‘Congregations and Beyond’

This past week Unitarian Universalist Association President Peter Morales published “Congregations and Beyond,” encouraging all Unitarian Universalists to “read, discuss, and share” his “vision of the opportunities and challenges that face Unitarian Universalism as an international movement.” Bloggers have been obliging.

The Rev. David Pyle is representative of many responses in wanting to go farther than Morales’s paper does.

Let us open up membership and identity as a Unitarian Universalist to any and all who can connect with us. Let us join with them not how we are used to, or how we are comfortable joining with others, but however the hundreds of thousands out there need us to join with them. Let us accept that they will transform who we are, as our radical faith calls us to accept such transforming power and grace. Let us find any way we can to bring people to the point where they can say, in their hearts and with their voices, “I am a Unitarian Universalist” . . . and to know what that means.

But let us do this for the right reason . . . not because of what we might expect to gain, but because of what we have to give to this wounded, broken, hurting world. What we have to give is our saving, transforming, and healing message. (Celestial Lands, January 20)

The Rev. Chip Roush points out that UUs are not unique.

I agree with much of Peter’s analysis – and I had virtually the same conversation, with a friend about her Lutheran church, two days ago. We UUs are not unique in facing this issue. Nor are we unique in trying to solve it through marketing. (So May We Be, January 21)

The Rev. Christine Robinson considers three circles of engagement in a congregation: “leaders,” “members,” and “the audience.”

The audience includes the people who come to services but don’t join or contribute, sometimes just on Christmas Eve, or when they are between relationships, or when their mother comes to town. They are the people who use the church parking lot as a staging ground for group hikes, who rely on the food pantry, whose children go to the child care center which only pays it’s direct expenses in rent, but not the cost of the capital investment in the physical plant. The audience includes the people who read the op-ed’s which the minister produces, whose organizations meet for free in the meeting rooms, and those who are considering membership and getting involved. (iMinister, January 21; see also January 23)

Patrick Murfin places Morales’s statement into the context of changes in governance within the UUA. (Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout, January 24)

Bill Baar doesn’t think it’s worth reaching out to people who identify as UUs but are not members.

You can’t build Churches (or a Movement) with folks who will not commit to do the hard work of building either.
(Pfarrer Streccius, January 25)

The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Landrum says Morales is “vague.”

But the question that he points to, well, that’s intriguing. Morales points out the there are, as we’ve known, bunches of people who identify as UU and who don’t attend UU churches. And there are bunches of people who were raised UU who don’t attend UU churches. Some of them are fairly well connected to UUism in other ways—he points to the fact that a significant number of people who attend SUUSI don’t attend any UU congregation. . . .

But what I think is new about “Congregations and Beyond” is that Peter Morales is not suggesting we find out why they’re not in churches, but, rather, find out what they are interested in doing that would connect them to our movement in other ways. Some people will never be church-goers, he’s saying, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be part of the UU religious movement. (Rev. Cyn, January 24)

The Rev. Scott Wells thinks there’s too little in the report for him “to be hopeful—or upset.” (Boy in the Bands, January 24)

Christine L. Slocum does not experience her faith as membership in her congregation.

I agree with him 100%. I also share a lot of the reaction that various other UUs have – this is not exactly earth shattering. In fact, I am already active with many of the suggestions that Rev. Morales gives. Being somewhat uninterested and somewhat ignorant of UUA politics, I already thought of UUism as a religious movement. Imagine my surprised when, in the ensuing discussion, I discovered that I had the wrong idea the entire time. (Seattleite from Syracuse, January 24)

The Rev. Peter Boullata is “thankful that Rev. Morales envisions the continued central place for congregations and is imagining other experimental forms,” but is concerned about the difference between an institution, such as the UUA, and a religious movement.

The relationship between an organized religion and religious movement, it seems to me, is one of grassroots momentum and institutional response. How does a religious organization spawn a religious movement? . . . [W]here is the movement on the ground that the UUA will respond to? What are the theological and ecclesiastical distinctives among us today around which a movement is moving? (Held in the Light, January 25)

The Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein, on her ecumenical blog for clergy, Beauty Tips for Ministers, explores her personal grief at the changes in congregational life.

