| The Mosaic Project |
[07 Jul 2009|10:47pm] |
Everyone should read The Mosaic Project: An Assessment of Unitarian Universalist Ministry to Youth and Young Adults of Color and Latina/o and Hispanic and Multiracial/Multiethnic descent.
I'm serious - it is just that good.
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(something to say)
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| God and Prayer |
[18 Jun 2009|01:56pm] |
Do you believe in God?
Do you pray to God?
What is the nature of God?
How is the God you believe exists like the God favored in other religions? How is God different?
What do you expect will happen when you pray to God? Do you think God answers prayers?
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(16 had something to say)
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[18 Jun 2009|05:49am] |
I am trying to find out if there is a UU group anywhere near Bullhead City, Arizona.
I searched the UU site, but came up with nothing. Maybe there is a small house group?
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(5 had something to say)
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| Sources Supper and what makes a UU? |
[15 Jun 2009|08:33pm] |
So I'm trying to put together a sermon about UU identity, and I'd love to hear some thoughts if you have them!
A group in Minneapolis has created something called the "Sources Supper" whose purpose is to do something for the UUs "similar to what the Seder does for Jews: tell the UU story as our story, in a way that is home based, binds us to our past, and speaks to our struggles today. It is a ritual designed to be celebrated year after year until its themes, figures, and stories get into the consciousness of the congregation and the hemoglobin of our members..."
Here is what they have developed for the overarching frame of Unitarian Universalism:
The universe is one, it's good, and we are it's children. So we are open to all sources of revelation, and we push back with courage against the forces that block spiritual growth and human flourishing in our time.
We learned that our ancestors were rebels against the established order, and they created new ways to be religious by absorbing the special sprit and knowledge of their times - such as the spirit of individual freedom and knowledge about the Bible or the science of evolution. Revelation for them was open-ended and everywhere. Our ancestors were always restless; they kept resisting, getting in trouble, and then building something new. They were skeptics and idealists, critics and creators - and they took many risks along the way. To our surprise, we also found that many of our ancestors were mystics, people of the spirit who experienced the oneness and goodness of all creation. Both reverence and reason - affirmed, integrated, fought for, and sacrificed for.
Thoughts?
What do you think makes someone a Unitarian?
Is there more to it than just believing the seven principles?
Is it alienating tonew UUs to talk about "our ancestors"?
When is one's "claim" to the identity an authentic one?
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(5 had something to say)
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| GA 2009 on Streaming Media! |
[11 Jun 2009|01:44pm] |
Through Facebook I got the following notice about GA being broadcast for those of us who cannot be there. It's not clear to me if these will be archived for viewing at later times or not. (Can't imagine they wouldn't be...)
Can't be at General Assembly (GA) this year? The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) 2009 GA will come to you via live streaming media. Here are the events we'll cover, live. Additional programs may be captured for later video broadcast; these will be added to our schedule as they are made available.
Note: All times listed are Mountain Daylight Time. All programs will be delivered in Flash.
( Click to see full schedule )
For more information contact web@uua.org.
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(1 had something to say)
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| UU Military Handbook: Assistance Needed |
[10 Jun 2009|07:50am] |
It came to my attention, through our district newsletter, that there is a fundraising effort going on to print a pocket-size book that will contain readings, prayers, hymns and worship resources from UU and non-UU sources for free distribution to interested US service men and women. So far they have reported raising $7,500 of $25,000 needed before June 30. So here is a chance to support those who have chosen to serve in the military with our particular message.
Unitarian Universalist Military Handbook
First Lieutenant David Pyle, U.S. Army Chaplain Candidate and MOD Minister writes, “In our ministry with the Basic Trainees at the Great Lakes Naval Station, there is a hunger among our recruits for ways that they can identify as Unitarian Universalists…If we had such a devotional collection of liberal faith, our recruits could claim UU identity, have the inspiration they need in the difficult time of Basic Training, and take that inspiration with them into the rest of their military career and life.”
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(2 had something to say)
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| Invitation to make a blog post to celebrate a woman philosopher! |
[02 Jun 2009|01:25am] |
Everyone (of all genders) is invited to participate in Theano's Day, an event to celebrate and rediscover women's contributions to philosophy throughout the centuries.
