Loss in 2020

To say that 2020 has been a difficult year filled with loss is an understatement. Today I’m a little extra sad because today is the birth anniversary of Tom, a member of the church I serve and our office administrator. We lost Tom in early March 2020, just before the pandemic turned everything upside down. (He did not have Covid-19.) The timing was such that we haven’t been able to have a full memorial service for Tom yet. I know many other people have experienced something similar with the inability to have a typical memorial service or funeral this year. We were lucky that the timing with Tom was such that we were able to visit him in the hospital until the day he died, and that was a blessing.

I recently looked at a list of lost “notables” in 2020. We definitely lost some inspiring people this past year, including some of my personal heroes (like Bill Withers and Little Richard). But probably the loss of a “notable” that hit me (and many others) the hardest this year was the loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was so devastating, with a lasting and difficult consequence. We at First Church Unitarian in Littleton had an online vigil for her, and somehow our humble vigil was mentioned in a Boston Globe article which you can read here (“Ruth Bader Ginsburg remembered at candlelit vigils around the region“).

Tom in red sweater, in his office at FCU. I’m seated at his desk, surrounded by him and other GALA brothers from the congregation. This was just a couple of months before he died.

Neither Tom nor RBG died from Covid-19, though more than 285,000 Americans have died from the disease so far. I pray that 2021 comes with less loss.

Long time, no post

I can hardly believe how long it has been since I have posted here. It’s ridiculous, really. Yes, I’ve been busy… but I should have prioritized this more. I will try to do better.

Left to right: daughter Deva, doggie Digory, wife Emily, and I.

I don’t think I can begin to summarize everything that has been going on in the past year-and-a-half. I continue to love my ministry with First Church Unitarian in Littleton and feel very blessed.

Shortly after my last post, my wife and I (and our adult daughter — and our adorable terrier) moved around the block in downtown Lowell into our condo. I really enjoy living here still, too, so again… I feel lucky and blessed.

Like everybody else, my life has been strange since March 2020. Covid-19 has changed everything. I have been busy becoming a minor Zoom expert and YouTube expert. (I use “expert” lightly.) I’ve become a very amateurish maker of videos. None of this was stuff I learned in seminary, of course. Luckily, I mostly enjoy computers and learning new things, so it hasn’t been all bad. But I so miss my congregants… my family of origin… my friends. Big sigh. (If you want to see any of our online worship, gathering videos, and more, go to our YouTube channel.)

There are silver linings to the pandemic life. It’s great to see my wife and daughter and dog more. I’ve had time to play my guitar and bass more (though I really miss playing with my band). I’ve had time to work on new spiritual practices, and I’m beginning to do more mindfulness meditation. I want to find a way to share this with my congregation, perhaps over Zoom.

So that’s a start at catching up. I will try to post a few times a week here, to stay in the habit.

How is this pandemic treating you?

Pro Roe Rally

Sunday evening, June 9, I had the privilege of being one of the speakers (pictured below, courtesy Indivisible Westford) at the Pro Roe Rally at the Westford TownPro Roe Speakers Common. My remarks stressed that the majority of people of faith in this country are pro-choice, and being pro-choice is a faith-filled stance. We must do all we can to protect Roe v. Wade! There was a great turnout at the rally, including many FCU parishioners.

I said in my remarks, “I am here tonight on behalf of all people of faith in the United States who are pro-choice. Tonight, I am the symbolic reminder that there are people of faith who strongly support reproductive choice. The religious right in this country has put forward the notion that being godly or religious or having faith means that you are what they call ‘pro-life’, or what I would call ‘anti-choice’. But it’s simply not true. In fact, most Americans who are part of the faith community are pro-choice. Did you know that? It’s true! Who here tonight is a person of faith, in any religious or faith tradition, and is also pro-choice, in favor of upholding the Roe decision? See that? You are not alone! And there’s a reason for that. In short, the reason is that reproductive choice is a moral stance. It’s a faith-filled stance.”

“We people of faith who support the Roe decision (which is to say the majority of people of faith in the USA) know that people deserve to make decisions about their own bodies. We know that women and transgender persons who get pregnant should have agency over their own bodies and lives. We know that those persons who find themselves pregnant often have very compelling reasons to end those pregnancies. But really, it’s not for me to stand here and tell you what are the good reasons or the justifiable reasons to end a pregnancy. That’s the point. If it’s not my pregnancy, it’s not my choice, nor should it be. I have my moral and religious convictions, and so do each of you!”

Installation Service

On March 10, 2019, I was installed as the 28th settled minister of FCU since its founding in 1714. It was an incredible and joyful day! There is a video here if you’d like to see for yourself. The Rev. John Gibbons preached (“Getting the Hell out of Paradise”), and there were other wonderful speakers and lovely musical performances as well. There are so many people to thank… you will see them named at the end of the video.

The photo to the left is of the Act of Installation, the heart of the service, when the congregation and I shared our covenant. Leading the way were our Standing Committee Co-Chairs, Alison Bentley and Lezli Whitehouse. It was one of my favorite moments in the service.

I feel so lucky and grateful to be sharing ministry with the wonderful people of First Church Unitarian in Littleton.

I will never forget the day… I hope that this shared ministry lasts for many, many years to come.

Below are some more photos from the day, with captions.

