Responding to Obama’s victory . . .

Military chaplain candidate David Pyle wrote in response to the election of Barack Obama: “Thank you America, for my new commander-in-chief” (November 4). “The UU Enforcer,” meanwhile, snarked: “I guess we UUs won’t be moving in mass to Canada, yet, eh?” (November 7)

Leo G., who writes pseudonymously about his teenage son’s drug addiction at “Letting Each Other Go,” writes about his son’s reaction to Obama’s election:

Last night, as Barack Obama was elected to the Presidency of this nation, my seventeen-year-old son wept. I don’t mean a few tears. I mean ten minutes of quiet tears, rolling one after the other down his face.

See, my son is mixed race. He read President-elect Obama’s first book a few years ago. He told me back then, “Barack Obama is me.” And last night, he saw that this country can overcome racism, division, and pettiness and elect a mixed race man to the highest office of the land.

Something in him broke open. Something was deeply affirmed–for the very first time. My son knows he matters. He knows he can recover from his mistakes and do anything. He knows that more people in America believe in hope than in fear and anger. (November 4)

. . . and to anti-gay initiatives in California and other states

The Rev. Scott Wells, who lives in Washington D.C., joined the jubilant crowd that gathered outside the White House after Obama’s victory, but he wasn’t feeling the joy:

I couldn’t be happy. Relieved that President Bush is on his way out and that there would be neither a President McCain or Vice President Palin to replace him. But no real joy. I must have looked a match to the chill and drizzle because I made the mistake of checking on the California Prop 8 outcome before leaving the house. (November 5)

Stephen Merino has been blogging extensively at “Reason and Reverence” about California’s Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage after a campaign funded by millions of dollars from Mormons. Merino, a UU who grew up Mormon, suggests that the anti-Mormon protests that have followed the passage of Prop 8 won’t change Mormons’ minds:

[T]he temple protests and boycotts and whatever else aren’t going to change Mormons’ hearts and minds. You have to understand that this is precisely the sort of thing that feeds into the Mormon “us vs. them” mentality and just reinforces the idea that it’s Mormons up against a wicked world that doesn’t heed God’s counsel. Mormons sort of thrive on persecution. It’s in their history and it’s almost a matter of pride. (November 7)

At “One More Step,” the Rev. Ricky Hoyt is concerned that a new wave of anti-Mormonism may blind gay marriage supporters to the existence of religious allies: “I’m disturbed that some of the legitimate anger over the massive Mormon funding for the Yes on 8 campaign is leading to anti-religious statements that will hurt our own progress forward on the marriage equality issue.” (November 9)

Elsewhere this week

The Rev. Eric Cherry writes about UUA President William Sinkford’s meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa at “A Unitarian Universalist Pilgrimage,” the UUA blog about Sinkford’s trip to Africa (November 8).

The UUA is publicizing Sinkford’s Africa trip and other topics using its new Twitter account. UUPlanet.TV offers a video explaining what Twitter is all about. (November 9)

The Rev. Phil Lund, who blogs at “Phil’s Little Blog on the Prairie,” wonders what a final exam for UU religious education might look like—a “test to help us measure whether or not we’re actually achieving what we hope to in our Sunday school classes.” (November 4)

At “Inspired Faith, Effective Action,” Adam Gerhardstein describes a theological reflection meeting his colleagues in the UUA’s Washington Office for Advocacy held outside the White House after Obama’s election. (November 5)

The Unitarian Universalist Peace Ministry Network blog announced the release of the draft Statement of Conscience on Peacemaking, the UUA’s study/action issue for 2006-2010 (November 5).

Tom Loughrey, the UUA trustee from the Pacific Southwest District, writes about the October meeting of the Board of Trustees (November 5). The Rev. Daniel O’Connell doesn’t like the Board of Trustees proposal of eight-year terms for the UUA president and moderator. (November 4)

Logan Geen at “The New Unitarian Universalist” complains about liberal versions of Jesus: “Jesus has become sort of a pre-industrial age social worker, the founder of a “Hugs Unlimited” group, and generally an all-around ‘nice guy’.” (November 6)