Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan
Minister’s Column
 
This week I drove to Crystal Mountain, 100 miles northwest from Mount Pleasant, and visited the Michigan Legacy Art Park there. Many Michiganders that I know have never heard of this place, so I guess it is something of a hidden gem.
 
The Legacy Art Park is a collection of dozens of sculptures in the woods, accessible by a meandering series of trails. There is a sense of anticipation and discovery to the experience, as you come upon one piece of art after another—some very large, some blending in with the natural surroundings—while progressing along the trail. The signage that accompanies each piece is especially good: comprehensive and thought-provoking, many ending with a question to ponder. Another favorite feature of the Park was that dozens of rocks along the trail were engraved with poetry. Combined with a crisp fall day, the whole experience was aesthetically and spiritually satisfying.
 
Two of the sculptures especially moved me. One was the signature piece to the whole Park, an installation called Stockade Labyrinth by David Barr. The sculpture consists of rough stockade-style fencing, at least nine feet high, through which the viewer walks as through a maze or labyrinth. Within the turns of the labyrinth are smaller works of art, all connected to the European settlers and their conquest the land: an exhibit about war with cannonballs; a piece about the lumber trade with stylized saws. The whole piece was a thought-provoking and disturbing artistic record of this period in history. Walking through the labyrinth was a bit chilling, to feel that I was stepping into the shoes of European settlers making war with the land and with the native people.
 
The other sculpture that particularly moved me was a total contrast to Stockade Labyrinth. Serpent Mound by Patricia Innis is just what it sounds like: a mound of earth in the shape of a serpent winding through the trees. The work is an homage to the serpent mound in Ohio built by residents of this land hundreds of years ago, and to the hundreds of other mounds that this culture created: some still in existence, many destroyed. Whenever I am reminded of this history of the people who thrived in this land centuries ago, I reflect that this history is hidden in our educational system. When I was in school, I learned more about the civilizations of people across the oceans (like the Egyptian pharaohs) than I did about the Native Americans in the land I was born in. The artist Patricia Innis is an educator, and her Serpent Mound sculpture contains within it clay figures created by Michigan students – a further homage to the traditional mound builders centuries ago who had this practice.
 
These were just two of the dozens of sculptures I viewed at Legacy Art Park. Like all good art, these pieces made me reflect and invited me to see things in a new way. Thought-provoking art; a beautiful drive across Michigan on a fall day; and discovering a place I had never visited: these are joys in life that I am lucky to partake of.
 
PRAYER:
May the artists and the supporters of Legacy Art Park be blessed
May the art work endure.
May the visitors be challenged and inspired by the sculptures and poems.
May art thrive here and everywhere.
Blessed be.
 
Rev. Drew Frantz
October 25, 2023

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan
Minister’s Column
 
I am writing from the Lindenwood retreat center in Indiana, where I have spent two days with fellow ministers from the Heartland chapter of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association. The chapter includes Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky. I serve as chapter president. On our retreat we have our annual business meeting, discussions of trends in ministry, and a workshop totaling eight hours over two days. Our workshop this year has been Exploring Spiritual Self Care through Restorative Art, presented by JeKaren Olaoya.

The workshop invited us to do a series of short art projects, each one connected to the theme of spiritual self care. As ministers, we are reminded  that spiritual practices ground us in our work. My spiritual practices include journaling, yoga, exercise, music, breathing, singing, poetry and more. For everyone in the congregation, for everyone who may be reading this minister’s column, I extend to you the same wishes and invitations for self care that I received in the course of the last two days. Here are two examples of the art projects we did:

Tree of Life
Each of us drew a tree, labeling the leaves with who we are and want to be while labeling the trunk and roots with our ancestors, those who have helped us in life, and our life experiences. The visual depiction illustrates the connections between our past and present self.

Mini-book (Zine) of Good Wishes
This zine was my favorite project. Participants in the workshop started with the prompt “I wish for you…” and wrote a wish for spiritual self-care for the other participants. Each entry was a line in a poem, and after each one was composed and illustrated the paper was passed on to another participant. Thus the end product was a poem composed by the whole group. Here is mine, which I offer to you as a blessing:
I wish for you:
Delicious coffee,
Joyful Celebrations and 
Quiet moments of reflection,
The ability and grace to LET GO
when you need to…
moments of joyful surprise,
And good friends who take your 3 am calls
 
PRAYER
Spirit of Life, may each of us make time for spiritual self-care, improving the quality of our lives and grounding ourselves for the life-giving work we are called to do.

