Why We Do What We Do
Wendy Harmon
8.20.06
Are you going to hell? Is that something you've even thought about today? This week? This year? It is certainly not something we talk about very often here at Plainfield UCC. In fact, I can't think of a single sermon Nancy or anyone else has delivered about hell in the 7 years that I've been here. But according to a recent "Beliefnet" poll, 54% of Americans believe that hell is an actual place where people go if they don't get in to heaven. So we should be worrying about it and talking about it a lot, right?
So, I did some research into what hell was all about. I went to my favorite website, Wikipedia, and looked up the history of Hades, sheol, and hell. In the Christian faith, it is thought to be a pretty scary place. Lots of fire and horribleness. And it lasts for an eternity. Once you go, you don't get to come back. Some people think you go because of what you believe (or don't believe) and some think you go because of what you do.
This was something I was thinking of a few months back when I asked my husband, Jeff, at dinner one night, "Why do the people at our church do what they do?" The people in this church are the kindest, most generous, most proactive group of people that I have EVER been around, but I don't think any of them do it to escape hell. So maybe it is the other way around, maybe they are simply making sure that they get in to heaven. For example, at Vacation Bible School one night, I heard a gentleman tell Pat Herman that she was "building bricks in heaven" with all of the work she did for VBS. Hmmm, maybe, but I just don't think that's why she did it, do you?
Well, as Jeff and I talked that night, I thought of some people that for me epitomized what I think is amazing about the spirit that fills our church: those people that do the right things because they are the right thing to do, not to try to please the gods. So I emailed them and asked them to tell me why they do what they do. I've already mentioned the first one, Pat Herman. Pat is the busiest person I know but if you want something done, she's the one to go to. She volunteers her time for our financial light team and memorial light team. She's in the choir and heads up our FRB drive with her equally amazing husband. And for the last 3 years, she has taken on the role of director for vacation bible school - and has even said she's going to do it again next year! Yes, her grandchildren attend, but I have a feeling she'd do it even if they weren't. And never once have I heard her say what I know several of the rest of us have thought - why aren't their parents here helping??? But she doesn't look at things like the rest of us do. She is not there to receive anything else in return. Here's some of what she said in response to my question:
"I don't really think about what others think and it always surprises me when I hear such nice things. That's part of why I do what I do. It's not Hell and it's not what
others think - it's about how I feel when I do good things. It's a joyous feeling that is hard to get any other time.
I feel blessed my whole life - with wonderful people around me and great energy and great teachings. Being raised in the UCC always has made me aware of the world around me and how I can impact that world. I had parents that allowed me to excel and gave me many opportunities to do so. Much pleasure comes from working hard and accomplishing much and touching people's lives - that probably forged my actions. I like to make people happy and that feeds my spirit. It's a beautiful cycle of life."
Wow!!
Another person that came to mind was Allen Winter. For me, it is not so much what Allen does, but how he does it that impacts me. I mean, he does a ton. He has built or rebuilt half of the stuff in this building - even building sets for a vacation bible school that he has never had a child or grandchild involved in. He, too, sits on several light teams and helps out with all kinds of stuff. But there is just something about Allen: a calmness, a spirit. Just being in his presence can soothe me. Here is what Allen had to say:
"Perhaps I do what I do because I need to feel useful. I do not do things for others because I subscribe to some religion or philosophy. I just do things for others because I want to. I get irritated when some people don't volunteer to help someone because "we don't owe them anything" or "what have they ever done for me?" I don't do things because I want to be a good Christian. Some might say I'm a good Christian because I do what I do. Actually, I consider myself a heretic as far as Christian dogma is concerned. In my later years I have become acquainted with so many people that I love, I love to help out whenever I can."
And we are so blessed for all of his help.
