April 3, 2016
Rev. Emily Wright-Magoon
When I was moving to Lewiston, Maine 8 years ago, my boss told me: from your second-floor apartment you’ll be able to see the towering spires of the cathedral. Indeed, the St Peter and Paul Basilica in Lewiston is an impressive and beautiful structure, registered on the National Register of Historic Places, and with enough seats in the wooden pews for over 2,000 people. But more impressive is the history of the cathedral…
I soon learned it is called the nickel and dime cathedral. It was built after scores of French Canadian immigrants came to the state to work in the shoe and textile factories. They did not have a place to worship but were steadily growing in numbers. There were no wealthy benefactors among them, so they saved their nickels and dimes and held bake sales and ball game fundraisers, and eventually raised $800,000 to build their church. What’s more – this was during the Great Depression.
One may wonder, why choose to spend their hard-earned and already scarce money in this way? In part this church was a testament to their faith. It was also a social statement: that these new immigrants, often scorned and mistreated, were here to stay and were capable of making a lasting contribution to their community. This church was their legacy – not only the building itself but the values it represented and the impact the church had in the community.
Last night at our Fellowship dinner, we kicked off our annual Stewardship campaign. Our goal for this year’s pledges is 100% participation from all members. Your gift is valued, whatever it is, even if a stretch for you is the equivalent of what nickels and dimes would have been in the ‘30s. All gifts to this church are celebrated and appreciated.
But before you start to think about the particular amount, I ask us to consider why we give. Unfortunately, too often in our consumerist society, we are influenced to give because of what we get. If we gave to this church in that way, it would mean giving because we love the music, or because our children are in the RE classes, or because our friends go here.
Those are all fine, but I know that many of you give, and many before you have given, for much deeper and more rewarding reasons.
This church began in 1954 when a small group of people met. In their first years together they met in borrowed or rented spaces – at the Palette Club, the Scharbauer hotel, or even an elementary school, I understand. They met because they longed for a community where a free mind could be valued – where values such as Freedom, Tolerance, Reason, and Understanding were nurtured. They saw a deep need for such a community in Midland, TX and they contributed their time, talent, and treasure to make it happen. Within a few years, they had built a church out on A Street, and then in the early 80s they bought this land where we are now and built this church.
Because of their vision and their generosity, we are here.
They left a legacy. That “they” is some of you! – We are lucky to still have a few members who were there for the founding, and several who were there in our early years in this building.
Because of the vision and the generosity of those that went before, we have a relatively new building with relatively small maintenance needs. We have no debt; we have an endowment; and we are currently the only UU church – out of the six in West Texas – with a minister. These are real gifts.
But as our treasurer Tom Hull explained to us yesterday, our endowment is not a never-ending well we can draw from. To be responsible stewards of this gift, of this legacy, we must also give.
And my hope is that we give not primarily because of what we ourselves directly receive but because of our passion for and commitment to this church’s mission – a mission that connects with our values, a mission that makes a difference…
Welcoming Diversity. We have been a place where lesbian gay bisexual trans and queer people feel affirmed and celebrated, often a life-saving gift. What if we could reach even more LGBTQ people, especially teenagers who are often in most desperate need for a lifeline? What if we could again offer comprehensive sex ed through the celebrated Our Whole Lives curriculum? What if we had a paid Director of Religious Education who could work to expand our childrens and teens programs even bigger so we could help even more young people learn to welcome diverse voices even within themselves? What if we could become an even more racially diverse congregation and help heal some of the racial division in our city?
Empowering Spiritual Growth. We are be a place of peace, where suffering or exhausted souls come for respite and renewal. We are be a place of healing, where spiritual wounds can be tended and new life found. We can be even more of a place that integrates the deep learnings of many religious and secular sources to evolve our individual and collective humanity. What if we could create small reflection groups where people could share their spiritual journeys and grow in relationship and spiritual wisdom?
Fostering the Interdependent Web. We can be a place that models how to care for the Earth, whether by learning about xeriscaping, responsible eating, or more. We can be a place that nurtures empathy and care for the vulnerable in our world. What if we could partner with other groups in town to do social and environmental justice work? What if the Unitarian Universalists became known widely in town for their leadership in bringing radical love and deep wisdom to difficult questions.
Transforming Lives. We already have been and are a place of connection, where the lonely find community that enables them to thrive. We can embody even more a place of love that moves our spirits to do more than we could have imagined to create beloved community. A major goal set in our Strategic Plan is to grow in membership – what if we grew and grew so that we needed more chairs, or even more services, or even a bigger building! What if we grew not just for the sake of it but because we wanted to transform more lives – because we know there are more people in Midland in need of our message, in need of our community?
We already are many of these things that I have named! And other things I have named are grand dreams.
And what are your dreams?
Henry David Thoreau said,
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
It is important to dream – to imagine in detail the kind of legacy, inspired by our mission, that we want to leave.
So I’d like to now invite you all to dream –
You have in your order of service some questions for reflection. In a moment we’ll have some music and I’ll invite you to reflect on these questions and write your answers. We’ll collect the answers after the music, and I’ll read selections of them aloud anonymously – I’ll leave all of them on the bulletin board for us to ponder later. Of course this is optional, and if you are new to us, feel free to participate or not participate – whatever feels most comfortable.
How could this church even further live out its mission? What would it look like?
What legacy do you want to leave?
Consider your deepest values, your deepest hopes. (Listen to the audio – above – to hear some of the congregation’s reflections on these questions!)