Sunday Service: Modern Judaism - June 14th, 2015

Modern Judaism

By Reverend Tom Capo

06/14/2015

From the Babylonian Talmud, comes these words:  

 “In the hour when an individual is brought before the heavenly court for judgment, the person is asked:  Did you conduct your [business] affairs honestly?  Did you set aside regular time for Torah study?  Did you work at having children?  Did you look forward to the world’s redemption?”  

Please note that “Did you believe in God?” and “Did you observe all the rituals?” are not considered as the first questions to be asked of a Jewish person when they are reunited with God, according to this Rabbinic text.

I titled this sermon Modern Judaism, but that is not an entirely accurate title.  I am actually going to talk about Rabbinic Judaism, the Judaism that all sects of the Jewish people recognize as their faith.  What is Rabbinic Judaism?  We will need to consider a little Jewish history to answer that question.

In the fourth year of his reign, around 833 BCE, the Jewish King Solomon found himself at peace with his neighbors and began the construction of the Temple, a place where the Jewish peoples could come to ground themselves in the practices and rituals of their faith. The site chosen by King David was the top of Mount Moriah, where Abraham had once proved his readiness to offer up his dearly beloved son in obedience to G d's command.  The practices and rituals of the temple were led by Jewish priests.  Now many of the Jewish people made regular pilgrimages to the Temple--the temple and the priests were in Jerusalem--but for most of the Jewish people that was a very long way to go.  They needed people to teach the children Hebrew and to hold a recognition ceremony when a child became an adult, a Bar Mitzvah, and to help the Jewish people in the towns and villages remember, practice, and interpret the basic tenets of their faith, and those were the Rabbis.  Rabbis were and are Jewish scholars, people trained in Jewish law, ritual, and tradition, discerning what is lawful in Judaism and performing Jewish ceremonies.   It was during the first destruction of the Temple, when Israel was defeated and the Jewish people were exiled to Babylonia, that the role of the Rabbi increased in significance.  

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, we also wept, when we remembered Zion. We hung our lyres on the willows in its midst. For there those who carried us away captive required of us a song; and those who tormented us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. (Psalms 137:1-6)

While the people of Israel grieved the loss of their country and their Temple, they still practiced their faith.  The Rabbis, rather than the Temple or the priests, were called upon to ground the people in their faith.  It is also believed by many scholars that during this exile the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, was written.  This text contains commentaries and stories written by Rabbis to help the Jewish people interpret the Jewish Bible, its laws and traditions.

The story that Jo Linsley shared with us today is an allegoric Rabbinic story of the final sacking and destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE by the Romans.  The jewels are the tenets of the Jewish faith, G-d’s teachings.  The Jewish people are the pigeons.  The castle was the State of Israel or the Temple in Jerusalem.  Rabbi Tzvi Freeman writes of this story: “In our history, the pattern of destruction and exile has repeated itself many times. We began in exile, in the land of Egypt. Then there was the destruction of the first Holy Temple and exile to Babylonia, and then the second destruction and a very lengthy exile, which we still endure. There is no other nation that has been spread so far apart, yet retained identity as a single whole, always with hope to return. And all of it was part of G-d’s divine plan, to retrieve all the sparks of holiness. Which is what we did, because wherever we go, we use the materials, the foods, the music, the customs of that place in a Torah way.”  

“But now has come the time for us to all return home” is how the story ends.  This can mean the country of Israel; the spiritual home of the Jewish people has returned.  Or it could mean that the Jewish people have created new homes for their faith wherever they live in community with one another.  The latter meaning is closer to a Rabbinical vision of the Jewish faith.  This tradition, with all its destructions and exiles, had to find a new home, a home wherever they were.  The Jewish people carry their faith in their hearts and through their lives, not in a Temple or even in a country.  Those externals are fragile and can be taken away.  Only when a faith lives within the person and through the way they live their lives can it never be taken away. 

Sunday Service: Where is the Love in the Political Parties? Sunday May 10th 2015

Where is the Love in the Political Parties?

