Our houses of worship

Paul Oakley encourages UUs to consider, among other things, the location of their churches when they seek to diversify their congregations:

Does our (in)accessibility via public transportation limit the demography we can appeal to? If we are positioned in an affluent area, do potential visitors feel comfortable even approaching us? Are we located at or near busy hubs or in out-of-the-way settings? . . . Only once we have analyzed our demographic reality in relation to our geographic position can we structure multicultural worship that is right for us and our goals. (“Inner Light, Radiant Life,” July 17)

“Nagoonberry” also has some ideas about church buildings, informed by her partner’s use of a wheelchair:

Churches thinking abut new buildings should first increase the diversity of their membership.

Buildings emerge from imagination, and imagination emerges from experience. If the combined experience of a congregation’s members is very diverse, then the congregation will imagine a building that works for a variety of newcomers. (“Nagoonberry,” July 17)

Reflections on GA

“A Curious UU” reflects on the problems of the GA 2012 resolution process:

There was a lot of emotion and some fury around the Arizona business resolution that I believe got in the way of a real debate about GA 2012. Debate about the opposition to SD1070 was confused and at times interchangeable with debate about GA 2012, when they are clearly two distinct things. Not one person argued in favor of the law. The fervor to DO SOMETHING about SD1070 was high and since the resolution to hold a ‘justice’ GA in 2012 was the only thing on the table, that fervor translated into a pro vote for a 2012 ‘justice’ GA around immigration. (“A Curious UU,” July 19)

Captain Thomas R. Beall, USN (ret.) supports “the consensus that resulted in the statement ‘Creating Peace’” at GA, and talks about his pacifist views:

If you truly believe that a war is necessary, I ask you to [volunteer to fight] before you ask a young man or woman who may have volunteered for our armed forces because it was the only place in our society that offered him or her a chance to get ahead to do the same. If a war is truly necessary and truly just, we should all be prepared to make this sacrifice. (“Living the Prophetic Imperative,” July 19)

Around the blogosphere

Julianne Lepp writes about the spiritual implications of moving:

Boxes are piled to the ceiling around my head and the accomplishment of the day is having a clean kitchen counter. The spiritual accomplishment is a sense of cleaning out. I am cleaning out old things. I am reviewing old letters. I am letting go and holding on. There is this tug of new and old and it feels right. It feels like positive growth. (“A Journey of Ministry,” July 19)

Sarah MacLeod answers UUSalon’s questions about salvation:

Who is salvation for? Everyone. How is it attained? Compassion, love, and respect of others. Can we all have it, regardless of our religious affiliation? I believe so. When do we have it? Now. It’s available when we open our hearts and drop our egos. (“Finding My Ground,” July 19)

“CUrioUsgUUrl” reflects on the importance of the Fourth Principle, which calls us to “affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning”:

So I think a lot of UUs come limping in on the crutch of the Fourth Principle . . . I also think we focus a lot on the word free over the word responsible when we first begin our search. I’ve had some interesting conversations with folks who’ve expressed their frustration . . . that for UUs, anything goes . . . Worry that in our free yet not very responsible search, we UUs stroll through other world religions like our own private gardens—admiring the pretty colors while ignoring the thorns, picking randomly here and there, the flowers that we like best. (“YUU’re A What?” July 20)

Struggling with traditional religion

The Rev. Kit Ketcham both values and struggles with her small-town, conservative roots:

I consider it an advantage to have grown up in small communities where small town philosophy and religion shaped politics and culture, communities which still pretty much cling to conservative values and precepts. . . . Every year, I go back to my small town roots, visit family members and friends who still live in those communities, and experience again the values and ideals of conservative America. It is a pleasure, on the one hand, to see all my family members again and, on the other, a struggle to listen without arguing.” (“Ms. Kitty’s Saloon and Road Show,” July 12)

“CUrioUsgUUrl” reflects on the dichotomy between the attractiveness of the spiritual quest and the problematic dogma that major religions so often espouse:

For more than two decades I didn’t go to church except in foreign countries. . . . Since the services were in a foreign language, it meant I could ignore the dogma and the pissed off feeling it always evoked in me as a child. . . . Most of my life, I continued to find the idea of religion beautiful while the reality proved sometimes mind-numbingly boring, sometimes offensive and destructive. (“YUU’re a What?” July 15, 2010)

“Ogre” ponders what it is like for UU parents whose children choose other religions:

Would I be offended? Not by the act. Part of me would be pleased that my child felt the freedom to make that right choice . . . What would offend me would be having them reject the core values we’ve raised them with. Which are, of course, pretty UU. But I’ve talked with enough people who aren’t UU . . . to know that there are plenty of people who share our values who aren’t UU. (“Sparks in the Dark,” July 15)

Defining UU values

After an encounter with Mormon missionaries, Matt Kinsi reflects on the value of hospitality:

