The Berry Street Lecturer this year spoke movingly about an aspect of ministry that has to do with keeping certain boundaries. He said that he exercised at a gym far from his New England Town Center (where his steeple is likely the biggest around and everybody knows him as Rev. Ken.) Exercising far away means he doesn't have to talk to anybody, be nice, or attend to anything except his exercising, and should anyone say to him, "Are you THE Rev. Ken?" he can say, "No, I'm the other one."
(This annual lectureship is the oldest continuing lectureship in the US; it was started by William Ellery Channing as a continuing education experience for the ministers of New England. It's now the last event of Minister's Day at GA, and a pretty big deal )
I had urged my lay delegates to crash this event, if they could. I told them that it was because the lecture is so very good, and they had some interesting comments about how the necessities of ministerial role somehow necessitate something on their part. They were not quite able to articulate it, but I was touched by how touched they were by this lecture, which was really, really good. I mostly wanted them to be there to share with me the thrill of what happened at the end, which was, the always dramatic announcement of next year's speaker, who will be, in 08 me, myself.
I was asked to do this some months back, and of course, I said yes. (This is not the sort of thing one says "no", to.) I was asked to keep it a secret, which I did do, and now the secret's out. But all evening, as people said, "They asked YOU to do the Berry Street," I was tempted to say, "No, they asked the other one."
Today this feels like a most intimidating honor and I can't imagine what the committee was thinking. In situations like that, it is good to be surrounded by friends.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
GA in Portland
What an amazing plane trip that was! We flew from Phoenix over the Grand Canyon, the Utah red deserts, and then into Oregon, where the snow-covered Cascade Mountains poke up from the trees like the Matterhorn at Disneyland.
I can certainly see where Portland gets its reputation for being a livable city. The streets are tree-lined, small enough to cross, and (this is such a small and yet welcoming thing) a pedestrian does not have to push a special button to make the pedestrian lights work. They just cycle through with the traffic lights, as if pedestrians were expected. This mixed-use neighborhood where our hotel is includes business, residence and hotel properties, including an intreuging world percussion store which was not open at 6 but to which I'll have to return. All the streets are one way; that's hard on motorists, I realize, but it sure simplifies life for pedestrians.
I have a little investment in those one way streets. My father was the Assistant Traffic Engineer in Portland in the early 50's, and he oversaw that transition. We moved when I was 2, so I don't remember living here, but it is good to return.
Events start today, and I've already run into some of my delegation and my two ex-interns. The family reunion begins!
I can certainly see where Portland gets its reputation for being a livable city. The streets are tree-lined, small enough to cross, and (this is such a small and yet welcoming thing) a pedestrian does not have to push a special button to make the pedestrian lights work. They just cycle through with the traffic lights, as if pedestrians were expected. This mixed-use neighborhood where our hotel is includes business, residence and hotel properties, including an intreuging world percussion store which was not open at 6 but to which I'll have to return. All the streets are one way; that's hard on motorists, I realize, but it sure simplifies life for pedestrians.
I have a little investment in those one way streets. My father was the Assistant Traffic Engineer in Portland in the early 50's, and he oversaw that transition. We moved when I was 2, so I don't remember living here, but it is good to return.
Events start today, and I've already run into some of my delegation and my two ex-interns. The family reunion begins!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
iMinister at GA
I'm working furiously on two workshops for this year's General Assembly; one on using Video to help grow Unitarian Universalism, with three members of my church, (4:30 Thursday) and one on Blogging with Philocrates, Chalice Chick, and UU Planet. (4:30 Friday). Both have been assigned enormous rooms, so, come one, come all!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Estate Sales
My neighbor of 18 years died last winter, and this weekend, our neighborhood has been mobbed by an estate sale.
Not normally a "sale" kind of person, still, I had listened to this man's tales about his exotic art and furniture over the 18 years. He had lived in Spain and Mexico for many years and had a lot of art and artifacts. Also, after his wife died about 5 years ago, I helped him clear out her sewing room, and myself inherited most of her stash of beautiful fabrics and other sewing goodies. I wanted to see if there was anything I'd missed.
Anyway, I went over to the sale.
Tomorrow, I'm adding a "No Estate Sale" clause to my will. Let it all go to Good Will, boxed up in one fell swoop by the mentally challenged who need jobs and sold at a good price to the poor who need good prices.
If I have to imagine people pawing through my underwear drawers and old dishes, and chatting out loud their outrageous imaginings about my life, I would simply refuse to die. Talk about lack of dignity! As I wandered through the house, trying to remember the stories I'd been told, not to mention these lovely people who were such good people and such good neighbors, I overheard and oversaw things that broke my heart.
And the best of the artifacts were priced so high they didn't sell. At least, not yet. Today everything is half price, apparently, and perhaps even, "make us an offer". So I suppose I'll go back. He had a couple of wonderful pictures...
I'm painting a worse picture of the scene than it warrants, I know. Jostling crowds always put me in a bad mood. But I realize that most of my reason for going over was to have my own private little memorial service, so I was the odd person out.
I missed his service. Her service was at the Episcopal cathedral and, as a memorial service, it was very unsatisfactory. It was focused on the mass, not on the deceased. That's no way to say goodbye. It is better, however, than an Estate Sale.
Once the fuss is over and before the house sells, I'm going to climb the wall between our back yards and sit a bit on their back patio and say my Adios (to God!) to Victor and Jessie, good neighbors, good people, good world citizens.
Not normally a "sale" kind of person, still, I had listened to this man's tales about his exotic art and furniture over the 18 years. He had lived in Spain and Mexico for many years and had a lot of art and artifacts. Also, after his wife died about 5 years ago, I helped him clear out her sewing room, and myself inherited most of her stash of beautiful fabrics and other sewing goodies. I wanted to see if there was anything I'd missed.
Anyway, I went over to the sale.
Tomorrow, I'm adding a "No Estate Sale" clause to my will. Let it all go to Good Will, boxed up in one fell swoop by the mentally challenged who need jobs and sold at a good price to the poor who need good prices.
If I have to imagine people pawing through my underwear drawers and old dishes, and chatting out loud their outrageous imaginings about my life, I would simply refuse to die. Talk about lack of dignity! As I wandered through the house, trying to remember the stories I'd been told, not to mention these lovely people who were such good people and such good neighbors, I overheard and oversaw things that broke my heart.
And the best of the artifacts were priced so high they didn't sell. At least, not yet. Today everything is half price, apparently, and perhaps even, "make us an offer". So I suppose I'll go back. He had a couple of wonderful pictures...
I'm painting a worse picture of the scene than it warrants, I know. Jostling crowds always put me in a bad mood. But I realize that most of my reason for going over was to have my own private little memorial service, so I was the odd person out.
I missed his service. Her service was at the Episcopal cathedral and, as a memorial service, it was very unsatisfactory. It was focused on the mass, not on the deceased. That's no way to say goodbye. It is better, however, than an Estate Sale.
Once the fuss is over and before the house sells, I'm going to climb the wall between our back yards and sit a bit on their back patio and say my Adios (to God!) to Victor and Jessie, good neighbors, good people, good world citizens.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Snark
It's a new word, I believe, a linguistically delicious combination of snide, sarcasm and scorn.
Delicious linguistically because the word sounds so like what it means, but gad, what an unholy trio of substitutions for conversation, wit, and respect!
What it does to discussions is end them. Sometimes it also turns them into arguments, sometimes simply hurts people's feelings. Which is what it is supposed to do. Snark is the growl of the angry or hurt dog, a warning directly to the deepest levels of our self-protective systems to back off or else.
Most dogs don't actually deliver, and most snark doesn't either, but the intent is, well, the intent. My policy: if people want to end a discussion so badly that they resort to snark, I comply.
Makes for very bad discussions, poor truth finding, and tentative community. But...such a great word!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Brown Bag of Pain
This month's CLF mailer included a sermon that included a story about a moment from Starr King life a few years ago, when, apparently, there was a decree that lunch meetings would be called BYOL rather than Brown Bag. Exactly who had decided that and who was effected by the decree is not clear in the story, and bloggers have been taking the issue to town with various assumptions and diatribes about PC language. (And most of us have learned a painful bit of history; that once upon a time, in the Black community of New Orleans, some people judged how "black" people were by reference to the common paper bag. Just another little bit of evidence for original, or at least ubiquitous sin, but that's another issue) But it does bring up the question of Politically Correct Language.
I am both a big fan of the power of language and suspicious of PC language campaigns. There are times when language hurts. Calling grown women "girls" and grown black men "boys" takes a chunk out of their dignity and gives not-so-subtle permission to society to treat these people, well, as less than full adults.
Where I get off the PC language train is the demand that since certain words have meanings which cause some people pain, "good" people don't use them. Such as, "The 'brown bag' reference is so painful to me because of the history of my people, that you can't use that word around me without doing me damage."
Now, this is not a completely bad argument. I imagine that most of us don't use the word, "niggardly" in spite of the fact that it has nothing to do with the extremely painful word it sounds like, because...well, that what it sounds like and the pain to all who hear is real. There's enough pain in the world, who wants to cause more when "stingy" will do just fine?
If that's one end of the PCLanguage argument spectrum, the other end veers quickly into something not very healthy, which is, "I've discovered this obscure reference to badness and I'm going to pretend to feel hurt by it so that I can test how willing the people around me are to cater to my pretend hurt. " That end of the spectrum is a hypersensitivity and a demand to extra consideration because of one's status as a victim. Not only is it unhealthy behavior for individuals and communities, it actually causes hurt, because it tests persons "goodness" by reference to a fake test, which is whether they are willing to alter their behavior because of what turns out to be an arbitrary demand for consideration. And that is why PC language riles people up so much. Most people like to be thought of as "good" without reference to arbitrary tests, just like they like to think of their skin color as acceptable without reference to paper bags.
I don't know what happened at Starr King over brown bags. It may be that the community contained someone who had been repeatedly tested for full humanity against the color of a brown bag. If I had a classmate or professor who had experienced that horror, I'd start talking about byolunch in a heartbeat. That's real pain to a present person and life is fraught enough already to be causing more. From the telling of the story, however, it sounds like this was more like, "This bad thing happened a long time ago and a long way away and someone here has decided to feel hurt by it and so everybody has to conform themselves to that hurt or they are being insensitive, racist, bad persons." That's actually too sad to be called silly. That's an unhealthy community. That's fake hurt masquerading as vicitmhood and nobody willing to say that this emperor has no clothes.
The good news is that the point of this benighted story in the original sermon was that someone DID ask what the point of the language change was so that the issue could be discussed. Yeah, Starr King! Discussion is where PC language becomes "this is my hurt, can you honor it?" and "now that you explain this to me, I'll never see lunch bags in the same way again," or "you know, I don't see that this really is causing you pain and I don't like this game of "gotcha!" that you seem to be proposing." Or something in the middle and a community that has listened, learned, and weighed, in a rational way, their choices of words.
I am both a big fan of the power of language and suspicious of PC language campaigns. There are times when language hurts. Calling grown women "girls" and grown black men "boys" takes a chunk out of their dignity and gives not-so-subtle permission to society to treat these people, well, as less than full adults.
Where I get off the PC language train is the demand that since certain words have meanings which cause some people pain, "good" people don't use them. Such as, "The 'brown bag' reference is so painful to me because of the history of my people, that you can't use that word around me without doing me damage."
Now, this is not a completely bad argument. I imagine that most of us don't use the word, "niggardly" in spite of the fact that it has nothing to do with the extremely painful word it sounds like, because...well, that what it sounds like and the pain to all who hear is real. There's enough pain in the world, who wants to cause more when "stingy" will do just fine?
If that's one end of the PCLanguage argument spectrum, the other end veers quickly into something not very healthy, which is, "I've discovered this obscure reference to badness and I'm going to pretend to feel hurt by it so that I can test how willing the people around me are to cater to my pretend hurt. " That end of the spectrum is a hypersensitivity and a demand to extra consideration because of one's status as a victim. Not only is it unhealthy behavior for individuals and communities, it actually causes hurt, because it tests persons "goodness" by reference to a fake test, which is whether they are willing to alter their behavior because of what turns out to be an arbitrary demand for consideration. And that is why PC language riles people up so much. Most people like to be thought of as "good" without reference to arbitrary tests, just like they like to think of their skin color as acceptable without reference to paper bags.
I don't know what happened at Starr King over brown bags. It may be that the community contained someone who had been repeatedly tested for full humanity against the color of a brown bag. If I had a classmate or professor who had experienced that horror, I'd start talking about byolunch in a heartbeat. That's real pain to a present person and life is fraught enough already to be causing more. From the telling of the story, however, it sounds like this was more like, "This bad thing happened a long time ago and a long way away and someone here has decided to feel hurt by it and so everybody has to conform themselves to that hurt or they are being insensitive, racist, bad persons." That's actually too sad to be called silly. That's an unhealthy community. That's fake hurt masquerading as vicitmhood and nobody willing to say that this emperor has no clothes.
