Activities: Worship: We All Are Connected

First Unitarian Universalist Society, Burlington, VT, April 12, 1998
Lisa Rubin, DRE

(I had readers for the various places we visited.)
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Once there was a village of Unitarian Universalist people who gathered together on Easter morning. The sun was shining brightly, they were all dressed up in their finest clothes, some had awakened to find Easter baskets all filled with eggs and chocolate and jelly beans. Some had already eaten chocolates and jelly beans! They gathered together in their big room for worship and listened to music and sang. While they sat there, one young child looked around and asked the elders: "Why is this day different from all other days?"

The wise elders looked at the child, paused, scratched their heads.....and   then one elder said,

"Well, because we have always done it this way."

"Yes, but -- WHY is this day different from ALL the others?" the young child asked.

Then another wise elder said, "Because, because, because it is tradition!"

"Yes, tradition!" they all agreed.

"Yes, but -- WHERE does the tradition come from?" asked the child.

And everyone was quiet. No one was quite sure WHERE the tradition had come from and why they celebrated it in their own little village. Then someone said,

"The book may have the answer, the book is full of wise things."

"Yes, the book, the book, let's check the book." People started to agree.

So they all began to look through the book, there were copies of the book where everyone sat. Can you find your book? It's right there in the rack in front of most of you. Maybe the children can help. Can you take out the book and see if you can find the answer. There it is on that piece of blue paper.

They found what they were looking for in the part labeled :

"THE LIVING TRADITION WE SHARE DRAWS FROM MANY SOURCES:" (There is an older copy of the sources printed in the book, but in 1995 the people had agreed upon a "Sixth Source", and miraculously it appeared in the book.)

"What does it say? What does it say?" Asked the children.

The people who could read turned to the children and read the sources together.

THE LIVING TRADITION WE SHARE DRAWS FROM MANY SOURCES:

Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life;

Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion and the transforming power of love;

Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;

Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;

Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.

Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Grateful for the religious pluralism which enriches and ennobles our faith, we are inspired to deepen our understanding and expand our vision. As free congregations we enter into this covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support.

"Deepen our understanding and expand our vision. That must be it," they said, "That must be how we will find out about the tradition. But how will we do it?"

"Can we use our magic shakers?" asked the children. "The ones that transfer us to places where we can learn about other people and cultures."

"That must be what we need to do." Said the elders. So the children took out their shakers and began to shake them while the magic star was held high above (in the pews the children shake their shakers)(note from Lisa: I have a wand with a star and streamers coming from the top) -- and when it came down they ended.

And they were transferred to a place where people were celebrating the Goddess Ostara and a young woman child was playing beautiful music on the harp.

(Holly Jones plays "The Goddesses" on her harp)

When the music ended the pagans were saying a prayer together, and a young boy spoke.

"Ostara, Lady of the Spring.   Hail Ostara, eastward arising,   Laughing goddess, Lady of Light--

To dawn, dominion over darkness, Thy glory has granted, gone is the night!"

For months we have lived in the darkness of winter, the earth and the animals have rested. Now comes the season of the rising sun, the return of the goddess Ostara who brings warmth and helps the world gently awake. We rejoice in the return of the grass and flowers as they push through the earth to greet and be warmed by the spring sun.

Ostara gently awakes the sleeping animals and brings to them the gift of new life. The hare is the sacred animal of the celebration of Ostara. They say the hare sleeps with it's eyes open, that is why it is a symbol of the moon. The hare stays mostly invisible during the long winter months, but in the springtime when the grass is short and mating season begins the hare comes to life with strength and speed and is a symbol of fertility.

The egg is also a sacred symbol as we rejoice in the goddess Ostara at springtime. Like many other cultures, the egg symbolizes to us new life; some believe the world was hatched from an egg. Many people hang colored eggs on trees or give gifts of baskets filled with sweet green grass of spring and eggs either decorated or painted the colors in the rainbow. At this time of year we color our eggs red.

We celebrate holy days of alignment with the earth, in honoring Ostara we reclaim our ancient customs and their full meanings at springtime.

 Having visited the first and sixth sources and coming to some understanding, the wand was again raised, the children shook their magic shakers and the UU people returned to their village. When they arrived home they took out their books, turned to hymn number 51, those who could stood, and the children gathered their colored eggs and hung them on the tree as everyone else joined together in singing "Lady of the Seasons' Laughter".

(While the hymn is being sung, the children decorate the tree on the chancel)

"I don't think we fully understand it all yet." said a young person, "Could we visit another source?"

"Why of course," said the elders "for that is how we live and grow in our UU Principles".

And again the wand was raised, and again the children shook their magic shakers, and again the people were transferred to another place. (The kids shake their shakers)

Here the Jews were celebrating Passover, and a young woman began to speak.

"Passover.   Long ago, the Jews lived in Egypt. The kings of egypt were called pharaoahs.   One pharaoh made the Jews become slaves. They had to work very hard all day,   building great stone cities.

They cried out to God for help. God chose Moses to help the Jews. Moses told the Pharaoh that "The Lord Our God says, 'Let my people go!' "

But Pharoah would not let the Jews go. God sent ten plagues to make Pharoah change his mind.   He made the water turn to blood. He sent frogs, flies, and locusts. Even after nine plagues, Pharaoh would not free the Jews.

