by Senior Minister Rev. John Morehouse
There is so much that needs to be fixed right now. We are all still shocked and numb from the police-state action in Minneapolis and the murder of Renee Good last week. The president is racing to attack as many countries as possible and undo decades of civil progress.
It would be tempting to hide in our homes and hope this all goes away by summer. It won’t. But what we can do as we work and wait for change is to try something else, remarkably simple. We can take more time to hear one another.
I mean this at several levels. Let’s start with the deeply personal. I know I have been guilty of just throwing myself into a meeting without taking the time to “check in.” I am resolving today to not let a single meeting begin without at least a very brief check-in so we can hear from one another. It might add 10 minutes to a meeting but it would mean the world to some of us who are lonely, hurt, and afraid. I hope you will join me in this practice, no matter what the meeting. Yes, perhaps even a simple phone call; start by asking the person on the receiving end how they are doing.
At the level of our congregation, we are attempting to find ways to better listen to one another even when we disagree. Our Right Relations Covenant Task Force has been hard at work listening to many of us as we share our best hopes for what our church could be. With this information, they will help us craft a shared covenant of right relations, a mutual promise as to how we can treat one another with respect and how we will resolve our differences in a respectful and safe manner. They will be holding several town hall-style sharing sessions over the next few months. The first of these is this coming Sunday, after our worship service, in the McGinness Room. Lunch will be served, and there will be childcare. I hope you will join us.
Part of my spiritual practice is to recite the Buddhist loving-kindness meditation. The meditation, which embodies this concentric way of hearing, has three parts. Starting with yourself, you expand it to those you know and love and then those whom you don’t know and don’t agree with:
May I/you be free from inner and outer harm and danger.
May I/you be safe and protected.
May I/you be free of mental suffering or distress.
May I/you be happy.
May I/you be free of physical pain and suffering.
May I/you be healthy and strong.
May I/you be able to live in this world happily, peacefully, joyfully, with ease.
Try reciting this meditation three times each day; once for yourself, once for those you love and once for those you don’t agree with and watch as your world becomes more compassionate.