Datasets:

marcmaxmeister

/

unitarian-universalist-sermons

like 0

all-souls_org

06.03.19OurFaithOurValues.mp3

I don't have a text. To share with you as a reading this morning. I have a symbol. And what i want to do is bring the. Flaming chalice up close to the pulpit with me this morning. 4r sermon. Moncure conway. The abolitionists minister of all souls back in the air. 50. Used to tell a story about two of his colleagues in the abolition movement. William lloyd garrison. The famous leader of the movement. And the reverend samuel may. A unitarian minister and abolitionists preacher. In upstate new york. Now the garrison and may shared much in common they were both abolitionists and both unitarians they had different. Temperaments. Say. Garrison was a radical. Not patient with those who sought gradual solutions to the evil of slavery. He wanted it gone now. The reverend may was no less and abolitionists but he. He was above all. How shall i put it. A gentleman. A a gentleman with a keen sense of decorum and propriety. If slavery could be abolished without rocking the boat too much. Well that would suit mr.met just fine. So the story goes that one day. The two crusaders share the same platform. At a large abolition rally. Garrison spoke first and gave a passionate speech that inflame the audience a rose to their feet clapping and cheering and chanting. And when garrison sat down beside samuel may may turn to him and said with a note of disapproval in his voice. Mr. garrison. You are on fire. Garrison wheeled around to look me directly in the eye. And responded. Mr met. I have knees. Fire. I have icebergs. I have need to be on fire. I have icebergs to mail i don't know about you friends. But i'm feeling a little bit like william lloyd garrison these days. Out there that i'd like to melt a lot of things going on in my country that make it. Feel like it's not my country anymore. End. You know i've tried mr maze way of doing things. I tried to be decorous in and then and reasonably live. Like a good unitarian like a good progressive i believe that if only we could sit down and reason together if only calmer cooler heads could prevail then all would be well. Then the iceberg. Racism. And war. And homophobia and environmental degradation than these icebergs would melt away. The friends that hasn't happened. I have come to believe. With garrison. That while there is an important place. For reason. In public debate. Reason can only go so far to change the hearts of a people. Animation. Reason it turns out cancer. And iceberg. Only fire can. And fire comes friends when we speak. And act. From our deepest. From our ultimate. Conviction. Fire comes in we speak and act out of devotion to the things that we love the most. Fire comes in other words when we speak from our faith. From what we believe in our heart of hearts to be true and just. And holy and beautiful. I believe that if we are to melt the heart melt the icebergs of our nation. We must be willing. To play with fire. We must be willing. With courage and conviction to take our faith out beyond the walls of this church to take it into the streets and into our communities and into our nation to win over people's hearts. And mine's we need to play with fire. Do unitarians sometimes have a hard time doing this where do we tend to be a timid. Andesite not in most things but it when it comes to our faith we can sometimes be a timid and and a shy people. Ellen sometimes rule about it a little bit uncertain about where we stand on things. And so i believe it's a play with fire here and now we need. To know where our tradition stands we maybe need to take a little bit of courage from our religious ancestors. To show us the way to show us how we can bring fire to bear. In our country in our nation at this time. I think it's appropriate now with 47 new members to the church here for me to say one more time as succinctly as i can. What is the core. Of the unitarian faith. People always ask me to sit to just summarize us it for us rob. Distill it into something that that that that that i can share with my with my my uncle. And and my coworker. And there is a core to our faith for all of our diversity. And that core has remained unchanged since virtually the time of the american revolution. Nba's is this. The fair is. Implanted in each and every human being. A spark. That's with a chalice. Represent. That's park. Of divinity. Because of that spark. Human beings possess. Inherent worth. And dignity. And the purpose of our lives is to is to take that little spark. Enter spanish so that. Flame grows a little bit. So that our lives burn. With more holiness. So they're our allies become a shining reflection of truth. And beauty and justice that is the purpose of the spiritual life. 4 unitarian. Universalist. Contained and that's parker all the powers and gifts that we've been given is human being the purpose of our lives is to use those gifts to enfold and then develop them. So that they might serve. The holy. A unitarian is someone who sees that the goal of life. The flourishing. Of the human. Personality. For in that flourishing. We see the flourishing of god. We weren't the first to think this up. As early as the third century the church father irenaeus put it nicely when he said. The glory. God. Is a human being. Fully alive. Imbued with this. Core faith. Our ancestors have. Throughout the centuries. Sought to make the world a better place sauk to shape their nation. In accord with this vision. Of what human beings are and what is our purpose. I want to share just a couple of examples of those with you today so that we might. Gain some strength. Let's go back to mr. garrison and mr.. Met for a moment. And the issue of slavery. It's important to remember that. For folks like garrison and may slavery was not first and foremost. A political or social issue. They didn't. Come to oppose slavery because they got an email from amnesty international. With pictures of a conditions on plantations asking for $25 they for them it was a religious conviction. From the start. It was a matter of faith they said this they said when i see a human being enslaved. I see god in chains. For them a human being was the most precious and valuable thing they could conceive of. And slavery was destroying human being. Preventing a whole class of people from flourishing as their faith told them was the purpose of life. I wonder how many of us today. Could stand up and. Name a cause that we believe in deeply a cause that we support and say is succinctly and clearly. The face that lies beyond our support of. As simple as clear as saying. When i see a human being. Play dicey god in shane. Another issue for example. Public education. Free and universal education in america. Began. When horace mann. Person who sat in the pulled in the pews of william ellery channing church for many years and her channing go on and on and on about the spark of the divine. In all these people in and how did we how we must cultivate in pretty soon man said to himself well. Well how should we be cultivating that in what what's role what role does society have in cultivating that spark that was it within people. And that's looking up this idea that that education shouldn't just be for the elite sons of austin merchants. But should be for all the people. And so he went to the state house. Animated argument to the state house for free and universal education but he didn't say. Well i think it would give us some more competitive workforce. And i think we improve our college graduation rate see how many how many. Candidates have board us to death with a lisp. Oi've reasons for us to support their cause. He said. We must educate all the people of our nation. Because. Because of his their god-given right. The flourishes human. Again he went back to the core of our faith. How many of us. Could make that statement. Today. Let me just take one other issue. From the 19th century. The issue of. Women's rights. Given this. Explanation of our theology it won't surprise you to know that the universalist. Denomination. The first denomination to ordain. Women. In 1863. Olympia brown with. Olympia brown made the case. She said if religious authority. As you say comes from this spark of divine. Within every person. Then why can't a woman stand in this pulpit and speak about god. What's you know. What about this this ancient lineage of male apostolic succession that has that is excluded women from the pulpit. And then that expanded because olympia's sisters elizabeth cady stanton and susan b anthony unitarians as well took that. Took that theology and said women should also have the right to vote. Again it wasn't first and foremost a political issue it wasn't about coalition-building it wasn't getting out the vote for more people for a particular party it was a religious issue for them. Galaxy i've managed to claim. The abolition of slavery. Universal education and in the women's right to vote for unitarian universalist. What else can i grab forest today. My point isn't that unitarians get all the credit for these things. Rather that. During that period of time unitarians were successful in shaping the minds. Of the general public in such a way that our theology. Provided a vision. Progressive vision for america they carried out beyond our walls. And that that shaped vision. For this country. That vision inspired later on the progressive movement it inspired. Deal it inspired the civil rights movement. A vision of a society that was egalitarian that was democratic and that allowed the individual person. The human soul. Flourish. And to be free. Friends it took generation. For us to build a public culture. In this nation. That reflected. That vision. And now in one. Generation. It has nearly crumble. It has come unraveled. With the rise of the religious right. And so here we are. At the dawn of the 21st century. And we still have iceberg. When more young black men. Are imprisoned. Then enrolled in college. We have iceberg. When our nation's leaders still insist that the defiance is inconclusive on global warming. And who as payback. The businesses for campaign contributions try to ease environmental restrictions and then call it clean skies. We have iceberg. When a hurricane strikes a major american city and a botched and delayed federal response lays bare the systemic racism that still permeates our country. We have icebergs to melt. When there are those who still can't muster the generosity. To allow two people. No matter what their gender. To get married. Could still begrudge them that. Mazel tov. Then we have icebergs to mouth. Friends this week marks. The 3rd. Anniversary. Of united states invasion of iraq. This war waged against a country. That poses no great threats to our security. Has taken over 2,300 united states lives. Injured over 17,000. U.s. soldiers. Until. Roughly 35. Thousand. Iraq. Civilian. Mister may i have knees. I have. The most common question that i get. From members of the congregation. The most common pastoral question that comes to me. Is rob. How. How will we take back. The country that we love. I think that we need to do. Has mr. garrison. I think we need. Play. I think that one of the most important things that we can do in this church. Let me say we're doing lots of social justice working on neighborhood. We're hosting a national conference of the religious left here in may bringing together 1000. Religious progressives from across the country. So we're organizing locally we're organising nationally. But today i want to take the most frequent question that comes to me and to put it back on your shoulders today because i think that the most important thing that we can do in a church is to equip each and every person in this sanctuary to go out into the world and to be able to speak passionately and articulately about how your faith. Grounds your political and social commitments in the world i think that is how we are going to change the hearts and minds of people in this country i think that is how we are going to melt. The icebergs. And so i've been teaching a class and louise has been teaching a class on we've been practicing how to do just that. Share with you something that we learned in that class. A formulation that i want you to practice. In pearsall in the dining room today at lunch let's practice this and when you go home and have dinner tonight with your family go ahead and practices the formulation goes like this. I support. Ax. Feeling. Cause that you believe in.. Because i believe. Why. Fill in. An ultimate. An ultimate belief. I support. Facts. Because i believe. Why. I support. A reduction in co2 emissions because. I believe. The human beings and the earth. The weird part of one interdependence creation. And that if our mother dies we will perish to. I believe. That love is the highest purpose and greatest end of human living. And i can't tolerate a society. That will sanction two people for trying to express that love. I. I support acts because i believe. Why. That is the formula. That i want. To go out and practice. Today. That i want you to be able to share because i think. That the hearts i think this is political battle is certainly. Going to be. Going to be wage on a national level it's going to be wage and local level but ultimately. It's going to be weighed at the level of the end. The single heart. The single mine. And that's where you can make. A difference. And so i want to leave you. My friend. With a commissioning. It's a commissioning from the great universalist preacher john murray. Cool at a time of great uncertainty in our nation. Right after the american revolution. He said this to his congregation he said to them. Go out into the highways and byways. Of america. Your new country. And give the people. Blanketed with adakain and crumbling face. Something of your nuvision. You may possess only a small light but uncover it and let it shine. Use it to bring more lights and understanding to the hearts and minds of men and women. Give them not hell. But hope. Encourage. Do not push them deeper into their theological despair but preach the kindness. And the everlasting. Friends. Let us make that. Rtasks. In our own.

all-souls_org

06.10.22Resilience.mp3

A reading this morning is. A poem by the former poet laureate. Of the united states. Louis glick. Who was also. The poetic mentor. Of my partner chris. In this poem the wild iris. The wildflower the iris speaks of the experience of being trapped. Beneath the earth. Not sure if she would blossom again. The wild iris. At the end of my suffering. There was a door. Hear me out that which you call death. I remember. Overhead noises. Branches of pine shifting. Then. Nothing. The week son flickered over the dry surface. It is terrible to survive. As consciousness buried. In the dark earth. Then it was over. That which you fear being a soul and unable to speak ending abruptly. Earth bending a little and what i took to be birds starting in low shrubs. You who do not remember passage from the other worlds. I tell you. I could speak again. Whatever returns from oblivion. Returns to find. A voice. From the center of my life. Emigrate. Fountain. Deep blue shadows. Imazure. Seawater. The poem. Is a testimony. To resilience. Trapped beneath the frozen earth. The wildflower doesn't know if this death will ever end. If light and life. Will come again. How terrible she says to be consciousness. Buried in the dark earth. But then. In earliest spring. New life begins to stir in her the freeze-thaw pause the earth bends and soon along with the rest of the natural world she bursts forth and blossoms alive. Again. Would that it were so easy. For us. The resilience that comes naturally to earth and flower must. Unfortunately. Be learned by human beings. Resilience is a skill. A spiritual art. And not an easy one at that. How do we recover. From los. How do we bounce back. From hardship. When it feels like life is weighing us down dragging us if you will to the ocean floor what buoy is our souls again. After food shelter and companionship i'm not sure. There's a more basic question to our thriving. Then this one. Because i know that i for one am not anticipating any immediate end to hardship and loss in this life tennessee williams once warned don't look forward to the day you stop suffering because when it comes you'll know. Your dad. Instead let's learn the art of resilience. I want to thank a parishioner michael milano for introducing me to the work of diane coutu. Ku2 is a psychologist who made a career of studying resilience. Ever since elementary school when she first learned about the holocaust. And how some people survived it she's been fascinated by this question and so she studied resilience and situations as varied as war natural disaster and institutional and cultural change. In an article called how resilience works. She summarizes the findings of her lifelong search. Concluding that while much can be said about resilience. Most studies .23 characteristics. Of resilient people. A courageous realism. An abiding faith. In life's meaningfulness. + 3. A crafting knack for improvisation. This morning i want to add my reflections to hers as we consider together this question. Are brazilians. Let's start. With realism. Realism is the ability to see the world clearly. And to assess it. Honestly. Why is this so important to resilience. Dancer that question who to offers. This story. Jim stockdale was a prisoner. Of war. Captured and tortured. By the vietcong. 4/8 years. An interviewer met with stockdale trying to get it this question of resilience. And asked him. Who didn't make it. Out of the camps. Stockdale replied immediately. That's easy he said. It was the optimist. They were the ones who said. We were going to be out by christmas. And then they said we be out by easter. And then by the 4th of july and then by thanksgiving. And then it was christmas again. Stockdale turns to the interviewer nsaid. You know. I think they all died. A broken hearts. Over the last several years. I've met and ministered to. A lot of broken hearted optimists. I think that this first lesson of resilience might just be the hardest. First unitarian universalist by and large we are an optimistic people and ours and optimistic faith. But lately we've had many occasions to have our optimism disappointed haven't we. The terrorist attacks of 9/11. A war that many of us opposed. And that is now taking more lives and we feared. The torture of our enemies the restriction of civil liberties at home the devastation of nori new orleans and the thought list and racist federal response. Violence. In our neighborhood. Each of these. Has been a blow to our faith in humanity. Each has brought people to my study in despair. Not to mention all the private hardships. That we carry in our hearts. The dawn of the 21st century it appears. Is not a good time. 4 optimus. But i wonder if there ever was one. Realism means having the courage to see the world clearly. In its beauty and its pain. It's sorrow and its joy. For only when we accurately come to terms with the world can we respond resiliently. To the hardship. It deals us. No couple of distinctions are in order here. First. Realism is not the same. As cynicism. In fact my experience is that cynicism is most often the product of a too often disappointed. Optimism. Cynicism is the dangerous corruption of the soul that signals the failure of resilience not its presence. And s optimism is not the same thing. As hope. As i see it optimism is a faith in the future based on shaky ground. Based on an unrealistic or naive assessment of reality hope is a similar faith in the future but one that has survived the test of reality. The moral arc of the universe is long said dr. king but it does been toward justice. King was no innocent. He had seen all that the world could bring on. And even predicted his final fate. Yet still found grounds for hope. That's the difference between optimism. And hope. I will humbly. Come out to you today as someone who considers himself. A recovering. Optimist. But i will proudly declare to you. That i am and always will be. A person of hope. Seeing the world for what it is the first step. Twitter brazilian spirit the second quality of resilient people is their deep and abiding faith. That life. Is meaningful. And their ability to discover meaning in all of life's circumstances including hardship. And loss. Let me just give you hear a small example from my own experience. To illustrate this. I'm thinking back to a particularly difficult time. In my life a time when it seems like everything. Was falling apart. When my work life and my personal life were simultaneously in conflict and in turmoil. And looking back now i can see that i went through several stages in that crisis. For a while i denied it. I refuse to face reality. I could feel that was something was wrong but i couldn't see clearly enough to diagnose what. Bentley course things got so bad that i had no choice but to face the facts. That's how many of us finally face up to reality things get so bad. And that was when things bottomed out for me. Four months life fell felt like a grueling. Chore. The crisis seemed interminable. I couldn't see a way out no light at the end of the tunnel. But eventually i experienced. A breakthrough. And it wasn't that the conflict or crisis ended. The breakthrough came when seen my situation clearly i could finally tell a story. About it. The david meaning for me. I could see how this situation fit into the larger story of my life i began to understand how it connected me to my past and how it could lead me to the future how i could grow and change from it that's how stories work. There a way for us to make our lives whole. And meaningful. Now mind you this breakthrough didn't end the crisis what it did was give me the perspective that i needed to endure it to deal with it and bounce back from it it gave me resilience. One philosopher has said. You desire to know the art of living. My friend. It is contained in one phrase. Make use. Of suffering. In other words. Find a way to transform hardship and loss. Into wisdom. This is not an easy lesson. And not one i offer glibly. And once again i want to offer a caveat or two for clarification. Just say that we can make use of suffering. Is not to condone suffering. Or to justify it. It's not to say it's fair. Or it's right. Or it's just. Those don't have to be the ways that we make meaning of suffering what i want to say is that if we can't tell a story about our lives that includes and embraces our loss and our suffering. The loss and suffering will become corrosive to our souls. Instead of of spongy supple souls. They become dried and hard. In the gospel of thomas one of those gnostic gospels that never made it into the canon jesus teaches. If you bring forth. What is within you. It will heal you. If you do not bring forth what is within you. It will destroy you. Making meaning of suffering is not easy. It doesn't happen right away. Sometimes it takes a long time. To tell our story. Again. But i believe it is essential. To resilience. The final quality that coutu has discovered in brazilian people. Is that one simple. And hard to define. For lack of a better word i'll call it. Pluck. Or improvisation. An uncanny ability. To cobble together a solution. From whatever's at hand. In the concentration camps. Coutu noted. Survivors were always on the lookout for small pieces of string. Or scraps of wire. Anything that might come in handy. Down the road. Resilient people have a knack. For flexible. Creative. Problem solving. For making do with whatever is at hand i'm not sure everyone remembers the tv show but to me brazilian people are kind of like a metaphysical macgyver. Remember macgyver who always pulled through at the end of the show cuz he found some gum and a shoe and put it together and saved everyone. When we find ourselves in crisis we must become scrappy scavengers. Of salvation. Putting our hands on whatever it takes to get us through. So these three characteristics. Courageous realism. The ability to make meaning. And. Pluck. Kutchas essay is actually written. For a business audience. But ironically in it she points to the fact that the church is one of the most resilient institutions. In the world. This should come as no surprise she says since the church provides the values in the context that help people find meaning in their lives. Community of care of value and hope she says is part of what keeps us. Resilient. This observation leads me. Semifinal story. This morning. My colleague. John deere rims. The former president of the unitarian universalist association. Once told a story. About his grandmother. She was. An immigrant from slovakia. One day john asked his grandmother why she went. So faithfully to mass. Every sunday. And she said to him in her broken english. Because sometime. Soul. Get empty. Faith small. Like a mustard seed. His grandmother buren's explained. Had been through a lot in her long life. Orphaned as a young girl in slovakia she come to america by herself. At the age of 15. Navigating ellis island alone. And eventually settling with family in chicago. In the slovak community there she met her husband and soon had four children. But by the end of the influenza epidemic of 1919. She had buried each. Of those first four children. Soul. Get empty. I go to church. She told. John. And i don't. Just think about my sorrows. Many have them. I pray with others. And for others and they do it for me. My thoughts then. Go wider. Deeper. Higher. Sometimes she said to her preacher grandson. Doesn't even matter if priests sermon not so very good. When i pray for you. And your cousins and all young people. Hope. Comes back. Love. Comes back. That's why i go to church. Prince that's what church. Is 4. Where we come to find love. And hope. And resilience. David eaton said it best i think. The church is that institution. Who is primary purpose. Is to help people discover. Create. And maintain hope. In their lives. When people have no hope. They discover it. Together. And when they cannot discover hope. They created. Together. The church. A community. Of resilience. In just a few weeks. This church will celebrate. It's 185th. Birthday. No institution gets to be 185. Without showing a little resilience along the way. Indeed the history of our church exemplifies today's lessons. The church has never lacked for courage. Chicken front the difficult realities of the ages. From the civil war to the cold war. From slavery to civil rights the church face these issues and others with a realism that didn't fear what it saw and with a faith that the arc of the universe does indeed bend toward justice. Along the way the church has created a story about the values that it holds dear and about the meaning that we find here about the dream of the great family of all souls finally reconcile. And along the way this church has shown. 20. Of pluck. Turning its sanctuary into a hospital. For the wounded of the civil war. Turning its basement into an integrated youth club. When others refuse to integrate. Turning the bell of our clock tower. Forged by the revere's. Turning it from a timepiece into a beacon for peace and for justice. Ringing out for justice whenever the call was necessary. And all the while. Every sunday. Providing a place where people can come. As john's grandmother says. When soul. Get empty. 485 years. Feeling empty soul's. Back up again. Putting the spring back in our spirits step. The bounce back in our faith. On this our annual generosity sunday. The day we make our pledges to this great. Institution. I asked that you be. More than generous. So that this church will be. For at least. Another. 185 years. A community of love. Of hope. And the brazilians.

all-souls_org

06.06.18TheThinPlaces.mp3

A reading this morning is. From. One of my favorite. Author is annie dillard. I think it's a reading about the fickleness. Of grace. The secret of seem. Is then. The pearl of great price. If i thought he could teach me the secret i would stagger barefoot across 100 deserts after any lunatic at all. But although the pearl may be found it may not be sought. The literature of illumination reveals this above all although it comes to those who wait for it is always even to the most practiced and adept. A gift. And a total surprise. I returned from one walk knowing where the killdeer nests in the field by the creek. And the h the laurel blooms. I returned from the same walk a day later scarcely knowing my own name. Whitney's home in my ears my tongue flaps in my mouth. Hallelujah. I cannot cause light. The most i can do is try to put myself. In its path. It is possible in deep space to sale on solar wind. Light has force. You rig a giant sale in hugo. The secret of seeing. Is the sale on solar wind. Hone and spread your spirit. Till you yourself are a sale. Acquitted. Translucent. Broadside to the nearest. I feel like i'm reverberating little bit too much bob could you turn the sound down a little bit. Feels like i'm reverberating them. It's not in that i'm reverberating okay turn it down a little bit. Last year at thanksgiving. Chris and i shared our holiday meal with some dear friends of ours in new york city. We all like to cook so we got up early in the morning and went out to the markets and filled our baskets with all the delights of the city and then came home and spent the whole day. Preparing a sumptuous meal. By late afternoon thanksgiving dinner was ready and we all sat down to a meal of many courses. Accompanied by several bottles of wine. After what seems like hours of talking and eating we all pushed back from the table. Full. Taking a pause before dessert. And one person asked. If we could go around table. And share what it was we were thankful for. And so we began. Each person in his or her turn telling a little bit about what we are grateful for family friends. Fulfilling work. When the circle finally came round to me. I paused for a while. Searching my heart. Of course i have much to be thankful for my life overflows with blessings. But in that moment. I honestly. Could not find an ounce of gratitude in my heart. Now. But it was what was true sometimes for whatever reason. We are unable to muster. The responds to life. That it deserves. Call it's sadness. Call it depression. On that day for me it felt like a numbness. T'life. The very next day still in that num play-doh sice at a cafe. And at the table next to me were a mother and her teenage son now i always find it interesting to watch parents and their teenagers interact. The parent trying so hard to strike a balance between showing love and giving some space. The self-conscious teen trying to push away but stumbling sometimes knowing they still need help it's always a poignant. Dance. So i watched the mother and her son for a moment. As they ate cupcakes at the cafe. At one point i saw the boy take his cupcake. And was ready to pop it in his mouth and i saw his mouth open ready to take a big bite and in the next moment i saw his mouth. Soften. Do you want a bite of my cupcake mom. He playfully dangle that in front of her as she took her b. Now my mother happens to be here this morning i'll bet she would attest if you asked her that. While on the whole i might have been a considerate child i'm pretty sure i never offered her my dessert. Usually i'd stare at her plate asking. You going to finish that mom. So i was taken aback. By this. Teenagers thoughtfulness. In fact i was. Deeply moved by it that day. I can't explain it but in that moment my hardness of heart and numbness that i had felt. Evaporated and feeling returns. Tumi. Suddenly. I felt as though my life and the world were suffused again. With love and with grace. All because of one intimate gesture. Between a mother. And her son. Emerson said. Our vice. Is habitual. But our faith comes in moments. In glimpses. Yep he said there is a depth in those brief moments. Which constrains us to ascribe more reality to them. Then to all the other experiences. This was one of those experiences for me. A moment of grace that shook me out of what had become a habituated numbness. And ingratitude. A moment that reminded me that miracles abound and that grace flows around us and among us. And through us and that most of the time we never see it. Most of the time it passes us by. The ancients. Celts. Believed as emerson did. Bad grace pain. In moments but instead of speaking about time they spoke of places. They believe that they were special places were grace particularly abounded. Where sense of mystery and wonder seem present they call these places. The spin. Places. Finn. Because in these locations. Somehow the membrane separating the ordinary realm. From the sacred realm was was fine was with porous was permeable. Finn places. Places where the sacred dimension of our lives was. Just palpable. For the ancients the thin places rotten mountaintops. Or coastlines or caves. Places where sky mat earth. Cement land the world above matt the world below in other words they were liminal spaces. Boundary zones between one round and another. Wherever they were when the celts identify these places they would build shrines and karen's. And they would mark them as holy. Places. I wonder if you know. Aspen place. For you. If there was a place for you that seems more suffused with grace. Then others. A favorite. Hike. A small patch of green and quiet in the busy city. Your grandmother's front porch. For me and i know for some of you. This place. Is a fin. Place. Place where the sacred and the ordinary. Come together. The problem that i'm raising here today though is that. Is it is a timeless spiritual problem. And a constant struggle in the spiritual life and the problem is this. The problem is the grace. Is fickle. That revelation. Is ephemeral. It's hit-and-miss. Spirituality is a game of catch as catch. Can and we're always trying to catch up. Must we all just throw our hands up. And accept that grace will only come. As a gift. Or can we do something. About it. Is there a way to cultivate. I sense an affinity for the sacred. I think the answer is partly yes. And. Maybe mostly no. But there are a few things that we can do and i want to share them with you this morning. The first thing that we must have if we are to make more of the thick places thin. In our lives. If we are to experience a sense of the sacred is that. We need to have a certain kind of faith. And i think it's a kind of faith it was summed up in our professional him this morning that the jubilee singers. Same with us. You know we can be the kind of people that say over my head. I hear singing in the air right. And there's a little bit of a leap that has to take. However to go from. Over my head i hear singing in the air to the next conclusion which is there must be a god somewhere. And that leap. Is what. We need to be able to take. If we are to experience a sense of sacred the world we don't have to believe that they're necessarily is a god somewhere we have to believe that there that the world is indeed infused with a grace so that if we hear the singing in the air and we rule out that it's the jubilee singers are the all souls choir or our partner humming in the shower. Somewhere. Unless we're willing to take that leap. We won't find grace. If we don't believe it exists. We won't find it. And you know i always come up against the very there cuz i can't talk anyone into believing something. I can only invite you into that belief. What faith is the first thing the s. Is that defined. To notice the gracious in the world takes a certain kind. Attention to details i believe that grace. Is found. In the details. Annie dillard said this morning. The secret of scene is the pearl of great price if i thought he could teach me the secret of seen i would stagger barefoot across 100 deserts after any lunatic at all she's trying to figure out why sometime she goes on a walk and she sees the birds and the bees and sometimes she goes on and she feels filled up with a sense of hallelujah. And she suggested it's in the quality of our attention. To the details. Is where we find grace. I'm reminded of that great character in alice walker's novel the color purple. Shug. Chug and and her friend are talking about grace. And and suge says you know if you're walking. In a field. And you just passed right by the color purple. Without noticing. She said. And forgive my language here i'm quoting her. But she said. That. Pisses gone off. Noticing. Noticing the. The color purple that the moments of grace. In our lives. Only if we take the time to notice cultivate the practice of attention. Will we. Make some of those thick places thin. The final thing i want to suggest this morning. As we clumsily search. For more graciousness in our lives. Teachers. In this work. None of us needs to be a seeker of grace on our own. And here's a story about this not long ago i sat down with a dear friend. Who is pregnant. She was some months into her pregnancy and showing quite a bit so as i looked at her belly at you know i knew intellectually that there was a child inside. But you know how sometimes you know something but you. You don't really know something. Well i knew that in seven weeks my friend would give birth. But i didn't really get the miracle it was going on inside of her belly. Then my friend. Took my hand. And guided it. To a particular place. Particular corner of her belly. The place where she put my hand see that seems even more stretched. Then the rest of the belly stretched so thin it was almost translucent. Light illuminating her cells and blood vessels. I want you put my hand on that place when i touched it. I distinctly felt the bone. Of another human being. It's her heal. She said. And sure enough i could feel the infant's heel protruding from her mother's spherical belly. When i saw the thin place. And felt the heel. Then. I understood. The miracle. Then all the dimensions. We revealed. Tumi. So let us find the people. Who can take our hands. Place them on those parts. They can reveal to us the graciousness. And the wonder. So noticing. Finding. Teacher. And as i said. Undergirding it all. The sinequanon. The thing i can't talk you into but need you need to discover for yourself. Is the face. Friends of today is any indication. Then the summer. Is finally upon us. It's hot up here in a black robe. Summer is often thought of as the season of grace. The humidity will begin to slow us down. The streets will thin out as college students and congressional aides. Go home. Perhaps we will have a little time to pause. And seek out the thin places. In this. Fake town. Perhaps we will notice the color purple. Perhaps it will be finally quiet enough for us to hear. The singing. In the air. Perhaps in the times we spend with loved ones. We can find a teacher or two. Two-point us. Toward grace. To restore. To us. The fullness. Of life. That is my prayer for you. This summer.

