Author: Doug Slagle

A Celebration of the Life of

Dianne Benedict

June 19, 1967 – October 29, 2021

Service will be held Saturday Evening November 6, 2021 at 7:00 p,m.

Due to COVID social distancing limited space at church is reserved for family and close friends.

Please join us on zoom:

Rev. Doug Slagle and Rev. MJ Pierson are inviting you to a scheduled Zoom service.

https://zoom.us/j/9013376042?pwd=U1hlRnZuRG82cUpreExYbGJxeHgrZz09

Meeting ID: 901 337 6042
Passcode: 634109

Dial by your location for audio only
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

Service held at:

The Gathering at Northern Hills, a Unitarian Universalist Community

460 Fleming Road, Cincinnati, OH 45231 (513) 931-6651

(If attending in person please be vaccinated and wear a mask)

For information contact MJ Pierson at mssingrid@aol.com or(513)258-4784

In lieu of Flowers please consider donations to GLSEN or your local animal shelter

A GoFundMe page has been set up to aid the family…information below

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-diannes-family-recover?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

The Gathering at Northern Hills is now open for in-person attendance at 10:45 AM on Sunday mornings.

We also offer attendance to our Sunday services via Zoom. Please contact our office at gnhuu460@gmail.com for the Zoom link.

We look forward to your attendance as we welcome members and visitors alike subject to the below policies.

The following stipulations are asked of all those wishing to attend:

• Persons unable to attend our service in person may watch a live internet video stream of the service on Zoom. Please email gnhuu460@gmail.com for zoom link instructions.
• All in-person attendees over the age of 5 must wear a mask covering their mouth and nose while in the GNH Building.
• ALL IN-PERSON ATTENDEES OVER THE AGE OF 5 MUST BE FULLY VACCINATED WITH A COVID-19 VACCINE.
• All in-person attendees must social distance themselves 6 feet from persons not in their immediate family.
• Persons not feeling well or who have a temperature on a Sunday morning SHOULD NOT attend in-person. Persons recently exposed to someone who is sick with Covid or who has tested positive for Covid should also NOT attend in-person.
• Childcare will NOT be provided.

These policies are subject to change at any time. Please check here regularly!

Please click here to watch the video service.

Click here to watch the service video: https://youtu.be/nkDzqlmo5jI

Until further notice, all Sunday services will be conducted live and online. Our building is closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Please do not visit our building. Thank you!

If you would like to receive an internet link to our Sunday live online services, please send an email to: revdoug@gnhuu.org

Upcoming July Messages

Monthly Theme: “Don’t Just Survive. Thrive!” Rev. Doug Slagle

Next Sunday, July 5th:  “Embrace Social Responsibility!”

Sunday, July 12th:  “Connect, Connect, And Connect Again!”

Sunday, July 19th:  “Be Present.  Be At Peace!”

Sunday, July 26th:  GNH Member Joel Araujo Guest Speaks, Topic TBD

If you are a member or friend of GNH, we automatically email you the link to our live online Sunday Services every Thursday.

If you are not previously associated with GNH but would like to be watch our online Sunday services, please send an email to revdoug@gnhuu.org with your name and phone number. Because of hacking into many live online church services around the country, we are careful about publicizing the link to our services. However, we welcome all interested and respectful visitors to our services!!! You can get a “taste” of our online services by watching videos of past services posted on this website. Thank you!

Please click ‘Continue Reading’ to go to the link below for the most recent issue of our newsletter “The Harbinger”.  Learn more about all upcoming events and social opportunities and stay up to date on what’s happened recently at GNH!

Click here: 06.23.2020

(c) Rev. Doug Slagle, Minister to the Gathering at Northern Hills, All Rights Reserved

Polling by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that nearly two-thirds of all primary school teachers say their students were very afraid of what would happen to them and their families during and after the 2016 election.  The poll is consistent with a Penn State University study showing that children are significantly affected by adult bullying they witness.  Seeing politicians, who act as bullies, get away with name calling, lying, blame shifting and rumor mongering causes many youth to lose faith in society and in their personal safety.  It can also lead some children to mimic the adult bullies they see.

The Human Rights Coalition, in a survey of 50,000 young people ages 13 to 18, found that 79% of them said incidents of bullying in their schools have increased since the 2016 election.  

Bullying of immigrant children, youth of color, and youth perceived to be gay, lesbian or transgender are increasing – says HRC.  Many bullies call out the President’s name as a way to taunt others.  They threaten to call immigration authorities even against brown or black youth who are US citizens. 

  Today’s youth see, and then sometimes copy, our President and other politicians who actively engage in bullying tactics like name calling, smearing an opponent’s reputation with unproven rumors and behind-the-scenes gossip, and making veiled threats that can be denied as misinterpretation.

