Where I’ll Be

Dear Friends,

Away—during Candidating Week, April 9-18. Out of sight, out of mind. Please do give your full attention to the candidate for settled senior minister, the Rev. Dr. Daniel O’Connell. Take advantage of the multitude of opportunities to get to know the candidate, to ask questions, listen intently, and extend hospitality.

And please, please do be present at worship and immediately following on Sunday, April 18, to cast your ballot.

Remember that Candidating Week is a time for you to get to know the candidate and to decide whether you wish to affirm the recommendation of your Search Committee. They have worked very hard, traveled far, sacrificed evenings and weekends, thought carefully and consulted you fully. Now you can reciprocate by participating on April 18.

Remember as well that Candidating Week is a time for the candidate to get to know the congregation. If you vote to call Daniel, he must likewise decide whether or not to accept your call. It’s a little like dating, but far from blind. Much intentionality and planning have gone into this process. I predict the outcome will be stellar.
And, oh yes, during Candidating Week, as it happens, I will be up the road a few miles at Camp Allen near Navasota where the annual national conference of the UUA accredited interim ministry program will take place. About 40 of us will be put through our paces by an Alban Institute expert on church governance. Then we’ll review the applications received from churches needing interim ministers starting in the fall. After vetting the requests, we’ll decide who should apply where, and off we’ll go. I hope to come to agreement with a congregation by mid-May.

If all goes according to plan, my last Sunday and last day of active service here will be May 23. There should be plenty of opportunity for fond farewells. A little bird tells me an event is being planned for Saturday, May 22, and I’ll want to schedule a time for an informal conversation over coffee and tea for reflections and ruminations on our nearly two years together.

It is not easy for me to leave, but it would be far harder had this congregation not given me such wonderful support, and accomplished so much.

Best,
David

O What a Day!

Dear Friends,

How grand to see the sanctuary full, dancing in the aisles, and general rejoicing in the land. It was a celebration indeed this past Sunday, and for that I am eager to thank all the volunteers who made it possible.

The highlight was certainly the naming of the candidate nominated to be your settled senior minister, my respected and admired colleague, the Reverend Dr. Daniel O’Connell. For the painstaking work that led to this nomination, I salute Ministerial Search Committee members Mary Koch, chair; Lucy Anderson, Carol Burrus, Peter Durkin, Liz Gilbert, Evan Michaelides, and Sheila Whitford.

For all the effort that went into transforming the church into a Mediterranean-Marvel-With-Moonwalk, including hours of setup and cleanup and weeks of preparation, let us place laurel wreaths upon the heads of the members of the Stewardship Team: Sue Prochazka; chair, Joyce Ambler, Thorpe Butler, Caroline Brooks, Evelyn Carlson, Joe Lach, and Leonora Montgomery.

And then there were the singers of the Sanctuary Choir and those who lovingly worked with the choirs of children and youth—to the ultimate delight of us all.
I am inspired by the dedication of these volunteers—the number of hours they devote, the care with which they do their work, and the high standards they set and maintain for themselves. It is such shared ministry that makes for a thriving and worthy church community.

From one glad to be a part of it for another couple of months…

Best,
David

Icebergs Afloat

Dear Friends,

It is said that nine-tenths of an iceberg is underwater, unseen. So it is with the dedicated people on your church staff. Tom Cowen especially comes to mind. Tom volunteered hundreds of hours (really) to create our evening with crusading journalist Ellen Goodman. What a gift she has been through decades of syndicating good sense about the role of women, gay rights, and a woman’s right to choose. And what a gift Tom gave us, along with his team of volunteers and generous sponsors of a grand evening. And didn’t Natalie Browne do us proud in her welcoming remarks?

Tom works for you full-time as facilities manager, tending to the countless details of managing a complex, maintenance-intense building. A portion of his time is devoted to administrative support, including production of the weekly Sunday service bulletin and the Blast. And then…he volunteers time directing fundraising projects and leading the Nature & Spirituality Chalice Circle.

Natalie, who has years and years of experience directing a religious education program in another church, guides our growing Sunday School for children and youth, and supports the expanding adult program offerings and special events. She commands the confidence of all ages.

