"Green Evangelism"

Dear GPUC Members and Friends,

Earth Day is a High Holy Day for me. You probably figured that out already. I love the idea that 42 years ago, people woke up to our environmental challenges and created Earth Day as a way of drawing attention to the importance of preserving our fabulous planet. It’s an idea that has now become a global tradition and is widely celebrated by Unitarian Universalist congregations. Expect to be celebrating it as our years together unfold—your minister is a committed green evangelist.

I like to think of Earth Day in the same way as I do about Christmas. Every year at Christmas, we get that loving feeling and wish it would last all year long. We ask, why can’t we live in peace, love and harmony all the time? I ask the same question, why can’t we live our Earth Day values each and every day? Why isn’t every day, Earth Day?

Well, for many of you, I sense that you do live as if every day was Earth Day. I see many of you carrying your reusable water bottles, biking to church, eating sustainably, driving fuel-efficient cars, recycling and making other personal lifestyle choices that really do make a difference. I continue to discover new ways to live more lightly on the Earth. It seems there’s always more to learn and I’m glad to keep deepening my own understanding of what it means to live a sustainable lifestyle. For me, it’s about living out my faith on a daily basis, making choices that honor the interdependent web and cause no harm to others.

We have a wonderful opportunity to keep learning together through the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Green Sanctuary Program. Green Sanctuary provides a structured, mindful and holistic way for a congregation to live its green values. It involves reviewing our congregation’s life to discover our greener opportunities, looking at everything from our day-to-day operations to our worship life and our religious education. It involves taking on an environmental justice project, connecting the dots between environmental challenges and social justice needs, of which there are many dots to connect here in the Detroit area. It involves individuals learning more and making commitments to a more sustainable life. It involves becoming a model for the wider community about how people of faith can live their Earth-honoring values in the deep understanding that we are indeed connected to all that is.

And it involves YOU. The GPUC Board recently gave the “green light” to pursuing Green Sanctuary certification. Now, the work turns to you . Does the Green Sanctuary program intrigue you? Would you like to see how green GPUC can be? Would you like to live into your UU values in some new and exciting ways? Are you up for green transformation? If you are, let me know, and together we can walk this green path and make every day Earth Day.

Blessings,

Reverend Shelley Page

 

Participation, Reflection, Affirmation, and Commitment

Dear GPUC Members and Friends,

It’s hard to believe that it was one year ago when you called me to serve as your new settled minister. One of my fond memories from my Candidating Week was participating in the annual Fellowship Dinner. I was fascinated to see how each table had its own “personality,” with different foods, table decorations and, of course, people. My table host was Mindy Fossati, who was welcoming, gracious, organized and fun. I will miss her being at the dinner this year, and I know that many of you will also miss her as well. What a lovely tradition, and I could tell that it is an important event in the life of the church, each year.

I’m so looking forward to this year’s Fellowship Dinner on Saturday, April 21st. I’ll be seated at Raja Badran’s table, where my contribution will be a veggie side dish. It feels good to be doing my part to contribute to the meal. Last year, I was a guest. This year, I am part of the community. And that’s what this special evening is all about—a celebration and affirmation of our faith community. It’s a time of fun and fellowship and a serious renewal of our commitment to Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church.

I’m also looking forward to offering my own financial pledge to support the health of our congregation. I consider pledging to be a sacred act, an affirmation of my deepest held values. Participation in a Unitarian Universalist faith community touches my soul and gives meaning and purpose to my life. I know that my financial giving will be merged with the offerings of others as we move forward together to transform ourselves and our world. Pledging is an outward sign of our inward commitment to the transforming power of love and community.

I urge you to consider the meaning of your pledge as you make your financial commitment for the coming church year. This is an act worthy of your reflection. Spending some time contemplating about the meaning of church in your life can help you make a community-affirming choice that truly supports our church and its dreams for the future. Of course, each person or family also needs to consider their own unique financial position as well, but I ask you to consider starting your decision making with reflection, and then see where you end up in your commitment.

May your giving be a joyful and hope-filled affirmation of this Beloved Community!

