Work That Is Real
Sermon Given at Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church
March 2, 2014
by The Rev. Craig M. Nowak
“Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion will always be sacrificed.” - Epictetus
A few days ago I received a text from my sister reminding me that my husband and I promised our nephew we’d take him shopping for his birthday present. We’re often away on the actual day of his birthday and so its become something of an annual tradition that we take him shopping sometime after his birthday and picks out what he wants. Maybe that’s why he often says we give the “best gifts”.
It is fun to watch him with eyes wide open perusing the selves seeking whatever it is might be to him the best gift he could receive.
What is the best gift you ever received?
I’ve been thinking about this question a lot lately as the Executive Committee and I have prepared for our church’s annual canvass. When I sit with the question, What is the best gift I ever received? long enough I find things, that is physical objects, fade away as possible answers. If I sit even longer contemplating this question I find that the best gift I ever received is not a thing or a person or even a place...but rather an opportunity...or perhaps better described as spiritual space...space to hear, accept, and grow towards who I am called to be.
When I further consider that I have received this gift through the discovery and practice of our Unitarian Universalist faith, I’m greatly humbled and filled with a sense of gratitude, for the world and its ways in which we live and do our best to navigate, remind me how precious this gift is.
Our Unitarian forbear, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
Many things have changed since Emerson walked the earth, but one thing hasn’t. We live in a world that is indeed trying to make us something other that who we are called to be. More than ever before it seems our lives are targeted, measured, and monetized to maximize profits and make of us consumers of rather than participants in life.
On opening Sunday this church year I spoke about being a hungry people...a people who carry a longing for a life that matters noting the observation of contemporary philosopher Jacob Needleman who said, “Human beings are meant to do more than simply live out their physical lives on this earth.” This observation is at the heart too of Marge Piercy’s poem, To Be of Use, “The pitcher cries out for water to carry”, she writes, “and a person for work that is real.”
Many in the up and coming generation realize this and they are seeking an alternative to a solely consumer driven life. They are seeking a multi dimensional life, a life of substance, of meaning...a life that can make a positive difference in the world. They are seeking, to use Marge Piercy’s words, “work that is real.” And by work I don’t mean simply a job or career. I’m talking about a way of seeing, engaging and living life differently than the way the world is currently directing them.
The question for us as people of faith who affirm and promote “a free and responsible search for truth and meaning”...and as a congregation who, in your ministerial search packet, ranked financial stability and growth as among your most important goals...the question before us is are we ready to welcome, nurture, and empower those embarking on the quest for a spiritually meaningful life? Will this church be a place where people can come and engage in work that is real?
Perhaps more than at any other time in history, the church, this church... is needed as a place to offer people the opportunity to engage in work that is real...work that transforms not only the individual, but holds the very real possibility of transforming and shaping the world in which we and our children will live. Work that is real seeks no less than to provide and support a way of life guided by a vision...a vision that looks beyond the horizon of what is towards what’s possible.
Sailing aboard the Arbella from England in 1630, our Puritan ancestors carried with them just such a vision. Future governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop articulated that vision boldly and clearly in a sermon he delivered to the people aboard that ship, saying, "We shall be as a city upon a hill; the eyes of all people are upon us." They were to be an example for the rest of the world in rightful living...They were to create a place for people to engage in work that is real...
Some three hundred and seventy or so years later, I came to Unitarian Universalism, one of two contemporary liberal faiths that claim Puritan roots. I came in large part because I didn’t know what to do with the anger I felt and the suffering I endured growing up...living in... in a homophobic society that not only tried to make me something else but told me part of who I am is inherently unnatural and unlovable.
I had tried support, social and political action groups to no avail. The church offered me something these groups didn’t. It offered me work that is real. Rather than join me in ranting and raving about homophobic people, laws, institutions and the like, the church in words and deeds said to me...”we love you...we affirm you...we value you.” The church gave me the best gift I ever received, the space to engage in serious inner work within a community that supported and empowered my spiritual and personal growth. In time the church and its message helped me move through my pain and shift my focus from my hurt and suffering to my worth and dignity... replacing anger and frustration with excitement and energy and hope. Little did I know that this would eventually open me to hear and accept a call to ordained ministry. It can be dangerous to walk through our doors.
Each of us carries our own unique story about how and why it is we are here today in this sanctuary. Whatever your original reason or circumstance that brought you here, every time you cross the threshold of this place...literally or metaphorically in your heart and mind, you are invited to engage in work that is real...work that challenges and inspires...that gives and receives hope, that feeds and nourishes...work that in no uncertain terms...saves.
Work that is real is what do when we come to worship,
commit to our spiritual growth and reflect on words that have moved or bothered us.
It is a gift we share when we sing together, play an instrument,
lead a service, serve on a committee, participate in or support a church event, program, religious education, social justice work, or spirituality group.