I do not want to be a “Churchitarian,” worshiping buildings and traditions that may not minister to seekers of today. But there is a difference between false worship, or idolatry, and love. The Church has earned my love, respect and loyalty. It has changed my life in all good ways. The discipline of Sunday morning worship has been a challenging spiritual practice that has hammered a lot of alienation and unkindness out of me. (Beauty Tips for Ministers, January 24)

Around the blogosphere

The Rev. Naomi King was waiting for her life “to really begin.”

Perhaps I would have waited longer, if I hadn’t tumbled to the fact that there’s no cure for what I have. I find mercy in that. I’m free to live as I am now, without waiting for something to perfect me first. (City of Refuge, January 20)

Vance Bass, the contemporary music director at First Unitarian Church in Albuquerque, N.Mex., regrets the name he chose for his blog, Liberal Religion Gets Loud:

When I named this blog, I made a mistake: “loud” is not the defining characteristic of contemporary worship or contemporary worship music. . . . We’re no louder than the Steinway, which is to say no louder than the choir. (Liberal Religion Gets Loud, January 20)

The Rev. Kit Ketcham give a peek into the minsterial credentialing experience. (Ms. Kitty’s Saloon and Road Show, January 20)

The Rev. Justin Schroeder explains (on day 21 of blogging about spiritual practices) what he means by “spiritual practice.”

Spiritual practices/disciplines are about growing the soul, about paying attention in such a way that the “soul” expands. Spiritual practices are about noticing the ways our inner lives, the world, and something larger than ourselves are woven together. (The Well, January 22)

Crystal St. Marie Lewis looks at religion through the analogy of learning to ride a bicycle.

I do not oppose the guiding hand of tradition. In fact, I fully acknowledge that tradition seems to work like a charm for some people. However, for others, organized religion works better as a springboard to becoming independently spiritual. I think it’s important to understand religion in these terms and affirm the validity of both experiences. Some people prefer the guidance that organized religion can offer, while others prefer to break free and ride more independently. (Crystal St. Marie Lewis, January 22)

Andy Coate draws attention to expressions meant to be inclusive that are actually gendered (and exclusionary), and offers some specific suggestions.

When an assembled body of people is referred to as “ladies and gentleman,” or “men and women” or anything along those lines there is a group of people you’re ignoring. When you sing “brothers and sisters” or “oh, fathers/mothers let’s go down,” or do a reading that calls on “men” to do one thing while “women” do another you are ignoring all of the “me’s” out there. You’re ignoring my existence. I don’t think it’s intentional but I do think it’s something that needs to change. (thoughts ON, January 22)

Linda Laskowski continues her series of posts on the recent meeting of the UUA Board of Trustees at UUA View from Berkeley.

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

Crystal St. Marie Lewis asks, “Will you go to the mountaintop?”

On this, the observance of Dr. King’s 83rd birthday, I am reminded of the repeated call in scripture that we return to the mountaintop—if for no other reason than to hear the call of God, or weep tears of love for the societies we serve, or to demonstrate the love of God which overtakes us so relentlessly, or to dream of the future.  (Crystal St. Marie Lewis, January 16)

Kim Hampton wonders, “Next year, can we have an A. Philip Randolph and Fannie Lou Hamer Day instead?”

[When] we’re talking about something like civil rights, something that has such a long arc, why put all of the focus on that one man? Doesn’t that ignore the people and the work that made him possible? (East of Midnight, January 16)

Lizard Eater is learning about love from Martin Luther King, Jr., and from JT, an African-American classmate, who “lives in a world that sees him as the bogeyman.”

Over and over, through his sermons, through his speeches, [King] counseled love. He knew that to cede the power of love was to lose part of yourself. JT shows me how very hard this is. That to forgive others, others who have never even realized how wrong they were, is a herculean task. (The Journey, January 16)

The most hated girl in America

The Rev. Cynthia Landrum is stunned by the deluge of hatred directed toward Jessica Ahlquist, the teenage atheist who successfully fought to have a prayer banner removed from her high school.

The obvious irony is that the words of the prayer call on people to grow morally, to be kind, to conduct themselves in a way that brings credit to the school, and to be good sports and smile when we lose.

If only everyone who wants the prayer to hang could at least try to live up to it. (Rev Cyn, January 19)

Searching for common ground

After a confrontational social media encounter, Sarah MacLeod reaffirms her commitment to dialogue and the search common ground.

