Welcome to this blog. . .

Welcome to this blog made from my blog-type thoughts as Director of Religious Education, or DRE, at the Unitarian Church of Montreal. They are excerpted from the weekly letters I send to all families and helpers in our RE (or Religious Ed) program. If you would like to be put on the e-mailing list for this letter, usually over half full of reminders and announcements, questions and quotes, with occasional thoughtful paragraphs, please contact dre@ucmtl.ca

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

SILENT MUSIC: A Story of Baghdad



On the Sunday of our Flower Ceremony, June 7th,  I sang a song based on Miss Rumphius, a picture book, for our Time for All Ages.  Barbara Cooney wrote and illustrated this classic, about a little girl named Alice Rumphius who was inspired by her grandfather (an artist) to help make the world more beautiful, however she might find the way.  Perhaps you remember that she planted lupin flower seeds so they would bloom all along the coastline of eastern Canada and New England....

For my very last Time for All Ages, on June 14th, I told a story ALSO based on a picture book, SILENT MUSIC:  A Story of Baghdad, written and illustrated by James Rumford.  Its about a boy named Ali who also was encouraged by his grandfather to make something beautiful -- but Ali was even more inspired by a man who had lived many hundreds of years before them, a man named Yakut, who lived in long-ago Baghdad, in the country we now call Iraq.
Yakut was the most famous calligrapher in the world, someone who knows the art of Calligraphy, or the art of drawing letters, by hand, to make beautiful writing... You know how on a computer, we can print words in different fonts, or styles?  Here is our theme for this month, the word "beauty" -- printed in different fonts: beauty, beauty, beauty.  Imagine being able to do that by hand!  I bet it takes a lot of practice to write so beautifully using a brush or pen and ink!
Here is an example of some framed words about UUism that were drawn by a calligrapher for Diane -- she keeps them in her office:  UUism is faith in people, hope for tomorrow's child, confidence in a continuity that spans all time...

And here is the Hebrew word "Shalom" which means "peace" made into a wall tile by a calligrapher who wrote onto clay and then baked that beauty.  (show tile)

 Like the famous calligrapher Yakut, Ali's family also lived in Baghdad, and they were Muslims, part of one of the great world religions called Islam. Islamic people worship in a Mosque, a holy building that often is built with a tall tower or minaret, (where the leaders can climb up high to call the people to come for prayers or services). Muslims use calligraphy to decorate their mosques and to make their holy book, the Qur'an, look as beautiful as possible.  A page of Arabic writing looks like a page of music.... So calligraphy is an important and beautiful part of Islamic culture....( We have a lot of books that can tell you more about these topics in our R.E. Library.)

After all that introduction, I'm ready to tell you about "Silent Music:  A Story of Baghdad."

Ali loved playing soccer in the dusty street with his friends.  He loved loud, parent-rattling music, and he loved to dance.  But most of all, Ali loved calligraphy!  He loved writing the letters of his language, Arabic, and making them go from right to left across the page.  He loved to make the ink flow from his pen -- starting and stopping, sliding and sweeping, leaping and dancing to the silent music in his head.  He said that writing a long sentence, leaving an ink trail of dots and loops behind him, was like watching soccer players in slow motion as they kick the ball across the field.
Ali practiced and practiced writing Arabic beautifully -- he doodled on napkins and newspapers, on old envelopes and faded receipts --even on the bathroom mirror!  Some words were much easier than others -- his sister's name, Jasmine, flowed from his pen, but his grandfather's name, Mustafa, had too many "loops and tall mast strokes" -- still Ali kept on with his calligraphy
Ali's mother would tease her son, and call him Yakut -- the most famous calligrapher in the world.  800 years before Ali was born, Yakut also practiced writing every day, even inventing new ways of making Arabic letters.  Ali knew Yakut was a genius!  He didn't tell anyone, but Ali thought of Yakut as his secret hero, because Yakut could create such beauty, such silent music....
Ali remembered the legend that in the year 1258 C.E., when the Mongols attacked Baghdad, burning the houses and killing hundreds of people, Yakut fled to a high tower, a minaret, where he created beauty -- he shut out the horror of war and wrote glistening letters of rhythm and grace. People throughout the Middle East still recall this old story....

One night not so very long ago, in 2003, Ali did what Yakut had done.  It was a terrible night, when bombs and missiles fell on modern Baghdad and once again, death and destruction filled the city's streets, so Ali followed Yakut's example -- he wrote...
And wrote...
And WROTE, all night long and during the many nights of bombing that followed, he wrote...and wrote, filling his room with pages of calligraphy, filling his mind with peace...

