"Can't You Sit Still?"

Yesterday, I was too warm at the 9 am service at my hUUge congregation and could not get comfortable. Being in a hurry before leaving home, I had not put my hair up, which was adding to my feeling too warm.

As soon as the service ended, an older woman sitting behind me asked, "Can't you sit still?"

"What?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Can't you sit still? You were moving all around during the service and flipping your hair. I was so distracted that I couldn't concentrate on the service."

"No, I can't sit still. I always fidget," I said, quite surprised by the rudeness of this woman, a fellow member of my congregation.

"Then I'll be careful not to sit behind you in the future."

WTF? I was quite upset, and so was my spouse when I told him what happened. As Unitarian Universalists, there are certain truths that we have been taught. One is that you cannot change someone else's behavior, only your own. Another is that we are different than each other, but that difference is to be accepted, perhaps even celebrated. A third is that we are an inclusive faith, welcoming the stranger as ourselves.

Her response was one of such entitlement and arrogance -- she was distracted, so I needed to behave differently. I would hope that most people at a worship service, if bugged by a another congregant's movement, would take a few deep breaths and try to ignore the situation. If that doesn't work, simply get up and move to a different seat. At my church, now that we have a lovely, large auditorium, we have plenty of chairs to choose from.

This incident has me thinking more about how much different cultures view the body. Some cultures do put a high value on being quiet and subdued and keeping the body still. In certain cultures, it has long been thought barbaric or sinful to yield to bodily needs. In contrast, I put a high value on physical comfort. When my body has what it needs, I feel alert, happy and ready to engage fully with my surroundings. If it doesn't, my priority is to get comfortable.

Here's to being more accepting of those who participate in worship differently.
Elizabeth

UU Variety Show Now on the Web!

Upper Midwestern Modest: A Pretty Good Revue is finally on the UUA's GA website!

We waited two whole months for this to appear, so General Assembly is a distant memory for some. About 200 people saw this late-night performance that features folks from First Unitarian Society of Madison, WI. We had a lot of fun putting the show together.

Since our performance, Abby and Lauri got married and went on a honeymoon, Amber Nicole stole the show as the mother in the musical Harold and the Purple Crayon, Joe Harris and Melissa Simonson headlined a concert, and we finally had our UMM cast party last Saturday!

I hope you enjoy our pretty-good revue.
Elizabeth

Goodbye, UU Musicians Network Conference attendees!

The UU Musicians Network conference ended yesterday morning with 120 of the attendees singing at the 9 am service at FUS of Madison, directed by Dr. Stephen Alltop. The special music was "Little Elegy" by Stephen Paulus -- a piece commissioned by the UUMN. The choir also sang Bach's "Dona Nobis Pacem," Rutter's "Down By the Riverside" and "Deep River" by Andrew Paulsson.

"Deep River" filled me with the holy spirit and connected me with the divine. I wanted to throw my hands in the air, but since I'd already had my hands in the air for the hymn "There Is more Love Somewhere," I thought I'd better not do it again. :-) And, I would have clapped on 2 & 4 all during "Riverside" if I had been 100% sure of avoiding 1 & 3. Anyway, the music was sublime!

It was such a wonderful gift and an honor to host this conference. I encourage all UU congregations who are mid-size and larger to host the UU Musicians Network conference. The 2010 conference had about 240 attendees, so perhaps it would be difficult for a small congregation to host this.

Thanks to FUS Music Director Dan Broner and especially to Assistant Music Director Linda Warren for organizing this conference.

Crashing the UU Musicians Network Conference

I'm volunteering a little, but having a ball! For example, I volunteered to drive Dave and Greg, two conference attendees, over to Babcock Hall so they could buy me (and themselves) some real UW-Madison ice cream. Heavenly!

After that, Elizabeth Alexander and some fabulous singers (such as John Hubert and Jason Shelton) sang Elizabeth's "Go Out!" Also heavenly: the Opening Ceremony in downtown Madison, where the new leaf unfolded, the Madison Festival Choir sang gorgeous anthems, and Gini Courter spoke. What a thrill!

We can host this conference because of our new space. We couldn't have done this years ago because we had a small auditorium with a triangular-shaped kitchen. Now we have a 90-second dishwasher that I almost know how to use!

Thanks to Dan Broner and Linda Warren and all members of the UU Musicians Network. You are crucial to our UU religious faith. For me, the times when I've felt most connected to the divine, to God, have been when I'm listening to (and singing) our music.

Elizabeth

Upper Midwestern Modest: What a Hoot!