The Reverend Adam Robinson supports the pastoral care program, the Welcome Team, Reverend Dr. Thandeka’s “What Moves Us” launch, serves as liaison to community groups like SEARCH and HATCH, and works with me to plan and lead worship. I notice that Adam is loved and trusted here, and for good reason.

Director of Administration Peggy Harvey could well be called the executive director of this outfit. She holds in care not only finance and administration, but the total program, mission and ministry of the church as well. Peggy does what in some congregations would be two or three jobs (bookkeeper, controller, newsletter editor, staff supervisor, executive assistant to the senior minister, and person-who-cares-about-everything-and-everybody.)

I’ve written here recently about the music staff, and will heap no more praise upon their heads now, except to say that Jason Oby’s high profile in the Houston music community stands us in good stead, and that Bob Fazakerly has given extra effort and virtuosity to this congregation for many, many years.

And we should not overlook the reliability and hard work of sextons Hillman and Aaron Laws, nor the ever-improving child care and nursery directed by Maria Nieto.
They all do much more than I will take space to tell you about. They all do more than is expected, and most likely more than you ever imagined.

They are the warmest icebergs ever.

Of course, the mission of the staff is to support and empower the congregation. We can accomplish very little on our own. The work of the church is done by the members and friends of the church, but there is so much to be done to make your ministry possible and effective.

To support the staff, keeping it at the current level of time commitment and excellence, will require a successful Stewardship Drive, now underway.

Please consider giving the ‘gold standard’ of five percent or more of income.

And because cold hard facts indicate that a twenty percent increase in giving will be needed this coming fiscal year, beginning in July, please consider increasing your pledge over last year by at least twenty percent.

The Stewardship Drive theme is “Giving by Heart.” There can be no doubt that your staff members give much from their hearts to serve you.

Best,
David

Maybe You’re Wondering

Dear Friends,

Why is your church making such a fuss about the upcoming evening with Ellen Goodman?

Maybe because she is one of the most insightful of contemporary commentators on issues that affect our personal lives and political choices. Because she has been called “an American original,” and “an innovative force in American journalism.” Because this Pulitzer Prize winner speaks to our hearts about the power of friendship, reproductive rights, and the care of children.

And, maybe because this is a fundraiser for First Church.

Tom Cowen and a team of volunteers have worked tirelessly to bring Ellen Goodman to Houston (Friday, March 12, Ensemble Theatre), and to secure generous underwriting. A sold-out house would make a big difference in First Church finances. So far, tickets are moving like molasses. We need your help.

Planned Parenthood just sent out a promo for the event to their thousands of supporters in the Houston area. More of that sort of thing is essential. Think about the organizations with which you are connected, and see if they won’t send an email copying the Ellen Goodman flyer from our website. Then click on the link yourself, as I just did. In about three minutes, I had my confirmation for Ellen’s presentation, and for a private reception with this wonderful woman.

For many years, Ellen Goodman has been giving us a steady stream of good common and uncommon sense about issues that affect our everyday lives. Let us say ‘thank you’ by filling the auditorium—such an easy and memorable way to support your church, and your values.

Best,
David

Jason Oby Week

Dear Friends,

By the power vested in all of us at First Church, let us hereby declare this past week JASON OBY WEEK in honor of the above and beyond service and gifts of our director of music. On Saturday evening, Jason orchestrated and starred in the Valentine’s Day concert, a delight of pop standards. Bringing together the excellent professional musicians who joined him obviously involved much time and effort. While he was performing this miracle, Jason was also arranging for the loan of handbells, making a perilous trip with the budding Bell Choir to fetch the bells and rehearse (a minor accident occurred, no doubt caused by a motorist who was not a music lover). Our worship on Sunday was unusual and I hope original in several respects, all made possible by Jason with able assistance from the singers of the choir. The bells were played so well, and their rendition of Spirit of Life so moving, that there is talk of the church someday owning a set of handbells.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Jason will join the Rev. Dr. Thandeka, our visiting spiritual guide, for another Evensong this Friday, February 19 at 7:00 p.m. Those who participated in the previous Evensong have been glowing ever since. And then, at 4:00 p.m. on March 20, to cap off the social justice planning weekend with Richard Ford, Jason is planning what some of us might once have called a Hootenanny — a concert for peace and justice featuring favorite folk songs from the anti-war and civil rights movements. Each Sunday and often in between, this gifted music professor, talented tenor soloist, and charming human being sees to it that we are fed and nurtured by marvelous music. Thank you, Jason.