It is an act of love when we not only greet visitors, but welcome them...when hold one another’s joys and concerns in our hearts and minds, when we call, write, or visit a member who is sick, or sad or lonely and when we cheer and celebrate one another’s lives.
It is a spiritual practice we live into when the way we relate to ourselves and others becomes consistent with our principles and mission; and when, as today we join together to bring a little love and care into the lives of other creatures like the animals at the second chance shelter.
Work that is real is the life we live when, empowered by our faith, we are free to be who we are called to be in a world that is constantly trying to make us something else.
The invitation to this way of life has been extended to each of us by the women, men and children who built and sustained this church, this community. They were stewards not only of the physical church and its membership, but also of its vision, people who through their commitment to their faith, loving care for one another, and necessary financial support helped ensure that the Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church is here for us and the surrounding community today.
“No pen will ever be able to record all the gifts to this church”, wrote the Rev. William L. Walsh, in a short history he authored about this church in 1904. These words are followed by four pages recounting recent gifts given to the church from a penny given by a child in the church school to a bequest of $6,500. given in 1893. Each successive generation up to and including the present has through gifts of time, talent, and treasure, ensured the continuation of this community.
And so it is that we are called to extend our welcome and offer our gifts to seekers familiar and new, not only for today, but for generations to come. We are called upon to assume the mantle of stewardship...to care for this place, its people, and its vision that it may grow...that others may come as we do today and engage in work that is real...
Less than a year ago you unanimously voted to call me as your minister. In the first of my two candidating sermons I noted how I found what I called your narrative of empowerment, celebration, vision and joy inspiring. Ten months in, you continue to inspire me. I have watched, encouraged, supported and engaged with you in work that is real. Today I seek to encourage you further and deepen my engagement in our ministry together by pledging 5% of my Brookfield UU salary and housing in support of our annual canvass which begins today.
It should be no secret that the church and its ministries depends upon your gifts of time, talent, and treasure to exist. This is the reality of being a church and one that although is, at times, challenging, remains faithful to the principles of liberal religion and congregational polity.
As our annual stewardship campaign begins I encourage you to reflect on your own story of coming here and engaging in work that has nurtured, transformed, or empowered you. And with gratitude for the gifts each and every one of you gives in various forms to support this church I invite your continued generosity that we might not only sustain but grow the ministries and mission of this church.
Together, mindful that the church needs you and increasingly the world needs the church, we will ensure the Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church is here for every one of us and those yet to come...to seek, to discover, and to engage in work that is real. May it be so.
Amen and Blessed Be
Sermon Given at Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church
March 2, 2014
by The Rev. Craig M. Nowak
“Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion will always be sacrificed.” - Epictetus
A few days ago I received a text from my sister reminding me that my husband and I promised our nephew we’d take him shopping for his birthday present. We’re often away on the actual day of his birthday and so its become something of an annual tradition that we take him shopping sometime after his birthday and picks out what he wants. Maybe that’s why he often says we give the “best gifts”.
It is fun to watch him with eyes wide open perusing the selves seeking whatever it is might be to him the best gift he could receive.
What is the best gift you ever received?
I’ve been thinking about this question a lot lately as the Executive Committee and I have prepared for our church’s annual canvass. When I sit with the question, What is the best gift I ever received? long enough I find things, that is physical objects, fade away as possible answers. If I sit even longer contemplating this question I find that the best gift I ever received is not a thing or a person or even a place...but rather an opportunity...or perhaps better described as spiritual space...space to hear, accept, and grow towards who I am called to be.
When I further consider that I have received this gift through the discovery and practice of our Unitarian Universalist faith, I’m greatly humbled and filled with a sense of gratitude, for the world and its ways in which we live and do our best to navigate, remind me how precious this gift is.
Our Unitarian forbear, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
Many things have changed since Emerson walked the earth, but one thing hasn’t. We live in a world that is indeed trying to make us something other that who we are called to be. More than ever before it seems our lives are targeted, measured, and monetized to maximize profits and make of us consumers of rather than participants in life.
On opening Sunday this church year I spoke about being a hungry people...a people who carry a longing for a life that matters noting the observation of contemporary philosopher Jacob Needleman who said, “Human beings are meant to do more than simply live out their physical lives on this earth.” This observation is at the heart too of Marge Piercy’s poem, To Be of Use, “The pitcher cries out for water to carry”, she writes, “and a person for work that is real.”
Many in the up and coming generation realize this and they are seeking an alternative to a solely consumer driven life. They are seeking a multi dimensional life, a life of substance, of meaning...a life that can make a positive difference in the world. They are seeking, to use Marge Piercy’s words, “work that is real.” And by work I don’t mean simply a job or career. I’m talking about a way of seeing, engaging and living life differently than the way the world is currently directing them.
The question for us as people of faith who affirm and promote “a free and responsible search for truth and meaning”...and as a congregation who, in your ministerial search packet, ranked financial stability and growth as among your most important goals...the question before us is are we ready to welcome, nurture, and empower those embarking on the quest for a spiritually meaningful life? Will this church be a place where people can come and engage in work that is real?