These actions are rarely questioned by many adults – some of whom eagerly support politicians who bully an opponent.  Children are thus left with the idea that bullying is both OK and a way to become popular.  

Like many people, I am alarmed at the increasing pervasiveness of bullying in our nation.  It has reached a point where many people don’t see it as antisocial, but as a normal way to treat others.  Bullying happens in our homes, workplaces, churches, and on social media.  While it has been increasing in our culture for many years, it has markedly worsened because of our current President.  

Please understand, I do not say that, or anything else this morning,  as a political statement.  No matter your or my beliefs about our President’s policies……..how he demeans, threatens, and bullies those he dislikes is an offense against basic decency.  

From making fun of multiple women’s physical appearances and bodies, to attacking a fellow Republican politician for having been a prisoner of war, to recently accusing a woman who has been dead for twenty years of adultery – and without any evidence, to calling peaceful black protestors thugs who should be shot – and threatening to swarm our nation’s streets with our military, it’s not a political statement to say the President’s words are often immoral.  It’s instead a spiritual and human rights statement.  Our President is a bully.

Bullying is an activity of repeated, aggressive behavior intended to hurt another individual or individuals, physically, mentally, or emotionally.  It takes the form of psychological, physical, verbal, or cyber abuse against another.  A bully is usually motivated by one, or several, perceived differences in the victim – his or her social class, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, behavior, body language, beliefs, personality, reputation, lineage, strength, size, or ability.

Most of us have personally known bullies.  Some of us have been their victims – past and present – and suffer post-traumatic issues for a lifetime.  I have been – and still am – affected by bullying.

People either turn a blind eye to bullying, or else they eagerly endorse it.  Very few people are courageous enough to confront and denounce a bully.  

Bullying has profound consequences that go beyond someone’s emotional trauma.  People are being killed – directly or indirectly – by bullies.  From teens who commit suicide after enduring harassment for being perceived gay, other abled, unattractive, overweight, or socially awkward, to workplace adults who stifle their thoughts, change their actions, and suffer in silence, to peaceful protesters who just this past week were gassed, shot at, and killed by police who felt empowered by the President’s threatening words, there is tremendous human cost we pay for the actions and words of bullies.  

The Anti-Bullying Institute in Dublin, Ireland says victims of bullying, of any age, gender, or race suffer long term psychological problems including feelings of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and diminished self-esteem.  Bullying, the institute also says, increases feelings of stress which directly leads to a weakened immune system and vulnerability to disease.

…A few weeks ago in research for my message on Michelle Obama and James Baldwin, I was touched by the confessions of Mrs. Obama who said bullying of her as First Lady deeply wounded her spirit and influenced how she acted.  She was bullied in multiple ways.  She was called un-American and angry.  She was made fun of for her body shape and her clothing.  It was said she did not look like a First Lady – whatever that means.  She was called a baboon in high heels, and she was stereotyped as an arrogant black female who displays, what one bully said of her, “too much uppityism.”  She was depicted on the cover of a national magazine as someone with a large afro holding a machine gun.  One cable news network referred to her as Barack Obama’s “baby mama.”

Her bullies did not respectfully critique the policies she promoted like improving school lunches.  Instead, they resorted to what bullies usually do – they attacked her without facts and they intentionally employed hateful words targeting her race, gender, and appearance.  As Mrs. Obama asked in her book Becoming, which part of her mattered most to the bullies – that she was angry, black, or female?  Indeed, even as she says she knew she should tune out bullies and rise above them, their words still stung and linger.  They have a way, she says, of wounding a person’s soul.

Verbal bullying takes several forms, but experts say it is mostly identified by fitting into one of several categories.  Those categories are: derogatory name-calling or nicknaming, spreading rumors or lying about someone behind their back, threatening someone, yelling at or talking to someone in a rude or unkind voice, or, mocking and making fun of someone.

Based on those, I have maliciously and wrongly made fun of our President and his appearance, weight, hairstyle, and way of speaking.  I rationalize my words by thinking he has said far worse about others – even though by making such personal attacks I have joined a bullying culture I despise. 

What I must do instead, when disagreeing with the President, is constructively criticize his polices – and not do so in ways that demean, insult, or verbally attack him.

Many experts say that while the difference between bullying and constructive criticism can be subtle, there are nevertheless very clear intentions on the part of a bully.  Bullies repeatedly intend to attack and hurt another.  They do not peacefully intend to improve or change a person with observations and suggestions that are respectful and fact based.  Constructive criticism is never anonymous, it is not spread by gossip, or behind a person’s back, and it is never intended to in any way harm the other person.  Indeed, respectful criticism is always intended to directly empower and help a person grow and be better. 

