Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan
Minister’s Column

On Monday this week I took my day off to revisit a favorite trail nearby. I have made a regular yearly trip to this particular trail around the spring equinox in March; this time I was hiking just after the autumnal equinox.

This time of year is delightful, with pleasant sunny days and cool nights. The lush green of the summer is still with us. At home my garden is mature with some flowers still blooming; tomatoes are ripe on the vine. The leaves on the trees have begun to turn their fall colors.

Since I know this particular trail from the past four spring equinoxes, I have seen the woods there with snow and ice on the ground; with the trees still bare from the winter. What a contrast to the green forest in September! Instead of dressing in winter layers, I walked with a T-shirt in 70 degree weather. 

One part of the trail is a marshy area with a series of wooden boardwalks. Muddy in the spring, the marshland is dry and grassy in the fall. The ferns grow tall there, and they have turned a bright yellow. Their color winds through the woods like a river, the ferns growing along the course of a small stream. Patches of the woods are a bright red, reminding me that this time of year changes quickly: the daily change in daylight hours is greatest at the equinox.

I like this trail for its remoteness as well. On my last hike there in March I met one fellow hiker, a young woman with a dog; this week I met one hiker on the trail, a young man shouldering a rifle (he said he was hunting for squirrels). It is a place that allows me to connect with forest and the stream, to contemplate for a moment the passage of time as measured by our orbit around the sun.

PRAYER:
Mother Earth, blue spinning ball, we ride on your surface cycling around the sun. At fall equinox–known to Pagans as Mabon–we stand due west of the sun, and the days and nights are equal. 
You have absorbed the sun’s light all summer, which keeps us warm still and lets green things grow even as the days shorten toward Samhain and ultimately Yule.
May the change of seasons be blessed by peace among people and nations. May each of us find serenity and take a moment to contemplate our life’s journey, the Earth’s journey, and the stars’ journey.
Blessed be.

Rev. Andrew Frantz
September 27, 2023

Last Sunday, I led a worship service in our sanctuary on the theme of Rosh Hashanah. I reflected on the central spiritual task of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: taking stock of harms you have done to others in the past year, and asking those people to forgive you. I am still thinking about this topic and have a few additional thoughts.

As I said on Sunday, I am an outsider to the Jewish tradition. From my outside perspective, it seems that the asking–and granting–of forgiveness in this tradition is human, not divine. By contrast, the practice of confession in Catholic and some other Christian traditions (and I’m an outsider to these traditions as well) seems to be about divine forgiveness. The confessor, through the priest, asks–and is granted–forgiveness from God. I asked a Jewish friend of mine about this and I got this response: traditionally, you ask forgiveness three times, and if the person still does not forgive you, you turn it over to G-d to forgive you. There is an old saying, “to err is human; to forgive divine.” So the Jewish tradition, as I understand now, includes both human forgiveness and divine forgiveness.

Finally, I reflected on Sunday about forgiveness versus making amends. In the 12-step tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery programs, the person in recovery makes amends to the people they have harmed. To me this is different from asking forgiveness, and more active. Making amends means performing a concrete action to try and heal a damaged relationship, with the burden of that action on the one who caused the harm; whereas asking for forgiveness seems to put the burden on the one who has been harmed. 

This is such a rich topic because it is part of everybody’s life. In relationship we all harm one another from time to time. And here I want to reiterate my invitation from Sunday, as spiritual leader to this congregation. If you are coming to terms with the fact that you have harmed someone, and wrestling with how to make amends or to ask forgiveness, I am ready to support you through compassionate non-judgmental listening. This is work that we all need to do.

PRAYER:
May wisdom and compassion flow through each of us.
May we see clearly how we show up in our relationships, and may we seek to be our best selves–never perfect, always trying to be more loving and authentic.
May the life-force flowing through us strengthen and guide us.
May it be so.

Rev. Andrew Frantz
September 20, 2023

This is a time of new beginnings for those on an academic schedule, as well as for the calendar and the rhythm of this religious institution called UUFCM. This is also a time of new beginnings for Jews everywhere, with the new year holiday of Rosh Hashanah this week.  I want to reflect for a moment on new beginnings and goals for the year ahead–institutionally and personally.

For UUFCM, a new board of trustees was seated on July 1st, and had a retreat recently to brainstorm about goals for the coming year (and other business). As minister, I attend the Board meetings and express my opinions but I never vote. The Board holds the responsibility for governance and financial decisions that guide and support the Fellowship. Jointly, the Board and the Minister define and hold the vision for the Fellowship…Why do we exist? How are we doing? Where should we direct our collective energy?