Blessings,

Reverend Shelley Page

Twenty Seven Years Since the Last One... A Very Significant Event

Dear GPUC Members and Friends,

You’ll soon be receiving a formal invitation in the mail that you’ll want to open. You are being invited to the Installation ceremony for your minister, an occasion last celebrated twenty-seven years ago at Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church. Since it’s been a while since GPUC has celebrated an Installation, let me fill you in a bit about what to expect.

An Installation Service highlights and reaffirms the bond between minister and congregation. It deeply honors our faith’s long-held tradition where each congregation is free to choose its minister. This ceremony formally affirms the covenantal nature of Unitarian Universalism. We are a freely chosen group of people coming together in our spiritual quest and our desire to create Beloved Community. Last year, your vote to call me as your minister was the equivalent of an engagement. This spring we together affirm our desire to honor our bond and move forward together, rather like wedding vows. Much like a wedding simply affirms a loving relationship that already exists, this Installation will celebrate our holy bond as minister and congregation.

The occasion also provides an important opportunity for the congregation to reaffirm its bond with Unitarian Universalism through the active presence of Unitarian Universalist ministers, religious educators and lay leaders from around the region. They will be joining us to help celebrate and to remind us that we are connected in covenant to them as well, as we seek new and meaningful ways to share, collaborate and grow our faith and our influence in the wider world. We will also be joined by clergy from the Grosse Pointe Ministerial Association and other local leaders, as we affirm our commitment to interfaith understanding and building a more just, equitable and peaceful world.

An Installation Committee is hard at work pulling together the details for this special day. The energy and participation of our children, youth and adults will come together to create a joyful experience. If you have ideas that you would like to offer up as part of this day, , please connect with Pi Irwin who is chairing the committee. Your thoughts and suggestions are most welcome as we plan this very significant and historic occasion.

The Installation Service will take place on Sunday, May 6 at 4:00 PM. This traditional late afternoon timing allows travel time for ministerial colleagues, other UU guests and local guests who may be participating in their own worship services in the morning. And, in case you’re wondering, yes, there will be a worship service on Sunday morning as usual. I have invited one of my colleagues, Duffy Peet, to lead worship that morning. He will offer some interesting ethical eating perspectives with his “Confessions of a Carnivore” sermon.

I am very much looking forward to celebrating with all of you on this special day.

Blessings,

Reverend Shelley Page

Summer Camps: Memories, Lessons, and Inspiration

Dear GPUC Members and Friends,

A smile broadened across my face as I read this past week’s Grosse Pointe News that featured ads from several summer camps. Ah, summer camp--that venerable American tradition and an important source of many childhood memories. My years at camp taught me more than how to swim and build a campfire. Camp was my first “away from home” experience, starting at age seven. Camp broadened my world by exposing me to kids from different backgrounds, taught me about cooperation, and showed me the healthy fun of community building through games, singing and our evening campfires. I simply loved going to camp. Those summer weeks were the highlight of my childhood and still inform my spirituality today as you could probably tell from the GPUC Camp Night that we recently enjoyed together.

Of course, I encouraged my own daughters to go to camp as they were growing up. They had various camp experiences but fell in love with Camp Unirondack, the Unitarian Universalist summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. Unirondack provided all the memorable camp experiences like canoeing, hiking, campfires under the stars, talent nights, dances, games, and arts and crafts galore in a beautiful boathouse overlooking a lovely lake with loons. And, importantly, it provided an opportunity for my girls to deepen their Unitarian Universalist faith as they spent meaningful time with UU adults and children. They learned about living into their UU values in the context of a very special community. So often in school or the neighborhood, my children were the only UUs. But, at camp, everyone was Unitarian Universalist. As you can imagine, the conversations were different in content and depth. The activities reflected the diversity of spiritual thought that we cherish as well as good attention to healthy process when things didn’t flow smoothly among the campers. These are priceless lessons in life and spiritual deepening opportunities that still speak to my girls today.

And, over time, I discovered that there are other great camps for UU families and UU adults as well! I have especially enjoyed the outstanding programming at Rowe Camp and Conference Center in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. UU camps are sprinkled all across our continent including some in the Midwest. Check out more details about UU camps on our bulletin board at church and at THIS LINK.  Happy camping!

Blessings,  Reverend Shelley Page