This next person may come as a bit of a surprise to some, because he does not have that "calmness" or "serenity" that Allen does. Actually, he's like the poster boy for anti-calmness. John Perona. To be honest, Jeff when he mentioned John as someone who had a "spirit about them", I was surprised as well, but the more I thought about him and what he does, the more I had to agree. For those of you that don't know, John is one of the volunteers that helps out at the weekly youth meetings. He's the one that has been selling those t-shirts all summer. But what you also may not know is that John is a Joliet police officer. John has seen the very worst that society has to offer and yet hasn't given up on it. He's here trying to help our youth find a place in their worlds so that they won't have to live in the hell that is the city streets. I've known several police officers, and every single one of them have been jaded and prejudiced because of the people they've come into contact with, but not John. When I first contacted John, here's some of what he said:
"...one, and only one, repeated thought keeps coming to my mind: I do what I do because; I sincerely believe that it is the right thing to do. I know some people may not be able to understand what I mean by "the right thing to do", and unfortunately I can't really explain it except to say that, somewhere deep within me it just feels right. I think it may be something that has been ingrained within my person since birth and continues to be reinforced everyday by those around me. I've been fortunate to be surrounded by people who have shown me, through their giving nature, the positive things about life and, without me knowing have taught me to be a "giver. I'm sure this doesn't make sense because I'm even more confused now than when I first received your email. It sounds simple enough to me "it's the right thing to do", it just feels right!"
But I asked him to dig a little deeper based on his police experience. He was quite honest in saying that yes, there were times when he became quite jaded and could have gone to the dark side (my words, not John's) had it not been for his wife, Kimberly. Actually, in his second response to me, he mentioned Kimberly no less than 5 times. Hmmm...
Finally, I asked Eileen Diercks why she does what she does. You know Eileen. She sang her first solo EVER this morning. And that just perfectly illustrates that strong, special lady that Eileen is. Even though she was scared to death, I don't think she would mind me telling you, it was important for her to share this song with all of us. You see, Eileen is a breast cancer survivor, and that song helped her get through chemotherapy. Strength, strength, strength. That's what I see when I look at her. She has done so much for this church, but her priority, I think, right now is the Stephen ministry. She has taken it under her wing and made it take flight so that we in the church might have someone to turn to in case of difficulty or grief. She wants to make sure that we survive the hell of losing a loved one or whatever else that may happen. Here's part of what Eileen wrote to me:
"Life can be difficult at times and all of us have problems in this life - some more difficult and severe than others. We all need help at one time or another. My philosophy of life is that we should help and support each other as best we can. If I can make things a little easier for someone going through a difficult time or is less fortunate than I am, I will try to do what I can to ease their burden. As an "extra bonus" there is a certain feeling of satisfaction and pleasure in helping others through a difficult time, although that is not my primary motivation. My parents were good examples for helping others whenever they could, so I learned compassion, empathy and love from them. As a member of Rotary International, our motto is "Service above self." I try to follow that as best I can.
Eileen mentioned her parents and so did Pat, John spoke repeatedly of Kimberly, Allen ended by citing "all of the people that he loves". To me, it seemed that each of them was speaking of being blessed by those around them. Pat actually said, "I feel blessed
my whole life - with wonderful people around me and great energy and great teachings." That calls to mind the saying "Blessed to be a blessing." That makes sense to me! A whole lot more sense then doing something good so that I don't get punished by an eternal hell that may or may not be there.
Now as I look around this room, I see a whole bunch of people that I should have asked why they do what they do. In every pew there are amazing individuals who do great things for the people of this church. Jeff has no less than 7 volunteers for the youth program that are there every week even though they have NO children in the program. Most of them have NEVER had a child in the program; it just makes them feel good to do it. I know a bunch of people like Doreen, Pat Mitchell, Kay Kreftmeyer and more, helped out at vacation bible school - again, with none of their own kids involved. All of our Stephen ministers have put in HOURS and HOURS of training just to help out the rest of us. Our Reiki and healing teams spends countless hours helping people find healing and wholeness. We have not one but two accountants who volunteer their time to keep our church paying its bills. We have incredibly talented pianists who volunteer their time to play for choir and Inspiration! We have skilled bobcat drivers who give up their Friday nights to help prepare for the new carport. And so many of you have helped sponsor acres for FRB and so many other things.