When the bombing finally stopped, and one war became another, Ali kept writing, kept practicing, the easy words and the hard-to-write ones where the loops tangle or the dots of ink smear. He noticed how easily his pen would glide down the long sweeping hooks of the word HARB, the Arabic word for "war" --  and how stubbornly his pen resisted making the difficult waves and slanted staff of the word SALAM --or "peace." Ali knows he has so much to practice, until the word  SALAM flows freely from his pen, and so he keeps writing, keeps making silent music.

I wonder how each of you will find ways to make our world more beautiful?

And because this is my last Sunday with you as your DRE who loves to tell stories, I wish that each of you will find what you love to do in the world, like Ali and Alice, and practice and practice, keep working at it, keep spreading the seeds, as your lives unfold ...
May it be in beauty.  Salam!

Thursday, June 4, 2015

A goodbye wish for spiritual growth!

The Canadian Unitarian Council's May 2015 Annual Conference and Meetings (CUC ACM) in Ottawa were hugely meaningful on many levels, and as always I am super grateful for the professional development funds that cover my costs to attend and get inspired. Let me share some highlights and reflections on it all!

After the banner parade for all UUs on Friday night, we celebrated being together with Matt Meyer, the Boston based percussion artist, performer and worship leader who is modeling how to live our UU values in a co-housing community that -- among other traits -- sings together every Sunday night, welcoming in their neighbours. Matt had us sing with lots of call-and-response; often saying something simple and yet profound like “singing pulls us together” words we would repeat. As he put it, he helped us “build a feeling of wholeness among those gathered,” to ‘gather the spirit.’  What a model!



Sunday morning we watched a spectacular pageant-like visual narrative of the history of Ottawa and its mighty rivers, using huge puppets and many many singers and puppet carriers (thanks to the ACM choir and Ottawa area UUs).  I especially loved the Gaia figure with arms and skirts like a giant maypole!



It was a learning experience for me to think about how awesome the production was, and what a huge accomplishment, yet also to wonder what could have made it more worshipful.  How we draw our children, youth and adults into deeper levels of meaning and relationship through shared services and other activities is always an important consideration for me as a religious educator.

My 3rd ACM highlight was Rev Stephen Atkinson’s Confluence Lecture on Sunday afternoon, called “Spirit: The Necessary Foundation of Social Justice.”
Although I would agree with the animator of our CUC 2012 Spiritual Leadership symposium, saying that "spirituality is at its core about LIFE vs non-life," Stephen sidestepped defining “spiritual.”  Instead, he delved into recent neuroscience, citing the brain as our spiritual organ, and affirming that
"Attending to our spiritual lives, individually and together, is necessary for us to be wise, committed and effective in how we address the hurt and unfairness in the world."
Stephen said he is also concerned with “our difficulty [as UUs] finding a common theological ground; not... a dogma, but a common deep, inspiring and path-setting foundation that we all respect. …"
I love how he went on to cite studies in Neurotheology,  explaining that
 "… [current research] doesn’t prove [a neurological "state of Absolute Unitary Being"], but it doesn’t contradict the possibility of a deeper self… in a Universe where all things are one. ... a kind of Rumi’s field where mysticism and humanism aren’t thought of as wrong or right."
He suggests, “...we can meet each other there, and if we can, I bet that what we do together there is grow spiritually as we more deeply accept a comfortable unity of values"....

"If we want to take flight, we need two wings, not just one: one is certainly public social action, but the other has to be greater depth, meaning and purpose, individually and collectively, and I don’t see that coming anywhere but from a spiritual renewal..."

As a Quakertarian who has loved her work in religious education, and who often communes with herons, I embrace Stephen’s thesis that:
"to live a vibrant life, we must continually grow as a person. Growth comes from living consciously: sometimes in therapy, self-help groups or spiritual practice; sometimes by facing and learning from our mistakes. Congregations at their best nourish and make room for personal growth."

If you would like to hear or see the complete lecture, visit www.cuc.ca/ACM-2015/confluence-lecture/

Finally, we all know UUs are good at questions, and Quakers speak of the big questions as "queries," so my queries for you at this time are:
How does each of you nourish your spiritual growth?
How has this congregation already (or might it in the future?) made/make room for YOUR personal growth?

Not only will I be delighted to hear of your responses, but I am sure the entire UCM community would benefit, so be sure to share them widely -- perhaps in our newsletter, or on the ucmtl.ca website.

