Celebrate!
Spring begins in March. Maybe that's why this month has a couple of really wild and crazy holidays—Purim and Holi.
Click on the links below not only for information about these holidays and how you might celebrate them, but also for links to games, activities and more.
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We Honor… |
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| National Women's History Month during March in the USA, so it seems appropriate to remember a group of pioneering women ministers, now often called the "Iowa Sisterhood." Some of the earliest women ministers in any denomination, they not only created churches from the ground up, they built communities that cared for the poor and ill, and supported education for all women. The leading force within the Iowa Sisterhood was Mary Augusta Safford. She organized seven Unitarian Churches during her ministry, starting in 1878. In addition to working with churches, she held leadership positions in regional and national Unitarian associations. She served as chaplain in the Iowa state legislature. She also was president of the Iowa Suffrage Association, and 1ectured widely on women's rights, philosophy, and poetry. She understood her role as missionary minister, strengthening struggling societies and creating new ones.
Eleanor Gordon followed her life-long friend Mary Safford into the Unitarian ministry. After assisting Safford in Sioux City, she moved on to serve parishes in Iowa City, Burlington, Fargo, N. D., and Des Moines. Safford and Gordon published the missionary magazine Old and New for many years through the Iowa Unitarian Association. They retired together to Orlando, Florida, where they (of course) organized a Unitarian society in 1912.
Another very active member of the Iowa Sisterhood was Eliza Tupper Wilkes. She founded eight societies, primarily in South Dakota and Minnesota, served as director of the Iowa Unitarian Conference, and secretary of the Post Office Missions of St. Paul, Minnesota. Like her other "Iowa Sisters," she recommended and trained women to the missionary ministry. |
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Act!
In the Purim story Esther saves the Jewish people by getting creative about setting up a situation in which she manages to get the king to listen to her concerns and act on the side of justice. You, too, can be a hero like Esther by using your creativity to let your government—whether local, state/provincial or national—know what you are concerned about and what you think they should do. Bothered about the war in Iraq ? Harm to our environment? An issue with your school? You can speak out. Here are a few steps to being a voice for change:
- Understand the problem. That might involve talking with a grownup or a friend so that you can figure out how to say clearly what you think is wrong. The Internet is a wonderful source of information to help you learn more about any issue. Just know that some sites are more accurate than others, so you may need to compare and see what makes sense.
- Figure out who you need to talk to. The president? A state legislator? The school board? Your teacher or principal? Again, talking things through with a grownup such as a parent or teacher can help you sort this out. If you're in the USA, you can find out how to contact pretty much any member of government.
- Plan a strategy. Do you want to write a letter? Send a picture? Make a phone call? Hold a rally? Stage a protest? Circulate a petition? Like Esther, you can get creative. For instance, Cindy Sheehan was so upset about her son dying in what she felt was an unnecessary war that she went and camped out on President Bush's doorstep.
- Go for it.
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Nurturing Your Spirit
Around the world and for thousands and thousands of years, people have fed their spirits by being in touch with the world of nature and the cycle of the seasons. For many who live in the Northern Hemisphere, March is the time for what I call "Sprout Patrol." Sprout Patrol involves walking through your neighborhood, looking for all the signs of spring—not only crocuses and daffodils sprouting up from the ground, but also buds sprouting on trees. Sprout Patrol involves using all your senses—listening for the sound of birds who have returned from their winter homes, smelling for that scent of damp earth or even flowers, running your fingers over a soft pussy willow bud.
Of course, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, March is a time not for Sprout Patrol, but for tuning in for signs of fall and coming winter—leaves changing color, shifts in light, birds migrating, chillier nights and mornings, and so on.
Wherever you live, and whatever the season, paying close attention to the natural world around you helps you feel all the ways you are connected into "the interdependent web of all existence" which feeds our bodies and souls. |
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Practicing the Principles
Our third UU principle is "Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations." Of course, accepting one another and encouraging each other to grow our spirits is something that UUs believe in doing in all kinds of situations, not just in our churches. And life certainly provides plenty of opportunities to test out that idea of accepting one another. However, it turns out that the more you look at it, the more complicated that idea of acceptance becomes. After all, we believe in encouraging people to follow their own minds and hearts about their religious beliefs. We welcome, for instance, people who think that the whole idea of God makes no sense at all and people who feel that their relationship with God is the most important part of their lives. But, on the other hand, do we accept beliefs like "boys are better than girls" or "people with light skin are better than people with dark skin" or "families with a mom and a dad are better than any other kind of family" or "I don't care what harm I do to the environment just so long as I can have everything I want"? Besides, if we absolutely accept people just as they are, then what does it mean to encourage people to spiritual growth? Isn't encouraging people to grow the same as encouraging people to change?
In your family or small group—or just for yourself—try making a list of some different kinds of beliefs that you think are OK, even if you don't agree with them. Them make a list of beliefs that you think are just plain wrong, and that you don't accept. Do you have a sense of what makes some differing beliefs just fine, and some beliefs not OK? |
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