I don’t know how many of you remember the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” but it has in it one of my favorite scenes of all time.

Butch, acted by Paul Newman, and Sundance, by Robert Redford, are bank robbers, and they have been on the run for a long time.  Finally, they are cornered by the law on a very, very high cliff where the only means for escape is to jump below into a wild, rolling river.  

Redford looks down and is sweating, and his body is pressed against the wall. His eyes are wide. He’s scared. And he asks, what are we going to do, and Newman replies, “We’re gonna jump.” Redford says no, no, he can’t jump. Newman asks why and the very macho Redford replies, “I can’t swim.” 

Newman jerks his head back in loud, galling laughter and says “Are you crazy, the fall is gonna kill ya.”

By the way, they jump and make yet another getaway. 

This scene reminds us that sometimes we worry about the wrong things – and when faced with unexpected situations, we must think differently, invent new solutions, find courage – and trust.  And take a leap of faith.

We’ve had our backs against the wall more than a few times at Mount Auburn, but we’ve come through – because of our conviction and love for one another. 

We’ve been in is a bit of a waiting period, and that’s natural and common. But that will change soon in a couple of ways.  

A new minister is on the horizon, and looking more broadly, our denomination is taking up once again Amendment B – the part of our constitution that is intended to prevent the ordination of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered persons as Elders, Deacons, and Ministers of the Word. 

And all the while, we always need to be intentional in meeting the needs of each other, our faith family.

The table is being re-set for us to work together spiritually and gracefully to invent, create, listen, learn, and lead.

While the 2006 General Assembly next summer in Birmingham, Alabama seems to be a long way away, it really is not.  The ground work to propose legislation before our Presbytery needs to begin now.   What role could and should Mount Auburn play at this moment in history?

Once we call a new minister, we will be creating a new chapter in our lives together as a congregation. How and what do we want to paint on this canvas?

And we have individual needs that know no timetable and pay no attention to a calendar.  Some of our needs are articulated out loud through joys and concerns, others are held close and quiet.  How can we find new ways to understand and support each other – even better than we already do?

The idea for this sermon came to me a few weeks ago as I was traveling to Kansas City to attend a national Morelight Presbyterians leadership conference led by a very good friend of this church, Michael Adee.  

I confess I had rushed to get ready and to the airport, and only after buckling the seat belt at take-off did I look at the program details for the weekend.  There it was – a suggestion that each participant bring a book or spiritual reading to share with the group. I was busted. Of course, I had nothing spiritual with me of the sort.  Or so I thought.

I had stuffed in my briefcase the latest edition of  business-pop culture magazine called Fast Company. Its headline had caught my attention – “Change or Die.”

The inside article focused on personal and corporate behavior change, not church change, but I found myself sharing it with the group. It seemed to me to create change – within the denomination, within our Presbytery, within our own church, and even in ourselves, we have to question long held assumptions.

Here are some examples of those myths challenged in the article, and they really are quite simple:

1.     Crisis is a powerful impetus for change. 

That is not the case, according to the experts.  As a point of proof, it notes that physicians lament that 90% of patients who’ve had coronary by-pass surgery don’t sustain changes in their unhealthy lifestyles.  The fear of death does not change behavior, rather it is changed by the joy in living.  Which leads to the next myth . . .

2.     Change is motivated by fear. 

Again, not true.  The human capacity for denial is great. It is the positive vision for the future that is a much stronger inspiration for change.

3.     The next myth – the facts will set us free.

“Hunt uhh.”  We are guided by narratives, story telling and emotional appeals.  Why are facts less compelling? Because when they don’t suit us, we reject them.

4.     And a fourth myth – small gradual changes are always easier to make and sustain.

Nope. Often it is the sweeping change that is easier, because it yields greater, more visible benefits sooner. 

So, what does any of this have to do with Amendment B, a new minister, pastoring to each other in our faith community, or even our own personal journeys?

We know from our own experience here at Mount Auburn that crisis, fear, and facts have often failed to reap the changes we have sought.

Your Morelight Committee is developing a strategy to reach out and work together with other leaders in this Presbytery to remove the intentions and implications of Amendment B.  We don’t know what this effort will look like or where it will take us.  We are designated as a “swing presbytery” in this national dialogue.  We have several options. One is to present an overture that goes right at it, asking for B to be deleted from the constitution. Or we can propose that this Presbytery concur with  actions  of  other  Presbyteries  that  have passed overtures to that affect – like Heartland Presbytery in Kansas City.

Or is it possible that we can use our creativity, faith, and openness to create a new path that brings people of differing points together through a positive vision?  One supported by the tradition of the Presbyterian Church as reformed and always reforming?  Can we share narratives and stories to create a change-making environment?  I am not naïve.  Every aspect of our political, civic, and religious lives in this country is extremely divided and polarized. The water may be too wide, the breech too deep. Trust too shallow.

But now is the time to bring the principles of Mount Auburn off the paper on which it is written and into action. One of those important principles is (quote) “to be relational and outreaching and remain in dialogue, acting with mutual forbearance and respectfulness toward the diverse views and positions along the road to more light.” 

Can we share our hearts and share leadership to change this denomination?  I submit we must try.

As we bring forward a new pastor, we have a unique opportunity to look anew at literally everything we do, or don’t do, for that matter.  This is not suggesting change for change’ sake or abandoning our history.  Quite the contrary, it makes us who we are. 

Change will not be in the hands or at the feet of one person, but all of us.

It is about moving forward with fresh eyes to realize our next potential.  Kathleen Norris  puts  it  well when she says: “Disconnecting from change does not recapture the past it loses the future.”       

Mindful of our past, present and future our North Star must always be our care for each other.  We give our hearts and souls to this faith community. Let us always nurture and support each other in the midst of our fire and passion.   

As we celebrate Morelight Sunday today and honor  our 14 years of an inclusive policy accepting gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered persons fully and equally, 14 years of unwaivering inclusiveness, let us remember, humbly, that we don’t have more light, we seek it. 

And as we walk today through the neighborhoods of Clifton and Northside, let us be very proud of what we have accomplished together, what we are capable of and have yet to do.

Let us stand strong in our love and faith and work with others to create the change we seek always – and most importantly – seeing the face of God in everything we do.