The good news is that the point of this benighted story in the original sermon was that someone DID ask what the point of the language change was so that the issue could be discussed. Yeah, Starr King! Discussion is where PC language becomes "this is my hurt, can you honor it?" and "now that you explain this to me, I'll never see lunch bags in the same way again," or "you know, I don't see that this really is causing you pain and I don't like this game of "gotcha!" that you seem to be proposing." Or something in the middle and a community that has listened, learned, and weighed, in a rational way, their choices of words.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Museums, Theme Parks, Church
My son has been fascinated by theme parks since he could first say the word, "Disneyland", and a year or so back he joined the Themed Entertainment Association, a very specialized group of design and architectural professionals who work on theme parks, malls, casinos and themed restaurants such as the Rainforest Cafe. With his membership comes the most fascinating magazine introducing this minister to worlds she had never imagined but which have some relevance to church work. It makes great breakfast table reading.
Today's opening article muses on what Themed Entertainment can learn from Museums. Museums, of course, have lately been learning a lot from the amusement industry, so here's the turn around. The gist of the answer to the question is that museums offer authentic experiences; real meteorites, live fish, and amazing but true tales about our world, our universe, our history, and ourselves. This author believes that truly attractive themed entertainments will have some of that authentic quality of "realness" to them, and not try to offer too much "story-ed" theming. I was reminded of the best amusement park ride I ever went on, at the Epcot Center. It was a simulation of a trip to Mars, and when, after all of the wild "G's" and and other "ride" stuff, I saw the earth rise in the little window of my "space ship", I felt a thrill as authentic as any I've known.
The author ends his article this way:
How do we church folk do any of this...and without animatronics and special effects budgets? Not to mention for the same clients, week after week? I think I have a knack for some of this, but I don't feel very articulate and I don't have a recipe. To some extent there is no universal recipe; what quenches the thirst of one person leaves another dehydrated. I know that energetic singing, real silence, beautiful music, and sermons that use new information and humor to entice people to open their hearts to a new place are some things which are likely to help some people fill a void, experience meaningfulness, and connect with mystery. I think that offering rituals is helpful to people. More and more often we are giving people a chance to do something towards the end of the service: today, Memorial Day Sunday, those who were remembering deceased loved ones were invited to come forward to light a candle, but we've done things with stones and for several years the church's Christmas Tree has been decorated only with white lights and paper doves on which members have written their prayers. Mostly, I am touched and humbled by the fact that even the designers of amusement parks know that it is "heart" and "thirst" and "meaningfulness" which bring real satisfaction to a human life.
Today's opening article muses on what Themed Entertainment can learn from Museums. Museums, of course, have lately been learning a lot from the amusement industry, so here's the turn around. The gist of the answer to the question is that museums offer authentic experiences; real meteorites, live fish, and amazing but true tales about our world, our universe, our history, and ourselves. This author believes that truly attractive themed entertainments will have some of that authentic quality of "realness" to them, and not try to offer too much "story-ed" theming. I was reminded of the best amusement park ride I ever went on, at the Epcot Center. It was a simulation of a trip to Mars, and when, after all of the wild "G's" and and other "ride" stuff, I saw the earth rise in the little window of my "space ship", I felt a thrill as authentic as any I've known.
The author ends his article this way:
There's a lesson here for church, especially for people responsible for worship. Why do people come to worship? It is not to learn something. (Repeat after me, please, every new minister and every member of a worship committee: It is not to learn something. ) It is to quench a thirst, fill a void, connect with mystery, experience meaningfulness, find heart. If the people who design Legoland and the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai (largest indoor ski mountain on earth) know this and think they can deliver on it, we who do church should be able to be instantly articulate and extremely skilled at it, too. But, we're not.
Why do people go to museums in the first place?....if you ask visitors why they came, the top answer isn't generally "to learn something," so purely educational motives don't explain the attraction. What does? I think the answer is at the core of what drives much of the human experience. It is the same reason some people read books, raise families, go to church..."meaningfulness". We'll go to the aquarium to feel a connection to the environment, the science center to ponder mysteries of the universe, the zoo to witness the truth of our evolutionary human ancestry. We go to quench a thirst, fill a void...Of course, many TEA members know this instinctively, and even at our most cynical moments on entertainment projects yearn wistfully for more. We call it heart.
How do we church folk do any of this...and without animatronics and special effects budgets? Not to mention for the same clients, week after week? I think I have a knack for some of this, but I don't feel very articulate and I don't have a recipe. To some extent there is no universal recipe; what quenches the thirst of one person leaves another dehydrated. I know that energetic singing, real silence, beautiful music, and sermons that use new information and humor to entice people to open their hearts to a new place are some things which are likely to help some people fill a void, experience meaningfulness, and connect with mystery. I think that offering rituals is helpful to people. More and more often we are giving people a chance to do something towards the end of the service: today, Memorial Day Sunday, those who were remembering deceased loved ones were invited to come forward to light a candle, but we've done things with stones and for several years the church's Christmas Tree has been decorated only with white lights and paper doves on which members have written their prayers. Mostly, I am touched and humbled by the fact that even the designers of amusement parks know that it is "heart" and "thirst" and "meaningfulness" which bring real satisfaction to a human life.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
RIP Jerry Falwell
I'm researching Spirituals today, getting ready for a sermon to go with our Choir's Sunday Celebration of the music they've been working with all year. They'll be singing mostly old favorites; but I've been struck with several spirituals that I've never heard and with the layers of meaning and sly humor they contain. Here's one...a celebration of Nat Turner's slave rebellion, which seems an appropriate last word for the Rev. Jerry Falwell
You might be a Carroll from Carrollton
Arrived here night before the Lord made creation
But you can't keep the world from moving along
and NOT TURN HER (pronounced Nat Turner) back from the gaining ground.
Jerry Falwell believed he was the Entitled One of Christendom, and was comically willing to speak for God about the reasons of things. He was particularly inclined to blame homosexuals and feminists for the ills of the world, for which I hold him no love.
But he couldn't keep the world from moving along.
(Nor did most Evangelicals think of him as an appropriate spokesperson for their increasingly diverse and more spiritually oriented causes any more. If our media wasn't so religiously color blind, they would have quit giving him their attention long, long ago.)
You might be a Carroll from Carrollton
Arrived here night before the Lord made creation
But you can't keep the world from moving along
and NOT TURN HER (pronounced Nat Turner) back from the gaining ground.
Jerry Falwell believed he was the Entitled One of Christendom, and was comically willing to speak for God about the reasons of things. He was particularly inclined to blame homosexuals and feminists for the ills of the world, for which I hold him no love.
But he couldn't keep the world from moving along.
(Nor did most Evangelicals think of him as an appropriate spokesperson for their increasingly diverse and more spiritually oriented causes any more. If our media wasn't so religiously color blind, they would have quit giving him their attention long, long ago.)
What Makes a Church
My church is involved in an exciting program...we're adopting some new folks into our church family in our Branch Ministry Program. The congregation is growing branches long enough to stretch to two towns in New Mexico 40 and 90 minutes drive away. The members in these branches will have a full program in their town, with sermons delivered by video.
The Branch Organizer and I talked today about what constitutes a "full program"? for a small (or big!) group of UU's? Here's what I think.
Worship and Celebration for all ages is the core of what a church does. Our Branches will have weekly worship services, with the first 15 minutes for all ages. They will sing, celebrate milestones, affirm their faith, and hear a story/sermon appropriate for all ages, have a brief moment of quiet, and take an offering. After the kids leave, the adults will continue with more complex fare.
Spiritual Growth and Learning The kids will have an RE program and adults will have covenant (spiritual sharing) and discussion groups and classes.
Community of Relationships and Care The branch congregations will get to know each other, take care of each other in times of difficulty, and celebrate life's milestones. They'll have potlucks and memorial services and visit each other in the hospital.
Serve their Community Together Each Branch will have a local service project to give the coins from their offering and time and talent. Members will have the opportunity to join the rest of our church in opportunities like Just Works trips, UUSC membership, and so on.
Members usually come to churches by ones and twos and fit into existing nooks and crannies in the congregational house. Getting ready to adopt whole groups of people...that's requiring building an addition. What fun!
The Branch Organizer and I talked today about what constitutes a "full program"? for a small (or big!) group of UU's? Here's what I think.
Worship and Celebration for all ages is the core of what a church does. Our Branches will have weekly worship services, with the first 15 minutes for all ages. They will sing, celebrate milestones, affirm their faith, and hear a story/sermon appropriate for all ages, have a brief moment of quiet, and take an offering. After the kids leave, the adults will continue with more complex fare.
Spiritual Growth and Learning The kids will have an RE program and adults will have covenant (spiritual sharing) and discussion groups and classes.
Community of Relationships and Care The branch congregations will get to know each other, take care of each other in times of difficulty, and celebrate life's milestones. They'll have potlucks and memorial services and visit each other in the hospital.
Serve their Community Together Each Branch will have a local service project to give the coins from their offering and time and talent. Members will have the opportunity to join the rest of our church in opportunities like Just Works trips, UUSC membership, and so on.
Members usually come to churches by ones and twos and fit into existing nooks and crannies in the congregational house. Getting ready to adopt whole groups of people...that's requiring building an addition. What fun!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
A Seat in the Sanctuary
Watching the congregation from pulpit and chair, ministers soon learn, if they didn't know before, that many people sit in the same seat, or at least nearly the same seat, week after week. And when they've come as a couple to church, and one of them dies, the other, after an absence, returns to church and usually sits in a different part of the sanctuary. It's just too painful to sit in the old place where one sat with one's beloved, by one's self. So they make a change.
(There are exceptions to this rule, of course. The one I remember most vividly was a woman who had been attending the same New England Unitarian church for nearly her whole life, and when she lost her husband of nearly 50 years, she began a practice of hanging out in the vestibule with the ministers until a stranger came in, then attaching herself to that stranger and asking them to sit with her. Sometime during the service she would confess to that stranger that when her husband died, she had tried all other parts of the sanctuary and didn't like any of them and then had decided that what would make her old seat, "new" was to invite a newcomer to sit in it. She always thanked them, invited them to coffee hour, introduced them around, and disappeared. That church had a good retention rate of visitors, and every new member class produced at least one, usually several people who told that story of being welcomed and made to feel useful on their first visit.)
These past few weeks a newly widowed woman has come back to church, and she has also tried new places to sit in the sanctuary. Last week she found a seat in a nearly empty section of the sanctuary only to discover that it fills up late with young adults and their babies. (Ministers see all these little dramas...you don't think we notice, but we notice everything.) But this week, I was gratified to see, that she was sitting in a new place with another widow...a woman who, this time two years ago, had to find herself a new place of sanctuary in the sanctuary.
This is a big church, and most people are a part of a discrete sub-group and of course, ministers don't know everything but I didn't think that these two women knew each other. But somehow, they got together and they sat together during a mother's day service without the spouse who was, for each of them, the center of their lives and even their motherhood. Somehow the larger community that is the church worked its little magic, and this minister saw it and found it very, very good.
(There are exceptions to this rule, of course. The one I remember most vividly was a woman who had been attending the same New England Unitarian church for nearly her whole life, and when she lost her husband of nearly 50 years, she began a practice of hanging out in the vestibule with the ministers until a stranger came in, then attaching herself to that stranger and asking them to sit with her. Sometime during the service she would confess to that stranger that when her husband died, she had tried all other parts of the sanctuary and didn't like any of them and then had decided that what would make her old seat, "new" was to invite a newcomer to sit in it. She always thanked them, invited them to coffee hour, introduced them around, and disappeared. That church had a good retention rate of visitors, and every new member class produced at least one, usually several people who told that story of being welcomed and made to feel useful on their first visit.)
These past few weeks a newly widowed woman has come back to church, and she has also tried new places to sit in the sanctuary. Last week she found a seat in a nearly empty section of the sanctuary only to discover that it fills up late with young adults and their babies. (Ministers see all these little dramas...you don't think we notice, but we notice everything.) But this week, I was gratified to see, that she was sitting in a new place with another widow...a woman who, this time two years ago, had to find herself a new place of sanctuary in the sanctuary.
This is a big church, and most people are a part of a discrete sub-group and of course, ministers don't know everything but I didn't think that these two women knew each other. But somehow, they got together and they sat together during a mother's day service without the spouse who was, for each of them, the center of their lives and even their motherhood. Somehow the larger community that is the church worked its little magic, and this minister saw it and found it very, very good.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Technology makes things harder
This morning, I spent almost 2 hours making two fairly simple plane reservations; one for my son to go to a Summer program, and one for me to pick him up at the end of it. (Not that he needs picking up I hasten to add, but said Summer program is near my parents home and I want to visit them as well as attend the end of program festivities.)
