You Can Never Lose a Thing, If It Belongs to You – Abbey Lincoln

This is a liminal time at First Unitarian. The candidate for the minister who will follow me has been announced, but Alison is not here yet. At the same time, the finish line for my ministry grows closer so quickly but is still weeks away. It is a liminal time in the world as well as we stumble out of Covid-time into whatever the new normal will become.

Liminal time. Time “between,” when the certainties and confidence of the past on which we have relied no longer seem to apply but the needs and shape of the future have not yet been revealed.

The minister in me wants to urge you, to urge us all to see this liminal time for all the opportunities it presents. New possibilities will emerge, new perspectives will challenge assumptions and deepen reflection.

This can and should be an exciting time at First Unitarian.

But there is also the leaving and the loss. I am feeling both more deeply and more often as the goodbye’s increase. Such a mix of sadness and gratitude.

Many of you know that I have agreed to spend next year at All Souls Unitarian in Washington, DC, where I will be helping that congregation live into its own ministerial transition. That will at least postpone my own retirement. Maria and I are still not certain exactly what shape that will take.

Being away for Portland next year will make easier the discipline required of a “former” minister. I will need to have no contact with First Unitarian for two years, save at Alison’s request. The goal is to give her the very best opportunity to begin her ministry here without any interference, intended or unintended, from me. It is a good practice that I believe in, though I will miss you in ways I understand now and ways that will probably only become clear with time.

I am certain that this liminal time asks you and me to allow our imaginations to be open to what will be new for us.

But somehow that process of openness and imagination must also hold the love and the learning of our time together. That love does not end. You have heard me say that the church is house of both memory and hope. This liminal time is making that very real for me.

One night last week, I stayed up late watching “How It Feels To Be Free,” the episode of the PBS American Masters series that tells some of the stories of Black female identified artists in American film and entertainment. There were so few parts for them in films and often those parts were so limited. Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Oscar, for playing Mammy in Gone for the Wind.

Few of you will probably remember Abbey Lincoln. She had roles in several films and TV shows in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. She is best remembered and loved as an extraordinary jazz vocalist. In her song, “Throw It Away,” she sang: “You can never lose a thing, if it belongs to you.” I give fair warning that the tone is melancholy. She conveys the deep and real sadness in her voice, while the lyrics proclaim the on-going-ness of the love she urges that we just give away.

For those who would like to listen:

Blessings in this liminal time.

Bill