Wow! Everyone had a blast at our late evening performance at GA. This was my first time performing at GA rather than being a presenter of a workshop. Throughout the program, waves of love and positive energy burst from the audience, washing over the cast before returning to the listeners in an endless cycle -- just like the wave pool at Noah's Ark (in the Wisconsin Dells)! It felt soooo good!!

Thanks so much to everyone who came to the show and especially to the cast, some of whom endured hardship to get to Minneapolis. Soprano Melissa Simonson missed the FUS Madison chartered bus because of a power outage, but found a ride with Lauri Schwarz & Abby Swetz Wednesday morning. Amber Nicole Dilger was the last of us to arrive. Driving up Thursday morning, her car broke down! Thank goodness she made it to GA in time to hear Peter Mayer's concert Thursday evening. Both women are sopranos in the Meeting House Chorus at our church.

Special thanks to youth cast members Robin Delaquess, Noah Huber and Willy Bernstein, all members of the 2009-2010 Saturday Coming of Age class. As we know, youth are our present (not just our future), so it would be weird not to have any in our Revue. It was quite an honor to be in their presence, not just at the performance, but at rehearsal. All three helped refine our skits and program order.

Below is a list of the main cast members. Several more FUS folks sang "Uma Familia" with us at the end of the show, including former Meeting House Chorus member Joel Gilbertson-White, who recently graduated from Starr King.

Abby Swetz, duet of "Amazing Grace" and, like, poetry reading, you know?
Amber Nicole Dilger, soprano soloist
Dan Broner, pianist & conductor of "Uma Familia"
Eva Wright, pianist extraordinaire
Joe Harris, guitar
Lauri Schwarz, duet of "Amazing Grace" and the voice of the UU Translator
Lynn & Richard Scoby, writers of the Mustard commercial
Melissa Simonson, singer-songwriter
Nick Schweitzer, writer & lead character of the Guy Gris skit
Noah Huber, electric guitar
Robin Delaquess, accordion & fast-talking youth
Samuel Bates, Guy Gris announcer and Emcee support
Vicky Jones, actor in Guy Gris and coach
Willy Bernstein, the voice of the UU Translator 2.0

I was the Emcee, writer of the UU Translator & the News from UUUSaFe, and producer.

Thanks to the GA Planning Committee, for believing in our performance application.
Elizabeth

"Upper Midwestern Modest: A Pretty-good Revue"

at General Assembly June 25th in Minneapolis

I'm having a great time preparing to be one of the choices for late evening entertainment at GA in Minneapolis, Friday June 25th at 9:30 pm in room 208 A-D of the Convention Center. Not just me, of course; we've got a cast of seventeen or so -- 25 for one choral piece. The cast includes our music director Dan Broner, lots of singers and actors, two guitarists, a pianist and an accordion player. I've gathered quite a mix of ages, from teenagers to much older (ahem).

Upper Midwestern Modest is a variety show in the style of a long-running Minnesota radio show, with lots of music, a few skits and a commerical or two -- commercials for products every UU needs. I hope lots of people come because the show is going to be great! Well, pretty good.

I thought of doing a show like this a number of years ago because I wanted more of an outlet for celebratory UU humor and to showcase some of the musicians at my huuge congregation. Knowing that in 2010 we'd be in Minneapolis (a mere five hours from Madison), I focused my energy on getting a spot on the schedule. I applied way back in mid-November. My friend, actor & singer Vicky Jones, helped with the title and the description.

So, if you'll be at GA and somewhat awake late Friday evening, come to room 208!
Elizabeth (emcee)

So Many Worship Services, So Little Time!

Now that experienced minister Rev. Crestwell is at the UU Church of Annapolis, that congregation is second on my list to visit, right after the 11:30 am service in Tulsa, described in "The Gospel of Inclusion." When my spouse read the UU World article aloud to me, we both were excited. "Let's visit Tulsa!" I exclaimed. Sam suggested we go for Christmas. We cannot do that because family is coming here to visit us, but I've got to find the time to go and bask in the joy and praise of Universalism.

An article at the UUA’s website states “Diversity of Ministry Initiative Settles Two New Ministers.” The Rev. John Crestwell is one of the “new ministers” referred to here. As many of us know, Rev. Crestwell was at Davies Memorial UU Church for a number of years. In fact, he is a featured speaker on a DVD called “Listening to Experience” that came out in last April. This DVD features twelve ministers whose congregations have done very well, including Peter Morales, Laurel Hallman and Rob Hardies.

