Please click the link to watch Rev. Cynthia Snavely’s video recording of this sermon.
Unitarian Universalist minister Jane Rzepka wrote, “I grew up in one of those Unitarian fellowships in the Midwest. And that little religious community really left its mark on me.
“For one thing, the grown-ups there believed we ought to use our heads. They encouraged us to ponder the big questions of beginnings and endings and anger and love and what was before and what comes next and what helps and what hinders. They thought we were smart kids, they listened to our ideas, we believed we were good thinkers. Now of course I know that the use of reason is a cornerstone of our long religious heritage, but then I just thought it was the way we did things at the Unitarian Church.
“And then in another mode we planted daffodils, we looked at the stars, we searched for guppies, we held a worship service at the river. These days we call it spirituality, I suppose, or earth-centered religion, but then we called it ‘miracle’ and ‘wonder.’ And that rootedness is in my blood as a Unitarian.
“Finally, back then, we children knew that we were a part of congregation that loved us. They taught us Sunday School. They doled out the cookies at coffee hour. They chaperoned the Youth Group. They wanted to know what we would do after graduation. They wrung their hands; they clapped their hands—for us, for one another. Now we call it community; now we call it connection. But, for me, back then, it was just Unitarianism.”
In the early 1950s, Unitarian religious educator Sophia Lyon Fahs published a book titled Today’s Children and Yesterday’s Heritage; A Philosophy of Creative Religious Development. She wrote of beginning with children’s own questionings, wonderings, and concerns:
“I remember that for some reason, in one class, the question of ‘What was the oldest thing in the room?’ came up. A few children wondered if the oldest thing in the room was the teacher, because what can humble you more than teaching children? But what the class finally decided was the oldest thing in the room was the water sitting in a glass on a table. That water had been around from the beginning of the primordial ocean. It might have at some point been part of dinosaur blood. It had been cycling through oceans and clouds and rivers and plants and animals and people for billions of years. It was amazing. It was wondrous. And it was discovered by this classroom of children because someone among them had wondered, ‘What is the oldest thing in this room?’”
I have five grandchildren, and I know that walking with children is quite different than walking with adults. If you walk with children, spider webs will be noticed. Rocks will be turned over to reveal bugs and worms. Tiny frogs will be followed until they somehow disappear into some secret hiding place. Sticks will be thrown into creeks to see where the water takes them.
Turn of the twentieth-century American naturalist and nature essayist John Burroughs wrote, “To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter … to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring—these are some of the rewards of the simple life.”
Call it what you will; to see with the eyes of a child, to live the simple life, to be able to see the world with wonder and with awe, is—for me—an important part of my spirituality. But it is not enough just to see the wonder myself; that wonder needs to be shared. As Rev. Rzepka put it, “we planted daffodils, we looked at the stars, we searched for guppies, we held a worship service at the river. These days we call it spirituality, I suppose, or earth-centered religion, but then we called it ‘miracle’ and ‘wonder.’ And that rootedness is in my blood as a Unitarian.”
Rzepka grew up in a Unitarian congregation before we were Unitarian Universalists, before we had an annual ritual called a water communion. The Unitarians and Universalists merged in 1961. The first Unitarian Universalist water communion service was held in 1980 at the Women and Religion Continental Convocation. But we have not lost the sense of wonder Rzepka was taught and that rooted her in her faith.
The section of our Unitarian Universalist bylaws labeled “inspirations” begins like this: “Direct experiences of transcending mystery and wonder are primary sources of Unitarian Universalist inspiration. These experiences open our hearts, renew our spirits, and transform our lives.”
Did you notice the water in what Rzepka wrote? A worship service at the river, a rootedness in her blood. There is a water cycle on our earth. There is a water cycle within us. Water is an amazing and wondrous thing. Just some of the facts about water I found on a quick internet search were: “Water is the only substance on Earth that comes in three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas…. Water controls the Earth’s temperature. Large bodies of water such as seas, huge lakes, and oceans, affect the climate of its nearby area…. Water regulates (our) body temperature. Drinking water is vital to maintain body temperature. During physical activities and hot environments, the body loses water through sweating. The sweat keeps the body cool; however, the temperature of the body will rise if water is not replenished…. Drinking water may improve mood and memory. According to research, hydration affects the brain as well as the body. Light dehydration may change one’s mood or memory and can also increase anxiety…. More than 50% of illnesses are due to poor water and sanitation. In some developing countries, about 80% of illnesses occur because of poor water and sanitation. Globally, 1 out of every 5 deaths below 5 years old is due to a water-related disease,” (from 140 Water Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About – Facts.net).
As we gather back after summer, we bring water; water from our travels, water from our homes, water from right here at our congregation, water from the creek we pass by on a regular walk, water collected by us and others who have been part of this congregation in years past. It is a reminder that what we so often consider ordinary is not so ordinary after all.
Twentieth-century American anthropologist and natural science writer Loren Eiseley wrote, “If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. Its least stir even, as now in a rain pond on a flat roof opposite my office, is enough to bring me searching to the window.”
Water can teach us. The legendary Chinese teacher and philosopher of the 6th century Before the Common Era, Lao Tzu, is said to have noted, “Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.” Water can make a land verdant, carve out canyons, destroy villages, power cities.
“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” As we share our waters, may we know that magic. May this ritual of shared waters bind us more fully to one another. Let us call those bonds community. Let us call them connection. Let us call them Unitarian Universalism.
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