| What Does it Mean to be a People of Intention?
Courtesy of Soul Matters Sharing Circle
A UU program for theme-based ministry
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PeacePeg, Chalice. |
So here we are again, in the month of January with its talk of daring resolutions and its demanding call to “become better.” It’s hard not to buy into it. After all, it seems so well-intended. I mean, who could argue with the goal of self-improvement? And so most of us gladly go along and declare “This is the year I’m going to finally be a better me!”
But are we sure this is what we really want? Or do you hear an internal whisper that says “I long to be pulled in more deeply to the self I already am”? In other words, maybe our real New Year’s work is not about leaping into self-improvement, but about pausing, stepping back and asking “What hunger really has my heart?”
So this month, maybe our most important work is to make room. All around us, there’s going to be plenty of busy talk about being “a people of goals and resolutions.” We are going to get more than enough advice about how to stay focused on a new future for ourselves. But in the midst of it all, may we, as a people of intention, also carve out a quieter place that keeps our attention closer to the present and who we already are at our center. May we make space for listening before we leap into the striving. And as we do that, maybe we will discover that this isn’t the year of “finally becoming a better me.” Maybe we’ll decide it’s enough to simply “finally be me.”
Live with Intention
Rev. Sara LaWall
Growing up we had a framed piece of art with a beautiful quote from MaryAnne Radmacher. It read:
“Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen Hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Appreciate your friends.
Continue to learn.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.”
These words have been swimming in my mind as I prepare for this month’s spiritual theme of intention. Radmacher expresses in simple terms, basic tenants for living fully connected and present–terms we all articulate in some way when we need to hone in on what is most important in life. What a great framework to hold for a new year.
And yet, her words do not account for the pain, frustration, and difficulty we are likely to experience. So what then? How do we live with intention, welcoming Radmacher’s framework while also allowing for unexpected challenges, curveballs, and occasional storms of life? I think that when we live with intention, practicing those simple adages above, they serve as a sustaining force that allows us to cultivate greater resilience to weather the storms. Cultivating joy, choosing love, and practicing gratitude are all vital for our spiritual well-being and give us a way to anchor ourselves when the winds begin to blow. And, I firmly believe, being part of this spiritual community together offers us space to experience, explore and deepen those practices. Together, we learn to live with intention.
I don’t make resolutions anymore because like so many, I have never been much good at keeping them. But I like the concept of beginning a new year thinking about my life, my purpose and re-centering the values that are most important to me while also making space for new possibilities and practices. Using the language of intention allows me to do that without worrying about measuring my success or failure. Intention invites me to focus on being rather than on doing or specific, measurable accomplishments. So this year, here are a few of the intentions I am setting for myself:
Cultivate more joy – this has so many possibilities that include experiences and also remind me that I have a choice in my way of being in the world. Even as I tend to the call to witness and advocate for justice, I can do so through a place of joy rather than anger.
Nurture my physical body – yes, this involved eating healthy, exercise and all those things that usually show up in New Year’s resolutions but it is framed as a way of being. Instead of measuring results, I can begin with the question, “Is this choice nurturing my physical body?”
Tend to my spiritual life – this is always an intention in my life and one that often gets left behind, despite my professional calling. But I know I am of no use to myself or anyone else if I neglect my spiritual life so centering the practices of prayer, meditation, and cintemplation become vital.
Choose love – this may seem obvious, but in this current climate, it can sometimes be hard. I ten to be a reactionary person (even in my family life) so choosing love isn’t always my default. Setting this intention also centers relationships first rather than productivity or tasks, an important reorientation for me.
Please feel free to share your intentions with me and with one another as we move explore this month’s theme.
Happy New Year!
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Message from Your President
Matthew Sabin
Greetings BUUF,
A year has ended, and a year has begun – the two things I like least about this time of year are all the recaps of the prior year and the predictions for the coming one. A close third is the whole “make and break and feel guilt over resolutions.”
What I like about this time of year is the long dark night to think about what is possible in the coming year and beyond. I like to think of the transitions coming up and wondering about what new opportunities will present themselves.
BUUF is deeply engaged in this process with the Strategic Planning Team – but I would like to observe that we’ve always been future focused.
When I first came to BUUF, one of the first people I spoke with talked about the future plans of the congregation and that attitude has been present since.
When we worked on formulating our Mission Statement, one of the constant themes was how what we were doing at the time was going to affect and last into the future.
