OUR FIRST FIFTEEN YEARS: LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD

Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation
May 26, 2009

Valerie Stewart - Joined 5/01/1994

Like many of our members, I didn't grow up UU. When my daughter was about 3 I knew I wanted to find a spiritual community for her to grow up in to have a set of core values to guide her in her life. And it had to be a faith I could share with her.

I'd attended events at the UU Church in San Francisco and took a few pamphlets off the wall and thought I could be comfortable with the beliefs I read about in them. So when we moved to Fremont I began to search for a UU church. I looked in the yellow pages, called the number I found there and came on the date the recording told me about. I didn't now that was the first public meeting to form a new congregation until I got there. I was looking for a faith community and found one. I just didn't know that I was going to be one of the initial founding members who would create a congregation. Many of the initial members were people like me who wanted a spiritual community for our children to grow up in. And while that was the inspiration for this congregation, we did not create this congregation with inspiration alone. We had help. Help from other UUs and other congregations: Starr King in Hayward, the District Office, the Palo Alto Congregation which gave us a huge financial grant to begin operations, the San Jose church gave us Doug and Pat Rodgers. We were created from whole cloth. We are part of the Unitarian Universalist Association of congregations because at this year's General Assembly, UUs will elect a new UUA President and MPUUC has three votes. It is important that we remember the value of being part of the larger UU world.

We made decisions as a congregation about what we would be and how we would be: from our name, to our faith statement (A spiritual community of caring hearts and open minds - which you can see on the front of the order of service), to our chalice lighting. These were all intentional, congregational decisions.

A word about our chalice lighting. If you've gone to other churches you will see there are many ways it is done. The words we say are from a UU children's RE curriculum. As a congregation we decided to use words which our children could learn, that state the values of our faith, and that we can all say together. And we voted to do so.

For years I served various roles in the Children's RE program, teaching at all levels, trying desperately to stay out of my daughter's way as she grew up in the congregation. She was dedicated in this congregation, went through Coming of Age, bridged, attended District Conferences and General Assembly. For four years Lynda Schwabe and I, with our daughters at our sides, led a congregational social justice project call the Children's Advocacy Forum, with the support of the UU Service Committee and its project called Promise the Children. My daughter Katherine is now in college and I trust the values she learned will steady her as she goes through her life.

I am amazed and inspired by our members who have moved from their lives in business and industry to seminary and into the ministry: our community Minister Barbara Meyers is still with us; Becky Gunn now serves the Bangor congregation on the East Coast. Our DREs who were seminarians and have gone on to ministry include Kate Walker and Sally White, and this at a time when we hadn't yet reached 100 members.

To those of you who have come more recently to MPUUC, this community of caring hearts and open minds, please know that the opportunity to build what you need is here.

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Graham Bell - Joined 2/09/1997

Some reminiscences:

• Rev. Ben Meyers creating a space for reverence that made reverence come alive in me.
• Gert True welcoming everyone with an open heart and open mind.
• A blessing ceremony for my new son Douglas when he was a baby.
• Bill Scarvie leading services that would always go over an hour.
• New couples arriving to join us after finding Mission Peak on the Internet, just like we did - like and Dave and Lucy Rich.
• Rev. Howard Dana leading a communion service, and the reaction that created.
• A healing service also lead by Rev. Dana after Ben Meyers left.
• My speaking for the canvass campaign to support pledge of funds to the Congregation. Here is the joke I told then...Once upon a time a one dollar bill and a twenty dollar bill had a conversation. The twenty dollar bill said, "Last week, I went to a concert, and this week I am going to a club, and next week I am going to a festival. How about you?" The one dollar bill replied, "Gee, the only place I go to week after week is church!!!"
• Small group ministry in which I have participated and am now leading a group. You really get to know people in closer way than just seeing them at coffee hour.
• The music at MPUUC...really beautiful.
• This congregation is always willing to take on something new.
• Finally, being able to share my own spiritual journey with all of you.

Thank you.

