UUFCM
  • HOME
  • WORSHIP
    • Welcome!
    • About UU Worship
    • Upcoming Services >
      • Orders of Service and Inserts
      • Worship Resources
    • Music Program
    • On Spirituality
    • For Inspiration...
    • Sermon Archive
  • LEARN
    • Learn – Faith Development
    • WiRE
    • Youth RE
    • Adult RE
  • CONNECT
    • Find Community – Connect Your Life
    • Social Justice >
      • Social Justice News >
        • Election Worker
      • Anti-Racism
      • Mother Earth Love
      • Social Justice Interest Survey
    • Serve
    • Shared Interest Groups >
      • Social Events
      • Shared Interest Groups Calendar
    • Calendar
  • NEWS
    • UUFCM eNews >
      • Subscribe to UUFCM eNews
    • UUFCM Events
  • ABOUT US
    • Our Minister >
      • Minister’s Column
    • Membership >
      • New Members
    • Who We Are >
      • Covenant and Mission
      • Welcoming Congregation
      • Arms Around
      • What UUs Believe
      • Principles
      • UUFCM History >
        • Past as Prologue
    • Administration & Staff
    • Governance >
      • Leadership >
        • 2022 Annual Meeting Documents
      • UUFCM Bylaws
      • UUFCM Policies
      • UUFCM Board Minutes
    • Facility Use
  • VISIT
    • Visit the UUFCM
    • What to Expect
    • Service Cancellation Policy
    • Safety Procedures
  • CONTACT
    • Ask Us
    • Find Us
    • Directory & Important Contacts
  • DONATE
    • Ways to Contribute >
      • Pledge Card
      • Volunteer Form
    • Stewardship >
      • Testimonials

Minister’s Column

8/31/2022

 

This is a version of the Buddhist loving kindness meditation:

May I be happy, peaceful, and well. May I be free of danger and fear and suffering.
May you be happy, peaceful, and well. May you be free of danger and fear and suffering.
May we be happy, peaceful, and well. May we be free of danger and fear and suffering.


Moments ago, I searched for loving kindness meditation on the internet and found a six-minute audio version in which Lama Tsomo guides the listener through loving ourselves, then our loved ones, then our neighbors and eventually the whole world. This was definitely worth six minutes of my time, and I invite you to find it on this website: https://www.namchak.org/


This prayer or meditation for loving kindness has two connections for me today. In addition to occasional Buddhist practice, I sometimes find truth and meaning in the literature of 12-step recovery programs. In the so-called “big book” of Alcoholics Anonymous, it says,

If you have a resentment you want to be free of, if you will pray for the person or thing that you resent, you will be free. If you will ask in prayer for everything you want for yourself to be given to them, you will be free.

While couched in the terms of resentment, there is a deep truth here that resonates with the Buddhist prayer for loving kindness. I pray for myself to be well–and I pray the very same thing for everyone else. This is easy for my loved ones, and harder for people that I’m in conflict with or for whom I hold resentment.


This brings me to the last connection. In last Sunday’s worship service I gave a message about the great political divide in this country, and about the difficulty that humans often have in communicating with each other. Part of my message focussed on conversations that we have with one another: how can we talk and listen better? As I reflect more about it, I realize that is only one part of the problem. How we talk and listen to one another is with our brains and our words. How we feel about each other, especially those we are in conflict with, is with our hearts and spirits.

May we take time to meditate and pray for ourselves, then for our loved ones, then for strangers, and finally for the people that we are in conflict with. I don’t have to agree with someone to wish them to be well. When I stop harboring hatred and resentment, then I am healthier and I can engage with people – even those who seem to be enemies – in more healthy and productive ways.

May I be happy, peaceful, and well. May I be free of danger and fear and suffering.
May you be happy, peaceful, and well. May you be free of danger and fear and suffering.
May we be happy, peaceful, and well. May we be free of danger and fear and suffering.
May it be so.
​

Rev. Andrew Frantz

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Rev. Andrew Frantz

    UUFCM Minister

    Office hours:
    Drew's office hours are suspended until further notice. However, he is reachable at any time via email, phone, or text.
    Day off: Monday

    minister@uufcm.org 
    Phone/text: 440-935-0129
    Pastoral Care Concerns
    For support with life's challenges, please contact Drew during his office hours or make an appointment with him.

    For specific needs such as rides to medical appointments or meals for people recovering from illness or surgery, please contact the Arms Around team via Gisela Moffit at gbmoffit@gmail.com or 989-772-1602. Every effort will be made to lessen the burden on the individual or family who is dealing with a difficult circumstance.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Worship Services

Sunday Mornings at 10:30 a.m.
Upcoming Services:
February 5: Coming to Terms
February 12: Growing into Our Future


​

Quick Links

Minister's Column
​Sermon Archive
eNews
  - Subscribe!

Calendar
​Find Us
​Directory
​Facility Rental
The UUFCM is funded solely by members and friends.
Picture

We are a Welcoming Congregation

Picture
Service Cancellation Policy
 ©2023         319 S. University Ave., Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858 • P.O. Box 41 • 989.400.4933 • admin@uufcm.org