Camp UU
Camp UU begins this Sunday. Charity Lewis and Kathy Skaggs lead the introductory session of our Summer of Social Justice program. Kids will learn what social justice means and why it is particularly important to UUs.

Pride Planning Meeting
At 12:15 this Sunday, there is a meeting to help plan the Pride Service which takes place on June 27th. Everyone is invited to participate in this special event, which will be followed by a potluck lunch and afternoon dance party featuring the band Big Bad Gina. Contact Denise Sweet at 587-9351 or joyandgratitude@yahoo.com.

The meeting will also include planning with other UUFF members who are participating in the annual Pride Parade on Saturday, June 26th.  The Grand Marshall this year is our youth member Will Phillips.

Coffee Hosts and Greeters Needed
Please take a look at the sign-up sheets in the foyer for Coffee Hosts and Greeters and pick a date to help out. There are no committee assignments during the summer and volunteers are needed. It’s easy and fun – directions are posted in the foyer and kitchen. Everyone enjoys snacks and social time after the service; help make it happen.

Religious Education
Sunday is the last day of regular religious education classes until Fall.  Children will join us in services on June 6 for Flower Communion and Teacher Appreciation. Camp UU begins on June 13th. (Adult volunteers are still needed to assist session leaders. Contact Cheri LaRue at cslarue@uark.edu.)

Have a great holiday weekend!

UUFF Book Group
Are you interested in forming a UUFF Book Group?  Nancy McShane is looking for interested UUs (or non-UUs) to join her and Earl in discussing books of all types: fiction by new authors, foreign authors, science fiction, young adult, historical fiction, non-fiction, biography, etc. Nancy is willing to facilitate two discussions on the same day, one daytime and one evening. What day and time works best for you? (10am or 1pm for the day group, or 7pm?) There will be a short informational meeting after service on Sunday. Contact Nancy McShane at nancymcshane@sbcglobal.net or call 442-2114

Summer of Social Justice
It’s the Summer of Social Justice at Camp UU and RE is selling UUFF t-shirts to support our summer programming! Custom designed and dyed shirts will be available in tie-dye or white, and will sell for $15 ($18 for XXL and $20 for XXXL). Order forms will be available in the foyer on May 23rd and payment is due when you order.

UUFF Year-End Picnic
The UUFF Year-End Picnic takes place Sunday at Terra Studios at 1pm. Terra is located 14 miles east of Fayetteville on Hwy 16 in Durham. Meet at 12:30 in the UUFF parking lot to carpool. Enjoy a laid back afternoon in the beautiful park-like setting. You are welcome to bring blankets, chairs and ice chests. Too busy to pack a picnic lunch? Food  & beverages are available for purchase at the Muse Gallery.

Have you ever considered teaching?
Being a part of a UUFF teaching team is a way to deepen your understanding of our faith, mentor young UUs, and engage more fully in the life and community of this fellowship. Opportunities for teaching younger children as well as teens are available. Teaching is not for everyone. But it is extremely rewarding to know you are making a difference in the lives of children and planting seeds for the future of Unitarian Universalism. Classes begin in the Fall. If you are ready for the challenge, or want to know more, contact Joy at uuffdre@yahoo.com

Spring Open House – Children’s Service
The children of UUFF will present the service this Sunday for their Spring Open House. Come hear them sing and share their thoughts about what they’ve been learning all year. Children are asked to come at 10am for the final rehearsal.

Camp UU
Summer Social JusticIt’s the Summer of Social Justice at Camp UU and RE is selling UUFF t-shirts to support our summer programming! Custom designed and dyed shirts will be available in tie-dye or white, and will sell for $15 ($18 for XXL and $20 for XXXL). Order forms will be available in the foyer on May 9th, 16th and 23rd and payment is due when you order.

June Beacon Deadline This Sunday
This Sunday is the deadline for the June Beacon.  Please send your submissions directly to our editor, Courtney Montgomery-Burnett, at adlib77@gmail.com

Sermon Topic
Rev. Kerry’s sermon is titled “Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Snowmaggedon”. What is Mother Earth saying? Come celebrate Mother’s Day and find out.