Bullies, on the other hand, act with arrogance and narcissism.  Because they think highly of themselves, experts say, they bully others in order to boost their inflated self image and dominate anyone perceived as weak.

Dr. Clayton Cook, a psychologist who has written a book on characteristics of bullying, says this: “A typical bully has trouble resolving problems with others.  He or she usually has negative attitudes and beliefs about others, feels negatively toward himself / herself, comes from a family environment characterized by conflict, and is negatively influenced by peers.”  He adds that adult bullies have authoritarian personalities with a strong need to control and dominate.  The magazine Psychology Today says that bullies have a distinctive cognitive feature: they are often paranoid and misread the intentions of others as negative toward them.  Because of their fragile egos, they impute hostility in otherwise neutral situations.  Many of their peers do not like them – but bullies, instead, believe they are well-liked.

Sadly, most bullies lead downward spiraling lives.  Their bullying interferes with their education, personal growth, holding down a job, and maintaining close interpersonal relationships.  In this respect, it is incumbent for our culture not to accept bullying – but to also empathize with and try to help the bully.   They too are wounded souls in need of healthy self-esteem.  Indeed, many bullies were once bullied themselves.

While bullying is common in schools, it is also prevalent in adult work places.  Bullies in offices and organizations often operate within workplace standards but their attacks are persistent and, again, characterized by mean spirited intent.  The desire is to hurt another’s career so they, themselves, can feel superior.

What I find most troubling about bullying – and sometimes see it in myself – is what psychologists identify as the bystander effect.  Otherwise caring people often do nothing to stop a bully.  This effect was first noted in 1964 with the murder of Kitty Genovese – a crime that happened in full view of dozens of bystander neighbors who did nothing.  America recently saw the bystander effect in the murder of George Floyd – one bully cop smirking as he smothered the life out of Mr. Floyd – while multiple other officers stand by.

One cause of the bystander effect is what psychologists say is diffused responsibility.  The more people who witness a bully’s actions, the less likely it is that one individual will act to stop the offense.  Bystanders think it is not their responsibility to do something since others are there too.  A recent example was when Vice-President Pence visited the Mayo Clinic that has a prominently displayed rule that all who enter its facility must wear a face mask.  In full view of everyone present who wore a mask, Mr. Pence did not.  Perhaps he is bullied by the President such that he too is now a bully.  Not a single bystander at the Mayo clinic asked Mr. Pence to comply with its rule – even as he put himself, the Mayo patients, and all others at risk.

To confront bullies, experts suggest bystanders consciously tell themselves they are the first to recognize bullying and are thus responsible to act against it.  It is also suggested bystanders say relatively mild things in a bullying situation like, “Stop!” or “Help is on the way.”  Such words often prompt other bystanders to also act – and they sometimes startle or confuse a bully.

Most important, bystanders must summon their empathy.  They must see the patients endangered by someone not wearing a mask as their own parent or child.  They must see bullied victims as themselves or as someone they love.  As I often say, we can and must empathetically feel other people’s pain – and then do something to help.

I sometimes speak of my admiration for the historical Jesus – a man most historians believe truly lived and taught timeless truths.  Over and over he is said to have expressed concern for, and solidarity with, the weak and suffering people of this world.  He himself was repeatedly bullied by elitist critics, and his execution was their ultimate act of bullying against him and the people of ancient Israel.  It is profoundly moving to me how hideous, cruel and humiliating crucifixion was – to be publicly nailed naked to wooden beams – and then left to die a slow, agonizing death.  

That act stands in stark similarity to the bullying death of George Floyd who was forcefully arrested, thrown to the ground face down, handcuffed, and then literally had his airway crushed so as to suffocate him for nine long minutes – all on a public American street.

Just as Rome learned when it was eventually conquered by the people it had long bullied, so too will racism, hate and bullying be conquered by people long oppressed.  As Jesus taught, good will eventually prevail over evil, the lion will lie down with the lamb, and the seemingly weak persons of this world will prove to be the very, very strong.

That timeless truth is coming to light as I speak.  Just two days ago, a Monmouth University poll reported in the New York Times showed 76% of Americans, including 71% of white Americans, now say racism and discrimination are big problems in our nation.  78% of Americans agree with recent protesters, and 61% of Americans say they now support Black Lives Matter as a movement.  As one civil rights analyst said, this is apparently a seismic shift in our nation.

That data certainly does not mean racism will soon end, or that we, as spiritual people who deeply believe in the dignity, value and equality of people of color, that we can now rest easy.  But it is a glimmer of hope in the midst of our shock and despair.

We can also hope that such polling indicates a shift in attitudes about bullying – especially that of our President and other leaders.  I pray it is evidence of American hearts and minds finally opening up to the reality that verbal violence and bullying is a pervasive force in our culture and even ourselves.

