Water Ceremony
Sep. 8th, 2024 12:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatWas kept awake for two hours last night by random thoughts, and body aches. As a result, I watched my UU church service on FB again. It was lovely. I didn't go as intended, because my foot was bothering me last night, after walking for a mile around my neighborhood. So I'm thinking that I should probably not over-exert it. I'm not positive, but I think I have a hairline stress fracture from running into my bedroom door.
Doctor: how many times have you injured your feet?
Me: Several, but it's not due to diabetes anything like that, it's a because I'm a clutz.
Doctor (laughs): Me too.
There's a reason I don't have a lot of furniture in my apartment. I feel I have too much as it is.
Anyhow, the service introduced the interim minister, Rev. Micah Mah, who is transgender (they/their) and from Pacific Southeast Asian ethnicity. So far? I love them. Their homily was short, inclusive, and not about them. A breath of fresh air.
In it, she provided a couple of interesting take-aways that resonated with me and I felt a need to share here before I forget them. First? UU several years ago adopted a new annual ritual - at the beginning of each year, UU's bring to their services water they've collected from their travels. The water is then collect in a basin, blessed, and used throughout the year for baptisms and other blessings, and the reminder is added to the next years baptismal water. (It's obviously boiled and sanitized first.). And it is blessed in "Water Ceremony" on the second weekend in September or the first weekend of the new congregational year.
1. George Taki once explained how Gene Roddenberry came up with the name of his character Sulu, from the Original Star Trek. Roddenberry didn't want George's character to be identified with a specific region or cultural group, but to encompass all Pacific South-North Eastern Ethnicity. In other words, he didn't want a name that was Vietnamese, Korean or Japanese in origin, but more all inclusive. So he went with Sulu. As Takei explained, his character was named after the Sulu Sea off the coast of the Philippines. “[Roddenberry] had a map of Asia pinned on the wall and he was staring at it, trying to get some inspiration for the Asian character.”
In their sermon, Micah states water - a name meaning someone from all shores or all waters. From the Sea. Micah's interpretation, which I rather liked, was that the name in Roddenberry's mind meant someone from all shores. As are we all. [* Yes, I know that in reality the name is Slovakian or Czech, and has a variety of different "literal" meanings, mainly ceremonial cloth - I googled it. So no, fact-checking required. I'm talking about the meaning of the word in the context of the sermon and Star Trek. In short the "contextual" meaning, not the dictionary definition.]
2. We are made up of water, spirit, and fire. But mostly water. Water flows through us, and outside us. And we are united by the water.
* Water can be destructive and life affirming, give life and destroy it. As seen by healing rain or soothing/healing waters in springs, and the devastating nature of a hurricane or torrential floods. Just like water, we too have powers of destruction or healing/life affirming within us.
* If we are to take anything away from this - take this - that like the water, we are one, we flow together and apart, and have the power to heal or destroy just like the water. The water is a part of us and we are a part of it.
We are from the Universe and the Universe is of us.
I've gone to several of them, but due to foot issues - and the fact that going to my church requires a lot more walking than my commute, I chose to give my poor foot a rest. The walk from the subway to my church is about fifteen to twenty minutes or about a mile. [As Wales puts it - my church is not convenient and far away. It was actually closer when I lived in Wales neighborhood, and she considers it too far away.]
For the meditative prayer - she asked that we pray for all those who do not have access to water around the world. For Gaza, for Flint, Michigan, even here in New York City. And everywhere else, including the homeless, the refugees, the prisoners, those who cannot pay their water bills. It made me want to go out and buy a bunch of bottles of water and go around handing them out to the homeless everywhere. The only problem is - I'm not sure if they'd drink it, empty it out somewhere, or litter. (Most of the homeless in my area are mentally ill and untreated for severe mental illness, that's why they are homeless.) I may consider doing it anyway. We'll see. It could get pricey though - bottled water is ridiculously expensive. It's why I use a Britta. [*I don't need nor want advice on this, please. I don't take kindly to being told what to do, it tends to make me do the exact opposite just to be ornery. I come from a very stubborn family.]
Doctor: how many times have you injured your feet?
Me: Several, but it's not due to diabetes anything like that, it's a because I'm a clutz.
Doctor (laughs): Me too.
There's a reason I don't have a lot of furniture in my apartment. I feel I have too much as it is.
Anyhow, the service introduced the interim minister, Rev. Micah Mah, who is transgender (they/their) and from Pacific Southeast Asian ethnicity. So far? I love them. Their homily was short, inclusive, and not about them. A breath of fresh air.
In it, she provided a couple of interesting take-aways that resonated with me and I felt a need to share here before I forget them. First? UU several years ago adopted a new annual ritual - at the beginning of each year, UU's bring to their services water they've collected from their travels. The water is then collect in a basin, blessed, and used throughout the year for baptisms and other blessings, and the reminder is added to the next years baptismal water. (It's obviously boiled and sanitized first.). And it is blessed in "Water Ceremony" on the second weekend in September or the first weekend of the new congregational year.
1. George Taki once explained how Gene Roddenberry came up with the name of his character Sulu, from the Original Star Trek. Roddenberry didn't want George's character to be identified with a specific region or cultural group, but to encompass all Pacific South-North Eastern Ethnicity. In other words, he didn't want a name that was Vietnamese, Korean or Japanese in origin, but more all inclusive. So he went with Sulu. As Takei explained, his character was named after the Sulu Sea off the coast of the Philippines. “[Roddenberry] had a map of Asia pinned on the wall and he was staring at it, trying to get some inspiration for the Asian character.”
In their sermon, Micah states water - a name meaning someone from all shores or all waters. From the Sea. Micah's interpretation, which I rather liked, was that the name in Roddenberry's mind meant someone from all shores. As are we all. [* Yes, I know that in reality the name is Slovakian or Czech, and has a variety of different "literal" meanings, mainly ceremonial cloth - I googled it. So no, fact-checking required. I'm talking about the meaning of the word in the context of the sermon and Star Trek. In short the "contextual" meaning, not the dictionary definition.]
2. We are made up of water, spirit, and fire. But mostly water. Water flows through us, and outside us. And we are united by the water.
* Water can be destructive and life affirming, give life and destroy it. As seen by healing rain or soothing/healing waters in springs, and the devastating nature of a hurricane or torrential floods. Just like water, we too have powers of destruction or healing/life affirming within us.
* If we are to take anything away from this - take this - that like the water, we are one, we flow together and apart, and have the power to heal or destroy just like the water. The water is a part of us and we are a part of it.
We are from the Universe and the Universe is of us.
I've gone to several of them, but due to foot issues - and the fact that going to my church requires a lot more walking than my commute, I chose to give my poor foot a rest. The walk from the subway to my church is about fifteen to twenty minutes or about a mile. [As Wales puts it - my church is not convenient and far away. It was actually closer when I lived in Wales neighborhood, and she considers it too far away.]
For the meditative prayer - she asked that we pray for all those who do not have access to water around the world. For Gaza, for Flint, Michigan, even here in New York City. And everywhere else, including the homeless, the refugees, the prisoners, those who cannot pay their water bills. It made me want to go out and buy a bunch of bottles of water and go around handing them out to the homeless everywhere. The only problem is - I'm not sure if they'd drink it, empty it out somewhere, or litter. (Most of the homeless in my area are mentally ill and untreated for severe mental illness, that's why they are homeless.) I may consider doing it anyway. We'll see. It could get pricey though - bottled water is ridiculously expensive. It's why I use a Britta. [*I don't need nor want advice on this, please. I don't take kindly to being told what to do, it tends to make me do the exact opposite just to be ornery. I come from a very stubborn family.]