The Hard Road of Compassion

Last Sunday I guest preached at White Bear Church on the topic of choosing awareness. I cited great thinkers like Pema Chodron and Thich Nhat Han. The idea is that if we can choose awareness to our lives and others. As we practice awareness our compassion increases and hopefully the actions of compassion follow.

Upon travelling we had left our newly adopted cat in the care of my Mother-in-law for the weekend.

We adopted Chewy and Obi from the local shelter a few weeks back. These were young cats with lots of energy and health. After a week or so, Chewy began to have signs of an eye infection. I thought it was a blocked tear duct so I tried to massage it and hoped it would clear. As it moved to both eyes we took him to the vet. He had also begun to show signs of lethargy. We were shocked when he turned up with a 104 temperature and dehydration. The vet gave him the works in major antibiotics, hydrated him with a water bag, and took tests.

The eye infection did not clear with eye drops and antibiotics. By last weekend we were very concerned about his health, he barely moved or ate. We thought he was battling the fever and tried to treat his symptoms. Upon our return from White Bear he appeared to have only improved some and yet his eyes were still infected. They took tests and eventually called back to let us know that he had strong signs of Feline Infectious Peritontis. This vibrant and loving cat who was not quite a year old was given a fatal diagnosis. We could expect him to deteriorate and have a painful death, made comfortable perhaps by drugs. He would live uncomfortably for perhaps a few weeks and months.

We made the best choice we knew to make. We chose to give Chewy a peaceful ending. Based on the advice of our vet and the information we found this was the best way we knew to exercise our love for our new family member.

Writing my sermon last week I did not know that we'd be practicing a hard form of loving kindness. It is a terrible choice and power to end life as a compassionate act. It feels kind in action, but oh so hard on the inside. We played and loved on him this morning. My five-year old hugged him and tagged him with string. My soon to be eight-year old said that he would keep him in his heart for the rest of his life.

Life is suffering, but certainly there is also joy in these moments. There is joy in the purr of loving cat. There is grace in the wisdom of children.

General Assembly

As a movement we continue to struggle between rationale religion and the deep calls of emotive heart-felt spirituality. Nick Page and the youth bridging service both captured the rich promise of moving and deep worship while still balancing our diversty of belief. The future of Unitarian Universalism lies in this balance. This is not the wintry words of 60's humanism nor blind emotionalism...this is the evolution of our movement into realizing the relational quality of religion. This will be the future of UUiism.
....And the peoplen said AMEN.

Top 10 Count Down of First Year in Ministry

First year of ministry in Eau Claire

#10 I know what dessert bars,
walleye, and hot dish mean. Ken
Adler, an umbrella will not keep
snow off my head. I can get my kids to school in snow
pants, boots, hats, gloves, and ready to survive -20.
#9 Learning how to walk, drive, and live in snow, ice,
and below zero temperatures. Snow is heavy; not
light and fluffy to shovel. Southerners can do it!
#8 The people here in Eau Claire are awesome.
#7 The unfolding process of learning how to be a
multigenerational congregation.
#6 Wednesday night services and dinners. (The skit
about the Lepps - Tom with a fake moustache was
hilarious!)
#5 La Befana, Fire Communion and other fantastic
multigenerational services
#4 Experiencing the Harvest Auction!
#3 Doing the Cupid Shuffle at the youth group lockin.
I was so relevant!
#2 Twenty-two inches of snow and we still had
service! We were one of the few congregations in
town still conducting services. Take that snow and
cold!
#1 Being ordained and installed as Lifespan Minister
in November 2010.



SUMMER AND AWAY!

I will be focusing on rest and renewal during my time off. Part of being a good minister is to have time for study, reflection, and writing. This summer I will be attending General Assembly, studying and writing in preparation for next year's sermons and Lifespan Sundays(Children's Chapel), and also some personal spiritual retreat. I will be going South for both General Assembly and to celebrate my nephew's graduation from High School. Our family is also excited to be camping at Edisto Beach in South Carolina this June. I will be away from June 6th-July 26th.

The Buddha said, "Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men(women)
cannot live without a spiritual life." Play is important spiritual work! Play in the sand, watch a movie, and perhaps even finger paint. Find what healthfully feeds your soul and do it!