Right now, I resolve myself to try and eliminate implicit and explicit bullying by me – toward anyone.  I pray my speech and my actions will be respectful and constructive to everyone.  In just a moment, we will have a time of reflection and perhaps confession – and I sincerely ask each of us to consider making such a silent pledge.  

If we want a world free of bully leaders, free of bully Police officers, free of bully white supremacists, free of gay bashing bullies, free of male bullies who abuse women, and free of bullying in all its ugly forms, we must first stop it in ourselves, and then we must actively renounce it wherever and whenever we see it. 

I thank you each for listening…

You may view a video recording of this message on YouTube by clicking here (or read it below): https://youtu.be/dJ4gQmcJqnM

(c) Rev. Doug Slagle, Minister to the Gathering at Northern Hills, All Rights Reserved

The title of my message this morning is “Blessed to Be a Blessing”.

To paraphrase a very old story, there once was man who was walking home when a large storm moved across the land.  The winds were fierce and the rainfall torrential.  The man leaned into the wind and slowly moved forward.

Soon, he noted how creeks and rivers were overflowing.  The water spread across the land and rose steadily.  It reached his ankles, then his knees, and then his waist.  

Fearing for his safety, the man called out, “Source of all life, save me from this flood!”  Soon thereafter, someone saw him struggling through the water and offered him a rope.  “Here, tie this end around your waist.  Together, we will get to safety.”

“No,” said the man.  “I’ve called out to the source of life to save me.   So I trust it will do so.”

He trudged on as the rain continued and the water rose.  It was now up to his chest.

“Source of all,” he cried out.  “I always have acted with good in my heart.  Please save me!”

A minute later, a motor boat came by filled with people.  The boat captain called to the man, “Climb in!  We are headed to high land.”

“Thank you, but no,” said the man.  “The source of all life will save me I know.”

The flood rose further until it was neck high.  The man could barely move the water was so swift.  He again cried out, “Power of love, source of goodness, save me I pray.  I am a faithful man!”

Just then, a helicopter appeared and as it fought against the wind, its door opened and out dropped a rope ladder which fell  into the water only a foot away.  Someone in the helicopter motioned for the man to grab hold.

The man waved his arms for the helicopter to fly away.  “The source of goodness will save me,” he shouted.

And then the rain intensified.  The flood waters rose so that he was swept along with the current.  He became exhausted and could no longer stay afloat.  He slipped under the waves…

Immediately, his soul encountered a bright and warm light.  The man knew he was in the presence of the divine.  

“Oh great power of love,” he humbly said.  “I trusted so fervently in you to protect me from the flood.  Why did you not save me from drowning?”

The light enveloped the man so that he felt overwhelming love.  A soothing voice spoke.

“Dearest one,” the voice said.  “Three times I came to you and tried to save you.  I was the man with a rope, I was the boat captain to take you to dry land, and I was the helicopter pilot to fly you to safety.  But you did not perceive my blessings that were there for you……”

That story speaks to me on many levels.  It’s about trust, listening, wisdom, and most of all not taking for granted the many blessings I have.  Such blessings give me joy, peace, comfort and sustenance – ones that, when all is good, I barely acknowledge.

During these difficult times, I’m also a lot like the man trodding through a rising flood hoping he will be saved by providence, but oblivious to all of the blessings around him.  I have a roof over my head, I have food and drink, work that I enjoy, a loving partner, two precious daughters I communicate with regularly, and deeply good friends who offer me their support.  In the midst of a worldwide crisis, I have abundant blessings that enrich, soothe and yes, help save me.

And yet I have too often looked past them to focus on worry and anxiety.   I fail to see the power of love and good things I already have.  My anxiety is what many experts call “internalized oppression.”  It’s something each of us feel at one time or another and perhaps right now.  It’s  characterized by inward feelings of hurt, worry, or trauma caused by something or someone.   We take the negativity, which may or may not be real, and we internalize the energy from it.  We ourselves literally become a source of negativity.

But psychology experts say we can cure ourselves from a negative mindset by recognizing that we have the cognitive power to banish it.  We have the cure and it is through changing our thinking by reflection and meditation on the good in life.  Optimistic people have figuratively set around themselves a barrier that only allows blessings through.  We have the tremendous ability to build our own cognitive barriers that permit us to only focus on good things.

Mostly, experts suggest that to be positive means to refuse being a victim.  Everybody can feel victimized by this virus, or any other negative thing, if we choose to think that way.  We can also choose to see ourselves as powerful people who have the capability both to avoid catching the virus, and to not be one of its emotional victims.  One way to do that is to think, feel, and thereby BE blessed.  