I’ve always felt that future-thinking was behind nearly every conversation about BUUF’s activity, but find that as I type only a few tangible ideas for our future spring to mind. I realize that the future hasn’t been absent, but for that last year or so I think the present (social and political) outside our walls has damped the flames a bit.
Based on feedback from previous months columns, I think I can humorously guess that in a good month as many as 7 of you read this far in the newsletter – please keep reading, there’s much better stuff below mine. This month I would really like to get that up to 10.
I hate to talk church-business during the social hour, but I would love to talk church-future any time.
Seek me out at my espresso table by the North door of the Sanctuary. You don’t have to have an espresso, but the conversation would be most welcome.
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Tarpage by Melissa (Sasi) Chambers |
January’s Plate Partner:
Mészkő Scholarship Fund
Gwyn Reid
For the 7th time since January 2012, thanks to the generosity of members and friends of our fellowship, we will be able to fund scholarships for roughly half the tuition and expenses to help the youth of our partner congregation in Mészkő fund their college educations. The partner church committee is also working with our partners in Mészkő to create a scholarship program for high school students.
For the past 24 years, our congregation has been partnered with the Unitarian congregation in the village of Mészkő, which is in the Transylvanian region of Romania. When our congregation entered the relationship in 1993, this faraway church in a tiny village, was an unknown quantity to all of us. As the relationship has matured, we have learned much from each other. We now realize that 21st century changes such as the exodus of young adults from villages to cities, and economic necessity, will have a far greater influence on the success of Unitarian village congregations than almost anything else.
Education is one long-term strategy to deal with the rapid social and economic changes in Eastern Europe, but going to college means paying tuition and expenses of approximately $1,000 per year. This is beyond the reach of many families in Mészkő. The subsidies provided by our scholarship program have made it possible for five students from our partner church to attend university. Three years ago, Emőke Novák became the first Mészkői youth to ever graduate from University (majoring in English and Spanish). Today Emőke works in a call center in Cluj serving customers in the US. She is now working on her Masters in Business Administration. She also serves on the Partner Church Committee for the congregation.
The Boise Partner Church Committee hopes to be able to continue to subsidize expenses for qualifying students of the congregation. A scholarship committee consisting of three members from Boise and three board members from Mészkő collaborate to determine who has met the eligibility requirements of the scholarship. The Mészkői subcommittee provides periodic reports, and accounting for the expenditures under the scholarship fund.
Students receiving the scholarships are responsible for maintaining passing grades and provide a recap of the year. After graduation, and after attaining employment, every student is expected to pay back to the fund 20% of the total scholarship amount (over a five year period). This will help to ensure that future students will have the same opportunities. On behalf of the Partner Church committee, I encourage you to help maintain this worthy cause.
Twenty-five percent of BUUF’s unpledged January plate offering will go to the Boise/Mészkő Annual Scholarship Fund. If you want 100% of your donation to go to the Boise/Mészkő Annual Scholarship Fund, write “Outreach” on the memo line of your check.
And also, thank you to the members and friends who supported the BUUF Choir pilgrimage scholarship program. Thanks to your generosity several choir members have received full or partial scholarships, so they can participate in next June’s tour. 26 choir members plus family members will be traveling to Mészkő and other cities in Transylvania to visit historic Unitarian sites and share the universal language of music.
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Welcoming
Tessa Veto
Y’all are excellent at welcoming. I have never arrived somewhere to be bombarded with so many lovely emails, handshakes, hugs, and hopes. Thank you for choosing me and making me belong. So many times in our society it can be daunting to join a new group, especially one of this size and joyous connectivity. I invite you to be just as welcoming with our newcomers and with each other as you have been with me. I see a thick, thriving community on the cusp of growing deeper connections.
With January’s theme of intention, make the intention to be welcoming. Initiate the interaction. Say “Hello,” to one person you don’t know every Sunday. If you see someone alone, offer for them to sit next to you during service or chat with them a little bit during the coffee fellowship time. As we know, powerful connections are made over coffee and snacks.
Over the past couple of months I have been honing the Inquirers Series to make sure newcomers feel just as welcome as I have. There have been some touching moments already as people come through our doors ready to dig into our community and add in hands to make light the work. My next goal is to help newcomers, as well as members and friends, seeking involvement and volunteer opportunities to find good fits. There is an impressive number of small groups and volunteer opportunities available. If you would like to deepen your connection in this fellowship or are looking for something new to try, contact me and let’s find a good fit for you together.
Welcome to a New Year!
