Wangari Muta Maathai, first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, lived by her own daffodil principle. Born in Nyeri, Kenya, she observed the devastation of forests, 90% all told, and watched as the land she knew became more and more a desert. It came to the point that it took hours for the women and girls to simply find the firewood needed to prepare meals.
So Wangari began to plant trees, first in her own garden then out beyond her personal borders. Soon she realized she needed to organize this effort and expand it out to benefit and educate her fellow Kenyans. She founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977, designed to conserve the environment and improve the quality of life for women, planting trees, one at a time.
As the trees took root, so did a sense of empowerment in the women and girls as they created a sustainable life for themselves and their families. This, of course, became threatening to those in power, to those who did not want equality between women and men, nor equality in citizenry; for the taking hold of one's life and engaging in the creative magic of trees emboldened people to seek democracy, equity and peace in the land.
Wangari Maathai was threatened physically, ridiculed by the press, clubbed and hospitalized by guards hired by developers, accused of subversion and arrested countless times. She and those in the movement persevered for thirty years planting over 30 million trees. In 2002, Kenya held a democratic election, ousting the president who tried to intimidate Wangari. Soon she became Kenya's Assistant Minister for the Environment.
In her Nobel lecture, upon receipt of the peace prize, Wangari Maathai, described the touch of magic that ennobles shared efforts and clear purpose. "In the process," she said, "the participants discover that they must be part of the solutions. They realize their hidden potential and are empowered to overcome inertia and take action. They come to recognize that they are the primary custodians and beneficiaries of the environment that sustains them."1
Wangari was not only speaking of the physical environment and more sustainable landscapes, she was talking of political, social, and internal environments as well. We are the primary custodians and beneficiaries of the environments that sustain us.
That's one major reason why most of you are here. You have brought yourselves to this congregation, within this Unitarian Universalist environment, to take care of and benefit from the aspirations and wisdom, the sharing and support cultivated in this religious community.
It is from this intention and whole hearted effort that a thing of beauty can form and cultivate and generate and empower and heal if we but put our minds to it and our selves in it and believe in the potential therein.
The metaphor of the seed as a symbol of the power of life goes back as far as humans have planted and cultivated fields. A small essence is placed into the soil, out of sight and control. Unseen elements of support nourish growth and strength. New forms emerge and grow, interacting with the gifts of life within its environment and eventually claiming its essence in full bloom.
There is a mystery about it. There is miracle within it. There is a sense of magic around it.
Now the magic I speak of is not the magic of tricks of illusion or manipulation of others. The magic I speak of is the special, mysterious, inexplicable quality that arises out of focused effort and suspension of disbelief. The magic I speak of is the sense of the mystical power in all things, that when manifested it applies one's inherent unity with the universe.
A bulb is lovingly planted to produce the majesty of a daffodil. A tree is nurtured with devotion to breathe new life into a community. A sense of magic gives room for the possibility that apparently impossible things can happen.
The stewardship team has named this year's stewardship campaign: "Make magic happen." They believe in us. They believe in this place. They believe in Unitarian Universalist life made manifest. And why shouldn't they? This is us we're talking about!
There are two main energies of what might be called 'magic': transformation and empowerment. In transformation, we bring about change from the seeds of potential within. With empowerment, we nourish our inherent strength and claim its worth.
We do this together. We do this in faith. We do this because we believe in the ground in which we plant our seeds.
Stewardship drives used to be one of my least favorite times of the church year. I would anticipate the discomfort people feel in talking about money and how hard it can be to ask for money. I would know that there are some who have issues of guilt and blame around money and take the pledge drive personally, as a kind of personal affront. I would worry about those who wanted to give more than they could and those who wouldn't part with as much as they could and those who felt unworthy of the community because of the fiscal place they were in; and of course I would wonder, in this consumerist society, whether people felt they were "getting their money's worth" and how, exactly they were measuring it.
In short I approached these times from a negative starting point and slogged through with my well-meaning vigilance and encouragement. Because of this earnest engagement with the process, I've lessened the opportunities to surpass expectation, to dazzle assumption, to create an environment that could make magic happen.
For although the stewardship drive is about money, and all the attitudes and stigma that go with money, it is not primarily about cost. And although we recognize the bottom line when considering the operation of this facility and its programs, it is not ultimately about our bills. When we talk of money in the stewardship drive, we are talking about creation and pooling our resources to manifest beauty in our lives, in our community, and in our world.
