Who Am I and Why Am I Here

Sunday, February 1, 2009 Rev. Dr. Gretchen Woods

Please let me begin by remarking on the warm welcome I have received from you already and the anticipation I have for a mutually enjoyable shared ministry. From Auckland through Hokitika to Dunedin, Judy and I have found people friendly and responsive. I need especially to make note of Karen Muller-Cleary, who first met us at the airport after a much-delayed flight, and Garry and Brenda Bendall, who have graciously loaned their home to us for the duration. And, of course, Lini Neyencamp, who has guided me through the process of creating this particular service. If any of you would like to assist me in worship during this time, please let Karn, Lini, or me know. We also enjoy a warm welcome because we came from one of the snowiest winters ever in Oregon to a lovely, warm climate in summer. We already managed to get sun-burned at the International Buskers Festival in Christ Church last weekend. I guess we really needed the vitamin D. Thank You!

I suppose the best way to describe this service is as an introduction to me and also to our ministry together for the next four months. We need to address the question ‘Who am I’ with regard to me as a minister, you as an individual, and you as a congregation. In like manner, we need to consider why we are here, what our mission/vision/covenant could be for this brief time we share. Let us begin by recognizing that these questions are among the four great religious questions for all of one’s life. Those questions would be: Who am I  What is my identity  From what people do I come etc.  Why am I here  What is my purpose  How do I use my gifts  What is important  What values guide my life choices  

How, then, shall I live, given my answers to the first three These are questions with which we struggle for the whole of our lives. These are the questions whose answers are rarely fixed, but change and transform as we experience more and more of the life process.

These are questions that we answer every day, whether consciously or unconsciously in each choice and each act. So we ask, ‘Who am I’ What is the first question asked when a baby is born, or, now, first seen in utero ‘Is it a boy or a girl’ Gender is of concern in almost all cases. Later we ask a child, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up’ When we reach advanced age we ask, ‘What will be my legacy How will people remember me’ All questions of identity. This is especially true in European based cultures with the emphasis upon the individual. Not so much in Native American, Inuit, or among many of the indigenous peoples. I dentity in those cultures has a great deal to do with the group of people from whom they come: the tribe, the pueblo, etc. Since by far most of us are European based, I shall focus upon that approach, knowing it will not represent all of you. So: Who am I I am a female, genetically mostly northern European, minister, responding to just the three qualifications previously mentioned. I have been a music teacher, a professional singer, a wife and mother, and now a minister of religion for almost twenty-five years. I have a bachelor of science (cum laude) in music education, a master of arts in religious studies (summa cum laude), a doctor of ministry (summa cum laude) that focuses upon creating healthy human systems. The first degree I earned at an Evangelical United Brethren College which became United Methodist while I was attending. The last two degrees were earned at Jesuit Universities. I am a bit of a mixed bag altogether for a Unitarian Universalist minister.

Who are you as individuals Well, I shall be learning that continuously over the next four months. I am hoping that you will feel known by me, so far as you wish to be known. And who are we together as a religious community What will be our mission together We need to determine that through conversation with the Management Committee and with you as the community. This means that each of you will need to actually speak with me or the leadership if you wish to be known. There always is this little problem of responsibility, isn’t there Now I realize that some of you don’t wish to be known, and I am fine with that. You may be dealing with your understanding of your identity as a Unitarian. I am simply offering you the chance to have some impact upon what this congregation becomes and how it does it. I hope that that effort will go on long after I have moved back to Corvallis, as I am promised to do.

This inevitably leads to the question Why am I here What is my purpose When I was pursuing my doctorate, I was required to create a ‘life business’ card that succinctly explained my purpose in life. I almost did not get it done on time because I was floundering with this requirement for the class. Finally I wrote: Gretchen Woods, spiritual midwife Actually, I think I did as well as I could with that, as it more aptly describes my purpose in life than minister does. The Association of Theological Schools in the United States of America has identified twenty-two distinct roles that ministers play in congregations. I will spare you the details, but it is clear to me that each of us does some better than others. I am a decent preacher, teacher, and spiritual guide. I am less successful at the business aspects of congregations. This is why Judy is so useful to me and to congregations we speak to. Certainly, no minister does all of twenty-two roles equally well. So we have to depend upon the congregation providing other folks who can fill in the gaps.

The congregation I serve in Corvallis, Oregon was quite clear that they wanted a spiritual leader, not a CEO, so we make a better than average match of minister and congregation. That has proven true now for almost ten years. I am grateful they also understand that a minister needs to freshen up one’s mind and clear it for new thoughts, hence, this sabbatical. We all benefit: you, me, the congregation in Corvallis. When we consider why we are here, we need to take into account the gifts and talents one has and the possibilities inherent in them. Clearly, being a trained musician and writer, worship comes relatively naturally to me. My recognition that I needed to learn a whole lot more about human systems once I entered ministry gives me special training that is useful to you and any congregation I serve. In addition, having studied with Buddhist, Native American, and Earth-based spiritual teachers, I have a unique background in that area.

How that will work for all of you is to yet be discovered. Conversely, you as a religious community have special gifts and talents as well. You have a beautiful and historical building that deserves to be shown to good end. Could you host a concert series A folk group that sings and/or dances You have people with talent and training who could offer classes, such as Karn’s ongoing classes in Feldenkreis, that will provide special entry for folks who might become members one day. How do you wish to be known in this city Do you wish to be known in this city The group in Christ Church hosts an annual Heretics Day lecture, in which local scholars (not necessarily Unitarians) speak about heretical ideas, that is getting good response. These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg of possibility for you here. I can’t leave out the third major religious question, ‘What is important’ As individuals, we have values that drive our choices in life.

Yesterday, I refused to go anywhere until I had seen my new baby granddaughter, now already more than a week old. I know I missed out on other things, but that was most important. I knew what it was for me. This is also true for communities. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we know what is most important to us. Sometimes it is to remain a small closely-knit ‘family.’ This causes a religious community to go the way of the Shakers – into extinction. Stasis is death, actually, literally, in the Greek. Bbut many communities choose this for themselves. You can too You could also choose to intentionally examine what is most important for you to bring out into the larger community of Auckland to represent your selves.

What do you value most I have no idea. It took me four years to realize that the most important thing to the congregation I currently serve is the religious education of their children – even for those whose children are grown and long gone. The second most important is the environment, and they are doing a bang-up job of offering educational programs and justice actions for the environment. More recently, they have taken up action for peace in a big way. What we have learned from Kennnon Callahan, thirty years a church consultant, is that we need to pick one program that has a critical mass of congregants with skills and enthusiasm for it and make it work for at least five years before it truly represents the congregation and creates identity in the larger community.

What might your project be It has to represent what is important to you, your passion, as it were. Well, time is up and we have barely begun, but I hope this is a good start. I look forward to continuing this process, for indeed it is a process: a process of risking telling one another who we are, why we are here, and what is most important to us. This is a spiritual process because it creates connections, links, through which the spiritual energies of each of us create ‘the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.’ Let us do this with respect, with responsibility, and with relish for the process.

So Be It! Blessed Be!