Notes from the President’s Desk – August, 2017

I hope you watched General Assembly 2017 at UUA.org. Rev. Dana sent everyone an email July 5 with links to the events of this 5-day historic and powerful gathering of UUs. The following are Benedictions (a short invocation for divine help blessing and guidance given at the end of a worship service) from this year’s General Assembly. Why highlight these Benedictions? Because they inspire us towards the spiritual growth that comes from being a justice seeking people.
Thursday Worship – Benediction – Rev. Barbara Jarrell:
“Nelson Mandela once said, “Fools multiply when the wise are silent,” not unlike Dr. King, who said, “A time comes when silence is a betrayal.” Today circumstances call upon us to raise our voices, to give the world a wakeup call, to let our light shine. This morning, we will not extinguish the light of our chalice, but shall let it burn and shine as we go forward on this day, throughout this week, and whenever we must lift our voices to resist and rejoice.”
Friday Worship – Benediction – Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson:
“We leave you with words attributed to the 14th century Persian poet Hafiz: “Out of a great need we are all holding hands and climbing. Not loving is a letting go. Listen, the terrain around here is far too dangerous for that. We are called to a revolutionary love that demands that we not let go. A love that demands that we draw our circle wider, and wider, and wider still. A love that asks nothing in return. Even After All this time the Sun never says to the Earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens with a love like that, It lights the whole sky.” A love like this—a love like ours—A Revolutionary Love can light up the whole sky. It can heal the world. May your love light up the whole world. May your love heal the world.”
Saturday Worship – Benediction – Sara Green:
“It is a blessing to be carried through this struggle with the wisdom of those before us, the wisdom existing in our bodies and the wisdom present in the water. It is critical that we hold these gems close to our hearts. May we trust our bodies, experience joy as resistance and allow ourselves to be held by the water. Ashe and Amen.”
Sunday Worship – Benediction “Gloria” #534, Singing the Living Tradition (responsive reading)
Gloria: The tenacity of Earth and its creatures. Kyrie eleison: These children who will go on to save what we cannot. Baruch ata Adonai: The ordinary tenacity of plants and of people. Om: The center of the universe which is everywhere, not the least place in the human heart. Alleluia: Love that survives anger, and winter, and despair, and sorrow, and even death. Shalom: Love that persists. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo: Calm that is the seed in the dark. Amen: For endings that are beginnings, for beginnings that are endings. Alleluia: For the circle, the spiral, the web, the egg, the orbit, the center, the seed, the flower, the fruit, the opening, the death, the release, the seed. Amen: We are going on. Amen: It is going on. Amen: Blessed be.
Please take the time to visit the UUA.org website and experience the spirit of GA 2017.
Living in Paradise, Bryan Buck, President