Letting Go In Love

Letting Go in Love

Universalist Unitarian Church of Santa Paula

July 14, 2024

Rev. Maddie Sifantus’ Final Service

 

“We all drink from wells we did not dig,

and sit in the shade of trees we did not plant.”

Deuteronomy 6:10-12

PRELUDES                                                                                       Vincent Sorisio

Sin Ti                                                                                                  Pepe Guizar

La Marseillaise                                                                                    Claude Bouget De Lisle

GATHERING HYMN

Sing loudly till the stars have heard.

In joy, feast on this bounteous word!

Our praises call us to explore

till suns shall rise and set no more.

            Anonymous

COVENANT

Love is the spirit of this church

And service is its prayer.

To dwell together in peace,

To seek the truth in freedom,

To tell the truth with responsibility,

And to help one another,

This is our covenant.

LIGHTING THE CHALICE                                                  Ken Stock

We light our chalice today for new beginnings and bright futures.

 

When we feel insignificant and alone.

May this flame symbolize our connection with congregations around the world.

 

When feeling anxious and uncertain.

May this flame brighten our spirit.

 

When searching for a safe place.

May this flame be our beacon.

 

When the way forward looks dark.

May this flame illuminate our path.

 

When looking for a supportive Community.

May this flame remind us that it is here.

 

TIME FOR ALL AGES           Abigail Finds a Way             Rev. Dr. Betty Stapleford

SINGING FOR OUR CHILDREN    Sing

China Forbes, Emilio Delgado, Joe Raposo

Led by Rev. Maddie and Ruth Ricards

POEM Wave of Existence                                                      Atul Ranchod

“A hundred years from now, I will no longer walk this Earth,

and my time here will be but a brief memory,

and so I do not have a second to waste feeling angry

when my life here is so precious and fleeting.

And so, for every person who I encounter on my path,

I will whisper to myself: “I wish for this person to be happy.”

Words by Tahlia Hunter

 

In the midst of such

Certitude of the brevity

Of life as it’s truly understood

 

Awakening is a privilege.

Feeling grateful becomes magic.

Each is walking through their passage.

 

Neither better nor worse.

A world unravels accordingly.

So beautifully like a wave

 

Taking out our castles in the sand.

Wiped clean only to begin again.

In this one wave of existence

 

To feel the timeless expanse

Void of judgement, fear and pain.

Released from self imprisonment.

 

Open to receive this kiss of life.

Enamored, fulfilled, in joy!

Energy and momentum carried

 

Well beyond the shell casing

Disintegrating in the end.

Experience of this life in hand!

            Musical improvisation by Eduardo Del Signore

 

 

PRAYER

In word                                                                       Thomas Weisbecker

Good morning dear friends, my name is Thomas, and I am honored to be a new member here, and truly privileged to have joined in fellowship with you in the auspicious period just before Rev. Maddie’s departure, and I have been privileged to work in communion with her over the past several weeks and months on the most sacred project of growing this congregation’s inclusive, embracing circle, strengthening our bonds within the local communities of our beautiful Santa Clara River Valley.

It is said that when you do things right, no one will know you’ve done anything at all. Although we are witnesses to Maddie’s greatness as our head minister, so much—in fact most of the tireless work she engaged in to keep this church vital will never been known, except by her and her creator. That is a testament to her mastery of the human condition, and serves as an eternal beacon of hope and inspiration for us all.

In this auspicious time of transition, let us pause and reflect on our own personal journeys that we have shared with Rev. Maddie Sifantus, and on our journey with her as a community. Some of us have been uplifted by her presence from the start of her appointment, while others, such as my husband and myself, have more recently come to this spiritual table, to be nourished from her consoling guidance. Like the ancient wells from which we drink, and the shade of trees we did not plant, Maddie’s presence has been a gift to all—a source of wisdom, compassion, unwavering dedication, and beautiful song.

As we gather in love and community, we remember that letting go is an act of love. It is a way to honor the cycles of life, acknowledging that every end is but a new beginning. Rev. Maddie has guided this congregation through countless seasons of joy and challenge, and now, as she steps into a new chapter, may we offer our deepest gratitude.

May we carry forward the lessons she has taught us, the songs she has sung with us, and the light she has kindled in our hearts. Let us continue always, as she always encourages us to do, to draw the circle wide, embracing change with open hearts, knowing that our connection to her, and to each other, transcends our physical presence.

In the spirit of universality and unity, we affirm our covenant to love, to serve, and to seek truth together. Whenever we light our chalice, may it symbolize in our hearts the enduring flame of our community, and our gratitude for her ministry, illuminating and guiding our path forward.