Why bother? . . . Because, like it or not, much of life is a mystery, as is all of the future.  None of us have the market cornered on the best way of living in this remarkably complicated world.  Really. And no amount of vitriol and rhetoric actually changes anyone’s mind. (Finding My Ground, January 13 and 17)

Amy Peterson Derrick is giving up one of her favorite pastimes—yelling at her television and radio.

Perhaps my energy would be better spent writing letters and having an actual conversation with somebody. So, with our cable service cancelled and the local talk radio channel erased from my presets, I have decided that it is time to have real conversations with people while engaging in a new spiritual practice: listening. Really listening. (UU@Home, January 14)

Worship experiments and evolution

The Rev. Christine Robinson, who serves the UU congregation in Albuquerque, reports on the staff’s visits to contemporary worship services at neighboring churches.

Some of those [who attend these evangelical churches] are someday going to say to themselves,  ”I just don’t buy this!” and walk.  If this has been their experience of worship, they are not going to find my church’s eclectic but more formal music interesting, no matter how much freedom they are looking for. . . . Therefore we are experimenting with contemporary worship.  So that we can be hospitable to the next generation of seekers, most of whom attend churches with bands, not organs. (iMinister, January 16)

Vance Bass, Albuquerque’s contemporary worship director, shares his perspective on the congregation’s learning journey.

The really important thing here is that the ministers understand what contemporary worship is all about, why it’s vital to UUism, and are totally on board with making changes in that direction. We as musicians—even the music ministers among us—don’t usually have the authority or influence to make this kind of change happen alone. But we can educate our colleagues in the pulpit, assist them or guide them, and learn along with them. (Liberal Religion Gets Loud, January 16)

The Rev. Adam Tierney-Eliot weighs in on music choices in his congregation.

I usually try to avoid the terms “traditional” and “contemporary” when talking about worship because they are more of a hindrance than a help. . . . The real question for people is whether or not our worship experience fits the context  we find ourselves in. Each week we ask our selves if what we see and hear is in some way us. One thing we must all remember, though, is that this context evolves over time.  (Burbania Posts, January 18)

Learning to pray

The Rev. Lisa Ward admits that “Prayer has not come easily to me.”

It wasn’t until my twenties that I gave it a good go, and, thirty years later, I am beginning to feel a resonance, a “prayer life.”  I slowly came to realize that I do not have to know, specifically, who or what I am praying to.  In fact, that may limit the flow of energy, healing or wisdom I seek;  because it would then be a conversation with my definitions, not an invocation of that which encompasses more than me.  (Pondering on the Path, January 14)

The Rev. Naomi King answers some of the questions people ask her about prayer.

Is prayer answered? Yes, but maybe not the way we would prefer or can easily understand. Getting what I wish for is not how I judge the efficacy or use of prayer. Prayer doesn’t work from scarcity, and it can’t treat the Holy as a vending machine. (The Wonderment, January 19)

Around the blogosphere

Will Shetterley remembers his mother, who died this week, saying that she “gave me my heart.”

She taught me how to love—none of my flaws as a pupil are her fault. She loved indiscriminately. Children naturally exaggerate the virtues or flaws of their parents, but I was always able to test my belief that Mom was a great mom by seeing how people everywhere adored her. (it’s all one thing, January 19)

The Rev. Ellen Cooper-Davis responds to questions about Unitarian Univeralism in a guest post on Rachel Held Evans’ blog.

Unitarian Universalist churches certainly began as Christian paths, and their theological positions were derived from those who read the Bible, and found evidence there for rejecting both the Trinity and hell. But today, in our modern North American form, we are best considered Post-Christian. That is to say, we have roots in and influence from Christianity, but solidly mainline Christian churches would not recognize as Christian. (Rachel Held Evans, January 19)

Meadville-Lombard seminarian Jim Magaw reflects on lessons learned in a UU polity course.

As faith communities, we need to be . . . . arteries that supply the blood that nourishes the world’s muscle and the world’s heart. The extent to which congregational polity helps us become open channels for this lifeblood determines how relevant and vital we will be to the rest of the world.(Jim’s Meadville Journal, January 16)

Trustee Linda Laskowski begins a series about the UUA Board’s January meeting in New Orleans.  (UUA View from Berkeley, January 14)

The liberal way in religion

Reaching back to the roots of liberalism, the Rev. Peter Boullata describes “our essential witness to the world.”

