The Windows Series Quilts Dedication Sermon

About the chalice

During the second world war the Unitarian Service Committee was active in rescuing intellectual, academic, and political refugees from the Nazis and in maintaining a medical clinic to serve them. One of these refugees, Hans Deutsch, a painter from Paris, was asked to design an emblem for the service committee. That was the original flaming chalice which became the official seal of the Unitarian Service Committee on April 1, l941. It was later adopted by the Unitarian Universalist Association which modified the design to include two non-concentric circles symbolizing the union of two denominations.

On this Sunday morning we join Unitarian Universalist congregations across the continent in lighting a chalice to remind us of our dedication to the cause of religious freedom.

First Reading

from “A North Carolina Renaissance” a commencement address by Hardin Craig

“There is nothing so abundant as ability.
Individual dullness is a relative matter.
The ordinary man lives up to about one onethousandth of his
capabilities, and it follows that the improvement of an ordinary
mind soon excels the neglect of a better mind.

Nobody knows, besides, the best type of mind to possess.
Slow minds are for many purposes better than quick minds. Native gifts
neglected are always beaten by industry and perseverance. The world
needs caution and care as well as enterprise and action.

If talent is so common what is it that makes the difference?
The thing that makes the greatest difference is industry. Courage,
honesty, common sense, moral courage, are all necessary, but they may
all be subsumed under diligence.

'Showest thou me a man diligent in his business he shall stand before
kings; he shall not stand before ordinary men.”

This applies to women as well.

Second Reading

from “Psychocybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz

“You must learn to trust your creative mechanism to do its work and not 'jam it' by becoming too concerned or too anxious as to whether it will work or not, or by attempting to force it by too much conscious effort. You must 'let it work' rather than 'make it work'. This trust is necessary because your creative mechanism operates below the level of consciousness and you cannot 'know' what is going on beneath the surface. Moreover its nature is to operate spontaneously according to present need. Therefore you have no guarentees in advance. It comes into operation as you act and as you place a demand upon it by your actions. You must not wait to act until you have proof. You must act as if it is there and it will come through.”

'Do the thing and you will have the power,' said Emerson.

The title of my sermon, “Do the thing and you will have the power,” is a quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson, who became a Unitarian minister like his father before him.

Today we dedicate a second series of memorial quilts. I present them to this congregation in memory of my parents, Helen Kieffer Crooke and Leonard Crooke.

I would like to thank those members of the congregation who helped with the quilting. Their names are listed on the sign beside one of the panels.

Since many of you are new to this congregation and have not heard the story allow me to explain the first series, the three panels which hang behind me.

These began as a memorial to my son, Charles Alan Halstrick, but grew to include individuals from more than sixty families, past or present members of this congregation. The center quilt carries the names of early members, the one on your left more recent ones. The one to the right is dedicated to the memory of sons and daughters of members.

The names call to mind thoughts of those we love. As time goes on fewer and fewer of us will remember these individuals. Even then their names will serve a larger purpose.

The epitaph on the third quilt is taken from one I saw in Westminster Abbey many years ago, which said in its entirety, “His afflicted father places here this record of the many talents and virtues which for so early an age were very conspicuously developed 'But now he is dead can I bring him back again? I shall go to him but he shall not return to me'.”

It did not matter that I was not acquainted with the young son, Charles Bonner. Those words struck me to the core in that moment and they came back to me when I had a similar grief to express some twenty years later.

The names on our quilts like the name iscribed on the wall of the Abbey remind us that the experience of bereavement is a universal one, that we are not alone in grief. There are others who share and understand our feelings.

These names also bear witness to the fact that others came before us and created this community. For that reason they claim a place in our hearts whether or not we knew the individuals personally.

When people began telling me which quilt they wanted their name on when they died I realized that I had acquired more responsibility than intended. One member wanted hers added now for fear there would not be space when her time came. That did it. I began work on another series.

In order not to compete with the triptych behind me the second group is entirely different in concept. The first series is pieced. That is, the bits of fabric which form the design are held together by standard seams. The new panels are appliqued. One fabric is laid on top of another and topstitched around the edges. The basic design element in the first series is the triangle whereas the new series is almost entirely curvilinear.

The new series represents a row of windows, their borders matching as nearly as possible the woodwork in this sanctuary. Seen through these windows are views of our gardens, each at a different season of the year. Names will be embroidered on the panels below the windowsills.

	To your far left you see the Meditation Garden in the springtime. This garden was initiated by Alan Ferguson after the accidental death of his son, Duncan. You may have seen the clay tablet mounted on the wall above the benches which were given by his afflicted father in Duncan's memory. That tablet is inscribed with a poem by the young man. I have portrayed it on the quilt as a butterfly, symbol of transformation. The epitaph is a Tuscarora proverb, “They are not dead who live in the hearts they leave behind.” You may remember the pink flowering almond which used to bloom so magnificently at the entrance to that garden. It is no longer there. Someone had told me that a flowering almond would grow about fifteen feet tall. On the strength of that assurance I planted one at the entrance, expecting it to form an arch with the dogwood on the opposite side. Time has shown that this variety of almond has no intention of exceeding four or five feet. The quilt was designed with the previous assumption in mind. Therefor the almond had to be moved to another location and a redbud substituted in order for the garden to match the quilt.
	The second window looks out on the Fellowship House and the tree planted by our first minister, Dave McPherson. The plantings around the house are what I imagine will be there in a few years when the small rhododendrons now growing in isolation will be flanked by other broad leaved evergreens and serve as a background for flowers. Attention is centered on the rainbow, evidence of a passing summer shower. The epitaph, “The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.” is a Minquass proverb. Like all the others in this series it is taken from American Indian lore. I chose that source because the theme of these quilts is nature and I think of these people as being especially close to nature. I want to thank Sally Boeckel for her help in searching the literature.
	The third window shows our courtyard garden in the autumn. Some day the four Sargent's crabapple trees, planted in memory of Jack Simms, will touch overhead, sheltering us from the summer sun while we have coffee in their shade. Through the real window at the head of the stairs in this building we will in that day be able to look down on a leafy carpet, which in the spring will be embroidered with pale pink and white crabapple blossoms. Then indeed there will be beauty before us, beauty behind us, beauty above us, and beauty all around us. From a well known Navaho chant comes the epitaph for this quilt: “May there be beauty all around me. In beauty it is finished.” The benches you see on this quilt are the ones I hope someone in this congregation will build for us so that the courtyard will be an inviting gathering place during all but the coldest months.
	Through the last window we see the nature trail in the snow. The arborvitae have grown to form a wall on the far side of the walk. The near section of the path is marked by many footprints which refer to the epitaph below: “We will be known forever by the tracks we leave,” a Dakota proverb. Our little bridge, covered with virgin snow, leads to the bright entrance of our outdoor chapel lit by a full moon. On this lovely cold winter night Pet Cochnar's wren house nestles warmly under its blanket of snow. The color of its fired clay, burnt orange, brings the heat of its making to remind us of new life to come.