But, as I look around, I also see a whole lot of blessed people. That is not to say that anyone in this room has had a particularly rosy life. I know many of you have had more than your share of heartache and difficulties, but you've made it through. Perhaps by having a "Kimberly" of your own. But are we doing enough to be blessings to other people? Jeff and Emma and I went on vacation to Williamsburg, VA this summer. For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, it is a town that has been restored to the way it was in 1776 when Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry lived there. It had all but disappeared in 1924 when a Reverend Goodwin invited John D Rockefeller, Jr. to come tour the town. Rockefeller did come and decided to invest. Before it was all done he had paid about 50 million dollars to make Rev. Goodwin's dream become a reality. Besides restoring the town, he also paid for a new school for the African Americans that lived in the area. When Rockefeller was being honored in Williamsburg, he insisted that African Americans be allowed to come in to the ceremony. That says more to me than his 50 million dollars as to what kind of a person he was. Surely, that was not the act of a man trying to stay out of hell; he had done many good works before that.
As we walked out of the colonial Williamsburg area, I told my family how amazing I thought it was that someone could make such a profound impact and change the world. Jeff said, "Yeah, it's easy when you have 48 million dollars to spend." A thought, I'm sure many of you might echo. But, NO, that is NOT the point. It is not about how much you spend, but why you spend it and how. Just last week, I was listening to the radio and heard of a 12 year old girl in Geneva. 3 years ago, she visited a homeless shelter and was so shaken by what she had seen that she immediately went home and
cleaned out her closets. She had a garage sale and raised $1000 which she donated to the shelter. The next year, she raised $2000, and this year, over $5000. All of it given to Lazarus House Homeless Shelter. Most of us have had yard sales, what did we do with the money? But what could we have done? There are so many people out there who are not blessed. I don't know why. Maybe they did something bad in a former life, maybe they are being punished for the sins of their fathers, maybe there is no grand scheme of things at all, I don't know, but I do know that there are babies and children in the streets of Chicago whose fathers are gone, mothers are crack addicts, brothers are in gangs, sisters are pregnant, and on and on. Those babies are not blessed. There is a line in a Disney movie called "Newsies" that I've never forgotten. It is about orphans on the streets of New York in 1899. One of them looks at the other and says, "We was beat before we was born." That is so true for too many children around the world in our own back yards. Could we be blessings to them in anyway? I don't have 48 million dollars, but I do bring my hotel soaps and shampoos to give to the homeless shelter. I do give a little each month to Habitat for Humanity, I do drop a quarter in the Salvation Army bucket each time I go to Wal-Mart during the Christmas season, but I'm sure there's more than I could do. Do you bring food to the food pantry buckets that Otto and Ati faithfully deliver each month? We go to Aldi's every once in a while and just buy a case of green beans or corn or whatever. It's less than $5 but it could mean a lot to a hungry family, and it just feels so darn good to be helping.
At the end of Eileen's "essay" she quotes the valedictory address from her graduating class, not surprisingly, she gave it! She used the following poem by Edward Everett Hale:
I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
What an incredible world this would be if we all lived by that! Remember what our scripture said, Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back--given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Not long ago I, quite by accident, found a song that answers why I think most of us do what we do. It is called "Not So You Will Love Me." One of the lines states: There's no way to impress You. Well, duh! God's seen it all! We could each do tremendous things until the day we die and not match someone like Mother Theresa, but I don't think God is keeping track. But whether that's the case or not, I can't be Mother Theresa. But I'll do whatever I can to be a help here at my church, or at my job, or in my world. Because, I feel inspired by the love I feel all around me. And that's why I do what I do. Not so that you will love me, but because you do.
