Minister's Column for January 2009
"What do you want to DO when you grow up?" You have heard this question asked of children. Over time the question evolves into "What do you want to BE when you grow up?" The slight change from "do" to "be" opens the question up to incorporate the wholeness of life. "Being" is a lifelong question because we are each evolving beings. We are lifelong learners. At every age we grow and change, then learn how we have grown and changed. The human experience is a learning experience.
This is why the start of a new year remains my favorite time of year. This is a pivotal point in the calendar, reminding us to hold the wholeness of time, past and future together. For a new year invokes the spirit of the most religious questions I know: what have you been and what do you want to be?
Or, what have we been and what do we want to be? The new year is a time to appreciate what we have, to let go of what is not working, and to create images and hopes for what is to come. Ultimately, in slow and small ways, each new year, we are learning to shape our lives.
Humans are learners and when learning is done well we create learning communities. Learning to be together, to deepen ourselves, to find meaning, and learning about our religious context. There is a freedom that comes when the task is to learn. A freedom that might just let us say, we can try and no matter what, we will fulfill our life task of learning. As we begin the New Year, Tapestry must remember to embrace the spirit of learning. The future of every organization depends on its ability to learn together as a community. There are many ways to embrace the learning spirit. I want to highlight two new things this coming year which Tapestry can embrace as a learning community.
An Adult Religious Education Program for the winter and spring is rolling out beginning in January. The new Adult Religious Education Committee has worked very hard these past few months to begin quality programming that will touch on the lives of many in the community. There are a variety of classes and covenant groups that offer ways to deepen meaning in our lives. Please take the time to look at the descriptions of these classes. Part of the work of the congregation is learning to mature in our faith through experience, knowledge, and most importantly reflection. Adult Religious Education is built upon the idea that we are lifelong learners.
Tapestry is also heading into a merger with Orange Coast UU Church. Not only does this mean shared gathering space, but it will also mean bringing together all our best practices, letting go of some things and reshaping others. This is an exciting time, for this is about more than stability. The merger is about learning and growing together. We know that congregations which seek only to achieve a stable environment, rather than constantly opening themselves to learning, will exist at a minimal level. The merger is a huge step to opening ourselves and learning to sculpt a new world we can leave for the generations to come. Tapestry will be facing a large size transition as a congregational community. We will need to learn what this means to our operations, governance, spirituality, culture, and ministry. This learning of various systems will be essential to the success of the merge.
Overall, we are learning how to deepen our religious selves, individually and communally. Remember, Gini Courter the UUA moderator, reminded us that the congregation is tasked with two things, the work of the heart and the work done in the larger world. Everything else simply is shaping an environment in which we can do this work. Furthering our adult religious education and merging into a larger size group of Unitarian Universalists of Orange County is such work. We are learning this work. What a promising year we have ahead!
Happy New Year!
Rev. Mitra Rahnema