I have more than once made on-line reservations for non-refundable tickets for the wrong day, or for Robinson Christine rather than Christine Robinson (security took a dim view of this, I can tell you) so I'm slow and careful and a bit anxious. Shopping around took a while. I had to read an entire page of information to figure out that a 16 year old, while still a minor can travel unaccompained without a fee. (A relief. My 6'3" son would have felt pretty silly being hauled around the airport by a stewardess.) However if the passenger is not traveling as a child, the person making the reservation has to have the same last name as the passenger, unless the reservation is made by phone. And after waiting for the phone I discovered that there was a $10 fee for this, unless one is a frequent flyer on that airline, which I'm not, but I returned on line, signed up to become one and made reservation #1. (They said this was for security purposes, but the ease of signing up to be a frequent flyer puts the lie to that excuse.) But it insisted that I was giving the wrong security code for my credit card, which I wasn't, so I changed cards, entering all the data again. And dealing with streams of numbers in an accurate way is one of my weak skills, so that took a couple of tries. Reservation #2, was easier, (being a frequent flyer, now, all those numbers were magically remembered) but still the whole thing took, as I said, almost 2 hours.
Once upon a time, one called a travel agent. But travel agents have been put out of business by internet ticket sales. Or one called one's favorite airline, and if they didn't fly where you wanted to go, they'd take a quick peak at their computers and tell you who of their competitors had the best deal. That used to be free. Now it costs extra. People are "supposed" to get their tickets on the internet.
This is how it is that technology has made things harder than they used to be.
I have more than once made on-line reservations for non-refundable tickets for the wrong day, or for Robinson Christine rather than Christine Robinson (security took a dim view of this, I can tell you) so I'm slow and careful and a bit anxious. Shopping around took a while. I had to read an entire page of information to figure out that a 16 year old, while still a minor can travel unaccompained without a fee. (A relief. My 6'3" son would have felt pretty silly being hauled around the airport by a stewardess.) However if the passenger is not traveling as a child, the person making the reservation has to have the same last name as the passenger, unless the reservation is made by phone. And after waiting for the phone I discovered that there was a $10 fee for this, unless one is a frequent flyer on that airline, which I'm not, but I returned on line, signed up to become one and made reservation #1. (They said this was for security purposes, but the ease of signing up to be a frequent flyer puts the lie to that excuse.) But it insisted that I was giving the wrong security code for my credit card, which I wasn't, so I changed cards, entering all the data again. And dealing with streams of numbers in an accurate way is one of my weak skills, so that took a couple of tries. Reservation #2, was easier, (being a frequent flyer, now, all those numbers were magically remembered) but still the whole thing took, as I said, almost 2 hours.
Once upon a time, one called a travel agent. But travel agents have been put out of business by internet ticket sales. Or one called one's favorite airline, and if they didn't fly where you wanted to go, they'd take a quick peak at their computers and tell you who of their competitors had the best deal. That used to be free. Now it costs extra. People are "supposed" to get their tickets on the internet.
This is how it is that technology has made things harder than they used to be.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Real Men Don't Stink
At the gym yesterday, I was toiling away on my elliptical trainer and a fellow started his work out on the one right next to me. And he stank of old sweat. As I was trying to decide what to do about this unpleasant intrusion, I glanced at him. He appeared not only well-groomed but quite fresh; clearly just starting his work-out and a man who took some care of his appearance. A man, in other words, who doesn't use deodorant and had had a hard day.
I know, it's a gym and you have to expect sweat. And I do expect it and I even exude it. No problem. But this wasn't the smell of gym sweat, it was way too old for that. It was sweat from some toil or trouble of 6 hours before which had been attacked by bacteria and stank. Just exactly the problem that deodorant was invented to solve.
I moved to another machine. Too unpleasant. I've belonged to this same gym for 15 years now,exercising twice a week in close quarters with men and women and this is the first time I've moved away from someone who stank. Never happened 10 years ago or 5 years ago. Still never happens around women. But actually, I've had the same problem out of the gym several times this year with well-groomed men who obviously care about how they look and take care of themselves, and I'm starting to wonder if someone has started whispering that real men don't use deodorant.
The one man with whom I could have a conversation about this told me that it had something to do with how artificial scents bother people, and as one person who is sometimes (in allergy season) very troubled by artificial scents, I can appreciate the concern but I have good news for us all...deodorants are available in unscented versions! Yea, Chemistry!
As I moved and set myself up on a new machine at the gym, I wondered if the real reason for not wearing deodorant is an unconscious need to make space around one in a crowded world. If so, it's gonna get worse. In reality, of course, the more crowded the world, the more important that we take care not to create a large olfactory footprint. If you are herding cattle in the wild west all day, you can get away with taking your shower before you go home. If you exercise, work, and move 10 inches from everyone around you, it's only polite not to stink. I'm glad I use deodorant, and I wish that everyone else did, too.
And please, no comments about women and perfume. I agree with everything you say and will catch that subject another time.
I know, it's a gym and you have to expect sweat. And I do expect it and I even exude it. No problem. But this wasn't the smell of gym sweat, it was way too old for that. It was sweat from some toil or trouble of 6 hours before which had been attacked by bacteria and stank. Just exactly the problem that deodorant was invented to solve.
I moved to another machine. Too unpleasant. I've belonged to this same gym for 15 years now,exercising twice a week in close quarters with men and women and this is the first time I've moved away from someone who stank. Never happened 10 years ago or 5 years ago. Still never happens around women. But actually, I've had the same problem out of the gym several times this year with well-groomed men who obviously care about how they look and take care of themselves, and I'm starting to wonder if someone has started whispering that real men don't use deodorant.
The one man with whom I could have a conversation about this told me that it had something to do with how artificial scents bother people, and as one person who is sometimes (in allergy season) very troubled by artificial scents, I can appreciate the concern but I have good news for us all...deodorants are available in unscented versions! Yea, Chemistry!
As I moved and set myself up on a new machine at the gym, I wondered if the real reason for not wearing deodorant is an unconscious need to make space around one in a crowded world. If so, it's gonna get worse. In reality, of course, the more crowded the world, the more important that we take care not to create a large olfactory footprint. If you are herding cattle in the wild west all day, you can get away with taking your shower before you go home. If you exercise, work, and move 10 inches from everyone around you, it's only polite not to stink. I'm glad I use deodorant, and I wish that everyone else did, too.
And please, no comments about women and perfume. I agree with everything you say and will catch that subject another time.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Comments
In church we have to be scrupulously fair to everyone. It's not a club and we bend over backwards to make sure every voice is heard. This isn't church, this is my blog, and in this weekend of unprecedented traffic (who would have thought!) and commenting, I've been pondering what my rules for comments are.
Gosh, I do like comments. They are what turns a blog into a blog, rather than a personal journal kept on line. I don't get many comments, until last weekend, anyway, and it did add a bit of sparkle to my days. But I also feel that, since it is my blog, it is my obligation to keep some standards of communication.
In the end, I've removed three comments. One because it was a link to one person's unrelated obsession with the past history of his church, which I removed as quickly as I've removed the occasional links to commercial enterprises. It's my blog. The only shameless self-promotion allowed is mine.
The harder decision was to remove two comments because they went beyond my standards of politeness to others which in my opinion apply even more to internet communications than to in person communications. The verbal viciousness that characterizes lots of internet commenting is a great sadness to me, and I just don't want it here. After pondering for a while, I decided that I really didn't want anything on the Blog which, if I'd been a part of in a face-to-face conversation, would have made me leave the conversation. To the fellows who did it, I say..thanks for the defense, if that's what it was, but really...I can take care of myself.
Gosh, I do like comments. They are what turns a blog into a blog, rather than a personal journal kept on line. I don't get many comments, until last weekend, anyway, and it did add a bit of sparkle to my days. But I also feel that, since it is my blog, it is my obligation to keep some standards of communication.
In the end, I've removed three comments. One because it was a link to one person's unrelated obsession with the past history of his church, which I removed as quickly as I've removed the occasional links to commercial enterprises. It's my blog. The only shameless self-promotion allowed is mine.
The harder decision was to remove two comments because they went beyond my standards of politeness to others which in my opinion apply even more to internet communications than to in person communications. The verbal viciousness that characterizes lots of internet commenting is a great sadness to me, and I just don't want it here. After pondering for a while, I decided that I really didn't want anything on the Blog which, if I'd been a part of in a face-to-face conversation, would have made me leave the conversation. To the fellows who did it, I say..thanks for the defense, if that's what it was, but really...I can take care of myself.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Falling into Spring
In spite of the fact that it spit snow at us this morning at church, it really is Spring here. The trees are fully leafed out, the roses are in bloom, and the city is scented with pyracantha blossoms. If it seems a little chilly for this time of year, at least it LOOKS like Spring.
Therefore I was more than surprised on my walk around the neighborhood today, to notice a lovely autumn leaf flutter to the street at my feet. It was perfectly formed, red and yellow; just the sort of leaf that gives Fall it's glory and moves grade school teachers to wax eloquent about letting go and Winter's long Sleep.
Out of season, however, a colored leaf it is a harbinger of death, for only trees stressed unto death color their leaves in the Spring. I picked up the leaf to save it; not only as a reminder of the ever turning seasons and soon-enough-Fall, but as a reminder that death comes to all, even in the Spring.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Owl and RE
Stephen Caldwell comments below about my math skills and his belief that OWL is good Religious Education worth the 18% of RE hours that we put into it. OK, I didn't do my math. But the real point is not actually the number of hours spent but the depth of programing and whether it is religious education or simply good education.
I have no problem with the notion that comprehensive sex education takes time, and I am much happier with sex education programs that are outside of Sunday morning, although I have noticed that even when they are, Sunday morning attendance drops off. And I'd agree that there is a subtle but real relationship between one's own body awareness and one's spirituality. But are the kids who take the class made aware of this? Is there any place in OWL that talks about Rumi or the Song of Songs? Do we ever tell them that many people believe (and they might consider believing) that their bodies are sacred or that the love they experience with other humans is for many people a "leg up" to the love they might experience of God? Is there anything in OWL, in short, that could not be a part of a good public school sex education program? (I realize that these are few and far between, but my son was a part of an excellent school sex education unit that was nearly identical to OWL: bodies, health, relationships, good choices, justice, diversity of expression...all good things, but only in the most general terms, religious education.)
It might seem that I'm picking on OWL but I feel the same way about most of our RE curriculum. Just one more example. I happened into an elementary school classroom last Winter. They had all brought in pictures of their pets and were talking about the care they gave their pets. It was a sweet class. But I also thought...nobody ever talked about love. Nobody ever said anything like, "one thing about our pets is that they seem to love us unconditionally...no matter what we do. That's how the Universalists thought God loved us. Do you feel like your pet loves you unconditionally? Do you love your pet unconditionally (pause for many wonderful stories of pet misbehavior and owner forgiveness). Many people who believe in God think that God is like that. What do you think?
Now, that would be a piece of spiritual education. Since we don't do anything like that ever, our kids leave our program without a clue as to how the majority of the world's people connect with the divine and not tuned in to how they might do the same.
I have no problem with the notion that comprehensive sex education takes time, and I am much happier with sex education programs that are outside of Sunday morning, although I have noticed that even when they are, Sunday morning attendance drops off. And I'd agree that there is a subtle but real relationship between one's own body awareness and one's spirituality. But are the kids who take the class made aware of this? Is there any place in OWL that talks about Rumi or the Song of Songs? Do we ever tell them that many people believe (and they might consider believing) that their bodies are sacred or that the love they experience with other humans is for many people a "leg up" to the love they might experience of God? Is there anything in OWL, in short, that could not be a part of a good public school sex education program? (I realize that these are few and far between, but my son was a part of an excellent school sex education unit that was nearly identical to OWL: bodies, health, relationships, good choices, justice, diversity of expression...all good things, but only in the most general terms, religious education.)
It might seem that I'm picking on OWL but I feel the same way about most of our RE curriculum. Just one more example. I happened into an elementary school classroom last Winter. They had all brought in pictures of their pets and were talking about the care they gave their pets. It was a sweet class. But I also thought...nobody ever talked about love. Nobody ever said anything like, "one thing about our pets is that they seem to love us unconditionally...no matter what we do. That's how the Universalists thought God loved us. Do you feel like your pet loves you unconditionally? Do you love your pet unconditionally (pause for many wonderful stories of pet misbehavior and owner forgiveness). Many people who believe in God think that God is like that. What do you think?