Hearing podcasts of ministers' sermons doesn't do it for me; I don't get a whole lot out of it. No, I want the Entire worship experience, from anticipating being there, finding a parking spot and being greeted at the door all the way through to leaving the grounds. The whole enchilada is the worship service to me. Between working at one church and being a member of another, I already have to juggle and find myself going to 9 am at one & 11 am at the other. This makes it difficult to leave town! Argh. Maybe I will settle for podcasts and reading sermons.

Peace,
Elizabeth

Why Am I Still Afraid To Invite You to My Church?

I've been re-reading Michael Durall's new book The Almost Church Revitalized. It is much better than his previous Almost book. In fact, his arguments make a lot of sense to me.

On pages 33-34, Durall outlines "What Membership Should Mean":

Attending Sunday services regularly
Participating in one program each year that deepens your faith
Participating in one outreach or mission project each year
Reaching the 5 to 10% giving level as soon as possible
Telling others about the church

From my perspective, it is easy to accomplish the first four items. It interests me that there is nothing here about "volunteering" to help run the church in any way: no expectation to join a committee, become an usher or any other of the myriad of jobs to do at any church. Maybe this reflects Durall's understanding that members everywhere naturally find a niche where their greatest gift meets the congregation's greatest need.

I have a heck of a time with that last one: Telling others about the church. Lately, I've been telling folks about participating with our Standing on the Side of Love banner in the LGBTQ Pride Parade. Half the time, I've been telling people who would not attend or even watch a Pride Parade. Frankly, I don't want people who are uncomfortable with this to join my congregation! What I don't do well is any kind of "targeted marketing" (so to speak), where I seek out folks who seem to have certain values and tell them about my church. I almost did this recently, but chickened out. My thought was: what if you come but you don't like it? It would be my fault. Clearly, I need to get over this. How do you tell people about your church, society, congregation or fellowship?

What if 3% of the Members speak for All Members?

At my huuge congregation of 1,565 members, a "quorum" is 50 -- as long as fifty members sign in at a Parish Meeting, all the decisions made are valid. Fifty has been the quorum for the last 60 years at least, while the congregation has grown steadily from 175 all the way up to 1500 adult book-signed members.

Well, I decided that it is high time to have a discussion about increasing the quorum or, even better, making the number a percentage of our membership. I floated the idea of 10% -- 150 members. Someone immediately mentioned that we would never be able to make a decision if we required that many people! In reality, ever since 300 of us voted to fund our building addition, we've easily had 150 and more at our Parish Meetings. Part of this is just getting smart about scheduling a PM: serving lunch after the second service, then going right into the meeting. None of this 5 pm Sunday-potluck-and-meeting crap. Hardly anyone went to those; in fact, several members of the Board of Trustees didn't even attend.

What do other very large congregations do about this? Many of the decisions at my congregation aren't even put before the membership because we have policy governance. As a matter of fact, our mission changed last year, after needing to be improved for many years. Finally, a whole group of lay leaders collectively brought up the issue of revising our mission two years ago, but it was changed by one person: our senior minister. That's right: he re-wrote it by himself. Mission accomplished!

We members still call ministers and vote for the yearly slate of officers, council chairs and committee chairs. And we would be the ones to amend the by-laws and the Bond of Union.

Elizabeth

Spiritual Practices as a UU University Track

I thoroughly enjoyed my UU University track at General Assembly last month. I went to Multigenerational Worship because 1), I didn't know much about it and 2), because the description stated that the material would be presented as four worship services. I absolutely love worship services. We sang, we danced, we learned.

The GA evaluation form asks us to describe programs we would like to see in next year's UU University (six hours of extensive learning about one topic). I think a Spiritual practices track would be terrific because we would have time to learn various practices and try each one. Insight Meditation would be one and perhaps Snowflower Meditation. Movement meditation might be part of it, also, with an adaptation for the differently-abled. Yoga or Qi Gong would be especially good, because both can be done while sitting in a chair. Centering Prayer would be a another type, as described by Thomas Keating. Besides the above, perhaps spiritual journal writing or contour drawing would be great, too.

Good transitions would be essential before going from one practice to the next. Singing, stretching and visiting the restroom are my favorite ways to prepare myself for the next activity.

So, what are the chances that Spiritual Practices becomes a UU University Track? Wait and see....