all-souls_org

04.07.11UnifiedLife.mp3

It's good to be back with all of you this morning good to see all of the familiar faces and to meet some new faces the reading this morning actually comes from a unitarian universalist novelist who i had the pleasure of meeting recently at our general assembly in long beach california couple weeks ago she's a member of the neighborhood uu church in pasadena california name is michelle and she's written a novel entitled james land and i picked it up several months ago because in the novel believe it or not there is a character who is her name and she works at morton the fictional morton unitarian universalist church part of the los angeles area campaign to grow her church and so she's hanging flyers to come and share things about their beliefs with members of her congregation so this is an excerpt from the novel james land. Beth a tall and lean woman with short gray hair and a severe expression was a nun who ran the breadbasket helen had tried to interest church members in volunteering their if only to learn how a food pantry was run so they might open one at morton but so far the only dependable volunteer was helen herself beth intern had allowed her to pin up flyers for the midweek services on the bread basket bulletin board lecture you think a taste test approach works we'll see i agree of course helen said but i minister to a tough-minded crowd a lot of them atheist or agnostic they clearly have religious needs and it's my job to address them people need a vocabulary to express themselves religiously even to experience the world religiously and express their religious experience and all. Unified life. The novel from which i just read to you is full of moments like those moments with helen harland wrestling with her ministry vignettes that make me as a lifelong unitarian universalist both smile and shutter in recognition and the passage i just read and chose to read you this morning highlights what i think of as one of the many ongoing challenges in our religious movement that could be and sometimes it is one of the great gifts that we received from our heritage and the legacy that we have been given of bringing a multiplicity of beliefs and traditions together in one tradition and as we were. As i mentioned earlier i was just in long beach california at our annual general assembly every year about for 5,000 unitarian universalist gather together in one part of the country and talk about all of the hot-button topics that we are debating in our movement i bring this up because every single time i go to a general assembly i come back filled with ideas and questions and wonderings and musings about this faith that i'm a part of and i want to share just three snapshots i'm thinking about right now from general assembly the first no matter on the truth we argue too much about whether our judeo-christian heritage is still alive and so i worry that in all of the voices around who is simply honoring one another's religious experiences. So that rather than starting from a point of saying how on earth could you be a theist we might say something like how did you come to believe as you do what are the experiences that shaped your convictions what do you do that helps you get out of bed on a morning after a horrific day those are the stories i long to hear those are the stories i hope you will tell because it is a humbling and enriching thing to be in conversation with other people spiritual stories and religious narratives is an amazing thing to realize that each and everyone of us have some facet some dimension of the sacred or the holy that we can reflect back to one another and that i believe is one of the greatest gifts that unitarian-universalism has to offer but if it's so great to find and create understanding in the midst of multiplicity i think my friends pulling you in so many different directions. In the midst of all of that sea of change and constant stimulation and and all of that chaos. How is anyone supposed to have a focus. How is anyone supposed to have a unified sense of their life as a whole. I sent a purpose or direction. In the midst of all of that things are so very fragmented our lives are so very many different things and so with no sense of focus and no stillpoint in the midst of all of that storm and all of that constant activity it makes it as a challenge to say the very least to truly and deeply connect with other people nonetheless with ourselves with that part of us that long to behold that longs to remember what it is that matters most to us and we strive to be grounded to feel in the midst of the sea of change that there is something steady that there is some rock that there is something to which we cling which will not let us go. And so that is why we come here that is why we try to be part of a church community with people coming from so many different perspectives we try to create in this beloved community of stillpoint a sanctuary a refuge a place that all of our different vessels might come and find safe harbor would try to build and create a community here that encourages our spiritual well-being. That encourages us. In moments of calm and reflection. So that when we go back out into the chaos. We might remember that core. We might remember what it is that matters most to us. That which gives us meaning. Which helps drive our sense of compassion and love. So imagine for a moment a community in which each of us has a space created for reflection room enough for discernment room in which we can speak honestly and openly and authentically about how we came to believe as we do. For this my friends is at the heart of a sense of community which doesn't see that we need to erase any sense of differences among us. Into oneness but simply understand that togetherness is better than isolation that understands that my faith is enriched. By yours. They understand that it is in the telling of all of our stories and our ability to come together that we are all made richer. That our lives are made more whole we do indeed as a novel suggested have our work cut out for us. But what better work is there to do what better work to bring your hearts and hands too and so it is my prayer for this beloved community which i am so proud to be a part of that we might meet each other in openness and grow in spirit and compassion for all of the stories and narratives of our spiritual lives i said to someone at general assembly that unitarian universalist are my people for good and for ill and i believe that with all of my heart and i hope that you do as well that we will come together and find a common story that we can create together so maybe.

all-souls_org

05.05.08NurtureAndCare.mp3

I think it's a beautiful poem is called grandmother and i and it's by carl dennis. Grandmother sits on the couch in our tiny apartment over the drugstore leafing through the news. She's larger than my parents and knows all things. It's turning out just as she expected the same hood lungs are climbing on the trains and buying up all the seats. You don't have to read the paper to learn this she mutters to herself. And nods. When i come to the couch for a story. She bends down and whispers. Slightly deaf. Obey your father. Her voice. Is warm. Such phrases in her russian accent often meme. Young man how are you today. Tdap outlived five presidents and the sons of two czars napoleon himself it's rumored as he neared the border stopped at grandmother's for advice you'll be sorry napoleon she said go home and stay warm it's hard to convince an emperor many have grown smaller with the years but every year grandmother grows larger like a tree. Buy sweetwater the whole family sleeps without fear in the widening circle of her shade at night in my bed groping my way in dream through cloudy streets. I hear from her branches far above birds that sing of the workshop of my father boris the long-lost taylor still alive waiting in the story i've always loved. Nurture and care i have always been fascinated ever since i learned about it and i think a psych 101 class about this dilemma and debate between nature and nurture i guess it's more honest for me to say that i actually have a human being human what makes us who we are are we as one side of that dilemma would deposit to us set on a course and a path in life by our biology our dna are genes and places and people of our lives. Course as with many concepts that are set out to us as a dichotomy as a either or i would wager that the truth is more both and there's some of each in all of us we are both born to be and made and created to be who we are and to become who we are becoming this morning i want to spend a little bit of time examining the second half of this equation the nurture part of this debate how is it my friends that we are conditioned and changed and affected moved if you will buy those we surround ourselves with. And how does who we are surrounded by who has loved us into being affect who we are spiritually. Want to begin by asking you to think for a moment of times in your life when you've heard someone talk about a person being a good influence on somebody or perhaps a bad influence we speak of people who are our mentors people who are teachers we speak about our siblings and our parents are friends and even our neighbors. We speak sometimes of stories of those that we didn't even choose to no strangers on the street somehow deeply impacting our day making us think again about some long-held conviction making us look and see a blind spot we didn't know we had making us aware of some ignorance within us or perhaps to the contrary making us aware of our capacity to love i would argue that in some ways we are who we know one of my favorite folk singers and by those who encourage us to reach for the best we know how is it that this happened how is it that others change us. How is it that they managed to challenge us hold us lift us and sometimes break our hearts i think most of the time we take it for granted that's part of what the children and i were talking about this morning we don't recognize all of these gifts that we've been given all of the ways in which we wouldn't be who we are right now this day this moment if it weren't for someone nudging us here or prodding us that way for the tears we've cried for the smiles we've smiled think of the times in your life when someone has said to you that inflection in your voice it sounded just like your mother's that way you have of looking that way you look when you're puzzled or confused it's just like my friend sarah looks at problems in her life. I thought quite a bit this week about images of mothers in fact i found myself thinking of mary cassatt paintings just kind of came into my mind i'm hoping many of you are familiar with her because i'm going to have to try to describe her paintings to the american painter strongly influenced by the french impressionist she lived for some time and in france and i've 901 of the pictures of hers or paintings that came to mind for me this week is of a woman a mother sitting with a girl on her lap they're sitting by a washbasin and it's like the mother had been washing the girls feet it's kind of a madonna and child a mother and child in a more contemporary modern setting and i was thinking of all of those madonna and child images i saw and italy over a year ago the power of the image of a caring parent passing down love and nurture and care and i was thinking about how we missed so much sometimes and we receive so much even from relationships that are hard and i have to pause for a moment just to say that i acknowledge every single time i do but there is something real and beautiful in parenting and caring and offering acceptance and guidance in offering room and space for another human being to flourish and to become to grow into their own person i almost. Which reminds me of my days as a preschool teacher. I haven't become a parent yet although i hope to but when i became a preschool teacher i had pretty much convinced myself that i didn't ever want to be a parent and this was before i started the job so i thought 6-8 hours a day with 12023 four-year-olds would certainly tell me a lot about whether or not i was meant to be a parent but i went into this job and i remember having a conversation with my boss i said i can't be a parent because i've seen too many people who are too damaged by their relationships with their parents. There's too much pain that can be inflicted there's too much harm that can be done and i don't want to be that person i don't even want to risk it and she said to me shawna there's a big difference between doing things deliberately to hurt your child and making mistakes and i discovered as a preschool teacher that parenting is not about perfection that children don't require you to be perfect they require a big open heart a great deal of patience. Sometimes when you can lease muster it a willingness to be moved and changed i can't tell you how many times i thought i knew what i was doing or i had an idea that i wanted the kids to follow cuz i thought it was brilliant and what is absolutely the wrong thing at the wrong time for them and they told me so i can't tell you how many times i came taking myself so seriously thinking i had life in the world figured out after all i was in seminary i knew everything and they taught me that what i was covering over was actually the most important parts of who i was they taught me that love could be unconditional even for someone else's children that you could come to love them as you are arone that you could grow to see that our world needs to be a place for all children to become to have wide open spaces with loving adults surrounding that space giving advice and counsel and wisdom sharing love and life together they caught me to care without smothering to love without holding or grasping too tightly and so this mother's day i hope that we will all give thanks to our mothers may we be grateful to those who shaped us. To those who provided us the space in which to reach for our best rather than our base selves may we give thanks for living and loving for the individual life into which we were born for the unique beauty which was both given and created and which we recreate each day so maybe hello.

universityuus_org

SS2005-03-27-theMysteryOfEaster-MythMiracleOrMessage.mp3

Reverend mark spivey isn't an ordained minister by the order of south haven christian church of daytona beach. He's both a master's degree in clinical social work and theological philosophy. He's currently a professional sinologist. Thanatologist. With the hospice of volusia-flagler. In port orange where he works as a pastoral care counselor today his presentation is called the mystery of easter miss miracle or mirage. Please welcome our exciting. Thank you denise you did a great job did you drink my water all right there's a misunderstanding in the name of the title. It is not the mystery of easter miss miracle or mirage but miss miracle or message. So if you're expecting mirage i'll have to leave because this is i'm in the wrong place it won't make much difference because the way i have designed this particular talk. It won't make much difference. Good morning how are you. Everyone happy easter shirt isn't this great fairy easter ish. Free storage. Our scientists men are technologies. Are very intent on approaching a mystery as a problem to be solved. A problem to be solved warehouse religion. And spiritualities they tend to approach a mystery with reverence. And instead of solving it they look for ways to open handedly validated or contemplated. Science tried to fill in all the holes. And religion or spirituality celebrate the empty space. Science fills in the gaps. But spirituality celebrate. The gap. I'm going to go to the gap. If you go to the gap or if you were a guest personal your head is empty you're quite inherently spiritual because spirituality and religion embraces the mysterious. Science tries to approach and figure out problems and fix everything instantly all sciences automatically want to fix they want to fix they want to find the problem and fix it but religion and spirituality is all right with not knowing. The secrecy the magic the hidden meaning that's the point. Easter. So i can go there really because easter is miss. have a great day see you what do you expect what do you expect me to tell you about easter. That isn't mysterious by nature a mystery is what keeps relationships together i noticed that you talked about you're expecting an october what are you expecting. Pick up did you think at the child you're wrong. It's a demon text with the mystery in a relationship. Is what keeps it together it's what binds it. But we live in an age don't waste where everything has to be documented proven square very interested in documenting and proven we even have studies on prayer we've got scientists and we've got the allusion to get together and they do studies on the effectiveness of prayer and then write books about it we can't even be alright with the fact that prayer seems to work we have to know why it works and how it works and then write books about. We live in an age where we want to prove and verify and document everything but prayers don't give a crap. I said crap. They don't care prayers don't care they don't care about larry dossey. They pray because. They believe. They pray because it works for them. People don't pray based on studies that say it's alright to do it and that it's going to work people pray and meditate because for whatever reason no matter what it works in their lives. It isn't the point. The prove it your document it something just falling out here part of me talk amongst yourselves. I don't know why people don't do their job around that place. Real face. Real faith is rooted in a basic ignorance about altima things. Let me say that again. Real face. Is rooted in a basic ignorance about ultimate things. A willingness to be okay with the mystery. In this sense those who call themselves atheists who call themselves nina list to call themselves whatever fill-in-the-blank far and fats religious. Orange back faithful. Because they embrace what they do not know as alright. The mysterious is okay. Real faith is rooted in a basic ignorance about altima things. Activate human. It's the possess a spiritual component. Do you have an automatic built-in spiritual component and you know what that primary feature of your spiritual component is. Mystery. We don't know. We're not sure. Hospital likes me to keep track of the mysteries i encounter everyday i deal with death and dying everyday at all kinds of levels they want me to quantify that. They want me to track that to make sense of it to palpate intouch and document that how do you document the mysterious. How do you write down improve what you just saw actually occurred i was there i saw it i felt it how do you prove something like that. Mystery is the main ingredient in our spiritual selves and we're here today because today is easter now the average person thinks of easter as what. What. Resurrection and what else. Easter bunny. What else. What. Fertility. Clearly it's worked in your case. Happy easter for fertility god has smiled upon you. The egg is on his way. Salvation what else do you make comes your mom when you think about easter. Spring has sprung right paul and allergies you know what else. What. Rebirth. I was coming through the toll booth this morning and the lady took my $2 and she said happy easter. I say what so happy about it. She looked at me. I just drove away people say things and they don't realize why they say the things they say. Happy easter what walmart is having a happy easter because they're selling millions. Chocolate things. What is easter the mystery of easter and i titled it's a mystery of easter because that's how it turns out that everyone thinks about easter is some of your mind you're thinking of the resurrection of jesus christ. That's the one figure in history that's most often associated with the easter story. The death. The burial and the resurrection of christ where were you guys on friday around 1 if that's storm come over and and cover did it get black. I thought how interesting how reminiscent of the crucifixion record that the sky went black on the day that jesus died it was good friday very creepy very mysterious what i say that proves anything hex. The mystery of easter captures every single person because it captures the imagination because it is in fact a mystery and in a culture like ours that is so ferociously intent upon documenting everything it is the unknown it is the ritual it is the magic it is the mystery it is the secrets that inspires our lives we don't do things. Because of the fact we live our lives and enjoy our lives and are inspired analyze because of the unknown. It's nice that they discovered that red grape skins if i drink them in just the right quantity will help possibly reduce my cardiac arrest potential for the future that's nice to know but it doesn't make me get up in the morning. I don't care about it. He doesn't inspire me to live it's the mystery it's the unknown it's the secrets to magic let's look right now it's a magic. Harry potter can you see it if you can't see it you better look. Professor dumbledore will be waiting for you. Professor. It was nothing i could do. He just coolfire i'm about trying to. He's been looking dreadful for days. Is the phoenix for them to die. And then that all. Reborn from the ashes. If you haven't seen harry potter you just observed. One of the scenes in the second movie that. Depicts a phoenix the myth of the phoenix. Corsair ewoks in in the birds on fire and he thinks that he's done it and he's sorry and then the course professor dumbledore's explains why. The bird. Was consumed. I showed that because. For me this morning i have no intention of dwelling on the resurrection of jesus christ as a historical figure i'd much rather talk about. The phoenix and the myth of the phoenix. How the phoenix symbolizes our own resurrection life story myth and metaphor have always bound together cultural members. The phoenix myth the resurrection miracle if you will are rich metaphors that symbolize the rising and the setting of the sun. Immortality resurrection in fact life. Afterdeath let me read to you if you will what the roman poet david says about. The phoenix just listen. Most beings spring from other individuals. But there's a certain kind which reproduces itself. The assyrians. Call it the phoenix. When it has lived 500 years it bills itself a nest in the branches of an oak. Or on the top of a palm tree. Nsa collects cinnamon and spikenard and myrrh and all these materials build the pylon which it deposits itself. And dying breeze out its last breath a mixed odors. From the body of the parent bird a young phoenix issues forth. Destined to live as long a life as its predecessor. This has grown up. And gained sufficient strength. Get lipsitz nest from the tree which is its own cradle and its parents sepulchre. And carries it to the city of heliopolis in egypt. And deposit in the temple of the sun. And quote. Regardless this morning of your position on the myth. For the miracle of the resurrection the message. Is universal. The message is timeless. The resurrection symbolizes. 3 things. Before these three things. I have a little egg. Going to let you have this one. I feel like monty hall i'm going to let you have this one. And i'm going to toss this one in that direction and someone catch it perfect now in these eggs is the answer of that i want. For the 3. Noticed a pretty color color is very important to me. I'd like whoever has the blue way to open it and read what it says inside. They have hinges you can't break them it's all right there's also candy in there. Blue egg. What's the blue whale say. Schreiber. So the resurrection is a timeless and universal truth that teaches us the importance of rebirth. Rebirth of the physical and rebirth of the spiritual life new life the phoenix is reborn every 500 years. Will say more about that in the moment i need now for someone to open the yellow egg. Yeah right you're pretty loud and projecting capacity. Hope. Hope. Resurrection stands for hope. Code for brighter days. Hope for a rising sun hope for a second chance another chance. The resurrection stands for and reminds us of the power of hope in our lives the final leg. Steven. It's right over here. It's the rose colored egg. Legacy legacy. Yes legacy. The human race as you know has always yearned for immortality we all want to live forever and we all want to leave something behind to mark that we were here resurrection represents the opportunity for legacy incidentally a little side know you all know how i love vampires and i've studied them in the past every culture from the beginning of time has its own vampire myth which is a wonderful story that corroborates with. Miss. So we're now studying of the phoenix. Vampires rebirth themselves. Vampires carry their ashes like a phoenix does around them they call it a coffin or a casket their powerful myth story of how we reborn and rebirth and and reignite our lives in the legacy is known throughout the history of humankind. Now i'm going to apply this in the next 10 minutes well. Do you have any questions first. You have any thoughts. How many of you here if there's a gap in your mind right now it tells me that you're quite spiritual and deeply contemplative so i'm glad to see that. You have any thoughts so far about easter you've all talked about what you think it means it's going to mean different things to different people. I never look over there how you doing over there julie. I never work in that room. Yes sir. Regards to. Easter referring to rebirth always in people thing but rebirth. You're telling people that someone has come back from the dead for them that was a sign of the end of the world. And so is also that mean you can talk about rebirth out of that i'm sure i was wondering if you could have dress that a little bit more about what you'd like me to address specifically cuz that's a tangled up question is a lot there i can talk about. Well i'm i supposed to murder is rooted in the zoroastrian cycles of their predictions of what. I guess it did everything um. You look for what you're hoping for i mean if something happens and you already looking for something you do end up with self-fulfilling prophecy. I was just looking for the flip side of that coin. Cousin ointments were looking for rebirth but there's also symbols of this that point us towards death. That's the point yeah and my only comment on that would be that it's true everyone wants to go to heaven quote but i don't want to die to get there there's no way to be reborn through the fire. There's no way to be reborn into your go through the fire the phoenix after 500 years cannot avoid its own burning process so yes inherently and every death there is rebirth but death is the fire you go through to get there. And that's unavoidable is that what you're asking. Yeah that's unavoidable and every society like to try and avoid death. But americans are the best at trying to avoid death and trying to put it off and i will just say this in passing if you don't believe that just quit sneezing so i can finish the sentence are you alright. Okay good. That sounded serious. If you don't believe that society in america particularly is trying to avoid the dying process just take a look at terri schiavo. That's all i'm saying. But we as americans we don't like death it scares us and the idea of prolonging it. Is a constant theme in all areas of study for dickly the medical and the legal field. So we're not comfortable with the dying process or with dying in general that's what's an ecology is the study of death and dying and how culturally it's perceived and how it's worked out. I like to do is is give you what i call lessons from the firebird which are six lessons on how you can resurrect yourself right now here today and if you're paying attention which i know you are i have started each of these lessons with an acronym that will spell out easter i love it when i'm lovely like that. Seriously for a moment we all have our trials by fire all of us here right now could take the microphone and talk about the personal life. Fires were going through right now are experiencing broken relationships. Camillus right now have loved ones that are dying right now are dying ourselves we have been given diagnosis that will lead us all to mately to our physical death. We are perhaps dealing with the breakup of a partnership. Organizations experience fire and trials when leaders betray them or funder mismanaged we can have financial difficulties and financial woes all of us in our lives are currently in the burning process. We are our own phoenix and we are in our own trial by fire and i'd like to say that unfortunately i wish i could change it but the nature of life in general is that chaos is necessary for redevelopment and for rebirth and going through the fire is the lessons at the firebird will show us. We get wiser we get better we get stronger and our sense of purpose increases. Rebirth in a very real sense is your birthright. And you don't have to die physically to be reborn which we can talk about the implications of life after death we could talk about the implications of the consciousness surviving body death we can go in all those directions this morning but i've chosen instead to anchor it to the here in the now so that i could address everyone and talk about how each of us in our everyday lives deal with fire. And how we deal with truck troubles and tribulations and trials and how easter can be a time for resurrecting our own sense of rebirth and hope and legacy. The first thing that i like to suggest that you do starts with e it says established routines. Establish routine every 500 years. Just like clockwork metamucil. That phoenix bird died and consumed itself and was reborn. The importance of an established routine in your daily life whether you're in struggle or whether you're doing fine is extremely important. Small things can disrupt your routine whether it's a positive or negative thing. And quite hazardous to your health that can be christmas promotions relocation. Erase getting a raise can actually disrupt your life and create problems that you didn't expect to have happened i suggest that you establish a routine in your life and if it is every morning you had your coffee you have your paper you go for your run whatever your routine is if it's currently disrupted. Get it back. Get it back because it'll help stabilize you while you're going through your burning process and while you're going through your fire he keeps you balanced. Aaa stands for absolute faith and a belief system and i don't care what you believe. I don't care what you believe i have no investment in being sure that you believe what i think you ought to believe you know what you believe and if you believe nothing then you believe nothing so whatever it is that you believe whether it's nothing or something. Believe it and stick to it. Don't wishy-washy around decide and brace make it yours and be proud of it and hang on to it. It incredibly important and now i'll quote some of those importance medical studies and sociological studies that have repeatedly demonstrated that people who have something they believe in and never deviate from its recover better from surgeries they live longer lives. They kill people less. They run fewer red-light it's true it's absolutely true whatever it is you believe if you stick to your guns and you don't go left or right and jump on each new bandwagon. It creates a balanced and asymmetry the father of modern medicine sir william osler said this i'm going to quote him. Faith in god's or saints.. Faith and little pills cures another. Hypnotic suggestion authored. Faith in a plane common dr a force. The faith with which we work has limitations but it is the most precious of commodities. And it's true. Absolute faith in a belief system and stick to it so. Establish routines he have absolute faith in the belief system and now we have the s4 easter can anyone guess what they ask stands for. Satisfaction service. Sex what got you simplicity. Simplify. So what you said. These are all great words you can get up here and do this. That's a stands for stress. It stands for stress stress stress stress and here's what i want to say about stress stress is not a risk factor. Stress is not a risk factor the phoenix was engulfed in fire as a necessary part of the rebirth process. Stress is not a risk factor the risk factor is the feelings of helplessness and powerlessness that accompany stress. It's not stress that's toxic it's the feelings of i'm helpless. And i'm hopeless that are toxic and kill people. That's what kills you. That's what destroys you that's what inhibits your rebirth that's what keeps you from moving to the next level that's what hold back your own resurrection in your life it's not stress. Fire cleanses and fire purify dislike when you use fire you temper steel when you use fire you separate dross from gold. Fire is a necessary process and almost always painful but it is essential for the reinvention of yourself. It's important for you to realize that chaos is necessary for order cancer what do you think cancer is cancer is chaos cancer is the disarray of normal cellular structure cancer i'm going to say something shocking shocking. Absolutely necessary. I watch people with cancer may changes they could never make without cancer. Contra the good friend. Ain't that something to say well i'll be run out on a rail if we had rails these days. Talking like this enough enough in a public place about the value of cancer wilshire cancers valuable pain. Without pain how would you ever know something's wrong. How would you ever know what to suppress at night when you're sleeping. How would you ever know what drug to take. Cancer. Offers human beings a wonderful opportunity to do what they have put off for years in most cases. Reorganize their life. Reverse themselves reinvent themselves and become all the things they've always wanted to be now they're dying. I watch it every day. They resurrect and they become reborn now that they have a year to live for a month to live. Why do we wait for stuff like that to happen before we decide to act and make changes in our life. Human nature isn't it. They put off taking out the garbage as long as we can so it piled up let me drag it out for a house smells horrible. Most of us live in garbage field homes in our emotional live and we just don't take out the trash. We wait for cancer to come to front or disrupt our cellular structure so that were forced the burning of the phoenix is necessary for change. The phoenix and bracelet the phoenixborn. In your own dying process in your own living process in your own fire right now whatever that trial might be. I suggest you embrace it suggested to realize that it's not stress. Other situation that's the factor of the problem it's your feelings of powerlessness to do something to change it. Cancer. We organize ourselves and kills the body. Does it kill the spirit. Does it kill the soul and the kill the imagination. Usually fires the imagination and inspires the soul and changes family dynamics and creates changes and inspiration and motivation changes in your life that would never occur any other way. The tsunami is a tragedy it's a horrible tragedy but you see when i look at tragedies adjust cancer or tsunamis. Or hurricanes. Four pregnancies. Conscious playlist. I see opportunity for growth. I see growth. I see a chance. The change your life. Lysine opportunity to become a different person. Different kind of person. Many people are reborn because of cancer. That's serious. Bateias to teach yourself to be well. Teach yourself to me well how many of you have an illness habit. Put your hands up cuz i know who you are. How many of you have an illness habit how many of you are accustomed to being sick he's got your pain and got your nails and that's that. Do you like your illness. It works for you doesn't it. Because see everything we do has a payoff. Everything we do has a payoff. Everything you do as a secondary gain why if your back's always hurting look at what you can get out of doing. Look at what you don't have to do look at what you have to do whenever you ate. Illness has a payoff. Sew-in in your process of examining your life and trying to make changes and be reborn let me suggest that you did see illness habit he get rid of the the fires that you don't need to burn in your life cuz there are certain fires that you're going through that you could probably put out because you have an illness habits you're accustomed to being chronically in pain you're accustomed to being chronically chronically sick and i suggest that you ask yourself what do i get out of this illness. Ask yourself at what do i get out of being sick what do i get out of a constant back ache. Most of you and here are known for certain things. Pain in the butt. Having chronic headaches having insomnia all of us have our area of weakness so whatever it is you're known for in your community or family look in the mirror and ask yourself this question what do i get out of my back always hurting and look at all the ways that your life is nourished by your illness. How you stay sick because if you get better you'll lose so much. Secondary gain. What you're getting as result what's the payoff. Ascot going to be the hardest thing you have to do whatever in a resurrection. I'm trying to change your life and be reborn is getting rid of all the bad crap that works for you. That makes sense. Are you with me. Are you there. Are you mad at me. Good. Alright. 5e enjoy mindful meditation. This is an easy one enjoy mindful meditation what do i mean by mindful meditation well focus. Everyday for 15 minutes on not what is wrong with you but what is right with you. Everyday just been 15 minutes and focus on what is right with you. It's not having what you want it's wanting what you got the sheryl crow song what you got learning how to want what you have is key in mindfulness and meaningful mindfulness. 10 everyday for 15 minutes and shut up to 20 minutes and focus on and be thankful for what you got. what you doing have. Can you help resurrect your soul you really can't stop the waves. If your life was a big storm but you can learn how to surf. Can't you. Contra. And the last one is are for easter relearn optimism. Ginger optimistic put your hands up. And the rest of your not. It's clear because you didn't do a darn thing when i just asked you to do it you're either bored or. You're not optimistic or negative your pessimist. You need to relearn the fine wonderful beautiful scale of being optimistic. The phoenix. Appears. Only. In times of peace. And times of prosperity the phoenix was never present during turmoil. Phoenix present always means peace and prosperity is on the horizon. Imagining a phoenix in the myth of the phoenix in your life and your own life as a phoenix suggest already you understand that the very. Presence of the bird the very presence of your life suggest prosperity and suggest. Peace. The phoenix always hid when there was trouble. Historically in in a culture show up. I suggest that as you try and consider your own life. And i do consider your own trial by fires. That you think about being renewed. Interesting way when the phoenix dies. And is reborn it cradles its own ashes. They cradles its own parents. And then flies those those beautiful sepulchre parent ashes. To safety. I'm not suggesting as we resurrect our hearts and minds and change our lives that you forget the past. I'm suggesting that you hang on to the good stuff in your life and you build from the sepulchres of your life and the past but that you do in fact embrace it and like the phoenix fly through the fire and rebuild yourself and fly and make changes in your life. Describe. You are what came before without getting rid of the good stuff. Most people are afraid of the fire. And most of us do not like change we resisted and we would like to avoid it at all costs. But i suggest to you that the lessons of growth in your life that you want and the changes and the resurrection of personality of physical health of spiritual help will not occur until you embrace your fire and find out how that burning process will create for you and your life your own phoenix rising from the ashes. Find fedex. Questions. I've never finished on time before never. Now the question can be obviously about anything you'll notice that i didn't i didn't do my usual stuff. i could have done that i could have gone into that next month i'm going to be talkin about the angel of death and and i'm going to talk in a whole lot more about the passover and its significance of that historic ali and how we could day in our lives try and use modern medicine to paint our own blood across the door and avoid the dying process so that will get more into the stuff that i'm really a specialist in today was very earthy and very grounded so if it was useful i'm glad if it wasn't i'm sorry. I gave three of you eggs i don't know i'm troubled by one thing you said. I am comfortable with my agnosticism but i'm not satisfied with it that's the paradox. The trouble i have with that is that it seems to me that that would stymie growth. So even though i consider myself an agnostic. Agnostic. Looking for discovery looking to search looking to change looking to grow and i don't think you can stand. On a belief. I don't think you can reborn so-to-speak continue to discover restless and dissatisfied. They continue to want to learn more to gain more. And even though they may be like me agnostic i think they want to learn wisdom gained knowledge and so on so. Position how do you hold onto that without changing clarify what i was saying. Modern science. And studies have suggested that holding onto something and believing in something brings you through trials and tribulations i would agree with you that. That. That while holding onto something is essential there is that flux. Where things are constantly changing its the old you can't put your foot in the same river twice not even once because even though you have something solid it's always changing so the dynamic of your belief system should be changing and evolving i didn't mean to think i didn't mean to suggest that you don't leave already don't change and you hold onto ideas that might be antiquated thanks for clarifying that. You know bobby remind me many ways of dumbledore. Yes i'll talk to you about that. Yeah yes sir. Mark your talks prayer works. App to be ambiguous because it suggests. That. I pray for a little house with a white fence around. I can't argue with your weather. Such houses have been produced by prayer but i consider that uses a word works. So what do i suggest. I suggested prayer. Comforts reservations about prayer. Thanks jack now change the subject. As we came in today dairy. My beautiful wife. The hypothetical question dress. Easter brain out. More unitarians and if so why. I didn't know the answer but now i do speak so i don't think that's it. Following up on steve. What you should stick with the belief or not. There's there's a. I don't know which religion does comes out of but one of the curses in life. Is to always be a seeker and never a finder. Someone that's the legend of boggy creek. You know i'm feeling right now in a relationship situation with one of my friends where the mystery and the challenge has disappeared and if you take away my mystery my challenge if you take away my capacity to see. Then i'm mad at you i'm going to walk away and the game's over my quarters are going home i'm not putting any more money into it i don't like catching it's always like the hunt in the race so we are i think. Prime for the honda seeking. I think that's true you never do find anything. Seek and you shall find. T.i.. Yeah. Okay yes sir. But it doesn't matter what you believe. It's important right i spent ten years writing a book about austrian antisemitism and i'm convinced that the. Yeah i think you're safe. Qualify washer thanks for doing that. Thanks i appreciate that absolutely. Now i want you to know that i'm through with you so if you. Cuz i know i get in trouble for 1 past 11:30 so if you continue to hang the microphone to them i absolve myself of guilt. I wash my hands of this. Okay just so you know. I know my limitations. I don't see the microphone okay. Address to idaho. One more comment regarding steve's. Comment on other people's comment you use a science to support belief system. I'm very up. I like to say something about it. Science ibus the believers. Anti-nausea devers. However the interpretation open. Is no scientific. The meiterman that is self conclusion. very careful. So what. So what my interpretation is what people found from this. Apartment. Is. Ultimate. Unsinkable optimism optimism. Your disease whatever you do you have a good day result. If you really nothing relevant. Oh right that's not right. So therefore love interpretation. Australian self questionable. And that because people make a conclusion it's not really. Understand. Confucianism self. So i'd be very careful on the same as tournament. Use my pen different people different scientist. Computer-guided results. Thank you appreciate that input. I'm going to remember this easter ask for a long time you can't stop the way it's the cyst i think that's terrific. And then. My friend said something to me that helped. And that was that you can't stop the waves another woods life is always going to have problems you can't stop the problems. Because when you do your dead. In other words as long as you're alive that are going to be problems than i and you just have to face that and cope with it because they're never going to stop. People like always for things to be, but i suggest that you look at sinus rhythm at your heart monitors and if you see a flatline you're in trouble it's not what you want do you want the outstanding you want the downs. I'm sorry for those that have questions or comment i'm not in charge of this don't get mad i see some nasty looks out there. I was going to ask. I think what many people and when you're talking about you know the overall beliefs and so forth. Isn't. What you were saying something that really has to come from within you. Another words i see a great deal of people searching. Externally. You know as opposed to going internally. People search and they look at the astros first things i said was is rooted in the search and in that respect all of us if we believe what we believe we move for it. But it is an individual enterprise. About a collective effort on easter in the sense that we think of resurrection. So having answer the questions thank you for your comments and thank you for coming and i hope it today is the beginning for you a new kind of life. Even dishonorable thing make a change that moves toward the cell that you like and that you can be happy with when you look into the mirror thanks.

