Across the Waters of Remembrance
A Handbook for Liberal and Progressive Clergy
Herbert E. Hudson IV
Foreword by Richard Agler
Across the Waters of Remembrance
A Handbook for Liberal and Progressive Clergy
Copyright © 2020 Herbert E. Hudson IV. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
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To my favorite PKs
Debbie, Wendy, and Sean
Foreword
The essential task facing the minister, priest, rabbi, or imam is as challenging as any in the professional canon. In addition to the endless pastoral, administrative, and executive duties that devolve upon a religious leader, the preacher needs to stand before a congregation on a weekly basis and offer insight in a confusing world, grounding in a tumultuous world, and comfort in an oft-times brutal world. All the while remaining fresh, insightful, and relevant to an audience consisting largely of “regulars” who have been there many times before.
Rev. Herbert “Terry” Hudson not only faced this challenge, he met it, consistently, over the course of a career that spanned six decades—and counting.
His discourses on faith transcend every religious and political boundary and are a witness to the human experience that we all share. Whether you are a member of his Unitarian Universalist denomination or not, this collection of readings, prayers, and sermons will reach you intellectually and spiritually.
Writing with gentle eloquence, comprehensive knowledge, and above all, caring, the good pastor uplifts as he informs, inspires us as he teaches, and opens us to affirming, loving, and embracing perspectives on life’s great questions. His writing would be a gift in any age—it is especially welcome in our own.
The compilation is remarkable for its steady tone. Beginning before the 1960’s got “hot,” and continuing through the second decade of the twenty-first century, across very different historical times and circumstances, Rev. Hudson continually finds ways to impart transcendent wisdom.
As the book takes us through decades’ worth of “issues of the day,” he finds, and amplifies, the prophetic voices of decency and justice. We know that such issues are often muddled and distorted by the passions of political discourse. Rev. Hudson cuts through them and places the larger questions before us. What is Right here? How do we best honor our shared humanity? What does the living God want from us? Our own perspectives clarify as we listen.
The “Prayers and Readings” section could serve as a book of daily inspiration by itself. It offers a lifetime’s worth of opportunity for reflection, insight, and uplift. Even contemplating one per day—because who among us can fully digest and make even that much wisdom our own?—will leave us the better for having done so.
Writers are often told to “Write what you know.” There is better advice, I believe, and that is to “Write what you want to know.” Rev. Hudson often takes the latter course. He navigates complex issues through the lens of spiritual quest. He is constantly seeking, uncovering, and growing. It is all here for us to appreciate and incorporate into our lives.
Scholarship informs Rev. Hudson’s work but never overwhelms it. His congregants may have felt on occasion that they were in a university seminar—but they would have never gotten lost in it. Through careful use of personal story and everyday language, his talent brings the eternal questions of the human condition into manageable relief. With a thoughtful balance between the emotional and the rational, never veering too far in the direction of either, his writing educates as it edifies.
While he is far too wise to give simple answers to unsolvable conundrums, Rev. Hudson does make them more accessible. Viewing life through the lens of Scripture’s timeless perspective, he extracts the verities of love, knowledge, and truth. The principles of honesty, justice, and spiritual integrity come to life in ways that reach heart and mind alike.
From the international to the local, from the familial to the individual, from sources ancient and modern, Rev. Hudson leads with wisdom, clarity, and above all, hope. Start at the beginning of the book or open it to any page. Explore, take your time, and prepare to be strengthened. This collection from his life’s work is a gift to us all.
Rabbi Richard Agler, DD
Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton, Florida and Resident Scholar of the Keys Jewish Community Center in Tavernier, Florida
January 2020
Preface
My first sermon was given when I was a ministerial student at Harvard Divinity School in 1959. This was a time when Paul Tillich was on the faculty, completing the writing of his Systematic Theology (Tillich 1967). After later graduating from the Starr King School in Berkeley, I was called to be the pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Utica, New York from 1961 to 1966. I then became a professor at the State University of New York in Cortland and served as a part-time minister of the First Universalist Church of Central Square from 1967 to 1983. Subsequently, I moved to Key Largo, Florida where I became an adjunct professor at Trinity International University and regularly filled the pulpit of the Coral Isles United Church of Christ. I earned my DMin degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
This book is the capstone of my ministry from 1959 to 2020—literally a span of six decades. The sermons are grouped into three periods. Sermons given in Utica tend to be more academic and are termed “The Dawning of Awareness.” Sermons given at Central Square, a time of personal growth and change, are considered as “A Soul in Transition.” Finally, sermons in Key Largo reflect more certainty and trust in life and are referred to as “A Seasoned Spirit.” (Videos of some Key Largo sermons are available on YouTube under Terry Hudson). The balance of this handbook includes readings, prayers, invocations, benedictions and special services for weddings, christenings and memorials that I have accumulated and used during my spiritual odyssey.
It is my hope that this compilation will serve as a resource for liberal and progressive clergy, and it is my prayer that you will find life to be as blessed and fulfilling as I have.
Herbert E. Hudson IV
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to Rabbi Richard Agler, author of The Tragedy Test (Agler 2018), who wrote the Foreword to this book. I am grateful to Will King, Michael Delgado, and Eric Anderson for their computer help—and to Richard Knowles and Jeffrey Cale for their photography. Thanks to Matthew Wimer and his associates at Wipf and Stock Publishers, whose expertise and thoroughness helped make this project a reality. I am appreciative to Arnold Crompton who once shared with me the words that inspired the title of this volume, words which may have originated with the writings of Michael Fairless (Fairless 1905, 24). And special appreciation goes to my life partner, Maria Teresa Kwalick, for her encouragement and support.
Part I
The Dawning of Awareness
Sermons in Utica, New York
1