About four years ago, I stumbled across the MDUUC website and a sermon by former minister Dave Sammons. The thoughtful spirituality that came forth from his words stayed with me. Not long afterwards, I was chatting with two friends at our daughter's ballet class. Surprisingly, we learned that we had separately been curious about MDUUC, and wondered what a UU church was like. The 3 of us, along with our daughters, visited the church, continuing to come most Sundays until one family drifted off, and then, sadly, the other moved to Portland.
When I first came to MDUUC, I had a vague desire for our family to have a greater context. Since we were new to Walnut Creek, with no family in the immediate area, I felt isolated and wanted to meet others with similar values. As a child, and a youth, my experience being part of a liberal American Baptist church was positive in lots of ways, and I wanted my daughter, Cara, to have a similar feeling of "extended family".
Eventually, I convinced my husband, Brian, who was quite skeptical, to attend a worship service here and there, and then to be part of an OWL [Our Whole Life adult sexuality] class. As he started to come regularly, I could sense his belief forming that being part of this church was good for Cara and was a meaningful base for his own life and values as well.
Over time, what MDUUC means to me has evolved and broadened. A couple of years ago I was feeling very powerless and distraught over global warming, and environmental degradation in general. Brian suggested I become part of the Green Sanctuary Committee [now the Green Group]. I did, and at that point, the church became a place for me to act on my values, a place to do with others what I couldn't do alone.
By participating in Religious Education, first as a Spirit Play teacher, and then as a UU Parenting Class facilitator with the RE director, I have intimately shared the road of parenting with others. We have laughed about our struggles and limitations and exchanged valuable ideas and support.
A year ago last fall, I decided to spread my wings a bit further. I felt ready to move beyond my long-standing grief about not being able (because of a nerve condition) to play the piano any longer. I wanted to make music, so I decided to sing with the choir. With no experience singing, save a brief time with the church choir in seventh grade, wearing a floor length gingham dress, sewn by my mother, I confronted the unknown and the possible.
Singing in our choir has been both wondrous and a bit scary for me. It's serendipity that the posture and muscle awareness I need to sing is the same awareness that's needed to help me manage my nerve condition. Singing out is frightening at times, but I think I am slowly finding my voice - and a more gentle way of being in my body.
To finish, for me, MDUUC is the chance for all of us, although we are an imperfect whole, to be different and better than we can be alone. Here I can share my desire for transformation, both for our church community and for the world at large. It's a place to envision the big picture, apart from the day-to-day. It's a place to feel the fear and do it anyway.