universityuus_org

SS2005-06-19-Heaven&Hell.mp3

Award-winning author. George orwell awards. University. Walmart. Represent. Mythology. Cosmic reality. Daya. Bird. Archetypal pair. Moloch. Nevada. River valley. Volume down. Another world. Whatever. Don't. Body form to heaven. And the earth dog requirements. Avenir gardens. The goddess. Religion was in crime. Philosopher. Wander. Metaphor. In the book of isaiah. Not. All go to the. One died as well as the other. Battery land. The doctrine of the resurrection of the body. Babylon. Eschatology. Religious. Heaven. Fire. Whichever out. Permanent. Dominated. Paradise. Where the sun shines forever and the righteous enjoy companionship. Contract. House of the law. Where there was no lie. Call my wife. Is there a creek road. Splendor and glory. No first-century. Followers. Letter. Are the earliest. Call. About the resurrection. Call rose. Reflecting. A variety of. One of the documents. Survival. Referred to. Physical. Braun. A garden with water. Separate creation absolute. Representative world. Heaven. And that's one. 1. Bye. Remember. Reliant. Who are the virtuous. Nevertheless the catholic church. By fire. Heaven. I will text zachariah. However. Catholic catechism. Limbo. Rome. Well after the second vatican council. Wine. Qualification. Divine. From god and heaven. Dead end my world tour of religious images of heaven and hell. Another underworld. Dead warrior while exercising their military. The final battle of the world lyrics. Every religion. Metaphor. Princeton. For many people. As a powerful metaphor. My mother. About 1.. More and more catholic. Not. You are. Perfect body. Perfect body. Younger. Spirituality heaven. Rational. I'm good up here you know i wonder why i don't know what to say. Supposedly. Religion beliefs. A long time ago. No i don't know. Inoko perfect believe. Where's hell going. What you are now. State of. But i would i would say that. Or hair was here now. Intelligent. Christ is my savior. Begin to hope that when it's all these different religions with all their stories and do you know the wealth of the world and all of the universe and dates and everything and then somebody. Programmed. I tried not to bring up the subject i tried when he brought it up. What are the lord.

universityuus_org

SS2005-07-31-SwimmingwiththeDolphins.mp3

Accidental meeting. And listen to the dolphin. Individual in group. Powerful. Pyromania live in. Text.. Video video. Aloha. Thank you steve and joe and it's a pleasure to meet. Craigslist austin. Really celebrate. A friends of mine in hawaii. Hawaii. I didn't know what that meant i really didn't know later i was actually flying to san francisco airport outside. Walking down the stairs on. With the universe with myself. An ornament what was it. I came over and over and had one phone number i didn't know so on the island. On charter to go out with the dolphins. Change my life forever. I was. Beautiful hawaiian blue water in the water and in hawaii. Navigator. Stories of dolphins. Being blessed by god and grace in hell. If you will. Avenger. Real-time. Around 42 years. Mediterranean sea. Regina. You know i'm in danger. Dolphins new. Discarded. Personalized ornament on how connected are we really. Long time. Angry. Science. Coming. And working with the best medicine and working with the steelers. Coming up all around the world now. University. You know of it all. I want a my quest is to find out what that mystery is. Together. And i was like years ago our own stories. One of my elephant. River-cruise going out this particular day. Underwater. You can imagine. The kids today have and one thing i realized when i was with them.. There is no anger. When you're with around them alive mammal. Dino in world today. Understand. Back in the boat about inside. Capodimonte in moment. Black lines coming from his hand going up his arm right to hear he was in amazing amount of pain. Naomi herring. Why did she come to hawaii. Forget what you know forget what you said. Incredible. Not known before. Going down. Quintin beetle. And that was the start of my of my teaching and learning. Gifts for oliver. Somewhere along the line. In hawaii. Getting up into the 20%. Call new i love the dolphins keeping me alive. Immediately with the dolphins in the water. What i want what i want. I was. Snorkeling. I'm out. I get really pissed. In the water for me was just having enough. And i'm just coming around. It's great to be alive. I hear from him i said i say to me. Michael's happened with you guys in the water. Remind you i'm down here. you all have your own photographs here. And the bottom. This is a dog. And the top of the water in the water. I'm a. I had no clue i was down here for sometime. Was literally a beam coming down to me into my check. Area and i can feel it. And hearing. Information about dvd. And i said. Take one shot. What is. Came on their cutters as well. Total around infield look at what you think about it. All different backgrounds male and female young and old. The medicine and the science. Are there any native american. Native american. That's really exciting to me and that's what stephen all right man again i was running a business together. I like everybody. What i want you to do is. Your own experience is not for me to tell you what's going to happen. How you feel. And went out drinking just feel the photo. I hear that a lot. Is actually conceal energy healing. My gift to you and to enjoy my phone numbers on the back if you ever want to feel free to call me or check in or. I hope you come away with the concept the idea that nothing might be possible. You know i want you to all believe in to know if we were raised with a z. That we all expect so that we all have our friends and our family and for the world. And i am really pleased and honored to be with you guys. Ideas. Open the floor for any questions or. Fm. Was in a very natural setting where there was great balance. Commercially control. American question over on the island the big h. The hilton has a beautiful. Ground and then the other have a pond that dolphins. And people the kids. And i was really bad but it's my friend said to me that you can see. Not to worry so much about a support them and take good care of them and yes i rather be in the ocean but being the commercial i have my. About it on the flip side of it is educating people at all. About it i've heard great stories of people in though in those places. Go you know and it's if we pick our judgment away and realized. The word came about my meeting with him. Do you know that i was involved with. The weeknd. Temple. Only person i thought. Shelter there right by two incredible story. Unbelievable. Right off the bat. But frankly i decided before kim spoke to do a little internet research to find out i thought that i remembered. Mboya i found website call over the place. Hawaii to key west. Iceland. Arizona that are offering this sort of thing and i did find a lot of stories about her children. Be ready. Bondo whatever when they are in the ocean. Doctors in the world. What's the relationship between parkinson's in dolphins. They're all the same family if you will. Rinconada are in the dolphins to take him to the palace wilshire. Brief, random question. Roman empire. You may also know that. We have very little painting. The greek earlier.. I do not. Help people. Marathon or islamorada. Take me home. For a long time before i can return to school full-time which was truly a god. Now i'm here for a long time. When i went wrong in time before we all have our viewpoint but i only have the door open. I don't know i don't know. Near-death experience. I want to know more of that dolphin. The last question. Dolphins. Violently against northern. My mind right now is i can't answer the wisest to your old has cancer like we can go answer the why the how come you know. And i wait to pay another commute. You know anybody. You know that out of anger. Randall park. Over and over again and going back to one. Are united states society. We don't even think about the god and goddess. Movie called man's best friend. Dog in our body. Definition of believe it's much more and we're trying to. I believe the infant that's wrapped around my heart and help resolve it. Literally. And we have these imprints in our body. Never heard. R word. Paul. Hammer playing out what we were. Open. Open a new ideas. Aloha.

universityuus_org

SS2005-01-16-WalkingThroughtheValleyoftheShadowofDeath.mp3

Mark spivey. Theological philosophy. Gynecologist. I don't remember the email whatever. For him. Counselor. Individual. Come in. Deal with. Loss of a loved one. I asked him for reputable to talk. On. Thank you. I'm always. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Good evening. He restores my soul. I will fear no evil. Everyday. Mark how is it that you deal with. How do you handle the overwhelming. You're a people like me. You like me. You think you're exempt from that you're not. Event. Are you prepared for this what do you mean how do you do that. Touches all of our lives it surrounds us on a regular basis in fact death is. Our birthright. You're entitled. American procrastinate. We avoid. We hired. Medical help. What is an unnatural prolongation. We are supposed to die. Do i just look at it. Is really about rebirth. And it's pretty much my life. Realize it. One of my favorites. Body. Body. Body. Place to play. Probably told you whenever you were younger. What is this motherly advice come from. We all walked. And talk about the final event today to know what you should already know and if you don't know what you do know. That's really is. You're you're dying right now. Crap crap crap crap. You don't stop. you got your born dying process. You're in the dying process. Stream. River. Include the real. Warriors. Why. You begin to see. Apart of. I'm afraid of you on the road. Now i talk to her. Wait to get out of here. I welcome. Really. Everybody. Body. I know a lot of. I'm here. Normal. You think. I don't need for you to believe what i believe i'm okay with that you are. Long as you are here think they're spirit or their energy somehow rejoin that universal collective consciousness or cool or heaven or hell you already. That you're going to. Physical body. Non-believers nuages uncertain. Go to don't call any label. It's remarkable. How many. Will experience. I wonder how you'll do it. I like to say something. What time. Definition rebirth. Initiate rebirth. Recently buried. Beautiful. Woven leather. They made him look like a dead angel. Description of life. The molting process is a shedding process. Are you with me on this. Nature already into it. What humans have a hard time understanding. Oh my baby. Nature already understands. Well it wasn't like it just fell in my lap. I like that. My own mortality. I do not and i don't. And. Why you think. What's so scary about it. No control. Anymore. Okay. Guy not. Doordash. Nguoi viet. Warren. Bobby orr. Well. Alvin. We wake eternally. Screen. But not john donne. Why are you swelling with pride you can do nothing. Dive in reverse. Body. Trying to somehow postpone or avoid. I'd like to read. By calling mark. Where are we. And then we're going to close and then open for questions. Will not come without suffering. Walmart. They not only come with. For crisis or tragedy. Beyond. My so-called life. Maintain. I've been asked to life. Create. What part of the earth's natural cycle. Directions to nature. Birds migrate. Weather. Waterloo. Natura. Jeremiah. But men. I'm often. How often people. Meet weekly ask questions. Remember. Naturism. Like nature around me river is my birthright. I don't care. Ic rebirth. Weber. I'm not saying it's not necessarily.. What is your life. Your life is the dying process. Dying. Formidable. Hard to outwit. Her mentor and friend. As a rebirth. Anyone hit the lights. Live your life. Never enter your heart. Perfect your life. Dial in your life. Prepare a noble death song. Stranger. Respect. When you ride in the morning. Polo life. And for your strength. The fault lies in yourself. No one. Reviews turn the white one to fool. Rob stewart. Be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear. A different way. All around her bed. Watching her. Thank you. Because they weren't saved and they'd run from god they died seeing the demons of hell come to drag them down and on and on and on. Handyman's corner. I don't have a way. Incorrect florida. And. Evidence for the bathtub. I talk to you. Yes ma'am. I've noticed that people who really have lived their life and in or i'm in a way that's more serene and understanding. Literally angry with santa. It's at the time of hell and demons that perhaps. Wondering how he isn't really clear about how to do that for them. Start something or clear the air. Getting pill dr. phil answers i don't like that. Hey. I would like it when you ask me questions. I've been wondering now i know. Beyond. And. Van van. I hope you see. Weather. Earlier. The need for good pastoral care and the need to take care of each other. There's so many people who live alone. They like that autonomy and that ended. We're encouraged in america to be. I'm glad that you're here.

universityuus_org

SS2005-04-10-AnAssessmentofthePontificateofJohnPaul_II.mp3

Parker speaker today. Publix an award-winning writer. Washington d.c.. Remember. Power. Trump poland. Polish catholic. Who won. In the movie. Intero bodillaz papacy. The first non-italian pope. The girls who did not know him now. Carroll motel at 1. Cooking videos. Biography. Tragedy. Calling suffering. Character. Red. That way through profound. Double negative. Infirmity. World. 20 packard. Krakow. Memorize. Play. Authoritarian. Rely. Tried to join the carmelite order anytime the superiors. Recognizing. Hair products. Profound spiritual. Call catholic academic. Welcome. Heidegger. Terminology. Unlike. Martin heidegger develop. Phenomenology grounded.. Mac miller. Will the young carol villa. What was. Absolute value. In the year. Canary warning. Lasik near kirby. That was the first year. John paul has 25 more years. Dial. Understood. Based on selfishness. Molding. The primacy of the over thing. And the superiority of spirit. Over matter. Cause of the human person knowledge. Long live. Anomaly. There is no good fruit. God. Tecno one to contradict him. Called absolute. Morality. Abortion. Weather. Ananda. That religion rational. I like. Quizlet. Wrong. Negative. What warning. Radio and television network. 41. Was whether he had betrayed. Not. Refined. Materialism. Genuinely. Long-standing. Appointed more cardinals. Broke the monopoly of italian cardinal over hampshire apartments. Call dad. Spider-man. Evolution. Liberation theology. Liberation theologians marxism. Call heard communism. Go to revolution in latin america. That he did not. Religious art. Reverence. Is also way to oneself. Belt. Underwear. Criticism. Call ordered out of political office. William. Calling. Cardinals. Celibacy. Royal. Ironically. Required. Scripturally unfounded. From the light. Call kickapoo. Whoever religion. Women religious. 193. One buyer. Richard paul other. Represent. Around the world. My experience. Cardinals. Caribou. Weather. 4 weather. Or women. Don't know whether or not. And brought out a lot of things many people don't know about the code friend. Yours is far more balanced. And brought about. I don't i don't think so. I'm glad you brought in the statement by john henry newman. And i agree with the statement that you quoted about him text me a doctor. And i'm also glad you brought in john of the cross and the fact that. Twerking. And that's the only way i can justify some of the things that i see. But i think it comes out. Large car so i don't have any great question for you it would have to be a concerning. Ralph nader. Argue with him. Funny things. Literally. He was eventually. Replacing a church hierarchy of. Budding intellectual. People reacting. And one of my. The person who was not. Was the person who knew very little about it i mean. Breakaway group. Yours. Mysteries and secrets. And may never come out because burn. Cardinal has collected but the name was never revealed and possibly. Website. It was a vision. Literal realistic. Bodymax.

universityuus_org

SS2005-10-16-ThePoweroftheFeminineinPaganReligions.mp3

Program. You all make me. I'm going to be talking about. Little bit more broadly. How it works and. I wanted to. How much they were talking about. And i think that's really really something that we do. House divided. The most male-dominated religion. And i'm hoping to bring some of the most beautiful. When i was here. Exactly right there back at the back window. Ground yourself. The powers of the. Intuition. The goddess of the crossroads beginning. Welcome. Palace of the south. A fire. Catherine. Love. Of midday. Afternoon. Water. Stop the blood that runs through all of us. Powers of the north. Animal. Iraq. An ending. Carolyn welcome. Recipe. We actually also worship center which is of the spirit. Candy. And a protector. Appliance. Welcome. Spell for me. The earth. On the goddess i'm going to stay. Item. I like that. Metal. How many are christian. Religion. When you were younger. Do you like me probably had images. What were some. Yeah. Father god was always. Actually that's a good thing he was very sweet but it's funny cuz we all had dinner difference different from that one. I was actually expecting to hear a little bit more. Male beauties is about power it's about. Everything. That. Relate to i really wanted. Reconcile. Powerful. Auto one. Antarctica. But you know we really brought her out. Mary magdalene. She got blamed and cause suffering for all mankind. I'm looking for other ways to embrace my feminine. Our mother and recept. Gut level. They had a mother figure in all of them and the background was trying to look for justification for me to leave. But. When i saw this. Natural elements. In fact. Found by the river. What does. God as a mother. Yes that nurturing is a is a big word for it. Harmony and cooperation very nice. Paris. You know if somebody hurts my children my husband. We don't have we don't have this kind of thing we've got and i'm not saying that men don't don't. Childbirth. Absolutely. Everywhere because you guys have a meeting and i wanted. Drawn. Why. With whom we develop a really close relationship. Or maybe they are offering at a certain time. With new beginnings. Ability. A fertility and author of the moon. He also represents. Patron. 9:30 thank you thank you very much. Who is a person who has a lot of wisdom. Anna's very revered. And yes that is a disturbing. All the lights. She represents. And back around again. For me. African caribbean. I had my sunglasses on. Artemis is also known as diana. And the virgin. Her name new world. Chinese food. Even the mention of her name. He'll be a very long yes i'm going to go through a couple more. Goddess of fire. I'm going to take a whole bunch of questions right after work. Very nice thank you. A beautiful woman to do work with when you're when you're. About what. Finally. Auntie was worshipped by the maya. And i want to make sure that you know that. Well as in our cell. My theory is that our culture has been. For all the churches. I feel like we need. Very empowering. And i also have to. I've learned to reclaim my inspiration. And really does matter. I embody the all of the things that she represents. Well like anything's there is not one dimension to it and like as you saw with collie. Passionately. Having a problem. There are. You know i am solitary swag hang out with some friends. If i can. If not that's not who i am i'm not. Your kroger. Reconcile after wiper fluid. My children. Brighten i support anyone.

