No one likes wrinkles. Whether in our clothing or elsewhere. Is it possible to accept them and just move on, or does our culture of perfection hinder us from doing so? We are experiencing a wrinkle in our time right now. Let’s explore acknowledging it and embracing the possibilities of what’s to come.
Verdis LeVar Robinson (he/him or they) is the Lenora Montgomery Scholar of Excellence at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, where he is a candidate for a Master of Divinity and is a Candidate for the Unitarian Universalist ministry. He is currently finishing up an ministerial internship at the Unitarian Church of Montpelier. Verdis holds degrees in History, African-American Studies, and Music Performance from SUNY College at Brockport, SUNY University at Buffalo, and Boston University.
When a Twelve year old Air Bender named Aang learns he is the Avatar, the one responsible for maintaining balance in the Universe, he disappears in an iceberg for 100 years. During that time the Fire Kingdom wages war against the Air Temples, Water Tribes, and Earth Kingdom. Two teenagers from the Water Tribe find the Aang and help him to emerge and live out his destiny of mastering all four elements (Fire, Air, Water, Earth) in order to restore balance to the Universe and save the world.
Watching this story became a family ritual which we returned to year after year. When the theme for the service year, “The Earth, The Air, The Fire, The Water,” was announced it seemed only fitting that I would revisit this story again. I will share my reflections on the lessons I gained from watching the Avatar and the connections to spirituality, resilience, parenting and leadership which emerged.
Jenn is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist. She has been with MMUUF since 2006 and is currently serving as the Treasurer of the Steering Committee. Jenn has also served as the President, Vice President, and member of the RE committee. She has dedicated her career to working with community based organizations focused on building resilience and hope in the face of adversity. Jenn is a parent, partner, and procrastinator.
According to the Jewish calendar, this year is a shemitah year, one of every seven in which the earth and soil must be allowed to rest and lie fallow. Commanded in the Book of Exodus, this is still practiced to a degree in Israel today. However, this Sabbath of the Earth also reflects the interwoven relationship of humanity and land in the Jewish spiritual landscape. Rabbi David Edleson will explore some ways this connection is seen in the Hebrew language, in the concept of the Sabbath, and in centrality of the Land of Israel in Jewish prayer and poetry.
David Edleson grew up going to synagogue, church, and to Unitarian Fellowships in the deep south. His experiences of anti-Semitism were also formative. Born into an assimilated Jewish family, David was removed as drum major of the band in high school because parents didn’t “want a Jew leading the band down Main Street. David became very active in the Jewish community, was president of his college Hillel and William and Mary, and after living and working as a Jewish educator in Jerusalem, was ordained by Hebrew Union College in 1990. While in seminary, he successfully lead the student fight for the ordination of LGBT rabbis in the Reform movement. David served as the rabbi for the Hebrew Association of the Deaf for 25 years, leading services in ASL and adapting services to be participatory and inclusive for hearing and deaf. While serving as a rabbi, David also worked as a leader at several social service agencies, including Vermont CARES, the AIDS service and advocacy agency in Vermont. He was awarded his Doctor of Divinity in 2015. David now serves as the rabbi at Temple Sinai in South Burlington, Vermont. In addition to his work as a rabbi, David has taught in a variety of spiritual traditions, and taught courses in literature, religion and ethics at the Community College of Vermont, and Middlebury College, where he served as a dean for eight years. David grew up in rural Georgia where he met his husband Tim in ninth grade; they now live with their standard poodle Ginsberg in a house they built by hand in Lincoln.
2022 will bring about big changes for the Ward family and Sarah has been contemplating how moments of reflection, quiet conversation and inspiration have led to these changes. She will share how we might use the smallest moment to make small changes that add up to big changes.
Sarah Ward has been a member of MMUUF for over 20 years. She is a practicing Unitarian-Buddhist, author of young adult novels and poet.
Gaye will reflect on different ways of connecting and relating to land: land as home, as a neighbor, as a relative, as a source of livelihood and sustenance, as a view, and as a resource to share with future generations. Her observations come from a decade where her husband raised grass-fed beef in Jericho and from her own work supporting more sustainable farming practices. That work has challenged her to avoid moral judgment about land use based on what we see rather than what we know more deeply than a view allows.
Gaye is a long-time member of MMUUF. She is approaching retirement from a varied career working for mission-focused businesses and nonprofits, mostly related to food, land, and energy. She served in the Vermont legislature for 12 years. She and her husband, Chuck Lacy, raised three amazing kids in Jericho and were able to sneak in a Chicago wedding celebration for one of them last summer in a brief window between Covid surges.
Our theme for this service is “Warmth”: a celebration of community, traditions, and connections. Songs and readings will be shared. We will close the service with our tradition of lighting candles and singing Silent Night so please have a candle ready at home. All are welcome!
Rick has been actively exploring some big questions about his life’s journey. With today’s discussion some of the big questions he will be exploring are these: What does it mean to be labeled as Hispanic, Latino, Latina, or even Latinex? What binds us together? What has been the experience of our ancestors that survived the upheavals set in motion by American imperialism? “How has racism significantly impacted our lives?”
Rick Castillo is a second generation Mexican-American who grew up in California. He is employed as a housing advocate at C.V.O.E.O. Rick’s passion is paddling the beautiful lakes and rivers of Vermont and his hobbies are photography, digital art, and doing jigsaw puzzles.
Many holidays are converging as we end the month of November. We will have just gotten up from our Thanksgiving tables, perhaps flush with the comfort of family and food; perhaps confronting the holiday’s fraught history, in which racism played so large a part. Our November 28th service also occurs the morning before the first night of Hannukah, when we not only light candles, but also think about the Jewish principle of Tikun Olam—healing the world by seeking out and releasing the sparks of goodness within us all. Through the Hannukah story, we learn how a small band of brothers stood up for their community. Another fight for community is happening right now in Vermont through the Listen Up Project, an original musical inspired, created and performed by Vermont teens. A strong theme in the play is racism. We will watch clips from the film of this groundbreaking performance and engage in an expanded Fellowship response about how we might heal our little part of the world by listening to our youth about racism.
Beth Esmond is a Fellowship member offering a lay-led discussion. She participated in the Listen Up Project in a variety of roles.
Charley MacMartin will speak on our caring hearts and the challenges of hospice volunteering during the pandemic. The past twenty months have created obstacles to traditional hospice care. Hospice volunteers have had to discover new ways of supporting individuals at the end of life as well as discovering deeper levels of compassion, equanimity and joy.
Charley leads the Hospice Volunteer Program at UVM Home Health & Hospice and celebrates his hospice coworkers and the hundreds of volunteers supporting individuals and families at the McClure Miller Respite House and throughout Chittenden & Grand Isle Counties.
While we do not know what will fix the climate crisis or heal our relationships to water, land, and air, in this talk we will explore how fighting for a livable future is a practice of faithfulness and spiritual calling.
Emma Schoenberg is a Vermont-born trainer and community organizer. As part of the Climate Disobedience Center she works within communities from across different movements to build transformational campaigns, relationships, and collective power. She is the co-founder of NoCoalNoGas, the direct action campaign to close the last coal plant in New England and co-creator of the yet-to-be-named network – an experiment in sacred activism. When not organizing, Emma lives in an intentional community in Burlington, VT on unceded Abenaki territory and likes to spend time outdoors and with friends and family.