With hearts full of love, we send Rev. Maddie with our blessings, knowing that her legacy will continue to inspire and uplift us all. Thus may it be, yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.

 

In silence

In music          Ashokan Farewell                              Jay Ungar

 

 

HOMILY        Letting Go in Love                                         Rev. Maddie Sifantus

So we come to this day, you and I. This is the last regular service on a Sunday morning that I am leading as your minister. It feels unreal for me to say that and see all of these faces I have loved and those newer faces I know I would come to love in the seats in front of me in this historic sanctuary. I got the first phone call from your search team in April 2014, over ten years ago. When I accepted your call to settled ministry in September of that year, I expected to stay eight to ten years.

It has been my “joyful and blessed days” to serve with you in our shared ministry, as I talked about in a sermon last October, the Sunday after I announced that I would leave this summer: Love Lets Go. On that day I talked about how life’s circumstances change and that life is about change, probably a theme I come back to time and again because we all need to find ways to roll with the changes. Going with the changes is one of life’s great challenges. Listening for that still small voice that can lead us even in this cacophonous world that can block our ears and blur our vision can be nigh on impossible. But I believe that that still small voice is there behind it all, if one can sit still enough long enough to hear it. For me that voice is the presence of the holy. It is love coming down and surrounding me even in the midst of my busyness, my fears and the demands of modern life. And it was that love, believe it or not, which sent me to you on the left coast to from two small Universalist congregations where I would learn to love new faces and be an hour away from my son’s family where I could share my love with my grandchildren as they grow and their parents. It has been a blessing.

Many of you have heard me speaking for nigh on 10 years, so I will keep my words few right now as this service is very full. One of my longtime favorite poems is this one by Edwin Markham which is the basis of my final message to you this day:

He drew a circle that shut me out-

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle and took him In!

My message to you is to keep drawing that circle wide. Those of you who know my philosophy of ministry is that my concept of ministry is that I companion those I meet wherever they are on their spiritual path, whether they think they are religious or not, whether they believe in institutional religion or not, whether they have signed the membership book or not. Modern churches in this time need to draw the circle wide or cease to exist or just become a tea party for a few.

I ask you to continue to draw the circle wide, bringing our mission to Practice Diversity, Seek Justice and Foster Spirituality outside these walls, down Main Street, out into the agricultural fields with our farmworkers, working with local organizations like Latino Town Hall, House Farmworkers, Poder Popular, the Santa Clara Valley LGBTQ folks and so many more. I ask you to draw the circle wide this Election year, listening well to our family members and neighbors, but all the while doing what our mission calls us to do. Center love. I ask you to keep drawing the theological circle wide so that those of us who still value our Christian roots are not frowned upon and those who respond to God in nature can find a home. Drawing the circle wide, all the while centering love and pointing out our skylight with its message from I John: Beloved let us love one another. Let us be grateful for this place, these people where “we can cast questions into the deep” and we can join these “kindred pilgrim souls”, here in this place and stretching across zoom,
“making our way by the lights of the heavens in our beautiful blue boat home.”

HYMN 1064   Blue Boat Home

     Words: Peter Mayer, Music: Roland Hugh Prichard, adapted by Peter Mayer

 

LITANY OF FAREWELL[1]

Mitch Stone:  There is a cycle to life.  Everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end.  Beginnings are exciting; middles are productive; but ends are often thought of as sad.  But as T. S. Eliot reminds us, “to make an end is to make a beginning.”  And so even in their sadness, our ends are also exciting.

 

Maddie, not only have you served the Unitarian Universalist Parish Ministry well and faithfully for 24 years as an ordained minister and many years before that as a lay community minister, but you have given this congregation the best of your heart and mind for going on ten years.  Now the time has come for an ending that is also a beginning.

 

Will the members and friends of the Universalist Unitarian Church of Santa Paula, Maddie’s colleagues, and any visitors in attendance or on Zoom please rise in body or spirit and read with me the Litany of Farewell.

 

Mitch:  Maddie you have given yourself to this ministry with full enthusiasm and joy.

 

Congregation:           For this we thank you.

 

Mitch: You have led us in worship, taught us, sung with us, welcomed our children, listened to us when we needed your presence, and challenged us to bring healing to a broken world and to center love.

 

Congregation:           For this we thank you.

 

Mitch: You have given us your truth without flinching, and challenged us to dream when no dream seemed possible.