Choir Lord
The Church Choir performed twice, and beautifully.

Artemis 2
The Artemis Singers performed a lovely offertory piece.

John installation
The Rev. John Gibbons preaching a thought-provoking sermon with surprises.

uu ukes
The UU Ukes delighted us and made us smile, as they always do!

lay on hands lara
The Laying on of Hands, detail.

lay on hands crowd
The Laying on of Hands.

A lifetime search…

Galilean Aramaic Yeshua bar Yosef by Rod Borghese
Conception of (the Jewish) Jesus of Nazareth, by Rod Borghese.

I was raised as a Unitarian Universalist and by a father who had studied religion for many, many years. He had a B.D. (what would now be an M.Div.) from Lancaster Theological Seminary, and he was raised in the German Reform tradition (now part of the UCC). He thought he might be a minister in that tradition, but his humanistic atheism made him decide otherwise in the end.

He discovered his first UU church in Los Angeles, where I was born. We moved to Pennsylvania and the whole family joined the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg, where I attended “Sunday School”.

In addition to the obvious influences (I went to divinity school and got my M.Div., and I am still a UU), there’s a lifelong influence that also came largely from my father. And that is that, like my father, I am very interested in trying to discover as much as possible about the historical Jesus. In fact, I’m probably more interested than he ever was. I am somewhat obsessed with learning as much as I can about the historical Jesus.

And it’s not easy.

As you probably know, Jesus (apparently) never wrote anything. The documents we have about him were written some time (often generations) after his death. And the documents and points of view are contradictory, and they suggest that in some cases details were fabricated to present a particular Christology and theology. It’s very hard to know what to believe.

I’ve read the canonical New Testament, and all the gnostic gospels (I think so, anyway). I’ve read many books that explore the historical Jesus. I’m in the midst of reading all the books on Jewish Christianity that I can; it is possible that these early “Christians” (who were unitarian and thought of Jesus as the Messiah — a human prophet) were the closest to Jesus’s perspective. But really, how can we ever know? The work of the Jesus Seminar is helpful, but it’s still mostly educated guesswork.

And so, my lifetime search for the historical Jesus continues.

HDS students and Cornel West

FlyerRadicalFutureLast night I had the pleasure of participating in an event put on by the Harvard Divinity School Socialists called “Living a Radical Future: The Spiritual Opportunities of Socialism.” I was (unbelievably) on the bill with Dr. Cornel West! (Flyer to the left.) It’s sort of a fluke that I got to do this; the Harvard Divinity School students saw that I was in the “editorial group” of Religion and Socialism (of DSA), and that I was local, and an HDS grad. So, lucky me!

The event was in Andover Chapel, which I hadn’t stepped foot in since 1997, 21 years ago! I was surprised to find the pews are gone, with lovely chairs creating a much more versatile space.

It was great to meet the current HDS students, too. They gave me so much hope. They were predominantly from the Millennial generation, and they seem so advanced in their understanding of democratic socialism.

When I was a student at HDS in the mid-90s, it was through taking a class with Dr. West (called “Religion and Cultural Criticism”) that I ultimately learned about the concept of democratic socialism (as opposed to the “scary” versions of socialism that I’d been taught about growing up). And it was through Dr. West that I heard about DSA (the Democratic Socialists of America), since Dr. West has been an honorary Co-Chair of DSA for quite some time.

I attended quite a few meetings of a start-up version of Harvard YDSA (Young DSA), but there were only a handful of us (four – seven, tops) at each meeting, though it was university-wide. This was around 1995-97. At last night’s gathering of HDS Socialists (just Divinity School Students, not university-wide), there were probably 85 people there! It was wonderful.

Cornel West Lara Hoke HDS Nov 2018I had the honor, after giving brief remarks, of introducing my hero, Dr. Cornel West. I felt unworthy of this, but I did it anyway!

Dr. West is so brilliant. I had the privilege of learning from him, once again.

In addition to being as intelligent as anyone I’ve ever met, he is also as warm and sweet as anyone I’ve ever met. What a great human being.

Yes on 3!

yeson3 fcu littleton
First Church Unitarian, Littleton, says “Vote YES on 3!”

The FCU Standing Committee voted unanimously to endorse “Yes on 3”, and the Deacons and I unanimously agree. We are part of a larger faith coalition in support of this measure. “Yes on 3” is a campaign of Freedom Massachusetts to support ballot initiative 3 this November. Voting YES on Question 3 means voting “to uphold dignity and respect for our transgender neighbors”. As an LGBTQ Welcoming Congregation, it is in line with our values to take this public stance. There are now “Yes on 3” yard signs at FCU. Learn more at http://freedommassachusetts.org!

 

Another welcome article, and…

Recently, the Littleton Independent welcomed me to town, which I very much appreciated. You can read that article here.

So much has been happening in the world. I have been all-consumed (in a good way!) with getting up to speed here at my new, wonderful congregation. But this week, the outside world really came screaming in with the Kavanaugh hearings. That is very much on my mind today.

believeThe UUA President, Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, is in D.C. today with other clergy to try to #StopKavanaugh. She will deliver a petition that UUs were invited to sign onto here.

My heart goes out today to all those people who have been triggered by this recent discussion. There are many of us. May our nation find the wisdom and strength to overcome rape culture and our larger culture of violence.