That thought came to me as I read a column in the most recent UU World magazine by Reverend Ana Levy-Lyons.  The article is entitled “Kindness to the Thousandth Generation” and its message is that while the Bible’s Old Testament says people suffer the consequences of bad actions by past generations, the opposite is more true.  We enjoy and are  blessed by the good actions of our ancestors.  

Rev. Lyons asks us to therefore focus on positive blessings in life and to forsake negatively focused commandments and rules.  Indeed, she implies something I’ve long believed.  Framing in positive terms how we should act and speak is much better than constricting life with more negatively focused rules.  In other words, might we think more about encouraging love and our blessings, instead of being warned against lying, killing, stealing, or being envious – as the Bible’s Ten Commandments do?

A blessing is an act, utterance or encouragement of kindness wished upon or done for another.  A blessing provides an opportunity for the recipient to feel loved – and to sense the presence of something greater than themselves.

When we encourage people to be a blessing – to be more loving, speak more gently, or find peace in their hearts, I believe we are far more effective in creating the attitude we wish for – both in ourselves and in others.

This idea has, for me, great usefulness in how I think about the present challenges.  Instead of dwelling on the negatives that face the world, I can remember my blessings – and the power every person has to be a blessing to others.  The world may seem like floodwaters are rising, but in most of our lives there are countless people and things for which to be thankful.   And there are countless things we can do to be a blessing.  If we do these, I believe we can transform our thinking.  As we deal with the figurative flood, I want to see and appreciate the figurative ropes of kindness, boats of human connection, and helicopters of uplifting joy that I either already have, or that come my way.  And I want to be a symbolic boat of human connection and kindness myself.  As I am blessed, I want to bless. 

One way to look at the morality of blessings is with the philosophy of utilitarianism first proposed in the eighteenth century by Jeremy Bentham.  He suggested that the only good thing in life is happiness and that the only way to do and be good is to provide happiness to others.  A full stomach, shelter, affordable healthcare, freedom from discrimination – these are all good because they bring well-being and happiness.  In other words, utilitarianism says that an action or thing is only useful if it causes the greatest possible good for as many humans and creatures as possible. 

And during these past few weeks, I’ve better understood that concept.  That’s because I’ve done what many psychologists and psychiatrists say is one way to overcome depression or a negative attitude.  I’ve tried my best to think about good things and to mostly shut out the bad.  Experts encourage people to write a blessings letter to oneself or write in a blessings journal about all of the enriching, good and happy things in one’s life.  Several studies show that those who do one of these exercises, they later experience a significant decrease in depression and increase in happiness.  Literally counting one’s blessings is a key to feeling content.

And blessed people usually become blessings themselves.  The study showed that happy people are more likely to be altruistic and caring to others.

Another study showed that couples who are very satisfied in their relationship, they share with their partner one thing a day that they are grateful for in that person – 70% or more days a year.   I’m grateful for how you hold my hand.  I’m grateful for how you make the bed every day.  I’m grateful for the love and companionship you offer me.  

Couples that are the least happy, including those that break-up, offered a daily word of gratitude to their partner less than 45% of days in a year.  

Telling your significant other how and why they bless you will make not just both of you happier, it will be one way to build a meaningful and lasting relationship – and that includes not just romantic partnerships, but friendships, family relationships, and parent / child interactions.

For me, remembering my blessings – and trying to be a blessing to others – is a way to deal with current anxiety and worry.  It’a a way to get out of a Me-ism mindset.  “I don’t like being isolated.”  “I miss being with Keith and all of you at church.”  Instead, my goal should be to adopt more of a “I am blessed” mindset: “I am richly blessed by my daughters’ phone calls.”  “Keith blessed me with his visit last weekend.”  “Church friends bless me with their support, emails, and phone conversations.”  In other words, life right now, and life at any other time, is not about what I DON’T have, but about the good I DO have.  I need to do everything I can to think that way.

As an alternative to the Ten Commandments which tell us what we should supposedly do or not do, I suggest we look at what Jesus taught in his famous sermon on the mount.  As always, I offer teachings from Jesus or other religious figures not to say that their religion is the most insightful, but rather to point out, in this case, the greatness of Jesus as one of many very wise human prophets – and not about him as a god.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus listed ten blessings.  As I read each one that I have paraphrased, think about the message he wanted to get across in an encouraging and positive way – and not as a commandment.  Think about how a particular blessing speaks to you during these times.

