So then, now what?
The Reverend Dr. Jim Nelson
September 12, 2004

When I finished work on my doctorate in religion at the University of Iowa, I treated myself to a rock-climbing class taught by the Iowa Mountaineers. It was held at Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo Wisconsin.

This is interesting for a couple of reasons. Baraboo is home to the Circus World Museum and has the biggest collection in the world of circus stuff - wagons, costumes - all kinds of things - the clown cars and so on. It made for a perfect follow-up to graduate school. Another reason is that you might not think that Iowa would have a mountaineering club. The club's motto was "We go far to get high.'

We climbed on limestone bluffs above the lake, and our final exam was about a hundred foot long climb on a nose - almost perfectly vertical with a couple of short overhanging sections. It was very exposed. That means that no matter where you looked, you saw lots of space - to the sides, up and down was mostly nothing.

And I was scared, even though I knew I was safe. We were roped up well, the rope secured at the top so that if we did fall we would fall a couple of feet and then however far the rope would stretch - maybe another foot at most. I fell twice. And in those moments when my feet and hands came off the rock and my body told my brain I was headed straight down, I - well, I don't know what I felt or thought other than pure fear.

Back on the rock, I both wondered why in the world I was doing this and at the same time thrilled that I was. You see, I am relatively afraid of heights - but I persisted in climbing and really enjoyed those years I climbed. Thrills and fears - they go together, don't they? We learn something about ourselves when we take a risk and when we try something new. A sense of adventure - it makes life alive, doesn't it.

Let's make this an adventure - here. A new church year, new ministry, new programs, an adventure - it is like this faith of ours - always new. After all, we UUs believe that faith is dynamic, not static [kids -f if you don't know what that means, that our faith is dynamic instead of static, ask your folks - they understand and can explain]. We are on a journey of discovery here - new ways of believing, new ways of being together, new ways of bringing about justice and peace and compassion.

And if this is your first time here, or like me, one of the first times [in a way this is my first time - no vote after this service anyway - man, is that a good feeling!] or if you are a long time member, in a real way we are all new comers here. Long time member, visitor, new minister - we are all newcomers here. That stupid saying - today is the first day of the rest of your life - well, there is a deep truth in that.

So welcome everyone - to all of us newcomers.

Yet, even though new, we come with things - we all bring something here - our histories, our likes and dislikes, our baggage, our idiosyncrasies [another questions to ask your folks - what is an idiosyncrasy and what one of theirs is] .

We bring things - and I have been doing a lot of unpacking recently of the things I have brought with me. Here are a few:

Unpack box.

A few last words - I grew up in Minneapolis and one of the big events of every year was when the lakes got warm enough to swim in. Winter could drag out and sometimes spring went on a bit, too - the old joke was that in Minnesota, if summer comes and it comes on a Saturday, Minnesotans celebrate it.

But, when the water was warm enough, we would go down to the lake, Lake Hiawatha or Lake Nokomis in my case, and go swimming. Perhaps you did something similar when you were young - go to the local swimming hole, or swimming pool, for that first swim. But the image in my mind is a lake and a dock off of which we could jump into the water.

The first time was always the hardest. Remember how you would edge up to the end of the dock, maybe dip your toe into the water, and then perhaps stand there for a while, arms around your chest, working up the courage to jump in? That moment between fear and courage, or between timidity and boldness, is a common one for us.

And then remember how, as the day or the summer progressed, you would just go and jump.

It was like getting up on that rock with a rope. It is like standing up here in front of you, frightened and thrilled. It is like these children we dedicated, just starting on their adventure; it is like these parents - talk about a wild ride. We have to jump in - just jump in.

Newcomers all - with our history, our traditions, our hopes, our fears - it is time to jump. No more waiting, no more hesitating - time to jump.

Let's go.