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Jackie Porter - Joined 12/31/2000

In the year 2000,John and I were both 70 years old, been married 48 years, had raised 4 children and suffered the loss of one of them. John had been retired for 6 years and was writing a book. I was a transpersonal psychotherapist with my office in PA when we found a new house we could afford to buy in Newark and moved across the bridge.

We knew absolutely no one in the East Bay and while it didn't matter a great deal to me , John was lonely over here and needed a community. We had not been in a church since leaving our Christian Church heritage in the early 70's but we knew that a church was a good place to find community. John found a Unitarian Universalist church he wanted to try, but the settled minister they had just hired would not come till September. We decided wait until he came. In October we visited a UU church for the first time, Mission Peak. I believe that John knew it was held in a children's center and he had probably told me but I still remember how strange it felt to be walking into a church thru the gate of a chain link fence. But I also still remember how warm and friendly the people were , and how when they lit a chalice, the children's center became sacred space for me. Rev. Chris Schriner's sermon was interesting. That was the beginning. We went thru the usual steps, Get Acquainted Party and an Inquirers Class. we learned the Principles which UUs live by instead of a creed or dogma. This was very appealing and on Dec. 31 of 2000 we officially joined Mission Peak.

I have always been a spiritual seeker and for me Mission Peak became a place where I could explore my deep beliefs with others and perhaps more importantly, in my elder years, it has offered me opportunities to share the insights of my life journey. As a Worship Associate I was able to share my knowledge and passion in sermons, topics ranging from the Divine Feminine and the Black Madonna to becoming conscious and growing old. A highlight for me was sharing my passion for the labyrinth and my new church family walked the sacred paths which John and I created on the floor of Kidango. And on the other hand, I felt like I risked my comfortableness in Mission Peak when I preached my sermon of Putting on the Mind of Christ. I need not have worried so much, I felt heard.

John and I witnessed the beginning and the end of Rev. Schriner's ministry and it was hard to say goodbye. We helped the doors of Kidango close and the doors of Cole Hall open. Transition is always difficult but this community knows that what we have is not a place and is not dependent on a leader. It is truly a soul collective, a community of hearts and minds. John too, in his senior years has had a place to contribute his skills, being president of the Board during these transition times. I'm so happy we found Mission Peak, my heart is full of gratitude.

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Jack Mulcahy - Joined 11/12/2006

Over the course of my life I have met some people, who I respected, who were Unitarians. My eighth grade teacher was a member of the Redwood City church. Maggie's grandparents were very active members in the San Francisco church. So, over the years I had a slight curiosity about Unitarian Universalism.

Occasionally, I had been accused of being a Unitarian.

We had a good friend, who was a Presbyterian minister, with whom I would discuss religion and he said that I should be a Unitarian. And later on, I had another friend, who was an Episcopalian priest, who said that I sounded like a Unitarian. This may have been in reply to the fact that I called him a Catholic with no rules!

Before coming to Mission Peak, I followed the church on the website for a long period of time. Probably a year or more. I wanted to find out more about Unitarian Universalism, but my skeptical cynicism of any organized religion held me back. And while I was viewing Mission Peak on the website, I was also viewing Palo Alto and Hayward. Now, Palo Alto and Hayward had good looking traditional buildings for churches and seemed more stable. Palo Alto, in fact, seemed to have enough programs that could keep one occupied 50 hours a day if that were possible. So... Maggie and I decided that we would visit and try out the three churches. We started with Mission Peak because it was the closest.

When Maggie and I pulled up to Mission Peak that first Sunday morning we were reluctant. When you drive up to a traditional looking church, you have a good idea of what you might find inside. When we drove up to Mission Peak, we saw a child care center with a cyclone fence, a sandwich board paper sign, and a banner on the fence.

We pulled into the parking lot. We sat there for a minute in our 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport XLS with a 3.0 engine, looked at all the Priuses, and thought "uh oh!"

