Speaker & Worship Leader:- Ted Zorn

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Ted Zorn © 27 August 2023

I’ve always had a thing for language. I think I inherited this from my dad. Dad wasn’t highly educated, nor widely read – the only magazines he ever subscribed to were Reader’s Digest and TV Guide, and I never knew him to read a novel — but he loved to play with language.

He often used words that were either made up or some version of a word he’d learned while serving overseas in the military. He would latch on to words and phrases that were new to him.

When he came to New Zealand for the first time, the term flatmate caught his eye – it’s not a term used in the USA — so for his remaining years, he referred to my daughter, his granddaughter, as “my little Kiwi American flatmate”.

In fact, he had nicknames for just about everyone – or at least everyone he liked. They were not all flattering.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- John DiLeo

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Today, I’m going to read a sermon, originally presented by Bruce A. Bode. It’s titled Living with Contradictions. After the reading, I’ll follow up with a few comments.

John DiLeo © 20 August 2023

As we were driving home from last Sunday’s service, I was thinking on what I should talk about this week.

During that service, we celebrated Clay’s years with this church as our paid minister, and we acknowledged that phase of our community’s life was coming to a close.

During the Notices that day, Ted reminded us all of the need for members to step up and fill the void Clay’s retirement has created. We can no longer sit back and let him come up with all the ideas week after week, because – simply put – it’s not his job any more.

The ‘theme’ or ‘slogan’ that popped into my head during last Sunday’s drive home was simple: “One Community – Many Voices.”

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rev. Clay Nelson

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Clay Nelson © 13 August 2023

As has been mentioned once or twice recently, and to my great sadness, I am retiring at the end of the month. Because I have loved all forty-one years of my ordained ministry in two denominations and my nine years with you, I want to scream, “Nah, this isn’t how I planned it.” But, ”Yeah, it is the reality I must come to accept…kind of.”

The expectation of ministers, when they retire, is to absent themselves for at least a year from the congregation they served to make room for the new minister. As trained UU ministers don’t grow on trees here or in Australia, and it will be a while before we can hire my replacement, I’ve been asked to help fill the vacuum on a voluntary basis while you figure out where you want to go.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rachel Mackintosh

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Rachel Mackintosh © 6 August 2023

I met Clay 10 years ago at a residential training for community organising. The basis of the training was storytelling.

At the opening of the training, all participants were asked to tell stories about a time we had spoken truth to power. Clay’s story was about taking the Anglican Bishop of Auckland to the Human Rights Commission for violation of the Human Rights Act because he refused to ordain a gay priest.

My story was about standing up to a union leader who, to a largely but not totally white male audience, had used the phrase “dirty girls of the Philippines” to refer to migrant sex workers. I confronted him privately and told him I had been offended at his use of language that was imperialist, misogynist and anti-worker. He went back to that audience and apologised, even though many of them had found his language perfectly acceptable.

As all the people in the room told their stories, we began to see that all of us had not only identified injustices but had also had moments of courage where we had spoken up. Some of our stories had had successful outcomes, but many had not. Many of us had acted alone. All of our stories had promise. When one person shows courage in the face of injustice, that act holds the kernel of transformational change.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rev. Clay Nelson

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Clay Nelson © 30 July 2023

My father loved words. The Oxford English Dictionary and books on etymology, the study of the origin of words and how their meanings have changed throughout history, were never far from his fingertips. If he couldn’t find just the right word for the book he was writing, he had no reluctance in just creating a word that captured his intent. He passed on his love of words to me. That was to my benefit in seminary, where I was required to take two semesters of word study. It was essential to preparing sermons. Our task was to fully understand biblical words in all their meanings, translations and uses in biblical times so they could be applied relevantly in our modern and cultural context. I know it sounds boring and tedious, but thanks to Dad, I loved it.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rev. Clay Nelson

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Clay Nelson © 23 July 2023

You might remember me telling you the story of the 1969 UUA General Assembly in Boston. It was at the height of the Black empowerment movement in America. For that reason, many Black UUs attended instead of the token few who usually came. White UUs were shocked and wondered where they all came from. They had always been there since the 18^th century but had been generally ignored or discounted. We were more diverse than we had been aware of or at least acknowledged. But in 1969, systemic racism reared its ugly head, undermining that diversity and many Black UUs walked out the door, never to return. Much has happened within Unitarian Universalism since then. So, it was highly newsworthy when Sofia Betancourt, a woman, a person of colour and openly queer, was overwhelmingly elected as president of the UUA.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Kate Lewis

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Kate Lewis © 16 July 2023

Nō Ingarangi, Kōtirana, Tiamana me Huiterangi ōku tīpuna

I whānau mai au i Hartford, Connecticut, Ngā Whenua Tōpū o Amerika

I tupu ake au i Baltimore, Maryland, Ngā Whenua Tōpū o Amerika

I tae mai au ki Aotearoa i te tau rua mano mā waru

Ko Martha’s Vineyard tōku karanga motu

Ko Tiasquam tōku karanga awa

Ko Vineyard Haven Moana tōku karanga moana

Kei Hauraki / North Shore o Tāmaki Makaurau ahau e noho ana

Ko Kate ahau

My ancestors hail from England, Scotland, Germany and Switzerland

I was born in Hartford, Connecticut, USA

I was raised in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

I arrived in New Zealand in the year 2008

Martha’s Vineyard is the island that calls to me

The Tiasquam is the river that calls to me

Vineyard Haven is the harbor that calls to me

I am currently living in Hauraki on the North Shore of Auckland

I am Kate

Many of us have lost a sense of belonging in one place or another, having made a life around the world from where we were born and grew up. There is a longing for a beloved past and people, and despair when we realize that when we go back everything has changed and feel grief at what has been lost.

Speaker & Worship Leader:- Rev. Clay Nelson

Organ and Piano:- Jaime Taylor

No recordings this week – technical gremlins attacked.

Links

Opening words:- “A New Song, a New Harmony” By Richard S. Gilbert

Chalice Lighting:- “Chalice Lighting for Music Sunday” By Marnie Singer

Closing Words:- “As we listen to the blessing of music” By Maureen Killoran