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

8/17/2022

 
Last weekend I went with two friends to Conkle’s Hollow in the Hocking Hills of Ohio. “This place is sacred,” I said to my companions as we started on the trail.

The path at Conkle’s Hollow is flat and goes alongside a stream bed into a deep wooded valley. The first section is lighter with wildflowers and sunshine; the next section is shady with ferns growing everywhere as one begins to glimpse the rock cliffs on both sides. At one point, a few boulders as big as a car are in the streambed, covered with green moss. Looking up, you can imagine how they tumbled down from the rocky wall above. Now they contain the majesty of silence and stillness that defines this place.

This trail is so popular (and so flat) that it is paved in concrete for most of the way: a sidewalk into the deep wooded hollow. In the last section, however, the pavement ends and the trail becomes rock and sand, the shallow stream now underfoot as the walls of the canyon get higher and closer. At around this point, the three of us are passed by a party of children: we count nine young ones with two dads. The girls are all dressed in long skirts and the boys in shorts or pants. The kids are allowed to race ahead while the dads bring up the rear to make sure none are lost.

“That’s the strategy I would use.” I say to my friends, “Keep the kids in front. This is a dead end and you’re not going to lose any kids up the walls of these cliffs.”

Soon we come to the end of the trail: the valley ends in a shallow pool of water where water falls at the head of the canyon from 80 feet up. This is August, so the waterfall and the stream are very low. Caves in the rock walls are cool and mysterious. The air itself is cooler and wetter than the other parts of the path. The children scamper and run while the dads watch. They splash through the shallow water in sandals and sneakers. I find a spot where water trickles from above and step into it, wetting my hair. My friend takes a moment of silent prayer beneath these droplets of water, a gift from above. I remark that the waterfall feels like the divine above (the masculine principle, Father Sky) and the green valley feels like the divine below (the feminine principle, Mother Earth).

The shouts and laughter of the children accentuate the holy silence of the place, everyone blessed by water, earth, sky, and one another.

PRAYER:
May all be blessed by streams, by friendship, by the delightful presence of children playing.

May every public park, every waterway, every path and every sidewalk be a place for people to greet one another in friendship and peace, knowing that we all share this one green earth and one common humanity.

Blessed be.

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