I love to ask couples and friends how they met. Every story is
completely unique about how and where they met, who introduced
them. I think of these stories as their “call to be in relationship” stories.
I also love to ask people who go to church, what made them walk
through the door of the congregation for the first time? Every story is
completely unique. I think of these stories as their “call to spirit, love
and justice” stories.

In seminary, my fellow students and I often ask each other, “What is
the story of your call to ministry?” Again, every seminarian and
minister has their own unique call to ministry story. My mine began
with wanting to take a Hand Drumming class. I was on a search to find
a musical instrument I could play and I African Hand Drumming might
be it. It just so happened that First Parish in Lexington was offering a
Hand Drumming class. Perfect! So, I signed up. Much to my dismay, I
soon realized that I have very little musical rhythm. I was never a very
good Hand Drummer and didn’t continue after the class ended.
However, I did enjoy the class because the people were very welcoming
and very kind about my off-rhythm drumming.

Each week as we gathered and played our drums, I noticed there was
something special about taking the class in a Unitarian Universalist
church, rather than being in an adult education center. There was also
something different about the people in the class. I recall saying to
myself, “These people are so nice. I think I’ll see what they do here on
Sunday mornings.” So, to a worship service I went. And, I liked it! So I
kept going. I kept going to church services long after the Hand
Drumming class ended. I recognized there was something different
about this faith community. I sensed and was drawn to that Unitarian
Universalist aura before I even knew what it was. And, I wanted more
of it.

So, that’s how I walked through the door of my first Unitarian
Universalist congregation. I like to say that Spirit knew I wouldn’t have
come in through the front door, because I wasn’t church shopping and I
didn’t think of myself as a church person. I laugh when I think about
how Spirit had to be creative and lure me into church through the side
door by showing me shiny African Hand Drums and tempting me with
dreams of being able to finally play a musical instrument. Whatever it
takes for Spirit to get you in the door, right?

But how someone walks through the door for the first time is really
only the beginning of the story isn’t it? Just like the story of how a
couple or friends meet is just the beginning of their relationship.
Perhaps a more interesting question is, why do people keep committing
themselves to their relationships over and over again?
For people who have walked through the doors of this church, I’m
really curious to know what brought you here for the first time? And, if
this isn’t your first visit, what keeps you coming back to the Winchester
Unitarian Society again and again?” During my time as your Intern
Minister, I’m excited to hear your “call to spirit, love and justice”
stories.

I can tell you one of the reasons why I keep coming back through the
doors of Unitarian Universalist faith communities. It’s because, for me,
church is a sacred playground. It’s a place where people of different
talents, perspectives, and passions come together to co-create
something bigger than anyone of us can create on our own. Church is a
playground and it’s full of fabulous playmates!

But, actually, this description of a playground can be true for places
other than church. I’ve worked on other teams that felt like a
playground. One of them was working on a marketing team at
Hewlett-Packard. In corporate language, it was called a “high
functioning team” – but, It was a playground. We were a brand new
marketing team of 5 people who were charged with generating
customer interest in our software products and passing leads onto the
salesforce. To do this, we designed a 10-city seminar tour, each city
with a keynote speaker, multiple breakout sessions, and a technology
lab to show customers how the software worked. It was incredibly
ambitious for a newly formed team of 5 people. But, we had passion,
creativity, an extraordinary diversity of talents, plus we liked each
other. We were committed to succeed as a team. And, we did. We
rocked that seminar tour! It was a grand success – and it was a whole
lot of work – and it was a whole lot of fun! It was a marketing
playground!

But, was it a Sacred Playground? For that particular team, it did feel
sacred. Certainly the way we worked together and our commitment to
mutual success was different and special. We were on all cylinders,
being collaborative, having fun, and doing exceptional, creative work
together. But, in my 13 years at Hewlett-Packard, that was the only
team I ever felt that way about. I worked with other teams with great
people, but none of them had that Secret Sauce that made them feel
sacred.

Church, on the other hand, now that’s a place where Sacred Sauce
flows like a river and a never ending stream! In my 13 years of being a
Unitarian Universalist, being a congregant, going to General Assembly,
attending regional meetings and workshops, and being here at
Winchester Unitarian Society… ALL of it feels like playing on a Sacred
Playground.