Blessed be and Amen,
Elizabeth

Abandoned Blog Found at General Assembly

I read an article a couple of weeks ago about the millions of Blogs that have been abandoned and decided that I owe it to my reader to get back to exUUberance. Actually, I went to General Assembly in Salt Lake City and brought home many great resources that I've been exploring. My mind has been busy ruminating and will soon formulate a post for you, dear reader.

Elizabeth

Singing Is a Blessing

I went to hear Daniel J. Levitin speak awhile back. He wrote The World in Six Songs and This Is Your Brain on Music, neither of which I've read. His talk was inspiring, all about the ways humans communicate emotions through songs . At the end of his talk, we asked questions, of course. The last person to speak lamented the fact that regular people don't get much chance to sing anymore -- that music-making is now done only by professionals. I happened to be sitting in the front row, so Daniel heard me say, "We could sing something right now." And we did! He led us in "If I Had a Hammer"! It was a lot of fun. Right afterwards, people were energized and happy. One woman immediately got on her cell phone to announce: "At the end, we sang 'If I Had a Hammer'!" Several people thanked me for my inspiration.

This experience has stayed with me because I realize how very blessed we church-goers are to have the opportunity to sing every week. Regular folks singing in groups is now so rare that it is counter-cultural. But we get to experience this every weekend. I hadn't thought of our hymn-singing in quite this way before, even though we are a congregation that sings with gusto. I've been told that this is not always the case.

Sing it!
Elizabeth

Sampagne and Leg Wrappers!

I was just reading about Personal Slanguage on another blog, referring to slang and made-up terms that enjoy use by a group of friends or family members and sometimes spread wider. I'm glad to know that there is a term for this because I have a couple:

Sampagne -- this is sparkling cider or any type of non-alcoholic champagne. (Martinelli's is one brand.) My spouse Sam does not drink, but loves this stuff. Any time we're having champagne (even at our wedding), we also have Sampagne on hand.

Leg Wrapper -- this refers to something that a woman finds sexy: because it makes her want to wrap her legs around someone. I made this up as a movie review term, so I could clue my girlfriends into date movies, but a book or other media could be a leg wrapper, also.

Cheers,
Elizabeth

Joys & Sorrows for 500 (with Kids)

I've been present twice for Joys and Sorrows in our new Atrium Auditorium. Imagine a free-standing candelabra-type structure with ten cups for candles, arranged in a spiral. Two of these, a standing microphone and a minister holding a lit taper worked quite well for our ritual. No more putting candles into a small bowl of sand!

This past Sunday, I shared a joy (so I won't go up again for awhile). It felt great, but the best part was having children participate in Joys and Sorrows with their parents, lighting candles while their parents expressed milestones. Now that children are present during the first part of every worship service, they can get familiar with more of our rituals.

Of course, I heard a rumor that some people are unhappy with children being present. Some are unhappy that we are still doing Joys and Sorrows. I enjoy both and understand their importance to our congregation.

Elizabeth

A big-enough Auditorium

My hUUge congregation in Madison finally has a large sanctuary (named the "Atrium Auditorium"). We have 1500 adult members; our new space seats 500 people. So, with the three worship services we have: Hallelujah and come on in! I haven't invited any Madison friends to come to FUS in a very long time -- not for ten years. Every time I wanted to, I would remember all the caveats: you'll need to park a block away and walk, so wear comfortable shoes; we'll try to save you a seat, but if you don't make it by three minutes 'till we will have to give your seat to someone else; if no one speaks to you, it's not that we're unfriendly, we just have a lot of introverts here; after the service, we have fellowship in a long, narrow hallway, so it will be difficult, but if you keep your arms to your sides and stay right behind me, I'll take you to the coffee....

More later,
Elizabeth

Greeting As Ministry

I "attended" an online workshop called "Ten Bright Ideas for Getting Your Church Ready for Fall," sponsored by three UUA districts: Central Midwest, Prairie Star and Heartland. Great workshop! The idea I loved the most was the first one: Greeting As Ministry:

Have greeters who see their work as a ministry, not a chore. Ideally, a greeter knows many members by name, is very warm and personable and greets everyone, not just adults. The most crucial time to be friendly is right after the service ends, so have greeters and others continue to greet after the service. Have a Welcoming Team that includes some phantom greeters: members who volunteer to assist with greeting both before and after the service, but are not the "official" greeters.

Great tips, no? For some of us, greeting is fulfilling and fun. I'm an extravert (surprise) and get quite a charge from being that friendly, smiling person who can greet members by name and welcome visitors. The more difficult piece is engaging first-time visitors after the service. I have an easier time when I ask how they felt/what they thought of the worship service and perhaps find out their church background and what they're looking for in a faith community.