By Reverend Tom Capo

Preached on 5/10/2015

In Washington and in most state capitols, finger pointing, blaming, yelling, discrediting, and finding fault in the “other” political party is how our government is working, or rather not working.  Calling Republicans Nazis and Democrats Communists is not uncommon for political pundits on the left and on the right.  Gerrymandering districts and huge amounts of money, with the accompanying political influence, are the way politicians stay in power.  

Here is Political Scientist, Paul Enrique C. Casas’ view of today’s political conundrum.   Liberals feel change is good.  And those on the extreme left want lots of change/change everything. Conservatives want to change slowly and have very little change.  And on the extreme right, they want no change or even want some of the changes that has happened reversed.    Both Democrats and Republicans who are moderate in their political views want to change some things and leave others alone.  At least right now few of those moderates are getting elected or even want to be involved in politics because they believe that the radicals and reactionaries in the two political parties have taken over and are unwilling to compromise.   

With the extreme left and right controlling the political parties, it is not surprising that the party who is in the majority acts like the crocodile man who owns fire and refuses to share it.  Is it any wonder there is so little love between our politicians and political parties?  Where is the rainbow bird to whisk away the fire, to show them how to share that power?

Sunday Sermon: Affirm and Promote that Black Lives Matter, Sunday March 29th 2015

Affirm and Promote that Black Lives Matter

By Reverend Tom Capo

Preached on 3/29/2015

How do we put value on lives?  There is a movement in our country called “Black Lives Matter.”  Our Unitarian Universalist Association has a web page devoted to the “Black Lives Matter” movement, which continues to build as more and more awareness of systemic racism is raised.   Trayvon Marin, Michael Brown, Jr., Eric Garner.  How many more Black men have to be killed before America wakes up to the racial injustice inherent in our daily lives?  What will it take for us to stand up as white allies and speak truth to power?

In the book Soul Work: anti-racism theologies in dialogue, Reverend Patricia Jimenez writes: “Unitarian Universalist minister Reverend Paul Rasor has suggested and others have affirmed [that] racism [and oppression are] problems of “othering” people, of holding some up as superior and putting others down as inferior.  It is embedded in our way of doing things in this country and gets played out in many ways, including personal disdain and hatred, institutional discrimination, and cultural domination.  All of these represent power-over—domination, which is a fundamental evil, a theological problem that we [Unitarian Universalists] are seeking to address.”

I have heard some people, some liberal voices say, “Instead of promoting ‘Black Lives Matter’ why don’t we affirm that ‘All Lives Matter’.  Making the movement about ‘All Live Matter’ would raise everyone’s worth and value to the same level, rather than focusing just on people of color.”  Well, before I answer that, let’s hear from Peter, a white man.

“Here and now, I don't feel affirmed living out issues of race. This is a dirty business willed to us by people who looked like me. However, what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger, and I can do nothing without doing some harm. I am moving from being an etherized White man ignorant of race to being a European American man discomforted everywhere...My participation at a self-consciously diverse Unitarian Universalist church dismantling racism in fits and starts has offered consolation. Despite my being and my action, my brothers and sisters remain authentically engaged with me in things that I get right and things that I get wrong. Like an unreformed drunk (since my culture will not yet allow me to live one hour, much less one day at a time, privilege-free), I must lean on the good will of my fellow travelers in this religious community I have chosen to join. It’s their good will and its reflection of their perception of my good will that offers affirmation.”

The voices you will hear throughout this sermon are those of Unitarian Universalists struggling with racism and oppression—none of them are from our church.  I will also share some of my experiences and insights.  My hope is something you hear today will touch you, reach you, and perhaps motivate you to look at racism and oppression differently.  Our faith calls us to intentional work to dismantle racism and oppression, in our churches and in our world.  Our Unitarian Universalist Principles and our heritage as change agents in society call us to do this work.  However, we need to remember as we do this work that we are human, and humans have blinders.  Even Unitarian Universalist humans have blinders.  We don’t always recognize when racism or oppression happens around us, even when it happens in our denomination or in our church.  I know it has happened in our churches.  