This month I take formal leave of my role as your Director of Religious Education, with a bittersweet awareness that my body and brain are ready to rest and move on, but I will not let go of my deep connection to the entire institution and to so many of you.  Blessings on your journeys, as I take my own next steps on my own journey to simply being "a great old lady" -- my ambition since I was around age ten!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

PASSOVER by Aileen Fisher

The festival of freedom
comes happily in spring;
freedom for a people
and every living thing.

Freedom from a bitter
bondage, long,long ago;
freedom from the bondage
of winter's ice and snow.

Passover is the very old Jewish holiday which comes in the spring, celebrating the exodus of the Jews from Egypt; a seder is a ritual feast for Passover, held in Jewish communities or families when the story of the Exodus is retold annually through everyone reading a special text called a "Haggadah" together.  The word "seder" literally means "order" and there is a specific order of readings and symbolic foods which are eaten by the participants followed by a more general big meal.
I grew up with almost no contact with Judaism, and knew very little about the traditions of my Jewish friends in college.  My first Passover seders were called "liberation seders" and were moving, learning-filled events during the 70s, held by the Toronto co-counseling community.  That peer-based movement focused on people helping one another to heal from both specific, individual hurts and from societal oppressions, such as anti-Semitism.  I was inspired to learn how the liberation of any one group is essential for the well-being of all humanity.  Listening to the Hebrew prayers and songs in the Haggadah, I also found the seder very beautiful. Talking with friends who were Jewish and others who were allies of Jews, I gained many insights into the riches and biases of the Jewish religion and culture, and came to understand many aspects of Jewish life.  And on the very simplest level of shared food, I came to relish the "charoses" mixture of ground walnuts and grated apple, eaten with the unleavened bread, or matzoh that characterizes the holiday, along with horseradish for "spice."
Because seders include specific roles for children old enough to read and ask significant questions about the steps of the ritual, there are also some activities to engage children, such as searching for the special piece of matzoh called the "afikomen." In the mid-1980s my family had the unique opportunity to attend a family seder in Jerusalem, conducted according to Sephardic Jewish guidelines, and I remember the children getting more and more heavy-eyed as the night wore on --we parents were tired, too, by the late hour that we drove home.  Our seder this year at the Unitarian church will probably use a shorter Haggadah, and it definitely won't be as long an evening as ours was in Jerusalem, but the food will be delicious, the songs fervent, and the group sense of gratitude for our freedom today will be tangible.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

November comes, and November goes, with the last red berries and the first white snows . . .

  
     Well, outside, we're shivering a bit this third week in November, and there's some snow on the ground already, which makes the lengthening nights a little less dark --some years the snow comes later.  Inside it is the time for planning our annual Solstice Multigenerational service, which will be on the actual Winter Solstice date this year --December 21st itself.  I have been enjoying an old favourite book in the RE library called While The Bear Sleeps, which has a simple story line about
a little girl who has stumbled into a bear's cave for shelter.
     Out of the dark warmth of the cave the bear character surprises the child by speaking, and he tells her she might as well stay and sleep alongside him, because Winter is "the time when you look inside yourself and remember the important things."  She asks him what those might be, and he rumbles "...that the winter is never so cold when you can share stories with the friends of your heart.  That loneliness is never so lonely if you are used to being alone.  That you need never worry about how you look or what people think about you if you are at home to yourself. That's why I come here."
     I found myself thinking that if I were a member of UCM, I might also give those reasons for why I come to join this church each week -- to meet with my "friends of the heart" and spirit, and to let the people, the music, the readings and sermon, ALL of the richness of a service, remind me that I am "at home to [my]self." And of course I would delight in all the stories I hear here . . . As it happens, the little girl in the book gets entertained and inspired by the bear telling her stories appropriate to many of the holidays of this "dark of the year" season. They go on dream journeys together to celebrations in many corners of the earth, and conclude their period of hibernation at Groundhog's Day (also know as Bear Day among some Native groups) with her learning about the constellation of Ursa Major, which points the way north in the night sky.
May this season bring each of you time to "...look inside yourself and remember the important things," and may we all celebrate bringing back the light as we observe the Solstice!

p.s. the title for this post comes from a favourite poem of mine, called "Goodbye, November, Goodbye," written by Elizabeth Coatsworth
p.p.s. I am not actually a member of this faith community, but of the Society of Friends (see post below), but I certainly love being on the staff here!


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Bilingual schools in Israel/Palestine light the way to peace


On October 28th I heard Uri Gopher, the optimistic executive director of the Hajar/Hagar School in Beer Sheva, Israel, http://www.hajar.org.il 
tell his listeners here in Montreal about a sixth (and currently last) unique peace-building, bilingual school operating under the Israeli Ministry of Education; the school's motto is "Jewish-Arab Education for Equality."