Take my class, please. This is Ash Wednesday, and so begins the season of Lent. It has been observed in our religious movement more by taking something up than by giving something up, as we reclaim the ancient tradition of the season as a time of learning and contemplation. There are any number of “scriptures” you might want to study between now and Easter, from the poems of Mary Oliver to the sutras of Eastern faiths. But if you have not methodically, in a liberal context, lately considered the scope and power of our Great Western Parable and Story Book, allow me to invite you to sign up for the six Tuesday evening “Reading the Bible Again for the First Time” classes I’ll be leading starting on February 23. You can call or email the church office to sign up, or just hit ‘reply’ and I’ll take care of it for you.

Best,
David

Super Sunday

Dear Friends,
My thanks to Elizabeth Long for assisting Jason and me in arranging the wonderful contribution to our worship made by our guests from the Houston Blue Mosque. The chanting of verses from the Koran by Iman Mustafa Yigit and Onur Kaya seemed to deeply touch the congregation.

And then for something completely different, Bob Fazakerly coaxed from the ivories a rousing version of “When the Saints Go Marching In,” a musical prayer that stirred the fans among us, and was indeed answered.

After the service, I joined ten young adults from the congregation for lunch and lively conversation, and thus caught a heartening glimpse of the future of First Church. Then on to join the Befrienders who hosted an Auction party; these are the folks who are dedicated to a listening ministry— they are there to listen to us when we need that, as we all do from time to time.

All in all, a good Sunday for a grand tour of the range and breadth of this church, from moving times of meditation to stimulating and caring exchange of ideas and a sampling of the ministry of the membership.

There is of course more to come of this caliber, most especially the What Moves Us event on Saturday the 20th with Thandeka. More than one hundred participants are expected for this day-long exploration of the emotions that feed our faith, building toward a strong small group ministry that will make sure all here feel that they are known and loved. See if you can’t get in on this event: email WhatMovesUs@FirstUU.org.

Best,
David

Good Questions

Dear Friends,

The Board Town Hall informational meeting on Sunday included time for several good questions and comments from those who packed the Fireside Room. I won’t try to quote the questions here, but rather offer a perspective (and some facts) on what I heard as major areas of interest.
What the heck is Policy Governance?

Essentially, there are two ways to run a church. The traditional way we can call The Committee System: Most decisions are made by committees composed of pretty much whoever wants to be on them. The Board is generally limited to receiving and approving committee reports. Things move slowly with considerable confusion about who should be approving what, and members spend a great deal of time doing committee business. The system worked fairly well in an earlier era when women were not in the workforce and the world moved at a pace appropriate to snail mail and mimeograph machines.

And then there is the system the First Church Board has been exploring for the past couple of years: Policy Governance was developed by educational psychologist John Carver, who has been active in Unitarian churches and in the American Humanist Association. Carver designed the system for non-profits based on his experience as a leader of health care organizations. It has swept the globe. Dozens of UU churches have adopted the model, including leading congregations like Dallas, Atlanta, and Unity Unitarian in St. Paul.

With this way of doing things, the board is charged with listening carefully and constantly to the congregation, charting the course, identifying priorities, and holding paid and volunteer staff accountable for achieving the ends the board sets out. Churches find that the Carver model makes it easier to get things done, empowers congregants, and frees members from much committee drudgery so that more time and attention can be given to spiritual growth and service to others.

Another good question: How are church finances and budgeting handled?

In short, budgeting starts and ends with the congregation. Administrator Peggy Harvey and I ask for detailed requests from most church groups. Open hearings are held to discuss spending priorities. Financial advisors from the congregation are consulted. A draft budget is prepared and presented to the Board. More open hearings are held. Finally, the budget is presented at the annual meeting for a vote of the congregation.

But why are we offering such a generous salary for a new senior minister?