True radical hospitality is even inviting the folks you don’t like or who don’t like you in for a cup of water. . . . Talking with them, not talking to them. Hearing what they have to say, not just listening. Showing a genuine interest instead of slamming the door, either literal or metaphorical, in their face. It seems like a lot of UUs out there say we should practice radical hospitality, but with a congregational focus. How many of us practice radical hospitality in our home lives? (“Spirituality and Sunflowers,” July 14)

After experiencing anti-immigrant sentiment in her own family, “nagoonberry” reconsiders her position on “Immigration as a Moral Issue”:

My mother surprised me by going off on a rather xenophobic rant about the immigrants in her NJ neighborhood. . . . I have to admit that at first glance, the Congregational Study Action voted on at General Assembly, “Immigration as a Moral Issue,” didn’t really spark my imagination. Further reflection, including remembering this conversation with my mother, has helped me commit to thinking about this issue, and being a part of bringing this CSAI to the Anchorage UU Fellowship. (“Nagoonberry,” July 15)

Around the blogosphere

“Tikkun Daily,” the blog of Tikkun magazine, summarizes the major events of GA and why they are relevant to Tikkun‘s “spiritually progressive” audience. (“Tikkun Daily,” July 9)

And the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Landrum continues her creating thinking about social media with a list of ways that ministers can use Facebook to enrich congregational life. (“Rev. Cyn,” July 12)

Engaging young adults

Tim Atkins, in a guest post at UU Growth Blog, recognizes the necessity of special ministry for young adults:

Young adult values are more in line with traditional Unitarian Universalist values than any other age cohort.  But they are the least represented in our congregations. . . . We aren’t living up to our promise if we exclude, intentionally or unintentionally, young adults from meaningful participation in congregational life. . . . We aren’t making sure our denomination is sustainable for the future.   (“UU Growth Blog,” July 5)

Matt Kinsi agrees:

The future of our denomination is in how strong our young adults groups are now. Do we want our faith to literally die out?  If we want to be good stewards of our faith and of our faith’s ancestors, we need to make sure younger generations are active, involved, and in leadership roles within our congregations and our greater denomination. (“Spirituality and Sunflowers,” July 5)

Confronting evil

How do UUs define evil? The Rev. Tom Capo wonders:

So how do you define evil? Or perhaps another way to ask this is: what do you believe evil is? Unitarian Universalists have struggled with this concept: some say that there is no solution in theism for the problem of evil; others feel that evil is a human creation, and is based on our morality, and that the planet, with its various movements and sometimes destructive changes, is morally neutral, thus not evil . . . I agree that intentional destructive or harmful acts are evil actions while unintentional harm is bad, but not evil. (“Faith Talk, “ July 4)

The Rev. Andy Pakula wonders if and how we should stand up for those who have committed heinous crimes:

Somehow, we must find the courage to stand up for the rights of all—including those for whom we reflexively feel disgust. We need to ask whether the punishments being meted out are truly appropriate and necessary for the best interest of our society. I don’t have the answers to those questions, but I do want to stand up and make sure they are being asked. (“Throw Yourself Like Seed,” July 10)

Around the blogosphere

And when UUs have enticed a new seeker, how exactly does he or she “officially” become a UU?  The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Landrum ponders the question:

Since we’re non-creedal, you don’t become a Unitarian Universalist by subscribing to a set of beliefs.  How do you become a Unitarian Universalist? By attending a church, by covenanting with us, but engaging in our dynamic living tradition.  If you’re not actively engaged with Unitarian Universalism as a religion through some relationship with one of our institutions, what makes you call yourself a Unitarian Universalist?  (“Rev. Cyn,” July 3)

The anonymous blogger at “Liberal Religion Gets Loud” muses on integrating new ideas into our congregations:

Contemporary worship is about lowering barriers, allowing newcomers to immediately feel integrated into the flow of worship . . . [It] does not require a change in theology or rejection of our heritage.  It just asks us to act a bit differently—to get out of our rut and focus outwards instead of tending our comfort zones—in order that seekers feel comfortable when they first join our worship. (“Liberal Religion Gets Loud,” July 8)

David G. Markham cautions us to be aware of how we treat time:

In Unitarian Universalism we are offered the opportunity to embrace what Rebecca Ann parker calls a radically realized eschatology, a realization that we are living in sacred time right now. It is a life of gratitude for the goodness we have, not the deficiencies we don’t have . . . It is the anxiety over lack rather than appreciation for our abundance that has led humans to create their own hell. (“UU A Way of Life,” July 8)

Kelly Kilmer Hall reflects on the ups and downs of working with the sick during her CPE (clinical pastoral education) unit:

No sleep plus giving every ounce of my spirit to room after room—20 patients and families in 24 hours—leaves me filled with gratitude for my own health, my family, and my inner resources. It also leaves me depleted and too tired to figure out how to do more than weep sometimes. (“Seeking Divinity,” July 10)