May 2018 Newsletter

Lifting hearts, broadening minds, enacting justice,
and honoring our interconnected web!

What Does it Mean to be a People of Creativity?

Courtesy of Soul Matters Sharing Circle
A UU program for theme-based ministry
 
When we talk about creativity, we celebrate the fun piece about dreaming and leave off the hard piece of making our imaginings real. And it’s not just the hard part; it’s the scary part too. You have to be brave to try new things and fail. Being creative and unique can cause the crowd to cheer and swoon; it can also lead to being laughed at and excluded from the group. Yes, there is joy, beauty and play in creativity, but there is also insecurity, loneliness and self-doubt. Which means that this month is not just about imagination, artistry and self-expression, but also courage.
Once that’s in view, it’s clear that we also need to talk about “co-creativity” this month as well. Something as daring as creativity is dangerous if we try to do it alone. Indeed, where did we get the silly idea that artists and inventors are isolated, independent geniuses? When it comes to myths about creativity, that one tops the list. We need to remind each other that there is no such thing as a “person of creativity,” only “people of creativity.” New ideas come from the clash of debate. New art emerges only after inspiration from those who’ve gone before. Better forms of community are built on the back of those who have toiled and sacrificed long before we put ourselves on the line. There are no creators without companions.

It’s all a way of reminding us that the secret to creative self-expression is staying connected to each other. Those sacred sources of inspiration inside us – our imagination, unique voice and inner muses – are like wild animals; they are hungry to run free but are also shy and easily scared away. They want to come out and play but will only do so when coaxed and cared for by the inspiration and support of others. So, in the end, maybe the most important question this month is not just “What do you want to create?” but also “Who are your partners?”
With gratitude for all our sources of creativity – those within us and those all around us – let us begin.

Creativity as Spiritual Practice

Rev. Sara LaWall
 
For a long time, I never thought of myself as a “creative type.” I always thought a creative person was like artist or poet or playwright and while I certainly pursued creative activities–I received a BFA in Theatre, after all, I was never one who focused on creating something new but rather on bringing someone else’s project to life on the stage. I remember when Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, came out and I dove in with fervor hoping to increase my creativity. Alas, I failed her prescriptive program of morning mages and creative, fun-centered, play-filled dates. My perfectionist tendencies got the best of me and I gave up, moving on to other pursuits.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized creativity takes on many forms and can be found in our lives in so many different ways. In my current professional pursuits, I am creating all the time and much of that creation is in collaboration with others. I am creating worship, sermons, projects, vision, and strategy. I love this work because it allows me spaces to use my creative imagination in a wide variety of ways. All this is to acknowledge that my theology of creativity has shifted significantly over the years. Now I believe that creativity lives inside all of us and is expressed in so many ways. The only question is, how do we recognize it, nurture it, and share it with the world.

Sure, there are times when the creative muse fails to show up; when I am struggling to tap into what many people call “The Flow” of creative endeavor. And there are also times when my faithful companions of fear, self-doubt, a self-critical judgment decide to jump in the car with me and are vying for who gets to drive. Creativity author and explorer, Elizabeth Gilbert, shares that these companions are always around, but we have to be the one in charge who relegates them to the back seat. Sometimes this is easier said than done.

Creativity, like all our monthly themes, can be a beautiful spiritual practice and open up all sorts of insights, experiences, and possibilities for transformation. I regularly work to exercise my creative muscles in all facets of my life because I find it helps me stay open to what the present moment and my own inner wisdom has to teach me. Making it a spiritual practice can be as simple as ensuring some kind of regular creative act occurs in your day or week. Start writing a poem a day (I try to write a prayer a day). Paint, draw, go ourside and plant things, play music, sing, dance. Just remember it isn’t about being the best or even good, it is about letting the creativity flow through you.
I also connect creativity with the spiritual practice of justice work. As Unitarian Universalists, building the world we dream about is a creative endeavor. Being a faithful witness and advocate for our UU principles and values and holding our leaders accountable to those requires creativity because otherwise, it is all too easy to burn out an get stuck in a spiral of anger, frustration, and despair. Creativity can help us all create new visions, new perspectives, and new dreams worthy of our individual and collective pursuits.