Unfortunately, numbers tossed about at the Town Hall meeting were, in fact, too high by half. The salary being offered is less than was offered me, and less that the combined compensation previous ministers were paid. The salary is in line with denominational guidelines, and were it much less, there would be little interest in the job on the part of the most promising candidates.

How about this big deficit we are running?

We’re not. Although the congregation authorized some deficit spending this year, the church is on target to avoid it.

I know that these are difficult times financially for many. It is understandable that there would be anxiety about money. But please know that church finances are healthy, member contributions are generous, and spending is in line with what the congregation has authorized.

As always, I welcome your questions and comments—about these matters and all else.

Best,
David

My Kind of Town

Dear Friends,

I need your help. If we work together, we can stamp out a rare but harmful malady, congraphobia, the fear of congregational meetings.
The most frequent symptom is being somewhere else. This seems to be caused by anxiety about hearing opinions expressed which you do not share, by the same persons who always seem to have opinions you do not share, and who state them in ways that are sometimes a bit negative and self-righteous.
Sadly, if left untreated, congraphobia can result in those who are prone to abrasive unhappiness being virtually the ONLY people who come to forums and town hall-style gatherings.

I don’t think that is the situation here at First Church, but an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure. My kind of town hall meeting, the kind I think is in store on January 31,
– is convened in a spirit of a loving community and shared purpose;
– has as its goal active listening and learning.
– is never intimidated or dominated by its most opinionated participants.
– relies on those of good will and open mind to participate fully.
– is not anxious about differences of opinion (which are seldom fatal) and concludes with participants having a direct experience of what our recent guest Dr. Judit Gellérd has taught us: We need not think alike to love alike.

See you at the meeting.

Best,
David

Happy Birthday Simpsons

Dear Friends,

It seemed odd to me when I read in the worship bulletin one Sunday at a church I served in California that the chancel flowers were dedicated “To My Parents, Homer & Marge, from Lisa.”

Must be a joke, I thought. But not at all. Matt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons” and alter ego Bart, grew up attending Unitarian religious education classes, and some members of his family continue to be active in our churches, including Lisa, who co¬chaired the R.E. committee.

As The New York Times noted last week, The Simpsons deftly blends highbrow humor with slapstick cartoon antics, social satire, irony, parody, and political commentary. Each summer, here at First Church, the middle school-age youth eagerly anticipate the much-loved Gospel According to the Simpsons curriculum featuring episodes as springboards for discussions about greed, racial and sexual equality, and the social and political implications of what we buy and eat.

And so I join in the 20th anniversary celebration this week of the television version of The Simpsons by reflecting on the creativity our religious education program may well be fostering in our children and youth. Not all our children will grow up to be famous cartoonists, nor president of the United States, nor legendary journalists (Barack Obama attended Sunday School at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu; Walter Cronkite here at First Church), but wonderful things do happen in their classes where love trumps dogma and creativity and critical thinking are encouraged.

None of it could happen without the many, many volunteers who give so much of themselves to our children and youth. You are invited to join in a salute at the Teacher Appreciation Dinner starting at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 23 in Channing Hall. It’s a pot luck, and more information will gladly be given if you email your request to natalie@firstuu.org.

Bart Simpson writes on the blackboard during the birthday episode of the long-running show, “The world may end in 2012, but this show won’t,” which we might adapt as, “Our R.E. students may grow up and their classes end, but the contributions made to their lives by their volunteer teachers never will.”

Best,
David

New Year’s Wisdom Ancient and Modern

Dear Friends,

Two New Year’s Resolutions I commend to you. Both come to us from ancient wellsprings of faith.

One: “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.” Some of us may recall this as a commandment, but would better receive it as a friendly suggestion for sanity and self-care. It is simply healthy to set aside one day each week for worship, spiritual quest, rest, recreation, and relationship. No church business, no electronic gadgets to separate us from ourselves and others, no frenzied shopping and running of errands. Sabbath.

Two: Tithe. It need not be taken literally, but rather resolve to be a generous giver, and decide now what proportion of your income you wish to give away. This is a spiritual practice that will ground you and feed your soul.

