Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

Weaving the Web

January 26, 2007
Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern

One of my favorite stories from world folklore is of the young man who saw an old man digging hard to plant a tiny fig tree. “No offense, sir, but do you really expect to live to eat the fruit of this tree?” he said. “I may, or I may not,” said the older man. “But I came into a world that already had flourishing trees from which I could eat. So I plant so that those still to come will eat as well.”

Even at my tender age, I spend most of my time, in Archbishop Oscar Romero’s words, “plant[ing] the seeds that one day will grow … water[ing] the seeds already planted knowing that they hold future promise.” I know that many of those plants will bear fruit only for others, after my own time. This future orientation is what leading a community is all about, and I am so grateful for the communities that were planted by others for me to benefit from. Especially this one.

This month we will be planting in many ways. The Consulting Minister Seek Committee is interviewing potential Consulting Parish Ministers to help lead us during my maternity leave and remain as a ministry partner to me when I return in June; another Seek Committee will be looking for our next Professional Religious Educator. We will challenge ourselves to “go a little nuts” in our canvass and fund the future we dream of, encouraged by Cilla Raughley’s vibrant optimism when she joins us as a special guest on February 4. We will make pledges to the planet as well, committing to one small change we can make to create a healthier, more beautiful Earth. And we will literally plant for the future together on that day in our intergenerational, congregation-wide theme day of tending for the Earth.

At the memorial service for Jean Gillett on January 20, her expertise with trees was noted more than once. Did you know that our multitalented Jean was a landscape architect by profession? Not surprisingly, when she decided to plant a persimmon tree (as her friend Rae Bell related), she took a lot of trouble to ensure that the soil was just right for persimmons. She knew that for the tree to thrive throughout its lifetime, she needed to do groundwork first, testing and preparing the soil in which she was putting its tender roots. And sure enough, that tree produced abundant fruit.

Our congregation is already seeing the fruit of well-planted trees. The day our children paraded out of Family Chapel onto the patio in their Halloween costumes, newcomers of all ages come up to me with shining faces, saying “It’s so great to see so many kids here!” How could I express to them the hundreds of hours of committee work, the years of patient labor by ministers, other staff and volunteers that planted those seeds? All I could do is smile back and say, “Yes, our congregation has really made a commitment to families with children.”

The same energy filled the Fireside Room and the Main Hall the night of the family holiday party Lucy Rector Filppu created. As kids ate macaroni and cheese and made paper chains for holiday decorations, some Circle Diners regulars in attendance grinned at the contrast with their more staid meals. After we ate, the choir joined the group, Henry played the piano, and Fran Perry led us all in a caroling Christmas story she’s repeated at Christmases ever since she was a little girl in this church.

I looked around our Main Hall and thought about all the people whose roots have deepened here over our sixty years as a congregation, first coming as teenagers and then returning as adults to raise their own children, or first coming as elders and settling here because we help each other to make all the years of our lives fruitful. I wonder which children who are in our program today will stand up in Caring and Sharing fifty and sixty years from now to talk about their grandchildren. The vision fills me with hope, for our congregation and for our world.

As you make your pledge to the church in this year’s canvass, I hope you will ask, as Jean did about her persimmon tree, “What do I want this congregation to look like ten years from now?” And plant well.

— Blessings,
Amy