I've been getting to know Rev. Thayer over the past few years. He's a wonderful, scrappy, semi-retired minister with a long history of working for justice. He's informal, earthy, friendly, entertaining; enjoys telling stories of his sailing adventures. He loves Unitarian Universalism and wants to see our congregations thrive. He is skilled at raising funds in our congregations, and he's learned a few good fundraising techniques.

Singing Martin Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" is not one of them. At least it's not one he recommended to me. But he mentions it in his short meditation, "All That I Have Is Yours,"¹ which we heard a few moments ago. And there it is right in the middle of our hymnal, #200, straight from the pen of the great Protestant reformer. I couldn't resist singing it. At first I was perplexed by the presence of this hymn in our hymnal. It doesn't express a recognizable Unitarian Universalist theology. Its references to God "on our side" are particularly disconcerting in this era when such notions are so often abused in politics and society. (Liberals usually re-write lyrics to suit the times in which we live. In fact you can turn to #303 in our hymnal, "We Are the Earth Upright and Proud," which features earth-centered lyrics by the 20^th century Universalist minister, Ken Patton, set to the music of Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.")

So what is this very close rendition of the old Lutheran theology doing right in the middle of our modern, liberal, Unitarian Universalist hymnal, and what might it have to do with raising money? I think I know. For all denominations-including our own-that have evolved out of the Protestant Reformation of the 16^th century, for all denominations that have at their historical core that sense of protest against the established religious hierarchy, Luther is an ancestor. He was not the only reformer, he was certainly not the most radical reformer, but his contributions to Reformation were immense. He influenced other reformers, like John Calvin, to whom Unitarians and Universalists trace more direct historical links.² Luther's work opened up many avenues for religious exploration, freedom, and protest that had not existed before, many of which he thought went too far and led to social unrest. Luther dropped the stone in the great religious pond of the Holy Roman Church, creating ripples that mixed with the ripples of other reformers over the centuries, producing more ripples, one of which is Unitarian Universalism. Though we are theologically very distant from Luther, the faint sound of his great protest still echoes in our Unitarian Universalist call for religious freedom, reason, and tolerance. This is why you can still find "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" in our hymnal. (I should probably also point out that Luther is important to us today because, other than Lutheranism, the only religion Garrison Keillor pokes fun at on a regular basis is Unitarianism. Without Lutherans we'd be the butt of all his religious jokes!)

If Martin Luther is a very distant ancestor of Unitarian Universalism, there are many others, much more directly related to us, who follow in that same tradition of protest, of seeking and proclaiming truth in the face of disingenuous hierarchies be they religious, governmental, or social. I am always proud to see those lists of famous UUs, to see that long line of spiritual forbears upon whose shoulders we stand. The history of Unitarianism and Universalism in the United States and Europe is full of passionate, provocative, protesting ancestors. This past Friday, for example, April 1^st, was the day in 1647, when John Biddle, an early British Unitarian, wrote a letter from prison asking either for a trial or for his release. He was in prison for professing a Unitarian theology, and was held for two more years before his release. He was imprisoned many times in his life and eventually exiled for his Unitarianism. Can you imagine living in a time and place where one could be imprisoned for denying the Trinity? Coincidentally, it was yesterday, April 2^nd, in 1652, that the British House of Commons ordered the burning of Biddle's translation of a Polish Unitarian catechism known as the Rakovian Catechism.

Friday was also the birthday of Henry Ware, Sr., born in Massachusetts in 1764. In 1805 he became the first Unitarian elected as Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard University, an act which began the split between Unitarians and Trinitarians in the standing order of congregational churches in Massachusetts, and eventually resulted in the formation of the Unitarian denomination. Again, ours is a history of protest. Our spiritual ancestors in the early Unitarian and Universalist movements questioned many Christian doctrines and caused a massive shift in the American religious landscape.

You've heard of the "Ugly Duckling?" "The Little Mermaid?" "The Emperor's New Suit?" Yesterday, April 2^nd, was the birthday, in 1805, of the Universalist writer and story-teller, Hans Christian Andersen, in Denmark.

Unitarian Mary Carpenter was born this day in 1807 in England. She was famous as an advocate for poor children and a leader in British efforts to abolish slavery and reform the prison system. Tomorrow is the birthday of Unitarian Dorothea Dix, born in Maine in 1802. She is also famous for her work in prison reform and for founding the first public hospitals for people in poverty and people with mental illnesses. The was appointed supervisor of nurses during the Civil War, after which she was instrumental in building thirty-two hospitals in the United States and Europe. A biographer writes that she appreciated the Unitarian emphasis on the goodness of God, purity of heart, openness to new knowledge, and responsibility for the welfare of all society.³

I could go on. The list is long. Every day we could speak about some Unitarian, Universalist, or Unitarian Universalist in history who made a great and lasting contribution to our movement or to society. These are our spiritual ancestors. It is good to remember them; good to realize we stand upon their shoulders; good to know they cared about this faith which we hold so dear; good to know that in all their achievements they were held by this faith of the free mind and heart, this faith of reason, this faith in the capacity of each individual to determine for him or herself what is sacred, what is true, what is worthy of commitment.