universityuus_org

SS2005-09-18-Humanism_n_UUs_1of2.mp3

I am. Jack. Florida. Scrabble. And when we talked about his history tells me that he has. 7. And has florida now a total of 5 times. I think he's here.. Morning everyone i listened to your announcement about wearing costume party coming at your favorite person. A dinner group we had at the rocklin. At any rate i asked everyone. And we went around and of course it was all sorts of. Liberal kind of people. Didn't know very well said limbaugh. Party broke up rather rapidly. Longview against visiting i'm sure that tristan by the formality of a huey church weekend over rather quickly. I want to talk to you today about a strand of our religion. I mean. We never quite sure how many people are humanists. Unless i talk to them. Informal survey since i could go to something like 50%. Mortlach. Second largest. Maybe 10% of the total population. When i was preparing a presentation i realized that i was doing it as much for myself as for any congregation. I found that returning to the subject. Humanism. . between 1920. And it just as alive as a 1920 when one of our famous preachers. Immortality in man. In that tournament he said. Immortality in the race is a very real and most impressive thing. The life and moldavite description life which is worthy to be most inspiring olivia which unworthy should be most terrifying. 42in passes from our control and falls back on moral law which becomes moral predestination. Spokane immortality as passing imogene. Ideas attitude of one generation to another generation. Not knowing about a future world and not speculate about it. I'm at that time and money and energy employee depriest. And prove another world have an adult to making this one more desirable. If the restore in the land to be. If there is such a place. Doing our best to make life in this world so beautiful so exhausted so pretty so attractive they might want to come back. Humanism the notion that humans are responsible for themselves. And the world in which we live. Redoubt. Human immortality. And the intervention of a firepower. Higher power. Probably began in the 6th century bc. At that point a good many greek philosophers express god and human immortality. Later. Go to revolution against other world. And try to focus attention on newman accomplishment. They wanted. Attention directed away from immortality. Making the best of life in the world. Renaissance renaissance. Art and beauty. 1920. John dietrich another human is preacher. Compare the renaissance with the precepts of modern humanism. 500 years ago. Results of the application of the scientific method. In modern time probably no one had more influence in immanuel kant. God immortality and freedom are problems that are not solvable by scientific reasoning. Later it was nietzsche. Davis the maximum god is dead. What did he mean. Set the western god is not based on knowledge. Human weakness. God did not create human. Human created god. Before darwin and the whole flowering of science in d.c.. Look during the beginning of skepticism about christian fundamentalist beliefs and infallibility of the bible. Dear work. Religious scholars. Approach to religion. However that. Revolution did not placate did not take place overnight particularly and unitarian circle. It may surprise you to know that historically we have been among the most stubborn people around. Frankie wouldn't surprise you.. 1825 unitarian formalizar split with detergent of the standing order to congregation. From the american unitarian association. Very low-key loosely organized denomination with little groves taking play. They were however very well aware of being dalika massachusetts-boston.. During the civil war henry bellows minister of all souls church in new york city. Sanitary commission. Red cross. This extensive documentation. Event bellator the importance of organization. It's all little that within the aua. And i wonder what he would. I always say nobody ever chooses up to being an organized.. Who. Wanted to get people together. Organization is the word. At a convention churches. April 18th 65 at all souls church in new york. Wanted to bring kind of conformity among the various churches and proposed decreed confirming. Our lord jesus christ. Progressive are they were called radicals. Violate the principle of free inquiry. And private judgment. Many of them also discover that religion was universally. I'm at the universal religion hinduism buddhism and jainism. Insight in other religious beliefs. The cold repair my belief in. Service one. And the creed was accepted. 70 / 1. The next year 1866 again in syracuse new york. Radical spelled like that creep from the organization. Battery built. They believe that quote. Do unitarians have removed. Wherever the ancient principle of free inquiry and henceforth christianity and freedom must be a reconcilable pose. Alright now. Why don't we. Human it from boston. And i said that would be very nice you got one church with 60 members now you'll end up with 10 churches with. And that's about the way we operate. Well. Back then. A number of the radicals together with other liberal group formed the free religion association. Outside of the denominations they did not leave. American association. Organize reform judaism united states. And felix adler of the ethical culture movement. First movement. Human. Ethical culture people and some of you may know about them. He wasn't left in the country about 4,000. And we are finite. That makes communication rather difficult. Therefore we must keep kathak how we treat each other. And the ethical union calls until. Mimosa. Did not give up their denomination. Affiliate in the pre-release. Except for new york unitarian congregation which left. Later in 1890 for a compromise. What divided. An allegiance to jesus was dropped. The words to love god and love to man replay. Anime dab. 1865 convention street. One of the radicals thredup. + 10. I resent it. I have been reading the bible. And it could be mister jesus christ i always like that. Play significant for the free religious oregon. Humanism compromising remained true to their own non credo policy. A. between the two world wars is difficult if not impossible to exclude humanist from unitarian churches. That was a very interesting movement because. Basically. American humanism. Unitarian. Convention. Unitarian call to common sense. The recap. Humanism is at the point where the teachings of can't have darwin and higher criticism for beginning to gain importance. Among those were unwilling to accept the traditional notions of god. Immortality biblical inerrancy. I might point out.. A great crisis for religion. We had both your parents of darwin. Add biblical criticism. Biblical criticism started in germany in the late 1700s. Andrew's reporting proportions by the mid-1800s. Study of the classical. Bible. And particularly old testament. Noting. That there was no historical corroboration for many many of the stories in the old testament. I still wonder. During the creation of the world and wrote it down for each other it was considered the word of god. That itself is a miracle. What the early. Humanist within our denomination we're proposing true religion. That is a religion that accept science projected and unprovable propositions about god. Life in another world. And yuma submission. The will of god. As delivered by self-appointed leader. Mason oil in his book american religious humanism call john dietrich the father of religion humanism. Be together with curtis w. Charles potter are considered the major. major figures. Nomination. Between the two world wars. All three were come out in from other denomination. Fundamentalist innominate i like that word come out. By the end of world war ii. Not only were unit found in fair number simone unitarian congregation. But ministers were in the pulpit in important churches. Mainly in the way now. History of our country. 1902 west buffalo new york. Annie had the western movement when chicago. The organization was founded in places like. Iowa. I never think about except when i realized that. Email minutes. Frontier. We're very skeptical about the events in the west and gave little. Edmentum. Flagship seminary harvard. To go wet. Well i can't go out for a couple of months. I bought in porton to leave for any length of time. And they did not say. Midwest. California. And that is the church that was founded. By hero the pillow war. Man who kept. California in the union california. Statute in california. At any rate. Remote part. Churches canada have a strong christian spirit and there were those who were terrified. How do you make. God taken out of church. Back to our heroes. I hope. John dietrich was born into a family that adhered to the reformed church reformed church quite fundamentalist. Rather predestination oriented that is we are all condemned and very few will be saved. Domination became a minister. Training. Captain capital about the claims of orthodox christianity. He began to doubt the typical traditions and isn't didn't hesitate to promote them. New blade. Important. More important than the economics and perhaps in today because of the steel industry. He was actually brought up for a heresy trial. Coordinate. Instead of the minister in the unitarian church accepted as unitarian minister. And recommended for detergent spokane washington. Brady came known for cheating called humanism he was offered his church in pittsburgh but he did not feel that it would be ethical for him to come. Numbers in the reformed church. Today in 1917. Dietrich man curtis read at a minute at a meeting of the ministers in des moines. And found out. That they were both in the same religion. We call it the religion of democracy. American religion the god. Dictator giving commands to his subordinates who then transmitted them to the people in the pews. When he read mit math they realized that they were preaching the same doctrine. The wreath wasn't overly enthusiastic about the title humanism the adopted it. People to come out here from the basket. Humanism has a historical me not what it meant today to the renaissance. Frontier login for aspen stop thinking about how many things represent on the head of a pin talked about. And what you accomplished. Painting and statuary on study but they were about newman for great you. Humanism. I think today might be worth. Decrease the father movement began in organization. And part of the message we already called to new york society. Interesting story about. About dietrich. Went to spokane. Independent for quite a number of years before he went to minneapolis. Minneapolis is still considered the flagship of humanism. At any rate. Potter had gone to edmonton in alberta. Jack and i live there for a couple beers and we know. About the delightful climate in the winter. Banana plant. At any rate. Particular congregation there was someone who went to spokane regularly i hope it was in the winter. Annie came back and. Edmonton very long after he had enough money went back to new york but he did me. Honor went back she started the first few minutes inside it was famous for database with fundamentalist. That time. The movement grew not just among ministers. John dewey. And the interesting part about john dewey is a member of a church in new york and the only time you ever went to it without his funeral. He was one of those great numbers of people who say they're unitarians and never show up. But they were. Rebecca from great university harvard cornell columbia michigan. 13 minutes. Humanist manifesto. Manifesto. The wonderful document. And it talked about the need for religion to be modern. John dewey wrote about religion. Add something that was very bad but you like the term religion. Special point out that religion must come to terms with contemporary knowledge to meet the challenges of the egg. Religion. Religions have always been a means for realizing the highest value of life. We must recognize the need to be there for a more firm the following and this is correct quote from the first humanist manifesto. Religious human disregard the universe has self-existing and not created. The biblical story of creation which most christian. The complete allegory. And unsustainable. I said. Humanists believe that man is part of nature and he has emerged as a part of a continuous process. I'm not being texted that's the way it was written in 1933. Holding an organic view of life human spine that the dualism mind and body must be rejected. I think. 4. Humanism recognizes that man's religious culture and civilization by anthropology and history are the product of a gradual development environment heritage. Humanism asserts that the nature of the universe depicted by modern science unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guaranteed value. Obviously your reality. But it does mean. That the way to determine the existence in value of any and all realities by means of intelligent inquiry and the assessment of their relation to human needs. Religion must formulate the hoax implant in the light of the scientific theory and method. Big we are convinced at the time for moderation. Modernism and new thought. Religion consists of those actions and purposes and experiences which are humanly significant. Nothing human is alien to religion. Labor artscience seal of friendship recreation all that is expected of satisfying human living. Thinking between sacred and secular can no longer be maintained. And that reminds me so many times in our churches and people saying i want something. Higher than myself. Humanity. Rotate third declaration declaration. Sometime before. Third decorate. Find upgrade the language in like the idea of manifesto. Manufacturer has another adjectives in front of it that a lot of people like that was communist. Milliken and. Great battle but i think you're going to be ready to battle for their ideas now anyway. If you want copies. But it does run and pay. Supernaturalism. Doesn't work out. That means. And. Tablet. Reasonable. Time to stone talk about crew. Abaddon. Deny. Supernatural. The world. Scientific. Explanation will hold up. Band. We have had made two changes inside from time to time. For example. I mentioned to you decrease and powder. And. Are color problem in a country. Integrity. No we don't find a lot about that. Not. Literature. Government. Are the next time i speak to you i want to talk about the lives of datrix greece and potter. He pet adventures in challenges including one of them to 100 by the underworld for his social activities. No difference between your description of proactive humanism. I'm not sure you mention the word atheism well i have to say something about that. Atheism. This is a personal view. My personal view is that term. Because. Atheism absolutely denied god. I'm anti-god. I really like the camping anti. Something i don't believe in. I am not comfortable with the idea of a god that had the supreme power and everything else. But i think agnostic makes me feel more comfortable because it means i don't know. The other part of that committee mean if your relevant. About whether god or not. But an agnostic pill has an opening for other proof about things that are beyond our reason right now i can't. I can't imagine. Howard university. I don't think i god did it. But i'm open. Somebody who maybe 500 years from now we'll have better information on it. Geico. 55 years has been in churches in. Fellowship the word humanistic. I like number of people are concerned about what we are returning or are they turning away from him. I would love to hear you speak for her time from time beyond what you see going on. Nationally with regard to that in terms of a historical basis of adam pawn. Maybe i'm anticipating what will be in your neck but i was kind of looking for a few names that i didn't hear. One of the moody parker another is robert ingersoll and i know paul kellum david talk here sometime ago. Would be talked about a friend of his who is master theater call kirsten was instrumental in. Developing. Manifest or whatever you want to call it now. And one other thing that i think. Development of humanism and where. Places around the united states cuz i had the. Eniac sprinkler with one of them boulder colorado with another intercourse the whole thing started at a place called to cochran western western new york state so i just wonder if any of these fit into what you'll be talkin about next week. Volkert left view. And poker call cole ft. American university association. I have completed carlton falkirk. I'll leave it at that. I'm wondering if you decline of humanism and the rise of fundamentalism as a fundamental failure to create a functional religion. I might think about it. I'm not sure. And one of the things i think it's talk about in one of his books about the humanist manifesto. Aggregation. Nope religion. In school. Government neutrality in matters of religion although we may have won a lot of the battle and been resting too hard. I find it hard to. How can we. A lot of people just kind of reject all of that out of him were talking about 50,000 years or more. Experiences with a supernatural. Call towing policy said experience per can. Yeah what exactly are you saying what what is your. What you have to say about all the belief in the supernatural that call throwing the power to providing over. Why are you asking why it is that you and things everything complete in god. And why you don't believe that humans. I think that's all there is a human being. Mecklenburg are hardwired. Did evidence. Tight. First one in the country to pay any attention to oriental religion. In that respect he was very important. Transcendentalism is like a can of worms. But he was, and actually. When i take correlations ipoint. But i would not yet. I want to be pretty close now cuz it we have time for a short break and then to meet with our consultant after the service.

universityuus_org

SS2007-01-14-IsGodAllInOurHead.mp3

universityuus_org

SS2005-05-22-OscarWilde_ManForAllSeasons.mp3

Now we come to our presentation. By our speaker mark spivey you spoken here so many times before. Course it says on the. Starter service mark is an ordained minister santa tologist which is the study of death and dying. And spiritual care specialist with hospice of the comforter. Volusia flagler. Britton volusia-flagler. Oh. Comforting typically thank you for saying that. I'll just turn that over to you now mark and and you've well you're speaking on oscar wilde man for all seasons correct to you. I'm going to start halfway up the aisle. The lights are going to go off so that you can see a clip as we're going to start with a clip today. Can you all say that okay. But you can't hear it. Stop for a minute. Yeah the volume. Eric think about these things. Ladies and gentlemen i have enjoyed this evening in minced the actors of giving us a charming rendering of a full class and your appreciation has been most intelligent. When we mentioned the name oscar wilde. We think about. The next quote follows is going to both the light and provoca. We think we're about to be entertained. Of the riders in the 1890s oscar wilde is still the most widely read and certainly the most well-recognized name. Oscar wilde a man for all seasons what i decided to do. This morning is to spend five minutes on each season of the man's life as if a man's life could be talked about in terms of seasons. We have of course the spring we have the fall. We have. Summer. What else do we have. Winter now is the winter of our discontent. It is a bad time. They certainly can be. Oscar wilde. Hi contemporaries does anybody know any authors that were close to oscar wilde's time. George bernard shaw in fact george bernard shaw is the only one to come to oscar's aid and petition that he not be imprisoned. The only one that matter of fact in in 1895 with anybody there 1895 no. We don't have any eyewitnesses to the account. Spring is a time of beginnings. Oscar wilde was born in dublin on october 16th in the year 1854. Oscar wilde said. The soul is born old. The girls young. That is the comedy of life. The body is born young and grows old. This is life's tragedy. Wild could read a novel in 20 minutes. And accurately spent back several chapters to you without error. Get over asia's appetite when it came to capacities for studying literature we all have photographic memories most of us film. Something i have batteries we all have what it takes to look at something and recall it forever but i'll still wild tapped into that and he could recall with complete accuracy the things that he read and consume. Off-road life and his work one hit as much denigration as it did admiration he never self integrated he always believed that others deserve the pleasure of insulting him personally i never felt in a great either i let others criticized meal is because there's so many and there's so many opportunities for people to attack why self denigrate why beat yourself up let somebody else do it richard ellmann as you can see richard element is considered to be the definitive. Author of the biography of oscar wilde and richard almond commenting on oscar's humiliation said rarely has so much glory then followed by so much humiliation. Rarely has so much glory men followed by so much humiliation. In the spring of oscars life. Legends and unsavory gossip war beginning to spring up around him much like wildflowers on a well-worn victorian pathway. He grew up in an era where conformity and prudish behavior was the norm. Conventional behavior in victorian society was expected and he lovingly and charmingly hopes fun at the establishment and you never really quite knew how serious he was in fact. If you study is life and you look at what he says. The more frivolous gets comments the more serious he actually was. He would wrap the pill and sugar. He was profound and he was poignant but he delivered it with kathy so you weren't really sure you just been insulted you weren't really clear on whether or not you just commented on your well-being or the well-being of culture or society. He was famous for being able to take. Old sayings. The wisdom of the ages the sages the proverbs and bring into it a new and youthful intransigence sort of like. Saint elmo's fire meets. Rebel without a cause. Meet. Clint eastwood. Oscar wilde one-liners are famous you had a few of them given to you this morning he he is noted for multiple. One-liners. However most people don't realize that oscar wilde was a kind and generous man. He was remarkably kind of spirit. He was a man who frequently delivered lectures for free. And he helped the poor and gave a lot of his money away at different times in his life. In the summer. Obvious lie. He declared his genius. The picture of dorian gray a nice tender age in 1882 in the american area he advised the customs agent who asked him have you anything to declare he said i had nothing to declare but my genius. Don't you like that i know you have that. You have everything there. I don't play about my genius one of wild favorite ways of speaking was with especially literary agents who say that oscar wilde was really shallow but there are none. Not to deny his linguistic achievements as his finest. Richard ellmann notes while takes what has been ponderous lee said. Andre makes it according to a new perspective and a new principal. An older generations reassuring platitudes and tired certainties. Are infused with useful intransigence. Hey sort of pontifical impudence that command attention you love that pontifical impedance i like pontifical impedance. The command attention. He was arrogant he was pontifical he was impotent but he was charming. He was beguiling. Enemies has he had friends. And. He was about to enter his fall. His one-liners and his zingers inspire us. Because. They are sardonic and mocking look at how we live our lives. They are nice way to wrap. Truth. And deliver it. Most things are about marketing and my grandfather used to say to me. It's a lot of things to me one of the things you said to me was. Call me back i don't know why i wasn't a son but he thought i was you can say anything you want to in life. As long as you say it the right way. You can say anything you want to anybody you want anywhere anytime as long as you say it the right way and i thought to myself that's great grandpa you suck. Of course he didn't know what you suck man so that's what you just told me that anything can be said at any time and he'll course he left. Wild remarks are not just funny they are thought-provoking let me give you a few. Society often forgives the criminal. It never forgives the dreamer. Society often forgives the criminal but never does it forgive the dreamer. Love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. How many kilometer self-admitted. Admit it. Oscar love themselves. Avow old hedonist and he was a pleasure disciple he was a follower s of asceticism and he loves beauty for the sake of beauty itself he later recanted. And his de profundis letter while in jail will talk about that just a few moments. Another one of wild famous. Expressions is and i love this one because as a theologian i would. He said there is no send. Except stupidity. There is no sin. Except stupidity. The clever people. Never listen. Stupid people never talk. Think about that for a moment the clever people. Never listen and of course they should. The stupid people. Never talk. And often the stupid people allegedly. No more about life in the clever. In the picture of dorian gray wilde produced what is considered to be a very typical of the.. Personal paradox. How many of you have read the picture of dorian gray. How many of you know what the picture of dorian gray is. Put your hands up if you know who oscar wilde is put your hands up if you know you're in the right place i'm shocked to see so many of you here this morning actually because oscar wilde is a wild or oscar if we know the name but few people find any interest in his life it's remarkable to me how he is life. Having been going now over 100 years still influences modern society he's quoting all the time he's in universities his ideas still influenced popular culture's particularly gay culture and gay subculture in 21st century america. Because of his capacity for understanding what he called artifice. Or mask. The great mass that you put on the mask sent me where and that's what the picture of dorian gray is really about isn't it the masks that we wear and the faces that we use its masks in the mask that we use as faces. And when he wrote there so you offended of course as he intended to victorian society and all of those who thought that he should have just kept his mouth quiet. Interesting lee enough. He was an accomplished painter. And we got the idea for writing the picture of dorian gray while painting. A young lads portrait and his friend basile was standing next to him and bible said let me quote him. We all have to close these battles. How does delightful it would be if the youth could remain exactly as he is the portrait and withered in his stead immediately austin got an idea and thought i'm going to write a book about that he adopted the faustian motif. A wonderful work. Impudent paradox. Brooding artist of oscar wilde his his genius. And his interest in. Unveiling. Paradoxes in contrast. I think one of the things that we like so much about oscar wilde is that his conflictual. And he's openly conflictual hand he makes fun of the contrast between the light and the shade of our lives the darkness the lightness the good the bad. He he between what's right and what's wrong. And you never quite know where you're going to go. His fall from grace. Occurred. When he met lord alfred bosie. Alfred douglas. His nickname was bosie. In richard almond opinion who spent years writing this novel and researching his life. Thanks that it was bosie. That was the demise of oscar wilde's talent reputation and career. Anytime you let a man into your life legit causing trouble. You know how it is men they're good for some things that other things are just not good for when you agree. I'm surprised that i made you said yesterday that i'm only kidding i'm only kidding. Certainly no man ever fail so ignoble e said while. And by such ignoble instruments as i did. He's talking about his fault as he writes from jail i30000 word letter to bosie douglas. Which was published after. Is that. And it was entitled. De profundis. My most profound thought. And he said bosie basically it's your fault. Had alienated most of its peers. And cause them to run as i didn't decatur earlier george bernard shaw was the only one to come to his aid and specifically he launched a petition not to jail oscar wilde whenever he had been tried for gross indecency. He was tried for gross indecency in 1895 and this was the beginning of his disgrace now he could have left. The country and saved himself. But he did not he chose to stay and you chose to fight. Lee. Tyranny of the day is he would call it. It's interesting that 100 years after the date. Do the day of his trial. 100 years later oscar wilde. Had a ceremony. In westminster abbey in poets corner and honor of his name in his life. 100 years after the trial date oscar wilde as being venerated and honored in place in westminster abbey and a ceremony on valentine's day dedicating his life and his work and his contribution to poetry and mankind. At his own trial however oscar was very different according to the written documents he wasn't arrogant he wasn't necessarily charming he wasn't entertaining he was in fact one man who drops subterfuge and he delivered an impassioned defense. Impassioned defense of male love. I like to read it to you. He was asked a question. What is the love that dares not speak its name. Here's what he said. The love that dares not speak its name in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man. As there was between david and jonathan. Such as plato made the very basis of his philosophy. I thought you find in the sonics of michelangelo in shakespeare. It is that deep spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and provides great works of art. Like those of shakespeare and michelangelo. And those two letters of mine. Such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood. So misunderstood but it may be described as the love that dares not speak its name. And on that account of it. I am placed where i am now. It is beautiful. It is fine. It is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual and it repeatedly exists between an older and a younger man. When the elder man has intellect. And the younger man has all the joy. Hope. And glamorous life before him. That it should be so. The world does not understand. The world mocks added. And sometimes puts one in the pillory. For it. Oscar wilde was convicted on may 25th 1895. In three days. It'll be 110 years ago. That oscar wilde was convicted. And put in prison. In reading about 30 miles just to the west of london a small-town a jail for hard labor. A man like oscar wilde couldn't do hard labor. A man like mark spivey couldn't do hard labor. All day long you toiled. He wasn't bred for that kind of manual labor it would be his undoing he knew it. His friends knew it. At first when he went to prison they did they denied him any. Reading materials he was not allowed to write. He was not allowed to have any kind of a pleasure after a while. He was given pain and he was given paper and he was allowed to write and he then began that 30000 word letter. Tubos talking about how laura bozzo had been. Fall of his life. One of the things he said let me quote part of the letter. Not your father. But you who had me put into prison. Through you. For you and i was there. Wild absorbed. Alfred bosie. Spend every waking moment with him. And then when he realized that bosie was his downfall. He threw him up. He threw him away. Tv gurgitate it and vomited him up. And that two-year period in jail with a chance for him to cleanse himself. A chance for him to realize the error of his ways and to renounce her former life. They had pledged towards pleasure. He wants that it is on trial that i'm trying to self attain and to reach self-realization and self-enlightenment through pleasure because to do so through pleasure is preferable than to do so through suffering. He changed his mind in prison and you realized upon his writing and reflection that all of life great lessons particularly his soul was shaved not by pleasure but by his own pain and suffering. While he was an apostle of pleasure and he taught others to seek it his own life was constructed of pain. And suffering. Anna pond. Writing this letter to bosie. It changed his life. But interesting lee enough oscar wilde was human. You know what he did and then he got out of prison. What did he do. Just like a dog returns to vomit. Dogs do that. Ever watch a dog do that a dog will do that still vomit and return right back to it lick it right back up there are people. Who have the human nature. Within them to return to their own folly. People have a hard time letting go of what destroys them. We are attracted like moths to flames to the very things would kill us and destroy us oscar wilde was no difference he went right back to the gray one he claimed they destroyed him. And of course bosie was there when the money ran out goes he ran out and was gone. The last three light three years of oscars life he spent pretty much penniless he was 43. And penniless. Removed himself from artistic circles in society and he didn't use his name any longer he assumed the name sebastian melmoth. After a character in the novel melmoth the wanderer. He wrote a few things under that assumed name. On his deathbed he converted to the only church he ever truly loved and admired. Do you know what that was. Anybody know. Roman catholic. He converted to the roman catholic church on his deathbed and in his hotel in paris he is reported just before his death to have said. My wallpaper and i are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has got to go oscar wilde died on november 30th in the year nineteen hundred of cerebral meningitis. Some say it was because of syphilis in his early years other say it is because of an ear infection that was never treated will never know the cause of the meningitis we only know that that's what killed him. In trying to draw conclusions from a very vast and beautifully palpable life. I pitched three things about oscar wilde that i thought was interesting. He said we are all of us living in the gutter. But some of us are looking at the stars. I can tell you from absolute truth. I'm from honesty. That i have spent my whole life in the gutter. Trying to crawl out of it. Trying to make something of myself trying to understand who i was what i am. As a child barnabas collins of dark shadows. Captain kirk of star trek. And oscar wilde of dorian gray where my mentors they were my heroes. Because they're grappling with truth. And they're trying to deal with the cards that were dealt to them. Help me try and self-actualize. When you're gay. Life's not always pretty the irony of the word gay is hilarious to me. It gets very few things gay or happy about it. You are mentored by older gay males or whoever it is into a life of hedonism and pleasure it's very wild like in his earlier years. But if you're smart and you pay attention and you live through it. You might actually change and realize that's what you thought you'd learned through pleasure you really will not learn except to pain and suffering. And while you're living your life of course you're you're suffering i should go you're making mistakes and they're bleeding you got band-aids all over your body and your soul and ideally if you're smart you'll chisel away at your life. So i think that most of us are living in the gutter i think only some of us are looking at the stars i think only some of us have the sense to look up. And to lookout. Beyond ourselves. No one doubts his genius. But i like seeing what you said when you were identifying and and marketing this. But was it a twist of fate twist of culture or twister personality that eventually led to tragedy. Let's take two minutes what do you think. What led to oscar wilde's tragedy was it a twist of fate. Was it a twist of culture. Wasn't a twisted personality that led to oscar's demise. I just let it go. But he listen to bazzi. Brought the case to court right you could have dropped and let it go. Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. Sophia just kept it quiet left it alone give me a little bit longer. Would have been in jail. The lord. Okay thank you. Right. Anderson lane. at that time homosexuality was not a noun. Was a verb. It wasn't classified as as a problem or an area that came later. Sexuality as a noun and a something you could classify and treat later on to book when psychiatry came on board. Was a verb. You had behavior. But you didn't have the noun. Interesting time victoria's victorian england so all of you simply seem to have a combination of the answer. That it was culture it was bad it was bosie it was on bad choices that led to his demise would say here today that your own choices. Have led to your own demise. Your own decisions everybody oh my oh yeah because i myself yeah it is true it is very true. How can you save somebody you can't save themselves. How do you say somebody from themselves could anyone have saved after wild we don't know. Exactly. Exactly. I didn't see you over there. Okay. Thank you. Read the three things that i think are important from oscars life and then we'll show one more clip if i can get it to do it and they will have 5 or 10 minutes of questions. Okay. The first thing that i think that oscar wilde can contribute is. You can say anything you like if you say it in the right manner. Oscar said in matters of grave importance style not sincerity is the vital thing. Oscar wilde like dirty harry makes us feel wonderful because he can say and do the things that we like to say and do. Oscar wilde's work all of his narratives all of his poems and all of his plays celebrate artifice make-believe the mask that we wear. But if you read them all of them in the same way. His message underlying is always you have to take the mask off and acknowledge who you are. He said paradoxically though it may seem it is nonetheless true that life imitates art. Far more than art imitates life. Suffering not pleasure lisa self-realization is the third thing that i think oscar teaches us most. At his trial as i've already indicated he recanted his desire to learn who he was to pleasure. And frivolity and instead embrace the suffering. That he had to embrace. Release release from prison he wrote the poem the ballad of reading gaol. Is a poem that reflects in his mind the imprisoned nature of all of us. And how we are all in need of forgiveness. He was a great believer in the truce at the greater the crime the greater the need to be forgiven for the crime. And oscar wilde. In this particular poem was able to see the beauty in sadness itself. That's what i do for a living. I see the beauty in sadness. I see the beauty in death. I see the beauty in demise. The inexorable the inevitable ii find what's beautiful in what cannot be altered and this beautiful poem. Looks at how. We are able to become who we are and accept our own need for forgiveness. I want to close with showing a clip as he reads part of the poem. If i can get to that clip. This is a different not mine so. My disclaimer is that i have all knowledge of what's about to happen it's not even on. Okay. Please do not leave the building just hang on. Bring a sleep mode. We're all asleep. Okay. Got to get back to the menu. Christine selections. And move forward. I want to go all the way to the end when it says note that wasn't it. Go forward. Forward. Forward. Forward. That wasn't it. That wasn't it. Not forward. Forward keep going. Okay. Keep going. That wasn't it keep going. No. Okay. Okay well it's at the end. You may want to. Backup. Backup siri go on the beach days like a year a year who's days along yet each man kills the thing he loves by each let this behind some do it with a bitter look some of the flattering word the coward does it with a kiss the brave man would have sold some kill.. I've nothing left. My wife. They went to see the doctor again. Taken in sufficient quantities. Do you have any questions or thoughts are probably just comments about oscar wilde life i didn't have an agenda this morning just to introduce those who didn't know a whole lot about oscar wilde. To his wife or just to sort of. Bring back what is in 3 days will be the 110 years. Since he was imprisoned. Your remarkable human being they can continue to delight audiences over 100 years after his death. He is quite remarkable as there are many. Do you have any comments or thoughts. I'm glad i wore this shirt today for that picture i don't usually dress up as much glad you did. That was brilliant summary because it is so much and you view takes out such salient points it was very very well done. Got done with stephen fry in the film for those of you who don't know who's a noted english actor and rice at brilliant man. Also gay. And very gay but there really isn't and might i wonderful oscar wilde but my. Commented that last time i was in london i was walking down the strand on a rainy night. And i noticed a new statue which is on the strand opposite to try and cross just about there. And it's like just a block of granite with a head at one end. I'm so squalls head and then on the on the end of the block of granite it says no it was moccasin salisbury who said to him at the trial so you are in the gutta. And then he made that remark that we are all in the gutter some of us can see the stars and on the end of the block it just says that we are all living in the gutta some of his pc the stuff. Thank you. In the movie that last click it so that was robbie ross. He was his lifelong friend is that robbie ross executor of his estate and make sure that things were published after us died. Here's the front of the video if you're interested in the video or the. Is interesting though i didn't have one thing i'll say about this is an interesting remark from me is it in the video i was looking for this outfit and he never wore this in because i love this color. Film treatment of his life. I think it is so if you want to watch the whole thing there it is. I want to express my gratitude to the mat, theater that's some years ago for juiced. The one man show. Dealing with that letter. And it was in rawlins. Rollins college event time. I was very grateful that they had. Taking the trouble to put on something and i think. The bad cop is it deserves a lot of support. Thank you. British kept on with this persecution. Updated people. Right through until i believe. 1957. Prosecutions of people for being gay common and ruinous. I think until 1957. Thank you. I'm being mindful of time so. We're okay alright. I think i think she's going to come get you when we. Okay. Hey youngin hey how are you i'm going to. Considering your age you might not be able to speak to this as yet. But i was thinking of the fact that oscar wilde. Was he young man really end. He had an in-your-face attitude and i think that that's certainly you know came through. And i wondered if a maturing experience obviously was being in jail. But i wondered even without that. As he got older. If he might have perhaps been. A little bit less. In your face i know is i've gotten older i'm a little less in your face i was a real precocious young buck. And i used to say many things that got me in trouble and did not care because it was the truth. And i thought i actually thought people wanted to hear the truth. I really thought that bob i thought they really care what i had to say and i learned a hard lesson i kept learning it over and again people don't want to hear the truth. Eli too and they want to tell the truth and you want to hear the truth you better sugar-coated somewhere they're not going to listen to you but in my mind i thought surely they'll appreciate the value of truth. No matter how its package or was i wrong. Right i wouldn't do well i wouldn't do well. Yes ma'am. Tucson what i was thinking do you think that when oscar wilde married his impassioned speech talking about play-doh and michelangelo. Everybody by bees very solid or arguments stoneware bathroom. What do you think it was kind of a hubris on his part where he. Put this in people's minds and they will. Finally understand i don't know understand. And he wasn't the first to repeal to history but his trial course was quite famous for that. Thank you. Hi. Yes i just wanted to say that. I think the reason we're still paying attention to him and listening to him is that he was in your face. He did speak the truth and he was very entertaining so i'm glad you didn't mellow out an incredible human being and. Otherwise we wouldn't even be talking about him thank you and in keeping with that my closing remark is we still pay attention to him. And let me close with some of wisdom. But he said marriage. Is the triumph. Imagination over intelligence. Second marriage. Is the triumph. Of hope over experience i'll be really listening to him thank you.