Religious Education
Kids will rehearse their Open House Service downstairs at 11am. Those who are presenting individually should bring their own words to practice.  After the service, rehearsal will continue with Renée Janski on the musical portion of the program.

Summer of Social Justice
It’s the Summer of Social Justice at Camp UU and RE is selling UUFF t-shirts to support our summer programming! Custom designed and dyed shirts will be available in tie-dye or white, and will sell for $15 ($18 for XXL and $20 for XXXL). Order forms will be available in the foyer on May 9th, 16th and 23rd and payment is due when you order.

Benefit Concert – Wednesday, May 12
Next Wednesday, May 12th, is our Big Bad Benefit concert at George’s Majestic Lounge, beginning at 6pm.  Only $5 at the door for four great bands!  Come hear Renée Janski and Big Bad Gina (NAMA award winners for Best New Band!) with special guest Keith Grimwood, Jamey Hall with Snake Eyes and the Bug Band (Cajun dance), Reed Faitak with The Memphis Pencils and the band Jorian Oxygen. Ages 18 and up are welcome.

Help Write Our Mission Statement
We are in the final stages of writing our Mission Statement!  If you haven’t already given us your input on the bulletin board in the foyer, please e-mail Denise Sweet at joyandgratitude@yahoo.com with your input by THIS Saturday, May 8th!

Please chose three words from the following list that you would like to see in our Mission Statement:

Nurture / Spirit / All Ages / Help / Heal / World / Live / Our Principles / Community / Search / Truth / Family / Practice / UU Values / All /Promote / Reason / Members / Educate / Acceptance / Membership / Reach Out / Compassion / Children / Encourage / Love / Our World /
Grow / Religious / Youth and children / Join us / Education / Youth / We Seek / Social Justice / Seekers / Seek / Like Mind / Provide Community / Engage / Growth / Unitarian Universalists / Reflect / Courage / Congregation / Grow / Integrity / Fellowship / Learning / Reason / People / Welcome / Diversity / Think / Reason / Welcome Diversity / Spiritual Growth / Religious Home
Or add your own suggestions.

Ingathering Sunday
Children and Youth will meet downstairs for In-gathering. This is the last chance to collect funds for their Heifer Project donation, so please encourage your kids to bring their offerings.

Sermon Topic
Rev. Kerry will speak on The Guidance of Reason.  What are the strengths and limitations of this, our fifth, “source” of religious wisdom?

RE Open House Rehearsal
Also at 12:30 Sunday, there is a choir rehearsal for the RE Open House service. All children and youth are encouraged to attend.

PRIDE Planning Meeting
At 1pm Sunday, there is a planning meeting for the upcoming PRIDE Service on June 27th.  Anyone interested is invited to help plan this annual event.

I’m worried about democracy, about our democracy, here in the United States.  But of course, people have always been worried about democracy, and many respectable thinkers have disparaged and rejected democracy as an unsuitable form of government.  At best, perhaps all we can say, to quote Winston Churchill, is that democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others.

I come at this topic, democracy, after a long career as a lawyer working to make our democracy consistent with our principles and our aspirations.  It was my job to make our democracy more inclusive, so that African Americans and other racial minorities, so that those unable to communicate effectively in English, so that those unable to read and write, so that those whose physical disabilities prevented them from gaining access to polling places or voting booths or from marking ballots or pulling voting machine levers, so that those who were between the ages of 18 and 21, and so that those who were out of the country on election day, especially those serving in the Armed Forces – so that all of these folks would be able to participate in elections as full and equal citizens.  We worked to remove barriers to voting – both legal barriers and practical barriers.  This is an issue in which I invested more than three decades of my life.  My feelings remain strong.

But it is not my intention during the next 20 minutes to lecture you on voting rights law.  Nor is it my intention to lecture you on political theory.  You don’t come here on Sunday morning to hear a lecture.

Let me add that while Unitarian Universalists are generally – and accurately – considered religious liberals, we do not all think alike, either religiously or politically.  Every congregation that I have been part of has had political conservatives as well as political liberals.  We must be open and welcoming to all who would seek to live in harmony among us in this religious community, whatever their political views.