And if you are able, let me urge you to make a generous end-of-the year gift now to First Church. Some of you, I know, have stretched as far as possible to give all you can to support the work of this church; and I know that some of you could well afford an additional gift of one hundred, one thousand, or even several thousand dollars. Let me urge those of you who can to, right now, give on line. Or, write a check before the end of the year and drop it the offering basket on Sunday, or mail it to the church.

Speaking of this Sunday, you should know that you have a treat in store. Gini Courter, the Moderator of our Movement, is a powerful speaker. Don’t miss this opportunity to be with her.

With the rare and precious opportunity you have to worship and study theology with the Reverend Dr. Thandeka in the New Year in mind, allow me to share with you two simple statements of my own theology as encapsulated in my Christmas Eve invocation and message. They are below. If you were not able to be with us for the music, drama and candle glow of the evening, may these be small and far-from-adequate samples of a holy night. Happy New Year!

Best, David

Christmas Eve Invocation First Church Houston 2009

Welcome now to this church where we practice love beyond belief, and where there is always a place for you, and a need for you to join us if you can in transforming lives and our community.

Believing as we do in the noble things that humankind will do this coming year and in a multitude of new years to come, we gather without fearsome dogma or creed freely to embrace the truth and insights that come to us in story and symbol, in experience and in science.

This is a night for story—told in word and song. Our worship this evening was inspired by the Festival of Lessons and Carols introduced in the chapel of King’s College Cambridge at the close of the First World War. It was intended as a fresh expression for a Christmas Eve that would introduce a much needed and long-overdue era of peace on earth.

We have adapted the festival of lessons and carols to fit both our love for the Christmas story, AND our inclinations toward universality and inclusivity. Yet, it is hoped that we retain the spirit of the original—love born into a world in need of greater light, and of peace on earth.

May it then be our delight to hear the story anew. But first, let us pray for the needs of this whole world:

For a new spirit of goodwill and unity among nations, and among those we elect to govern us;

Let us at this time remember the poor and marginalized, the cold, hungry and oppressed, the lonely and unloved; the infirm aged and the little children; and all those who are deluded and enraged in the name of the holy and the sacred. May we then be instruments of peace serving all of these.

In the name of all that is holy,

Amen

Why Christmas Was Worth Saving

A Christmas Eve Message  from  Interim Senior Minister David Keyes

A delightful young woman said to me: “You know, in this church, I got Jesus back.” And I said, “Tell me more.” “You see,” she said, “I used to hate Christmas. It was all about fake happiness, and I was miserable. “All about crass commercialism wrapped up in a red Santa suit, and who would get the most presents. “All about believing the literal truth of impossible fairy tales. “All about a Jesus whose birth saved a world I knew still needed saving.”

And so I asked…what happened?

She said, “I found that there is a place where fake happiness can be replaced with honesty—where people care about who I really am, not the face I put on. “I found out I could team up with others to make the holidays a time to give to those most needy. “I found out that meaning comes to us in so many beautiful ways—in metaphor, story, symbol, ritual. I can let it wash over me, and I don’t have to pick it apart. “I found out that Christmas is really about Jesus being born IN ME, a way of saying that hope is always being born, and is always needing to be born. “In this church, I got Jesus back, and I don’t hate Christmas anymore. I couldn’t do without it.”

She convinced me (and she is made up of many) that our ancestors in faith did a good thing when we, the left wing of Protestantism, used our considerable 19^th century clout to save Christmas from being outlawed or abandoned as pagan debauchery. …Saved Christmas to make it a living symbol of the rights and needs of children—Children who were being abused, worked to death, abandoned, oppressed, and essentially, in millions of cases, deprived of all the delights of childhood.

I am glad that our ancestors in faith, in churches like this one, organized, spoke out, saved Christmas.

In many ways, it needs to be saved again—and we must be about that work.

-Comforting those made especially lonely and depressed by all the

forced merriment.

-Pooling and focusing our giving to benefit the poor, not the big box

and mail order merchants.

-Teaching a deeper way to be religious, and unveiling truth hidden

from many. In all these ways, we need, once again, to save Christmas.

Children still suffer. For many, there will be no presents, no joy, little food. To put a holiday dinner on the table, to buy gifts for a family of six whose bread winner has lost her job—these are some of the ways that the Ministers’ Discretionary Fund is used. I know that those of you who are able will give generously.