Thanking Our Teachers

A service titled ‘Thanking Our Teachers’, led by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall with contributions from congregation members, readings from Lochlann Binney and Jeannene Powell, and music from Abby Lorimier, Georgia Dawson, and Georgia Morgan Turner.

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SPEAKER_08 2:28

We seekers are on a quest.

SPEAKER_06 2:31

A quest to discover truth and meaning. Sometimes we might think we've found it, all wrapped up, glittering with newness straight off the intellectual assembly line. All the answers right here for us and all the others, if only if they'd listen. But truth has a way of coming in disguise. Sometimes wearing rags and sometimes finery. Often cloaked from our immediate sight. And sometimes that which we have rejected, that which we have let go of, or decided it was only for others but not for us. Sometimes that can be our teacher. So let our time of worship be an acknowledgement of the never ending journey towards truth and meaning, and our appreciation from all those we learn from along the way. For anyone who doesn't know me, my name's Jane Blackell and I'm minister with Kensington Unitarians. Do what you need to do to be comfortable this hour. It's lovely and helpful for me to see at least a few faces in the gallery and get a sense of our togetherness as a congregation. It's nice to see a few friendly faces. But I know for some of you it'll be more comfortable to keep your camera mostly off for the coming hour, and that's fine too. Similarly, there'll be a couple of opportunities to speak up and join in as we go along, but there's no compulsion to do so. It's an invitation, not an obligation. Our service this morning is titled Thanking Our Teachers. As we approach the start of a new school year, it's a moment to lift up our teachers and give thanks for all that they have done for us. And I'm not just thinking about school teachers, though that's the jumping off point. It's true that they are highly influential often. We spend so much time with them in our formative years. But today I want us to think more broadly about all those teachers, including spiritual teachers who we've encountered along the way in life. Who are those people who have introduced us to new ideas, new ways of seeing? People who might even have changed the course of our lives, those who have encouraged us to flourish and be our best selves. There'll be an invitation for us to share a few words of appreciation for our beloved teachers later on. But before we go any further, let's do what we always do light a chalice. It's a simple ritual to connect us with Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists the world over, and to remind us of the proudly progressive religious tradition of which this gathering is part. The light of life shines through the eyes of each and every person. The light of truth shines through each life. May the light of this chalice remind us that our search for truth and light is ongoing and it's enhanced by each and every person we meet. So may we honour the light in each other. Time to sing now. Our first hymn today is Song of Thanksgiving. This is a recording of our congregation from earlier in the year, so you may be singing along with your past self. Excuse any rustling you excuse any rustling or coughing you might hear for that reason. It's not a professional recording, but we did our best. The words will be up on screen so you can sing along as usual, or you might prefer to just listen, and we will make sure you're all safely muted. Song of Thanksgiving. Present to ourselves and to each other, and to that which lies within us and beyond us. Spirit of life, God of all love, in whom we live and move and have our being. Be with us now as we allow ourselves to drop into the silence and the stillness at the very centre of our being. Source of all that is good and true and beautiful. Day by day we are renewed by your blessings as we seek your presence. Help us to allow your spirit to flow freely through us with loving awareness of the present moment and hope for all our futures. Guide us that we may renew ourselves daily, opening to new beauty, uncovering greater courage, and seeking deeper truth. Let our shrine be a compassionate heart and our temple a wakeful mind. Grant us the wisdom to see beyond the limits that we set in our lives, and to know that in God there is no boundary. May we realize the freedom to be ourselves, the compassion, to be true companions to our friends, and the desire to live as the passionate hearts of God right here on earth. The embodiment of love in this interconnected web of all that is. What is going on beneath the surface of our lives? Let us notice what it is we're carrying. What's troubling us? What's bubbling us? Even if you are the only one to hear what is the unity. As this time of prayer draws to a close, we offer up our joys and our concerns, our hopes and our fears, our beauty and our brokenness. And we call on you for insight, healing, and renewal. As we look forward now to the coming week. Help us to live well each day and be our best selves using our unique gifts in the service of love, justice, and peace.

SPEAKER_07 15:12

Amen.

SPEAKER_06 15:18

Time to sing again now. Our next hymn is Each Seeking Faith is Seeking Light. I don't think we've sung this one very often, and this is a recording from the Unitarian Music Society, so it has a prof uh impressive organ accompaniment. Um the words are lovely, so let's give it a go. Each Seeking Faith is seeking light.