The Board of Trustees has come up with five goals for the year. These will be presented at the monthly Fellowship Life Meeting this Sunday with a chance for questions and discussion. The Board’s goals are:

1. Improve accessibility of the UUFCM building for people in wheelchairs
2. Support Youth Religious Education Team and Adult Religious Education program
3. Increase visibility of UUFCM in the community and add at least five new members
4. Create document archive system strategy and policy
5. Create plan for evaluation and supervision of minister 

As full-time minister for UUFCM, I have goals for the year as well. Here are my top two:

1. improve administratively: running well-organized, authentic and productive meetings; being timely in my communication; and meeting deadlines
2. improve pastoral care: making sure that pastoral care needs of the congregation are met by the Minister; and defining the appropriate role(s) for the newly formed Caring Committee (clarifying ministerial pastoral care vs. lay pastoral care)

If you are a member of UUFCM, your opinion matters here. What do you think the Board should be spending time and energy on this year? What do you think the Minister should be focusing on? Lists of goals like these are not intended to be static, but to evolve – and they are not intended to be formed in isolation but in collaboration with all stakeholders.

Finally, how does this season of new beginnings find you? Whether you are starting a new school year, celebrating Rosh Hashanah, or feeling the change of seasons from summer to fall, where do you find yourself? Do you have personal goals? Spiritual goals? I invite you to share your thoughts about UUFCM goals with the Board or with me. For your personal and spiritual goals, I am open to hearing those too – or you may want to share them with yourself in your journal; with trusted friends in conversation; or with the Spirit through prayer.

PRAYER:
Spirit of love and life, smile on this season of new beginnings for schools, universities, and congregations.
May we make plans that are ambitious, seeking to extend our gifts in ways that create more love and peace and harmony in the world.
May we support one another, celebrating when goals are fulfilled and helping to rebound and recommit when we fall short of our goals.
May we grow in connection with Spirit and with one another.
May it be so.

Rev. Andrew Frantz
September 13, 2023

A few years ago, when I would hear a Muslim pray to Allah or a Christian pray to God (or Jesus) I was acutely aware of the difference between that person and myself. They were religious and I was not–or they were religious in a way (and to a degree) that I was not. As part of my journey in Unitarian Universalism, I have learned to think of myself as religious; and to translate the language of other religions into language and concepts that work for me. In this way I can connect to other religious people with a sense of same-ness instead of being stuck in an awareness of difference.

Now when I hear a Muslim pray to Allah, I feel a connection to all the righteous, holy and beautiful people who connect to the Muslim faith and express their faith in prayer to Allah. When I hear a Christian pray to God (or Jesus), I feel a connection to all the righteous, holy, beautiful people who connect with the Christian faith and express their faith in prayer to God (or Jesus). They pray to the divine within the language and the context of their religion. I have found my own way, as a Unitarian Universalist, to an understanding of the divine. I believe that all of Nature is worthy of worship and therefore divine; and that God or the divine is the totality of nature/the universe/the flow of life itself–nothing more and nothing less. So in my mind whenever I hear a Christian say God (or Jesus); whenever I hear a Muslim say Allah, in my mind I translate that into “the oneness of everything and the flow of life.” And this makes me comfortable in the company of these Christians and Muslims. My faith is different, it is less mainstream, but it is just as real and valid as theirs. I am a religious person and I feel comfortable and connected to other religious people.

I know from experience that most Muslims, and most Christians, welcome this connection. Holy and beautiful and righteous Christians and Muslims are open minded and respect people of other faiths. The narrow-minded Christians and Muslims who only accept one name for the divine, who only respect one way of practicing religion, are not my problem. I leave it to the open-minded Christians to remind the judgmental Christians that Jesus loves everybody. In Unitarian Universalism, however, it is my job to remind all UU’s to be welcoming and open-minded, to be respectful of the Muslims who pray to Allah and the Christians who pray to Jesus – plus of course the Sikhs; the Pagans; the Jews; and the atheists who “pray” to human goodness and wisdom and don’t name it as the divine at all. Let us not be like the narrow-minded sects of Christianity and Islam who disrespect other religions. Let us honor how others pray; let us figure out for ourselves what is holy and worthy of worship, and let us connect to those of any religion (or no religion) who do the same.

PRAYER:
God of many names and no name, 
Allah, Jesus, Love, Breath of Life,
Be with me now.
Remind me that it is human to seek the unknowable,
To name the un-nameable.
All are connected.
May all people be united in love.
May all people be well and safe and at peace.
Blessed be.

Rev. Andrew Frantz
September 6, 2023