universityuus_org

SS2005-09-11-AConversationWithBenFranklin.mp3

Milkman was perhaps the most remarkable figure in american history the greatest a deacon of his age he played a pivotal role in the formation of this great country has the best-selling author better diplomat over 1/2 the population of philadelphia every minister priest and rabbi in the city attended and marched in his funeral has their own. How do you spell your last name. How you pronounce your last name. Religious at breckenridge. Spell it right in the reform group of the church. And we went to church every sunday practice religion very regularly employed. My father & family. The puritans believed that. Someone your father. Great deal in fact. The great impact when he came he got to go to the selected the most liberal. Tradesman. Straightener. Someone that would watch out for nightwalker. Clippers. Citrus park. Shaking quakers. Like we got a problem back here without going to wake him up. Something about your family. My family. Well i was 15th august 17th reuters. The baby of the family the mail baby. We enjoyed our relationship the one thing i found my sister taught me was to read so i have a lot of credit to him but my ability to read my father was very influential a great deal. Quite large. We always practice one day i put my father at 10. We were putting in the back. Vegetables. That was my teacher time management. Original dropped out of grade school. Tropicana longer afford to send me there. The hot daughter trying to do for a family. Do i drop. Go to work. My father. Black diamond. Rob brother for 21 years. Route to work boring but this is not great love because i was exposed to so many books. I got to read everything i get my hands on. I even borrowed books. Portsmouth. I did not have to like you available. Back when the greatest book swimming learn how to swim that was a great thing. I like. Cottonmouth. Still learning. And your voice rev-share are you. English prison. Led by governor of virginia. My dialect is old english and come from the tradespeople. The criminal. Thank you very much. I remember reading somewhere about your idea of being a prisoner. Show me prisoners in georgia that i decide to write to the head of parliament. Instead. If you guys don't stop the naughty present over here i'm with a rattlesnake back. Every prisoner that you can over here. They were. Hypocrite. Spell compelled. Go to australia. The farthest my life is my father. Mainly because he taught me to read. You got a great respect for women. Call back. Women wrestling. Another influencer made with cotton matter. I got this good. From the earth. To do good for others. How many. For the new england by brother james. Well one day i was there. I used to go to bathroom. They were bragging. I could not leave boston because i was. Gave the money to a good friend called. John collins. New york. La piazza new york. Looking for a job. Young man. A young man. Can we would debate. At eighteen. I was approached by the governor of pennsylvania. A great printer. Imma give you a letter credit go to england and buy all your type volume preston. Journey. What a great time to go to england. I couldn't believe it. The greatest country in the world the greatest in the world. I was going there. Leather purse with no good. Let's break it down poly means many. Bloodsuckers partition. What's the next thing i had to go job so i got a job with the largest printing pal. Pay for my board. The great time. I got the schedule out of free-thinking enlightenment i drove the coffee houses in my life. Well our church. You are considered. Believing in a clockmaker god. Depiction of your. Go to go back to when i was 13 years old. Believer. Question the gods that god exists. I need to take the time. Educate myself. Shrewsbury daniel. Sprint shop. Disgusting. Article. About. The way the religion is resolved between science and nature. Enough. I thought that was great. so i can do better. La roda pamphlet. Call the liberty. The pain suffering. Break it down. Got it. Everything everything. Mockingbird. John collins. Route. And then from there. I converted back then. Liberal religion. Harriet. Milton milton he got married. So young lady with 16. Never. Suspended. Scientific theory. Put out there and people arguing. You never to make. Everything. And then.. Martin. Steamboat. Stop.. Martin. Well you're stranded in london how to get back. House broke. Tired. Cuz i loaned the money to go back. Contactless quaker friend of mine. John. John was going to pay for my passage back. If i would pay him off by working in here. But on my way back. I made a resolution resolution by four goals and i was going to live my life by. The first ones i was always going to tell the truth. Nothing bad about any man. Free cars. When i arrive in philadelphia that's what i did. William penn. Major plans in 1682. Welcome every religion possible. Quakers. The german shakers. Lutheran redeemer presbyterian. Presbyterians in here. I was like teen. Doctrine of religion. Kevin kirk boards in philadelphia. Help with 27. And one synagogue. I believe that everybody should express our own religion so is opened every religion at 1. Recent got started there was a young minister. Start investigating. Valium. Arhar. Call ideas. 3 reply. Called. Ben franklin's temples of a good religion. University of providence. Real to be worshipped. Set the soul man is immortal. And that's not the present one. Upright character. 13 virtues. Christmas not for my own. And if you haven't yet been broken for you 13. Temperance. Order. Resolution. Moderation. The 13th one. He looked at him and he said. Rehab. Humility. Thomas jefferson. Wow. But if you read the declaration of independence. I made too small. Correction. In the declaration of independence. Temar adrift his religion. The declaration of independence. Call right here. An appeal for god's intervention. Between asking for god's intervention when you attract. Taking over the largest state. Problem down there. Play the story to you when i was young i used to borrow a book from cotton mather. One day as i was walking out. How is secret hitler. Remember what he said. Education is a wonderful thing knowledge is a wonderful playing. Play music for the betterment of mankind. Today we are hitting. We won't let our personal. Developing a great constitution. Had a great country. Who's been down be humble. I've been read my favorite bible verse. Give me the ability. To make sound decisions when i gather my people. That's what we need to do in the group. For about an hour and a half. Did i walk out. Play let me go in and out to the crowd. So we had a constitution. Elizabeth. A lady named mary powell. Doctor franklin god bless you. What kind of country did you give a monarchy. Our republic. Republic. If you can make it. Control. Would be. Clara barton. The most empowering person i probably ever met my life and john adams. That's quite hard to do. 16537 north of boston decatur farmers. A puritan. Congregational church. He went to harvard university. Graduated 14th and. A24. His rank. Academically with number one. Play rankin-bass. A. Spell complexion. That wasn't one of your resolutions never to speak. Australia. I told jonathan. Negotiation. Is listening. Listening. Stop working so hard. You never understood the french people. It was a spend. In france if you were busy it was very bulger. John adams. Call you lacey. Call me lazy. What happened i would spend midnight. Trying to get money from people. How about the early bird gets the worm. My good friend. Where did jesus get into your personal theology. 3 weeks before. How to dye repair. I do not know. Button free week or later i'll be able to tell you. Negotiate. Concrete for money from the prince. 85% of the world. Why was in negotiations to doing that. John adams band. Flashlight. My wife complain because she saw. Play beyonce. The man did not understand. He was practicing his religion. When the president understand they had no respect for him and faithful. Patriots. I will go down in history as the greatest one that ever lived. Trace accomplishments. The constitution. The first person in the country. Your greatest disappointment. My greatest disappointment of failure. Magazine. But my greatest failure in life was that as a father. I gave my kids everything they ever wanted everyday they originated the best school. New jersey. Then we had to go to war with england. When should i choose the king. Father. And i get to be called i gave him too much. Any. Oh steve. I was there as a lobbyist. Scribbled. Crown. What was the rating for two and a half hours. Call william nelson. He told me i was bad i was terrible. country was bad. There's nobody there educated they couldn't believe it's been accepted. As a british subject. Has an american lawyer. In the period when i was in england. I went to england. Workout. I know. Weather. No just for show. The prince was the first man to carry purses. Anything else. Franklin. Better. In fact. Mywit was known for welcoming. Write the declaration. Oh you're jacked. Is it. I don't think anybody could crazy. To change for the better of the country i would say yes. Thank you jack dawson one. God was apollo. Experiments. I was not the first one to prove it. It was proven by prince children. In fact i was waiting on the north church to put the hospital where i was going to cry. Play built the tower about 19. 18 piece. And they were the first one to really. Craigslist electricity. Even though. And your name is. No. You need to get my. In fact. But i believe that women should have the right. Maybe not. Another thing that i'd like to say your address. We will. I really felt displays were inferior i felt a funeral for him.. Then one day i said doctor rush come with me come with me i got to show you something cool. Barely work. The headmaster said the same level. Completely. I want out. We start an abolition to abolish slavery. My daughter. Are you. Yes play music. I'm wondering how. Connect.. About my stock exchange laws in the country fried country. 12. Goodwin statement did not sign. Because i didn't feel about it. Dr. rush. What's this song about. Standing the test of time. We're all about liberty. If you understand democracy. Alarm. From beyond the grave. That we might. Learn more about you. Good question. 7 / 400. Recommend. Breaking site free storage brea pharmacy. Autobiography. Do you really want to get real quick. Login information. Proper swimming. My wife was named deborah reed. Spell terje. We are at a time but would you like to is there a final thought you would like to leave. Weather.

universityuus_org

SS2006-04-02-Person&SocietalWisdom.mp3

Our speaker this morning is copthorne macdonald. He's a writer independent scholar former systems engineer. Kia has written three books that deal with the aspects of wisdom but actually a total of 7 books all together. And over 130 articles reviews and columns. He's going to speak to us this morning. On a personal and societal wisdom some thoughts on their nature and development please welcome copthorne macdonald. Thank you gretchen finance reduction. I really appreciated the earlier. Reading from. The book of wisdom. Phone and. I was not familiar that i really enjoyed that a lot. It's great to be here. This morning i want to share with you some. Thoughts about the nature. And it's cloth shoot socio-cultural wisdom. There will be some overlap between this talk and the longer one i'll be giving on wednesday evening at rollins college. Should you be interested in the role that colleges and universities could play in wisdom development. You might also want to attend that talk. I won't be getting into that subject today. Mister with personal wisdom. Real life situation some fat face reality. What do those facts mean. And what's the best thing to do about that. Wisdom answer is the meaning question by looking at the situation from a variety of helpful perspective. Dancers the action question. By bringing wise values into the decision-making process. Germany these helpful perspectives or wise ways of scene. Are also many wise values. And why is people these basic building blocks. The wisdom combined and various ways. To create an array of wise attitude. And wise ways of being. And because the mix of characteristics differs from person to person. Heatwise person's wisdom. Has a distinctive character flavor. Keep personal wisdom is internal. Embodied by persons. Words of wisdom arise from it. Mice behavior arises from it. Socio-cultural. But wisdom itself is not its products. Rather it is a mode of cognition. When the couple's relevant intellectual knowledge was some important perspective. Interpretations and values. Wisdom is a kind of methanol attached. That helped us make better sense of the rest of our knowledge. Aristotle differentiated between two varieties of wisdom. When having a practical everyday life focused. The other an existential metaphysical focus. I would have a third variety. Wisdom tooth has an activist change the world focus. Life centered wisdom is an information-processing modality in which everyday situations are evaluated. Multiple perspectives. Multiple contextual points of view. Howard gardner road. The defining characteristic of wisdom is the breadth of considerations taken into account when rendering a judgment or recommending a course of action. Common evaluative context include the pragmatic will this work. What are the consequences. Assistant with my goals. Part of the problem or part of the solution. Does this represent excellence. Is action needed. There many others including a variety of catholics morality and justice related context. Big picture existential wisdom is a variety the eastern spiritual practices help to develop. Rational evaluation is still enough. That's because the goal is insight into both the informational aspect of reality. Ideas for man appearance. And the nun informational aspect. Being spirit. Energy awareness. Eastern practices developing harness the psychological modalities of intuition and identification. These modes of cognition potentially allow us to see beyond the transient to the eternal. Beyond maya to brahmin. Beyond form to the carrier of form. Activists wisdom starts with a well-developed foundation of personal wisdom. But the wise person who wants to change the world adds to that foundation and experiential understanding of the situation. Through reading and direct experience the explore-the-world problematique that matrix of interconnected problems the world faces. Why is activist then focus on some limited part of it. Changing it for the better. The embracing of high or superior values as a hallmark of wisdom. People. First they can provide illuminating slams on the data of life. Second season making process toward wiser decisions. Brain processes and their values work together to make our decisions and control our behavior. In much the same way that a computer's hardware and software work together. Make the computers decisions and control its outputs. Bring us the hardware river behavioral control system. The elements in red constitute the heart of the software. They work together to make our decision. Information about the immediate situation senses. Brain also has access to memories of other situations. Part of the process is our hierarchy of internalized values. Ways we don't yet understand the break brain takes these informational elements. Enterprise had a response to the situation. A decision to act in some particular way. Her not to act at all. Play a central role in all this is a bag. Rodger sperry who you may recall won a nobel prize for split brain research put it this way. Human values can be viewed objectively as universal determinants in all human decision-making. All decisions boil down to a choice among alternatives of what is most valued. For whatever reasons. And i've determined by the particular value system that prevails. I would add a corollary superior values the values of the wise. Produce. decisions and superior behavior. What are those superior values. Their many lists and on the wisdom page section with my cop.com website. There's a document that contain several of here we're going to look at just one. The self-actualizing an ego transcendence and maslow's reports on their behavior in mindsets. Tell us a lot about the nature of wisdom in the values that underlie. Maslow self-actualization focused on concerns outside of themselves. They like solitude and privacy more than the average person. Pretended to be more detached unordinary. Family. Expectations and dictates of their culture. Sirena directed people. 3 creative to and appreciated the world around them with a sense of awe and wonder. Love relationships they respected the others individuality. Choi at the other successes. I gave more love than most people in needed less. The screen is a set of values that were central to their lives. Nashville called them the bean values or b values. Early this morning alan nordstrom sent me a poem which fits very nicely here and. He attributed to a poet named barnaby grudge. The poem is entitled wisdom. What is this thing we wisdom call. And act it is nothing at all. Choose to do that which will bring the happiest of everything to everyone. Is wisdom saying. That we do not. Is our shame. Find word about values before we move on. In my comments about values i've been referring to a person's deep down internalized operational values. These are not necessarily the same as a preferred person's professed days. Internalized values reveal themselves in behavior. Professed values may only be there in words. Understand what values are really in control we can work back from behavior. Prone behavior. And that of other people. Pleasing to us or not. There it is. The twitter attention down to socio-cultural wisdom. Societal institutions corporations. Political systems. Economy's ngos are purposeful entities. Exist to perform certain functions and behave in certain ways. That behavior is directed by values. Those values are typically a combination of. Personal values of the people who created the institutions in the first place. Values of the people who currently run them. And values compose from outside such as laws enacted by governments and the interpretation of those laws by corpse. Some institutions were imbued with wise values at their founding. Sober co-opted later. When the drafters of the us constitution and bill of rights for some very wise people. That wisdom was reflected in the governmental structures. But they create it. Anticipate. Every possible happening or built into the constitution every possible protection. Is early as the 1860 lincoln warned about the control that big money could exert over the government. As it's clearly happened in the years since then. Economies are another example. Comments were created as societal subsystem. Provision people. Croupier had more of some good than it needed and a traded the excess group be for a different card. Provisioning function hasn't disappeared. But today's economy is near institution superimposed other purposes on top of the original one. Making a lot of money for a small group of people has become the primary purpose. Benefits to society. Are secondary. The economic tale now wags the societal.. Doesn't have to be this way. Governments can be configured to serve the many instead of the few and the original purpose of economies can be restored. Am i view a wisdom base society would be one in which many of the high values that guide the lives of lies people would also guide societies institutions. Mongols value cody truth. Honesty justice cooperation. Peace compassion. Universal well-being. Creativity and comprehensive knowledge. These values for being planted in the institutional systems in ways that insured. Far as possible lies institutional behavior. Liberty safeguards in place to ensure that those values. Would be maintained on into the future. Going to move shortly to the development of personal wisdom but first i'd like to touch in the back and forth relationship between the personal. And the societal. Starts with personal wisdom. It's a societal institution ends up being guided by wires values is almost certain. Certainly because wise people designed them in. So there's a creative movement from wise people to wise institution. But it also works in the other direction. Why is societal institutions. Support and encourage the development of wisdom. An individuals. Free we've got a situation where. Everybody starts from zip. And always. We just. Wisdom is that we end up with at the end of our lives his pill gradually over over the length of time and everybody starts. Out. I'm a pace of relative unw. Our institutions however. To carry. It's their wisdom. On from generation to generation and if we. Had a wiser society we could. Supporting foster. Development of wisdom. Pretty run in people's lives. Become wiser people we can develop the characteristics of wisdom see relative perspectives or excuse me relevant perspectives values. An intellectual knowledge and incorporate them into our lives. We can do this on purpose we just. Don't have to wait to see if it happens. Now it's a tools. To help us do that. This talk is a brief introduction to the subject back in 1995 i started the wisdom page ww.com. And if you're interested in digging further into the subject. Are there you can find links to many free resources concerning wisdom as. What was information about helpful books. Audio and video materials. Becoming a wiser person is an exercise and energy development and there are activities that can help us along the way. Counseling and other forms of psychotherapy can if we need them help us reach the starting point for more advanced work. Which we might call responsible adulthood or mature ego. Person at this stage is free of psychoses and crippling neuroses. Emotional control and empathy to an ordinary degree. I'm sure you know there are many forms of therapy and including life management counseling. Therapies to help us get over feeling fears. When's the telpa's manage anger. Others that help us get over compulsions. An addictions and still. Gilmore. Reading about energy development can be very helpful for anyone who wants to become wiser. To go beyond normal healthy adults who invented. Starting point for advanced work. Many people turn the writings that discuss the further reaches of human development. Such writings intern lead us to do-it-yourself practices. Minecrafting practices self-knowledge practices eagle transcending practice. And1 this realization practices. Reading about these things can help us understand them and perhaps motivates us to try them. But reading is not the substitute for the practices themself. Novels and biographies are valuable resources for the development of practical wisdom cuz they present us with countless examples of wise and unwise behavior. Skillful and unskillful handling of life situations. Biographies of lies people can be especially helpful. How does their behavior differ from ordinary. What values guide their lives. Perspectives and interpretations of live life situations have they made you suffer. Those would like to develop existential metaphysical spiritual wisdom. Throw spiritual literature is obviously amazing. Vital intellectual resource. There's also an extensive literature on specific go see for yourself spiritual practices. Practices that. Take the practitioner to deeper levels of understanding the reading ever can. Also helpful in developing the big picture of you are books that deal with a nature of mental and physical reality. Cosmos neverlution. 1p effective change agents then we need to select resources relevant to the kinds of change we are trying to bring about. Among the possibilities are the new disciplines including the sciences of complexity. Cosmos slide evolution. Human brain mine system. Important for many would-be. Learning more about human cultures economic systems in the biosphere. I'm general importance is an understanding of ethics and techniques for changing out the whole perspectives. Probability is a decision-making tool. Techniques of conflict resolution ineffective persuasion. Information on current transformational activities. We are open to learning life itself.. Having many and varied life experiences obviously teaches us more. Not only need the structural iso that we have many kinds of experience. We also need an open curious inquisitive appreciative mental stamps. We get the most out of whatever experiences we have. Getting to know people with different skills outlook and values. Keeping a different kinds of work. Taking a variety of hobbies. All these things and rich are life and potentially takis. Further down the wisdom development path. Hanging out with people who are already living the values we like to make our own can be most helpful. Where do we find such people. Right here for one thing. Groups that focus on personal growth and doing good in the world. Groups such as unitarian universalist. Quakers buddhist. Are my view a bear 5th. Local and online discussion and activist groups are another possibility. Some of these focus on psychological and spiritual growth. Others focus on various social issues. We could experiment movie find groups of feel right. People all around us are struggling to upper-level their lives. Some skillfully and successfully. How is very unskillful and unsuccessfully. World literature and films prevent us with countless additional life stories. What we learn from them. We pick out strategies and behaviors that work and those that don't. Can we start to send some of it general laws of life behind the specifics. Can we learn to pay attention to our own behavior. Become aware of the underlying values. Coming clear about the values we would like at the center of our lives the values we want to make truly our own in deep and powerful way is the first step. The challenge then is to move these values from our head to our guts. In psychological terms we must internalized them. So that they are not merely nice thoughts. But actually guide our behavior. Doing this takes effort and during one of his trips to north america the dalai lama gave an example. Of what we need to do. He spoke to an audience about the need for everyone to internalize that. Key value of wisdom. Compassion. His advice to those who wanted to develop compassion. To put themselves in challenging situations. And then fight the natural reluctance to do so. Behave compassionate. But making the effort to engage in value-based action again and again and again we eventually internalized the value. Brushing the value in action. Gradually takes less and less effort. Child becomes part of our outlook. Part of our natural way of being. Pretty cool we are. In our culture we fill our waking hours with discursive thinking. Think about that. Think about the future we plan to solve problems. Wisdom however defend demands we spend a lot of time paying attention to what's happening in our immediate situation. Body awareness practices such as hyphae yoga tai chi phi pasta meditation. Leaving many sports can help us break the mind-tripping habit. Cholesterol mention of definitely not the least. Meditation. Fact meditation is generally considered to be the most. Powerful single tool for developing wisdom. Psychologist jane love endures research produced a 9 stage scale of psychological development. The terms to use for the two highest ages are autonomous and integrated. It turns out that less than 2% of the general adult population has managed to reach these two top categories. Whoever for people who've had a meditation practice going for several years. The numbers 38%. Meditation retreats of 7 to 10 days duration are especially helpful. This graphic may help get the idea cross. Couple left we have. The noisy mind situation. Pure quiet awareness is there as the substrate of the mine but it is modulated by a lot of high-intensity information. Squats sensations emotions excetera. At the right the graphic depicts the the quiet mind. This is not sleep. The person is highly alert and aware but the quantity and intensity of mental information is way down. The transitional slope between one state and the other. Text what happens during the first three or four days of a meditation retreat. Shaquita going from a noisy mind to a quiet mind is paying attention to something settle. Fly. Simply because we can't think discursive lee and pay close attention at the same time. We tried to tell ourselves to stop thinking. Forget it's not going to work. We can do this alternative thing which is to pay attention and then gradually slowly. Mine gets more quiet. Turns out that we spend several days paying attention to settle bodily sensations like. Those arising in the nostrils when we breathe. Notarizing his feet and legs when we walk. Mine gradually shift from habitual noisiness to eventual quietude. Usually takes three or four days of diligent morning tonight effort in a supportive environment in order to do this. Once you enter the quiet mind mode. Interesting things start to happen. Once. He'll become more sensitive to your surroundings. For the mine quiet many people find themselves looking at the natural world around them with a new sense of wonder. And insights may arise about our relationship to nature in the cosmos. And when the mind is quiet that begins to happen in a serious way. Normally way identify strongly with the bizzy buzzy mine content that constitutes the melodrama of our life. We see this unfolding informational story as me. The mind is quiet however we have a certain detachment. We are no longer overwhelmed by massive amounts of mine content and i'm not so identified with what remains. We're going to see how her mind works. May eventually get a glimpse of food. I really am. Quiet mind also opens the door to the subconscious. Middle quiet since the barrier that exists between conscious and subconscious mental processes. Messages from our subconscious a better able to bubble up in the consciousness we met. Start to see things about ourselves we are never conscious of the four things that we've been pushing out of awareness. Improve creativity is another benefit of quieting the mind. You're quiet mine conditions the intuitive process has created musically able to communicate effectively. For the intellect and the global work space of the mind. The number of aha. Eureka. Experiences goes up. This is not too surprising when we think of the number of artists and writers who. Find solitude essential for significant work. Another plus when the mind is quiet insights was just the perspective can occur. We suddenly applying new interpretive framework to the same old facts. To see things in a dramatically different way. I discussed still more benefits of meditation in my books. Toward wisdom in matters of consequence. Can i put some of this information online. Wisdom paige also has. Links to information concerning meditation retreats. Thank you all for being so attentive and if you have questions i guess now's the time. Yes. Thank you i have two questions but i'll hurry 32 respect i'll just ask one. Define that wise people. That your study to read about or perhaps. Even in your own experience are by-and-large happier. Absolutely. Didn't mention it to her i will be mentioning it in me to rollins talk but. For a long time. Get off elif everybody's radar including philosophers and scholars and institutions but since 1980 there been. Number of. Scholarly studies of meditation and one which was done by a. Woman psychologist at the university of florida on. Last name i think it's are dealt in the. Chi. Dealing with older women and she develop an instrument to try to. Measure wisdom which is another whole whole big problem that. Academia is dealing with at the moment you know who is wise and who is wise but anyway if swimming her. Her. Testing scheme head have some validity. She founded the. Correlation. With life satisfaction. Are these older women. The greatest for. The greatest correlation with wisdom. Who is greater than material well-being or even health. So. And i guess that's my answer your question then you know as i've. Tried to move along with. I think there is a place. Particularly if you follow the. Some of eastern practices where you realize that. Our happiness. Is not. We're taught that is dependent on external. And you know you get get stuff and. Get wealthy and all this kind of stuff and then you're. Happy but. There is a. Deep kind of joy that. I am. You know fundamental happiness. You can find the place i mean it's right there in that awareness. Trying to get rid of that crap. And i can get. Get down to that. Area you can. Realize this is this is a very very nice place to be and you. This. Yeah this is something we. We're not taught in our culture and she started have to. No, i'm trying to find it for yourself but there's. There's a way to live. Liver the kind of enjoy that. That external. Dolphin dollar. Out there anything else. Transcendence. The information circumstances of our life. One word that i noticed was missing. Baby from your talk and i'm a little curious. That is mythology. Associated with wisdom now unitarians 10 i think i shouldn't generalize too much mate maybe the group that i've met here. 10 to dismiss and run from mythology they've had enough of it in some of the churches that they belong to in the past. They see it as hocus-pocus stuff the 15-hour just don't want to deal with here we want to deal with fact we want to deal with rationality those are the important things and yet. One of our unitarian ministers connie barlow. Has written the book green space green time and she has interviewed numerous scientist. And one of the conclusions that they've come to our one of the things they've stated. Is that one of a person like you. Are her off person of scholarship in academia. Speaks to. An audience. About wisdom an audience perhaps not as sophisticated. The communication sometimes falls off without the use of metaphor. And without. The intervention. Of mythologies. Because those. Large words loose a sophisticated talk philosophical concepts and so on her hard perhaps for maybe. Hey midwest farmer to grasp so what role in allen knows that very well who's here so. Certainly to his poetry i think he tries to reach such a variety of people what place does mythology have in wisdom talk. Stewart. Well. It's really next my question and the. And all the farmer. In the midwest. Made. Find. The mythology of his local church. Answers is need and the. And all the sermons to. I'd be more loving and caring and so forth. Mace. Do what resonates with him and was able. Mccrory. Joseph campbell. I'm sure you all know know about. And i'm sorry sorry joseph campbell who's. Famous birthdays. Sure was a thousand faces. Yeah the hero's journey. Feels that. All this great. Mythology which he. Detox talks about in those books. These stories are all. Heading towards. The deepest kind of spiritual understanding but. They're all. Metaphors of this. To identification with the all are the one. And i can remember him. Talking about those those who make it to live in the. Greenfield's or something like that. poetic expression which i've forgotten but. And there. Is an attempt to. Why some people such as brian swim to. Use the creation of. Universe and the earth the whole evolutionary process as a. Pneumatology that would have great benefits for. For humanity if we can identify. Witness to the larger process than maybe we'll stop being so stupid. From trying to understand what's been going on. And then using that as my guiding. Getting this fear i'm not drawn to any of the. Any particular. I think there's a. Okay. Coming straight lining. Company coming on the graph straight line. Higher power. Is it raining. Absolutely. I spoke. Of mine. Minecraft b and. Art culture. Reinforces the habit of the noisy mind. If we go go on a. Meditation retreat of 7 or 10 10 days. We can approach this this quiet mine state and i did one retreat of three months and my mind got more require more. Probably come back into the ordinary world. Yes the mine gets noisy. But let me make a couple of comments. First of all. I'm sorry yeah i i said i didn't need it to be wired by hang in there. The. When you come back from a retreat is very interesting experience because. You see. The noisiness that other people are experiencing the. The cast of everyday life the. You just see a lot of really interesting stuff that you you never were aware of before you. You went away on one of these retreats and. More insight into everyday life and there's some aspects of it you may decide that you don't. You'd rather keep. Also. I found in many other people found that. Just one retreat conservative. Open the door to make you want to do more that the experiences. Difficult. Ping. For that 3 or 4 days beginning of retrieve. I mean you you're trying to pay attention to the rest of the sensations address. Omega-3 breast in your mind. Consultant. Constantly having to bring the attention back. Back to the saddle sensations and that's not fun. Having my first retreat id. Said it was the hardest thing i ever did. The most reward. Is hard-working. Spider-man phantom many after that and. Anyway what's what other questions do we have. Steve asked you to relate your talk to mythology. And i certainly think that's appropriate because when you talk about the hero's journey. It is after all a journey. Fart into the inner mind and to self-realization in that kind of thing. But i would also wonder about. The fact that you might want to relate your talk to the lives of some of the great mystics. Because after all achieving the quiet mind is is what mysticism attempts to do. Animistic of course is trying to find some identification with what you might call of the great whole of reality or one this earth. Something of that kind and finally. It seems to me that. Henry david thoreau is being recognized more and more everyday for. Something that he taught us which we haven't really fully understood yet. Many people regard thorough as a kind of. Crank who lived. Off to himself. On some land was owned by emerson and so forth. But i think the roe has a great deal to teach us about. Divesting ourselves of those distractions of daily life which you've talked so much about. Is absolutely necessary to achieving any kind of quiet mind. And there is a very excellent article in the latest issue of harper's. Work disobedience is in the title and it has to do with the row. Not only in regard to his mystical model that he set for us. But also. His concept of our being. Disobedient to those things in this life which we don't want to have any part of. For example he says you may not do this in my name he's talking about such things as the iraq war. You may not do this in my name and i will i will remove myself from this society. In order not to be a part of that. Yeah very very interesting comments and. There are. We all know people who have psoriasis eardley. No people who have made those kinds of life decisions and just. And i think that's. Part and parcel with this advancement in wisdom however we do it to get to a point where 40 was where he saw. Call eddyville. Aaron skillfulness cylon skillfulness or whatever you want to call it then. Thanks but no thanks. Thank you.

