“Human beings have a hard time regarding anything beautiful without wanting to devour it.” —Barbara Brown Taylor
I just watched the first season of the new HBO series “Julia” and I’m hooked. It’s a period piece and biopic featuring a regular middle-aged woman who (we know) will become the famous French chef Julia Child. Spoiler Alert: No one thinks she is the real deal until they taste her cooking. No one sees her beauty until they devour her creations. No one cares until they do.
Beauty is subjective. It is truly in the eye of the beholder. But when we rush to appreciate it, we sometimes “love it to death” by forgetting our manners. I would like us instead to savor beauty, and approach it slowly, where we least expect to find it.
And so, this month, as we contemplate the beauty that surrounds us, I offer you a challenge!
The Visual Arts Team is planning a fellowship-wide art show that will open on Sunday, May 29 and run through the month of June. This show is open to all members, friends, and children in the DUUF community. Beauty comes in many shapes and sizes, and I hope that many of our community will indulge us with tasty creative offerings. NOTE: This is not a juried show, where blue ribbons separate the “real art” from everything else. The whole point of this show is to “Nurture Beauty,” our theme for the month, by allowing the seed of creativity to grow in the soil of everyday life. The only rule is that you must submit your own work.
Following in that vein, I will be hosting an “Open Studio” on Saturday, May 14, from 9:00 to 11:00 am in the Fellowship Hall. This will be a drop-in time to bring your materials and your inspiration, your questions and your doubts, and use the wide-open space of the hall to cross-pollinate with other budding artists. Yes, I believe that everyone is an artist! I invite you to unlock the hidden expression within you as a spiritual practice. No one knows what the final outcome will be until it is finished.
And on that note, my time with you is limited. My last service will be Sunday, July 3, and we have something delicious cooking for that service! It’s a tradition I inherited from my time in seminary. It’s called “Church of the Cabaret.” No one knows what anyone else will do. Worship is the work of the people, and it’s also a kind of “stone soup” where the real nutrition comes from a variety of ingredients. What’s your talent, your gift, your work, or your play? Let us share what we value, in words, music, movement and imagination. If you cannot attend in person, you may submit a video for the service. Get your “skits” together and let’s have fun!
-Rev. AJ Galazen, Interim Minister