Wendy Harmon
8.20.06
Are you going to hell? Is that something you've even thought about today? This week? This year? It is certainly not something we talk about very often here at Plainfield UCC. In fact, I can't think of a single sermon Nancy or anyone else has delivered about hell in the 7 years that I've been here. But according to a recent "Beliefnet" poll, 54% of Americans believe that hell is an actual place where people go if they don't get in to heaven. So we should be worrying about it and talking about it a lot, right?
So, I did some research into what hell was all about. I went to my favorite website, Wikipedia, and looked up the history of Hades, sheol, and hell. In the Christian faith, it is thought to be a pretty scary place. Lots of fire and horribleness. And it lasts for an eternity. Once you go, you don't get to come back. Some people think you go because of what you believe (or don't believe) and some think you go because of what you do.
This was something I was thinking of a few months back when I asked my husband, Jeff, at dinner one night, "Why do the people at our church do what they do?" The people in this church are the kindest, most generous, most proactive group of people that I have EVER been around, but I don't think any of them do it to escape hell. So maybe it is the other way around, maybe they are simply making sure that they get in to heaven. For example, at Vacation Bible School one night, I heard a gentleman tell Pat Herman that she was "building bricks in heaven" with all of the work she did for VBS. Hmmm, maybe, but I just don't think that's why she did it, do you?
Well, as Jeff and I talked that night, I thought of some people that for me epitomized what I think is amazing about the spirit that fills our church: those people that do the right things because they are the right thing to do, not to try to please the gods. So I emailed them and asked them to tell me why they do what they do. I've already mentioned the first one, Pat Herman. Pat is the busiest person I know but if you want something done, she's the one to go to. She volunteers her time for our financial light team and memorial light team. She's in the choir and heads up our FRB drive with her equally amazing husband. And for the last 3 years, she has taken on the role of director for vacation bible school - and has even said she's going to do it again next year! Yes, her grandchildren attend, but I have a feeling she'd do it even if they weren't. And never once have I heard her say what I know several of the rest of us have thought - why aren't their parents here helping??? But she doesn't look at things like the rest of us do. She is not there to receive anything else in return. Here's some of what she said in response to my question:
"I don't really think about what others think and it always surprises me when I hear such nice things. That's part of why I do what I do. It's not Hell and it's not what
others think - it's about how I feel when I do good things. It's a joyous feeling that is hard to get any other time.
I feel blessed my whole life - with wonderful people around me and great energy and great teachings. Being raised in the UCC always has made me aware of the world around me and how I can impact that world. I had parents that allowed me to excel and gave me many opportunities to do so. Much pleasure comes from working hard and accomplishing much and touching people's lives - that probably forged my actions. I like to make people happy and that feeds my spirit. It's a beautiful cycle of life."
Wow!!
Another person that came to mind was Allen Winter. For me, it is not so much what Allen does, but how he does it that impacts me. I mean, he does a ton. He has built or rebuilt half of the stuff in this building - even building sets for a vacation bible school that he has never had a child or grandchild involved in. He, too, sits on several light teams and helps out with all kinds of stuff. But there is just something about Allen: a calmness, a spirit. Just being in his presence can soothe me. Here is what Allen had to say:
"Perhaps I do what I do because I need to feel useful. I do not do things for others because I subscribe to some religion or philosophy. I just do things for others because I want to. I get irritated when some people don't volunteer to help someone because "we don't owe them anything" or "what have they ever done for me?" I don't do things because I want to be a good Christian. Some might say I'm a good Christian because I do what I do. Actually, I consider myself a heretic as far as Christian dogma is concerned. In my later years I have become acquainted with so many people that I love, I love to help out whenever I can."
And we are so blessed for all of his help.