 

Congregation:           For this we thank you.

 

Mitch: You have pointed consistently and compassionately to a truth that can barely be heard and yet awakens our hearts to their truest joy.

 

Congregation:           For this we thank you.

 

Congregation:           We have given you our love and trust and have granted you the freedom of your mind and soul.

 

Rev. Maddie:  For this I thank you.

 

Congregation:           As you have spoken your truth to us, we have spoken our truth to you. As you have dreamed with us, we have dreamed with you.  As you have listened to us, we have listened to you.

 

Rev. Maddie: For this I thank you.

 

Congregation:           We have searched with you for that higher truth which can be neither named nor grasped, but which makes human life possible.

 

Rev. Maddie: For this I thank you.

 

Rev. Maddie: I know that my life has been and always will be richer for having served you these years.  For the gift of that service, I thank you.  A Zen Teacher once wrote: ”It is at the edge of transition that we find experience.”  This morning, we all stand on that edge.  It is a good place to be, for it is the place where life emerges.

 

All:      Thus may it be, yesterday, today, and forever.  Amen.

Mitch Stone: Please remain standing in body and in spirit.

MINISTER EMERITA INSTALLATION[2]

Board President, Mitch Stone: Would those of the current board of the Universalist Unitarian Church of Santa Paula please join me and Rev. Maddie at the front of the church.

 

Board Vice-President, Ken Stock: At this moment in our history and our church life together, we come to honor one who has served us in her ministry to this congregation and in her active participation in the ministry of our congregations’ and Unitarian Universalism’s well-being. After nearly ten years of devoted service to this congregation and her total of forty-four years of lay and professional religious service to our wider Unitarian Universalist ministry we come to celebrate and honor the years of her ministry here, and to acknowledge her years of love and service by installing The Rev. Maddie Sifantus as our Minister Emerita.

 

Board President, Mitch Stone: By this act of Installation, we create a new and lasting bond, in faith, love and trust, with Maddie, covenanting to live our common faith honorably in the various venues in which we journey, supporting one another as we are able and celebrating the milestones of our common life. While Maddie is free of any professional responsibilities and obligations, we understand that she may make herself available to our serving minister from time to time, as requested. The designation of Maddie as our Minister Emerita was done by a vote of this congregation at its Annual Meeting on January 28, 2024 , we now rejoice that we affirm our mutual admiration, appreciation and support, and with gratitude, join together in this official act of installation.

 

Congregation:

We, the members of Universalist Unitarian Church of Santa Paula, do hereby install you, the Rev. Maddie Sifantus, as minister emerita. We celebrate this covenant which honors you, even as you have honored so many with your presence and ministry. Grateful for your gifts we make this lasting bond in spirit, which will endure in respect, in faith and in love.

 

The Rev. Maddie Sifantus:

With gratitude and deep appreciation, I join you in this covenant honoring the ministry we have shared. I promise to support you in your chosen mission and professional and lay leaders, that you might flourish and thrive. I thank you for this honor, and for being the beloved community of my heart. We have been blessed.

 

CLOSING SONG      Draw the Circle Wide

Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still.

Let this be our song:

No one stands alone.

Standing side by side,

Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.

Words, Gordon Light; Music, Mark A. Miller

Soloists: Pascale and Maddie Sifantus

     Bass guitar: Eduardo Del Signore

     Percussion: Nigel and Sebastien Sifantus

 

 

 

 

EXTINGUISHING THE CHALICE                          Maddie Sifantus

We extinguish this flame,
But we keep its light in our hearts,
with its message of love and justice,
Taking it outside our walls to the world we live in,
until we are together again.

        Shared by Audrey Vincent

 

Apagamos esta llama,

Pero mantenemos su luz en nuestros corazones,

con su mensaje de amor y justicia,

Llevándolo fuera de nuestras paredes al mundo en el que vivimos,

hasta que estemos juntos de nuevo.

Shared by Constancia Leshin

 

BENEDICTION         Blessing the Boats                             Louise Clifton

may the tide

that is entering even now

the lip of our understanding

carry you out

beyond the face of fear

may you kiss

the wind then turn from it

certain that it will

love your back     may you

open your eyes to water

water waving forever

and may you in your innocence

sail through this to that

 

POSTLUDE       La Golondrina (The Swallow—Mexican Song of Farewell)

John Robles, harp

PORVIDA RITUAL                                                                  Roberto Vargas

 

 

[1] Adapted, drawing from several sources including Ken Collier

[2] Adapted, drawing from several sources including Anita Farber-Robertson