We went in anyway. The minister was away on sabbatical and there was a lay person delivering the sermon. The sermon was excellent. But what attracted us the most, were the people of the congregation. Unpretentious, intelligent and genuinely caring. Mark Rahman read the children's story. A Doctor Seuss book. He did it so well. He had obviously practiced a long time. This was not just a chore to do on a Sunday morning. He wanted those kids to experience that story. We all experienced that story. The joys and concerns were real. They were real joys; real concerns and the caring from the congregation seemed absolutely genuine. After the service we met John and Jackie, Pat and Annette. We kept coming back and we decided to join the congregation in November.

In the interest of time I'm going to be brief about this next part, but I have to include it in my remarks. Right after joining the congregation, Mission Peak lost its lease at Kidango, the child care facility. Somehow I got on the search committee to find a new location. That was a worrisome and concerning time. For months the committee searched for a new location to lease and we ran up against many obstacles. But the congregation kept going! Even though there was a great deal of anxiety about where we would land our congregation, the situation did not overwhelm or paralyze. It could have, but it didn't. And when it came time to make the physical move, people came forward like I have never seen!

I have other stories that I would love to share but I'm going to wrap up by saying that Maggie and I joined Mission Peak because of the people. We were seeking an intellectual exploration of religious ideas but we found so much more. The people. The members of the congregation. We never did make it to Palo Alto or Hayward. There was no need.

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Drew Wilson - Mission Peak Dreaming

I was motivated to return to UU back in my 30's from a desire to be part of a socially conscious community that embraced religious diversity. When I moved to Fremont, that was still my main focus, but the further desire to have such a community nearby got me involved early on with MPUUC. While I still highly value community, my view of the role of UU and Mission peak in society has expanded considerably since then.

I believe most people, and all of us at Mission Peak, long for a more loving, just world, though we may disagree on the details of how to achieve that. I have come to believe that one of the best ways to achieve this is to model such a world as much as we can right here. We can then seek to teach the rest of the world with the certainty and moral suasion that comes from being a living example of what we are advocating.

Living our UU principals goes a long way to create the society we dream of. Yet, as obvious as that may seem, actually following them on a day to day basis is quite difficult. One very important part is working through our differences while retaining respect and love for each other and still finding mutually beneficial solutions. This process of resolving our conflicts through real consensus, with all issues respectfully communicated and considered, is actually very hard, but is vital to achieving the kind of loving, just community we long for. And Mission Peak has come a long way in just a very few years on the path to such a community. I have attended enough other UU churches to know that we are already well above average. But we still have a long journey ahead.

So, my dream for MPUUC is that it becomes a model of loving community, that will, through example and action, serve as a beacon and guide to the future of society. There is an awful lot to be done along the way, of course. We will need to continue growing organizationally, spiritually and physically to get there. Many elements, such as community building, community service, a campus of our own, self and community education and continuous practice are part of this, and it will take a lot of hard work over many years. But I believe that with the energy and enthusiasm we have, and the progress we have made so far, we are well positioned to achieve this, and a Faith that we will do so.

I envision a day when other UU churches look to us as an example of what a church should be. And when the community at large looks to UU as an example of what society should be. Yes, these are pretty big dreams. But ones that I think all of you share deep down inside, and well worth pursuing. The path will be long, probably taking generations, but I do think it is possible. And for the world's sake, let's hope we get there as fast as we can!

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Joy Atkinson - Mission Peak's Interim Minister 2008-2010

Now I will take a very quick look into the crystal ball, glimpsing your next 15 years. I foresee a congregation that is growing in numbers, in activities and programs, and in financial resources, one that will have all the challenge and excitement of a home of your own, one that is a known and respected center when all people are welcomed, one that serves people in need and is a voice for religious liberalism in the community at large. Oh! And I can make out people milling around - it's a party, and it's not very far off. Yes! it is May of 2009, 15 years from your charter Sunday, and you are celebrating, and there's the banner, and a big cake. And they both say "Happy 15th birthday, Mission Peak UU."

Well, here we are, and it's May of 2009, and that last prediction has come true. OK, there's no banner, but there is a big cake, so let's party. HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY, MISSION PEAK CONGREGATION!

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