Sept 2010

Like a Flowing Stream

There’s a song in Singing the Journey (the teal-colored hymnal) called “Return Again,” which we sing now and then. I often wonder how many people listen to the words to that song. First, it speaks of soul and links the idea of soul to identity. It also makes the connection to integrity and honesty. The song ends with the thought of being born and reborn again.

I’m reminded of two things when I hear that song. One is the Dances of Universal Peace in California, where we would sing the song and dance to the music nearly every time we met. The other is sitting with old Dr Harvey Potthoff, a student of Alfred North Whitehead at Harvard, talking about spiritual and religious crisis and about the idea of rebirth. I had asked Dr. Potthoff if it was possible to suffer not just a dark night of the soul but crisis throughout the day. Is it possible that spiritual rebirth is not a one-time event like many of my fundamentalist relatives seem to think? (They express the idea that if one is reborn and gives his or her self to Christ then it’s a done deal. One sells their soul and they get the mansion in the sky in the ultimate gated white community. If one is especially devoted an open gift certificate to Walmart is enclosed also.)

Dr. Potthoff said that if his experience and that of many of his friends is any measure, then every day offers one crisis after another. The need to question one’s self is unending if one is engaged in an examined life and the spiritual quest. He said hardly a day goes by that he doesn’t feel like he’s been born again several times. 

I look at our church year much the same way. Like many things, it has a life, a death, and a period of limbo leading to rebirth. The church year seems to have a life of its own with its joys and its difficulties. Such is the way of the world. The year ends, a new Board is installed and we sit in a sort of limbo of summer. As the summer ends and autumn is just ahead, so too our congregation looks toward rebirth and homecoming. The Water Service is that rebirth, that renewal of the congregational life. It is always an exciting time for me because I get to see many people I’ve missed over the summer and I get to reflect on the triumphs and difficulties of the past year and try new things. It is the flow of life. The year moves on like a river where every turn offers new beginnings, like water falling from the mountain rocks and snows.

Water is essential in our valley so its symbolism is not lost on the congregation. The valley would dry-up and little would grow without the water that continually flows down from the mountains. We are fortunate to be able to witness this first hand, we understand the power and the gift of water. With the confluence of the Gunnison and the Colorado rivers right in town we also understand how bringing waters together adds power and majesty to a river. We add our strength when we return with waters from our travels and join with others in one congregation.

I’m looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our water service on September 12. Bring your water and let it nurture some of the ideas we’ve planted for this year. Get ready for more music infusing both sacred and lively worship. Peg and I have some gifts in store for this year. Return Again.