Our spirit is a generous spirit, calling diverse people to be in relationship to one another. Our generous way of relation, holding in tension the free individual’s connection to others, holding in tension freedom and community, can be an example for a divided nation, a divided family, a tension-filled workplace.  (Held in the Light, January 11)

Controversial cookies

The Rev. Cynthia Landrum provides background on the Girl Scout “cookie controversy” sparked by a scout’s protest against transgender inclusion.

Girl Scouts USA welcomes scouts to change the word “God” in the Girl Scout pledge to any word representing the scout’s spiritual beliefs. Girl Scouts also has not taken any stance limiting participation of lesbian or bisexual scouts or troop leaders. The latest Girl Scout controversy is around transgender scouts.  And, once again, Girl Scouts has taken an inclusive stance.  (Rev. Cyn, January 12)

Andy Coate urges us not to demonize the young scout at the center of the controversy.

I feel bad that it’s clearly going to be awhile before she has any actual chance to explore the world a little and meet people not in her religious, social, and political demographic. I feel bad that she’s probably getting a lot of hate directed at her right now from liberal folks and that that is just going to enforce the points she has been fed. (thoughts ON, January 12)

Resources for spiritual practice

The Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern plans a service of contrition and reconciliation, and shares resources for reflection.

If you’re like me, when you set out to reflect on the ways you’ve done wrong, you tend to think of the things you already know about. . . . So you reflect on those, and feel sorry for those, and maybe even tell people that you’re sorry, but what about the ways you’ve strayed that you haven’t even noticed? For those, what you need is a list of possible faults. (Sermons in Stones, January 8 and 10)

The Rev. Justin Schroeder has begun a series of daily posts about spiritual practice, including one about “why small groups matter.”

In Small Groups . . . congregants engage in the discipline of deep listening. . . . It’s the kind of listening that is not about fixing or advising another human being, or interrupting to tell a better story. It is the kind of deep, attentive listening that can help the soul show up, that can help the soul grow and speak its deepest truth. (The Well, January 7)

Our weird little ways

During her sabbatical, the Rev. Cynthia Cain has been learning compassion for what Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron calls our “weird little ways.”

[One] goal of a sabbatical is to create the space and the time to be truly uncomfortable, to face and move through the painful realities of your own weird little ways, to become more human. (A Jersey Girl in Kentucky, January 12)

The Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell considers three painful regrets—and the lesson she learned from them.

In each case, my heart was telling me what I needed to do. And in each case, I allowed other considerations to overrule my intuitive sense of what was right. I have learned over and over again in this world that the heart knows a deeper truth than reason can reach. (Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell, January 11)

Allison Rittger writes about the role her son’s dog, Leeloo, played in healing their relationship.

Sometimes a son and a mother get lucky and someone or something comes along to do what they were not able to do for each other, form the nurturing bond that allows a child to love for the rest of his life.  For my oldest son, I was not a reliable, responsible parent, so he was never secure and grew older anxious to provide for others what I had not given him. But his own heart was closed. Then Leeloo came home, and the healing process began.  (spirit flows thru, 1/9)

Lessons from family life

Sara from The Curriculum of Love applies Friedman’s leadership theory to teaching her children how to ride a bicycles.

It is normal to feel anxiety about letting them go. After all, eventually children will no longer need you, and will ride off without you, and each step along that path is a little letting go of this precious child.  (The Curriculum of Love, January 6)

The Rev. Amy Freedman tells the story of a community in New Jersey that chose to foster a more balanced way of living.

In 2002, the entire town . . . declared a Family Night called “Ready, Set, Relax!” with no sports, no homework, no meetings, chores, or classes. Instead families enjoyed a meal together, played games or just relaxed.  The idea was that having one night in which the whole town shared this experience would motivate people to find ways to slow down and reduce unnecessary pressures from families and children. (Amy Freedman, January 12)

Around the blogosphere

The Rev. James Ford reflects on Swami Vivekananda’s impact on the West in the late 1800’s.

He introduced America to the idea, startling at the time, that a non-Christian and a non-European could be both saintly and scholarly, and could advocate another religious perspective as compellingly as any Christian preacher. (Monkey Mind, January 9)

Linda Wright tells the story of her segregated educational experiences prior to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  (Equual Access, January 11)

Patrick Murfin remembers the birthday of President Millard Fillmore, providing a helpful biography of this little-known Unitarian.  (Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout, January 7)

“Liberal Religion Gets Loud” offers advice and resources for arranging hymns for guitar.  (Liberal Religion Gets Loud, January 9)