The Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough

In seminary, I went out on a very uncomfortable limb, and took a dance class (the title of which escapes me... something about “Dancing as Spiritual Practice”). In that class, we often did free movement exercises, moving this way and that, criss-crossing the floor. When we accidently bumped into each other, we were instructed to say “thank you.” “Thank you for touching me.” “Thank you for acknowledging my presence.” “Thank you for shaking me loose.” Our natural response, usually, is to apologize or to ask for pardon. To respond with gratitude when bumping into someone seems unnatural.

On Sunday, Sept 20th, we ‘bumped into’ the Beth Israel Congregation. A chain of insignificant errors and/or oversights added up to the reality that we did not know they had a morning Rosh Hashanah service until the Friday afternoon previous. Had we known in advance, we would have made arrangements to hold our service in another location, and in truth, with such short notice, we considered cancelling our service. But, even though Beth Israel has full rights under our lease agreement to sole use of the building on their high holy days, they automatically offered a welcome to us, encouraging us to hold our service in the downstairs hall. I was deeply touched by Rabbi Shalom Schachter’s first response to my concerns about the sound of our service being a disruption to them. He welcomed our “noise” as sounds of praise.

This is, I believe, the first time that our two congregations have worshipped in the building at the same time, and it was an experience that I believe can inform us as we begin to explore our space needs (as part of our long range plan.) Here are a few of my noticings, and I’d love to hear some of yours:

• There was a greater feeling of community and awareness of one another as we entered the building. For some, it was also a reminder that we are leaving a relatively small environmental footprint.
• While this left was no viable space for regular RE classes, our children were able to experience a part of the Jewish service, a wonderful interfaith opportunity which encouraged their questioning and further exploration. Several adults also dropped into Beth Israel’s service after leaving UFP’s.
• The space downstairs, while not perhaps ideal, served our worship space needs adequately. The sound system transferred downstairs quite well, and we were able to creatively jig together a pulpit/altar area.
• Moving from the service directly to a time for coffee and conversation in the same space seemed to keep more people together for longer.
• Our sound did indeed carry upstairs. Our Jewish friends say that it was not too disruptive, but I was very aware of the potential for it to become a problem. Perhaps we didn’t sing in as full a voice as we usually do?

The experience left me feeling like we have much untapped potential to commune/worship/act together with the Synagogue.
Mostly, I am filled with gratitude for two things...first, the many hands offered by UFPers to help make the temporary move a smooth one. And second, the incredible generosity of spirit exhibited and lived out by our ‘landlords.’ They were truly respectful of us and wanted to ensure we Unitarians could worship as usual. For this unexpected ‘bumping into’, I am extremely grateful, and pray that I may always respond in kind with similar grace and hospitality. Thank you, Beth Israel!

Julie