Sunday Sermon: Some Thoughts and Feelings on Humanism, Sunday March 22nd, 2015

Some Thoughts and Feelings on Humanism

By Reverend Tom Capo

Preached on 3/22/2015

A member of this church and of our Humanist Group, Jack Seacrest, sent me an email of President Barak Obama’s speech on the 50th anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’, a day when thousands marched in Selma, Alabama, for civil rights with Martin Luther King, Jr.  Many were hurt and two were killed.  Here are some excerpts from Obama’s speech:  “What greater expression of faith in the American experiment [is there] than this … the belief that America is not yet finished, that we are strong enough to be self-critical, that each successive generation can look upon our imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake this nation to more closely align with our highest ideals … ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ …These are not just words. They are a living thing, a call to action … a roadmap for citizenship and an insistence on the capacity of free men and women to shape our own destiny … [We are] on a mission to change America … the idea of a just America, a fair America, an inclusive America, a generous America …Selma was part of a broader campaign that spanned generations …it is in our power to remake this nation to more closely align with our highest ideals … that all men are created equal … [This is] a roadmap for citizenship and an insistence on the capacity of free men and women to shape our own destiny … This is work for all Americans, and not just some.   All of us are called to possess their moral imagination …to feel, as they did, the fierce urgency of now… change depends on our actions, our attitudes, the things we teach our children.”

Jack felt that this speech spelled out a definition of religion. Religions around the world aspire to do many things.  Religions try to teach people to be of good character by affirming certain moral values and high ideals.  Religious people are encouraged to remake themselves and their world based on these values and ideals; they are told that these changes are urgently needed.  Religions also teach that it is important that these values and ideals are passed on to the next generation.  

For the next several minutes, let's agree that Obama's Selma speech does spell out a definition of religion.  If so, then there are some insights in this definition of religion that we, here at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church, might reflect upon: What values and ideals do we affirm?   Do we urgently bring them into our lives and out into the world?  And what values and ideals are we passing on to our children?  You might say “I know the answer to the first question—our seven Principles—valuing each person, the democratic process, spiritual growth, the search for meaning and purpose, the interdependent web of all existence, and working for justice, peace, and equality.  How do we use our power to shape these values and ideals in the wider world?  Do we do so with "fierce urgency?" What are the ways we show our children the importance our Unitarian Universalist values and ideals?  

Sunday Service: Irrational Hope - Sunday December 7th, 2014

Irrational Hope

Reverend Tom Capo

Preached Sunday December 7th, 2014

I offer this poem by Vineet Bansal for your reflection:

What hope means

Hope is bright shining light which keeps darkness at bay

Hope is gentle cold breeze on a hot summer day

Hope is to remain positive when going gets tough

Hope is seeking more when others think you had enough

What hope means

Hope is dreaming of tomorrow

Hope is simmering under sorrow

Hope is sparkles when tears are in our eyes

Hope is a beautiful thing & beautiful things never die

What hope means

Hope is as light as a feather

Hope keeps all of us together

Hope is ubiquitous and free of cost

Hope is the last thing ever lost..... 

David McRaney in his book You are not so smart wrote:

    “The misconception: If you are in a bad situation, you will do whatever you can to escape it.  The truth: If you feel like you aren’t in control of your destiny, you will give up and accept whatever situation you are in.

    In 1965, a psychologist named Martin Seligman started shocking dogs.  He was trying to expand on the research of Pavlov—the guy who could make dogs salivate when they heard a bell ring.  Seligman wanted to head in the other direction, and when he rang his bell, instead of providing food, he zapped the dogs with electricity.  To keep them still, he restrained them in a harness during the experiment.  After they were conditioned, he put these dogs in a big box with a little fence dividing it into two halves.  He figured if [he] rang the bell, [the dog] would hop over the fence to escape, but it didn’t.  It just sat there and braced itself.  They decided to try shocking the dog after the bell.  The dog still sat there and took it.  When they put a dog in the box that had never been shocked before, or had previously been allowed to escape, and tried to zap it—it jumped the fence.  [McRaney asserts:]      You are just like these dogs…The leading theory as to how such a strange behavior would evolve is that it often springs from all organisms’ desire to conserve resources.  If you can’t escape a source of stress, it leads to more stress, and this positive feedback loop eventually triggers an autonomic shutdown.  At its most extreme, you think if you keep struggling you might die.  If you stop [struggling], there is a chance the bad thing will go away.”  