Now, that would be a piece of spiritual education. Since we don't do anything like that ever, our kids leave our program without a clue as to how the majority of the world's people connect with the divine and not tuned in to how they might do the same.
Why People Come to Church Part II
People come to church for all kinds of really good reasons, (see yesterday's post), but amongst them, only two are uniquely served by churches. There are a variety of ways, even in this fractured society, to find community. There are many groups in which one can join with others to be of service. But transformation and religious education are uniquely the purposes of church. (Not that they can't happen elsewhere, of course, but they are one thing that we're about as churches that no other institution is about.)
Therefore it's unfortunate, to my mind, that we don't focus more on these two areas. One particular bee I have in my bonnet is the inordinate amount of time we tend to spend on sex education in our RE programs. It's a worthy and needed cause, and not divorced from faith and transformation, but if you add up the hours we have with, say, our 5-18year olds, (13 years, and hour a week for, let's say, an average of 40 weeks a year) and compare that to the number of contact hours a church doing the entire set of OWL offers and you discover that kids will have spent about 1/4 of their hours and almost all of their "intense" hours on the topic of sex. Most of the kids graduating from our programs know everything they ever wanted to know about sex but don't know much about religious literature, don't have a clue about how to meditate and think a journal is a diabolical tool invented by teachers to torture them.
End of Rant.
But the reason we engage in such an extraordinary amount of sex education, in my opinion, is that we're scared of teaching religion or encouraging transformation. We fill the void as best we can. The problem is not with OWL, it is with the lack of really compelling religious and spiritual programs for kids and youth.
Adults in our churches too often get the same short stick, and often because they themselves are skittish about matters and language of faith and transmit that skittishness to their clergy, who then turn to safer projects of community-building and world-saving. It's a long, hard, risky, project for a minister to work with a congregation to create a worship service which is consistently, deeply inviting people to identify and trust the transformative processes in their lives. And they themselves have mostly been far better prepared in seminary and by our credentialing processes to identify racism than to identify transformation.
I feel another rant coming on and will stop here. It is good to be able to identify racism, and not without transformative potential. But that's not, in the end, what a church is for.
Therefore it's unfortunate, to my mind, that we don't focus more on these two areas. One particular bee I have in my bonnet is the inordinate amount of time we tend to spend on sex education in our RE programs. It's a worthy and needed cause, and not divorced from faith and transformation, but if you add up the hours we have with, say, our 5-18year olds, (13 years, and hour a week for, let's say, an average of 40 weeks a year) and compare that to the number of contact hours a church doing the entire set of OWL offers and you discover that kids will have spent about 1/4 of their hours and almost all of their "intense" hours on the topic of sex. Most of the kids graduating from our programs know everything they ever wanted to know about sex but don't know much about religious literature, don't have a clue about how to meditate and think a journal is a diabolical tool invented by teachers to torture them.
End of Rant.
But the reason we engage in such an extraordinary amount of sex education, in my opinion, is that we're scared of teaching religion or encouraging transformation. We fill the void as best we can. The problem is not with OWL, it is with the lack of really compelling religious and spiritual programs for kids and youth.
Adults in our churches too often get the same short stick, and often because they themselves are skittish about matters and language of faith and transmit that skittishness to their clergy, who then turn to safer projects of community-building and world-saving. It's a long, hard, risky, project for a minister to work with a congregation to create a worship service which is consistently, deeply inviting people to identify and trust the transformative processes in their lives. And they themselves have mostly been far better prepared in seminary and by our credentialing processes to identify racism than to identify transformation.
I feel another rant coming on and will stop here. It is good to be able to identify racism, and not without transformative potential. But that's not, in the end, what a church is for.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Why People Come to Church
Somewhere in last week's cursory reading of blogs, I came across a statement about church growth which stated flatly that people don't come to church for community, they come for transformation.
Now, there's a statement to warm the cockles of a minister's heart, but it's way too simple. "People" come into the mansion that has many different rooms for many different reasons. Some do come for transformation. Some do come for community. Some come to join with others in good works. Some come because they've always come. Some come because they want to think of themselves as worthy members of a worthy group. More than some come because they want a religious education for their children and, at least initially, it does not occur to them that their own religious life could use some development, too.
A growing church welcomes all these folks and attempts to help them find a comfortable place. A deep church helps them then move around and explore some of the other rooms in the mansion. The person who came for community then finds that community is built when people work together on common projects. The one who came for transformation discovers the pleasures of community. The one who came for his kids and thought to daydream through the service while waiting for their program to finish hears and feels something that changes his own life.
It's a challenge for a church staff or program committee to keep an eye on whether people are moving around through the years....now contributing to committees, now leading covenant groups, now doing Social Justice, now accepting the care of the church's people and growing in spirit as they do. Some people will never move and never want to move. Most will need to be invited. But it is when people tell me, "I came for my kids, and stayed for myself," or "I was lonely and new in town and found myself weeping through the service," or "I did social justice for years and then I discovered the children,"...that's when I know that the church has been both wide and deep, and done it's job.
Now, there's a statement to warm the cockles of a minister's heart, but it's way too simple. "People" come into the mansion that has many different rooms for many different reasons. Some do come for transformation. Some do come for community. Some come to join with others in good works. Some come because they've always come. Some come because they want to think of themselves as worthy members of a worthy group. More than some come because they want a religious education for their children and, at least initially, it does not occur to them that their own religious life could use some development, too.
A growing church welcomes all these folks and attempts to help them find a comfortable place. A deep church helps them then move around and explore some of the other rooms in the mansion. The person who came for community then finds that community is built when people work together on common projects. The one who came for transformation discovers the pleasures of community. The one who came for his kids and thought to daydream through the service while waiting for their program to finish hears and feels something that changes his own life.
It's a challenge for a church staff or program committee to keep an eye on whether people are moving around through the years....now contributing to committees, now leading covenant groups, now doing Social Justice, now accepting the care of the church's people and growing in spirit as they do. Some people will never move and never want to move. Most will need to be invited. But it is when people tell me, "I came for my kids, and stayed for myself," or "I was lonely and new in town and found myself weeping through the service," or "I did social justice for years and then I discovered the children,"...that's when I know that the church has been both wide and deep, and done it's job.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Shift Happens
Someone in my congregation sent me this interesting and enlightening little video, called "Shift Happens." It's mostly about globalization, (great sermon fodder...) but it is also about change. And while I'm mostly willing to go with the program that change is life and life is change, I like the edgy quality of "Shift Happens," because I'm feeling frankly edgy myself.
There's been too much change at my church these days, which is why I have not been blogging much. Or gardening much or reading much or doing anything much except what has to be done this very moment and working with two hiring committees.
The video is really very good; well worth the loading time.
There's been too much change at my church these days, which is why I have not been blogging much. Or gardening much or reading much or doing anything much except what has to be done this very moment and working with two hiring committees.
The video is really very good; well worth the loading time.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Harry Potter Again!
The last Harry Potter book has been named, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's due to be out on July 21, and it should be another all-nighter at the bookstores.
Unlike any other series I know of, this series has grown up with it's heroes and heroines, and, more or less, with its reading audience. My own son, now 16, was introduced to HP at the very beginning, 9 long years ago. We read the first book to him, liberally skipping the parts too complex for his understanding. But after that, he devoured every book after that on his own, often beginning on the night of the release. (Harry Potter books are released at midnight at bookstore events featuring costume parties and themed refreshments and long check-out lines.) A couple of the middle books were the objects of read-all-night "slumber" parties.
The last book came out when the boy was 14, and he opined that he was now too old for it. so we skipped the midnight trip to the bookstore. We were off on a cross-country trip the next day,and the airport bookstore had a good price, so I bought the book there. On a "mother's intuition" hunch, I casually left it on top of my carry-on while I visited the rest room. You can guess the rest: he was finished with the first chapter before we left the ground, and I didn't get my reading in until the second day of vacation! Parents of children of a certain age so cherish these last moments of childhood!
For the record, I think that the resolution to this series is going to revolve around the fact that two boys fit the criteria of the savior of the magical world, Harry and Neville. I hope they both survive, but whatever happens, I'm sure it will be a good subject for my annual sermon to the kids (always on a subject of their culture, books, movies, etc.)
I'm not up for a midnight trip to the bookstore, but I am going to pre-order the book and casually leave it around the house. (after I read it, this time!) Amazon's worked it out so that if you pre-order, you get it on release day. If you want to pre-order, here's a link!
Unlike any other series I know of, this series has grown up with it's heroes and heroines, and, more or less, with its reading audience. My own son, now 16, was introduced to HP at the very beginning, 9 long years ago. We read the first book to him, liberally skipping the parts too complex for his understanding. But after that, he devoured every book after that on his own, often beginning on the night of the release. (Harry Potter books are released at midnight at bookstore events featuring costume parties and themed refreshments and long check-out lines.) A couple of the middle books were the objects of read-all-night "slumber" parties.
The last book came out when the boy was 14, and he opined that he was now too old for it. so we skipped the midnight trip to the bookstore. We were off on a cross-country trip the next day,and the airport bookstore had a good price, so I bought the book there. On a "mother's intuition" hunch, I casually left it on top of my carry-on while I visited the rest room. You can guess the rest: he was finished with the first chapter before we left the ground, and I didn't get my reading in until the second day of vacation! Parents of children of a certain age so cherish these last moments of childhood!
For the record, I think that the resolution to this series is going to revolve around the fact that two boys fit the criteria of the savior of the magical world, Harry and Neville. I hope they both survive, but whatever happens, I'm sure it will be a good subject for my annual sermon to the kids (always on a subject of their culture, books, movies, etc.)
I'm not up for a midnight trip to the bookstore, but I am going to pre-order the book and casually leave it around the house. (after I read it, this time!) Amazon's worked it out so that if you pre-order, you get it on release day. If you want to pre-order, here's a link!
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Church Growth Research Upset
Hartford Seminary has been researching church growth, and it has discovered that they stereotype most of us carry that all church growth is happening in very conservative, very big, very suburban churches isn't accurate.
Many downtown churches grow, especially if they find themselves in re-developing areas of the city.
Growing churches have found ways to attract more men, (another hot topic in religious journalism these days) they have a website, they use percussion in worship services, have a recruiting plan, and offer support groups and wellness programs. Theologically liberal churches grew more than conservative, and "somewhat conservative" churches grew more than "predominately conservative."
A major finding: Growing churches tend to be multi-cultural and nothing kills growth as effectively as a church conflict.
Why are growing churches multi-cultural? Aside from the longing many religious people have to live out their values in a multi-cultural church, insofar as growing churches attract persons under 50, persons under 50 are far more multi-cultural and far more comfortable with diversity than their elders.
The two strategies which seem to have brought growth (and diversity) in this congregation have been helping the Young Adults get organized and starting a specialized "extended family" (yep, we still have them from the 1970's...they are long term social/support groups) for multi-racial/multi cultural families.
You can see the whole report here
Many downtown churches grow, especially if they find themselves in re-developing areas of the city.
Growing churches have found ways to attract more men, (another hot topic in religious journalism these days) they have a website, they use percussion in worship services, have a recruiting plan, and offer support groups and wellness programs. Theologically liberal churches grew more than conservative, and "somewhat conservative" churches grew more than "predominately conservative."
A major finding: Growing churches tend to be multi-cultural and nothing kills growth as effectively as a church conflict.
Why are growing churches multi-cultural? Aside from the longing many religious people have to live out their values in a multi-cultural church, insofar as growing churches attract persons under 50, persons under 50 are far more multi-cultural and far more comfortable with diversity than their elders.
The two strategies which seem to have brought growth (and diversity) in this congregation have been helping the Young Adults get organized and starting a specialized "extended family" (yep, we still have them from the 1970's...they are long term social/support groups) for multi-racial/multi cultural families.
You can see the whole report here
Monday, April 09, 2007
The Easter Blessing of Kosen Rufu
At yesterday's service, we passed out little green paper leaves and invited all present to consider something that was "leafing out" in their lives(a new skill, new way of looking a life, a resolution, etc.) As they were ready, they trooped up and attached their leaves to bare branches, then we blessed the branches and the growth and creativity they represented. This morning, I went over to have a look at what the congregation wrote and finish the process of blessing all those individual intentions before the janitor swept them away.
It was an intergenerational congregation, so many leaves involved youthful handwriting and resolutions involving musical instruments, getting along better with siblings, and sports skills. The adult-written leaves mentioned things like family relationships, new skills, taking better care of their health, dealing with anger, and various aspects of spiritual growth. I found four different languages in my wandering through the 500 leaves, and three times the words, new to me, "Kosen Rufu"
A Google Search (how did we ever manage our ministries before the internet?) reveals that this is a fundamental concept from Nichiren's Buddhism which involves how the quest for personal peace and happiness becomes a contribution to world peace. That's worth some study, so, since I wasn't organized enough yesterday to participate in the morning's ritual, I'll name my intention here; to learn more about Kosen Rufu and incorporate what I learn into my life.