This next person may come as a bit of a surprise to some, because he does not have that "calmness" or "serenity" that Allen does. Actually, he's like the poster boy for anti-calmness. John Perona. To be honest, Jeff when he mentioned John as someone who had a "spirit about them", I was surprised as well, but the more I thought about him and what he does, the more I had to agree. For those of you that don't know, John is one of the volunteers that helps out at the weekly youth meetings. He's the one that has been selling those t-shirts all summer. But what you also may not know is that John is a Joliet police officer. John has seen the very worst that society has to offer and yet hasn't given up on it. He's here trying to help our youth find a place in their worlds so that they won't have to live in the hell that is the city streets. I've known several police officers, and every single one of them have been jaded and prejudiced because of the people they've come into contact with, but not John. When I first contacted John, here's some of what he said:
"...one, and only one, repeated thought keeps coming to my mind: I do what I do because; I sincerely believe that it is the right thing to do. I know some people may not be able to understand what I mean by "the right thing to do", and unfortunately I can't really explain it except to say that, somewhere deep within me it just feels right. I think it may be something that has been ingrained within my person since birth and continues to be reinforced everyday by those around me. I've been fortunate to be surrounded by people who have shown me, through their giving nature, the positive things about life and, without me knowing have taught me to be a "giver. I'm sure this doesn't make sense because I'm even more confused now than when I first received your email. It sounds simple enough to me "it's the right thing to do", it just feels right!"
But I asked him to dig a little deeper based on his police experience. He was quite honest in saying that yes, there were times when he became quite jaded and could have gone to the dark side (my words, not John's) had it not been for his wife, Kimberly. Actually, in his second response to me, he mentioned Kimberly no less than 5 times. Hmmm...
Finally, I asked Eileen Diercks why she does what she does. You know Eileen. She sang her first solo EVER this morning. And that just perfectly illustrates that strong, special lady that Eileen is. Even though she was scared to death, I don't think she would mind me telling you, it was important for her to share this song with all of us. You see, Eileen is a breast cancer survivor, and that song helped her get through chemotherapy. Strength, strength, strength. That's what I see when I look at her. She has done so much for this church, but her priority, I think, right now is the Stephen ministry. She has taken it under her wing and made it take flight so that we in the church might have someone to turn to in case of difficulty or grief. She wants to make sure that we survive the hell of losing a loved one or whatever else that may happen. Here's part of what Eileen wrote to me:
"Life can be difficult at times and all of us have problems in this life - some more difficult and severe than others. We all need help at one time or another. My philosophy of life is that we should help and support each other as best we can. If I can make things a little easier for someone going through a difficult time or is less fortunate than I am, I will try to do what I can to ease their burden. As an "extra bonus" there is a certain feeling of satisfaction and pleasure in helping others through a difficult time, although that is not my primary motivation. My parents were good examples for helping others whenever they could, so I learned compassion, empathy and love from them. As a member of Rotary International, our motto is "Service above self." I try to follow that as best I can.
Eileen mentioned her parents and so did Pat, John spoke repeatedly of Kimberly, Allen ended by citing "all of the people that he loves". To me, it seemed that each of them was speaking of being blessed by those around them. Pat actually said, "I feel blessed
my whole life - with wonderful people around me and great energy and great teachings." That calls to mind the saying "Blessed to be a blessing." That makes sense to me! A whole lot more sense then doing something good so that I don't get punished by an eternal hell that may or may not be there.
Now as I look around this room, I see a whole bunch of people that I should have asked why they do what they do. In every pew there are amazing individuals who do great things for the people of this church. Jeff has no less than 7 volunteers for the youth program that are there every week even though they have NO children in the program. Most of them have NEVER had a child in the program; it just makes them feel good to do it. I know a bunch of people like Doreen, Pat Mitchell, Kay Kreftmeyer and more, helped out at vacation bible school - again, with none of their own kids involved. All of our Stephen ministers have put in HOURS and HOURS of training just to help out the rest of us. Our Reiki and healing teams spends countless hours helping people find healing and wholeness. We have not one but two accountants who volunteer their time to keep our church paying its bills. We have incredibly talented pianists who volunteer their time to play for choir and Inspiration! We have skilled bobcat drivers who give up their Friday nights to help prepare for the new carport. And so many of you have helped sponsor acres for FRB and so many other things.
