5020 Harvest Hope Worship Service: Reclaiming Our Heritage?

Presenters: The Rev. Maria Pap and the Rev. Dr. David Keyes

The Rev. Maria Pap has just been elected dean of the Haromzmek District of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, the highest post ever held by a woman in that Church. The Rev. Dr. David Keyes is interim senior minister of Neighborhood Church in Pasadena, California, and is on the board of Project Harvest Hope which is a volunteer organization promoting sustainable agriculture in the Homorod Valley of Transylvania.

In this worship service, the Rev. Maria Pap and the Rev. David Keyes blended the American UU tradition with the Transylvanian Unitarian tradition, reading from Mary Oliver and the Gospel of Mark to introduce the dual themes of the sermon “What do you want me to do?” and “I want to see.”

In her sermon, Pap intertwined these themes. She talked of the similarities and differences between American UUs and Transylvanian Unitarians, hinting at complex human and societal needs that extend far beyond simple material needs. “You ask: ‘What do you want me to do for you?' This is the question I have heard from you, the voice of concern, of love, of anxiety.” In response, she told us: “We want to see a picture of hope. We want to see ourselves in the interdependent web. You are blessed and cursed to bring this miracle of new beginning forward, to make sense of these connections, to bring hope; and this hope is the most precious gift. This world is one world, our common heritage; so go and take with you the light of your understanding and love and take it with you so others can see. You ask: what do you want me to do? I cannot answer because it is buried in you and you know the answer.”

In describing Project Harvest Hope Keyes invoked an image of the blessing of the animals, a service often performed at UU churches. Why do UUs bless the animals? To delight the children, perhaps, and to delight the adults watching the children. But think now to a place where the animals are livelihood, where the milk from a cow provides sustenance to a family, and the excess milk provides much needed cash for medicine and education. Project Harvest Hope tries to provide some of the hope that the Rev. Pap sees as our most precious gift.

Reported by Mike McNaughton; edited by Jone Johnson Lewis

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