A common response to this sort of work is, “You have so much talent!” as though that were unusual, but as Hardin Craig said in our first reading, “There is nothing so abundant as ability.”

Unitarian Universalist theologian James Luther Adams said, “Human dignity resides in the capacity to participate in the creative process; in short, in the capacity to be transformed.”

The function of the artist is to transform our perception of the world. We are all artists. We transform each other and our society and in the process change our perceptions of life's possibilities.

Many individuals in this congregation inspire us with their efforts to transform our world. We also need as a group to have a goal larger than ourselves in order to find meaning in our corporate life. Simply finding the means to perpetuate the institution is not enough. The organization must be transformed into an inspiring symbol for our time, a living example of a humane and responsible community. We need to act upon our conviction that every human being deserves respect.

We are a vigorous group, the age span is inclusive. New leadership is evident already among our high school class. In this congregation we have more than enough talent to accomplish whatever we set our minds to. This is not to deny that as individuals or even as a group we have limitations, but the limitations are far less confining than generally perceived.

Our most obvious talents are musical. We have an exceptionally high proportion of singers, instrumentalists, and composers. If you haven't been here long enough to appreciate that come to the Suite Treat Cafe around Valentine's Day and you will find the experience delightful.

Another talent, very widespread in this congregation is a gift for forming friendships. We are diligent in that business. If you are new and haven't discovered this yet, stick around. I promise you that whatever your age or interests you can find friends here. Volunteer for anything and you will be welcomed warmly into the heart of this community.

Still another matter in which this congregation is abundantly talented is in its social action. For example we have seized upon the opportunity presented to us by the Rev. Don Robinson, founder of Beacon House Community Ministry. Under the leadership of Deb Ferrenz we created its Holiday Craft Workshop, helped with Summer Leap Camp, Mentoring, Tutoring, and service on the board, Mary Nelson has managed our part in the Saturday craft program - helping to create what has become a national model of urban rebirth.

Don Robinson has transformed the Edgewood community. His vision when he retired early to become a Unitarian Universalist minister was to do exactly that. And in the process he has transformed our perception of the potential of that community. As a result we have become a part of his vision. We have become actors in that transformation - fellow artists with him. We have, along with the Edgewood community, become not only artists but a part of the work of art itself.

Don didn't know in advance what the details of his composition would be. Maxwell Maltz's words come to mind:

“…you have no guarentees in advance. {Your creative mechanism} comes into operation as you act and as you place a demand upon it by your actions. You must not wait to act until you have proof. You must act as if it is there and it will come through.”

Don trusted his creative mechanism. He acted without waiting for proof. He knew that his purpose was good, that the details of the picture would be filled in, because his cause was right. As Martin Luther King said, “The arc of righteousness is long, but it bends toward justice.”

We in this congregation must together realize our expressed dream to become a more diverse and caring community. We are moving in that direction. The world is our community. It is diverse. Our task is to be a model, a microcosm of the whole world, to demonstrate creative community, that different cultures can appreciate and care for each other. If we neglect to do this we risk becoming irrelevant.

One of our former ministers, Andrea Greenwood said,

“We, like King, must try to live a religion profound enough that it extends into the civil realm and changes the world.”

I am obliged to Karl Zielinski for this quotation from Nelson Mandela which bears on the subject at hand:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

We have to make a conscious decision to leap out with faith in the power of imagination. We must risk failure, knowing that experience builds toward ultimate success, that inspiration will dawn upon us, we will be transformed and see the light.

Rabbi Kushner wrote,

“Religion isn't a series of beliefs and rituals. It is the community through which you learn to be human.”

Our community is here to keep our imagination alive with possibility, to teach us to be human, to act, so that this congregation will be known favorably forever by the tracks it leaves.

The snow is as yet undisturbed on the bridge of our quilt and beyond, as the rest of each of our paths is as yet unmarked. What sort of tracks will we leave, each of us? And what sort of tracks will our congregation leave?

We are making tracks, either with deliberate intent or heedlessly and the tracks we are making will leave a mark on society. Will it be a mark of which we can be proud? Will it give meaning to our lives? Will it help to bend the arc of rightiousness toward justice? Can we do that?

“Do the thing and you will have the power.”

Amen and Shalom

Hymn: “his Little Light of Mine”

Closing Words

The closing words are from a Christmas letter from my daughter, Carolyn Halstrick Pedrick:

“May you seize each day and spend it well with those you love. May your life be filled with opportunities explored and dreams fulfilled, and may your shadows always give way to glorious light.”

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