I survived!

[rivka]

The service went really well. At five minutes before the hour, there were only about 35 people present, and I felt disappointed. But by the time the prelude and call to worship were over every seat was filled and there were a couple of people sitting on the floor. (This was just the Parish Hall, so it was probably about 60-70 people - not the 300 it would take to fill the sanctuary).

I felt as though the readings and hymns I chose worked well. Hymns might actually sound better in the Parish Hall, where they don't get swallowed up by the immense barrel ceiling - but also I tried to choose hymns that were quite familiar so people would be more comfortable singing out. (For fellow UUs: we sang "There's a River Flowin' in My Soul," "Gather the Spirit," "Blessed Spirit of My Life," and "We'll Build a Land.")

I was nervous beforehand, but not at all nervous once I started to give the sermon. Michael only had to signal me to slow down once.

When it was time to introduce visitors, it turned out that the Final Exit Network guy didn't bring anyone to church after all, so all my worries about that were groundless. Many thanks to zeldajean, selki, and wcg, who were visitors on my behalf, as well as the home crowd: curiousangel, acceberskoorb, and telerib. I felt very supported.

After church, a number of people came up to tell me how much they appreciated what I had to say. I talked to someone who had been a hospice chaplain for twelve years and, oh my gosh, a woman whose adult son committed suicide three months ago and who wanted to ask my advice about her grandson. Several people asked me to send them the text. Several other people told me, more neutrally, that I had given them a lot to think about.

In the talkback afterward, Final Exit Guy told the group that, far from thinking he was on opposite sides from me, he thought I sounded just like a representative of his organization. Because - and he had written this down - at one point I said "everyone has a right to make their own decision." That was apparently all he heard.

A range of opinions were represented. For much of the talkback we discussed making choices about when to stop treatment, and personal and medical factors affecting those decisions. We got more into questions of suicide towards the end - maybe because that's such a more vulnerable issue. Interest was expressed in an adult RE class on end-of-life issues, which I think would be excellent.

I don't know if I changed any minds today. I do think that I complicated the issue for some people who thought it wasn't that complicated before, which may be all I can hope for. And I know that it was very helpful for people who were already leaning toward my point of view.

Comments

[lynsaurus.livejournal.com]

Go, you! I had no doubts that you would be fabulous.

What great liturgical thinking on the hymn selection!

There is an out-of-print adult RE curriculum called "Faithful Choices" by Wayne Arnason that relates to clinical ethics. I haven't used it myself. I'm not suggesting work for you, but it's there if somebody else is so moved by your sermon that they want to lead a class.

I'm so sorry I wasn't able to be there. Congratulations again.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

What great liturgical thinking on the hymn selection!

Yay! Somebody noticed!

I had a second, wicked list of hymns for if I wanted to hit everyone over the head with my point of view. You know, like "Life is the Greatest Gift of All" and "Just as Long as I Have Breath." These felt more subtle, but still connected in important ways.

I'm sorry that we didn't think to set up a chaise longue in the Parish Hall so that you could attend lying on your left side. :-) Thinking of you and wishing you and the babies well.

[selki.livejournal.com]

Oops -- I noticed (and I don't even know these hymns -- but then, maybe that made it more noticeable?), but it seemed so obvious I didn't even comment. Maybe I should work on giving compliments more, even obvious ones. :-)