We call upon the Hopi Earth-Mother, Tuuwaqatsi, and Cybele, the Magna Mater; we think of Parvati, primal Hindu goddess, mother even of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; today, we honor the Green Man, and the Maiden and the Crone, and especially we celebrate the Mother; we call to mind the Venus of Willendorf, carved 25,000 years ago, and we celebrate the ancient and ~read more~]]> Let us open ourselves widely to Life, and share a few moments of quiet attention…   {silence}

We call upon the Hopi Earth-Mother, Tuuwaqatsi, and Cybele, the Magna Mater; we think of Parvati, primal Hindu goddess, mother even of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; today, we honor the Green Man, and the Maiden and the Crone, and especially we celebrate the Mother; we call to mind the Venus of Willendorf, carved 25,000 years ago, and we celebrate the ancient and still-present human impulse to respect and honor the Mystery of Creation…

we name our gratitude to be alive today, and as well as we are; we are grateful to be gathered among these good people;

we llift up those joys & sorrows just mentioned, and those which remain in the silent sanctuaries of our hearts;

we note the death of Maurice Sendak; we desire compassion for all those affected by his loss;

with the Religious Institute, and its partners around the world, we observe a Rachel Sabbath: we note the hundreds of thousands of women and girls who die every year as a result of preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth; we desire better maternal healthcare and universal access to family planning;

we desire an end to the “mommy wars” as we honor mothers who work outside of the home, and we honor mothers who stay with their children, and we honor those who do some of each;

we desire less judgment of *all* people and more compassionate acceptance of who we are and how we live;

We desire enough food, and shelter, and peace of mind for all beings this day; we pledge ourselves in pursuit of this goal. Praise for living.
So may we be.

Centuries later, we are reviving and reimagining the holiday for contemporary life. This Thursday, April 5, 2012, the First Unitarian Church of Hobart will observe the tenth annual “new” Fast Day. You and your congregation are invited to join ~read more~]]> Fast Day was once a national holiday. The “opposite of Thanksgiving,” instead of a feast and celebration, it featured a fast and contrition. It was even at the opposite end of the calendar, in April rather than November.

Centuries later, we are reviving and reimagining the holiday for contemporary life. This Thursday, April 5, 2012, the First Unitarian Church of Hobart will observe the tenth annual “new” Fast Day. You and your congregation are invited to join us, or pick another April Thursday for your fast.

As early as 1670, leaders proclaimed days of humility, fasting and prayer — citizens were to express remorse for their sins and to ask God’s blessing on the crops they were planting. Our 21st century version focuses less on remorse and more on introspection.

By refraining from eating for a day, we awaken from the blur of our daily routine, and observe our lives from a different vantage point.  The time that we would normally use for eating, and the regular reminders of our hunger pangs, provide an opportunity to reflect on the values we are living in the world. These insights may be shared and strengthened at a potluck break-fast that evening.

Most of the colonies — and then the states — proclaimed fast days well into the 18th century. The federal government followed suit, and many presidents declared national fasting holidays.

The last federal Fast Day was held after President Lincoln was assassinated, in 1865. His proclamation of two years earlier read in part, “We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God …we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace … It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”

Historian Dean Grodzins, then at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, proposed a revived Fast Day in 2003. Since then, some of his students have observed Fast Days with the congregations they serve. We note that our fasting is by choice, while tens of millions go to bed hungry every night. This recognition helps us to see our lives in a larger context, with an emphasis on compassion and justice.

Fasting is part of many faith traditions, as a ritual of purification or discipline. Our Fast Day is a little more flexible. Since the object is the interruption of routine, we embrace many types of fasting, from a full 24 hours to a simple daylight fast, from absolutely nothing ingested through a water or juice fast, to refraining from eating a favorite food (this is especially good for people whose circumstances require that they eat at regular intervals). On Thursday, participants will fast as they feel appropriate, then gather for the service and potluck at the First Unitarian Church at 6:00pm.

To paraphrase part of Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation, “it is the duty of nations as well as of human beings to recognize their inter-dependence, and to acknowledge their failings, in humble sorrow, yet with hope that genuine repentance and accountability will lead to mercy, pardon, and greater cooperation in the future.” Awareness, mercy, and cooperation– may we indeed embody these virtues, whether or not we fast this Thursday.

(the above was taken from an earlier post on The Yes Church; you can also read a Fast Day sermon here.)

(photo: Merrel D. ~read more~]]> This week we celebrate the birthday of Thandeka, who reminds us that “the life blood of generations who refused to surrender their humanity in an inhumane world courses through [our] veins.” So may we continue.

(photo: Merrel D. Booker, Jr.)