Blue Crowns and Cherry Heads

Martha Hodges - 2006-02-26

In the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco there lives a flock of wild parrots. No one knows for sure how they got there. There is a similar miracle to be seen in the Hyde Park area of Chicago where I went to seminary. Every once in a while, glancing out my window or trudging home from my teaching job, I would catch a glimpse of bright green plumage or hear the raucous conversations of these inexplicable parrots that live and thrive in the windy trees of Hyde Park, summer and winter.

I’m not sure what species these Chicago parrots are, but I know that in San Francisco, they are cherry-head conures. I know this because I recently saw a movie about them -- a wonderful movie, now on DVD, called The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. This is a documentary about an outsider of sorts, a man named Mark Bittner, who came to San Francisco in search of himself and fell in love with another bunch of outsiders – a flock of wild parrots. He made the study of these parrots his life’s work and the source of meaning in his life. When they were sick or injured, he nursed them back to health, but he never attempted to tame them. Nevertheless, he fed them and they came to trust him. He gave them names and came to know each of them by their markings, behavior and habits. Each had a personality that he came to know.

Now there was one parrot among them who was different. This was a blue-crowned parrot that Bittner named Connor. Connor was similar to the cherry-heads except that his head was blue instead of red. His mate had died and now he existed on the fringes of the flock. As a different species, he was not treated very well by the cherry heads. His personality was more dignified and reserved than that of the aggressive and playful cherry heads. Although he was kind of a grumpy bird, he would often come to the defense of cherry heads who were sick or weak and therefore targets of the other cherry heads.

Watching Connor, it’s hard to see him as anything other than lonely and depressed. At one point, Bittner acquires a tame blue crown to be Connor’s friend. This works for awhile, but Connor ultimately chooses to remain wild rather than join his friend within the safe confines of Bittner’s home.

I won’t tell you how the story ends, but I will tell you that this true tale affected me very much. It was easy for me to identify with Connor, as it was for Bittner. Like many of us Unitarian Universalists, Connor was an introvert. Like many of us Unitarian Universalists, despite this characteristic, Connor craved the company of his own kind but could not or would not go against his nature to obtain it. I’m not what you would call a joiner. Yet, as I watched this film, my heart ached for Connor in his isolation and I was forced to acknowledge that the source of my identification with him was my own innate hardwired need for a life lived in community.

I expect every person has been there -- we’ve all felt like a blue crown among the cherry heads. Don’t we all sometimes feel that we don't belong, that we are unwanted?

I think we UUs have mixed feelings about being misfits. There is no doubt a bit of arrogance or even elitism mixed in with the image some of us hold of ourselves as “different” from the busy cherry heads that thrive around us, the ones who literally rule the roost. But I believe there is also a deep loneliness, a hunger to belong, to be at home with others that brings many of us to church.

Today we have heard about a community of Unitarian Universalists that, as a congregation, we have not always felt connected to. And yet, this does not have to be. A world of blue crowns and cherry heads alike awaits our friendly overtures. We begin by building this little community. We reach out to other blue crowns -- to that part in others that feels uniquely alone. Then we expand the boundaries of our little flock and soon we find our place in the city. We discover that we can live and thrive in the company of others, even when the environment is hostile. Blue crown or cherry head, we live together, fly together, thrive together. We join the larger flock.

In the gathering space following this service you will find some mementos from Heartland District events, the Midwest Leadership School and other opportunities for learning and leadership. You have heard about camps and retreat centers, GA and Young Adult Conferences. This morning I posted to the MVUUF News Group an annotated list of websites for UUA affiliated organizations, list serves and publications. Check out the worship resources of the Church of the Larger Fellowship and the UU Service Committee. There are connections there for UU Christians, UU conservatives, UU LGBT folks, UU people of color, UU Buddhists...

There is so much available to us in the way of resources, support, and friendly connections. All we have to do is decide that there is value in reaching beyond our prideful isolation, our shyness or fear or sense of uniqueness. Once you have discovered and made these connections, your understanding of this religion and of your place in it will not be the same. The joys and comforts of community extend far, far beyond these doors. Spread your wings and join the flock!