Sunday Service: Food and Religion - November 23st, 2014

Food and Religion

By Reverend Tom Capo

Preached on November 23, 2014

    What is the significance of food as it relates to spirituality or religious tradition?  In Steve’s story, little Carrie travels to different homes looking for her brother, but instead finds various cultural dishes made with rice.  Just like Carrie, I spent much of last week exploring the ways in which various religions include food in their rituals and traditions.  In this journey from virtual house to house, I was surprised by what I feasted upon.

    Our journey starts with the Sikh religious home. The Golden Temple Complex is the Central worship place for Sikhs around the world, and it is in Punjab, India.  The Sikhs are serving a free communal meal known as Langar.  The concept of `Langar' is a very old tradition of great importance for the Sikhs.  This tradition was started by the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak. It was designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people regardless of religion, caste, color, creed, age, gender or social status.  This was a revolutionary concept in the caste-ordered society of 16th century India where Sikhism began. In addition to the ideals of equality, the tradition of Langar expresses the ethics of sharing, community, inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind.

    Let’s now head to the Christian religious home.  I grew up Catholic and I felt I had some knowledge of this religion and food.  Communion.  The little wafer and a sip of wine that is given out in remembrance of Jesus Christ.   According to the Catholic faith, this wafer and wine is transubstantiated, actually becomes, the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  In Protestant Christian traditions, this wafer and wine is either though to be consubstantiated, that is, becoming the body and blood of Christ while still being wafer and wine, or is thought of more metaphorically, not actually changing.  The wafer and wine are used to remember Jesus, his wisdom and life.  But what is interesting to me is that this tradition of bread and wine didn’t really become part of the worship service in the Catholic Church until the time of Constantine around 313 CE.  

Sunday Service: A Hunger for Justice - October, 5th, 2014

A Hunger For Justice

Reverend Tom Capo

October 5, 2014

We affirm justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.  I’m going to ask you the same question I asked last month when we explored “Beloved Community.”  What does “affirm” really mean to us, individually and as a congregation? What does “affirm” really look like? Many of you do work in the community, or perhaps in your jobs, to help others, to fight injustice, to educate those who are unaware of the some of the human, animal, and ecological crises our world faces.  I know that many of you are yearning, hungry for justice, equity, and compassion in our world.

What does it mean really mean to be “hungry for justice?”  Are these just words we bandy about during coffee hour and snack after the service?  “Here, have some fair trade chocolate.”  “Thanks I am hungry for justice!”  Is it a personal question?  “I got detention because I was sitting next to the person who was disrupting class.  But it wasn’t me!  I was just sitting there!  It’s totally not fair and I’m going to get my parents to file a complaint!  I am hungry for justice!”  Or is it a different kind of personal question?  “I’ve read the Unitarian Universalist Association’s 2013-2014 Common Read Behind the Kitchen Door, about wage inequality and unfair working conditions in the majority of our nation’s restaurants.  I am hungry for justice and I’m going to do something about this.”

The Human Spirit with Rev. Tom

Sunday marked the beginning of a new chapter at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church (DUUC) as Reverend Tom Capo lead his first Sunday service.

You can read all about Rev. Tom's journey join DUUC HERE and share in our excitement to have him as the minister to our congregation and local community.

Rev. Tom will be contributing to this blog and in time we hope to have his sermons (both video and script) available for all through this forum.

In addition we are pleased that he will be journaling his own experience in ministry at:
http://reverendtomcapo.blogspot.com/

His first posting is up and we invite our congregants and friends to read his First Reflection.

We also welcome you every week to join us on Sunday for our service, coffee/lemonade social hour, and youth religious education. 

*Remember - through August we hold one Sunday Service at 10:00am*  

Summertime at DUUC!

Picnics, watermelon, bike rides, swimming, flip-flops,  BBQs, and popsicles.  We all look forward to different things in the summer!

Here at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church (DUUC) we celebrate summer with our sermons, adventures together, activities on-site, and a change in our service schedule.