universityuus_org

SS2007-01-21-YoungAdultsUUUS_CampusMinistry.mp3

And now we will have our presentation from liz coupler who's the coordinating. U.s. young adult group. Pardeeville rally rally who has eight years of chemistry experience and reanna garcia president of the towels at ucf. One of the things that i. Think a lot about anne and i'm deeply committed to is finding ways to. To have persons of all ages maintaining unitarian universalist identity. The college and graduate school year is her particularly complicated in that regard. Because we don't have effective campus ministries on upon any but a few of the largest campuses. And we don't have ways for folks to maintain their identity as unitarian universalist. Perhaps as an association of congregations we have forgotten a little bit about our heritage and campus ministry. And. Perhaps forgotten a little bit of our prophetic voice in some ways of the young adults who have carried this movement. And. To begin to reclaim that and to begin to celebrate that. And supporting campus ministry again. To me it seems where the vision is is being held right now and being it held in the the hands and hearts of many young adults and students. And many administrators many congregations it is happening again and i'm just honored to be along for the ride and be able to be a part of it. Right now in our thinking our congregations there's not an expectation that youth go on and continue to be universalist. Mess that gets spread that people leave when they're 18 and that's fine. And that they wander and that's what people should do and then they come back when they have. Children's take a lot of people probably assume that college students aren't interested in religion. Had a wonderful time where you're confronting the world on your own terms. For the first time. Which raises a whole host of questions is. Really ministry that gives young people who are in a lot of transition in their lives a place a solid foundation through which to explore their spiritual needs and growth. Within a time of great change. That. of and life is a. when young people are trying to figure out who they are try to understand their identity as separate from their identity as a part of the family of origin is a. of love intense reflection. And experimentation. Which leads to. The ongoing formation of the person. We probably confront five of the eight most important decisions were ever going to make a narc hirelive to be questions about sexuality questions about jobs and careers questions about joining the military or not joining military. This is probably the most important time for there to be a church community of people different ages intergenerational the encounter on the in go to that question people have similar values. You know most most. Boulder unitarian universalist understand their faith is a real blessing in their lives but our faith actually comes with some responsibilities. It's hard to claim that you're a universalist. And say that you don't care about certain groups of people. It's hard to add to claim that that you're interested in the responsible search for truth and meaning. And not the interested in persons who are in their most intense. of that search for truth and meaning and trying to discern their own spiritual path. I actually don't have much. Patience. With that with folks who don't understand their unitarian-universalism to call them. Reach out. To all people. The reason i'm still committed to having a campus ministry as part of this church is that i really feel like churches need to be there for all ages if they don't i don't think it's really a church where that i came in with and that were broken and one of them is and nurture our students and young adults that you know they'll stick around being our congregations later and well i think that's a valid it's certainly not the reason to do campus ministry and the reason to do campus ministry and a student is the one who taught me this. Is that. Listings in young adults. Need ministry now. This idea came from reverend donna tullo who was working at the time and that you use a office for an adult and campus ministry and donna said to me that. And worship. When she does worship with students and young adults it's. A place where. They can take paws. As a place where their soul catches up and that has stayed with me and i watch that happened here in madison every thursday evening i hear that and what they the students young adults are saying i love you to come here and then they say i'm so glad i'm here because i'm all here. And that's why. Ida campus ministry. Get together every other weekend. Dick s and hang out and see how everybody's doing and. I'm just have a time when we can set everything else aside from our busy lives and. I'm not worried about homework and not worry about everything else that's going on and just relax and. We met every week on tuesday nights. And we met certain formerly it was kind of half discussion half worship feel. One of the things that i appreciate it so much about that space. Was he able to talk. It was really a chance to share in the setting with people who had similar values. As me about some of the questions that i was confronting in the classroom. Or in the school community. And maybe even to decide if we wanted to do something about it together. I find a lot of fantastic leaders really good leaders with great skills from computer skills to political skills to inside to dynamic facilitation skills and all different kinds of. I think that they offer young leaders with a lot of energy new ideas. Octonauts remarkable thing. That so many of the leaders of the unitarian universalist institutions today. Became unitarian universalist and had their formational unitarian universalist experience as either youth for young adults. Many of them on college campuses. Unitarian universalist messages particularly relevant to college students because of the of the time of life that they're in really questioning their identity and their relationship to the world and basically sticking out truth-seeking out what their truth is going to be in what truth is. Campus ministry. Offers young people an opportunity to look at these various ideas that they're learning about on a college campus and filter them through a theological tradition and a heritage. A freedom of thought. Reason tolerance and a number of other really important values i think unitarian-universalism staving message that's a huge recruiting tool and i think unitarian universalism is more relevant in today's world maybe than it ever has been and it just kind of young adults out there. Rnr. Our counterparts. Amarillo just right. Are on campuses right now saying you have questions we have easy answers. And we need to be right next to them saying. You have questions so the way. I think one exciting thing that's happening right now is that congregations are realizing that this kind of outreach ministry is very important. And they're getting involved. Coordinator. For the union raisman littleton campus ministry office. Responsible. For supporting organizing and envisioning the campus ministry work that is happening. There are three basic things that we want churches to be working on that a starting campus ministry. The first is to begin keeping a list or a database of the student. The 2nd. Is to begin making a plan of action for that school term a calendar of events several public opportunities are meetings for students to come together. And the third is to consider hosting a workshop for campus ministry. But we can offer a trainer or a teacher to come in to do a one-hour or a one-day workshop for your church. Carrabba's have federal grants available. We have the feeling of fun. The grants of up to $2,000 to bring a speaker to campus to promote unitarian-universalism in your campus ministry program. We have the cap of corrugation connection grant. Which is designed to help congregations establish offended student leader for lay leader from the church. To organize and coordinate campus ministry. And finally we have a small grants program. Fines of up to $500 to help your church and your campus ministry do activities new programs retreat. A special events are taking some financial responsibility. To support these groups. But they're welcoming and just letting people know that they would like to have people who are 18 19 20 21 22. Graduate students. In their midst. And that they're not looking at these people skeptically because they know that there are transitional members of the community i think the most important thing that i've learned the real importance of the contact between the home church the local congregation and the campus ministry group. Now that you've seen that nice video and now that you have a few ideas of trust. What. The appeal of having a campus ministry program is for congregation and four students walking around on ucf campus. I would like to invite you to turn to the person closest to you. And discuss two questions. One is how would this particular fellowship society congregation whatever you want to call it would benefit from a campus ministry program. And how would you be able to contribute. To that program. Powerful feeling right there okay. If i could just invite any of you who are willing to share some of what you discussed with your neighbor i would appreciate that. The mic is coming around. Virginia and i had an in-depth discussion on this point. It turns out that my wife and i are both ucf students. And. We are of course within a stone's throw of the university with have something like. 40 to 50,000 students. And several thousand faculty members. And it's more of a question what are we currently doing to. Recruit a few of those. People for our church. I guess i'm surprised that we don't have more. Representation from the college coming through here. That's a good question and part of the answer is going to be covered by rihanna. We are in the formation stages. We have to compete with campus crusade for christ and all of the other radical right organizations see if they're 17 other christians. Really christian organizations on campus we have. Organization represented in. One jewish and one islamic. So we have to come back all of that kind of christian influence i mean there's. Circuit features on the 3-speed screen at least once a week. I'm an art equipment process is going to be standing next to them with campsites going if you don't like him talk to us it's information we have a few names of that later. I turned to scott to. During the discussion. and ask him. If there was any coordinator of campus ministry on the ucf campus now. My memory may be failing me in some ways but if i'm not mistaken in the early days of the university there was such a coordinator. And i think part of the reason for that is that the original president of ucf. What which was originally called. Ftu florida technological university. The original president was charlie milliken who had been a baptist minister. Before he became the head of the business college at university of south florida and tampa and then came here as president of the university. But at any rate if if my memory does serve me correctly a man by the name of pat powers who still in the community i think he might be. Minister at the congregational church at rollins right now even though his original background was catholic. But anyway. I would have that question for those of you who are attending ucf now is there a coordinator. Secondly is there. Does the university provide any kind of space where. People who are interested in forming of campus ministry can meet. As many of you know at the university of florida on university avenue across from the campus there have been for many years. Buildings built by various churches that are meant to cater to the students and to offer campus ministry to them. I know we don't have anything like that at ucf. But. Does the university offer to provide any space is their coordinator those are questions that i would have. Hi i'm scott and i thought that perhaps if you needed transportation i could throw a couple of you in the trunk and drive you around. I mean on sunday only and only for religious things not forget i'm terrible things. Hi i did this for number of years and university of delaware football congregation decide. The things we found everything. Successful transportation. To come to church. We provided i'm meeting place at like 2. Phone number. A lot of times. And we're right here so close to campus is certainly something we should do. Hi my name is james i'm not up there right now because i'm only in town for a couple of weeks so i didn't have time to put anything together and i won't be around long enough to do anything about it. But as i was once told by a woman who is very active in campus ministry. Campus ministry is done not because the church benefits but because it's the right thing to do as the rest of religion is done. Okay it looks like that's all of our participation for now but i want to introduce rianna garcia she is going to be the president of talus which is the name of our campus ministry program at ucf. She's going to go over just kind of. What we've done so far on the campus and of creating this organization. Hi everyone as well said my name is rihanna garcia. And this is jesse sloan if he is will be the vice president along with me. Search alice and just a review of a couple things we've done lately. We've started recruitment for new members. And mainly what we've done is because we're trying to form an organization is we've gone to the free speech green. We passed out pamphlets and cards with the church's number and the seven principles of unit. Unitarian universalism. And we submitted our constitution and currently were up for review. And the next few weeks we should have a response from a sitting government as if we can become a religious organization. Jesse will be speaking about our sponsor and some of our upcoming activity. But i'm a little bit more well-versed in the process because i've already started a religious club on campus we had night circle coming here use your space for a while we thank you for that of course you have to submit a constitution that they approve you have to obtain 12. And i have a good enough gpa. And will volunteer to actually participate and come to meetings. So that'll have to be in place which it is at the moment. And we submitted everything and she said so we're being reviewed. The other core. Component is faculty support you need an on-campus person who's a full professor. Who will sign off and say you know yes i am responsible for the behavior of this club. The person we found fornite circle the neo-pagan club. He's also the same person who's going to be backing chalice the new club. Her name is claudia schiffer. Dr. claudia shepherd. And just a quick thing about her. This is from her basic biography on her website. 2001. And she also directs the religious studies program at ucf. Dr. shippers research interests are in the areas of american cultural studies. Religions in america. Feminist and queer theory. Feminist ethics. And comparative roaches two bodies and sexualities. Her research focuses on theoretical approaches to american religion and culture as explorer through the lens of gender and sexuality. Doctor schiffer completed her graduate work at temple university in philadelphia. Where she received her phd in religion along with a graduate certificate in women's studies. Participation. Transgressive bodies queer attucks cross-disciplinary conversation about resistance. Explore the questions of agency. And practical resistance. At the intersection. Christian feminist liberation ethics in the emerging discourse of queer theory mouthful. The central focus of all her research is the body. How bodies are discursive we constructed and religious traditions as well as in american culture and how popular culture and various media affect representations and practices of bodies. And how these questions can be pursued. In ways to call attention to the role of gender race sexuality and comparative society. As a personal note i i've had many conversations with her and just being the faculty contact for the other club. She's very very open-minded person she's also the faculty sponsor for i want to get the acronym correct. The gay lesbian bisexual and transgender student union which is the thriving group on campus i believe their national so they have national money coming in. But she just a very open-minded person and she's going to bring a hands-off approach. She's like you know. You guys are form this club. And i'm going to let you take the reins completely and i i really think that's important and i told her this just recently that. Hi i'd very much appreciate that he gives us such a time. And i think that's rare. Depaul. And will feel more questions toward the end i know i have a an answer for you. They gave me the long-winded part i'm not sure why. I'mma start by saying that the congregation here has shown both openness and a commitment to intergenerational ministry. Expressed in our child care. Our children's religious education to wire uu ministry. And even went so far recently as to add the interdependence to other word intergenerational. To the congregations identity statement. And we also expressed in our new vision statement. That we want to have a vibrant campus ministry. From this congregation. It has been 19 months since we were successful at forming a vibrant young adult group in the congregation. That meets regularly for personal sharing and discussion. Mutual care and support. Spiritual exploration. And fun and games. The group is not only committed to sponsoring the annual may day and halloween festivities. But has planted the seeds of a larger second service. And of a uu campus ministry. Since last october. We have received training and materials from the un boston and the florida district. The south regional organization organizing consultant al andrea williams in tennessee. Has been particularly helpful. We have also started relationships and learn from campus ministry leaders in tallahassee. Gainesville sarasota. South daytona beach fort myers saint peter and saint peters. Petersburg. What are we doing now well as rihanna told you we're forming a student organization at ucf called chalice. We have an energetic and dedicated set of officers. Got the constitutions and a mission statement. The mission statement is based on the seven principles. None of this would have been possible. Without an inspiring group of young adults who desire to share the spiritually alive radically inclusive and justice center experience of being you young adult. So where do we go from here. Will continue to promote ourselves on campus by tabling collaborating with our home congregation but also working with foucault. We are passing on information and making up t-shirts. And so on. Lionel group will continue to sponsor a sunday service. And travis ucf will sponsor the more social events. Travis will join the alliance the alliance of liberal student groups at ucf. And we expected you'll see a lot more students here soon. So. As we talked about earlier what can the us congregation do. It is been great. Invaluable. In fact to have a place to meet. And it will continue to be crucial. The funding that the congregation gave us this year by putting us in the budget. Has also made so many things possible. And will continue to be the key to our success. The following actions. Would go a long way. Towards a successful campus ministry program over the long-term. First of the program committee could dedicate a sunday before high school graduation each year. For the bridging ceremony that welcomes are teens into adulthood. We could even do things like presenting abridging gifts and so on and so forth there's lots of ideas out there to do but that's a task for the program committee. The nominating committee could make every effort to have a member between the ages of 18 35 serve on the board every year. The social concerns committee could organize the delivery of home-baked goods in care packages to students during midterms and finals. Members and friends can invite the young adults and ucf students that they know to check out our group. Spread the word. The members concerns committee. Can send a letter providing the contact information of our young graduating high school students. To the congregation that is closest to the college campus that they'll be moving to. So that that new. Congregation can contact send their newsletter out in and build a bridge. In continuing that contact. The congregations dedication to justice and inclusiveness. Our commitment to the environment. To gender equality sexual orientation equality human rights. And essex cultural equality. End all forms of right relations. Is very important young people out there are looking. To make a better world and they are willing to be part of groups that are trying to do that already cuz i know they can't do it on their own. Sobek being true to ourselves and our values. We can truly be part of a successful campus ministry. Thank you. Does anyone have any questions. Steve hall. I wonder is there any reason. To coordinate some of your efforts with the other you you here which would be the first uu downtown is that already going on are they contribute anything's is well or how does that work. It's in the initial stages i've spoken with their incoming president on their board about it who is who is. Very positive about it. Hannah spoken with marni harmony the ministry over there and they're both. They shared some of their experiences what they were trying to do in the past. And i hadn't really 6 months wants something successful but they're willing to help give some support to something that is happening in the area especially if we have an eye towards. Expanding that you know when their direction there's no reason we can't start ucf and expand to rollins. I should just take one second and dress mr. flex earlier question. About reserving space there's a. Great amount of space available here that we've utilized before but there's also many rooms on campus that can be booked ahead of time. But only by student groups. Student groups are really the end. Because. We are exempt from any sort of fees of using ucf property. And that would cost money to the congregation if the congregation itself is trying to book a room and have a speaker of its own. But it would be free if it was a student club that was trying to do it. It's osi it's the office of student. And they basically regulate all groups and make sure that everyone has. Functional members those that are within the gpa limits. And they still have faculty sponsorship in and all the differences just starting the i's and crossing the t's. Youtube. I like it. I have a question. As chalice or a. Young adults group what kind of future goals do you have. What is paul said we're hoping that the social part will rest with chalice itself and the more religious part might be conducted at this or other locations. So i just think it would be invaluable for people to have a space. On-campus weekly meetings. Were they can air their concerns for just even participate. With other individuals. On social religious things like i thought so i'll be very interesting. When religiously oriented movies come out to all see them as a group and then have discussions about it later things like that. I was wondering whether there is a the information is available. To you. When incoming students do they have a on their application during what. Their religious preference was coming in that you could. I'm nine so to speak after you found you use on the list. I don't think we have access to that information but one of the things that's done in the first or second week of every semester is a club showcase. Where all the clubs to care to sign up on the big paper get to go out in front of the student union and promote themselves. And that's the time when it's going to be any the semester sonu freshman new students. Canby. Interested in getting involved. Can know you're out there. We also have a website that will be maintaining. So people surfing for ucf and you use will be able to find that. My understanding from somebody at the district is that we can get a list of students who markham cells is unitarianism. I would just like to jump in and add to cinnamon's question of. What campus ministry program. Is going to be doing for us we already have the only adult second service. But one of my concerns was that that was just kind of just it was it was a service. Kind of talk with each other i wanted more spiritual exploration for myself. Kind of a spiritual being constantly under construction and i want to explore that with a group of people. Better hopefully like-minded and if they aren't maybe they're open-minded. And. That would be the goal for me for the campus ministry group. I'm sorry to interrupt your question. I wondered if you had any connections with sda at this point maybe a senator who's onboard one of the ways to ensure funding in the passing of bills in that regard is having a connection with the senator who is like-minded i wondered if you've made any of those connections in if not i'd be glad to assist in this. Are your leadership friend. We currently haven't made any of those connections but i'd be happy to speak with you afterwards so we can make those. I know that campus ministries has a. For sure that list all the local churches in it. That anybody can get ahold of so that if they're looking for a faith community in the area that those things are listed in the past i know we haven't ever been listed on there as well as foucault hasn't. Been listed on there and i wonder if there's been any checking into how you get onto that i know it's through them campus ministry office but if there's a fee or anything like that. And the second thing i was thinking of. I'm having worked on the campus for 11 years is that a really viable way to get information out there would be an ad in the campus paper. I'm at the beginning of the semester maybe where people are doing those club showcases and i know that there's a fee associated with that but it would reach so many people. There's actually a newsletter that goes out. Two incoming freshmen i believe for its read mostly by incoming freshmen and that you can put an ad in if your student group free of charge. Just one more comment. In regards to the type of outfit we are. Is it possible to make known that we are open-minded here and that we are both atheist agnostic. And human is friendly. And that we welcome those sorts of people as well although i. Agree with your your talk about spirituality certainly as well. I used the term loosely. From your speech morality is not just about this kmart is being is floating around out there. It is more of an exploration of my inner self. And if that includes god or buddha or whatever then. That works too i mean i married to the pagan who's believed in. Multi deity so i mean. The reason for my comments to my attention the fact that apparently there's some an atheist group is also in the process of forming out there as well and some might not want to go into that they might want some. Orospot discussion about spirituality and religious views and organized religion. And the other thing that we hope to do as a promotional aspect it was funny trying to hand out just religious pamphlets to people. And i think one of my things that i said was i don't have a great pitch stuff we want to create t-shirts falls working on that we have a chalice symbol that we're working on and if we're all out there and we look like we're solid and we know what we're doing we would hope to go on the free speech green and engage people about spiritual conversations rather than just being dogmatic with them. So hopefully will draw people from a wide. Spectrum. We're about a couple weeks off from the t-shirts so they're coming up real quick but it was basically nailing down exactly what we wanted to stay on them front and back. And there's this. Basically along the lines of being radically inclusive open-minded deception things in open to yes. That whole cross spectrum which we are very well known for as a denomination.