SPEAKER_01 18:17

This piece by Mark Nipo is a reflection on the concept of Upaguru, a concept present in some Indian religious traditions, meaning approximately, the teacher that is next to you at any moment. From the rotting tree felled by lightning to the water re-smoothing after the whale dives down, everything is of equal sanctity and grace. From the darkness we can't see through, to the tenderness of a grandfather afraid to speak. Everything and everyone is a teacher. Each flower, each bird, each suffering, great and small, each eroded stone and crack in that stone, each question rising from each crack, every aspect of life holds some insight that can help us live. We can learn and deepen from anything, anywhere. Yet one of the paradoxes of being human is that no one can see or comprehend all of it. Thus, each of us must discover the teachers that speak to us, the ones we can hear. This seems to be our job as initiative being, to pursue our curiosity and passion and suffering in an effort to uncover our teachers. Just as different insects are drawn to certain flowers, though pollen is everywhere, different souls are drawn to certain aspects of the living universe, though God is in everything. While the geography of stars pulsing in the night may help you discover the peace waiting in your soul, digging in the earth may help your sister know where she belongs. And yet, listening to elders speak of their life as they near death unlocks the things I need to learn. Each is equally a teacher, one no truer than the other. It's as if everything has to carry what is holy, because each of us has only one set of ears and one set of feet to stumble on our way. The moments that hold mystery, whether dressed in pain or wonder, wait to be treated with respect and sincerity, as if a message was carved in stone for you before you were born, and a storm has washed it ashore just in time, and you need all the help you can get to decipher its meaning. And we will be found by our teachers repeatedly until we can uncover their meaning. It makes a difference when we can look at experience as such a vastness, and the moments that open our lives become powerful stories in our own personal mythology, the retelling of which renews our vitality. For me, such moments include God emanating solitude through the waves of the sea, and grandma staring into eternity at ninety-four when she thought no one was looking, and when I woke after surgery to the miracle of freshly squeezed juice. So who and what have been your teachers? What stories carry the teachings? And what in our history do they form? Who can you share this with? If no one finds someone. It's one of the few things that matter. And where is your next teacher? In a loss about to happen that you won't be able to make sense of? Or in the stone in your shoe next month that has the imprint of a bird's wing. It is all very humbling. For plan as we will, study as we may, search as we can, it is all a guess, a wild attempt to land ourselves in the open or in the dark until our teachers appear.

SPEAKER_07 22:00

Thanks Laughlin.

SPEAKER_06 22:02

So we're moving into a time of meditation now, and to take us into shared stillness, I'm going to share a short quote about spiritual teachers from Wayne Dosick. After that I'll offer a few short prompts for reflection. I'll invite you to recall your own significant teachers and give thanks for them. And we'll have space to share our reflections and memories later in the service. We'll have a few minutes of shared stillness during which we'll have a virtual chalice on screen, which I've got out of the digital vaults because it hasn't been used since 2022. And the silence will end with some more beautiful music from Abby and Georgia and Georgia. So let's each do what we need to do to get comfortable, have a wiggle if you need to, perhaps get your feet flat on the floor if that helps you to ground and steady yourself. Maybe close your eyes and the words and the music, they're just an offering. Feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way. Wayne Dosic said Teachers, sages, masters, gurus, rabbis, they are angelic beings who open our hearts and open our eyes. They are the spiritual guides in human form who bring God's word into this world. They are the earth beings who inspire us to seek and climb the heights of our human potential. Our greatest teachers are human beings who both think and feel, who combine the world of the mind with the world of the heart and spirit. The Talmud instructs, get yourself a teacher. So as we move into shared stillness now, I invite you to contemplate your own teachers. Who are those wise beings you've encountered along the way in life? The ones who've helped you to flourish and become more of your best self. The ones who shared their insights with you, who gave you a nudge. You might think back to teachers from childhood or adolescence. You might think of teachers who just showed up at key turning points in your development. And we keep on learning our whole life long. Who are your significant teachers at this stage in your life? Let's take time to give thanks for our teachers now as we move into shared stillness.