Democracy, for us as Unitarian Universalists, is a religious issue, not just a moral or political issue.  Through our congregations, we have committed ourselves to “the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.”  Our commitment to democracy has its foundation in our affirmation of “the inherent worth and dignity of every person.”  It is our view of humanity, our faith in humanity, that is at the core of Unitarian Universalism.

Democracy has to do with voting, but there is much more to it than that.  Elections do not exist in a vacuum.  Democracy requires a legal system, law and order and public safety, respect for the rights of the individual, especially respect for the rights of those in the minority.  Democracy requires a system of property, a free press, a sufficient level of individual and family prosperity, a system of taxation.  Democracy requires healthy layers of intermediate institutions – institutions between the individual and the state.  Democracy requires an education system, freedom from foreign domination, and a sense of national or community identity and purpose.

There is no one, ideal system of democracy.  There are variables and trade-offs and unknowns and compromises.

Consider, for example, the election of members of a state legislature.

• The legislature can be bicameral or unicameral.

• Its members can be elected from single-member districts; they can be elected at large, or they can be elected from multi-member districts.

• A plurality of the votes can be sufficient for election, or a majority can be required.

• A system of proportional representation can be used, such as the single transferable vote.  Or limited voting can be used.

• Elections can be partisan or nonpartisan.

• Political party nominees can be selected in a primary or at a convention.

• Primary elections can be restricted to previously registered party members, or they can be open to all who choose a particular party once they reach the polls, or voters can be allowed to vote in the primaries of different parties for different offices.

I could continue listing options for quite a while, but I won’t.  How the electoral system is structured makes a difference, and there is no one, ideal system.  There is much room for adjustment, for fine tuning.

*     *     *

What I would like to spend a few minutes discussing this morning are some of the problems of democracy – indeed, the threats to democracy – that challenge us today.

[1] First is the problem of gerrymandered district lines.  We now have the technology and the data to draw district lines of great sophistication and complexity.  We can thus rig the system to favor incumbents, to favor one party over another, to affect the political influence of racial or ethnic groups.  This results in legislatures that are not representative.  Whoever controls the redistricting process gains disproportionate political power.  This hypergerrymandering results as well in general elections where the outcome is not in doubt, and where voters increasingly don’t bother to show up.

The Supreme Court, in the past, has addressed the one person, one vote problem.  The Court, as well, has addressed racial gerrymandering.  But it has yet to confront the challenge of political gerrymandering.

I hope that we have all returned our census questionnaires.  New district lines will be drawn based on the results of the 2010 census.

[2] Second is the problem of the impact of money on the political process.  Although campaign reform legislation can help, it is still the case that those with more money can have greater influence on the political process.  Money speaks.  Political contributions buy greater access and influence.  Many of us fear that the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year, forbidding restrictions on campaign contributions by corporations as violations of the first amendment free speech rights of corporations, will allow money to distort the process even more.  (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Jan. 21, 2010)

[3] Third is the problem of how much democracy is best.  To say that one practice is more democratic than another does not necessarily mean that it is better.  Indeed, I would suggest that we need to recognize as a fallacy the formula that if democracy is good, then more democracy must be better.

Consider, for example, the use of initiative and referendum provisions.  These were reform measures early in the 20th century.  But sometimes apparently good ideas have unfortunate unintended consequences.  Those with sufficient resources can now use initiatives and referendums to tie the hands of the legislature and block the adoption of needed legislation or taxation.  I’m thinking of the mess that California is in now.

Initiative and referendum provisions are not alone is raising the question of how much democracy do we want.  The town meeting, in which all interested citizens gather to decide all the questions of governance, is not viable except in small towns, if there.  How much should be decided by the people and how much by elected representatives?  I’ve certainly been asked to vote on issues where I felt I had no particular knowledge – or interest either, for that matter.

For example, did you know – this is for Fayetteville residents – that on May 18 we will be voting on whether to dedicate and authorize the use of Parks HMR tax revenues for the development, construction, and maintenance of city parks?  Raise your hand if you know what the HMR tax is.  [hotel, motel, and restaurant]

[4] The fourth problem is resistance to change.  A democratic system needs fine tuning along the way.  Changed circumstances may make it advisable to change electoral rules.  Our population has increased many times over in the last two hundred years.  Technology, communications have changed.  We have new problems.