I'm a huge fan of the phantom greeter idea, because having a specific role to play can make us more effective: designated phantom greeters will notice new people before and during the service so that they're ready to seek them out afterwards. Maybe a good idea for large congregations would be to have a phantom greeter in each section of the sanctuary? Ideally, this would be in addition to the official section greeter. My hUUge congregation doesn't have those, but some congregations do.

Do any UU congregations give welcome bags with gifts to visitors? Some relatives of ours recently brought home a welcome bag from their visit to a large Episcopal congregation. The bag contained a blessing, several informational flyers and a jar of preserves bought at our farmer's market. Wow! This church has an enormous building with a Cathedral-like sanctuary that was about half-full, my relatives said. I went to a Unity church once that had a tradition of giving first-time visitors flowers. That was wonderful, except that after the service no one spoke to me or my flower!

Autumnal greetings,
Elizabeth

Joys and Sorrows: Controversial!!

The topic of Joys and Sorrows came up on the UU Leaders listserv. It seems that congregational experts view J&S as small church behavior that we have got to eradicate if we want growth. Several years back, Stefan Jonasson came to FUS of Madison and announced that we were the largest UU congregation on this continent still doing Joys & Sorrows. It is funny to think of my congregation as this renegade, but we have not had the problems with J&S that other congregations report. In fact, we love it.

It works for us because we have trained lay ministers at the services to respond to folks and offer support after worship in addition to our regular members and (sometimes) ministers. It's crucial that people feel listened to, as we all know. It's even better when people are asked, "What can we do to help you?"

Of course, we also do J&S in such a way as to strongly discourage any acting out. We have many subtle boundaries that keep it contained. We have J&S only once a month, now the fourth Sunday of each month, near the end of the worship service when people are already looking at their watches. A worship leader introduces the time as "a few minutes," "not for announcements or political statements," etc. We have a small bowl of sand and about twelve candles -- that's it!

Everyone who attends knows that we're a HUUGE congregation and knows that we have to keep it short. Folks are careful not to go up too often, because none of us wants to be known as someone who "always" has a J or S. If someone does speak for too long or make an announcement, s/he gets a gentle reminder. Also, many people are not comfortable speaking into a microphone in front of hundreds of people. All these factors mean that people only go up for really big milestones and that we do not have too many J&S -- or at least that's the way it has been in the fifteen years I've been attending.

I've been reading that J&S isn't good in a large congregation because of the intimidation factor. Certainly, all the above factors probably do intimidate some folks who would never go up themselves, but people who don't participate sometimes seek out those who did after the service to say, "I'm going through that, too." And of course, the worship leader always lights one last candle "for all those joys and sorrows that are unspoken, but remain in our hearts and minds." One of our former ministers referred to J&S as "the real stuff of religion." Rev. Darrel calls it the central sacrament of the beloved community.

The truth is that people do feel connected during our monthly ritual, despite our numbers. Most of us choose one of our three services and attend that one and eventually see (at least) a handful of familiar faces every week, so we are not a group of complete strangers for long. First-time visitors sometimes share something, so I know that we're not totally scary to new folks!

Perhaps another reason our way works for us is that the two other Madison UU congregations have J&S also, but every week. So, it seems like a normal thing to do. At James Reeb UU Congregation, we have a long, narrow trough on legs that easily fits twenty candles. (I need to find out the proper name for that thing -- "trough on legs" does not sound quite right!) At Prairie UU Society, they don't use candles, but speak from their seats after being called upon.

For me, J&S is a very meaningful ritual. It was so important to me to announce my engagement during J&S, light a candle of hope (when trying IVF), light one for my brother's brain injury, my sister's illness, my father's lung cancer and death, Sam's heart attack and my fabulous new job. I'm very careful not to go up too often (and my memory is still working well enough that I know when I've been up and whether or not I spoke).

Way back in 1996, I first shared a joy at FUS, about finally being ready -- three years after my cat died -- to get a new kitten. I was finally over the guilt of having my elderly cat (with a thyroid tumor) put to sleep. You know, some folks snickered at me. Yes, I got laughed at by a few men in our congregation. But, after the service a couple tracked me down during coffee to ask about my cat and tell me about the death of their sixteen-year-old feline.

At James Reeb,where I work, I don't feel a need to light a candle. There, my participation is as the administrator, so I'm noting what is happening for people and praying for them or celebrating with them the whole time, rather than thinking of myself. It feels freeing and reminds me that J&S is not really about us as individuals -- it is a way to sense the connections, the God in between us all as we celebrate and mourn together.