May the blessings of rest, self-acceptance, exercise, and joy come to all human beings with no exceptions.

Blessed be.

Rev. Drew Frantz
October 18, 2023

With sadness I witness the violence in Israel and Palestine this week. I put this in perspective as I compare that region to the United States: we have deep and dangerous problems in this country; we have entrenched patterns of violence and oppression that continue—but we don’t have warfare and missile strikes in our cities.
 
As I listen to news and opinions about this conflict, I see three layers unfolding. The deepest layer is the long-standing problem of how Palestinians have been treated in Gaza. The population has been oppressed; the system of Jewish settlement in occupied lands has been increasingly harsh and violent in recent years under the current Israeli prime minister. The people have suffered ongoing hardship. The second layer of this conflict is the horrific, barbaric, and deadly attack by Hamas that arose from the oppression of Palestinians. Hamas escalated the conflict by invading Israeli land, killing Israeli civilians, and taking hostages. They launched rockets against military and civilian targets. Thirdly, the layer of the conflict we are seeing now, is the Israeli military escalating again: missile strikes against neighborhoods in Gaza; cutting off electricity, fuel, water, and escape to residents of Gaza.
 
There are no winners in this war. There are families broken, homes destroyed, loved ones lost. There are new seeds here for revenge and retaliation for whoever survives this conflict, seeds that may grow into the next terrorist attack in the next generation. The history of this region and the conflict between these peoples suggest that this is likely.
 
When we set aside the historical analysis; the military actions; the political statements of leaders in the region and around the world, what are we left with? Deep mourning and searching for hope. We must denounce the inhumane treatment of any people anywhere in the world – such as the treatment of the Palestinians prior to this war by the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. We must denounce any act of terrorism and violence. We must denounce any escalation of violence, even in response to a terrorist attack. And we must remember the human cost of these conflicts. We must hold on to hope that children can be safe and happy, well-fed and loved. We must hold on to the hope that people can forgive, that individuals and governments can find compromise and mercy. We must work to end war and to support harmony among peoples everywhere.
 
PRAYER
God of Jews and of Muslims, Life Spirit that knows no boundary and is within each one of us, send your love and light to Israel and to Palestine.
 
May there be an end to this conflict. May there be mercy and decency shown to the civilians in the region. May there be an end to rocket attacks on homes and neighborhoods.
 
May compassion come to the leaders of the world – leaders of Hamas and of Israel and of every nation and party – may the leaders see that peace is possible; that forgiveness is necessary; that compromise helps everyone.
 
May we all find hope to work for a better and more peaceful tomorrow.
 
Blessed be.
 
Rev. Drew Frantz
October 11, 2023

​In September, the theme for the Soul Matters small group was Welcome. The small group packet had many choices for engaging with the idea of Welcome, including this one:

In October, the new theme is Heritage with a whole new packet full of ideas to engage with—and new people can join the small group when we meet on October 27. In this moment, however, I want to reflect on the practice suggested above of “welcoming in the world nearby more deeply.”
 
When I was a student in seminary, we had a class assignment to do a “beauty walk” in our neighborhood: to go out and walk, attuning ourselves to the beauty we find. It was a good exercise for me in a neighborhood where I had recently moved, and where just to the south of me was what everyone said was the “bad” part of town. Of course, there was beauty to be found there as well, and I was able to open myself to seeing it.
 
Where I live now, I have a nice house and I consider the garden its best feature. My wife and I have planted flowers and bushes, installed benches and patios, decorated with stone and wrought iron. Most days I take a few minutes to walk slowly around the yard. You could call it a beauty walk.
 
The trick for me in doing a beauty walk in my yard is to stay present to the beauty. It is easy to spend my time and mental energy noticing what needs to be fixed: weeds to pull, tomatoes to pick, sidewalk to sweep. Cultivating a mind-set of appreciating beauty requires quieting the judgmental mind that says tasks undone are a problem to worry about. Just as I needed to quiet the judgmental mind in my previous neighborhood that said some streets were “bad” areas. It is a spiritual practice to be present to what is, allowing appreciation to arise, and not to dwell on what is wrong or imperfect.
 
PRAYER:
Infinite world around me, flowing and changing, extending far beyond my knowing, may I be settled here and now.
May I see that this moment is perfect just as it is. May I be released from incessant worry about what could be or should be.
May all beings be at peace.
Amen.

Rev. Andrew Frantz
October 3, 2023