universityuus_org

fldsj2004-gw_Rev_Jesch_Track%205.mp3

Good morning lunch hour. Is reverend catherine j title in. Project. All of the should be familiar kevin principal project also. And i think. The more regularly for the problem. Good morning. Take a deep breath after all that information. Evidence of climate change what it means to our. We didn't get very far talking about what it means for the rest of the world yet. About what. That's the part that's helpful. Brethren. Siri. Fortunately for me it's not my account. Quite well.. I just noticed my cat. Why. I'm enterprise. Hopefully i can prepare you to get to work. Why are you. And many of you are already getting to work. But hopefully we're going to get that work. Children and our grandchildren. Generation. I have a 4 year old grandson who lives in the pacific northwest. Surrounded by handsome uncle. Right now his life. Probably make a family values accident proud. But i worry. How healthy. Will they even have enough water. Let alone. There are lots of people around the world who don't. What is he going to think about how his parents and his grandmother. I've done to provide a good life for him. We are people with face aren't we. Try to live in the world. Grandpa was into projector. Right relate all the time. Critical. Blackhawk justice for all. We got to translate are thinking. Darby leaving. Individually. The last summer. Our plan is coronavirus again. Global warming. Still taking reservations for other conferences. So we are. Probably even higher than beer. It isn't enough. Or green for the sierra club. Elements of living our faith. Albert einstein once said the problem cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them. Spike lee wife. Different level of awareness. My account. Religious beliefs. Usually have ritual and aspiration. Africa orientation. Hallmark of religion. Religion can offer something beyond conventional self-insured. Religion where only. It would contain. Theology and an activist social movements religion have confronted equality and indexer witnessing to the new and arms are postal order. Provide the starting point the idea. The rationale for social movements. Organization. Visibly in the public sphere. Exactly ahead of the curve on it. We talked about it. Over-the-wire we have hair. Habitat. But we're starting to. Encourage and facilitate the dialogue between our congregations and in our community. Arby's realize local government. Local. Candida. Wheaton. Irene. We don't need that allows us to be creative and find a solution for each of our community. Environmental problems will not. Can i really believe. Global warming study acne. Ignoring global warming. Turn on social and economic and political. Moral value. Our participation. Respect and honor. Royal knight and all the life. Related word for earth requires that we understand spiritual connection with nature. In the world. Our relationship the other part. Science and technology. Religious morality. Individual. Father in the world. Human relationship. Evolution. Of course our seventh principle. Reminder for we're part of something larger than ourselves. Out of archaeology. Dark shadows. Printable calendar. Refusing. The challenges we confront. We are capable. Individual actions are important. Reminder. Give me. Some of you i know already know about. February. Replay program. Navigate to the earth. Individual. Started on it and i'll be happy to share more information about the process. Honoring worship. Religious education program. Call angel. For area. Kind of resources for. We are. I think we find. Rain park. Reality. Growing with example. We gathering. Community organization director park environmental problems in neighborhood. Conservation technology. They can do. Congregation. Weather for program. Challenge. Noble truths of buddhism. Hungry. The brokenness in the world. Where you working on prison reform. Going out in the world every day. The illusion of separation. Groupon denver. And global warming. According to philosopher rodger gottlieb. Food. They have a limited effect on economic. So how do we help you feel over overwhelmed. Reminder. All of our relationship. True value. Spiritual resources. Provide rio assistant. Romania. By developing a sense of play. Ocular lens date for location. I used to work in the forest service in the woods. I didn't know. Sing to good to be true. Everything in our world fires again. Hope lies in a recognition that there is more happening to our lives and we are aware of. Round globe. Call planet. Powerful story from all over the world. Children and our grandchildren. Nor does it come from. Become home because. Beautiful. Mount rushmore. Find volume. Close now. We have only begun. Desire. Vanguard. Our reality.

universityuus_org

SS2005-05-29-ConservationInAction.mp3

Florida. Parker boats. Market research. Michael. Thank you. Water conservation district. But i represent. Bertha mcclellan water board were formed as a result of the duckbill. Predominantly an agricultural country mod. Started on the federal level down to the state board and seminole county formed in 1947. Operator. However we're changing agricultural. Organization. Economically feasible with land prices where they're going in seminole county taking some action that will change i will get it a little bit more of that. Project. Rural boundary where the rural areas in pueblo county. More and more. Proceso. Rural areas of black hammer. Calling the property. Black hammock on lake jesup. Tell me about 16 miles. Virgin. Burn bulldoze pills and drain completely turned into tickets. Add celery there so it was a very popular agricultural product going back to the early 1900s in seminole county. Agriculture. Revert more to a natural state. Black hammock. The natural environment. Central florida. Where the university of pennsylvania. Central florida. First let me start with what the population. Central florida. 7200000. Now i'm going to have to vote. Area. New york. Or los angeles now can i see a picture of a new york subway. Angela. Somewhat famous for recommending always. None of the above that was my vote on that question is none of the above. The political will to accomplish. And that comes from you and taking the personal responsibility. 11 minutes. Our financial. Seminole. Grantsmanship. Educational gardens. Adopt-a-spot. Water-wise yard. Improvement. Education. We are researching the availability. Educational and community redevelopment project. We will incorporate. Our next program is our educational gardens program. Implanted. Students will have a selection of native in the garden design. Curriculum. We will develop. Our first garden. Put on the different types of plants. Information. Highlights. 70%. Is made of impervious material. One of our more enjoyable project. Which organization. Lake park area. Program. We look forward to integrating. 108. I'm here representing. Things to get it today. Program. One of our. In the program. These would include. Federal and state department. Incorporation. Review. And doctors and the public. It's an educational program. Our primary target audience. However slight modification program. We have a powerpoint presentation. The perfect place. Coronavirus. The black ariel. Agriculture. What prevention. And utilization. Preservation. Safety and general welfare of the people. Give us more. Education opportunity in government. For the first time. A group. Envirothon. Water conservation month. Water conservation. Conservation library. Recycling program. Regional studies. Incorporated. Our country. Did you know in 2004 the seminole any other. Awesome group of coupon. Briefly. That's what we do. Until april. Part-time person to work 20 hours a week. All of the supervisor at the very end we are electric not allowed to. For all of us. Thornton water board. Across the state of florida and across the nation. God. Supervisor of elections. About to pull in waterbury. Right before the election. They were reappointed. Qualified. Mission and mine. The other board board. Qualified that we were going to be. Never had one. Bored. A half hour before. Becoming on audible. Congratulation. Scrambling. The earlier and we were talking about. So i made the first mistake. Government employee. Take over the position in the files and. All variety of things like that and. I resigned obviously because all we wanted to do was work and get things done. Darkrai. My life experience. Emanation. Crystal and water conservation district. Documentary. So i can't say enough about our. Supervisor. Environment. If we do not do something. Earlier. A true garden. How to planning for the central florida for all present and part of the board. There was leadership of various. University. 7 point. Square mile. Anybody here ever been to los angeles. I have had them report. Talk about road there. roads wider there than we have pity. The world. Population. 7 million. Is there an awful lot of discussion how can we have a problem with freshwater we had a hurricane. How's that. Lockwood. 5 ninety-eight percent of all of our water that's the underground. Freshwater that were drawing prompts. Tell me the water me aqua million years old. Play. A drop of water. Is most people realize while the hurricane. Water. Because we weren't watering are yards yards are are bigger. Now we are. Boulder neighborhood. But don't worry about that. Pastor robert we are. Far more water. Anybody doesn't know what happened. Alternative. Aquaphor. Emotionally. Central florida have in the process. Surface water. Carlton the neighborhood of 100 million dollars. There are alternative. More and more. Our boy by the way is a libertarian dory. One republican. Political affiliation. However having. One was i was. I wrote a letter. Describing what i thought of him. The other was a funding. Coronavirus. They're coming to some of the problems in jacksonville from the st. johns river are coming from up. What is critical. View. Proposals however that are coming forward. New york. Call paul. High rise apartments. Well rise apartments and townhouses. Call we're going.. 7.2 million. I don't think many of us moved. Environment. We're going to be able to. Natural resources. Number one. Our condition has woken up. Are aware that we are rapidly heading for a crisis. Every possible opportunity. Have a problem. However were pumping pour water out. Giving to someone else. Temple law. They're not. Our freshwater supply. Not attic. The handle. We need to slow down. Where we have resources available. Available. Ordered the county to reduce water consumption. Or. Not allowed. Water company. Thousand-dollar water bill. High-end ruger.. The water consumption. Bar. Ability. Call. Pokemon of the county commissioner. But why isn't that money going in the water. Why is that not going into. Delivery system underwater. Revenue. General revenue of accounting. Dollar. Probably going to make more money. General revenue. To buy more water. How many times have we heard that. Development. The final item. Open during a hurricane. We all know it we all deal with it. Apparently quite this was some new knauer. I found it interesting. That if you wanted to have power water and all your. Universal. Why were they able to. Because they are hardened. Come on. Terraria. About government. Closer. More common sense. What item. Purple berry. Absolutely no reason. Heavy equipment. So that is one of the major areas were getting involved in. Although we will not. The following one there will be a hole. We are pushing hard. For hardening our utility crop account so that we will have. When they started. Finally. However the city found out. 1 a quarter cup. Early 1900. So you'll be proud to know. Everything 112. Monroe. Literally. We publish the book. Heresy. Everglade. Overdeveloped. Our god is garbage. Talk about florida and. Forward by one of these volunteers on that was bill belleville. Environmental writer who wrote. River river by st. johns river did the documentary the emmy award documentary wekiva legacy or lost. The writing the pike reading. By the way orange grove and water conservation district and you have people there. Cambiar meeting. Back from you on. Familiar with you. What are the proposal. All generation of poison. Well they started out with cameron ran. Well because i'll try never going to put this. Very good friend of mine. That's why i know. Basketball. Watch right back out of your plastic bowl. All of our lives. Politically. Aquaphor. Maliwan. Robert asked me to. Common sense will prevail. Somewhere. The only answer to the market. Route doing all of that if we remove all that much. Funny word if we don't change the other things that car it will have that market. Outside of miami called the crock-pot. Government bought it back natural. Open up. Florida bay. Key largo. That you're now talking about opening and flowing in the florida bay. Government by combination. Call wife. Everything. Horrible meth you ever seen. Farmer. That what you're talkin about. Fighting and fighting black. Student fighting for 20 years. They will.. Gelato. Obviously. Volunteer. That is something that is. Lebron brother. But. Our government does not make you. Government. Well first you have to put in a runway. So after. Dynamite for you to blow up a teener of college coral. Hebron court. Constantly being repaired in all of the problems we never had. Borrow. Water board. Perfect place for libertarians. Personal responsibility. 72 / 72. Public server. What i have to deal with every time i'm going up over my head. Watch the developer. Tobacco. Code enforcement. Call our county commissioner. Backhoe. Tired. Variety of other cup of coffee. Developer with gun. It was that contractor. Play the cutting corner. The developer is now planning to properly dispose of all of this. Allow another contractor corner again. That's what we need to do. Where did come from. Central florida in. Available. I won't go back to what we did in alaska. Remember when. I have to be very much involved in that everybody knew what was going to happen. No. Factory in the black car. Not. Development. I don't necessarily agree. I did not choose. Number of housing available. Because we have a contract called going. Define. Call christen. Government. Valuable. Property. Poor neighborhood. More expensive housing. Fortunately. That is the minecraft dealing with. China wok. Property. I pay more money for that property. Set agriculture. Square commercial. Nobody wants to buy mine. I don't believe. We have something called 25 years. Why do we. I supported something call the florida hometown democracy.

universityuus_org

SS2006-04-23-SupportingWorkersRightsandaHealthyEnvironment.mp3

Was raised as a 5th generation on a 5th center generation family farm in minnesota. And had a good part of his youth. With peace corps family. In islam family in swaziland southern africa. Have a ba in history and philosophy and has completed three out of four years of course you coursework. Tour the master's degree of divinity and pastoral in his ministry and marian theology. We are pleased to have paul as a member of our congregation and to talk today about social justice issues. Paul really thank you. Yesterday april 22nd was earth day. Google history at 1969 conference to raise awareness on environmental issues. Us senator gaylord nelson of wisconsin announce it in the spring of 1970 they would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment. And you invited everyone to participate. At the time like today. The water are soil and organisms of the united states were becoming more and more polluted. Fowler was considered to be by some the smell of progress. Also some of you may remember when an executive of the company that made the ddt pesticide. Drink it. To prove to the public that it was safe. The idea for earth day occurred to senator nelson as he witnessed how the anti-vietnam war demonstrations called tietjens. Pittsburgh to college campuses all across the nation. He thought that if people can be mobilized over what was happening in vietnam then why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to the environment. So that a demonstration could be generated that would force the issue onto the national political agenda. It worked. But while senator nelson started earth day. It certainly was not his movement. Groupie on demand soon as his office became overwhelmed with the popular response. He later told reporters that. In the end birthday organized itself. The first earth day events are 20 million demonstrators turn out into the nation's streets. Parks in auditoriums. Our congregation has dedicated earth day 2006. To this year's uusc just to sunday topic which is workers rights. Alright. I'm getting some funny looks. You may be asking what does protecting the environment have to do with workers rights. After all isn't it the construction workers were paving over the forest to make room for our new subdivisions. Isn't it the commuters that's few tons of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere on their way back and forth to work each day. Isn't it the farmworkers who and convenience food workers and the restaurant workers that consumed even more fossil fuels than our cars do in order to make are pre-cooked meals. Canned goods frozen goods extra soft toilet paper and chemical fertilizers. And also provide the green that feeds the animals that goes into our burgers chicken nuggets and tacos. Isn't it the landscape workers who needless to use petrol field blowers to do a rape those perfectly. The idea that what's good for workers can be good for the environment is not a new idea. But it's one that i think we have lost. Even though certain visionary spent the past 20 years trying to bring this concept back to our daily conversations. Let's start against by taking a moment to consider dignity. If everybody can. If you feel like close your eyes and recall a time when you felt dignified. Then recall times. That you felt shamed. And felt like you'd lost your dignity. Where does dignity come from. What makes you feel dignified. Run you must know. Anyone else. Southworth. Worthy. How do we lose our dignity or how do we feel or become shane. The first of the seven principles. Where are you your conversations affirm. Is the inherent worth. And dignity of every person. Do people need dignity. What about the dignity of other brother beans. Have you ever noticed that the seven principles start with dignity. And worth. Before continuing on with you no justice equality compassion acceptance of each other spiritual growth free and responsible search for truth and meaning liberty justice and democracy is quite a sandwich. But then the end with the affirmation of dignity. For the dignity of the interdependent web of existence. The call fritz respect. It's a vision of both the individual. And of the entire cosmos. That is upbeat. Open and welcoming. Traditional christianity. Has a list of seven deadly sins. Their concept of sin is founded on the idea that some things are normal and other things are abnormal. You could also use the words clean and unclean or things that unites you to divine nature or things that separates you from it. Unlike the concept of more recent christian movements it's not about being moral or immoral. What about being holy. Which of the divine atrophy. Or unholy. The. Seven deadly sins. Vanity envy. Gluttony. Plus. The inability to forgive. Green. And lesions. Noticed it while the seven principles are inclusive. The seven deadly sins are actions that exclude. They are selfish actions. By stressing a false individual dignity born out of either discounting. For crushing the dignity of others. I'm out of the cosmos. In the vision statement that we officially adopted a couple of months ago. We firmed our desire to be an inclusive congregation. Powering each other committed to social action and a welcoming environment that fosters close friendships. In a caring atmosphere. Empathy awareness and respect. Sharing our joys and tears. And promoting these values in our children are you. And in the community around us. Now that's dignified. So how does this touch on workers rights. Orfila unitarian-universalist at the usc claimed that when people do not have sufficient access to income. Tools opportunity and the ability to sustain themselves. Turn their fundamental right to work in to earn a livelihood is threatened. Around the world in the united states. Systemic injustice has disparities based on gender culture and class. Market fundamentalism reworking of trade agreements. And erosion of labor rights all contribute to the erosion of people's ability. To learn a living wage with dignity. The right-to-work is so fundamental. That it is recognized in the universal declaration of human rights. Inuit people in the united states and around the world face the same basic challenges. Minimum wage. Is where is rarely if ever a living wage. In many countries including the united states minimum wage does not provide enough to maintain a family with. Dignity. Organized labor is losing its clout with the threat of job loss and outsourcing. Corporations all over the world can pack up and move to cheaper labor markets. Getting the working for against each other. So countries compete for corporate. Corporate presence. Labor movements are increasingly threatened by job relocation when they pressed for their rights. Increasing numbers of people are carving out precarious living in the informal sector with no labor protections or standards. His production and services are increasingly subcontracted out. People lose the protection of labor rights. Global trade rules prioritize corporate rights. Over national labour legislation. National labor legislation is often not enforced as it is seen as a deterrent to corporate investment. In some of the new regional trade agreements labor legislation is subordinate. To the new global trade agreements. Set secretly the lowest common denominator. During the past year the us see in our congregation joined in the celebration of a historic farm worker victory. The coalition of immokalee workers reached an agreement with taco bell ending its four-year boycott. Conducted as part of a campaign to promote the rights of workers and florida's tomato fields. Remember the actions of immediate witness at the 2005 ga. Many of us gathered here contribute contributed to this victory. Buy advil advocacy and participation in those boycotts. Cusd international work defending economic justice. Focuses on supporting and promoting a living wage and labor rights. So what are we doing about it in orlando. We are sponsoring fair trade. With the efforts of our social concerns committee this congregation has joined others. Putting our faith into action by participating in the usc coffee project. By buying fair trade coffee team coco. To serve at the congregational social hour another vince we are helping to promote the human rights of thousands of small farmers. Enter families around the world. And recent sunday presentation we learned about the local tenthousandvillages fair trade movement and the society. Of the society of friends. We are also involved in shareholder advocacy. With the efforts of the investment committee this congregation recently voted to invest some of our resources with uua funds. In companies that fit a socially-responsible profile of behavior. Consistent with our mission of promoting human rights and social justice. Do you tear a fund managers also choose. Tone small amounts of stock. To get a voice at annual meetings in corporations that they believe should substantially improve their social responsibility record. Congratulations. But what else can we do. That's for us to decide isn't it. The social concerns committee has dedicated several meetings this past year to taking this congregation suggestions. To come up with our first annual congregational project. With the idea that this congregation would choose a new project each year. Weiner down the many ideas that you gave to the committee and we provided the board with five proposed projects to be voted on at next month's annual meeting. The project with the most support for the members will become our congregational project. Then we have to go back to the drawing board. The proposed projects will be listed in the may edition of the connection. I've also got a copy from here today so if somebody really wants to know. Just come grab me after the service. Two decades ago. A labor activist named judy berry. Joined in a group of the environmentalist called earth first. Is there anyone here today who knows or has heard about judy berry. She's over in california so i didn't figure if i thought it might be fresh rather than picking a local person that everybody knew already so. Judy was born november 7th in 1949 in baltimore maryland. She died of breast cancer on march 2nd 1997 near willits california. Her name was etched into our nation's consciousness in 1990. When she was bombed in oakland california while organizing for that year's redwood summer logging protests. That. Powerful motion figured bomb almost killed her when it exploded under her driver's seat. Shattering her pelvis. And leaving her disabled and in pain for the rest of her life. A jury later found that. 6 fbi agents and police officers were guilty of trying to frame judy with this bombing in an effort to crush earth first movement and to chill participation in the redwoods summer protests. Known for its sometimes violent protests judy led the earth first members in her region. To embrace the use of nonviolent direct action and to renounce the use of tree spiking or any other tactic that would cause injury to timber and mill workers. Judy's environmental focus began when she was working as a carpenter building a luxury house in the countryside for an urban executive. She was outraged when she learned that the beautiful fine-grained redwood boards that she was hammering nails into. Came from 1,000 to 2000 year old trees. And she decided to work to preserve the remaining old-growth redwood forest. Judy make relentless efforts. To teachout and bridge the gap. Between workers and environmentalists. And to radicalize boat. I'm sure all of us in our university studies. Remember. The opportunity to simply. Get the cliffsnotes version by. Going to lessons and. You know getting the brief summary during the lecture. They don't have those professors that you're going to read this thing first in the original. I tossed it today do i give a specific gnosis of judy. Or. Do i read some of her words and i chose. Default wasting my my professors in end. Although cut down presents you wanted for speeches. She. Was environmental radical. Where she's going is not where many of environmental movements movements today or going. But she makes some interesting points. Which i think. We have to at least come to terms with. Saucier with you today. The speech that she gave in 1995 and put into an article. Entitled revolutionary ecology biocentrism and deep ecology. I was a social justice activist for many years before i ever heard of earth first. So it came as a surprise to me when i joined in the 1980s to find the radical environmental movement paid little attention to the social causes. Abeka logical destruction. Similarly the urban-based social justice movement seems to have had a hard time admitting the importance. A biological issues. Often just missing alban environmental racism as trivial. Get in order to effectively respond to the crisis of today. I believe we must merge these two issues. Starting from the very reasonable but unfortunately revolutionary concept. Did social practices which threaten the continuation of life on earth must be changed. We need a theory of revolution recology. That will encompass social and biological issues. Class struggle. And a recognition of the role of global corporate capitalism in the oppression of people. And the destruction of nature. I believe we already have such a theory it's called deep ecology and it's the core beliefs of the radical environmental movement. Deeper, deeper ecology or biocentrism. Is the belief that nature does not exist to serve humans. That nature does not exist to serve humans. Rather than humans. Are part of nature. One species among many. Not all species have a right to exist for their own sake. Regardless of their youths with usefulness to humans. And biodiversity is a value in itself. Essentially for the flourishing of both human and non-human life. These principles i believe are not just another political theory. Biocentrism is a law of nature. That exist independently of whether humans recognize it or not. It doesn't matter whether we view the world in a human-centered way. Nature still operates in a biocentric way. And the failure of modern science to acknowledge this. Has led us to the brink of collapse. Of the earth's life-support systems. This sounding familiar to anybody. You heard this before. I can't even also help but think of copernicus. When you first said you know this. Earth goes around the sun. But. The resistance you got. Firestone tourism is not a new theory. It's an ancient native wisdom. Express in such things as. The earth does not belong to us we belong to the earth. How many seen the bumper sticker. But in the context of today's industrial society biocentrism challenges the system to its core. Biocentrism. Contradicts. Capitalism. The capitalist system is in direct conflict with the laws the natural laws of biocentrism. Capitalism first of all is based on the principle of private property. I'm certain humans owning the earth for purposes of exploiting it for profit. An earlier stage capitals even believe that they could own other humans. But just as slavery has been discredited in the mores of today's dominant worldview. Show me the principles of biocentrism discredit the concept that humans can own the earth. How can perpetrator charles hurwitz claim to own the 2000 year old redwoods of the headwaters forest. Just because he signed a few papers to trade them for junk bond debt. This concept is absurd. For which is a mere blip in the life of the ancient trees. Although he may have the power to destroy them. Does he have the right. One of the best weapons. Us environmentalists in our battle to save places like the headwaters forest. Is the endangered species act. And we all know that's a lot that's pretty endangered itself. This was another laws that recognize public trust values such as clean air clean water and protection of threatened species. Are essentially an admission that the laws of private property. Do not correspond to the laws of nature. You cannot do whatever you want on your own property without affecting the surrounding areas because the first is interconnected. And nature doesn't recognize human boundaries. Even be on private property though capitalism conflicted biocentrism around the very concept of prop. Profit consists of taking out. More than you put in. This is certainly contrary to the fertility cycles of nature. Which depend on a balance. Of give-and-take. But more important is the question of whether. Where the prophet is taken from. According to marxist theory profit is stolen from the workers when the capitalists pay them less than the value of what they produce. The portion of the value that product that the. The portion of the value of the product that the capitalist keeps. Rather than pays for the workers. Is called surplus value. The amount of surplus value that the capitalist can keep. Varies with the level of the organization of the workers. And with the level of privilege within the world. World labor pool. But the working-class can never be paid the full extent. Of their value. Under for their labor under capitalism. Because the capitalist class exists by extracting surplus value. From the products of their labor. Although i basically agree with this analysis i think there's one big thing missing. I believe that. Part of the value of a product comes not just from the labor put in. But also from the natural resources used to make the product. And i believe that surplus value. Prophet. He's not just stolen from the workers. But also from the earth itself. Clear-cutting is the perfect example. Of surplus value being extracted from a part of the earth. If yuman production and consumption is done within the natural limits of the earth's fertility. Dennis supply is indeed endless. But this cannot happen under capitalism because the capitalist class exists by extracting profit. Not only from the workers but also from the earth. Modern-day corporations. I thought to be the very worst manifestation of the sickness. A small business may survive on profits. But at least it's basic purpose is to provide sustenance for the owners. For human beings with a sense of place in their communities. For the corporation has no purpose for its existence. Father nor any moral guide to its behavior. Other than to make profits. In today's global corporations. Are beyond the control. Have any nation or government. In fact. The government is in the service of the corporations. Its armies poised to defend their profits around the world. And it's secret police ready to infiltrate and disrupt any serious resistance at home. Does this sound familiar anybody. Judy says that this system cannot be reformed. It's based on the destruction of the earth. An exploitation of the people. There is no such thing as green capitalism. And marketing cute rainforest products will not bring back the ecosystems that capitalism must destroy in order to make its profits. This is why i believe that a serious ecologist. Must be revolutionary. As you can probably tell my background in revolutionary theory comes from marxism which i consider to be a brilliant critique of capitalism. But as to what should be implemented in capitalism's place. I do not think marxism is the answer. Biocentrism also contradicts communism. What are the reasons for this i believe is that communism and socialism. Speak only about redistributing the spoils of raping the earth. More evenly among the classes of humans. Play assume that it will stay the same as it is under capitalism that of a gluttonous consumer. His total disregard of nature as a life force rather than just a source of raw materials. Allowed march estates to rush to industrialize. Not even the most meager environmental safeguards. His left parts of the world with such a toxic legacy that vast areas are now uninhabitable. But even though socialism has so far failed to take the ecology into account. I do not think it is beyond reform. One of the principles of socialism is. Production for use. Not-for-profit. Therefore the imbalance is not as built-in under socialism as it is under capitalism. And i could envision a form of socialism. Very different from marx's industrial model. That would not destroy the earth. Has anybody noticed that the social societies of northern europe. Are rub one of the some of the countries taking the strongest lead. In environmental movement's the kyoto protocol. Some of the other. Issues. Ecological socialism would mean organizing human societies in a manner. That is compatible with the way nature is organized. And i believe that the natural order of the earth. Is bio regionalism not state ism. Modern industrial society robs us of community with each other. And community with the earth. This creates a great longing inside of us which we are taught to fill with consumer goods. But consumer goods beyond those needed for basic comfort in survival. Are not really what we crave. Soar appetite is insatiable. And we turn to more and more efficient and dehumanizing methods of production. To make more and more goods that do not satisfy. Remember what we said there's a congregation in our vision statement. If workers really had control of the factories. They would start by smashing the machines and finding a more humane way to decide what we need. And how to produce it. Search of the credo of. Production 4u snot for-profit. Ecological socialism with ad. Production for need. Not for greed. Biocentrism contradicts. Patriarchy. Patriarchy is the oldest and i think deepest form of oppression on earth. I think it's the issue of patriarchy needs to be addressed by any serious revolutionary movement. So i would like to address ecofeminism and it's revelance. To biocentrism. As a holistic view of the earth that is totally consistent with the idea that humans are not separate from nature. I would describe ecofeminism in two separate terms. The first isn't there's a parallel between the way this society treats women. In the way it treats the earth. And this is shown in expressions like. Virgin redwoods rape of the earth. Anybody know. Two others. Fisherman. Mother earth steven. The second thing is that the destruction of nature in the society stems from the suppression of the nurturing and life-giving feminine traits. For the conquering and dominating masculine traits. She has a section which is really long weird she describes you she's not talking about men and women she's talking about masculine traits. Feminine traits. But. I go on. The relationship between the suppression of feminine values and the destruction of the earth is actually much clearer in the third world nations than it is. Indus society. 4 colonial powers take over. When nature is to be destroyed by imperialistic corporations coming into a third world country. One of the ways that colonial powers takeover is by forcibly removing women. From their traditional roles. As the keepers of the forest and the farmlands. The woman's methods of interacting with the fertility cycles of the earth. Is replaced by men and machines. Rather than nurturing the fertility of the earth. These machines rip off the fertility of the earth. For this reason many of the third world environmental movements are actually women's movements. The chip co in india. And the tree planters in kenya. I also in brazil. In each of these situations. The way that the feminine is suppressed. He's very parallel to the way. That nature is suppress. It's less obvious i think in this society but anyone who has ever dealt with the forest service. California department of forestry. The endangered species act or anything like that. Knows that science is used as the authority for the kind of relentless assault on nature in this society. The science is presented to us as neutral as an objective path to knowledge. And it's something that is value free. But. They're not value free at all. Science was openly described by its founders. As a masculine system that presupposes the separation of people from nature and presupposes are dominance over nature. She goes to list. All sorts of scientist from francis bacon and everyone else down in beginning of the scientific your irrational ciara. And i just picked out a couple. Decapped. Cogito ergo sum. I think therefore i am. Arrived at that by trying to prove that he existed without referring to anything around him. The very concept of that shows the separation between self and nature. But you did a pretty good job of it and i thought it was pretty interesting. But he might be on that he also said. Well i can doubt this room exists. I can doubt that you exist. I conducted i exist. The only thing i can doubt. I cannot doubt. Is that i am doubting. I think therefore i am. That was pretty clever. But i'm still a very. Narrow and self-centered. Does anyone see how this relates to the seven principles and the seven deadly sins that i spoke about earlier. Science has indeed had a lot of successes. It's created nuclear bombs plastic shrink-wrap twinkies highway 101 all kinds of wonders of the earth. But is not lettuce to a true understanding of nature or of the earth. Because nature's parts are not separate. They're interdependent. Anyone catch that word into interdependent. She has a whole section in which he. Relate. Yang goes a lot further into depth with this. Western scientific method is reductionist. But you can't look at one part without looking at the rest. It's all inextricably interconnected. The way that science has looked at the world has brought us antibiotics that create super bacteria. And flood control methods that create hunger huger floods. They never existed before. And fertilizers that leave us with barren soil. These are all examples of the defects of a reductionist kind of science. It examines one part without considering the whole. We floridians are familiar with how each solution to the everglades only created more problems. Heck even in the traffic. Country to this masculine system of separation and dominance ecofeminism seeks the science of nature and the science of nature is a holistic and interdependent one. Where you look at the whole thing in the way that everything interacts not just the way it can be when you separate it. It also presupposes that humans are part of nature. And then our feets are inseparable. That we have to live within the earth's fertility cycles. And we can enhance those for fertility cycles. Fire informed interaction. The holistic and interdependent eco-feminist view in which humans are inseparable for nature. Is not any different than deep ecology or biocentrism. To embrace biocentrism. Is the challenge the masculine system of science. That underlies the destruction of the earth. And it underlies the justification for the way our society is structured. Ecofeminism however does not seek to dominate men as women have been dominated under patriarchy. Instead it seeks to find a balance. We need both the masculine and the feminine forces. We need the conquering and the dominance as well as the need for nurturing. The fact that. Deep ecology is a revolutionary philosophy. Is one of the reasons that earth first was targeted for destruction in annihilation by the fbi. The entire ecology movement must bring society into balance with nature. One way that we can do this is to broaden our focus. To define our movement is being concerned with wilderness only. To earth. Expert first aid in the 1980s. Is self-defeating. You cannot seriously address the destruction of wilderness. Without addressing the society that is doing that destruction. It's about time for the ecology movement to stop considering itself as separate from the social justice movement. The same power that manifests itself as resource extraction in the countryside. Manifests itself as racism. Classism. And human exploitation in the city. Ecology movement must recognize that we are just one front. And a long proud history of resistance. A revolutionary ecology movement was also organized. Among the poor and working people. With exception of the toxics movement in the native and the native land rights movement in the united states. Environmentalists. For the better part. White. And privileged. This group is too invested in the system to pose much of a threat. A revolutionary ideology in the hands of privileged people can indeed bring about some disruption and change in the system. But a revolutionary ideology in the hands of the workers. Can bring that system to a halt. Force the working people who have their hands on the machinery. And only by stopping the machinery of destruction. Can we ever hope to stop the madness. It's only when the factory workers refuse to make toxic chemicals. It's only when the loggers refused to cut the ancient trees. That we can ever hope. For real and lasting change. This system cannot be stopped by force. It's violent and ruthless beyond the capacity of any people's resistance movement. You catch that. Don't load your guns. The only way i can even imagine stopping it is through massive non-cooperation. So let's keep blocking those bulldozers and hugging those trees. Let's focus our campaigns on the global corporations that are really at fault. While placing our actions in a larger context. The context of revolutionary ecology. Thank you. Usa question. Work we have any questions comments you'd like to make please make the microphone. But i like the clarity of the duality between biocentrism and capitalism. I have been wrestling with that for many years. And this also affects that the healthcare industry where we do not. Respect. The. 30 mother right of the individual. To take care of himself and herself through having access to health insurance which is directly correlated to. You know our our own well-being. But one of the things that i think is at the core of this. Problem is the failure for us. Weed has. Intelligent beings. To develop a currency. Which does not reflect just the personal value that we have on the objects that we purchase. Because nothing is sold that is not. Marketable and does not sell. Some of the european countries put on energy taxes on some of the some of their items to help reflect. They cost from the environment. For the manufacturer of those goods. We do not have any type of sense in terms of healthcare which i'm involved in. We do not have any. We have the knowledge but we have not actualize the health capitalization we have not. Capitalize our own value. And placed it on the market. And we need to do this with all the all the things that we are involved within our economy. Go to. Develop a currency. To reflect the value to the earth and the planet planet and society as well as us to us personally. I don't know if anybody has heard things going on. But i'd love to hear more about it. Characters. Wondering 55 or 60 probably grew up in a country atmosphere are at least had a better chance of it then then. The generation behind is anyone in mind that and civilization in particular country electronics and so on. I am afraid the consensus would be because i never had any connection with the environment. Who cares. I'm seeing two different things happening myself and i'm sure each of you can describe different things. You have children who have no idea where milk comes from anymore. On the one hand. On the other hand you have more children becoming vegetarians because they're cartoons are animals. And those are things they love nothing to eat. I'd like to congratulate. And so the audience appreciates. My respect for it. I'm a former chair of the committee. End up. I got to wait for those quickly as i could as the previous. Prior to my championship. And i was stuck with it and we couldn't get anything out of it. And many people in this congregation know that i am separating myself from this church. Because it's not going anyplace. And up. I. That is remarkable as the coverage. Your speech made of the problems we face. Did eyesight its height. We reached out and we did something about it. Then let's get to it. If anything's going to be done. The unitarians in this country has the unitarians and his. I totally non-existent as far as anybody else. And i think that's unfortunate. But i'm ready to get on board anytime anybody else says. Did you get that the next at the end of meeting high while you still got your vote before you back out there's going to be five projects. Pick one. It sounds to me like the beginning of a new religious philosophy. And which we're substituting for the old concept. Original sin in the garden of eden eden. The new concept of man using his evil brain. 2. Use me. Resources of the earth to suit his requirements. But still a concept of sin. And i'm wondering where this is going to leave to. Her katika science of course is done then she was by no means a science as she was always a worker so she really doesn't have that kind of education. To make somebody sings even her critique of dick after i find interesting with the enormous has someone else's spin-on from necessary but i would have been done. But. I think all of this can recognize the difference that. Many of us here in this room were alive at a time when a woman professor in the university. Or woman scientists. Was an anomaly. And actually still live today in a time when. Depressed wasn't in interviews a woman ceo. Eeo they say she's a woman ceo. And but. You know any scientist knows that. You find what you're looking for essential. Are you fine that you were wrong or something like that but. The questions you ask. Help determine what you're going to find even vichtenstein. You do not it does not exist for you until you have a word for her concept of it. And. The fact that women have. Really in recent times. In the past few years. Become a major force in science. It has changed science science i no longer fine quite valid. Even we had some very respectable scientist senior. You're in a half ago at the blue more than a year ago at star global warming the. Florida district global warming. Workshop. Conference. Where did you see scientists really focusing exactly on the same types of things. Science is not the science anymore of the 1700s. It's not necessarily just masculine although that is still definitely part of it. But the mourning women had i find it very interesting that women have become involved in science. Science has really changed because of women scientists are asking different questions. Succumb to science different concerns and priorities. Call. Play preservation of the earth. Judy essentially took the the passenger very consistent with this view that. You know. It's about keeping things in balance. Hanover balance of a population is not a balance. So she took it as a matter of. Enlightened human beings with out of respect for the earth. Not. You know decide to populate every square inch of it. And otherwise were no better than cockroaches. Pool. I know people who believe that the day of destruction is nice. And that we are quite justified. In exploiting the us because if anything that will bring it sooner. Do you have a comment on that. In in in my years of ministry one of the things i do besides hospital ministry i also did prison ministry. And i. Mint one gentleman who actually. Was a hired mercenary in brazil. And he and his crew. About 24 people. Road around in helicopters in the amazon. Shooting. The natives. From the air. Which rifles. It's true you can i'm even the reagan you know that the world is coming to an end right just get what you can now. And what would you do in the last 20 minutes of your life if you don't have no consequences right. And that view is is definitely there. I don't know how to answer that quickly but. I don't think personally that the end is nigh. I just think that. Myself haven't been a farmer. And also winemaker. When you make wine you use yeast to make the wine. When yeast produces. He eats all the sugar until it in produces alcohol. But alcohol is yeast waste used cannot live in an environment with more than 14% alcohol. So you'll never have something that's not distilled that said that's just fermented it's over 14%. Michigan renew kind of yeast. I think we'll get to the point where. Level of your nature will take care of itself fully there will either kill ourselves off for a limit ourselves back severely because they'll be only certain places we can live. Thank you.