The purchase of a foam sticker and card stock for Sunday School supplies becomes a get well card lovingly crafted by a pre-schooler and sent to a congregant too ill to come to church. That card remains a treasured support during times of pain and loneliness and manifests the truth that we are not alone, that we are loved.
A reminder on the billed internet, sent by our paid administrator, for assistance on a project brings people together to experienced shared talents and common effort in a class or a work party or an action for justice or a drumming circle.
A message on our roadside sign, lit by the cost of electricity, intrigues passers by, giving them a thought for the day. This is a passive dialogue with the larger community, one that has brought people through these doors and has been a welcomed gift to commuters who have commented on its impact.
The paid-for candles that are tenderly lit during worship send messages of hope, healing and joy into our hearts and far beyond these walls, connecting us with all people in the journey of life and the strength of witness.
The maintained building and grounds provide a space and focus for the expression and development of Unitarian Universalist values, from silhouettes in October that lift awareness of domestic violence to gatherings for music, spirituality and art to open, welcoming worship and Religious Education.
The Stewardship drive brings all of this to focus and gives room for participation in its forming. I learn a little more each year, from the help and progression through the years of conscientious, creative stewardship chairs, that this is a time to celebrate our potential, a time to honor the richness of our community, a time to be bold in our dreaming and brave in our giving. It is a time to lift up our shared strength—we're in this together—what a gift we are to each other. It is a time to carefully see what a precious opportunity we have to manifest the beauty before us and within us.
Now that takes some imagination. That takes some understanding of how magic happens. It calls for focus on our purpose, a welcome of creative energy, meaningful participation and a steady, persevering heart.
The woman who planted five acres of daffodils over thirty years by herself must have had some doubt along the way. There must have been seasons when she did not feel like planting or had to replant that which was destroyed by the natural process of change and chance. But her vision of the field and of the gift it would be to the world spurred her to purchase and plant those bulbs, to foster and generate that beauty, and to give it freely to the world as an offering of hope and reconciliation by inspiring wonder.
I am ever humbled by those, who, year after year, pledge and contribute to the life of this religious community. Some years when the roof leaks or the front pavement buckles, or the sound system breaks, it may be hard to believe that one's hard-earned contribution is furthering the healing of the world. But by maintaining a place to gather and fostering community, we create an offering of hope and inspiration to our lives and so the world. Tending to our spirituality is one of the more responsible things we can do with our lives, for our quest for health and harmony will naturally extend from ourselves to others.
"In our depth is our connection to the sacred;" writes activist Julia Butterfly Hill, "it lies within us like a blossom waiting to unfold embracing the sun. Within these covers are keys to manifesting our intention of the sacred into the unfolding of our lives."
Perseverance and a steady heart are what bring the stewardship drive its riches because the vision of a Unitarian Universalist presence and the understanding of each person's responsibility toward sustaining that presence create the fertile ground for us to blossom.
And what are the seeds? They are our contributions of heart and mind, talents and resources. Whatever grows comes from what we put into it, sometimes our efforts blossom immediately, or it could take years.
Six years ago this congregation voted to be a welcoming congregation, intentionally inviting the presence of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered peoples into the community. Ways of welcome have been explored and periodic efforts toward education created a strength of witness that brought about a unanimous vote this last fall to sign on as a congregation to an amicus brief of a historic court case arguing for marriage equality. Slow and steady growth, blessed and stunning beauty in a gesture of advocacy and justice.
Eight or so years ago a beloved congregant was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. A group slowly formed to a wide circle of care, named Kelly care, which created a network of talent, time and heartfelt support that sustained this congregant for years until she died. A quilt hangs in the coffee room as symbol of the beauty of that circle and the enduring strength of our knowledge of the power we have in our love.
One of the more treasured worship services in this church is the "Coming of Age" service, led by teens who have worked through their belief statements and share a bit of their spiritual journeys with the congregation. The stunning presence of our youth as they offer wisdom from their lives tells us, in ways that words cannot describe, the importance of our nurture of their souls.
A seminary student, whose aspiration for Unitarian Universalist ministry grew out of his experience in this church, will take the cause and message of Unitarian Universalism far beyond these doors, first rooted in our fertile ground and now blossoming having found his true potential.
What we do here, what we hope here, what we create here, what we envision here, makes a difference. Our contributions are transformed as if by magic because the spirit moves beyond our logic and into our faith. Our contributions are empowered by the manifold efforts that build upon each other until a magnificence is born.
Let's make magic happen. Let's claim the worth of our spiritual journeys, let's herald the worth of this place, let's honor the worth of Unitarian Universalism.
So may it be. Amen.