May all that is budding out in your life be blessed!
It was an intergenerational congregation, so many leaves involved youthful handwriting and resolutions involving musical instruments, getting along better with siblings, and sports skills. The adult-written leaves mentioned things like family relationships, new skills, taking better care of their health, dealing with anger, and various aspects of spiritual growth. I found four different languages in my wandering through the 500 leaves, and three times the words, new to me, "Kosen Rufu"
A Google Search (how did we ever manage our ministries before the internet?) reveals that this is a fundamental concept from Nichiren's Buddhism which involves how the quest for personal peace and happiness becomes a contribution to world peace. That's worth some study, so, since I wasn't organized enough yesterday to participate in the morning's ritual, I'll name my intention here; to learn more about Kosen Rufu and incorporate what I learn into my life.
May all that is budding out in your life be blessed!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
UU Jokes
When April Fools Day comes on a Sunday, it's time to haul out the UU jokes. I'm not a big fan of the classic UU jokes (UU's honor the 10 Suggestions, pray "to whom it may concern", and the only time Jesus' name is heard is when the Janitor falls down the stairs, etc.) Those jokes all play off on the notion that this strange outfit that calls itself a religious organization is really a bunch of spiritual idiots. Ha ha. Ho Hum. Old hat.
Here are several of the new style UU jokes we told in church today. Like all jokes, they get their punch line from our foibles. I don't mind us having foibles. I'm just tired of the spiritual idiot foible. So here's a different batch.
Leader: How can you tell a Unitarian Universalist?
CR: I don’t know. How DO you tell a Unitarian Universalist
L: You can’t. They already know it all.
CR: Ok….Have you heard the latest UU miracle?
L: No. What’s the latest UU Miracle?
CR. Somebody saw the face of Ralph Waldo Emerson on a Tortilla.
L: That reminds me. Why wouldn’t Mr. Emerson ever let his dentist give him Novocain?
CR. Why not?
L. Emerson wouldn’t let his dentist give him Novocain because he wanted to transcend dental medication.
CR: Ouch. Humm… Ok: What did the UU who was studying Zen ask the Hotdog vendor?
L: I don’t know. What?
CR: Make me one with everything.
L: Ok…so, there were once two old guys talking to each other in a California Diner. One says to the other, “Have you ever delved into the mysteries of Eastern religion? And the other one says “Yes. I was once a Unitarian in Philadelphia.
CR. Have you ever heard UU’s compared to Jalapeno Peppers?
L: no.
CR. One or two gives real spice to a dish, but a whole bunch together will bring tears to your eyes.
Judging by the laughter, they liked Transcending Dental Medication the best. But the biggest laughs went to the last joke, which isn't really a UU joke at all but is apropos of our iMinistry initiatives which involved recording sermons.
It seems that there was a Rabbi who was an extremely good preacher and his people loved to hear him preach on Friday evenings. They wanted him to also preach on Saturday morning. But he wanted to spend Saturday morning at home, in his jammies, with his family. So he got an idea. He would pre-record the sermon, and, since it is not permitted for Jews to turn switches on the sabbath, he would hire a Gentile to push the "on" button at the time of the sermon.
So he did that for several weeks. And that got the folks of his congregation to start thinking that they, too, would prefer to spend Saturday at home in their jammies with their families. And that if they sent tape recorders to the synagogue, they could listen to the rabbi’s sermon at their leisure.
And so the inevitable happened: the day came when the only people in the synagogue were Gentiles with tape recorders.
And that is the first known instance of artificial in-sermonation
Happy April!
Here are several of the new style UU jokes we told in church today. Like all jokes, they get their punch line from our foibles. I don't mind us having foibles. I'm just tired of the spiritual idiot foible. So here's a different batch.
Leader: How can you tell a Unitarian Universalist?
CR: I don’t know. How DO you tell a Unitarian Universalist
L: You can’t. They already know it all.
CR: Ok….Have you heard the latest UU miracle?
L: No. What’s the latest UU Miracle?
CR. Somebody saw the face of Ralph Waldo Emerson on a Tortilla.
L: That reminds me. Why wouldn’t Mr. Emerson ever let his dentist give him Novocain?
CR. Why not?
L. Emerson wouldn’t let his dentist give him Novocain because he wanted to transcend dental medication.
CR: Ouch. Humm… Ok: What did the UU who was studying Zen ask the Hotdog vendor?
L: I don’t know. What?
CR: Make me one with everything.
L: Ok…so, there were once two old guys talking to each other in a California Diner. One says to the other, “Have you ever delved into the mysteries of Eastern religion? And the other one says “Yes. I was once a Unitarian in Philadelphia.
CR. Have you ever heard UU’s compared to Jalapeno Peppers?
L: no.
CR. One or two gives real spice to a dish, but a whole bunch together will bring tears to your eyes.
Judging by the laughter, they liked Transcending Dental Medication the best. But the biggest laughs went to the last joke, which isn't really a UU joke at all but is apropos of our iMinistry initiatives which involved recording sermons.
It seems that there was a Rabbi who was an extremely good preacher and his people loved to hear him preach on Friday evenings. They wanted him to also preach on Saturday morning. But he wanted to spend Saturday morning at home, in his jammies, with his family. So he got an idea. He would pre-record the sermon, and, since it is not permitted for Jews to turn switches on the sabbath, he would hire a Gentile to push the "on" button at the time of the sermon.
So he did that for several weeks. And that got the folks of his congregation to start thinking that they, too, would prefer to spend Saturday at home in their jammies with their families. And that if they sent tape recorders to the synagogue, they could listen to the rabbi’s sermon at their leisure.
And so the inevitable happened: the day came when the only people in the synagogue were Gentiles with tape recorders.
And that is the first known instance of artificial in-sermonation
Happy April!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
This New Expression
Actually, it's not very new. In fact, it's getting so old that even us old people are starting to use it.
I refer to "It Sucks."
So, there's a need for vivid language to express the epitome of badness.
And there's always a need for the younger generation (boy do I sound like an old fogy tonight!) to invent expressions which dismay their elders.
And the meaning of words changes over years.
and so on and so on.
But "It Sucks" is a homophobic expression suggesting that the epitome of badness is how gay men have sex.
And I'm not planning to get used to it.
I refer to "It Sucks."
So, there's a need for vivid language to express the epitome of badness.
And there's always a need for the younger generation (boy do I sound like an old fogy tonight!) to invent expressions which dismay their elders.
And the meaning of words changes over years.
and so on and so on.
But "It Sucks" is a homophobic expression suggesting that the epitome of badness is how gay men have sex.
And I'm not planning to get used to it.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Poor Spam
Once upon a time, Spam was a sort of canned meat of uncertain origin, the sort of thing that some people tucked in the cupboard for emergencies or took camping.
There's still a website for the salty stuff, but they have lost their name to the forces of unbridaled capitalism and out and out evil.
As I posted a eulogy on our church's Eulogy Blog, I realized that it's the first post to any of my blogs in days and days. One reason for this is that all of my blogging energy is going to closing down comments in the church blogs (post by post...big sigh) becasue they have attracted so much Spam, and all too much of that is, let's just say, not on topics one wants on one's church website.
No comments....kinda takes the fun out of blogging. Poor Spam (the meat product) Poor Me.
Blogger does have good anti-Spam tools, which I've now turned on, so I have no excuse not to attend to this blog more frequently. I'd love your comments!
There's still a website for the salty stuff, but they have lost their name to the forces of unbridaled capitalism and out and out evil.
As I posted a eulogy on our church's Eulogy Blog, I realized that it's the first post to any of my blogs in days and days. One reason for this is that all of my blogging energy is going to closing down comments in the church blogs (post by post...big sigh) becasue they have attracted so much Spam, and all too much of that is, let's just say, not on topics one wants on one's church website.
No comments....kinda takes the fun out of blogging. Poor Spam (the meat product) Poor Me.
Blogger does have good anti-Spam tools, which I've now turned on, so I have no excuse not to attend to this blog more frequently. I'd love your comments!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
More on Second Life
The UU World on-line edition has a story about the UU's of Second Life. My Avatar's picture is featured, and a few words from me as well. Find it Here While you're at it, check out this interesting on-line liberal magazine!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
What Does it Mean to be a Virtual Church?
What Does It Mean To Be A Church? - Click here for more blooper videos
Two minutes...well worth your time. (In the current version, yours truly is the person staring at her toes while the others are dancing. The dancing is programmed into the pillows, and mine wasn't working.)
Shlogged Again by Snow
Repeat after me: We Believe in Climate Change! We are reducing our Driving! We are reducing the number of freezers in our house! We are upgrading appliances and autos with energy thrift in mind! We are vacationing close to home!
Monday, February 12, 2007
The Enduring Psalms
All of my blogs have counters on them which tell me how many people have visited, where their ip server is, and what key words they used to find the site. I watched all this obsessively for the first few months after I started blogging, but it had been a while.
When I left my statistics, iMinister was getting between 10 and 30 hits a day, depending mostly on whether I had posted and, I think, whether Blogger had put it in the queue for the browsing public that day. More than half of the hits came from Albuquerque, and most were repeat visitors. My Psalm Blog, on the other hand, was getting three to ten hits a day, with occasional spikes, and a world wide audience.
So you can imagine my shock to discover that in the past few months, my Psalm blog, to which I've not posted since September, has slowly been gaining market share and now gets nearly twice the hits as iMinister. Most of those seem to be coming from Google searches for specific Psalms, words, or modern translations. Since most UU's don't Google Psalms, I'm assuming that most of my visitors are not UU's. Hopefully, they leave with a good impression.
The key words people use to find this site range from "Mary Oliver" to (I kid you not) "punched Arius in the nose."
That was St. Nicholas who did that, and I did, indeed write about this most unfortunate incident, which happened at the Council of Nicea, on the good Bishop's feast day in December.
In response to my astonishment that someone would look for information about St. Nicholas by Googling "punched Arius in the nose," my son informed me that this was a very sophisticated way to avoid the million Christmas pages that include St. Nicholas, and that this search technique is called "google-fu", like Kung fu, the art of getting what you want by subtle and indirect combat.
Learn something every day!
When I left my statistics, iMinister was getting between 10 and 30 hits a day, depending mostly on whether I had posted and, I think, whether Blogger had put it in the queue for the browsing public that day. More than half of the hits came from Albuquerque, and most were repeat visitors. My Psalm Blog, on the other hand, was getting three to ten hits a day, with occasional spikes, and a world wide audience.
So you can imagine my shock to discover that in the past few months, my Psalm blog, to which I've not posted since September, has slowly been gaining market share and now gets nearly twice the hits as iMinister. Most of those seem to be coming from Google searches for specific Psalms, words, or modern translations. Since most UU's don't Google Psalms, I'm assuming that most of my visitors are not UU's. Hopefully, they leave with a good impression.
The key words people use to find this site range from "Mary Oliver" to (I kid you not) "punched Arius in the nose."
That was St. Nicholas who did that, and I did, indeed write about this most unfortunate incident, which happened at the Council of Nicea, on the good Bishop's feast day in December.
In response to my astonishment that someone would look for information about St. Nicholas by Googling "punched Arius in the nose," my son informed me that this was a very sophisticated way to avoid the million Christmas pages that include St. Nicholas, and that this search technique is called "google-fu", like Kung fu, the art of getting what you want by subtle and indirect combat.
Learn something every day!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
UU Second Life on UTube
The amazingly creative guru of the UU church of second Life has made a two minute video of the church in action, making the point that "church" changes through the ages, the religious impulse remains and can be fulfilled in cyber church as well. Here's the link.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Spirituality in Second Life
I really am still researching Second Life. But only every other day, to prevent addiction.
It's very addictive. It's one of those things, for me, where I come home from work, sit down to play in SL for a little while, and the next thing I know it's midnight. It is good, I think, to have such a powerful pastime on one's life, as long as it doesn't take over.
The UU Church of Second Life is getting a lot of publicity, too. Apparently there will soon be an article in USA Today, and in a week or so in the on-line UU world. I was interviewed for the latter, and will make a link here when the story appears.
I volunteered to lead an in-world (second life world, that is) covenant group on Monday evening, instantly had 6 participants, and we had a discussion that left me with some insights. Hopefully the same for others. At the end, there were several attempts to get the Avitars to hug or hold hands, and it really felt good when we managed it. It was a very real connection we made in that hour, and they wanted to symbolize it with real movement. (they also wanted to go on talking, which presumably they did. I had to go.)
