Stories from Edith Good: Why I Like This Church
Stewardship Stories: March 13, 2011.
Janet Newman asked what I liked about this church. A huge part of liking this church is because it’s Unitarian and Universalist. I take a lot of liberties with those denominations. But I’m no theologian, and the Unitarians say I can be anything pretty much, as long as they approve. When I feel they don’t approve, I turn on the Universalist part of the bifurcation. For example, Unitarians say Jesus is not the son of God. I switch to Universalism and say to myself, of course he’s the son of God because he said himself we’re all children of God. David Takahashi Morris says my interpretation is not exact, but I haven’t heard what the exact interpretation is, so until further notice, I’ll stay with mine.
My ex-husband died in December. He was definitely Unitarian. I have been put in charge of his estate. There are complications. When Janet asked what I liked about this church, here’s what came to mind.
Many thanks are due to people in this church. This church is as different today from what it was in November 1966, when Dick brought me here, as chalk is from cheese. He dropped out for a while during which time the center shifted, in my view, slightly more toward Universalism and away from Unitarianism, and Dick was Unitarian. Back in approximately 2007, Rev. David Takahashi Morris, then co-minister, was a person Dick felt comfortable with, and I am grateful for that. Bill Spurgin and the Geezers were another refuge he often mentioned and enjoyed, if infrequently. Rev. Toy Perrino befriended Dick when he was depressed many months before his death, and Dick spoke of him warmly. Then there is Rev. Alex McGee, who turned out to be a UVA and Hospice chaplain as well as church ministry transition associate. She came on December 26th to be with me at the house, with the Rescue Squad and the police and the funeral, home to guide me and to see that all the good things that chaplains do were done–bless her! I am grateful to Lynn Heath, who found Dick’s stepdaughter, so we could make a date for her to come from Texas and take her mother’s things. Lynn also spent a long time, and coordinated by phone with Marlene Jones, to see what if anything Dick had on his brand new computer that would be needed, such as a list of people to invite for the memorial service. And more recently she responded to a request to search fro a person needed to make the will whole–and found that person! Thank you, Carole Black, church administrator, for producing the order of service. Thanks to the UUpities, the Church’s women’s group who prepared the reception, always delicious food and drink. I was so happy when Scott DeVeaux said he would be available as a pianist–his playing is always a great treat, and he knew Marsha, Dick’s second wife, and actually accompanied her, a jazz singer. Many thanks to Rev. Dr. Janet Newman, interim minister, for making a lot of time available to assist with the obituary, providing readings, answering many questions, and spending a lot of time pinning photos to boards and hanging paintings–just as PACEM is ending! There were two works by Dick, a portrait of Dick as a child by his father, a photo of Dick’s father posing beside a huge mural he’d been commissioned to paint, and in his studio in New Hampshire.
What I like about TJMCUU is the extraordinary skills some people have and how willing they are to use them to help people who need thier help. What I like about the Unitarian Universalist religion is that it allows one to be oneself.