But changing electoral procedures is not easy.  Almost by definition, present procedures, the status quo, favor those now in power.  It would be naive to expect those in power to change the rules in a way that would that would have the effect of reducing their power.  Those with power, experience teaches, do not give it up voluntarily.

For example, each of the 50 states is represented by two members in the United States Senate.  California and New York have many times as many residents as states like Wyoming and Idaho, but their representation is the same.  A few decades ago, the Supreme Court stepped in to remedy departures from the one person, one vote principle in the U.S. House of Representatives and in state and local representative bodies, as I mentioned earlier.

But the structure of the Senate, of course, is dictated by the Constitution itself, and thus cannot be changed without a constitutional amendment.  Indeed, it’s worse than that.  Article V of the Constitution, which establishes the process for amending the Constitution, states that “no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.”

How likely is it that the states that benefit from this arrangement will voluntarily consent to a restructuring?

[5] The fifth problem is the plight of minorities in a majoritarian system.  How does the majority treat minorities?  Are minority voices heard?  Is minority status permanent, or can a minority become the majority?

Now, we’ve already seen two problems involving too much minority power – the power of money and the power in the Senate of small states.

But other minorities are not so fortunate.  Consider the poor.  In numbers they are large, but in influence they are marginal.  Can we be satisfied with a system that treats the worst off among us so badly?

Another minority are those who are incarcerated, who are in prison.  We lock them up and turn our backs on them.  They do not even have the influence of the vote.  And, in many states, even when they’re released from prison, they still cannot vote.

One could look at different minorities within our society – racial minorities, religious minorities, sexual preference and gender minorities – and ask for each how they fare under our political system.

*     *     *

That, in brief, is our situation, as I see it.  I don’t see any simple, quick solutions, but I would like to describe five things that I think we need to work on, that will help our democracy work better.

[1] First, we need good leaders, at every level of society.  This means that capable men and women need to step forward and volunteer for positions of public leadership, need to get engaged in electoral politics and run for office.  This means that those in leadership roles need to look beyond their own interests to the public interest, the long term public interest.  This means that elected officials need to look beyond the next election, need to be willing to risk defeat at the polls in order to do the right thing.

This means that our leaders must be equipped and be willing to do the difficult work of enabling us to adapt to change.  Our leaders, for example, need to help us face the challenge of the globalization of the economy.  They need, in addition, to help us face the challenge of the climate crisis – and the challenge of the global AIDS epidemic, and the challenge of nuclear proliferation.  Too often, instead, they help us evade such issues.

[2] Second, we the people must be ever vigilant.  Public affairs may be boring.  We may have enough on our plate just taking care of ourselves and our families.  Still, we need to pay attention to what is happening and hold our leaders accountable.  We need to vote.  We need to inform ourselves before elections.  We need to be engaged between elections.  We need to encourage those who would be good leaders and discourage those who are not.  We must be willing to sacrifice – to stand in the cold and the rain in protest.  We must be willing to accept higher taxation.  The Tea Party folks have at least some of this right.  Were you surprised by how many turned out on Thursday?  And yesterday we had Fayetteville Forward.  How many of you were there?

[3] Third, we need to strengthen research, inquiry, and communications.  Research in the academy, in government, and in the private sector can increase our ability to solve our problems.  We need to eliminate the barriers to increased and less inhibited research.  We need to safeguard free speech so that ideas can be spread, tested, and challenged.

[4] Fourth, to have better leadership, to have a vigilant citizenry, to have stronger research and more open communications, we need educated citizens.  Education remains key.  We need to promote academic excellence and intellectual curiosity.  We must value moral education as highly as academic education.  The need for education, of course, goes beyond children, adolescents, and young adults.  If our citizens are to make democracy effective in the 21st century, if our citizens are to be effective in the global economy of the 21st century, we need lifespan education.  No adult should be left behind.

[5] Fifth, if we are to be responsible citizens not only of our nation but also of the world, if we are to be responsible not only for our neighbors, wherever they may be, but also for future generations, then we need to have a moral commitment to something beyond ourselves.  We need to recognize the common humanity of the whole human race, our common humanity with those in northwest Arkansas but also with those on the opposite side of the globe, our common humanity with those who will inhabit this planet long after we are gone and forgotten.