I was asked today what the spirituality of Second Life was, and what occurred to me is that there is a spirituality of good conversation and real connection with people, and that spirituality is not in the least dependent on whether the connection happens in person, by letter, or by playing with avitars in virtual reality. That real connection means that things like group moments of silence have all the extra power they do at church. Secondly there's a kind of analogy between Sl and Rl and Sl and spiritual reality that gives SL religious activities special power.
The entry into Second Life has a steep learning curve; moving, talking, creating, seeing...you have to learn to do it all. You are forever getting completely lost, your camera focused into nothingness, you can't tell the black sky from your black shoe, and on it goes. You're not often quite sure where you are or what you are supposed to be doing.
Learning to pray was a lot like that for me, actually. The Spiritual life is about as "virtual" as a world can come, and I'm mostly lost there, wondering what I am supposed to be doing, as well. Camera always out of focus. Steep learning curve. But in the end, a sense that, despite all appearances, it is really real.
It's very addictive. It's one of those things, for me, where I come home from work, sit down to play in SL for a little while, and the next thing I know it's midnight. It is good, I think, to have such a powerful pastime on one's life, as long as it doesn't take over.
The UU Church of Second Life is getting a lot of publicity, too. Apparently there will soon be an article in USA Today, and in a week or so in the on-line UU world. I was interviewed for the latter, and will make a link here when the story appears.
I volunteered to lead an in-world (second life world, that is) covenant group on Monday evening, instantly had 6 participants, and we had a discussion that left me with some insights. Hopefully the same for others. At the end, there were several attempts to get the Avitars to hug or hold hands, and it really felt good when we managed it. It was a very real connection we made in that hour, and they wanted to symbolize it with real movement. (they also wanted to go on talking, which presumably they did. I had to go.)
I was asked today what the spirituality of Second Life was, and what occurred to me is that there is a spirituality of good conversation and real connection with people, and that spirituality is not in the least dependent on whether the connection happens in person, by letter, or by playing with avitars in virtual reality. That real connection means that things like group moments of silence have all the extra power they do at church. Secondly there's a kind of analogy between Sl and Rl and Sl and spiritual reality that gives SL religious activities special power.
The entry into Second Life has a steep learning curve; moving, talking, creating, seeing...you have to learn to do it all. You are forever getting completely lost, your camera focused into nothingness, you can't tell the black sky from your black shoe, and on it goes. You're not often quite sure where you are or what you are supposed to be doing.
Learning to pray was a lot like that for me, actually. The Spiritual life is about as "virtual" as a world can come, and I'm mostly lost there, wondering what I am supposed to be doing, as well. Camera always out of focus. Steep learning curve. But in the end, a sense that, despite all appearances, it is really real.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Molly Ivins
"There are times a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief," she said, and she clearly thought that this was one of those times. She was one of the truth-tellers, and we need her, and she's gone.
Her last column, only two weeks ago, extolled us to remember that this is a democracy, that the people decide, that we voted against this war already. She wanted us to go to Washington for last weekend's march.
Dear God, we're going to miss her!
And, my condolences to her sister Sara Maley, a member of my congregation.
Her last column, only two weeks ago, extolled us to remember that this is a democracy, that the people decide, that we voted against this war already. She wanted us to go to Washington for last weekend's march.
Dear God, we're going to miss her!
And, my condolences to her sister Sara Maley, a member of my congregation.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Kleenex Ministry
If you have not seen the new Kleenex commercial, grab your box of tissues, and have a look, here .
Are you back, all watery eyed? I am too.
Why so touching? Because, tissues aside, we're hard-wired, we humans, for community, for relationship, for love. And in the end there is nothing that heals the hurts of life or helps us to truly feel our celebrations as effectively as being in a relationship in which we feel heard.
All that guy did was invite people to sit on his couch, listen to them, and show, by his facial expressions, that he cared, that he sympathized, that he heard.
(of course, he probably sat their all day before the camera people felt they had enough perfect shots of grief and joy, relief, and celebration, not to mention the whosk of kleenex being pulled from boxes to make the the 62 second film, but that's movies.)
Real life is only a little broader. It takes a little longer, sometimes, there are real skills involved in helping people remember and share what they need to share, but in the end, we all recognized the expressions on those people's faces because they've been on our faces, and we've seen them around us.
So here's a thank you to all who listen, for a profession or in a family, all day long, or once to a stranger in the seat beside you.
And here's another thank you to all who care about churches, which are our society's major institution devoted to community, listening, and caring.
Now, go blow your nose.
P.S. and don't forget about those blogging awards. You can vote here and look at results so far here
Are you back, all watery eyed? I am too.
Why so touching? Because, tissues aside, we're hard-wired, we humans, for community, for relationship, for love. And in the end there is nothing that heals the hurts of life or helps us to truly feel our celebrations as effectively as being in a relationship in which we feel heard.
All that guy did was invite people to sit on his couch, listen to them, and show, by his facial expressions, that he cared, that he sympathized, that he heard.
(of course, he probably sat their all day before the camera people felt they had enough perfect shots of grief and joy, relief, and celebration, not to mention the whosk of kleenex being pulled from boxes to make the the 62 second film, but that's movies.)
Real life is only a little broader. It takes a little longer, sometimes, there are real skills involved in helping people remember and share what they need to share, but in the end, we all recognized the expressions on those people's faces because they've been on our faces, and we've seen them around us.
So here's a thank you to all who listen, for a profession or in a family, all day long, or once to a stranger in the seat beside you.
And here's another thank you to all who care about churches, which are our society's major institution devoted to community, listening, and caring.
Now, go blow your nose.
P.S. and don't forget about those blogging awards. You can vote here and look at results so far here
Monday, January 29, 2007
Blog Awards
The UU Blog Awards Voting is going on here. Not only is it fun to vote for your favorites, it's a great way to be introduced to the best writing in a bunch of very different UU blogs, as all of the candidates have links. Both this Blog and Psalms for a New World, my improvizations on the book of Psalms, were nominated, so thanks so someone out there!
Have Fun!
Have Fun!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
A Real Virtual Church
Flying on my Second Life Dragon to the UU Church at DawnI've been researching rather than writing for the past three weeks, spending my spare iMinister moments in Second Life, a massive, multi-player virtual reality which includes, among many things, a UU Church. I've enjoyed this so thoroughly that I fear I will soon need de-tox and a 12-step program, and my research is not done, but here are some interim thoughts.
First of all, like most new pursuits, this one has a learning curve. I didn't start enjoying Second Life until I'd been struggling along for a couple of weeks. Now that I've learned to see, to move, to communicate, and to play in this life, things are better.
I have met not one but two people I know in RL in this venue; a person I grew up with and another who grew up in my current church. I've also made enough new virtual friends that I'm hoping that there will be a GA gathering for the 130 members of the UU Church of Second Life.
(I've also learned to create objects and use them, fly a dragon, translate dialogue into a variety of languages, exchange money, and I've had some interesting experiences in some of the educational exhibits which are set up for visitors. The best one was a simulation of schizophrenia, complete with visual and auditory hallucinations. )
My questions in hanging around the UU church of second life have been, "Is there a way that a venue like this can meet the real religious needs of the people behind the avatars who come here?" and, "Is there a way that a venue like this can show Second Lifers the values of UU'ism and steer them towards a "real" church?"
At the moment I'm inclined to think that both answers are "yes."
About 130 people have joined this virtual church since its inception in August. Joining is pretty free at the moment, but about 30 show up for services each week, which would suggest (in Real life, at least) a core membership of about 60 people. Not bad for 6 months! (but a low ratio of the 3 million "residents" of SL) I've talked to a fair number of them, as well as folks who drop by during the rest of the weeks. By my count, about half are UU's in RL (real life). About half of the rest know about Unitarian Universalism but don't belong to a church. A quarter don't know anything about us and got to the church by accident or came to see a recreation of cave art which is also on the property. Many come because it is a peaceful place to sit...there is a waterfall or a campfire to watch and bird noises to listen to. I've given out a lot of information, in English and (haltingly, until I acquired a translator) in Spanish and French about Unitarian Universalism.
SL is not necessarily a "nice" environment. Many people come here to play with their shadow side, and spend a lot of money buying weapons, being aggressively sexual, or just foul-mouthed. The contrast of the church's values of authenticity, respect, and playful play is even more stark than in RL. And even where people are being nice, it's a kind of chaotic, frontier environment...exciting and exhausting. UU'ism comes off here as and organized, serious, peaceful, welcoming version of ourselves. It's a good thing.
The folks I've talked to really want to discuss their religious values, and they seem to really value the support they get in this on-line, visual chat. In the Joys and Concerns section of the worship service, one gets the impression that real prayer is going on. It is, as someone remarked to me after last week's (Thursday evening) service, strangely moving. There are a lot of possibilities here.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Favorite Posts
Some of my blogging colleagues are making New Year's Lists of their favorite posts, not only for nostalgia's sake, but so that people can vote in the UU Blogger Awards. (if you want to participate, go here)
My favorite post on this blog is an early one, stemming from the first comment that was left on it, "Singed by God"
My favorite comment on current affairs is The Calming Effect of Religious Tolerance
I think that my most valuable contribution to the UU world was with three posts on "Freedom of the Pulpit" and how that concept applies to the common ministerial request to have a right of first refusal on non-member weddings. That series starts here.
My biggest blogging suprise was discovering the interest people have taken in my improvisations around the book of Psalms,
which gets a dozen or so hits a day, mostly from people Googling for a modern version of a particular Psalm. My hit map for that blog is impressively international.
And for me, the greatest kick of Blogging was making new friends and hearing from old ones.
Happy New Year to you all!
My favorite post on this blog is an early one, stemming from the first comment that was left on it, "Singed by God"
My favorite comment on current affairs is The Calming Effect of Religious Tolerance
I think that my most valuable contribution to the UU world was with three posts on "Freedom of the Pulpit" and how that concept applies to the common ministerial request to have a right of first refusal on non-member weddings. That series starts here.
My biggest blogging suprise was discovering the interest people have taken in my improvisations around the book of Psalms,
which gets a dozen or so hits a day, mostly from people Googling for a modern version of a particular Psalm. My hit map for that blog is impressively international.
And for me, the greatest kick of Blogging was making new friends and hearing from old ones.
Happy New Year to you all!
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Sharing and Networking
Someone from the Outlaws Bridge Universalist Church emailed me this morning. Outlaws Bridge is one of our few remaining "for real" Universalist churches. Isolated in rural North Carolina, they were able to keep their authentic Universalism through the post-decade "let's merge and all be Unitarians" era.
At any rate, in browsing the UUA's website, she came on this graphic, which is from our church, and prominently features the Universalist's Off Center Cross. She wanted permission (thanks for asking!) to use this art piece.
Of course I gave her permission..also offered to send her posters to sell as we have many. (available from Uni Uniques or at GA if you are so interested).
Here's more information about this piece of art.
It’s a pastel drawing, done in the mid 1980’s by then church member and Albuquerque artist Bob Hooton. It’s his take on the central figure of our mural, the two circles of Unitarianism and Universalism coming together. The mural was created right after the merger of the Unitarians and Universalists, and this figure, in one form or another, has been our church’s unofficial logo ever since.
The Universalist’s off-center cross and the Unitarian’s chalice, both in circles symbolizing completeness, come together. Bob Hooton’s piece is a little different from the mural piece; his cross is larger, and he emphasizes the chalice’s flame, rather than the chalice as a whole. Also, the intersection of the two circles was very important to him; he made it distinctively leaf shaped and the colors blend (in the original…this has faded in the above) to make the center green. To him that added the element of nature to the human created symbols of cross, chalice, and circle.
Hooton called his work, “Freedom to Believe.” His gift was very important to the congregation in the 1980’s.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
More Snow Play
It snowed for two solid days, dumping nearly 2 feet of snow at our house. Here in Albuquerque, we talk for weeks about it snowing for two solid hours, and an inch of white stuff delays school and government. The past record for snowfall in a day was 9 inches; the airport got 11 yesterday, and then it snowed another 24 hours. So we are all astounded and we all believe in climate change.
When the snow finally tapered off this evening, my son, noting that the pile of snow under the eves looked a bit like a dragon, went out to help nature out. I went out to play Sculptor's helper, and the product, a 20 foot snow sculpture.
When the snow finally tapered off this evening, my son, noting that the pile of snow under the eves looked a bit like a dragon, went out to help nature out. I went out to play Sculptor's helper, and the product, a 20 foot snow sculpture.
What I thought about as I obediently packed snow and made snow spikes with my pruning saw was that there's something about snow that brings out the playful in people. Yesterday, I got out my Cross country skies and skied over to the park and got more smiles and comments than in the rest of my 18 years in this neighborhood.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Second Life Picture!