SPEAKER_04 31:39

Whether they are called sages, masters, elders, crones, rabbis, gurus, sheikhs, ministers or priests. Teachers play an important part in our spiritual unfolding. They instruct me directly and indirectly through stories, parables, poems, sermons, lectures, and personal examples. They recommend readings and sacred texts, assign exercises and tasks to be accomplished, demonstrate devotional acts and challenge us to reach the sacred fullness of our potential. Of course, eventually in the spiritual life, there comes a point when we realise that everything we encounter and everyone we meet is a teacher. We can even learn from seemingly negative experiences, such as difficulties, enemies, suffering, illness, and death. The first step in this practice then is to be all of life as a classroom filled with spiritual letters. Be a lifelong learner who walks in humility and reperactivity. We hate to admit it, but we keep making the same mistake over and over again. That is why the practice of engaging with these teachers is so important and so important. These recurrent issues mean we have that we still have something to learn. A major obstacle to this practice then is pride. Thinking you already know it all, that you and perhaps you alone have it all figured out. The shadow side of engaging with teachers emerges if you surrender your soul to a charismatic leader or a cult and give up the personal responsibility for your spiritual growth. A total symptom of this dependency is doubting your own judgment and needing the constant affirmation of others. A far better approach is to rejoice in the abundance of teachers, to seek their wisdom everywhere, and to have confidence that this wisdom and insight is available and accessible to you.

SPEAKER_06 34:40

Thanks, Jenny. So we've come to a time in the service where there'll be time for a few people, if you'd like, to share your own brief reflections on today's theme of thanking our teachers. I wonder who's come to mind for you during the service this morning. Maybe you thought all the way back to your school days and remembered teachers who had encouraged or inspired you, maybe saw something in you that nobody else did and helped to nurture and draw out that potential. Or maybe you called to mind some influential spiritual guides who have helped you to see the world differently. We'll have about ten minutes to share our reflections, maybe a bit longer, see how we go. And when this happens, I'll invite you to share from your centre to the centre of the gathering. Think of it as an offering, not a discussion. It's not a time to comment on what other people have shared. Don't worry about following on from what the last person said or trying to make it all join up logically. If you do want to speak, please put your camera on. Maybe put your hand up and I'll spotlight you so that everyone can see you properly. I want you to be able to share whatever you feel moved to share, and I'm also mindful of time, so maybe a couple of minutes each at most. And by default, we will leave this bit in the recording that goes online. So if you want to join in but you don't want to be on the video, just have a word with me or drop me an email straight after the service, and I'll make sure you edit it out. So I thought about a couple of shout-outs of my own to get us started. Um firstly I thought about my teacher and now friend Michael, Mr. Karifsky, as he was known many years ago, my science teacher for my GCSEs, and then he taught me physics at A level two, and that led me to pursue science at least for a while because of him. He was a great teacher, um, inspiring and inventive. He came up with brilliant and creative lessons and funny workship sheets about chip shops, which kept us engaged and gave us a laugh. But the influence he had on me goes way beyond the official curriculum he taught us at school. Um it's more about his personal example, his character, who he was and who he still is as a human being. Just such a good and kind man, and he's still encouraging me about 38 years after I first walked into his classroom. So I'm going to start by saying thank you, Michael. And as has previously been referred to, um I've just come back from Hutclo Summer School and I couldn't uh let that pass without comment. Many of you will know this is our annual Unitarian religious education event which takes place in Great Hutclo in the Peak District. I've been involved in organising summer school for 20 years now, and I was a punter for five years before that. I've encouraged encountered so many uh wonderful teachers at summer school down the years. And when I first used to go, I was in awe of a handful of people, some of them ministers, not all, mostly people who are all a great deal older than me, um, and who seemed so much wiser than I could ever hope to be. Over the years, some of them became very close friends, including Simon John Barlow, who actually wrote the prayer that we used earlier on, uh, Jeff Jones, my dear friend, who many of you knew, and our own Sarah Tinker, of course, and there are many others I could possibly name. I feel I've learned so much from being in relationship with all these wonderful people, these teachers or mentors we might say, they've shaped my life, they've definitely shaped my life. And even though I'm leading summer school nowadays and supposedly one of the teachers myself, I still learn so much from being part of summer school. I encounter and work with so many different people who have all got unique gifts and insights to share. And I've once again I've come home and inspired and more alive because of the connections that have forged with the people who are my teachers there. So I want to say thank you, Simon John, thank you, Jeff, thank you, Sarah. And this year, thank you, Raj. So those are the teachers I want to name this morning, but how about you? Teachers from school or college, spiritual teachers, elders guides, who do you want to name and give thanks for perhaps teachers you've encountered through books or art? We won't necessarily have time for everyone, but we'll see how we go. Um I'm gonna go into gallery mode, and if you want to speak, put your hand up and I will call on you. Thank you, Marion.