Blessed Be and Amen,
Elizabeth

Candlelight Vigils in Support

Like many Unitarian Universalists, I went to a candlelight vigil at a local UU congregation this evening to express my sympathy, grief and empathy for the people of the Tennessee Valley UU Church (and some compassion for the shooter).

Safety was a theme at the vigil, how before, we viewed our sanctuary as the safest place, the place where we would be accepted, the place where we could relax. I mean, really relax -- enough to pray, to meditate, to cry, to be vulnerable, knowing the peace of being held by the interdependent web of existence.

Now the web seems to be unravelling. The tragedy occurred in just a few minutes, but now life is forever altered for those grieving and struggling to understand why and how. What about the children who witnessed this violence? How will they make sense of it?

I have so many questions, including: how will this change the way Unitarian Universalists act in the world? As UUs, we're admonished that it is not enough to show up for worship services -- no, we're supposed to be out walking the talk, letting others know where we stand, speaking up for equality and justice. Will we keep doing that, especially those UUs who live in conservative places? Once I heard Rosemany Bray McNatt speak about activism and how some people can be on the front lines, but others cannot. She gave the example of a woman responsible for raising children as someone who cannot afford to be involved in activism that could become threatening.

Except now we know that yesterday morning in Knoxville, being present for a UU service (a children's play, for God's sake) meant being in a life or death situation.

May our faith guide us toward healing as we pray for our fellow UUs,
Elizabeth

Wrestling With Adulthood: UU Men Talk about Growing Up

Wrestling With Adulthood: Unitarian Universalist Men Talk about Growing Up is a book of essays, one of which was just published in UU World: "Finding my path..." by Manish Mishra. Mishra really bares his soul in this essay -- I actually felt embarrassed while reading it, as if I should not know such intimate details of this man's life.

Mishra contrasts the certainty he had about his life with his later discoveries, demonstrating how he inadvertently chose both the wrong career and the wrong life partner ("vocation and human connection") when in his early twenties. At the time, of course, he was completely convinced that he was doing the right thing. Does this sound familiar to any of you?

Now, Mishra realizes that he entered into both the career and the partnership without knowing who he was or what he wanted. Perhaps for some of us, we have to choose the wrong things in order to find out what we really do want. Nothing fuels self-discovery like being miserable. It provides such great incentive! But, really, how could anyone possibly make permanent decisions when only twenty years old?

When I was nineteen, I was completely sure I was marrying my life partner. People asked how I was so sure, but my answer was, "When it's right, you know it." That is a line from a beer commercial, I think! In reality, I did not realize at the time why I was drawn to that man. It wasn't for the best reasons. There is a term for relationships in which folks marry young, don't have children, then divorce before they're thirty: the starter marriage.

Some people complain about "extended adolescence" that seems to grip so many of us, but I think it is great. Life expectancy is longer than ever, so waiting until 30 or 35 to become a responsible, settled adult is perfectly reasonable.

Enough of this -- let's play kickball!
Elizabeth

"Now Let Us Sing" -- Finally!

Hooray! During the Closing Celebration of General Assembly, we sang "Now Let Us Sing," number 368 in our hymnal Singing the Living Tradition. At the Long Beach GA, Jim Scott tried to teach this during his GA workshop, but he started us out much too slowly (in my opinion) and people didn't catch on. I was disappointed, but you really cannot sing this one slowly. It won't work. So, it was quite a thrill when Sarah Dan Jones led it yesterday. I belted it out at home with my spouse while watching everyone get into it at GA. I hope many of the attendees take it home to sing in their congregations.

"Now Let Us Sing" is one of my very favorite hymns, partly because of its rich history at my congregation. Way back in 2000-01, Madison UUs began to learn number 368, first at James Reeb UU Congregation, then through the young adult group and then during worship services at my congregation. The first time we sang it at FUS, one of our ministers had four printed cards: Faith, Hope, Love and Joy. She held up one card for each verse! We had at least two song leaders, one for each part. After that, we sang "Now Let Us" fairly often for awhile, with only two screw-ups: once someone made the mistake of playing it on the organ and another time only the men got to sing it. Other than that, it's been pure bliss every time. We even sang it as an Energy Break at a Parish Meeting once. And of course, on the busride home from the St. Louis GA!

Anyway, if you don't know "Now Let Us Sing," I highly recommend you give it a try. Sing it fast; sing it often for optimal ecstacy.

Elizabeth