Touching the earth

On Sunday 16th March we tried the practice of touching the earth in gratitude.
This is practiced by Thich Nhat Hahn's plum village community.

There are five "earth touchings" in gratitude for five specific things:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/soulful-nature/the-five-earth-touchings-from-happiness-by-thich-nhat-hanh/647385711953489

I felt there was something very primal about physically touching the earth, particularly at this time of year.

Love and barriers to love: Rev Lindsay Stevens

Some inspiring ministry from Rev Lindsay Stevens today:

Here are some of the highlights:

"The Silk Worm" by Rumi 1207-1273


I stood before a silk worm one day.
And that night my heart said to me,

“I can do things like that, I can spin skies,
I can be woven into love that can bring warmth to people;
I can be soft against a crying face,
I can be wings that lift, and I can travel on my thousand feet
throughout the earth,
my sacks filled
with the
sacred.”

And I replied to my heart,

“Dear, can you really do all those things?”

And it just nodded, “Yes”
in silence.

So we began and will never
cease.

A quote from Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

"Love can do all except raise the dead"

Martin Luther King's 1957 address on loving your enemies:

"The Greek language, as I’ve said so often before, is very powerful at this point. It comes to our aid beautifully in giving us the real meaning and depth of the whole philosophy of love. And I think it is quite apropos at this point, for you see the Greek language has three words for love, interestingly enough. It talks about love as eros. That’s one word for love. Eros is a sort of, aesthetic love. Plato talks about it a great deal in his dialogues, a sort of yearning of the soul for the realm of the gods. And it’s come to us to be a sort of romantic love, though it’s a beautiful love. Everybody has experienced eros in all of its beauty when you find some individual that is attractive to you and that you pour out all of your like and your love on that individual. That is eros, you see, and it’s a powerful, beautiful love that is given to us through all of the beauty of literature; we read about it.

Then the Greek language talks about philia, and that’s another type of love that’s also beautiful. It is a sort of intimate affection between personal friends. And this is the type of love that you have for those persons that you’re friendly with, your intimate friends, or people that you call on the telephone and you go by to have dinner with, and your roommate in college and that type of thing. It’s a sort of reciprocal love. On this level, you like a person because that person likes you. You love on this level, because you are loved. You love on this level, because there’s something about the person you love that is likeable to you. This too is a beautiful love. You can communicate with a person; you have certain things in common; you like to do things together. This is philia.

The Greek language comes out with another word for love. It is the word agape. And agape is more than eros; agape is more than philia; agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return. It is an overflowing love; it’s what theologians would call the love of God working in the lives of men. And when you rise to love on this level, you begin to love men, not because they are likeable, but because God loves them. You look at every man, and you love him because you know God loves him. And he might be the worst person you’ve ever".

And Finally...

Margaret played the Alegri Miserere as an organ arrangement. (I regret not having the podcast recorder at the ready for that! ed)

 

What the management committee does and how to join or work with it?

What is the Management Committee?

The Management Committee (or, as it is usually known, ‘the Committee’) is the body that oversees the life and work of the Church. All Committee members become in that capacity Management Trustees of the Church, and sign a declaration that they will discharge their responsibilities in keeping with the expected standards set out by the Charity Commission. (Our Guardian Trustees are a separate body, which comprises members appointed by the Management Committee to act as a sounding board and advisory group on an ad hoc basis, and to oversee the Management Committee’s work. Guardian Trustees meet at least once a year, and are usually people with longstanding connections to the Church. Our Guardian Trustees are currently Gareth Hoskins, Trevor Lewis, Kitty Lloyd-Lawrence, David Strachan, Chris Stutz and Lawrence Tuckman.

Who sits on the Committee, and who chooses them?

All Committee members are formal members of the Church, and the committee is elected at the AGM for the following year. Members must be nominated and seconded by members of the Church. Each member is elected to serve a three year term, on a ‘staggered’ basis, which means that at least two posts on the committee become vacant every year. Committee members may stand for re-election if they wish.

The committee has four officers (Chair, Deputy Chair, Treasurer and Secretary), also elected at the AGM to serve for the coming year. The Secretary is not necessarily also the Minutes Secretary for the Committee.

Other committee members also take on specific portfolios, such as Lettings Officer and Premises Officer.

The Committee has at least 6 members, and the Minister, when in post, attends and participates in every meeting, although without a formal vote.

The Committee may co-opt members of the Congregation to serve as members of the Committee, for a maximum of one year. Such co-optees will normally be members of the Congregation with specific experience or expertise that is needed by the Committee for a particular purpose. It is expected that such co-opted members stand for election at the next AGM if they wish to continue to sit on the Committee.

Current committee members are: Alex Warleigh-Lack (Chair), Paul Richards (Treasurer), Lawrence Tuckman (Facilities), Mary Armstrong (Secretary), Trevor Lewis, Margaret Lord and Christopher Warleigh-Lack. Although she is not a Committee member, Helen Nicholls kindly serves as Minutes Secretary, alternating with Mary Armstrong. Margaret, Mary and Trevor will be stepping down after years of loyal service at the 2014 AGM.