SPEAKER_00 38:46

I often tell the story of my mass teacher who played a profound role in my future when I was seventeen years old. He was a young teacher, tall and shy. Like other pupils, I knew nothing of his life simply because we were not interested, so full of our own egos were we, as one does at 17. Algebra and geometry were a mystery way beyond my brain's capabilities. I had been struggling all year long, and my exam results had suffered. In those days in Belgium, you did not sit national exams, and you had to take extra exams called maturity exams to confirm that you mastered certain subjects in order to be allowed to go to university. The hour of reckoning came on a late June morning for 20 pupils in their last year. On the blackboard, looming large and ominous, the following words had appeared. The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides of the triangle. Demonstrate. Oh no, the curse of Pythagoras. I tried to compose myself bravely, spelt the title correctly, underlined it with my ruler, through a triangle, and then my brain disappeared into impenetrable fog. Yes, I didn't have the foggiest idea. After what seemed an eternity, students started to put their pens down and leave. So here I am alone in the classroom with my teacher towering over the platform in front of a blackboard. He can see my blank page and my distress and addresses me by my name. Marianne, this is not difficult. All you need to do is and proceeds to demonstrate the whole tortuous affair on the blackboard. He speaks slowly without turning around, and I write down every single shaky word until the page is full. He then turns around, collects my paper, and wishes me good luck. Now you might say this raises questions of ethics, but my teacher knew that I had no hope in hell of reaching the so-called required maturity in mass by resitting an exam which would have poisoned my whole summer. He also knew that I excelled in other subjects and that I probably would never again need to cross paths with Pythagoras and his hypotenuse. This man was present at my time of need, and his gift had a profound influence on my life without me realizing it until much older. Many years later I tried to contact him but heard that he had died young. By the way, his name was Monsieur Lamy, as in Lamy, the friend. I like to think of him as a friend, a traveling companion, and imagine his hand reaching for mine when the going gets tough. Through my telling this story, I honour his memory, and I lend him my voice so that he can continue passing his message of kindness and compassion.

SPEAKER_07 42:07

Thanks, Marianne.

SPEAKER_06 42:12

Who would like to speak next?

SPEAKER_05 42:19

So I have two teachers I want to share briefly. Um one of them is Nama Rod Owens, who is a queer Black Buddhist teacher based in Turtle Island. And yeah, I I one of the things that I'm really thankful for from him is um his seven homecomings um meditation, which helps to remind me about the resourcing and the support that I have, um, and I really recommend it. And the other teacher that I want to uh speak about is my body, and um how I really appreciate that um like all the challenges that I've had have led me to learn how to slow down, even when there's loads of stuff to do and all needs to get done. Um yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_06 43:17

Thanks, Lady. Let's see, I can come to John now, I think.

SPEAKER_03 43:25

Uh thanks. Uh yes, no, I'd just like to um honor another uh uh also a Buddhist uh monk, Ajahn Nanarato. Um some quite a long time ago, soon after Pat and I got together, Pat also one of my teachers, took me to a meditation retreat. Uh and I was sitting there, it was silent several days, a few days in, my head was just so busy thinking, why am I doing this? Why am I sitting? Why am I, you know, what am I doing here? And I was remember Ad the Ajahn he just put his hand up, forty of us in the room and he put his hand up. I thought of course he was talking to me, uh, you know, but just self-obsessed. Uh he put his hand up and he just said these words stop come back to this present moment. Nothing is missing. So yeah thank you Adon Nazarato man see if I can come to Liz now.

