Note: This essay was written when I was President of the Board of Trustees of the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland. First U was in the middle of reunifying with the UU Society of Cleveland, which was completed in February, 2019.
Our Reunification process has reminded me of two stories about conception that I’d like to share.
#1: The Immaculate Conception
Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. It’s a much-misunderstood holy day. I was briefly Catholic and spent many years teaching in Catholic schools and for several years didn’t understand what the day was about.
Finally, after one all-school Mass on December 8, I went up to my friend, who was the head of the Theology Department and said, “Hey Mich, so is Mary’s pregnancy the shortest one on record or the longest?”
She looked up at me, “What are you talking about?”
“You know: the Immaculate Conception. Was Mary only pregnant with Jesus for two weeks or a year and two weeks?”
Her eyes bugged out and she smacked me on the upper arm with the back of her hand. “No! It’s not Jesus’ conception. It’s Mary’s.”
Yep. Mary, according to tradition, was conceived Jesus through a divine act that did not involve sin. But, going one step further, Mary also had to be conceived through an immaculate conception so that she would be free from Original Sin. That belief has, in fact, been Catholic doctrine since 1854. That’s a high standard of perfection.
For Catholics, it’s a lesson in obedience (one that raises interesting questions about Mary’s agency in this #MeToo era). But it’s also a lesson in faith and courage.
After I was officially elected Board President, I spoke of my job this year as being like that of a midwife: through Reunification, I will be overseeing the birth of a new congregation.
Right now we are in the conception stage and there is nothing immaculate about it. In our parlance it’s called “due diligence” and consists of both congregations gathering and verifying documents about who we are and how we operate. An attorney will review the documents and design our new foundation.
This conception will be challenging. We will have misunderstandings. We will need courage. We will need faith. We will need to stick by each other. We will need to look for the truth. We will need to assume good intent.
That brings me to the second story.
#2 Sam fathers a litter of puppies
Years ago I had a Springer Spaniel named Sam. I got him when he was 10-months old. Several months later I got a call from his breeder. Her young female was going into heat and her older male was uninterested. Did I think Sam might be?
I had no idea, but figured it would be worth a try. If it worked, I would get pick of the litter.
So I drove Sam out to their house. We walked in and Sam immediately figured out what was going on. And, yes, he was interested and got right to it.
Now Sam was inexperienced at this, and so was I. I had never been present for dog mating but had a basic idea about what to expect. I was, however, ignorant about a few details. So was poor Sam. After his initial enthusiasm, Sam tried to get away but found himself still attached to the female, but facing in the opposite direction. Her owner explained to me that I would have to keep him calm until it was possible for him to walk away.
So I sat on the floor at Sam’s head and kept him calm for about 20 minutes or so. Eventually he walked free, and several months later his offspring were born.
In this story of Sam’s inexperience and my not knowing what to expect, there are also lessons for our Reunification
We will not always know what is expected of us. We will have to trust our instincts. We may, at times, wish we were not in the position we find ourselves in. We will need to be patient and gentle with one another. We will have times of frustration. We will wish that things would go more smoothly. We will face conflict. We will need to work through the difficulties.
The next month will be crucial. Like many of these articles, I write knowing that much will happen between now and the next newsletter. This period will be, perhaps, more eventful than most.
As the days become their shortest, light a candle for our congregation and its future.
Peace and Happy Holidays.
Cat