1. Blessed are the poor for they mostly rely on the power of love to feel happy – and not on money or things.
2. Blessed are those who mourn the death or illness of others, for they will find comfort in the compassion they feel.
3. Blessed are the humble for they have true greatness.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice because they will build it in our world.
5. Blessed are those who show mercy because they will receive it in return.
6. Blessed are those with pure hearts because they understand truth, beauty, and kindness.
7. Blessed are those who promote peace, because they themselves are at peace.
8. Blessed are those who act and speak with love, because they are part of the greatest force in the universe.
9. Blessed are those who are criticized for trying to do what is good because they are courageous.
10. Blessed are those who are happy, because they become a blessing to others.

  Dear friends, I believe all of us are blessed people.  We belong to a loving and caring community.  We have friends and families who care for us.  We have the basic needs of life – food, water, and shelter.  We have meaning in life to create good in the world.  That gives us a purpose which thereby defines who we are as individuals and as a community.  

We are in the midst of a mighty struggle not just against the corona virus, but against internalized oppression – our own anxiety, fear and depression.  Let us be blessed by knowing we are overcomers.  Let us be blessed by our grateful hearts.  Let us be blessed by one another.  We are fortunate beyond measure.  In knowing and feeling these truths, we will feel more content, loved, and joyful. 

I wish for all of us the blessing of feeling blessed.

And now, while Sue Cline opens up Michael Tacy’s mic for him to play some soothing background music, let us share a brief time of meditation.  If you wish, please close your eyes.  I will read famous blessings from several world religions.  Use this time to take in the words and perhaps find meaning for yourself…

From Celtic Spirituality – words slightly changed:

I weave a silence onto my lips.
I weave a silence into my mind.
I weave a silence within my heart.

I close my ears to distractions.
I close my eyes to attractions.
I close my eyes to temptations.

Calm me, O Source of Life, as you still the storm.
Still me, Power of Love, keep me from harm.
Let all tumult within me cease.
Enfold me, Great Mystery, in your peace.

From Native American Spirituality:

May the Earth bless us with stillness

     as the grasses are stilled with light.

May the Earth bless us with humility

     as blossoms are from the bud.

May the Earth bless us with caring

     as the mother who secures her young.

May the Earth bless us with courage

     as the tree which stands all alone.

May the Earth bless us to forget ourselves

     as melted snow forgets its life.

May the Earth bless us to remember kindness

     as dry fields weep with rain.

From Judaism – words slightly changed:

May Yahweh bless thee and keep thee. 

May she make her face shine upon thee, 

and be gracious unto thee.

 May Yahweh lift up her countenance upon thee, 

and give thee peace.

A Christian Blessing from St. Francis – words slightly changed:

Great mystery, make me an instrument of your peace.  

Where there is hatred, bless me with love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is fear, trust; 

where there is despair, hope; 

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

Bless me that I may seek not so much

to be consoled – as to console; 

to be understood – as to understand; 

to be loved – as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; 

it is in blessing that we are blessed,  

and it is in dying to self that we find life abundant.

From Islam – words slightly changed:

Almighty Allah, bless those who are sick by removing their sickness.  

Bless them by easing their suffering and healing them.

Bless us with steadfastness and patience.

Bless us with caring hearts and truthful tongues.

Bless our daily affairs and grant us the gift 

of forgiveness for our shortcomings.  Amen

  I am grateful for each of you and what you give the world.  Thank you for listening.

You can watch a YouTube video recording of this message here: https://youtu.be/412YNZ6q7-A

(c) Rev. Doug Slagle, Minister to the Gathering at Northern Hills, All Rights Reserved

Hello Gathering at Northern Hills members and friends!  Thank you for logging into this YouTube Video message.  We are offering this  Sunday message video as a way for you to stay connected to your church while it is temporarily closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.  While the local outbreak is not currently serious, by temporarily closing – along with many other churches, schools and other public venues we are hopefully being public servants operating in the best interest of all.   Fear is not our motivation.  Instead, we hope along with you and many others that by reducing the number of large group gatherings in our area, we will help minimize or local coronavirus infections outbreaks.

Most of all, I encourage you to take care of yourselves, maintain social distancing as much as possible, wash your hands, self-isolate if you are even slightly sick, stay in touch by phone, text, email or social media with church friends.  Let’s please be sure to check on each other – in particular those who live alone.  

This is a time to model all of our better angels – with more love, more compassion, more care for one another.  And most of all by being selfless instead of selfish.  We do that by accepting our temporary closing of church, by not hoarding health supplies needed by doctors, nurses and the truly sick, and by reaching out to the most vulnerable.  And so I begin my planned message for Sunday, March 15th.

My message theme this month is “Spirituality in Politics” and it is to explore how spiritually minded people, like all of us, can engage in civic political matters.  As I discussed two weeks ago, we as a church should never endorse or oppose any specific politician or political party.  Indeed, as a tax exempt organization, we are legally forbidden to do so.  We can, however, speak in favor of issues and policies that touch on what it is we spiritually believe.