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Our Sr. High Youth Rock a
Regional Youth Leadership Development Conference
The first weekend in December, three of our youth traveled to Spokane, Washington to participate in a Youth Leadership Development Conference sponsored by our Pacific Western
Region. Reports from the conference staff were glowing in praise for our youth! (We, however were not surprised by this at all.) Two of the youth sent in these reports…
From Cora Pine:
My time at the Spokane Youth Leadership Conference has motivated me to be more active in our church and community. Accompanied by our chaperone Belle, we flew to Spokane and got a tour of their downtown. When staying at their church, we met other UUs with similar values and goals. We had two people leading the conference, one of them my age. This inspired us to bring more youth into leadership at our own church. To do this we brainstormed activities for our senior high group and ways to permanently put more youth in leadership positions. We also learned skills for conflict resolution, mediation and ways to be better UUs. After presenting some of these ideas to our senior high class we hope to make RE a more thought-provoking and fun experience. Not many people would call themselves a leader, I used to not, but the skills we learned taught us that anyone can be a leader.
From Emily Bormann:
My trip to the UU Pacific Northwest Youth Leadership Development Conference was eye opening, and taught me countless things about my UU Identity and Leadership style along with restoring my faith in and awareness of the strength possessed by youth. What started as a rather last minute decision to attend (my sister Sophie and I roping Cora Pirie into going two weeks before the trip, at the Senior High sleepover, on the registration deadline) was triggered by much excitement over the potential to improve as leaders and hopes of making friends/meeting fellow UU’s in the process. This experience taught me that, if a classmate or peer asks if I’m religious (to make sure of something – that I’m not naïve or easily offended), I’m able to confidently say yes. This is because I feel comfortable with my faith, and have roots in a community that binds people together.
I was inspired by the deep pool of knowledge and depth of thought that surrounded me at this conference, in both the adult mentors and in the youth (who were all extremely involved in their communities, passionate about social justice, and educated on current events). This conference taught that there are so many ways that Youth can be empowered to take part in the leadership and decision making of their congregation – if they simply are willing to take the initiative and reach out to those who hold power. I was immediately surprised by how truly cool it is to be a UU, and how much I respected, hit it off with, trusted, and connected to these fellow youth. I left this conference with a strong desire to make my Senor High curriculum and format more personal and meaningful to the students, a smile on my face, new true friends, and a heightened awareness of how my faith plays into my interpersonal connections, leadership, and resolution of conflict in my daily life. Realizing this has made me even more confident than I was before in my UU values/values in life, has helped me identify what kind of leader I want to be in the world, and has given me the tools to be this person.
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Welcome Morgan Angus BUUF’s New Childcare Provider
It is with great joy that we introduce our newest employee.
Here are her own words of introduction…
My name is Morgan Angus and I am so excited to be joining the BUUF staff! I have been working with children for five years now all over the US. I am originally from Seattle, WA. I have taken the last four years to travel around the United States with my children’s dad for his job. I have two wonderful children, Harper Drew who is one year old and Lane Bowen who is two years old. They are the light of my life and everything I live for! We, as a family are so blessed to be joining you guys and we look forward to meeting each and every one of you!
Please welcome Morgan Angus to our beloved community!
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What to Anticipate at BUUF in 2018
So much is happening in this vital and growing community, we want to give you a quick look ahead at what is coming in this next year!
Adult Religious Education Re-launch
Thanks to the enthusiastic leadership of Mark McGinnis and team we have a wonderful slate of classes to choose from starting in February! There has been a long expressed desire for more Adult Learning Opportunities and here they are, we hope you will avail yourself of them. Includes classes on “Our Humanist Roots,” “Healing the Heart of Democracy,” “The Preacher in You,” and “Islam: An Artist’s Inquiry.”
Strategic Planning Process
Please plan to join us for our final Congregation Gathering and lunch before the task force begins officially drafting a plan. This special Town Hall will be held Sunday, February 4th following a single worship service at 10:00 am. They will discuss results of the recent survey and share potential initiatives. We hope for a large and diverse crowd of BUUfers. Lunch provided. Children’s activities and childcare available.
