The Genuine

• Memorial Day Services at Tully Cemetery at 9am and Veterans Park at 11am.
• Strawberry Social on June 27th at 2pm with a 50/50 Raffle to benefit North Quabbin Animal Control.
• Discussion Circle is on the last Sunday after Church. These discussions are here to to inspire, teach, guide, and challenge us–all are welcome to join us (this is an exploration of sacred passages, poetry, and words to inspire us toward freshness, surprise, and wonder).

Visit our Calendar of Events to explore our upcoming dates and times

All are Welcome. If you are uncomfortable with the word God, please feel welcome to insert your own word for the divine or Mystery in your life (Universe/Grace/Spirit/Divine).

These Reflections are written to be read aloud, please forgive any writing errors. You can find the recording HERE later on Sunday morning.

SUNDAY REFLECTION:

Of Note: This morning’s service began with a reading of Howard Thurman’s The Sound of the Genuine. Please feel welcome to enhance this Reflection by exploring that work.

Speaking with the wind and fire of Holy Spirit.  Perhaps it is the sound of the Genuine that echoes within our own genuine.  

There’s been a lot of talk about artificial intelligence recently.  I read a study about the use of AI and pastors*.  I took some of it with a grain of salt, but there was also, I’m sure, quite a bit of truth to it. It appears that pastors are using AI more than expected.  

There’s a lot of ways AI can be used, so there are levels of use and it is hard to avoid and getting harder.  We often may find ourselves using it without even realizing it.  We may use it to quickly find something.  We might use it to sort through resources or to help compose an email or to organize our calendar.  We might use it to create fun images.  We could use it to write our sermons…

My favorite part of the article was that if you aren’t honest about the use of AI in your work (or life), then you’ve probably crossed into inappropriate use.  I thought that was a pretty good measure.  

Because it is prevalent!  I recently had someone suggest, when I was running out of time one week, to have AI write my Reflection…just this once.  It’s a sticky area and easy to abuse. 

I did not use AI to write any Reflection.  I do not use AI to write any of my writing.  I use HI, human intelligence, no matter how messy it might be.  One of the works of a minister (and perhaps in many, or most, of our human endeavors) is to sit with the text, the story, and Grace.  To reflect upon, to ponder, to contemplate.  To see the world and to truth-tell.  And yes, to wrestle with the text, the story, Grace, and the world.  

I think our work as humans, as spiritual beings, is to seek the Genuine.   

AI, and many of our techs, are really good at taking us away from the genuine.  

I was with my brother this past week and he’s much more tech-y and comfortable with what tech has to offer than I am.  I am much more cautious and wary of where we might go astray, whereas he is excited to explore this new terrain.  

He used his AI to summarize my ministry and then to write a sermon based on our website, our Reflections, and a theme.  

I must say, I was flattered by what Claude (AI) had to say, until my brother told me that Claude tends to be overly nice.  

Claude’s sermon began with an anecdote: “Last week I watched one of our neighbors — and you know who you are—”. “You know who you are”??   It begins with a made up story.  A lie.  

Not very genuine. 

Ironically, the theme centered around scorekeeping when you do something versus genuinely giving of ourselves.  Genuine, which I would say starts with honesty.  

Apparently “I’ve been sitting with the story of ___ this week…” (I left the story “blank” so as not to distract us from our theme).  I suppose I could have pulled out the scripture and “sat with it” to make it kind of, sort of, factual that I sat with the story.  It wouldn’t have been true though.  

Definitely not genuine.  Or, maybe, not genuine for me.  

I’m not judging AI or anyone who uses AI.  I will not be surprised if, eventually, it’ll be like a lot of tech that we say we’ll “never, ever use” and then it becomes something we use all the time (I’m looking specifically at you texting!).  

Mostly I’m playing with AI so that we might reflect on it together. Using our HI (human intelligence) for pondering, reflecting, contemplating, and wrestling.  I’ll repeat the nugget gleaned from the article: if we’re honest with how we’re using AI, then that’s a decent marker that we’re probably using it appropriately.  

Yes, I’m aware of the environmental arguments against AI.  I’m not reflecting on that today…we could be here all day. But it is something to consider as you do your own reflecting and pondering.  

Back to the AI sermon.  

There were some lovely themes and reminders in the AI sermon.  It shared all the many ways we can tend and care with and for one another and this world.  It cited how our small acts when done with genuine giving and grace are holy.  Although, it all began to seem a little bit “listy”.  

I’ll even say that Claude’s sermon did make me ponder and wrestle with some things.  It gave me a slightly different angle for looking at a familiar story.  This experiment was an opportunity to look closer at AI.  

Perhaps, the biggest question AI asks of us is what is genuine?  What is real and true?  Maybe it helps us the refine and define what is genuine in ourselves?  What is genuine in our lives and world?  What can AI not truly replace?  Perhaps that is the genuine.  

What is genuine in ourselves seems like an easy question, but it is harder than it should be to find our genuine.  

Our lives are so very full of things that keep up from seeing and seeking and sitting with the genuine.  PAUSE.  We are bombarded with so much, and so much that is heavy and hard, that keeps us spinning our wheels and meeting the world reactively instead of genuinely.  

We are hit with more information during our morning cup of coffee than we once took in in a week, or a month, or even longer.  No wonder we feel bombarded, distracted, and scattered.  

Of course it’s hard to find the genuine.  

It takes time and space to find our genuine.  And maybe that’s part of life’s journey.  Maybe that’s part of why we’re here.  

It’s when we’re with the genuine that we notice the genuine.  It is in Stillness that we find our genuine.  Slow down and savor.  A mug of tea and the morning light…and the genuine.   Take up a book and sink into the sensory impression of paper and ink…and explore the genuine.  Watch the day sky awaken into the night sky.  Sing.  Dance.  PAUSE.  Sit in the company of a good friend. 

Sit in nature, even if part of the genuine is nagging you (bugs, too hot, too cold, too wet, too windy, too, too, too…).  That too is genuine.  

Just like our imperfect waves of emotions and feelings.  Just like our unformed and still evolving thoughts and wisdom.  

AI might be quicker, but do we need to be bombarded with more quickness in our lives…especially here where we Seek?  

I’ll always be the extra friendly Human Intelligence, with all the wonderfully human mistakes.  HI shared as Reflections on life and the Mystery that are still forming and evolving, growing and changing.  HI will scatter seeds for each of us to pick up and sort and nurture with our own HI.  

The words will be imperfectly perfect.  Both, and. And together, as human beings, we will sit together, tend to one another, reflect upon, and wrestle with until we begin and continue to uncover and discover the genuine all around us and the genuine within ourselves.  

This perhaps is Grace.