These are five things that I believe we need to do and that I believe we are capable of doing.  There are, most certainly, other things, but this is a start.

*     *     *

Earlier, I referred to our commitment, as Unitarian Universalists, to “the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.”  I’ve been talking about democracy in society at large, but let’s stay at home for the next few minutes and consider democracy within this fellowship.

If this democratic religious community is to survive and thrive, its members need to do five things, and undoubtedly others that I haven’t thought of:

First, we must act as good citizens not only by coming here on Sunday morning but also by attending congregational meetings and voting.

Second, let us show appreciation and respect for our elected volunteer leaders.  Say “thank you” from time to time.  When you have suggestions or criticisms, be gentle, constructive, and direct.

Third, we must act as good citizens by volunteering to serve in leadership roles.  This fellowship depends on its volunteers.

Fourth, to sustain this religious community we must continually invite others to join us, both by nurturing our children within this community and by inviting and welcoming those who are not yet part of this community to join us here on Sunday morning.  At some point in the future, this fellowship will be sustained by those who have not yet come through our doors.

Fifth, government is financed by taxes.  I hope you all got your returns filed on Thursday. While we may not be pleased by our tax bills, we know, deep down, that taxes are a small and necessary price to pay for a structured, orderly, and just society.

This fellowship is not sustained by taxes or dues but by the voluntary financial support of those whose lives are touched by it.  No one is compelled to make a pledge; no one can be compelled to make a generous pledge.  But if you want this fellowship to be here, for you, for your family, to be here for the next person to walk through its doors; if you want this fellowship to be a force for good, then, if somehow you were missed in this year’s pledge drive, I invite you to feel the satisfaction of helping this fellowship thrive through your pledge of financial support during the year to come.

*     *     *

Democracy is precious.  But democracy is fragile.  Let us not try to find out how fragile it is.  Rather, let us work to sustain and strengthen democracy, both within this nation and within this congregation.  Amen.

Sunday Sermon Topic
Rev. Kerry Mueller will present “The Gates of Eden”, based on our third “source” which draws on the wisdom of the world’s religions.

Share the Plate
This Sunday is Share the Plate with the Yvonne Richardson Center. The South Fayetteville Community Center (Yvonne Richardson Center) is a nonprofit organization that promotes educational and recreational activities for the multi-cultural population of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The programs include various sports activities, arts and crafts, and computerized and academic learning for all ages.

New Member Reception
There will be a New Member Reception and Open House Sunday afternoon, from 4-6pm, at Dave and Kerry’s home. Everyone is invited to get better acquainted with our newest members and our ministers. RSVPs would be appreciated. Call 444-8168 or email dhhunter@sbcglobal.net.   833 Bryan Lane in Fayetteville (off Mission Blvd., the second street north of North Street. 3rd house on the right.)

Roller Skating Next Week
Roller Skating Party NEXT Sunday, April 18, at the Starlight Skatium from 1-3PM!  The rink is located at 612 N. College Avenue (just north of Maple Avenue) and the cost of admission + skates is $7 Questions?  Contact Josette Cline (jcline@uark.edu) or Gretchen Wilkes (gwilkes@farmcards.org).

Here’s a story about a young boy, Samuel, and an old man, Eli.

2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.

3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was located.

By way of background, the boy Samuel here would grow up to be the prophet Samuel in the Bible.  The story is from First Samuel, chapter 3.  Eli is the priest, who’s grown old and is practically blind.  The young boy, Samuel, is his servant.  How Samuel got to be his servant is quite a story; I’ll strip it down the best I can.

Fertility problems and conflicts are common in the Bible.  Hannah, a married woman, was upset that she couldn’t get pregnant, while her husband’s other wife had lots of children.  As a result, Hannah, in a prayer, makes the reckless promise that if she gets pregnant, she’ll dedicate the child to the Lord.  Her prayer is answered.  She has the kid – that’s Samuel – and as soon as he’s weaned, she drops him off at the temple.

This story could be the basis for a sermon on family values, and on the Bible as the foundation for morality, but that’s not what I have in mind this morning.  You might note some parallels between Samuel and Jesus.  That’s relevant: it’s Easter after all, but that’s not my topic either.