I finally made it to the UU Church of Second Life! There I am, sitting in the first row, meditating on the chalice. It's a very restful place and I am very proud of myself! The people there were friendly, too!
Virtual Weddings
The Unitarian Church of Second Life (membership in the UUA applied for) has gotten its first request to do a wedding and it's fearless leader, Bizarre Barry, has put out a call to the 80 some person membership to see if anyone is a Lay Minister. (apparently it didn't occur to him that one of his members might be a "real" minister.) He wants someone to do the wedding, the better to raise money with which to buy the Church a private island. Two Second Life UU's who know that I'm a member of the Unitarian Church of Second Life emailed me to urge me to volunteer.
But I'm trying really hard to have a Second Life that is NOT identical to my "real" life, so it was very easy to say No.
I probably would have done so anyway. As one who actually takes weddings and marriage seriously, I'd need to know a little more about what a "virtual" marriage is and what it means to the "real" people involved. Is this harmless playacting with elaborate paper dolls or is this something more? If it is something more, then what is the responsibility of the minister and the UU Church to encourage loving, responsible behavior and honest relationships? Is there any downside in "real" life to a virtual marriage? ("I promise to love, honor, and cherish you for no more than 5 hours a week"?)
One of my correspondents asked, "If the Second Life" Church affiliates for real with the UUA, what then is the meaning of the marriages solemnized by its "clergy"?
Good Questions! I hope some Second Lifers are thinking about them. As for me, once I figure out how to manage my Second Life, I'm going into business as a dog walker. But I have to figure out how to manage my first life, first.
But I'm trying really hard to have a Second Life that is NOT identical to my "real" life, so it was very easy to say No.
I probably would have done so anyway. As one who actually takes weddings and marriage seriously, I'd need to know a little more about what a "virtual" marriage is and what it means to the "real" people involved. Is this harmless playacting with elaborate paper dolls or is this something more? If it is something more, then what is the responsibility of the minister and the UU Church to encourage loving, responsible behavior and honest relationships? Is there any downside in "real" life to a virtual marriage? ("I promise to love, honor, and cherish you for no more than 5 hours a week"?)
One of my correspondents asked, "If the Second Life" Church affiliates for real with the UUA, what then is the meaning of the marriages solemnized by its "clergy"?
Good Questions! I hope some Second Lifers are thinking about them. As for me, once I figure out how to manage my Second Life, I'm going into business as a dog walker. But I have to figure out how to manage my first life, first.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Christmas Christianity
My "official" blog has comments today on one Unitarian Universalist's theology of Christmas. It's here.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Blizzard of '78
There was no conversation in all of Albuquerque yesterday except about the coming snow, the snow, and then the astounding snow. With all that talk about snow, I suppose it should be no surprise that one conversation went like this. me: "I have not seen this much snow for 26 years, since I lived in Boston." "You lived in Boston in the 70's? Do you remember the blizzard of '78?"
It happens every time I talk about snow. Several million people lived thorough that blizzard, and I've talked to an awful lot of them over the years. The Blizzard of '77 was a huge storm on top of a big storm the week before. It shut down the city of Boston for three days and only public transportation was permitted for another week. We city dwellers walked through shoulder-high tunnels of sidewalks for the next three months, and the city public works department spent the rest of the winter scooping piles of snow into dump trucks and dumping them in the river. It was an amazing tribute to the New Englander's creed that business will go on no matter what the weather. This southerner was very glad to escape New England, to live in places where winter storms drive everyone to hearth and home (and, these days, to telecommuting) to enjoy the day and wait out the thaw.
P.S. We're at 10 inches at my house, and not only is it still snowing, there's another storm coming! Too Cool
It happens every time I talk about snow. Several million people lived thorough that blizzard, and I've talked to an awful lot of them over the years. The Blizzard of '77 was a huge storm on top of a big storm the week before. It shut down the city of Boston for three days and only public transportation was permitted for another week. We city dwellers walked through shoulder-high tunnels of sidewalks for the next three months, and the city public works department spent the rest of the winter scooping piles of snow into dump trucks and dumping them in the river. It was an amazing tribute to the New Englander's creed that business will go on no matter what the weather. This southerner was very glad to escape New England, to live in places where winter storms drive everyone to hearth and home (and, these days, to telecommuting) to enjoy the day and wait out the thaw.
P.S. We're at 10 inches at my house, and not only is it still snowing, there's another storm coming! Too Cool
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Snow Play
It's the last day of school, and no sooner had school let out than the heavens opened in snow. There's about 6 inches on the ground at the moment, with more forecast; we've lived here for 18 years and think that this is the most snow we've seen. And, miracle of miracles, it's wet snow! (Most of the snow that falls on Albuquerque is so dry it doesn't melt, it evaporates. It doesn't pack, it squeeks. No good for snow balls.)
My 16 year old son had brought buddies home with him to play Dungeons and Dragons, but at some magical point, they dragged on all the household mittens (they'd gone to school in sweatshirts; that 's how fast this weather changed) and went outside to throw snowballs. It was the snowball fight of a lifetime for the boy, who could never get his parents to struggle with the dry snow as long as he wanted them to. To have 5 eager snowballers was heaven on earth. Watching them made my snow day.
My 16 year old son had brought buddies home with him to play Dungeons and Dragons, but at some magical point, they dragged on all the household mittens (they'd gone to school in sweatshirts; that 's how fast this weather changed) and went outside to throw snowballs. It was the snowball fight of a lifetime for the boy, who could never get his parents to struggle with the dry snow as long as he wanted them to. To have 5 eager snowballers was heaven on earth. Watching them made my snow day.
Monday, December 18, 2006
UUA on CNN
Last Sunday, CNN ran this clip about All Souls Church in Washington DC. You can watch it yourself by clicking the link. Very exciting publicity for us!
Saturday, December 16, 2006
The UU Church of Second Life
I'm not playing computer games for Advent (at least, not too much), but I have received such fascinating news from the UU Church of Second life, that I must at least blog about computer games.
Second Life is one of several exceedingly popular MMO-RPG's. (Massive, Multiplayer, Online Role Playing games. Remember that.) where players create a character with a persona and engage with other online players in a variety of virtual activities. I signed up a month or so back, and the only thing I managed to do besides dress my character was find the Unitarian Universalist Church of Second Life and sign up. There was a vast silence from them until today. Apparently, I signed up to get messages by email from the group and that feature was broken and is now fixed. (I once was lost, and now I'm found...)
Anyway, it appears that they meet (on line) pretty regularly on Thursday nights and their (virtual) membership has shot up to 80 in the past few months. So....get this...
They want to affilliate with the UUA. They've got the numbers. They are thinking about forking over US$ for UUA dues (most transactions in Second Life are accomplished with SL$). They are considering the possibility of officers and bylaws to make themselves "Kosher" in the eyes of the UUA so that they can apply to be a real (virtual) church.
Oh, what I would give to be a fly on the wall in the offices of the UUA (nice people, but it's a seriously stuffy place) when they get this proposal. I can hardly wrap my mind around it, myself.
We Albuquerquians think we're starting a pretty way-out experiment in reaching UU's in small communities with our iMinistry program; here's a truly far out experiment in reaching the next generation. No doubt the lawyers will say that the UUA Bylaws don't permit virtual members. but I do hope that someone can be found at the UUA to deal gently and knowledgeably with the Second Lifers and their UU Church.
I wish them well and am looking forward to finding them after Christmas.
Second Life is one of several exceedingly popular MMO-RPG's. (Massive, Multiplayer, Online Role Playing games. Remember that.) where players create a character with a persona and engage with other online players in a variety of virtual activities. I signed up a month or so back, and the only thing I managed to do besides dress my character was find the Unitarian Universalist Church of Second Life and sign up. There was a vast silence from them until today. Apparently, I signed up to get messages by email from the group and that feature was broken and is now fixed. (I once was lost, and now I'm found...)
Anyway, it appears that they meet (on line) pretty regularly on Thursday nights and their (virtual) membership has shot up to 80 in the past few months. So....get this...
They want to affilliate with the UUA. They've got the numbers. They are thinking about forking over US$ for UUA dues (most transactions in Second Life are accomplished with SL$). They are considering the possibility of officers and bylaws to make themselves "Kosher" in the eyes of the UUA so that they can apply to be a real (virtual) church.
Oh, what I would give to be a fly on the wall in the offices of the UUA (nice people, but it's a seriously stuffy place) when they get this proposal. I can hardly wrap my mind around it, myself.
We Albuquerquians think we're starting a pretty way-out experiment in reaching UU's in small communities with our iMinistry program; here's a truly far out experiment in reaching the next generation. No doubt the lawyers will say that the UUA Bylaws don't permit virtual members. but I do hope that someone can be found at the UUA to deal gently and knowledgeably with the Second Lifers and their UU Church.
I wish them well and am looking forward to finding them after Christmas.
Friday, December 15, 2006
New Uses for Blogs in Church
We use the blogs on the website to make it easy for volunteers to easily post the audio and video recordings of sermons, and so our publications person can post the written sermons. Much easier than going in to change the website.
One of the days the website developer said wistfully that she wished we ministers would blog more was I day after I'd spent all day on a memorial service for a beloved member, so I posted the Eulogy. Bingo. A Good Move. While I've always given a copy of the Eulogy to the family, and occationally responded to requests for copies, posting it to the website makes it available to anyone without my intervention. A couple of months later, we had a memorial service for a young adult who had spent 25 years making friends all over the world, and we got hits on our blogs from all over the world as her friends heard the news. Her family members and friends who had spoken at the service asked for their tributes to be posted, which I did. The family Christmas Card will carry the sad news farther, but it will also have the address of "Emily's Service" on the web. When I heard about that, I added my comments in the rest of the service. Memorial Services are something that UU's do really well. I believe. Discovering how useful this feature could be, I created a new blog just for the posting of Eulogies. It's here, If you vist, you'll get to read about this splendid young woman, a product of our church school and faith, as well as her wonderful family.
Occationally people send me written responses to services, sermons, or life, and they are often quite good. I got one the other day and asked the author for permission to post it, which she gave with delight. I can imagine that this feature could become quite popular, in which case, we'd probably add a "members" blog.
Our Library/Bookshop has its own blog, the better to pitch books to the congregation. The iMinistry/Branch Ministry team has a blog, which we imagine will be of interest to persons in churches which are thinking about attempting this new strategy for growth.
That's just a start...
One of the days the website developer said wistfully that she wished we ministers would blog more was I day after I'd spent all day on a memorial service for a beloved member, so I posted the Eulogy. Bingo. A Good Move. While I've always given a copy of the Eulogy to the family, and occationally responded to requests for copies, posting it to the website makes it available to anyone without my intervention. A couple of months later, we had a memorial service for a young adult who had spent 25 years making friends all over the world, and we got hits on our blogs from all over the world as her friends heard the news. Her family members and friends who had spoken at the service asked for their tributes to be posted, which I did. The family Christmas Card will carry the sad news farther, but it will also have the address of "Emily's Service" on the web. When I heard about that, I added my comments in the rest of the service. Memorial Services are something that UU's do really well. I believe. Discovering how useful this feature could be, I created a new blog just for the posting of Eulogies. It's here, If you vist, you'll get to read about this splendid young woman, a product of our church school and faith, as well as her wonderful family.
Occationally people send me written responses to services, sermons, or life, and they are often quite good. I got one the other day and asked the author for permission to post it, which she gave with delight. I can imagine that this feature could become quite popular, in which case, we'd probably add a "members" blog.
Our Library/Bookshop has its own blog, the better to pitch books to the congregation. The iMinistry/Branch Ministry team has a blog, which we imagine will be of interest to persons in churches which are thinking about attempting this new strategy for growth.
That's just a start...
My New Blog on the Church Website
We've been working on a new website for the church for months and months, and it finally went on line a few weeks back. This website has blogs attached to it, and even before we went on line, I've been thinking about blogging as a church activity.
I have to admit that my first reaction to hearing that I was going to have a blog on the website was not positive. While I've never made a secret of my "day job" , and I've never imagined that I could post just anything to my blog, writing for the blog has been removed from my work, and refreshingly so. I discovered early on that only about half of its readers even live in Albuquerque, and at least some of those folks don't belong to the church.
So I have a church website blog (you can find it here, and while we're linking, the church website is here) Our volunteer website developer is very eager that I post to it, and it took me a while to sort out what to use it for, how to differentiate from this blog, and so on. I'm still figuring that out, but in the meantime have discovered some interesting uses for a blog on a church website.
I have to admit that my first reaction to hearing that I was going to have a blog on the website was not positive. While I've never made a secret of my "day job" , and I've never imagined that I could post just anything to my blog, writing for the blog has been removed from my work, and refreshingly so. I discovered early on that only about half of its readers even live in Albuquerque, and at least some of those folks don't belong to the church.