Blurb from the Pledge Bank signup site, which you may find here: http://www.pledgebank.com/theanosday
"I will blog to spotlight a woman, living or dead, who has made an important contribution to philosophy but only if 100 other people will do the same."
Also there's a Facebook group for Theano's Day to discuss the project with other participants: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=526821601&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=74564828672&ref=mf
More information, from the website: http://www.pledgebank.com/theanosday
Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras' wife Theano was a scholar and intellectual in her own right. Along with helping him raise five children, she put together writings on mathematics, art, beauty, philosophy, and child raising. She is credited with developing the Golden Mean, a crucial idea in aesthetic theory.
By taking this pledge, you sign up to honor and celebrate important women such as Theano by promising to create a blog post on June 24th concerning a female philosopher. As with Ada Lovelace Day, spotlighting women's contributions to technology, the woman you select may be from any nation, culture, or time period, living or dead...and you may blog in any style or format, using any software in any language.
( Read more... )
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(something to say)
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| A new poll... |
[30 May 2009|08:00am] |
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mood |
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Many BGLT people beat up on "Christians" in general because we percieve them as a threat to us. But, as good politicians have pointed out on many issues, the truth is more nuanced than that. The organization Public Religion Research has published a survey Clergy Voices Survey Part II: Views on Theology and Gay and Lesbian Issues. There are a range of interesting issue that are supported by mainline protestant (not evangelical) clergy. 46% of clergy support marriage equality when they have assurance that churches will not be required to perform marriages contrary to their beliefs.
On a range of policy issues, Mainline Protestant clergy are generally more supportive of LGBT rights than the general population, and mostly in line with Mainline Protestants overall. Two-thirds of Mainline clergy support hate crimes legislation (67%) and workplace protections for gay and lesbian people (66%), and a majority (55%) supports adoption rights. Same-sex marriage is the only major LGBT public policy issue that does not enjoy majority support from Mainline clergy; on this issue, one-third supports same-sex marriage and nearly a third (32%) supports civil unions.
And there's a whole lot of room to make allies among "the uncertain middle," defined as "clergy who support some gay and lesbian rights but are ambivalent on others."
To me this shows that progress is possible, and that Evangelical isn't the only only way to be Christian.
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(3 had something to say)
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| The American Dream |
[19 May 2009|07:17am] |
From the SPEAKING OF FAITH Facebook page. An interesting montage of faces and dreams.
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(something to say)
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| Palestine: A Challenge to Humanity |
[13 May 2009|10:32am] |
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Last Sunday the Melbourne Unitarian Church had an address from Michael Shaik from Australians for Palestine entitled "Palestine: A Challenge to Humanity". I conducted the service selecting the opening words, reading and closing words from Bishop Desmond Tutu, a recent article from the Christian Science Monitor, and Avhram Burg respectively. The text of the service is available and your comments invited.
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(something to say)
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| bylaw revisions at the UUA. What do we think? |
[06 May 2009|10:42pm] |
http://www.uufkw.org/principles.pdf
I invite all UUA members to review this document. What do we think about currently proposed changes to the UUA bylaws? It will be voted on at the upcoming GA, and then go on to be voted on again at the next.
If your congregation is sending delegates to the convention, I especially suggest reccommending that we get this discussion going more strongly throught our community.
Thanks,
Enku
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(12 had something to say)
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| Pondering... |
[05 May 2009|07:33am] |
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Reading a blog about decisions to turn down some of the stimulus money the question rises up, again: Can a decision be non-racially motivated but have a racial impact? Can one an act be non-racist in intent but racist in effect? If so, does the actor (Governor in these cases) deserve to be tagged as a racist?
Is the world no better than when the Kenndy's were killled? When King was killed? When Malcom was killed? When Ghandi was killed?
"We have to admit that we've come a long way," [Dr. Maya] Angelou says. "Young people must be told yes, things are better, but not nearly as good as things will be when you put your children to the wheel."
5-4-09: Edited
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(5 had something to say)
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