I strive to give my money as generously as possible to this Unitarian Universalist congregation not only because I value these ancestors and the religious tradition they have passed on to me. I strive to give as generously as possible to this Unitarian Universalist congregation because I want to be an ancestor. I want my Unitarian Universalist descendents to know they are standing on my shoulders. I want them to be proud of me. I want them to take comfort in the knowledge-even if they don't remember my name-there were those of us in this time who cared deeply about this great liberal tradition; who cared deeply about a church that liberates mind, body, and spirit rather than constraining them; a church that takes seriously the notion all people matter as they are; a church that is tenacious in its struggle for justice and inclusivity; a church that does not pretend to know the will of God, does not aspire to impose imagined divine directives on others, but rather invites people to search responsibly for truth and meaning, invites people to know the sacred as it is etched in the deepest recesses of their own hearts. That is what I want for my Unitarian Universalist descendents: a truly free church, a truly protestant church. I believe this is one of the most precious and vital gifts we can offer this world and its future generations.

I strive to give generously because I want to be a Unitarian Universalist ancestor. This is the lesson Rev. Thayer draws from Luther's hymn. Our lives will someday end. And knowing that, he asks, what will you do with your life that matters? What decisions will you make? What gifts will you give? What legacy will you leave? To what cause and purpose will you hold your life accountable? What kind of ancestor will you be? What I find so inspiring about Rev. Thayer's approach to ministry is his unwavering belief that each of us can make an immense difference with our lives, and his expectation-his high expectation-that each of us will give as generously as possible from our financial resources to our Unitarian Universalist congregation.

A few weeks ago Sharon Gresk shared this joke with me. It was the beginning of the annual financial canvass. The minister stood in the pulpit and said "The good news is, there's enough money for our congregation to reach our financial goals for the next fiscal year. In fact, there's enough money for us to exceed our financial goals for next year. In fact, there's enough money for us to do whatever we want as a congregation. The bad news is, all that money is still out there in your pockets!"

It's actually not a joke. And there's actually no bad news. The fact that the money is still in your pockets is perfectly good news. In fact, it's great news. I say that because my experience of this congregation when it comes to money-my only experience of this congregation when it comes to money-is one of great generosity. Your giving informs we you want this congregation to thrive. Last year-my first year in this pulpit-you pledged well above our anticipated goal-thousands of dollars above. And above that you gave thousands more to the Community Outreach Fund; and thousands more to the Third Sunday Collection-almost $1,000 alone in January for Manchester's Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Fund; and thousands more to the Minister's Discretionary Fund to help out those of us who fall on financial hard times; and over ten thousand more to restore the STAR piano; and you spent still thousands more at our fundraisers. I'm not talking about hundreds; and I'm not exaggerating. You gave tens of thousands of dollars, on top of the approximately $250,000 you pledged at last year's canvass to fulfill the mission of this church.

By the way, you've had since October to commit our new mission statement to memory. "Unitarian Universalist Society: East is a welcoming, liberal religious community. Through shared ministry we care for one another and nurture the search for truth and meaning as part of life-long spiritual growth. We are committed to living our Unitarian Universalist principles in our daily lives, including working for justice and peace, and living in harmony with the earth." You gave thousands and thousands of dollars for a welcoming, liberal religious community east of the Connecticut River; thousands and thousands of dollars for shared ministry that takes seriously the prophethood and the priesthood of each of us; thousands and thousands of dollars for a church that calls on us to care for one another and nurture each other in our spiritual journeys, from the youngest to the oldest; thousands and thousands of dollars for a church that works in a variety of ways for justice and peace and inclusivity, and believes passionately in that great and challenging goal of adapting our living so we do not harm the earth. This is not fancy rhetoric because it's time to make our pledges. This is not mere platitude. This is not patting ourselves on our privileged backs and saying "my, how wonderful are we." This is our mission, and it matters. And never once has anyone in this congregation suggested to me in word or deed that this mission makes no difference in their lives or no difference in the world. This mission matters immensely, and in my time here your generosity towards this mission has touched me deeply. The money we need to continue fulfilling our mission may still be in your pockets, but that's the best news of all, because this is a generous congregation.

You now have the opportunity to make your pledge following today's service and the next few services at Pledge Central in the Program Room. We are not doing a face-to-face canvass this year. If you want someone to speak to you about your pledge-and I know some of you do-please let me or one of the members of the Stewardship Committee know you would like a visit. Of course, if we don't hear from you with a pledge in the next few weeks, a canvasser will contact you. They don't mean to be pushy. We really do need to know what your pledge is going to be so we can plan next year's budget accordingly and have it ready for the annual meeting in May. So please make your pledge in as timely a manner as possible.

As is the case every year, our costs are rising. Our proposed budget for next year, which you can read in more detail at Pledge Central, asks for an increase of about 13% in overall pledges from our members and friends. This is not abnormal in a congregation our size, especially one that relies as heavily on pledges as we do. In addition to normal yearly price increases and cost of living increases for our staff, what accounts for the 13% increase are our efforts to bring all our staff salaries in line with our denominational guidelines for pay equity; and new money we must spend on the preliminary stages of expanding our building. Please remember: we ultimately are not pledging to make the budget. We are pledging so that this UU congregation east of the Connecticut River can thrive. We are pledging to bring power to our prophetic voice. We are pledging for excellent religious education for our children and grandchildren. We are pledging so that beautiful music shall always ring forth in this hall. We are pledging for a place we can come in times of sorrow to be comforted and soothed. We are pledging for a place we can come when we need to be challenged, when our spiritual lives need deepening. We are pledging for our mission. We are pledging to keep the free church tradition strong. We are pledging to become good UU ancestors. Thank you for your generosity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
    Amen. Blessed Be.