An important principle which we do believe, and which is enshrined in our Seven UU Principles, is that all people have worth and dignity.  We are to model that belief in how we speak and act.  Since that is so, I believe we should be part of solving the political disunity and polarization in our nation. 

In 2018, an organization called “More in Common” undertook a landmark study of political polarization in America.  It was a strictly non-partisan study which sought to understand the causes of political polarization and how to help reduce it.

8000 scientifically chosen people were involved in the study – people who represent the broad diversity of America.  The first  question the study asked was whether or not political differences in our nation are too big to overcome or, if they are instead solvable such that we can all live more amicably.  77% of all 8000 people in the study said our differences are NOT so big that we cannot be respectful and more unified as a nation. 

That result is a very positive sign.  We have not reached the point, as America was before the Civil War, that a majority of Americans choose open warfare as the only solution.  Thankfully, America today is a long way from that.

The “More in Common” group then asked all 8000 study members to take a quiz which asked about one’s core values as well as the actions each takes as a result of their core values.  A link to this same quiz has been emailed to most of you.

The quiz was written by sociologists and other experts in order to understand the core values of most Americans.

Results from the quiz indicate that America is not polarized between just two opposite sides, but is instead divided into seven unique political identities.  Those identities are 1) Liberal Activists representing 8% of the population 2) Traditional Liberals at 11% of Americans 3) Passive Liberals at 15% of citizens 4) Politically Disengaged persons at 26% 5) Moderates at 15% 6) Traditional Conservatives at 19% and 7) Devoted Conservatives at 6%.  If you take the online quiz, it will tell you which group you likely fall into.

What these seven American political tribes or identities reveal is that there is a very large component in our nation called the “Exhausted Majority”.  These are citizens who are tired of division and polarization.  They hold many traditional American values like a belief in freedom, equality, and the pursuit of the American dream.  They are proud of the nation and they want to move past the seeming divisions that are causing hatred and disrespect.  Members of the Exhausted Majority may hold different opinions but they are each similar in their open mindedness and willingness to be politically flexible.  Most of all, this majority believes that finding common ground in our nation is possible.  They are upset that it has not yet  happened.

What the study revealed is that the two extremes of the seven tribes, what the study calls the two “wings” of American politics, they are responsible for what appears to be our nation’s division.  So-called Liberal Activists and Devoted Conservatives, who together just 6% of Americans, together are the drivers of what appears to be national disunity.  

In other words, the wings are deeply divided and are at polar opposites in their core values, but the “Exhausted Majority” are much less divided.  This majority of citizens, ranging from traditional liberals to moderates, to disaffected voters, to traditional conservatives, want to find common ground and want to end disunity.  

To understand the core values of the two disunity extremes or wings of  American political identities, the study asked six core value questions.   I want to highlight for you the significant disunity not between all Americans, but between the two opposite wings of political identities.  When asked by the study if you agree with the statement that men and women have different roles in society, just 15% of Liberal Activists agree.  96% of devoted conservatives agree.  And the national average is is 61% agree.

When asked if they agreed with the statement that hard work will always insure success, 5% of Liberal Activists agreed, 92% of Devoted Conservatives agreed, and the national average is 54%.

On the matter of agreeing with the statement of “I’m proud to be an American”, 45% of Liberal Activists agree, 91% of Devoted Conservatives agree, and the national average is is 78% agreement.

Do you agree with the statement that men begin their careers with an advantage, 91% of Liberal Activists agree, just 18% of Devoted Conservatives agree, and the national average is 45%.

Do you agree that the government should insure all Americans are provided for?  94% of Liberal Activists agree, just 3% of Devoted Conservatives agree, and the national average is 46%. 

Finally, for the statement “I’m NOT proud of American history”, 60% of Liberal Activists agree, 5% of Devoted Conservatives agree, and 27% is the national average.

What is clear from these core value statements is that there is a very, very wide gulf between the two wings or extremes of American politics.  And they, according to More in Common, drive what appears to be our national divide.  As More in Common states, polarized beliefs have become a business model especially for the media and for social media.  Executives of such media companies have realized they get a larger audience for their TV network, or their internet website, if they showcase the most extreme voices – people who are absolutely certain of their opinions and people who eagerly demean those on the other extreme.  These media companies believe  that nuanced opinions and moderate voices are relatively boring and they don’t create the kind of entertainment that liberal activists or devoted conservatives do.

All of that attention focused on the two wings of American political thought, those that combined represent only 14% of the total electorate, are responsible for making it appear that our politics are extremely polarized when, in fact, they are not.  These loudest voices, are also responsible for causing many voters to disengage –  particularly the passive liberal group and the politically disengaged group.    According to More in Common, a huge number of the people in those groups are so off-put by the loudest and most angry extreme groups – on both sides of the divide – that they no longer vote or pay attention to national politics.