The Hagar Association not only says that "peace IS possible," but that "It begins at HAGAR."  They believe that "Jewish-Arab Education for Equality is a springboard for social change, through it's bilingual, multicultural school and community programming. As parents and community members partner in the educational process, we create a community of Arabs and Jews who learn and work together towards a shared and peaceful future."

The last summer has been so horrific in terms of events in the middle east, and I have seen so many sad and infuriating documentaries about Palestinian/Israeli relations, that I confess I have become quite negative and discouraged about whether any change for the better is really possible in that anciently conflict-torn area.  However, Uri was full of energy, good news and good sense, starting with a comment that "Living together is not something you learn about in books, it's something you practice." At the Hajar/Hagar School, adults and children alike clearly practice how to relate well to one another, and it is inspiring!  Uri believes their emphasis on teaching both Arabic and Hebrew is a key to their program, for "When you learn the other's language, you are immediately drawn to him/her."

A former musician who holds an MA in social-political psychology, and with extensive educational experience, including work with Sesame Street International and as director of the Walter Lebcah Institute for Arab-Jewish Coexistence at the school of education in Tel Aviv University, Uri said it took becoming a father himself to push him to look for new ways to build connections with his Arab counterparts. He went on to explain how this extraordinary educational venture was begun in 2006 by some ordinary but social activist parents in Beer Sheva who wanted school environments that were relationship-and-peace-building, not trauma-inflicting, for their children.

Co-sponsored by UCM and the Montreal Dialogue Group, Uri came to Montreal to meet and speak with interested members of the public, plus members of the ICAN program at the McGill School of Social Work.  The International Community Action Network (ICAN), formerly known as the McGill Middle East Program (MMEP), is committed to the belief that social justice is the most reliable foundation for strong, healthy societies.  ICAN offers MSW degrees to persons in the forefront of civil society and social justice in Jordan, Palestine, and Israel.  Seven of these special graduate students attended Uri's talk, and several have connections to/with the Hajar/Hagar School (one is a graduate of "Neve Shalom," the original Jewish-Arab bridge-building school begun in 1979; another woman is a parent whose Gr 2 daughter spoke briefly about her experience at Hajar/Hagar).

Uri Gopher feels Israel has failed its most important challenge, to resolve the conflict between Arabs and Jews, and so he wrote a song (which was quite controversial) about that theme, when Israel celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding. He concluded his presentation with that song, played beautifully on our Laliberte piano, and a photo of his daughter smiling "after an ordinary day at an ordinary school!"


Watch the video of the song here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-DwpSY3or4

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

COME SHARE A QUIET, CENTRED HOUR OF QUAKER MEETING/MEDITATION ON THURSDAY EARLY EVENINGS AT MCGILL



You will find me here most Thursdays, from 5:30-6:30 pm, Newman Centre, 3484 Peel St., in the second floor library, or Ryan Room.

As many of my UU friends know, I am an active member of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, and my home Meeting is in Ottawa.  However, from my early days of employment as a Director of Religious Education,  I have called myself a "Quakertarian," because I feel very comfortable with UU principles and practices, and I very much enjoy Sunday or other UU services. 
Of course, working as I do -- with great pleasure! -- on Sunday mornings (currently at the Unitarian Church of Montreal), I don't get to Sunday "meeting for worship" -- as a Quaker "service" is called -- very often. So over the years that I have been a DRE, I have found various ways to give myself  "sabbath time" for rest and renewal.
This year, to my great delight, a loose group of Montrealers with Quaker connections, under the care of Montreal Friends Meeting, have been working to initiate a mid-week Quaker "meeting for worship"at McGill.  We began last Thursday, September 25th, at 5:30 pm, with the door closing around 5:45, after spending the first l5 minutes settling into the room, our circle of chairs, and the silence.  We "broke worship" at 6:30 with the usual Quaker handshake, but kept holding hands as we sang "Tis A Gift To Be Simple," and then shared a bit about who we are and what our Quaker experiences have been.
We plan to meet weekly, with once a month special sessions for newcomers (though all of the meetings will be friendly to newcomers).  Please drop in to join us, and see if the hour of worship feeds your inner being as it does mine!  Depending on what Quakers would call the movement of the Spirit amongst us, the time together may be wholly one of silent seeking, or one, two or even a few people may "give ministry" or speak from their hearts into the silence.  All are welcome!
Meeting is held in the Ryan room (the library) on the second floor of the Newman Centre, 3484 Peel St., north of Sherbrooke.
 (Go in the main entrance to Newman Centre, which faces south, straight up the stairs, and the Ryan room is at the end of the hall, facing Peel).