The World Ahead
Sermons from the 2005 Youth Group service
Elevator Speech
Charlie Neumann
I am a UU and this fact comes up in my everyday life quite a bit more then one would presume. I find myself being asked what religion I am and I say I am a UU then the usual response is.. A what? So I say if you are interested in learning about what Unitarian Universalism is then I am going to need a few minutes of your time.
Unitarian Universalism is a religion that allows for a great diversity off opinions, ideas, attitudes, artistic preferences, and lifestyles although there does not seem to be much acceptance for the Republican Party. It is a religion where you are encouraged to find your own spirituality or credo. Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus is not the Son of God, god does not exist, the choice is yours and you are encouraged to embrace what you believe and accept others what ever they may believe. Finding your own spirituality is not an easy thing to do, in fact I'll probably be doing so for the better part of my life.
Some of the questions that come up in this process are very personal and sometimes scary. My youth group is a place where people can go with these questions and not be ridiculed or criticized. My church is not only about faith but it is about community. For me my church is a much needed place where I can express my joys and sorrows freely and openly.
Mini-Sermon: Globalization and the Future
Jake Van Bortel Buckley
Imagine yourself a worker in an American factory in Mexico. You work 12 hours a day, 4 days a week and make 400 pesos, which is around 40 dollars and translates to about 83 cents an hour.
Now imagine this: every 3 months or so you are forced to find a new factory to work at because your current factory fires you without severance because you would become eligible for benefits if you work past three months. Meanwhile the company you work for is poisoning the river flowing by your shack.
This is the face of American Globalization. It comes in the form of NAFTA, allowing nations to trade freely - no trade tariff - between Mexico, America, and Canada. Because NAFTA is well written, workers rights as well as environmental concerns can be ignored. Because of NAFTA, rich businessmen benefit but also the average consumer benefits. Now is it really necessary to pay workers only 83 cents an hour in order to make a profit? No, you don't need to pay even need to pay them $6.15 in Mexico. A living wage in Mexico is only about $3 an hour or so. This would still allow for major profit.
What does this mean about the future? Well besides the obvious continuation of this problem in Mexico, Congress has before it CAFTA: the Central America Free Trade Agreement, which is written exactly like NAFTA for the rest of Central America.
Yes it is bad to spread these terrible conditions to another part of the world - and yes we can stop it - all we need is to make sure CAFTA does not pass through Congress. Don't feel helpless. You can write, email and call your senators and congressmen and tell them you don't support CAFTA and you hope they will not vote for it because it causes so many problems. We can and should stop CAFTA and eventually bring down or at least re-write NAFTA to support living wages for the people of Mexico and the U.S. and Canada.
So the question is not "What can we do?" - the question is really "What can't we do?"
Mini-Sermon: The Environment
Steve Andrews
When I sat down to write this little shpeal of mine, I thought to myself, why use the tired old doom and gloom talk about how the world's going to end if you don't help the environment? This talk is depressing, and boring to boot - even if it is true. So today I'll steer clear of anything too apocalyptic.
I am sure that there are few people here who would argue that saving the environment is a waste of time. However, even though most people are aware of how beneficial caring for the environment is, some people do not enjoy being outside or looking at nature. As a result, they have no pressing personal reason to do anything to protect the environment.
I can vouch for this from personal experience. When I do something to help save the environment, I am more motivated by the fact that protecting nature will mean I can still enjoy being outside rather than some obscure and impersonal notion of benefiting humanity as a whole. This may sound cynical and petty, but I believe it is human nature to care more about one's immediate surroundings.
I've noticed that many young people seem to have little appreciation for the environment. Perhaps this is because more people are spending more time indoors, and thus have not acquired a real appreciation of nature - they only really notice nature's existence when it inconveniences them. This in my view is a bad thing - although there is nothing wrong with spending time indoors, it behooves us all to go outside sometimes. Why one might ask. Because it's pretty that's why. And if you're going to exercise would you rather stay inside and stare at a wall while running in place on a tread mill, or run to the top of a hill in the fresh air and have a nice view at the end? I know what I would prefer.
Saving the environment is not just about getting a good work-out or saving humanity - it's also aesthetically pleasing. Nature, generally speaking (though there are exceptions), looks nice, smells good, and sounds lovely, if you ever try hugging a tree then you know nature feels nice too. Saving the environment can be a pain sometimes and I probably could think of a thousand things I would rather be doing.