Covenanted Partnership & Anniversary Celebration
with Magic Valley UU Fellowship
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Some months ago, we were approached by the small congregation in the Magic Valley about the possibility of establishing a partnership. Smaller congregations need as much support as possible to keep Unitarian Universalism thriving and our board believes that work is central to our mission and a larger congregation. This year, members of both congregations’ boards and other leaders gathered together for an initial conversation about what that might look like. New members, Kacee and John O’Connor, who came from that congregation have offered to lead a task force to help us craft an official partnership covenant, which they hope to present at our annual meeting in May. This year, the Magic Valley congregation celebrates its 25th Anniversary and they have asked us to help them celebrate with a special worship service and party! Our board heartily agreed and plans are underway. We hope you will save-the-date of Sunday, March 4th in the afternoon (time and location TBD) to caravan to Twin Falls for a spectacular celebration!
Exciting and Joyful Annual Giving Drive & Celebration Sunday
With so much happening this spring, we want to give you plenty of notice about the services and events that are part of our Annual Giving Drive. Our primary revenue supporting this congregation’s vision and mission comes from your annual pledges. Each year we hold an Annual Giving Drive and ask you to consider your financial commitment for the coming fiscal year. This drive invites us into a space of gratitude and celebration for all that we are and to live into the possibilities for all that we can be. This year’s drive will dovetail with our Strategic Planning Process, sharing their theme of “Roots & Wings,” focusing on some of the initiatives and areas of investment that arise out of our strategic planning process.
Mark your calendars for these special services:
- Sunday, March 18 – Celebration Sunday – We’ll hold a single service and brunch at a fun off-site location as yet to be determined. This service will kick-off our month-long drive.
- Special Soulful Sundown Coffee House (March date TBD) – Join us to celebrate the talent of BUUF in music, poetry, and more. We’ll gather for a lively and highly participatory service, coffee house style with yummy appetizers and beverages.
- Sunday, April 15th Annual Giving Drive Finale -& Soulful Sunday – We’ll wrap-up our drive with a special Soulful Sunday service at BUUF. Regular worship times of 9:15 & 11:15.
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2018 Regional Assembly
The four districts of the UUA’s Pacific Western Region will gather April 27-29 in Portland, OR for the 2018 Regional Assembly. Speakers include civil rights activist, the Rev. Dr. William Barber; Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, advocate for women’s, immigrant, civil, and human rights; and the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, newly elected UUA president.
Programming includes workshops, worship, district meetings, and an optional social justice activity. A day-long Professional Day designed for religious professionals is planned for Friday, April 27, before the start of Regional Assembly. Discount lodging is available at the Portland DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, site of the Regional Assembly. Childcare and youth programming will be available. Registration opens January 4. Visit the PWR website ( www.uua.org/pwr) for more details.
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Spiritual Exercise – Filling in the Blanks with Intention
It’s not easy to stay true to your deepest intentions. But often it’s even harder to figure out what they are. This exercise assumes that our deepest self already knows our core intentions and our work is to decipher what it wants us to hear. To help, you are invited to fill in the uncompleted sentences and then step back to see what they are trying to tell you. When filling in the blanks, trust your instincts. In other words, don’t spend a lot of time pondering what to put in the blank. Instead just write down the first or second thing that pops in your head. Think of it as a Rorschach test on intention.
1. The most important promise to myself is ___________.
2. Because of me, my children will understand that ___________.
3. I am on this earth to _____________________.
4. At my funeral, the two adjectives I hope people use to describe me are _______ & _____________.
5. When I stop procrastinating, I will __________________.
6. Looking back, I realize that I was born to ___________________.
7. I have always intended to _________ once l I have finished ______________.
- What would you change after giving the completed sentences a second look?
- What surprises you?
- Would your closest friend agree with how you filled in the blanks?
- What 2 or 3 sentences seem to merit your greatest attention right now?
- What single intention are you ready to make based on listening deeply to what the list of completed sentences is trying to tell you?
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Living the Questions on Intention
As always, don’t treat these questions like “homework” or a list that needs to be covered in its entirety. Instead, simply pick the one question that speaks to you most and let it lead you where you need to go. The goal is not to analyze what “welcome” means in the abstract, but to figure out what being a part of a people of welcome means for you and your daily living. So, which question is calling to you? Which one contains “your work”?
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“Intention and Trust”
by Amy Loyd
Today I want to greet joy
Without a trace of suspicion
I want to open my eyes to the light
Without a blink of dread
I want to look at my past
Without a whisper of shame
I want to look at my future
Without a hint of fear
Today I want to dance
Without pausing to think
I want to belly laugh
Without caring who hears
I want to open my arms
and twirl in the sun
Until I fall breathless
free to be myself
full of the joy
that I open to allow
completely letting go
Without even a smudge of suspicion
or a wink of hesitation
That’s my intention
It’s what I want
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