But, as I look around, I also see a whole lot of blessed people. That is not to say that anyone in this room has had a particularly rosy life. I know many of you have had more than your share of heartache and difficulties, but you've made it through. Perhaps by having a "Kimberly" of your own. But are we doing enough to be blessings to other people? Jeff and Emma and I went on vacation to Williamsburg, VA this summer. For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, it is a town that has been restored to the way it was in 1776 when Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry lived there. It had all but disappeared in 1924 when a Reverend Goodwin invited John D Rockefeller, Jr. to come tour the town. Rockefeller did come and decided to invest. Before it was all done he had paid about 50 million dollars to make Rev. Goodwin's dream become a reality. Besides restoring the town, he also paid for a new school for the African Americans that lived in the area. When Rockefeller was being honored in Williamsburg, he insisted that African Americans be allowed to come in to the ceremony. That says more to me than his 50 million dollars as to what kind of a person he was. Surely, that was not the act of a man trying to stay out of hell; he had done many good works before that.
As we walked out of the colonial Williamsburg area, I told my family how amazing I thought it was that someone could make such a profound impact and change the world. Jeff said, "Yeah, it's easy when you have 48 million dollars to spend." A thought, I'm sure many of you might echo. But, NO, that is NOT the point. It is not about how much you spend, but why you spend it and how. Just last week, I was listening to the radio and heard of a 12 year old girl in Geneva. 3 years ago, she visited a homeless shelter and was so shaken by what she had seen that she immediately went home and
cleaned out her closets. She had a garage sale and raised $1000 which she donated to the shelter. The next year, she raised $2000, and this year, over $5000. All of it given to Lazarus House Homeless Shelter. Most of us have had yard sales, what did we do with the money? But what could we have done? There are so many people out there who are not blessed. I don't know why. Maybe they did something bad in a former life, maybe they are being punished for the sins of their fathers, maybe there is no grand scheme of things at all, I don't know, but I do know that there are babies and children in the streets of Chicago whose fathers are gone, mothers are crack addicts, brothers are in gangs, sisters are pregnant, and on and on. Those babies are not blessed. There is a line in a Disney movie called "Newsies" that I've never forgotten. It is about orphans on the streets of New York in 1899. One of them looks at the other and says, "We was beat before we was born." That is so true for too many children around the world in our own back yards. Could we be blessings to them in anyway? I don't have 48 million dollars, but I do bring my hotel soaps and shampoos to give to the homeless shelter. I do give a little each month to Habitat for Humanity, I do drop a quarter in the Salvation Army bucket each time I go to Wal-Mart during the Christmas season, but I'm sure there's more than I could do. Do you bring food to the food pantry buckets that Otto and Ati faithfully deliver each month? We go to Aldi's every once in a while and just buy a case of green beans or corn or whatever. It's less than $5 but it could mean a lot to a hungry family, and it just feels so darn good to be helping.
At the end of Eileen's "essay" she quotes the valedictory address from her graduating class, not surprisingly, she gave it! She used the following poem by Edward Everett Hale:
I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
What an incredible world this would be if we all lived by that! Remember what our scripture said, Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back--given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Not long ago I, quite by accident, found a song that answers why I think most of us do what we do. It is called "Not So You Will Love Me." One of the lines states: There's no way to impress You. Well, duh! God's seen it all! We could each do tremendous things until the day we die and not match someone like Mother Theresa, but I don't think God is keeping track. But whether that's the case or not, I can't be Mother Theresa. But I'll do whatever I can to be a help here at my church, or at my job, or in my world. Because, I feel inspired by the love I feel all around me. And that's why I do what I do. Not so that you will love me, but because you do.
