A Vermont farmer treasured a certain axe that had been passed down for several generations. He was known to pause for a moment before wielding it and remark, "It's a fine axe. It's had eight new handles and three new axe heads---but it's still the same axe!" Ed Lane, the Minister Emeritus of my home church told this story on the occasion of the 300th Anniversary of First Parish in Waltham, Massachusetts. The story of the farmer and his treasured axe has stuck with me as an illustration of a fundamental truth in the life of a church. A religious community is always changing. Channing Memorial Church has a history in Newport dating back farther than the dedication of this building to gatherings in other places. I am one in a long line of ministers who have served this church. There have been a countless number of members who have made up this congregation over time. The originals may have changed- but it's still the same church!

Our very presence here today is informed by the dreams and hard work of the people who came before us. This structure bears witness to the efforts and aspirations of its founders and the generous financial contributions offered by Unitarians through out the United States, Canada, and Europe as a tribute to William Ellery Channing.

I am honored to be called to this place hallowed by the efforts of those early founders and more importantly to join with you, members and friends of Channing Memorial Church. Through your efforts, this church is a vital liberal religious community of all ages. The beauty of this house of worship is without question. However, unlike the stationary statue of Channing across the way in Touro Park, the spirit of faith within this church is everflowing. In the tradition of Channing's gospel of truth and love, we believe as Unitarian Universalists that religion is sterile unless it has direct and effective bearing on the contemporary issues of human life.

Although today certainly marks the beginning of a new chapter, it is really the continuation of a journey that I began some time ago. I've noticed that when I introduce myself as a minister, people often begin to censor their language or they will ask, "Can you drink?" "Will they allow you to get married?" It is telling how many people associate sacrifice and restrictions with religion. As a lifelong Unitarian Universalist, I have chosen this path because when it comes right down to it, I want it all! Unitarian Universalist ministry brings together my interests, passions, and concerns in a way that no other vocation would allow. Unitarian Universalist ministry is a natural extension of who I am and how I want to live my life.

The life of William Ellery Channing continues to ripple outward and influences our understanding of liberal religious faith even today. Although there are strains of Unitarian thought dating back farther, Channing was the first to articulate Unitarian theology in America and so he is considered the Father of Unitarianism. His work and thought could inspire several sermons but for today I would simply like to highlight the values found in this morning's reading, an excerpt from a sermon that Channing preached at the dedication of the Unitarian Church in Newport, the predecessor to this building.

In this passage from "Christian Worship" that Bill read to us, Channing reflects on his personal experience. The fact that he asks his listeners to pardon him for speaking of himself demonstrates that this is a rare autobiographical reference. He poignantly explains that his understanding of worship, liberty, beauty, and power was directly affected by the place of his birth, Newport, Rhode Island.

Channing was well respected as a scholar. Here he extols the virtues of his theological study at a time when he had no professor to guide him. I am moved by the two places that he mentions as his "noble places of study" because they are also my personal favorites: one is the library and the other is the beach. One thing that seems to unite many Unitarian Universalists is a love of reading. Channing emphasized the importance of free thought. Through the pages of a book our perspective on what it means to be a citizen of the world is broadened.

Channing describes at greater length his time spent upon the beach. He imparts how the outward landscape (the waves, the sand, the awesome beauty of the ocean) touched his soul. Here are his words again, "No spot on earth has helped to form me so much as that beach. There I lifted up my voice to praise amidst the tempest. There, softened by beauty, I poured out my thanksgiving and contrite confessions. There, in reverential sympathy with the mighty power around me, I became conscious of power within. There struggling thoughts broke forth, as if moved to utterance by Nature's eloquence of the wind and the waves." The natural landscape imparts intuitive knowledge about our place in the order of the Universe. As individuals, we are but a small part of the whole and yet our power extends outward to act with love and work for justice.

At the increasingly busy pace of modern life, we are often pulled in many directions at once. Given the messages that bombard us over the radio, the Internet, television, and film, it is possible to become stuck at a surface level where the external values of appearance and consumerism rule us. Life, like a vast body of water, is fluid, constantly in motion. Beneath the turbulent surface of conflicting demands, there is a quiet depth, a source of peace, power, and inspiration. As a part of this religious community, you are invited to return to your center. We are reminded that the most noble places of study are to be found in our daily experience. Here are some questions for personal reflection:

Today is the Ingathering of our religious community- our Religious Education program has begun with brand new classes for our children and youth, and many people have returned from summer sojourns. To celebrate this special occasion, we are joining with many other Unitarian Universalist societies who observe this time of renewal with a Water Communion.

Before I explain the significance of this ritual, I would like to draw your attention to the baptismal font that will serve as our common container. In the church office, I discovered a Visitor's Guide printed in the 1930's. This small pamphlet offers an account of the church's foundation and lists the many Memorials that grace this sanctuary. I was delighted to read, "The first contribution to the church was the marble font, given by seven little girls". Where the other donors are named, these seven little girls being nameless remain forever young. I would love to discover more about them. A marble font is an expensive present. Were they at all involved in its selection and purchase? Who were the families that planned such a noble gesture? I wonder about their ages at the time and whether these seven little girls ever skipped and played together in the park or along the seashore.

Today you have been invited to bring some water with you that you collected from a special place over the summer. The source was of your choosing: ocean, river, lake, stream, from a distant shore or as close as the tap. This water is a symbol of our individual paths that bring us to this house of worship. It is a reminder that the sacred is to be found in our daily lives. In sharing our personal experiences, talents, ideas, and concerns with others, we offer precious gifts.

Each person who remembered to bring water today will come forward to pour it in our common container and tell us where it came from. This will be our holy water. I will distill it and use it through out the year for special occasions. Unlike other traditions, this water is not blessed by an elect person but made special by the blending and meeting of our contributions.

As we participate or observe the water communion, we are also aware that water is an essential universal element that nourishes and sustains us. As Eco-theologians Joanna Macy and John Seed remind us, we are, by our very nature, intersecting cycles of the elements. "WATER- blood, lymph, mucus, sweat, tears, inner oceans tugged by the moon, tides within and tides without. Streaming fluids floating our cells, washing and nourishing through endless riverways of gut and vein and capillary. Moisture pouring in and through and out of you, of me, in the vast poem of the hydrological cycle. You are that. I am that."

In your order of service you will find a responsive reading titled "Blending Our Waters". "Right" and "Left" do not refer to political leanings but where you happened to sit today. We will start with this side, the right, and then this side, the left, will respond. Where it is written "All" we will join our voices together.

Blending Our Waters- Dennis Hamilton

Right: We bring our waters from the west, the north, the south and the east, from the sky and from the earth.

Left: We bring water from lakes and streams, reservoirs of fresh waters that quench our thirst.

Right: We bring water from the great oceans and the seas that circle the globe, teeming with life, the source of all life.

Left: We bring water from our pilgrimages to friends and family, to resorts and spas and sacred places.

ALL: WE BRING WATER TO THIS PLACE OF MEETING, OF BLENDING AND SHARING.

Right: In this water there is new water, formed in the atmosphere daily, and there is old water, water as old as the earth, water from which life has evolved over the eons. This is the stream of life from which all life flows.

Left: We are all connected by this stream for it runs through our veins and courses through the stems and leaves of plants.

Right: It is the symbol of the cleansing power of forgiveness and the faithful promise of healing love.

Left: It is the symbol and the reality of the oneness that unites humankind and all life.

ALL: MAY WE BLEND OUR SEPARATE WATERS INTO ONE SACRED STREAM AS WE BRING OUR LIVES TOGETHER INTO SACRED PURPOSE AND MEANING IN THIS CHURCH.