 

What does the Committee do?

The Committee normally meets every month, and has four core functions:

·                           First, it sets out the direction of the Church, in keeping with periodic consultations with the Congregation and the Church Trust Deed.

·                           Second, it is the body to which the Minister is formally accountable, and a sub-group of the Committee undertakes a formal performance review with the Minister on an annual basis.

·                           Third, it monitors the progress of the Church towards its key objectives, often with the help of working parties that it has set up for a particular purpose, such as the current Ministerial Hiring Group or the past Mosaic Group on governance structures.

·                           Fourth, it monitors the more routine matters of Church life, such as lettings and maintenance, while also ensuring that the Church finances are properly administered.

How can I work with the Committee, or shape what it does?

The Committee’s agenda is prepared each month by the Secretary and Chair. If you are a member or regular attender of the Church, you have the right to ask that items be placed on this agenda, and to receive written reasoning from the Chair if such a request is not granted (this will normally be only for issues which are outside the Committee’s remit or of questionable legality).  

If you would like to put an item on the Committee agenda, you can do so by email or in writing to the Chair, Secretary or the Minister. Emails can be sent to alexwarleighlack@gmail.com. Please make sure you send any items for the Committee's attention at least a week ahead of the Committee meeting.

Can I attend the meetings of the Committee?

All Committee meetings are open to the Congregation, but speaking rights are not automatic. They are granted to non-Committee members by the Chair, at her or his discretion. In practice, this means non-Committee members will have speaking rights on any items that they have had placed on the agenda, but not necessarily on other items. Only Committee members may vote at Committee meetings.

 

How can I Find Out What the Committee has Decided?

Each Committee meeting is minuted by the Secretary, and the Minutes are formally agreed at the following Committee meeting. Once they are adopted, they are placed on the website of the Church. Particularly important items are reported on in the Chair’s regular column in our Church newsletter, The Flame.

The renewal of Unitarianism: Who is its custodian?

Today's service was partly in memory of the folk musician and campaigner  Pete Seeger (1919-2014). Seeger reportedly became a Unitarian Universalist out of a need for a rehearsal space!

You can hear all of Guido's address on an MP3 recording on podbean.

Also included was a reading from the mystic poet Khalil Gibran.

"When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that, in truth, you are weeping for that which was your delight"

Guido also mentioned outreach to the disenfranchised working-class young male. A tall order, but here's a link to Billy Bragg at Greenbelt to start us off!

Unitarian Youth Sunday

As always Rev John Harley's ministry was eclectic. It ranged from some surprisingly  moving accounts of the Unitarian youth programme the theme of "brokenness" and "vulnerability".

The biblical account of Jacob and the Angel was re-imagined through poetry. In this image it is depicted by Gaugin.

Treasurer Job Description

Treasurer

RPUC Officers are expected to fulfil their responsibilities methodically, accurately and in keeping with the standards expected by the Charity Commission and, where appropriate, the Inland Revenue. They must also work in keeping with, and to promote, the aims set out in the RPUC Aims Document.

 

In addition to the general duties of a Trustee, which status he or she also holds, the Treasurer has the following particular responsibilities:

 

• Preparing and presenting accurate accounts and financial statements for the Committee and AGM;
• Together with the Chair, ensuring that financial resources are adequate for present and likely future needs;
• Ensuring that adequate accounting procedures and controls are in place;
• Ensuring accounts are prepared, disclosed and audited in keeping with legal requirements;
• Ensuring that salaries for paid staff, including the Minister, are paid on time;
• Monitoring investment activity of RPUC;
• Preparing grant or other funding applications for the RPUC, as appropriate, with, where appropriate, the help of the Chairperson;
• Safeguarding the Title Deeds and Documents of Title to property or other possessions of the RPUC;
• Acting as a point of contact between the RPUC and its bankers and other financial organisations;
• Ensuring that the RPUC and its property are adequately insured, that all monies owed to the RPUC are duly received, and that all debts of the RPUC are fully discharged in a timely manner.

Secretary Job Description

Secretary Job Description

RPUC Officers are expected to fulfil their responsibilities methodically, accurately and in keeping with the standards expected by the Charity Commission and, where appropriate, the Inland Revenue. They must also work in keeping with, and to promote, the aims set out in the RPUC Aims Document.

 

In addition to the general duties of a Trustee, which status he or she also holds, the Secretary has the following particular responsibilities:

 

• Preparing the agenda for RPUC meetings, including the AGM, in conjunction with the Chairperson;
• Ensuring appropriate facilities for the meeting are available;
• Ensuring adequate notice of meetings is given, especially the AGM;
• Receiving agenda items from Trustees and ensuring all required papers for meetings are circulated;
• Ensuring that accurate minutes of Meetings are taken, checked for accuracy, signed, and circulated to Trustees and other recipients as appropriate;
• Ensure that up to date records of the congregation membership are maintained and disseminated as appropriate;
• Ensuring that communications between RPUC and the wider Unitarian movement, e.g. the General Assembly, are addressed in a timely and appropriate manner.