So, what makes all these UU experiences sacred? Covenant is a big part
of it. At the foundation of our faith, we are a covenantal community.
We are intentional about make covenants where we promise how to be
in relationship with each other. In my first month with you, I’ve
attended many committee meetings and at each one, you began by
reviewing and renewing your covenant of how you promise to be
together. Each covenant is unique, and yet they all speak of the
common values of: affirming the inherent worth and dignity of each
person, honoring our commitments, and speaking the truth with love.
Covenants build a foundation by intentionally choosing how we want to
be in relationship with each other. You could say, that covenants are
the Rules of the Sacred Playground! They are how we promise to play
together.

Covenants help to create a space where we feel safe to be authentically
ourselves and be valued for All of who we are. Covenants give us
enough of a safety net so we are free to experiment, be creative,
discover, explore, and take risks. Children play boldly and freely most
of the time, it’s what they naturally do. As adults, we can become so
skilled at doing what we’re good at, that we tend to limit our playful
natures of taking risks that challenge us to grow personally and
spiritually. Sometimes, when we’re unsure if we can, or even if we
want to do something – and we end up saying “Yes!” anyway, that’s
when we discover new parts of ourselves.

In my first year of being a member of my home congregation, I was
asked to deliver a lay-led worship service that summer. I was caught off
guard and said “I’ve never even seen a summer worship service.
Maybe next summer.” That was fine. I wasn’t pressured. But, I kept
thinking about it. I couldn’t let it go. I realized I had a message I
wanted to share. So, I took a leap of trust and said “Yes” to delivering a
sermon that summer. It was during that worship service that I felt the
first little sparks of my call to ministry. My soul grew a little bigger that
day.

One of my favorite ways to play on the church playground is being on
committees. Yup, I’m one of those people who loves committees. Each
one lets me have a different experience on the Playground. I was
playing in the sandbox with one committee, swinging on the swings
with another, and going down really fast slides on others. I had
freedom to play anywhere I wanted to on the church playground. By
playing, I was able to develop new skills, learn new things, and I got to
play with fabulous playmates. Every new experience was a spark of
growth in spiritual leadership that has led me to be who I am today –
ready to play in the playground of being a Minister.

What is also true on playgrounds is, they are not always full of happy
fun and games. There are times when we may push and shove and hurt
each other. Being in covenantal community Is not about being perfect.
It’s about showing up as our imperfect, messy, sometimes cranky,
human selves, and then, recommitting ourselves to how we aspire to
be in relationship. It’s about being accountable for words and actions
with our playmates, and it’s about calling each other back into
covenant when we’ve been hurt by another.

There are times on the Playground when there is divisiveness and
conflict, and it’s frustrating. We may even want to pick up our toys and
leave the Playground. It is during these challenging times, when we
need to lean most heavily into our promises of how to be in
relationship with each other, even when it’s messy and hard. It’s
actually during these challenging times, not the happy times, when we
may grow and learn the most. Challenging times call forth more
strength, wisdom, resilience, leadership, and compassion – individually
and collectively – than we may have known we were capable of. These
too are ways of playing on the Playground.

So, there are many ways to play on the church playground. For some
service is what helps their heart and spirit grow, for others it’s singing in
the choir, or maybe it’s offering hospitality, or teaching our young
children about UU values. There are a multitude of ways to play on the
Sacred Playground of Church. Or, maybe what feeds your spirit isn’t
even at church.

Each of us has our own ways of discovering new parts of ourselves,
whether it’s at church or in another place that’s sacred for you. There
are many paths and many ways to grow personally and spiritually.
When you feel that sense of the sacred, you know it. You may not think
of it as a playground like I do. But, whatever that image is for you, it’s
your holy and sacred place where you grow, and maybe heal your heart
and spirit.

My imagery of a Church as a Playground is actually a healing image for
me. I born with a physical disability, Spina Bifida, which is essentially a
partial paralysis from the waist down. As a child, I didn’t like
playgrounds very much. There were places where I couldn’t go on the
playground because I couldn’t run, jump, climb, skip, or hop like all the
other kids. And, since I couldn’t play like all the other kids, I didn’t feel
like I belonged or fit in. So, all my life I’ve been on a quest to find
playgrounds. Places where I was free to play in every part of the
playground, with playmates, and have fun!

Over the years, I have found playgrounds where I had fun, sometimes
lots of Fun! But, it’s within Unitarian Universalism and congregational
life where I found a Sacred Playground. Church is a place where we get
to play with people who have big hearts and willing hands. I’m so glad I
get to play with you for the next two years. I can’t wait to see what
risks we’ll take and what parts of ourselves we will discover in the
playground of the Winchester Unitarian Society! Let’s play! Amen.

Topics: Play