Message from Your President

Matthew Sabin
This past weekend I had the pleasure of representing BUUF at the Pacific Western Region’s Regional Assembly, and while there the Pacific Northwest District’s Annual Business Meeting where I was a voting delegate. I was not alone, there were five other folks from BUUF there for the weekend as well.
We heard stirring words, moving sermons, and excellent music. UUA President Reverend Susan Frederick Gray spoke at the opening ceremony Friday night, and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal gave the keynote on Saturday morning.
More impactful for me however was the opportunity to get a taste of the theme “Big Faith, No Borders.” Sitting in a chair in the Sanctuary, or discussing weighty matters and minutia over coffee at BUUF, I sometimes feel like we’re the beginning and end of liberal religion in the world, as is easy to think in this mostly conservative religious state. Being one of six from our little corner of UUism in a room of over six hundred was a little daunting and a lot awe inspiring. (Does that make BUUF a part of the one-percenters?)
As we prepare for BUUF’s Annual Meeting it is easy to get taken up in the importance of what we’re doing locally. Adopting a forward thinking plan and reaching out to our neighbors are a really big deal.

Extending BUUF’s one-percent of Regional Assembly out, it seems plausible that a quarter-million people were represented at that assembly. Imagine the impact of what we’re up to here in the Treasure Valley so extended. It makes me feel small to think of my place in that many, but the effect so many can have on the world is inspiring.

Perfection as Oppression 

Tessa Veto
Social Justice/Membership Coordinator

This last week I attended Regional Assembly for the Pacific Western Regionof our Unitarian Universalist Association. The professional day was a profound experience, one that capitalized and expanded upon on many of my budding beliefs. One concept that particularly stood out was the idea of perfection as oppression.
In our society we utilize the expectation of perfection to bring order to our social systems and spheres. We expect perfect conformity to norms and anything outside of that perfection is judged as morally wrong. This is the foundation for ableism, which is in turn the foundation of racism, sexism, and really any other oppressive force. If you are not able to complete a task perfectly, as expected, you are judged to be worth less than those who are able. Both those in power or with privilege, and those without internalize this perfection.
I highly encourage each of you to begin a practice of noticing when the expectation of perfection creeps into your life. When you expect yourself or others to complete a task perfectly, consider the harm that expectation may be creating. Are you mentally diminishing the inherent worth of yourself or of another when a task is not perfectly performed?
This is a deep personal struggle for me. Whatever anxiety or depression I may feel almost always relates back to my self expectation of perfection. When I am able to recognize the oppressive way in which perfectionism manifests in my life, I am able to take a step back and accept that good enough is good enough. It is far more important to enjoy life and encourage self expression than it is to be boxed in by perfection.
With this month’s theme of creativity, I encourage your practice of letting go of perfection to begin in art. Draw something, doodle something, create something and allow yourself to deeply appreciate it for what it is, as it is. Begin to look at people and their actions in the same way, without judgement and with a deep appreciation for them as they are. If you are looking to really deepen this practice, volunteer with or in service of people who are “other” to you. We have a lot of opportunities for volunteering here. Feel free to reach out to me to find a good fit for you.

May’s Plate Partner:

Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood believes in the fundamental right of each individual, throughout the world, to manage his or her fertility, regardless of the individual’s income, marital status, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or residence. We believe that respect and value for diversity in all aspects of our organization are essential to our wellbeing. We believe that reproductive self-determination must be voluntary and preserve the individual’s right to privacy. We further believe that such self-determination will contribute to an enhancement of the quality of life and strong family relationships.

Twenty-five percent of BUUF’s unpledged May plate offering will go to Planned Parenthood. If you want 100% of your donation to go to them, write “Outreach” on the memo line of your check.