What I do want to discuss this morning are dreams, four dreams – dreams that can have a message for us today.  Dreams are both real and unreal, which makes them a fitting topic for Easter Sunday.

Let’s go back to the story of Samuel.  Thanks to his mother’s rash promise, Samuel is stuck being the priest’s servant, from earliest childhood.  Eli and Samuel have both gone to bed. The story continues:

4 Then the LORD called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and Samuel answered, “Here I am.”

5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I didn’t call you; go back and lie down.” So Samuel went back to bed.

Samuel obviously doesn’t recognize the voice of the Lord, and thinks it must be Eli calling him, since no one else is around.  When Eli tells Samuel that he doesn’t need him, Samuel goes back to bed.

6 The LORD called again, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again” [and stop bothering me.]

8 The LORD called Samuel a third time, “Samuel! Samuel!” and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.  You must have called me.” Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the boy.

9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now the LORD came yet again to the place where Samuel was sleeping and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” [1 Sam. 3:1-6, 8-10, NRSV, revised]

This is the story of Samuel’s call to prophecy.  As I understand it, it’s the story of a dream, a vivid dream.  Later on, the adult Samuel, as a prophet, speaks on behalf of God to the people of Israel.  He’s instrumental in the founding of the kingdom and in the selection of the first two kings, Saul and David.

What’s in this story for us?  Can we extract any lessons from it?  I’ll try.

The Lord came to Samuel and was calling his name, and Samuel didn’t catch on.  That reminds us that sometimes it’s hard to figure out what to do, or what to become.  It takes some effort, but it’s worth it.  Samuel had some help.  Eli was older and wiser; he figured out what was going on.  We, too, should not hesitate to consult with others.  We don’t have to figure out everything completely by ourselves.

But our skeptical side responds to the story as well.  How did Eli and then Samuel know that the voice Samuel heard was really that of the Lord?  People make mistakes about that sort of thing.  We have to use our head – don’t abandon common sense; don’t abandon judgment and reason.  Do consult with others.

But some messages – call them messages from God, if you’d like – some messages are so clear, so persuasive, that we must pay attention to them.  I’m not going to spend the rest of my time ranting and raving about the climate crisis, or the plight of the Haitians, or the millions of Americans unemployed or underemployed, but it’s time for us servants to listen.

*     *     *

Here’s another dream.  It’s Dmitri’s dream from Dostoyesky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov.  Somehow I managed to read this 940 page epic when I was a freshman in college.  I don’t claim to remember it that well, and I certainly haven’t reread it lately, but I think Dmitri’s dream is worth recalling from time to time.

Dmitri is the oldest of the four Karamazov brothers.  He’s badly treated as a child, and the life he leads as an adult is one of debauchery and violence.  He returns home to his father, Fyodor, to claim the property that he believes is rightfully his.  Fyodor is murdered, and Dmitri is the prime suspect.  The old man had mistreated Dmitri, and his other sons, and most everyone else.  Dmitri has the opportunity and the motive and the means.

Here’s what happens at the conclusion of a hearing relating to the murder.

Mitya – that’s Dmitri’s nickname – Mitya got up, moved from his chair to the corner by the curtain, lay down on a large chest covered with a rug, and instantly fell asleep.

He had a strange dream, utterly out of keeping with the place and the time.

He was driving somewhere in the steppes, where he had been stationed long ago, and a peasant was driving him in a cart with a pair of horses, though snow and sleet.

Dostoyevsky here describes a scene of abject poverty and desolation.

“Why are they crying? Why are they crying?” Mitya asked, as they dashed gaily by.

“It’s the babe,” answered the driver, “the babe is weeping.”

“But why is it weeping?” Mitya persisted stupidly, “why are its little arms bare? Why don’t they wrap it up?”

“The babe’s cold, its little clothes are frozen and don’t warm it.”

“But why is it?  Why?” foolish Mitya still persisted.

“Why, they’re poor people, burnt out.  They’ve no bread.”

“No, no.”  Mitya, as it were, still did not understand.  “Tell me why are people poor? Why is the steppe barren? Why don’t they hug each other and kiss? Why don’t they sing songs of joy? Why don’t they feed the babe?”