Starting this Sunday, June 15th, we will have one regular service at 10:00am.  Please mark your calendars for service:  SUNDAYS AT 10:00am

We just kicked off the summer with our annual BBQ, a pancake breakfast (see Chef Michael on our Facebook page) and have lots more fun planned!  Please join us this summer and add DUUC as one of your summertime pleasures!

Dates to remember as follows:

Sunday 6/15:  Sunday Service and Youth Religious Education @ 10:00am

Saturday 6/21:  Summer Solstice Celebration @ 4:00pm

Sunday 6/22:  June 22nd, 2014:  Sunday Service and Youth Religious Education @ 10:00am

Sunday 6/29:  Chicago Gay Pride Parade
(a group from DUUC will walk together in support of the LGBT community meeting at DUUC at 9:00am to carpool)

Sunday 6/29:  Sunday Service and Youth Religious Education @ 10:00am

Sunday 7/6:  Sunday Service and Youth Religious Education @ 10:00am

For more details on our service topics, or contact information for the above mentioned events, please check our our church newsletter HERE! 

Unbroken Circle: Mental Health Awareness

DUUC Editor's Note:   May is Mental Health Month.  In addition to the national advocacy for and awareness of mental health issues our congregation has been working on creating an atmosphere of understanding and care in regards to mental health.  We recently hosted a training seminar for Mental Health First Aid  and our pastoral care group is working to strengthen our community as a place for support.  In this blog post one of our congregants, Paul Sellnow, explores the taboo behind mental health and shares with us a piece of his own journey.  For more information on mental health issues and awareness visit the National Alliance on Mental Health. 

A few days ago, one of my coworkers arrived at the office just before lunchtime and announced "I'm late because I had to drive my wife to the doctor's office. She broke her arm roller skating last night." He did not seem the least bit embarrassed by his wife's apparent lack of rinkmanship, nor did he appear to have any reservations about her character or strength of will.

Most of us are comfortable talking about physical injuries and ailments. I've broken three bones, and each of them has a story behind it. I'm not the least bit squeamish telling you that I have had my gall bladder removed. I hesitate slightly when mentioning my incident with thyroid cancer, only because the "C" word can cause needless consternation on the part of listeners. (Completely treated, more than five years ago, no cause for concern.)

Other topics in our lives may be more intimidating. Some of us may feel awkward talking about money or political views, concerned that relationships with those of different positions may be strained. Some of us may be reluctant to discuss sexual orientation or religious beliefs, worried that family or friends may not approve and may even break off relations and cut us out of their lives. These can be difficult conversations, but a healthy respect for the inherent worth and dignity of the other person will often get us through.

Mental illness, however, retains a stigma in many people's minds despite years of progress in diagnosis and treatment. I've never heard anyone arrive late to work saying "sorry I'm late, my wife had a schizophrenic episode and I had to have her committed." Yet everyone should know that mental illness is a brain disorder, not a character flaw or a lack of willpower, and definitely not a choice. We should be able to talk about it as openly as we would an appendectomy or tonsillectomy.

Heart Talk: Youth Religious Education

Photo Credit: "Rainbow paper heart bunting" by the green gables Flickr 

©Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License

We are midway through our Spring session of Youth Religious Education (Y.R.E) 
here at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church. It is great to see our young congregants meeting together, forming friendships, and discussing great things together. 

This session, in our 1st - 6th grade classes we are using a new (to us!) curriculum called Heart Talk for Kids©. 

Heart Talk for Kids© is based on Compassionate  (Nonviolent) Communication. Curriculum designers Debbie Berkana and Veronica  Lassen, were inspired to create Heart Talk because of their passion for creating  more connection and peace on the planet. 

The main intention is to create a space where people truly see each other. This space of respectful connection is a place that honors the ‘inherent worth and dignity of every person.’ It is a space that allows us to live our UU values. Each lesson in the curriculum includes specific references to one or more UU Principles.

Sample of Lesson Topics:- Heart Talk Introduction - Observation - Feelings - Human Universal Needs- Requests - Self-Empathy - Exploring Anger - 6th grade classes, we are using a new (to us!) curriculum - Gratitude and Celebration - Observation in Nature - Empathy and Conflict Resolution Empathy for Others - Anger, Empathy and Conflict Resolution - Peace and Contribution 

If you have a child in the Y.R.E program we encourage you to spend some time discussing their classroom theme for the day and their thoughts on the topic. OurY.R.E children have amazing insight and the lesson themes encourage openness and discussion.