SPEAKER_10 44:42

Yeah. Um I just wanted to thank one of my managers Ros because she taught me something that seems pretty basic that I've not been brought up things like that which was it's okay to make mistakes because in my family I felt every time I made a mistake you should get it right the first time and that's why I was brought up and um it was it was taught me through example and through her management style that it was okay to mistakes it was okay to own up to mistakes and um it seems a really basic thing but it was a real light bulb moment for me that you actually learn from making mistakes.

SPEAKER_01 45:32

I wanted to shout out uh two people one a teacher in real life who was my high school English teacher who uh taught me for four years I think including the last year was advanced higher English where there were two of us in the class um uh it was a requirement for me for for uni and she worked us so hard and I just remember sitting in that classroom staring past my friend Andrew who was the other person in the class and trying desperately not to catch her eye um but she taught me everything I know about critical thinking um she was incredible and I'm really really grateful for her um and a more recent teacher I have uh met on the page is Lou Sullivan who was a trans man in California in the he died in 89 I think 91 um of AIDS and I read his memoirs recently and they were incredible and they really taught me that just living is a teaching just writing down your experience can be a teaching um and that was something I really needed to hear so I'm grateful for him as well.

SPEAKER_06 47:05

There we go I could tell that Mikhail had something to say Yeah this theme of teachers is so close to my heart so dear to me so much about relationships making life I want to talk about one very specific Sufi teacher husband in Ayaka whom another Sufi friend referred me to Sufi psychotherapy and one transformative practice that he told me go for what and say to everything to me nothing human is alien to me and I must say a complete opening and shedding because if I try to put myself everything everything because I wanted to mention you and she said right to play right to play laughing anyone else who wants to share before we bring it to a close in that case I'm just gonna close this sharing with a few brief words from Amy Zuckerberg and Stan In every person we meet we find an opportunity for us to grow to learn to go further along the path of transformation that is our purpose in this life every single one is our teacher so may the next week bring you many such moments of meeting that help you become the person you want to be and may you welcome them with joy. Amen for one last hymn then it's a well known tune for the splendor of creation just time for a few announcements then thanks to Janine for co-hosting and for doing a reading thanks to Lochland for reading too thanks to Abby Georgia and Georgia for our music and everyone who contributed to the sharing we will have virtual coffee hour after the service so you can stay and chat if you'd like or get in touch via email if you want to say hello. We'll be back to hybrid Sundays from next week when we've got a special guest preacher Reverend Dr Rory Castle Jones from Gethley On Unitarians in Wales and he'll be speaking about community and hopefully telling us a little bit about the project that our congregation helps to support and I'll be back in person too even though Rory's leading so there will be cake. We've got various small group activities going on during the week for you to meet up tonight we've got the Better World Book Club online when we'll be talking about upstream by Dan Heath let me know if you're expecting to come to that and you haven't already had the link. On Wednesday at 7 in person we've got the poetry group with Brian let him know if you want to come along and tell him what poem he wants to share so he can print a copy. Heart and Soul our contemplative spiritual gathering will be back online on Friday when we'll pick up the theme that we started a few Sundays ago of growing up and in fact if you've never been to Heart and Soul before today's service was based on all the readings from a previous Heart and Soul so if you like this maybe give that a go. As we move into September we've got a few special events to get in your diary. On the 13th of September we'll have our gathering the water service which is a kind of welcome back after people's gallivanting over the summer. So if you're travelling anywhere try and bring some water back with you for that. We've got our labyrinth mini retreat to mark the equinox on the 23rd of September where is the year going that's going to be on a weekday afternoon this time because the building is so busy it's the only time we could find to fit it in let me know if you can come along to that. And we've got a harvest festival service followed by a lunch on the 27th of September. If you've got uh homegrown produce that's still going or just a favourite fruit or veg to bring and share for the display that'll be marvellous and you can let Julia Orden know what you're planning to bring for the lunch. We've very much got a life beyond Sunday morning so do keep in touch look out for each other and nurture supportive connections so just time for closing words and closing music now maybe let's select gallery view at this point so we can all see each other and get a sense of our gathered community Joyce Rupp said when I was a babe in my spiritual growth I followed closely the wise ones, the mentors the visionaries Now that I have grown I still need mentors, wise ones and visionaries only now we swim side by side now I trust my own path as well as the path of others. So in the days and weeks to come may we remain humble and receptive to the teachers we will meet and the teachers we may be along the way. Amen