And he felt a passion of pity, such as he had never known before, a passion of pity rising in his heart, and he had an urge to cry out that he wanted to do something for them all, so that the babe should weep no more, so that no one should shed tears again from that moment, and he wanted to do it at once, all of it at once, regardless of all obstacles, with all the recklessness of the Karamazovs.

[And then his nap was over.]

“Who put that pillow under my head?  Who was so kind?” he cried, with a sort of ecstatic gratitude, opening his eyes, as though some great kindness had been shown him.

“I’ve had a good dream, gentlemen,” he said in a strange voice, with a new light, as of joy, in his face.” [book 9, chapter 8, edited]

Dmitri is subsequently convicted for his father’s murder – although in fact he is innocent, innocent of that crime – but the dream marks a turning point in his life.  The new Dmitri is a sympathetic, transformed character.

What are we to make of this?  I don’t know of anyone who’s ever been transformed by a dream – that doesn’t seem likely at all.  But realism isn’t the point here.  What I find in this story is the possibility of transformation – no matter what one has done, no matter how irredeemable a person seems to be, change is possible.  We are all people of inherent worth and dignity.  Don’t give up on anyone, no matter what.  Especially yourself.

What led to Dmitri’s conversion experience?  Did he just happen to have a dream which finally touched his heart and opened him to human suffering, opened him up to the reality that he’s not the only one, that there are other people out there, and that they’re suffering?  Or was it the pillow?  Some kind, unidentified person put a pillow under his head.  Did the pillow influence the dream, or influence Dmitri’s response to it?  Or was it Dmitri’s recognition of the kindness that had been done for him – a kindness done for him without his requesting it, without expecting anything in return – was it the recognition of that kindness that led to his understanding of the dream, and thus to his transformation?

Of course, I don’t have the answers to all these questions.  But I will suggest that small acts of kindness, to strangers, make the world a better place.

Dmitri has had a good dream, a dream that turns his life around, but what about the starving villagers, what about the crying babe?  They’re still cold and hungry and miserable.

And that leads me to the third dream.

*     *     *

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

You may recognize here the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.  He had a dream on behalf of the American people, on behalf of all of us.

This promissory note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men – King would certainly have included women if he were speaking today – [that all] would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy;

Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice;

Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood;

Now is the time to make justice a reality for all God’s children. [Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World (James M. Washington, ed., HarperSanFrancisco, 1992), pp. 101-06, "I Have a Dream"]

Martin Luther King spoke these words more than forty five years ago – “now is the time,” he said, in 1963.  It was already nine years after the Supreme Court, in its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the Court had told the nation, “now is the time” – the time to end segregation, inequality, and racial oppression.

But here we are in 2010, in 2010, and the beloved community of King’s dream is still, still just a dream.

In particular, we, as a society, still leave blacks behind.  Having an African American president has not changed this reality.  For example, a few years ago, among black male high school dropouts in their 20′s, 72% did not have a job.  The comparable rate for whites was 34%.  And more than half of all black men do not finish high school.  And that was before the great recession that we’re still struggling to escape.  Here’s another discouraging item: among black men in their 20′s who did not attend college, 21% were behind bars. [New York Times, 3/20/06, pp. A1, A18]  Unemployment among black teens is 41%. [NPR, All Things Considered, 4/2/10]  Among black men, aged 20 to 34, one in nine is behind bars. [Bill Moyers Journal, PBS, 4/2/10, citing Wash. Post, 2/29/08, p. A1]

I could go on, but you get the point.  This is not the occasion to explore how we got into this mess, or how we might get out of it, but it makes me very sad, and angry, too.  I spent more than 30 years, as a lawyer, in the struggle for equality, and this is what I have to show for it?

But, obviously, this isn’t about me, nor is it just about the young black men who are disconnected from the mainstream.  This is about American society generally; this is about all of us.  Our nation cannot be considered healthy, our future cannot be secure, so long as so many are disconnected, alienated, left out, and left behind.

So I say to you, my friends, [King continued,] that even though we must face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.  It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed – we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men – and women – are created equal.