For more information on Heart Talk for Kids© or the research that led to its creation please visit:www.heartvistas.com Debbie and Veronica live in the Pacific Northwest and arecommitted to growing luscious tomatoes, happy children and peace. 

www.cnvc.org : international Nonviolent Communication (NVC) website with information on NVC activities worldwide. You can also find a list of feelings and 
universal needs there.

www.nonviolentcommunication.com : Puddledancer Press, publisher of NVC-related materials. It includes many articles on parenting, NVC in schools, mediation, restorative justice, interviews with Marshall Rosenberg, etc.

Sanctuary of Ash

by Pat Clancy

Nodding Onion - Wildflowers on property of DuPage UU Church
Photo by Pat Clancy

     The long-planned building of a new sanctuary at DuPage UU church posed a dilemma for our congregation.  We desperately needed the space and longed for an architecturally inspiring worship space; but a we proceeded with the plans, it became increasingly clear that to achieve this goal meant the sacrifice of our beloved wood lot where children ran along the paths and teenagers gathered in their teepee.  A wildflower garden in memory of Marge Lobik nestled at the bottom of a small slope amid the trees with their own under-story of native plants.  We were all saddened at the prospect of losing this treasure we had enjoyed for many years.  

Removal of Green Ash Trees
Photo by Steve Cooper

We desperately needed and longed for an architecturally inspiring worship space; but to achieve this goal meant the sacrifice of our beloved wood lot where children ran along the paths and teenagers gathered in their teepee.  

     

      An inventory was performed to assess what we had and what could be saved.  The results showed that 70 of our trees were green ash, which coincidentally were under threat from the Emerald Ash Borer making its hungry way across the Midwest.  The Morton Arboretum held an exhibit of furniture and sculpture made from ash wood and instituted a program to assist property owners in the salvaging of this valuable lumber.  ­­­This inspired our Green Sanctuary committee to investigate the possibility of incorporating our own ash trees in the new building.  The architect, Bill Sturm, was consulted and was agreeable to working this into the design – perhaps a wall, perhaps a screen, but something.­­­­­

     As the time came to clear the lot, the committee got serious and took action.  With assistance from Arboretum staff, we researched local millers and asked for a visit from Gary Carstens, who measured and marked the trees that were large enough (16” dbh) to be milled.  When felling the trees, Zrout Tree Services took special care and set those logs aside in the parking lot, where they were later milled on site by Carstens and then taken to his facility for drying and storage.

Milling Logs
Photo by Pat Clancy

Boards ready for storage
Photo by Pat Clancy

     All this took money, of course, so we had to think of a way­­­­­ to raise funds.  In the spring of 2011, when our former woods was a bare-looking field, we began to notice Virginia bluebells, then Trillium, then Mayapple and Solomon’s seal, followed by Celandine Poppy and Jack-in-the-Pulpit, each emerging on schedule as though still in the shelter of trees.  We realized we had to save them from the bulldozers and that this was the answer to our fundraiser.  Each Sunday during coffee hour, for about six weeks, we sold wildflowers dug by our committee members from the church grounds and raised $1000 toward the ash-to-lumber fund.

Photo by Steve Cooper

Our greatest pleasure, however, comes from the knowledge that a part of our beloved woods will live on in the new sanctuary, sharing our journey into the future.

    
 Now that we actually had the boards in storage and knew how much was there, the architect decided that it would be used as flooring on the dais in the new sanctuary.  Green Sanctuary committee paid the modest storage fee for a year until the building was completed and the flooring could be installed.   We are proud of our accomplishment, which took creativity and persistence.  Our greatest pleasure, however, comes from the knowledge that a part of our beloved woods will live on in the new sanctuary, sharing our journey into the future.

Green Sanctuary Committee Members:  Susan Camasta, Susan Birk, Pat Clancy, Bill Dawe, Kate LaGory, Ruth Schoenfel, Dik Claus.