So I have a church website blog (you can find it here, and while we're linking, the church website is here) Our volunteer website developer is very eager that I post to it, and it took me a while to sort out what to use it for, how to differentiate from this blog, and so on. I'm still figuring that out, but in the meantime have discovered some interesting uses for a blog on a church website.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Gold, Frankencense, and Mirth
A woman at church yesterday said that when she was a kid, she thought that the three Kings brought the baby Gold, Frankincense, and Mirth. I've been smiling ever since.
Those three universal beings (in the folk tradition from which manger scenes are made, they are an elderly European, a middle aged Oriental, and a young African) on their strange journey to bow down before a baby and bring gifts, were supposed to have brought three items of financial worth, gold, a precious incense used in religious ritual and worship, and a precious spice used in, of all things, embalming. Some make something of the latter; a gift for a person whose life was destined to be short.
I'd rather universalize these gifts, making them symbolic of what we need for a good life; a modicum of financial resources, the spiritual resources symbolized by Frankincense, and the emotional and relational resources symbolized by mirth.
Food and fire, hope and spirit, love and community. May your Holiday season be blessed with Gold, Frankincense, and Mirth.
Those three universal beings (in the folk tradition from which manger scenes are made, they are an elderly European, a middle aged Oriental, and a young African) on their strange journey to bow down before a baby and bring gifts, were supposed to have brought three items of financial worth, gold, a precious incense used in religious ritual and worship, and a precious spice used in, of all things, embalming. Some make something of the latter; a gift for a person whose life was destined to be short.
I'd rather universalize these gifts, making them symbolic of what we need for a good life; a modicum of financial resources, the spiritual resources symbolized by Frankincense, and the emotional and relational resources symbolized by mirth.
Food and fire, hope and spirit, love and community. May your Holiday season be blessed with Gold, Frankincense, and Mirth.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Dungeons and Dragons
When my husband and I contemplated having a child in our home, we naturally contemplated having a little copy of ourselves. Studious, quiet, intuitive, caring, introverted. Therefore, we did not ever imagine a weekly dungeons and dragon game in our dining room, with its raucous mix of personalities, gluttony, dice, and fantasy. But because nobody is a copy of anybody, our studious, quiet, intuitive, caring, introverted son is also a dedicated Game Master. His game has been going on for five years now with more or less the same crew, and shows every likelihood of going on until three of its four permanent players go off to college in (gulp!) two and a half years. His first game lead to a second; A couple of times a month, he and his girlfriend play with a group of adults from church, and what a gift that has been! Their affectionate guidance has mentored his adolescence in ways that parents just can't do.
D&D taught our introverted child to make phone calls, to organize activities, to be a leader, to deal with different personalities. The young people in his group have squabbled like the siblings that none of them have, but the game (almost always, especially in the last couple of years) goes on. We no longer hover in expectation of tears or tyranny; they've all matured nicely, and their game has smoothed out accordingly. I credit D&D with a lot of growth for my kid...it's been worth every spilled coke and every plate of cookies.
D&D taught our introverted child to make phone calls, to organize activities, to be a leader, to deal with different personalities. The young people in his group have squabbled like the siblings that none of them have, but the game (almost always, especially in the last couple of years) goes on. We no longer hover in expectation of tears or tyranny; they've all matured nicely, and their game has smoothed out accordingly. I credit D&D with a lot of growth for my kid...it's been worth every spilled coke and every plate of cookies.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
St. Nicholas was Not a Unitarian
As a matter of fact, he was so much NOT a Unitarian that he punched our guy Bishop Arius in the nose during the council of Nicea. Oops.
Nice guy other than that; into helping the poor and all.
During my ministerial internship I lived with a family who celebrated St. Nicholas Day as the start of the Christmas festivities. I was given a pound bag of pecans with which to make Christmas cookies, and was charmed by the tradition. The next year I set up housekeeping for myself and began the tradition of celebrating St. Nicholas Day. I didn't know about his altercation with Bishop Arius, who championed Unitarian theology in the early church. A Husband and then a child later, we got into a Major Family Tradition. December 6th was the day for decorating the house, the kind of nice family dinner that we don't get on Christmas Eve, and it always happened that late in the evening, someone would hear the clop of St. Nicholas' horse and we'd pour out of the house. He always managed to get out of our subdivision sight unseen, but he did always leave a few presents to help us decorate and wait for Christmas.
My disappointment in discovering my holiday hero's indiscretion is keen, and my 16 year old is only affectionately tolerant of the holiday these days. His school's art show (mandatory for students in art classes) and a chess meet claimed his attention, and ours, so we were not home when the white horse clopped through and left his heretic fans a few presents to help us wait for Christmas.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Happy Holydays
A conversation erupted in my exercise class this morning, about "Happy Holidays," a controversy I heard about but didn't actually encounter last year. And frankly, I'm not absolutely sure that any of the others in the class were speaking from personal experience, either. The moment passed before I could get my two cents in, which is that the notion that wishing someone "Happy Holidays" is somehow denigrating of Christians and Christmas is flat out ignorant.
There are a multitude of Holy Days (that's what a holiday is...or was...a holy day) in December's Christian Calendar. Advent, St. Nicholas Day, the feast day of Guadalupe, Christmas Eve, the Feast of Stephen, the 12 days of Christmas (arguably secular), and Epiphany.
For this reason I intend to wish every Christian I meet this month "Happy Holidays".
There are a multitude of Holy Days (that's what a holiday is...or was...a holy day) in December's Christian Calendar. Advent, St. Nicholas Day, the feast day of Guadalupe, Christmas Eve, the Feast of Stephen, the 12 days of Christmas (arguably secular), and Epiphany.
For this reason I intend to wish every Christian I meet this month "Happy Holidays".
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Giving Up Games for Advent
The season of Advent begins today, the fourth Sunday before Christmas. In the Christian calendar, this is a season of preparation for the major holiday, and while popular culture celebrates it mostly with one-a-day treats for kids, grownup Christians sometimes honor this season in the same way that Lent is honored; by giving something up for the duration.
A very counter-cultural move, this is. No doubt about that. But I've found it useful in my life, and this year, it's computer games. It will be a great pleasure to return to my favorites on December 26; I'm looking forward to it already.
Why do I do this? There's the practical matter that during this busy time I can't afford the time I've been spending on games, and there's the spiritual matter that I want to focus on nature's beauty and family''s love in this season. But the major usefulness of this discipline is that it breaks habituations.
Habituations, the polite name for all the light-duty addictions that march through our lives, can be a problem. Although heroin or Alcohol or out of control sex can actually kill us, most of our hibituations merely lock us into be behaviors and bodily states which need some freedom.
A good cup of coffee in the morning is a wonderful treat, and relaxing with a few computer games is the same. But if I have trained my mind and body to ONLY wake up with a shot of caffeine, and ONLY relax with some mind-numbing computer games, I've lost a certain flexibility and freedom in my approach to life, and that's NOT such a good thing.
I aim to stay on my toes in the game of life, and that means not getting too set in my ways. Whether it's coffee or computer games, it's good to take a break and develop new strategies with regularity.
A very counter-cultural move, this is. No doubt about that. But I've found it useful in my life, and this year, it's computer games. It will be a great pleasure to return to my favorites on December 26; I'm looking forward to it already.
Why do I do this? There's the practical matter that during this busy time I can't afford the time I've been spending on games, and there's the spiritual matter that I want to focus on nature's beauty and family''s love in this season. But the major usefulness of this discipline is that it breaks habituations.
Habituations, the polite name for all the light-duty addictions that march through our lives, can be a problem. Although heroin or Alcohol or out of control sex can actually kill us, most of our hibituations merely lock us into be behaviors and bodily states which need some freedom.
A good cup of coffee in the morning is a wonderful treat, and relaxing with a few computer games is the same. But if I have trained my mind and body to ONLY wake up with a shot of caffeine, and ONLY relax with some mind-numbing computer games, I've lost a certain flexibility and freedom in my approach to life, and that's NOT such a good thing.
I aim to stay on my toes in the game of life, and that means not getting too set in my ways. Whether it's coffee or computer games, it's good to take a break and develop new strategies with regularity.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
More on Crazy Chess
Crazy chess has been my game addiction of choice for a couple of weeks now. The basic point of it is to capture the army of relentlessly advancing pawns before your castle burns down. It's possible to get further in this game than in most such games by dint of intelligence rather than simply by click speed, so I, whose coordination computer runs slow, like this game.
It's the relentless part that fascinates me. Capture the last pawn and you've got to get in position for the next pawn. Capture a power up that temporarily slows or stops the onslaught, and you'd better clean up the board and keep capturing the coins which appear. Make a fantastic four-in-a-row pawn capture and you've got to just keep going.
Life is like this. Get your kid potty trained and you go right on to please and thank you, reading, driving, human relations. Get the new church building built and there's no pause before some new crisis has your attention. Figure out how to use DOS and they change to Windows and then to networks (which is where my castle burned to the ground and put me out of the game.)
The trick, I've found, to Crazy Chess, is to actually rest between levels. My natural inclination, when I've won a level, is to rush into the next challenge, but this is a mistake, because once you click the go on button, your launched to "relentless" again.
It's why I take some quiet time every morning. It's my pause before I click, "go on", and hit the relentless decks. It's also why I'm going to take a break from computer games. More on that, tomorrow.
It's the relentless part that fascinates me. Capture the last pawn and you've got to get in position for the next pawn. Capture a power up that temporarily slows or stops the onslaught, and you'd better clean up the board and keep capturing the coins which appear. Make a fantastic four-in-a-row pawn capture and you've got to just keep going.
Life is like this. Get your kid potty trained and you go right on to please and thank you, reading, driving, human relations. Get the new church building built and there's no pause before some new crisis has your attention. Figure out how to use DOS and they change to Windows and then to networks (which is where my castle burned to the ground and put me out of the game.)
The trick, I've found, to Crazy Chess, is to actually rest between levels. My natural inclination, when I've won a level, is to rush into the next challenge, but this is a mistake, because once you click the go on button, your launched to "relentless" again.
It's why I take some quiet time every morning. It's my pause before I click, "go on", and hit the relentless decks. It's also why I'm going to take a break from computer games. More on that, tomorrow.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Dungeons and Dragons' Oversoul
My son left his D&D magazine open for me to an article on the Oversoul, the name of one of the many deities in the D&D world. The article contained the distinctive D&D art, and references to many things I only vaguely understand. ("Humans comprise the largest group of Oversoul followers, by a huge margin, but...Githzeari make up the second largest racial group among worshipers, followed by half giants, elan," etc.) However the purely theological parts of the article were remarkable, fleshing out, so to speak, a Process Theology deity, complete with creation story and comments about worship. The Oversoul has both developed with and guided creation and evolution, a process which is not completed. With each expression of the fragment of itself which is an infidels life, it learns.
The Oversoul looks like serenity. It's symbol is a set of concentric circles. Students of the Oversoul learn first the art of Meditation, then learn to seek the truth beyond the obvious and to question everything, especially himself (sic). Oversoul temples tend toward elegant simplicity, vary often incorporating natural surroundings. Birth and Death are marked by ritual, as they are believed to be the times when individual souls leave and return to the oversoul. The ritual at death involves the telling of the stories of the deceased, especially the sharing of stories by persons who knew the deceased in different parts of life.
It all sounds so eerily like the beliefs of many Unitarian Universalists that I wonder if the author (one Matthew J. Hanson) is one of us.
And it reminds me that I really do believe that our entire RE problem of what to do with our boys aged 12-19 in Sunday school could be solved by using the D&D world to teach philosophy, religion, our values, moral decision making. If someone did this, I think we could have very popular RE programs that kept kids engaged literally for hours and would teach them far more than they are learning now.
Someone?
The Oversoul looks like serenity. It's symbol is a set of concentric circles. Students of the Oversoul learn first the art of Meditation, then learn to seek the truth beyond the obvious and to question everything, especially himself (sic). Oversoul temples tend toward elegant simplicity, vary often incorporating natural surroundings. Birth and Death are marked by ritual, as they are believed to be the times when individual souls leave and return to the oversoul. The ritual at death involves the telling of the stories of the deceased, especially the sharing of stories by persons who knew the deceased in different parts of life.
It all sounds so eerily like the beliefs of many Unitarian Universalists that I wonder if the author (one Matthew J. Hanson) is one of us.
And it reminds me that I really do believe that our entire RE problem of what to do with our boys aged 12-19 in Sunday school could be solved by using the D&D world to teach philosophy, religion, our values, moral decision making. If someone did this, I think we could have very popular RE programs that kept kids engaged literally for hours and would teach them far more than they are learning now.
Someone?
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