On several political issues, Americans are more united than divided.  60% of all Americans believe racism in the nation is at least somewhat of a problem.   69% believe the same about sexism.  And 60% of Americans now support same-sex marriage rights.

What the More in Common study showed is that the American electorate is complex and not as divided as many think.  It also showed that 3 out 4 Americans want unity and believe that finding common ground is not only possible, but should be actively pursued by politicians.

Of more importance to me and perhaps all of you, is how we as spiritual people can help diminish division in our nation and not alienate many Americans from the political process.  I list three action steps we can take to help reduce disunity and division amongst ourselves and in our country. 

First, I believe that the more we personally interact with those with differing beliefs, the more we can understand them.  Experts say this should not just involve listening to Fox News if we’re a liberal or to MSNBC if we’re conservative.  Indeed, those networks enhance the voices on the wings of American voters and studies show they cause more moderate groups to become more depressed and those on the wings of politics to further harden their opinions. 

Instead, experts suggest we find opportunities to engage in well moderated citizen assemblies where mixed political groups deliberate over challenging social and political issues.  Such assemblies that have been held resulted in a remarkable ability to find common ground and even agree on possible solutions to problems.

Second, as I’ve often encouraged, genuine empathy is an often overlooked attitude.  Experts say people must try to adopt the perspective of others – to not only walk in their shoes but to try and inhabit their minds.  One study asked participants to adopt the mindset of the transgendered – to feel as if they were a male born in a female’s body and vice versa.  And then they were confronted with issues that face the transgendered in everyday life – using the restroom that aligns with their new gender for instance.  Surprisingly, even the most skeptical of participants toward the transgendered, when asked to mentally pretend to be transgendered, were able to empathize with how they feel and to then believe they are being discriminated agains by society.

I’ve said in several messages that empathy involves not sympathy or even agreement with another.  It asks for intense listening to the other – especially to their feelings and what they experience.  Who, for instance, could not empathize with the fears many black mothers and fathers have for their teenage sons as they begin to drive and could potentially face one bad apple policeman who has a trigger finger?  Or understand the 2016 election vote of a laid off assembly line worker whose job has been transferred to China and who, at a middle age, cannot learn a new career and is relegated to a minimum wage job?  

When we figuratively feel the wounds that others feel, I believe we can then understand why they believe and vote as they do.

Third, as I discussed last week, I believe that by finding a larger identity than that of a small group, we will then open our minds to more diverse thinking.  Instead of being Democrats or Republicans, might we instead enlarge our identity to be Americans or even as Humanists and World Citizens?  The current coronavirus shows us that all people sink or swim together.  The disease does not care whether we are from China, Italy, or the State of Washington – or that we are Buddhist, Muslim, Christian or Atheist.  The same is true for good things in life.  Since every person can equally get sick from this  virus, every person should therefore have access to affordable healthcare.   We all belong. We are all members of the same human family.  We need to think and act that way – and not as a member of some narrow religious, political, ethnic or any other group.

Of course, to think and act according to these three suggestions is easier said than done.  It’s not easy to empathize with someone who says they hate me because I’m a liberal or because I tend to vote differently from them.  But empathize, understand and respect them is something I know is a great virtue – one that has been practiced by all the great figures of history – Jesus, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. and many others.  

This past Wednesday, a few of us here were at the Lighthouse Youth Shelter preparing and serving lunch to the homeless kids there.  I was struck at one moment with the time-worn adage – “there, but for the grace of God, go I.”  I’m no better than any of you, but my realization was that I’ve been lucky in life – born to well-off parents, born with white privilege, born with health and intelligence I mostly inherited, and then given many advantages.  Where would I be if I had not been so lucky?  I might well be in a similar homeless shelter – ignored by many, and dependent on the kindness of strangers.

Conservatives are right that a good portion of success in life comes from hard work.  And Liberals are also right that such is not always the case.  Many, many people work very hard in life but still end up homeless, poor or struggling.  Still others are born with very little luck.  And many others on the lucky side of life barely work and still end up rich and seemingly successful.  

Might each political group see beyond their core belief regarding that question of hard work and success – or any other subject – to instead see that life is complicated and there are rarely absolute answers to anything?  Let’s avoid extreme opinions.  Let’s keep open minds.  Let’s be willing to change our minds.  Let’s seek understanding, empathy and generosity of heart for those who have different ideas and opinions.  Let’s never judge others but instead understand them and try to work with them.  

We know these practices and attitudes are universally good, and so lets endeavor to actually practice them – and thereby encourage finding common ground with almost anyone.