Shazam! Find the Wonder and Marvel Within
and Let it Be a World-Changing Lantern in Religious Exploration

Emmie Schlobohm, Director of Religious Exploration for Children & Youth
Welcome to the Marvel-ous Month of May when we’ll be lifting up the wonder of our religious exploration sacred spaces all month long. Be you a teller of stories, a builder of ideas – of the mind, heart, or hands, an artist of any kind, or someone with a gift of presence and attention, you are invited to bring your whole and holy self into our joyful community this summer and beyond. Our hero’s journey in RE is to foster creativity among the children and youth and adults. As an adult participant/guide, you weave your shared gifts together with others in our creative spaces to create an incubator of ideas for questioning minds of all ages. Still not sure? Consider this…
Did you know that the early roots of the Sunday School model were steeped in justice work? The aim for the children was to foster a sense and a movement toward justice for the poor and disenfranchised – those on the margins. Opportunities and possibilities for this work in our RE spaces are boundless. Think of creating art of all kinds as resistance. Envision our congregation introducing children and youth to art as sacred, to art as protest, to art as self-expression, to art as justice. To create change, our children and youth need to learn and lead the way in dismantling/recognizing institutionalized racism so their world will look different from ours in a very significant ways. Whose voices are not being heard by our children and youth? Do you have something to tell them? A story they need to hear and be a part of?
Our RE Team works together crafting our time incorporating our UU superpowers, also known as the Seven Principles, all in the name of co-creating a more just and kind world. We strive to work together, all ages, to each build our own UU identity and to deepen our awareness of the the work to be done within ourselves, and among and beyond our beloved BUUF community. This month, and always, we invite you to consider sharing the cherished gifts you bring to our table. Who knows? As you embrace the opportunity to share them with our children and youth, you may discover your secret identity or your own superpower. Holy community, Batman… may it be so!
Reflections from my Regional Assembly Experience
This past month, I was able to attend our Pacific Western Region’s assembly where several hundred UUs of all ages gathered together for learning, worship, and community. Any regional or national gathering is an experience everyone should strive to be a part of. I also attended the professional development day prior to the actual assembly. From the moment I stepped into the room on Friday morning with a large group of my colleagues – ministers, musicians, administrators, and religious educators – until I got in my car to drive home from Portland on Sunday afternoon, I was caught up in the wonder that is an intentional UU gathering. I have pages of notes and will incorporate the ideas and inspirational sharings that I was able to absorb among all those UU souls. I would be glad to talk with any of you about the amazing music and worship tools and practices geared to inspire us all to “risk out loud” that were shared by our professional day presenters, Rev Erika Hewitt and Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout. I’m still singing the songs we sung together throughout that day.
Since our current strategic plan holds up our desire to engage more fully with our senior high youth, I chose to participate in workshops focusing on ministry with youth – Getting Proximate presented by the Pacific Western Region’s Multicultural Team and Ministering to the Wider Community – Youth on the Move. Both of these workshops were presented by teams of youth and young adults who are called to engage young people spiritually and in justice work, and to bring the UU message to the greater community. The theme throughout both workshops was incorporating spiritual practices that ground us in our faith and strategies and examples of how youth are engaging in the UU Universe outside of their congregations. I look forward to collaborating with members of our congregation and colleagues in the intermountain area to create opportunities for our youth to engage and grow within this exciting UU context.

Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning Task Force
Our draft plan is now available!
Click HERE to read it.
The Strategic Planning Task Force invites you to attend one of their open forums to discuss the plan in its draft form. The Task Force will present the final draft for a vote to adopt at our upcoming annual meeting on May 20.

Strategic Planning Open Forums:

Sundays, April 22 & April 29 after each service in the library (roughly 10:45 & 12:45).
Who are we called to be in these times? 
Who are we called to serve?
What matters most at this moment?
 
It has been seven years since BUUF last created a strategic plan. Since then, we have called a new minister, we have grown, and we are financially healthy. Last fall, the Board appointed a Strategic Planning Task Force to create a process for developing a new strategic plan.
We are called to be a haven of radical welcome, deep connection and spiritual growth and learning for all ages and identities. We are called to be a visible presence in our community with a heart for justice; to make love visible in the world and to create the change we wish to see.
We know there is a vital need for the communities and the voices of our liberal religious tradition in these times. We cannot exist for ourselves alone–and we never have, really. Our Unitarian and Universalist heritage has always been connected to the ideals of serving the greater good, the other, the vulnerable; the ideals of reaching within to examine our own spiritual selves while also reaching out beyond our walls – always with an eye toward building the kingdom of heaven here on earth. The initiatives in this plan are inspired by this call and vision.