Even though the path is tough, the result is well worth the effort. I am reminded of a canoeing trip I went on, where I spent eight hours canoeing across lakes and carrying backpacks over beaver dams and in between lakes. At one point, I fell into the mud up to my waist. I hated the experience until the end of the day when we reached our destination, a beautiful lake that was crystal clear and as smooth as glass. It was indescribably beautiful and it was worth it.
My bottom line: if one does not take much notice of nature, then one will not feel very motivated to do anything. So if in abstract, you think that saving the environment is good for all concerned but you just can't find the personal motivation to really do anything about it, then spend more time in nature. Take a few hikes. Go on a camping trip. Bring someone else along while you're at it.
Once you love nature, then you will have a reason to protect it.
Mini-Sermon: The Funnel and the Ripple
Jeremy Vasta & Ariana Fuller
When we consider how each of us will affect the world, we must also look at how the world affects us. Influence flows both ways. No one can exist in this world without being changed by it and no one can avoid altering the course that the world takes. Even if it is just a minor change, it will still be the cause of events to come.
Now take a moment to imagine a funnel; a simple, everyday funnel; just a cone with a hole in it. That funnel is suspended above a pool of water. The water poured into the funnel is representative of the experiences and influences that have shaped who you are. The stream of water that leaves the funnel is you, the individual, and each drop of water in that stream is an action you have taken. Each drop, each action, creates ripples in the world pool.
Of course you are not alone in the world. Imagine billions of funnels over an infinitely large pool. There are billions of streams of water; one for each individual in the world. Each stream creates ripples; and as the ripples spread, they interact and interfere with one another. With so many streams, it would be all but impossible to trace back the individual ripples that have created this pattern on the surface of the world pool. Only the largest of ripples could be distinguished at all; but if any one stream was removed, the pattern would be a little different.
That is how we affect the world. Who knows? Maybe your ripples will be the large and noticeable kind. Remember, even the smallest action makes a difference. At the same time, the actions of others and the environment around you will help to make you who you are. You, as an individual, are shaped by your experiences.
That is not to say that you have no control over who you are or what you do. If that were true, this sermon would be pointless. You choose how you perceive and react to experiences. Two people may be affected very differently by the same event because they have a different perception of that experience, and they deal with it in different ways. You choose who you are and you choose what you do. Genetics and events beyond your control play their part in influencing you, but you have the final word.
You have the gift of free will. Shape yourself as you wish to be and shape the world a little better than it is. Don't take your life too seriously, but consider how you perceive and react and influence others, because every action creates a ripple and every ripple makes a difference.
Mini-Sermon: On The Meaning of Life
Emily Bauer & Rachel Bray
Humans always search for what the future might bring. It's part of our nature to find meaning in our short time on this planet. We assure ourselves by creating the promise and illusion of a predictable future. We go to psychics, look to the stars, read tea leaves and palms just to get a glimpse of what the future holds.
This beacon of false hope has bred a large group of people who have trouble accepting the unexpected. Think life without weather forecasts. So many people watch the forecast every night just to know what's coming. Nothing seems to be left up to chance anymore; life is becoming far too predictable. Or so many would love to think, but everything is truly left to chance. People continue to comfort themselves with knowledge that we think we know.
Newsflash: We can't ever know, not until it happens. Not only do we care about things as simple as a 32 percent chance of precipitation next Tuesday, we also worry about deeper things. People are constantly curious about what the future holds, desperately looking for that meaning/purpose in life.
Many people believe in fate - but who's to say that anything is predetermined. Tea leaves, palm readings and psychics telling my fortune is cool and all, it is good fun really. But I think that if you limit yourself to the options you've "discovered" then you could be selling yourself short. That's why horoscopes bother me sometimes. Say your horoscope shows that you are destined for moderate success in your daily tasks. If you have the mindset of moderate success then it's almost like you've taken the once possible Great success out of the equation and replaced it with moderate.
Why do that to yourself? When I read my horoscope I always remind myself that this is just one possible outcome and that I still have every option at my disposal.
Fate is what you make it; it doesn't make or control you. I think the unknown can be so very healthy. What would be the point of my life if I already knew everything? There's some stuff I just don't want to know. Why would I want to know the day I was going to die? So many things should just be left alone. In the end we really never know what the future will bring regardless of any predictions.
Life is an adventure - just live it!