And King concluded his speech on that summer day before the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C.–

And when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every state and city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children – black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Catholics and Protestants – will be able to join hands and to sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at least, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

*     *     *

Martin Luther King’s dream of a beloved community, of a land of equality and freedom, is still – a dream.  And this brings me to another dream, our fourth and final dream of the morning – another dream that is still a dream, not yet a reality.

It is Easter Sunday, so you probably know where I’m headed.

Jesus had an idea; he had a dream.  He called it the kingdom of God.  We might call it, with King, the beloved community, or the realm of peace and justice.  Jesus saw this kingdom so vividly, he felt it so passionately, that he said it had already arrived.  Well, maybe it had, but only as an embryo, an embryo with a gestation period of indefinite duration.

Jesus was responding to the oppression of the Roman Empire.  The Jewish kingdom had come under the domination of the Romans the century before.  In an empire, military and economic power is used to shape the world in the interest of the imperial state. [See M. Borg & J. Crossan, The Last Week (HarperSanFrancisco, 2006), p. 213]  The interests of the oppressed peoples are irrelevant.

But Jesus was not so much focused on the expulsion of the Roman rulers and on the overthrow of their local collaborators as he was on what kind of society should we strive for.  He favored nonviolence; he favored generosity; he favored acceptance of all, even those who are generally despised, even those on the margins of society.

With such an agenda, can we be surprised that the powers that were had to have him removed?  They not only had to eliminate him, but they had to make an example of him, to warn the Jewish masses of the danger of stepping out of line.  Jesus did not expect to be allowed to live for long.  He anticipated that the end might come in Jerusalem.

But his dream did not end with his crucifixion, with his death.  His ideas lived on, influencing millions, inspiring, among others, Martin Luther King.

After Jesus’s execution, some of his followers had visions of Jesus, a Jesus who spoke to them, who told them not to give up, but to spread his message.  Some who had not been his followers, like Paul, also had such visions.  The gospel writers put this in concrete terms, of God’s victory over death, in the resurrection of Jesus, but we can strip away the mythological layer and still find inspiration and power in the vision, in the dream.

*     *     *

Let us, on this Easter Sunday, find strength and nourishment in all of these dreams.

Samuel, in his dream, heard what he and his master Eli understood to be the voice of God.  Now, most of us rarely hear the voice of God speaking to us, and I expect we’re quite suspicious of those who claim that God speaks to them.  To me, it’s interesting to note that in the verse immediately before where I started reading, the author of the Book of Samuel explains, “the word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” [1 Sam. 3:1b] The same could be said today.  If we are to hear the voice of God, we must listen to the poor and oppressed; we must listen to our abused Mother Earth, crying out to us to come to our senses.

Dmitri Karamazov is a fictional character, he didn’t really live, but he can remind us of the transforming power of love, and we can realize that the poor people, and the cold, hungry babes, exist not only in dreams, but in our own world.

Martin Luther King, Jr., was taken from us when he should have had decades of life ahead.  Would that he were an elder statesman today!  But his message lives on.  His moral power has not been diminished by death.

And, finally, whether you think Jesus was a real person, a man of myth and legend, or the personification of God, or a little of each, we’re not done with him yet, and he is not done with us.  Amen.

Choir Practice Sunday Morning
The choir will meet Sunday at 9:30am to rehearse.

Wage Theft Awareness Campaign
The Northwest Arkansas Workers’ Justice Center is currently working on a campaign to pass a wage theft ordinance in Fayetteville to give low wage workers real protection from wage theft. Wage theft, according to the Center, is happening all over the country, and some cities and counties have already taken important steps in fighting wage theft by passing ordinances. We have been asked to participate in this campaign. If you are interested, please see Rev. Dave during coffee hour or contact him at 444-8168.

Long Range Planning Meeting – Tuesday, April 6
There is a Long Range Planning meeting on Tuesday, April 6 at 6:30pm.

Boston Mountain Brassworks Recital – Tuesday, April 6
Also on Tuesday, April 6 is the Boston Mountain Brassworks recital, with UUFF member Gerald Sloan on trombone. Works by Ewald, Forbes, Praetorius, and Ewazen will be performed. Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine Arts Center at the UofA, 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.