Perhaps more than at any other time in history, the church, this church... is needed as a place to offer people the opportunity to engage in work that is real...work that transforms not only the individual, but holds the very real possibility of transforming and shaping the world in which we and our children will live. Work that is real seeks no less than to provide and support a way of life guided by a vision...a vision that looks beyond the horizon of what is towards what’s possible.
Sailing aboard the Arbella from England in 1630, our Puritan ancestors carried with them just such a vision. Future governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop articulated that vision boldly and clearly in a sermon he delivered to the people aboard that ship, saying, "We shall be as a city upon a hill; the eyes of all people are upon us." They were to be an example for the rest of the world in rightful living...They were to create a place for people to engage in work that is real...
Some three hundred and seventy or so years later, I came to Unitarian Universalism, one of two contemporary liberal faiths that claim Puritan roots. I came in large part because I didn’t know what to do with the anger I felt and the suffering I endured growing up...living in... in a homophobic society that not only tried to make me something else but told me part of who I am is inherently unnatural and unlovable.
I had tried support, social and political action groups to no avail. The church offered me something these groups didn’t. It offered me work that is real. Rather than join me in ranting and raving about homophobic people, laws, institutions and the like, the church in words and deeds said to me...”we love you...we affirm you...we value you.” The church gave me the best gift I ever received, the space to engage in serious inner work within a community that supported and empowered my spiritual and personal growth. In time the church and its message helped me move through my pain and shift my focus from my hurt and suffering to my worth and dignity... replacing anger and frustration with excitement and energy and hope. Little did I know that this would eventually open me to hear and accept a call to ordained ministry. It can be dangerous to walk through our doors.
Each of us carries our own unique story about how and why it is we are here today in this sanctuary. Whatever your original reason or circumstance that brought you here, every time you cross the threshold of this place...literally or metaphorically in your heart and mind, you are invited to engage in work that is real...work that challenges and inspires...that gives and receives hope, that feeds and nourishes...work that in no uncertain terms...saves.
Work that is real is what do when we come to worship,
commit to our spiritual growth and reflect on words that have moved or bothered us.
It is a gift we share when we sing together, play an instrument,
lead a service, serve on a committee, participate in or support a church event, program, religious education, social justice work, or spirituality group.
It is an act of love when we not only greet visitors, but welcome them...when hold one another’s joys and concerns in our hearts and minds, when we call, write, or visit a member who is sick, or sad or lonely and when we cheer and celebrate one another’s lives.
It is a spiritual practice we live into when the way we relate to ourselves and others becomes consistent with our principles and mission; and when, as today we join together to bring a little love and care into the lives of other creatures like the animals at the second chance shelter.
Work that is real is the life we live when, empowered by our faith, we are free to be who we are called to be in a world that is constantly trying to make us something else.
The invitation to this way of life has been extended to each of us by the women, men and children who built and sustained this church, this community. They were stewards not only of the physical church and its membership, but also of its vision, people who through their commitment to their faith, loving care for one another, and necessary financial support helped ensure that the Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church is here for us and the surrounding community today.
“No pen will ever be able to record all the gifts to this church”, wrote the Rev. William L. Walsh, in a short history he authored about this church in 1904. These words are followed by four pages recounting recent gifts given to the church from a penny given by a child in the church school to a bequest of $6,500. given in 1893. Each successive generation up to and including the present has through gifts of time, talent, and treasure, ensured the continuation of this community.
And so it is that we are called to extend our welcome and offer our gifts to seekers familiar and new, not only for today, but for generations to come. We are called upon to assume the mantle of stewardship...to care for this place, its people, and its vision that it may grow...that others may come as we do today and engage in work that is real...
Less than a year ago you unanimously voted to call me as your minister. In the first of my two candidating sermons I noted how I found what I called your narrative of empowerment, celebration, vision and joy inspiring. Ten months in, you continue to inspire me. I have watched, encouraged, supported and engaged with you in work that is real. Today I seek to encourage you further and deepen my engagement in our ministry together by pledging 5% of my Brookfield UU salary and housing in support of our annual canvass which begins today.
It should be no secret that the church and its ministries depends upon your gifts of time, talent, and treasure to exist. This is the reality of being a church and one that although is, at times, challenging, remains faithful to the principles of liberal religion and congregational polity.
As our annual stewardship campaign begins I encourage you to reflect on your own story of coming here and engaging in work that has nurtured, transformed, or empowered you. And with gratitude for the gifts each and every one of you gives in various forms to support this church I invite your continued generosity that we might not only sustain but grow the ministries and mission of this church.
Together, mindful that the church needs you and increasingly the world needs the church, we will ensure the Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church is here for every one of us and those yet to come...to seek, to discover, and to engage in work that is real. May it be so.
Amen and Blessed Be
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