Finally God sent the tenth plague.  The firstborn son in every home dies. But the Angel of Death passed over the Jewish homes.  So nobody in the Jewish homes died.  This is why we call this holiday Passover.

At last Pharaoh cried to Moses, "Go! Take all the Jews and go now!" The people left before Pharaoh had a chance to change his mind.   The Jews left Egypt as the moon shone full in the sky that spring night, and they changed their destiny.

They marched away not only from a land but from a condition. The holiday of Passover celebrates the greatest theme in human existence -- freedom. The Jews marched from slavery toward freedom.

As the years go by sometimes life can seem softer, and people who have not experienced the oppression and live more sheltered lives may not understand how freedom needs to be defended by vigilance and, when necessary, by sacrifice.

Every spring since the exodus, when the earth returns to new life and new hope, Jews throughout the world have celebrated Passover as a festival of freedom, recalling the escape from slavery in Egypt and confirming the fact that every person, everywhere has the right to be free.

We ask ourselves the questions: What does it take to be free? Do we have the willingness to be free to be ourselves inside and out? What does it take to have faith and to live our faith daily and honor everyperson's right to live freely?"

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After hearing the words of the young woman an elder spoke,

"Drawing from this 3rd and 4th source helps us to find ways to live our Seven Principles and make some sense of what we find.  It's in the songs we sing about journeying together, searching for truth, equality, and blessed peace of mind. It's about working to put an end to all the waste of human strife.

It's about being in community and celebrating life. The spirit is moving me,   I have a desire for us all to return to our village and sing."

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The people all agreed, and once again the children shook their magic shakers that returned the UU people to their village. The organ played the people turned to hymn number 354, they shared their books with one another, the adults pointed to the words for the younger children, and they began to sing.

"We Laugh, We Cry".

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(The following was special in our service because of 2 children in our RE program.)

In Japan it is said that if a dragon circles over the village three times, a good crop is foretold. Pausing on their journey, the people of the UU village listened to the young Taiko drummers who made their offering by calling upon the dragon god three times to help humanity. While doing so the people made the collection to help their community.

(D.P. and Tabea Teichert play "Hiryu San Dan Gaeshi" on the Taiko drums)

Then a young child spoke. "I am beginning to understand why this day is special, but I thought Jesus had something to do with Easter."

"You are quite right." replied an elder, "And I don't think the day would be complete without visiting one more source. We should complete our journey with a visit to source number 3."

And so again the magic shakers were shaken and the people were transferred to a place where a woman was speaking.

The Story of Jesus   (For UU children, written by Bill Cleary)

It was Passover time 2000 years ago that Jesus was put to death by the Romans; he spoke of the Kingdom of God which sounded threatening to the Kingdom of Rome. He was a kind of revolutionary, and revolutionaries always make those in power nervous.

But before Jesus was put to death, he said and did many wonderful things. Someday you will read the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, the Bible. Some of you already have. No one knows exactly all the things that Jesus said and did because he lived so long ago and because there are thousands of books about him -- about 70,000 in all, and about 1,000 more every year.

The Christian scriptures say he taught his followers to pray, and even called God "Abba" which meant "Papa" in his language. This was a very different idea for people of his time. He loved to be with children. His heart went out to the poor. We was a great model of a heroic, fearless man.

He cared about anyone sick or hurt, and he comforted them and sometimes helped with their healing. All these things really happened.   The Christian scriptures tell of a lot of things that may not have happened, but they are inspiring stories of hope.

They tell of Jesus dying and then coming back to life -- which he did in a way -- by continuing to give people inspiration to live courageously and in a kindly, compassionate way.

Christians believe that Jesus is still living with them in spirit. He lives on in their hearts and minds, and Christians celebrate that presence of Jesus with his friends at Easter.

(These words are followed by the choir singing "The Lamb" by John Taverner)

After the angels sung an elder spoke.

"You see children, our living tradition calls on us to draw from many sources, to help us in the free and responsible search for truth and meaning which we affirm and promote. We do not imitate what others do, but there are certain times in our lives, when our spirits call us to take action or answer.

We do not always understand our spirits calling. We learn from others who have come before us, to help us in creating rituals for ourselves alone, or in celebration with one another in our faith community.

I think it is time for us to return to our own village and celebrate this day together."

So for the final time the children shook their magic shakers, and the UU people were returned to their village. (Shakers)

And a young person spoke. "It is like we have been learning, no matter who we are, no matter what we do, we are all connected. We are interconnected to all who have come before us and all who will come after us.

We learn from others, we celebrate ourselves and others and we work to create harmony as we take this journey together. In celebration of the new life that is awaking at this season, we would like to share with you a song we have learned along with American Sign Language signs for some of the words."

And the children who wanted to came forward to sing, the adults learned from them the words and joined the children in singing their song a second time.

We all are connected, one family.  We all are connected, one family.

Each to the other, people, animals and trees, Each to the other, people, animals and trees.

As soon as we notice, how perfect it will be.  As soon as we notice, how perfect it will be Living together, one family.  Living together, in harmony.

Closing words: #687

Go your ways, knowing not the answers to all things, yet seeking always the answer to one more thing than you know.

-John W. Brigham

Go well into life now, and when you need us, always remember that here you will find the hands of friends.

-John Hanley Morgan