzUUFCM Minister Summer Hours
Rev. Drew takes six weeks of time off during the summer months, and is also away for a full week at General Assembly. Although regular office hours are suspended for the summer, you may still contact Drew with any urgent Fellowship business if needed, or with significant pastoral care needs. Texting 440-935-0129 is the best way to reach Rev. Drew. [email protected] Phone/text: 440-935-0129 Pastoral Care Concerns
For support with life’s challenges, please contact Drew during his office hours or make an appointment with him. For specific needs such as rides to medical appointments or meals for people recovering from illness or surgery, please contact the Caring Team (formerly Arms Around) via Jen Prout at 989-400-3130 or [email protected]. Every effort will be made to lessen the burden on the individual or family who is dealing with a difficult circumstance. Archives
June 2024
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