REFLECTIONS ON THE BUILDING DEDICATION ANNIVERSARY
January 7, 2007 The Reverend Anne Felton Hines
I was in Fairfax, Virginia when the earthquake shook Southern California so violently that early January morning in 1994. I was visiting my friends Jim Nelson and Kathe Kelly, and we’d turned on the television to see what the snow forecast for the day was. What we saw instead was news of a devastating earthquake, centered in Northridge, California. We remained glued to the TV for a long while, watching the camera crews survey the damage; it was pretty frightening.
Later on I would learn about the extensive damage done to Emerson’s building – a place in which I had guest-preached at least twice before then. And from time to time I would hear from my colleagues serving you – Lex Crane, Ernie Pipes, Brandy Lovely and Gail Geisenhainer – about the process you were going through, and finally about the completion of your new buildings. It never occurred to me that one day I’d be standing in your new Sanctuary as your minister, celebrating with you the 10th anniversary of the Dedication of the buildings. I feel very blessed.
Much has gone on in these buildings since that Dedication service held December 29th, 1996. You created your own preschool that served many children in the wider community – of all income levels. And while it presented you with great challenges, it was – in the words of one member – a “noble endeavor,” run entirely by church volunteers, to whom we owe much gratitude.
You carried on a very successful Long-Range Planning venture, which involved large numbers of members studying seven specific areas of the church: Governance, Shared Ministry, Lay Pastoral Care, Lifespan Religious Education, Preschool, Land and Facilities, and Funding our Faith. And from each study evolved new directions for Emerson which continue to benefit us today.
This Sanctuary has been witness to your ongoing commitment to excellence in worship and music – manifested not only through your choices of professional ministers and musicians, but the quality of your volunteer worship leaders and choir directors as well.
This Sanctuary has seen amazing pageants, often written by our own members, with costumes and sets that would rival any Hollywood show!
And it’s been the host of parties, auctions, rummage sales, 12-step meetings, forums, death penalty vigils, interfaith potlucks, congregational meetings, marvelous concerts, and Installations of new ministers, complete with bubbles! And that’s probably only the half of it.
A few years ago, we were “courted” by Head Start, which brought us a new and improved playground, a steady income for the church, relief for some volunteers, and a thriving ministry to the low-income children of our neighborhood.
Our classrooms also have housed our own children and youth, opening for them opportunities to learn about other religions, as well as about their own faith; to work on projects that serve the wider community; to explore the deeper religious questions of life; and to experience the warmth of community and the power of love.
These buildings have been the center for important interim ministry after the departure of a beloved minister, and the steady work of an intentional search process for a new settled minister. Indeed, the walls have witnessed the process of hiring employees for three positions that for a number of years had been fulfilled by loyal volunteers: An Office Administrator, a Religious Education Coordinator, and a Music Director.
These buildings have seen the re-birth of a Social Action Alliance; free art classes for neighborhood children; an Adopt-a-Social-Worker program; the planning of peace vigils; organizing meetings of health care workers; projects that help heal the earth; and many other activities for peace and justice.
And of course, this Sanctuary has seen weddings, child dedications, Coming-of-Age and Bridging ceremonies, for our youth, New Member Welcomes, and memorial services; it has been witness to the life transitions within our beloved community.
And now it is time to think about what these buildings are to become in the future. Because buildings aren’t anything special until they are given special use – as these have for the past ten years. What special use will we give them in the next ten years?
When then UUA President John Buehrens spoke at the dedication of new buildings at the San Dieguito Fellowship, he said: These buildings do not belong to the congregation; they belong to the wider community; they are to be used for the benefit of the common good.
That’s not an easy concept. I know how difficult it is to share our classrooms with a preschool – or any outside organization, for that matter. I know it doesn’t always feel like our own children have their space. But wouldn’t it be a shame if those rooms sat empty all week long, when there is such a need for them by the community?
I know how difficult it is to share this beautiful Sanctuary and Pavilion with outside groups.
Every time some group asks to use these spaces for their meetings, I feel myself tighten a bit: What if it interferes with our own needs, I wonder? But wouldn’t it be a shame if this grand space remained empty most of the time?
There are so many uses for our buildings; I’d love to have them filled every day and every night – sometimes with our own activities, and sometimes activities serving the larger good. That’s what a church is for, after all. It does not just belong to us; it belongs to the community.
What visions do you have for the future use of our space? How would you see them benefiting us, and those beyond these walls? And what will be your part in making those new visions real?
In listening last night to some of the letters sent this week to commemorate our anniversary celebration, I was moved by the constant theme of “perseverance.” Apparently, just as Rhod’s delightful account suggests, most people thought you’d never be able to recover from the damage caused by the earthquake. You’d never be able to raise the money needed; you’d never know how to run a preschool; you’d never recover from lost members. But you proved the “experts” wrong; you said “We can do it; yes we can!” You gathered your resources – all grounded in your love for this church, went to work, and survived yet another crisis in the history of Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church.
But it is in the years that follow such survival that the biggest challenges present themselves; it is in the calm – not the storms – when the real test comes. Because that’s the period when many of us – not all, thank goodness; but some - want to sit back and relax, and let the church just “float” until the next crisis hits. But if that happens, we won’t have fulfilled the mission or ministry of this church. If we don’t keep moving forward, we won’t have lived up to the words of Dedication that most of you recited together ten years ago.
Our church may not be in a crisis now; but our world is in crisis, and it needs this church to help turn it around. And that means it needs everyone helping, in whatever needs to be done to keep this church a thriving beacon of liberal religion. From the most mundane tasks to the most creative, each of us is called to participate in some way in the ongoing ministries of this church – not only in times of crisis, but most particularly in these times of tranquility at church. I know some of you do not want to hear this, but I must say it anyway: We need to be “worker bees” – in whatever way we each are able to be that.
This is the challenge before us today. May we rise to it with as much love and dedication as has been witnessed in years gone by. May our mantra always be: “We can do it. Yes we can!”
Let me hear you say it now: “We can do it. Yes we can!” (repeat). I want to see you stand and shout it: “We can do it, yes we can!” (repeat)
Alright! And Amen!
Please remain standing now, these buildings don’t need re-dedication after 10 years, but we who live within them do. So, would Kirsten Rosselot, as a representative of the Board of Trustees, please come forward. And I invite you all to (stand and) join in reading responsively with us the slightly-rewritten “Litany of Dedication,” created originally for the Service of Dedication 10 years ago. It is in your Order of Service.
© 2007 Anne Felton Hines. All rights reserved.