Promoting the Democratic Process in Our Congregations

Please join us on Sunday, May 20th 
at 3:00pm for our annual Congregational Meeting. 

As a church community governed by the congregation, this meeting is the chance for members to uphold our 5th principle: “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.” We hold this meeting every year so our membership is given to opportunity to exercise its democratic right and vote on the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, elect new board members, pass social justice resolutions and other action items on the agenda. This voting power is a benefit of membership and foundational to our UU identity and principles.

But we are more than just a voting block, we are also a beloved community. So we gather every year to also remind ourselves of our commitment to that pursuit, to the fulfillment of the mission and vision of this fellowship, and to practicing right relationship with one another. For as much as we uphold and promote the principles of democracy, we equally promote the values and aspirations of our shared covenant. We understand that we all have opinions and deeply held beliefs about certain issues and that they might be at odds with others in our fellowship. We also recognize that conflict can be an opportunity for spiritual growth and learning as a community. We seek to create a space where all voices can be heard and respected, even if we disagree. We seek to create a space where we can speak our own individual truths in love and know that love comes back to us. We week to put beloved community over our own needs and to remember the greater impact on our world. This is the invitation inherent in practicing our democratic principles in a church community.

The board has put together a full agenda with opportunities to adopt our new strategic plan, pass a gun safety social justice resolution as well as the usual budget and board members. This is also an opportunity for you to hear an overview of our year together and all we have accomplished from your Board President, Matthew Sabin and your minister, Rev. Sara LaWall. You vote matters and we hope you will make an effort to attend and participate.

There are several action items planned for the meeting with accompanying documents for your review prior to the meeting. Please see more information on our website, click HERE.

Spiritual Exercise – The Big Art of Your Life

“All the arts we practice are apprenticeship. The big art is our life.”
– M.C. Richards
You don’t have to know how to use a paintbrush or put words into poetry to be an artist. Creation is something we do with our very living. We are all composing numerous projects and pieces with our relationships, activism, parenting and jobs. And yet we don’t often think of our daily living that way. So this exercise asks us to put our life through this artistic lens. To do so, meditate and reflect on this question this month:
What am I building, constructing, composing, planting or recreating with my life?
Here is a way to engage the question and make it more concrete:
Make a List of Your “Life Projects”:
Take a day, or a week, and make a list of what you have created or are creating with your life. For instance, your job is surely more than “putting in hours.” You are creating something with your time and talent and putting it out there into the world. Our children are also shaped by our creativity. Parenting is surely a sacred “life project.” What would you add to the list? When your days come to an end and you assemble your “life’s portfolio,” what pieces of beauty and creativity will fill those pages?
   After you’ve made a list of your “life projects,” take some time to ask those close to you what they would add. How do they see you composing “pieces of art” with your life?
   Come to your group ready to share what surprised you most about your list and what you learned by trying to figure out what to add to it.

Living the Questions on Creativity

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”?
  • Do you know what are you building, constructing, composing, planting or recreating with your life?
  • When was the last time you created (or helped create) something that will outlive you?
  • There’s creativity in tearing things down. What in your life needs creatively deconstructed so new life has room to grow?
  • When was the last time you woke up feeling like the new day was a blank canvass?

Poetry for the Soul

“Each New Day”
by Rev. Peter Friedrich


Why is this blank page
staring back at me,
mocking, like an affliction,
and fraught with dread?
How can it hold such sway,
this simple emptiness?
Might it instead be a gift
left on my doorstep overnight,
waiting to be broken open
with the dawn?
A present, eager to emerge
if only I had the sense
to hold the paper
over a candle flame,
its lemon juice message
appearing, like magic,
clear and true?
Each new day is like this,
pure air, devoid of density,
but for the weight of our own
invention.
Birds do not worry the morning
or fret the rising sun.
They wait, expectant,
until its rays kiss their downy necks.
Then, stretching,
they turn to face the day,
And sing.