universityuus_org

SS2005-08-07-HowGoodisCentralFloridasSafetyNetfortheHomeless.mp3

Mourning our presentation. The inherent worth and dignity of every person. The first one. Equity. Billowing. The graduate of emory university business school he graduated from. 7. In addition to a community service. Board member of the coalition for the homeless and for the atlanta. for the homeless. Presidents of the orlando. Downtown orlando partnership. Please help me welcome. Reformation. Before i get into the presentation about the coalition this morning i would like to hear adult republic story of route 32. Talk to you about this morning. Restaurant just off the corner of the town square. Park across the street. They're walking the man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. Caring will warn sign that read. Will work for food. I brought my friends and focus on him. Put blues in a mixture prednisone. Linger in my mind. Jeremy lin winter separate ways i had errands to do quickly sit out here. I going towards the town square looking for my imported lee. Again. Guilford county employment. Spirit of god. Don't go back to the office. Around the square. Headed back into town as i can. Top 10 work. Onedrive on. Accountants nearest visitor. No not really. You got some work. Millwork. Here to work. But i would like to take you to work. Where you headed. How long is it walking. I knew i'd met someone unusual. A company catering earlier slightly beyond its 38-year. Made some wrong choices and consequences. 14 years earlier while backpacking tarp for camping. Thunder on a large. Equipment. Tired. Call wife would clearly. People would stare make comment. Optimum property adjuster that certainly makes me feel welcome. I realize that god was you live in. My father-in-law. Travelworld mcnasty harry results. Got one of those are puerto vallarta. Irregular find my new friend the bible that would do well and very grateful. Where you headed from here i am. Cigarettes and go there. The bible a bad car wreck right there star. Mild. I driving back into town square where we met you everybody started ringing. Call my wife. Jeremiah. I know the plans i have for you declares the lord plans to prosper you. The lord is good. How long is it been. Train my new friend and i embrace when i felt deep inside that i have been changed. Journey federal jackal bible. You better. God bless. But everybody. Help with homeless person. Broncos. Don't look like what this man. I appreciate the opportunity here this morning. the story of the coalition for the homeless in central florida. Just a word or two of my own.. Oklahoma to gannon 1991 1992. Garbage recovery. Actually works one-on-one with. Rivertree. Italian bread in bread pudding. Coffee. Started with coffee. Parking lot behind the homeless shelter that i worked my way up from kirby copy and chairman of the board. Call a craig. Aurora will give him a call when the kids off my back when they needed it. Craigslist. Appreciate your input. Over the last 17 years that coalition has grown from an interfaith outreach program to a full-service agency. Really what again has its course mcclurkin clubs of government. Funding sources. Now it really is a i need to see all of it sooner goal. Install helping develop life skills. And prepare for the challenges in their life. We care about them and we love them. Oklahoma's remarkable day. Everyday. Whatever your mind when i'm into nowhere homo part of my story with the hills very bad usually first pictures a little goddamn. Do congressmen. The population. Growing segment oklahoma population. The reaper. 2011 numbers children served by the coalition was imprisoned by 68%. America tonight with a million. 72 sansevieria operating dollar that we can go to helping women children. Who we are and where they came from. About. 5 primary reasons why we study of the regional about 5 years ago. Black affordable housing. 40% of the workers in central florida or employment service sector than average wage. $7 an hour. Lando. Your wages need to be. An hour. Two-bedroom apartment in all the time. Ability. The combination of trying to raise your wage and howie carr.. Exacerbating the problem. Walkthrough. You have no financial. Victims of domestic violence cedarhome only the clothes on their back and i'll come you're not important. Another major cause of homelessness. Alcoholism mental illness has a larger impact on the chronic male population. Coolest provided 200. Shelter homeless men women and children. 350 real. Probably hungry. There's no reason that you need to be hungry in italian. People aren't hungry. Salvation army. Which has more people radar filters than we have because. The neighborhood we don't ask questions. 20%. Burlington facilities are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year to anyone. Cormill. 832. Collaborate with other shelters to help them find shelter for people. One of them apartments every night. Largest provider of residential services florida. Annabelle. Rio about. Building. They created art under the direction of the local professional artists using will we bring artist acrylic. Abc program on private play under my ring exam. 2003. The collaboration between. Wonderful program. Unremarkable. Downtown orlando marriott hotel there are on exhibition in the lobby. Photography. Anybody else there. Albuquerque. Paper. A civilian 375 man it is what we call a drop-in emergency shelter. 400. Parking places on the florida map. The average saturday night. The weather or whatever we want to reduce the number of men he needs kind of emergency help so we do offer counseling right there. Alcohol abuse mental health problems. A comprehensive substance abuse. Job and skills cream. Steph curry here i getting. Civilian. This is where i spend most of my time and i. 12 years. Orchard serve meals in this building everything tonight. Anyone more than 200,000 meals. Library. Jennifer women and family. Personalized self-sufficiency plan together. We have white stripe center for job skills evaluation edd prep and career planning. Are residents of education or whatever. What moms and dads are out working looking for work or going to school. Everyday we have for school buses and take him to the school. Middle high school. Counseling. Activity. Corinthian the women's center for women and families. A week or more before the average weight a about 2 months ago. 70 days. Public parking lots in arkansas no helping one of our goals with the move. Rental apartment. Hear what your family to move into a while they're saving up an airfield. Take a quick look at our. Women's residential and counseling center. Wrdc recall. Colonial and. Magnolia rachel. The ywca wacco advisor. Victims of abuse emergency shelter. Here we also have case manager jobs. Cerakote 2002. Primary program. We are. About 20 or 25. Probably figure more comprehensive. Healthcare for the homeless on hawaii straight center. Trivium. Girls club big sister big brother bar. If we call the agency. Corroborate. Where we get our funding the question we get a lot we have a balance lending. Number 2030 for budget. Find me credit report. Cinebarre arboretum individual. We're grateful for the reporter. Continue our program over the past year. Charitable money. Rapid. Compared to our revenue growth. Remember board with a broad spectrum of. Government social service providers. Very happy that we have a very good hardworking boy these are officers. Our neighbors as we threw them in the mission of the coldest a real accountant. Board member. Quote with the beautiful lady.. How can you help. I have to give them my time. Verizon bill helping hands. During the last year we had 9,000. A typical weather. Volunteers of hands-on orlando. Bingo with the adult birthday party favor birthday party every month for all the kid. You have a birthday that one. Quad rides at work. Brought him out. Last year we had over 250,000 nike filter. Loyalty. A. We do that budget workshops electric eel. Donated. Private caller. During last year's related to provide services. Because of the music you have. $16.71 a day. $11 a day. There's always opportunities for sponsorships and attending these events. Help workout. These are real reality tv time there even though i don't answer questions. Five-year-old boy his dad michael in mid-july of 2004. Michael the single parent raising nazareth alone. Michael worker the center for developmentally disabled adults. Walker job in nevada city inn, milwaukee airport. Part of the case management process evaluated. Nazareth had trouble following directions. Heating pad for controlling an impulsive behavior. Coworx staffing. Nazareth. Nazareth. November. River to visit in santa claus during christmas celebrations. Did michael was a high-school graduate with a collar. Evaluation he decided to complete fire academy course. Twitter. Amber was a stay-at-home mom will keep work as an electrician on a good salary. Covid-19. Evaluated. Career despite ability. Apartments. Family's life. Morehart. Sara's market woman's real name. Victim of domestic violence. 13 door women's residential counseling center to review prior of. Vision weaver married after a month. Doctor diagnosed her with chronic. Sabrina carpenter. Lester home and stayed with a friend for a few weeks she was wearing out our welcome there. Now well in on the road to self-sufficiency river results of the system. Environment. Local government agency. Performing on herself smiling and consonants. Again i hear the stories because. Datacamp. Supporting your children. Fearful women. Logistics supervisor salary. Don't have to go back to their car or back. Hungry and very tired. Airport. Embroidery kits. But i've told you about today. Party and everybody that i had on the hall. Peoria city hall city hall. What are the. Imposters. My personal. Looking for handout. A bottle on floor. For the night. Stopwatch. Optum health and. I assume you know john scolaro. I know that mean prometheus project. Homer. Obituary. Working the best cleaners down there. And a lot of. To help out a talk with you guys are still there earlier. Built-in very, very great ability as well over. I heard the question for the old-timers ever been involved in any of the seating. Are we currently. Fairly new member. Sacrifices are there any. I know that howard. Local churches involved. I'm working together other open spots not calendar or is it pretty well taken care of. There are 230 program to go on every night time one in the family for women and family center for women and families mom and dad. Well. Darrell. Harbor patrol. Rockaroo. But i know there are night available. I'll be happy to get this fever someone the phone number. How john dee winter teaching job and i haven't seen her in a couple years howard weidman. Unfortunately our director of services. Quarter. Outside in. Guantanamera. Do we have a recall the gathering morning with some salt and took the van after the grocery store zurich. More of our senior members and citrus peel and patrick copytalk morning. Teenagers. Teenagers. Single mother. One would have to stay in the men's shelter. Young people traveling on your own or typically socialize. Appropriate place. Coronavirus population. Priority. Grant. Where we are now. Brevard county. Affordable housing. Government. I agree. Part of the reason that we terminated so many more people. Because we found better and more efficient way. Burger complicated and i would just make a couple of points. Finding dory. Increase height of affordable housing. Social programs. I'm going to spawn an affordable-housing think there's one issue that i as a native herbaria and really familiar with its the lack of affordable housing whitney's i'm living here not at home and i will tell you that when i was growing up we had some amount of affordable housing and although the berry headband. And then i moved north with a high population of homeless and little did i know within about six months you know that my own mother would come home with her along. problems and couldn't come with move with me because you had sex. People that just had not know where to go. Die from heat exhaustion show. Thank you. 30. Tonight.

universityuus_org

SS2005-03-13-Paganism-UnderstandingtheOriginalReligion.mp3

And now has come the time to introduce a guest speaker i've known christine and defense with her for a couple years and she really is as cool as he will come across to you today i just want to. Hold special meaning. Professionally christine is a creative process facilitator who leads organizations in creative problem-solving sessions. She's a frequent speaker at innovation marketing and creative conferences. She's also founder and director of camp namaste which is a camping west virginia for inner-city kids that has has been so for it since 1999. She returns to us after a very popular re presentation last halloween for the children we started in the back room and so many people float in from the adult congregation we had to move it out here and it was as big as our sunday service so we welcome christine back. K. I was asked if i wanted visuals in powerpoint and the one other service i was here had a powerpoint so i figured that's what you guys did and then. I had a little moment of death by powerpoint and clip art got out of control and exclusive other things so use the visuals if they help you and if they don't then just look at me to be here with you i had a blast at halloween and i was just thrilled to death when steve asked me to come back i want to tell you a little bit you know why i'm here i have a a passion for unitarian-universalism but within i found the church first and then i found paganism through that because there's so many people and similar to probably work for me as much. You will learn a lot of the basics and we'll build on that i really do hope this will be an interactive discussion i will be asking you some questions i don't believe in only talking so i hope that that's okay and i also want to let you know that there are many different kinds of of pagans out there so i do not expect to represent every every person's few but a word that even makes my children. Okay alright have you ever decorated a christmas tree. Okay alright some of you may not have have you ever trick-or-treating at halloween alright have you ever celebrated groundhog's day. Okay believe it or not i could even since you're all slightly pagan high-risk headed to tell you that you know what you may not know it and i'm actually going to tell you what i'm going to be covering is what what paganism is what it is not what a lot of the misconceptions are that it is infiltrated into our everyday life and our yearly cycle and our lives cycles as well i also want to hope that you come out of today understanding some of the reasons why i think so. The word pagan i'm every time i say and i'm i'm conscious of the fact that it may. Evoke some images of the words that are around paganism a very loaded he's got paganism we've been called heathens the word which is a very loaded word the fact is is these words all came out of very innocuous. Places they really are not the evil words that they've been meant to be the truth is about my religion this it's really none of these dark signs i don't have the mole on my nose i've been trying to grow one for a long time but i really don't have a cauldron i use a spot and pan just the same way that everybody else does nature it's the worship of nature and our mother earth it's on embracing the feminine side. And it that's for its role in nature it's honoring the cycles of life and all the nature's creatures in it and it's also about proactive rituals. To kind of make our lives and our life experiences better it's a very proactive religion so actually used to mean the person in the community who was the most knowledgeable about the herbs also usually the midwives in the society. Which means the fireplace they the heart of the home and so a heathen is somebody who is connected to the heart. And you know it's just one of those that it's been totally. Totally messed up honestly so. And one of the things that you know when i was looking for validation because i'm a little bit i'm a little bit of a few minutes as well and it's like okay give me give me proof that i'm not in a way out there and that i can feel good about this and one of the things that always gave me comfort was that pagan cultures have existed in almost every civilization. Before modern times do the celts had of the german germans had pagan rituals and things the mayans the egyptians. And of course the native americans they all even though there was no way that they could have connected with each other they all had similar things in common which it was built around the cycle of the year. The cycle of the month and a deep connection to nature and if you think about cultures in a way before we got into a hermetically-sealed homes way before we had television. We had nothing else to go on besides what was happening in the earth. So the things that they knew wasn't every 365 days. Seasons calendar with their crops would grow and their crops would die and the earth would regenerate itself they knew that the sun rose every morning and it set every night they knew that there was this mysterious thing up in the sky called the moon. That would. Get full and it would disappear. Incidentally all of their wives had their periods on the full moon and that's that new knows how did that fit with it sorry that's that was the crossing a line but it's the truth and the moon became a symbol from for feminism because it was a monthly cycle that was going on and there was something that was happening with the moon tower that was affecting women babies were are still born on full moons. Their livelihoods existed on it so you know if the if the summer didn't offer a lot of rain if the mother earth did not give rain their crops would not be good in that affected them if there was some kind of earth catastrophe they need that of course affected them and they needed some way to explain that they needed some way to deal with that and so you know it's almost her way of getting back in touch with that we've tried to isolate yourself from. It is all about cycles at least for me there are so many cycles. In our world there's so many circles and in paganism there's a lot of celebration of a cycle because everything that starts will come back around again everything that is born will eventually die and be reborn there's a lot of continuity on it but also provides it makes a lot of sense to me. Is the seasons of life you pretty much you know that it's a cycle you start. Has a baby there's childhood there's this is kind of the mother stage these you know what we call the sun tower where are you know a woman is is giving birth is you know in in her her powerful powerful place and that woman grows and becomes the nurturer for others and the sage if you will the one who has the wisdom and then to the state of what we call the crone which is also sometimes not always seen as is as a positive word but in my religion it is extremely positive place our elderly. Have. The wisdom that we all share from and i think some of sometimes in society that that's not always seen in the pagan religion the the older that you are the more revered and respected you are especially older women have a great great place of respect in this religion. So that's the kind of the seasons of life. There's a the typical seasons of the year which very much if you can see the correlations between the seasons of life. Fit in there so you've got another berth area you've got flooding you've got regrowth. So on and so forth you've got the sun tower there's feeds you know there's the power that the hottest. Point of the time of the year where everything is in full bloom and fina nature's powers at strongest. Then you've got the slowly preparing for the cold season you know that nature has a way of taking care of itself to to get ready for for the end of end of that cycle and you got the desk. And that keeps going it keeps going around and you got the rebirth going on at same time same thing that happens with the cycle of life time of day another cycle you've got morning. You got noontime evening and midnight's one of the obvious ones but you know you can think about in several different ways okay this is okay. The strongest and that is you know it is from worshipping the sun which i told you before the moon is the symbol of the female the sun is the power as this is a symbol of the mail so this is the strongest time of you know the male power and everything that goes along with it the winter solstice the longest night and it is the time where we kind of you know cuddle into ourselves and wait we hunker down because the light will come back it's the time for reflection for exploring the darkness within ourselves exploring the darkness in our lives but knowing that the light is coming back as well so. Okay and the first one is a condom off and invoke is really the birth of the light okay so the stay start getting longer at the solstice but you really start seeing the light and if you remember the cycle of the life that's when the baby is born that's it's the birth of the light and it's candlemas who's because it's all about candles now it did turn into a candle mass in the catholic faith. But it is all about new beginnings that is where new year's resolutions or things that she want to begin anew happel happened in vulcan candlemas probably one of the most holy days in the pagan calendar beltane. New regeneration this is the time of procreation if you will this is the time of fair maidens kind of going off into the woods and celebrating life and celebrating the creation of new life you guys are getting what i'm hinting at right okay i'm not going to go any further. Things that are very much there now you can make the case that you know there's they should be private and that's fine but they should not be shameful and in my religion celebrates in the power that it brings that it brings to us. The next one is llamas in llamas is all about the harvest. So it's right after the summer solstice and this is when the crops come in this is this is our time of gratitude it is not a coincidence that thanksgiving falls around that time this is the time when the crops are harvested and you celebrate you sank the mother earth for giving you those crops and all of the nourishment and everything that it that it provides. For you. And then saw wayne and sewing for those of you who are here at halloween song wayne is the other extremely important. Season in the in the pagan calendar following is when we. Close up things for the winter if you will and i mean that on a metaphorical basis as far as well as you know a real one you know this when you say okay after so i'll be in my house until probably in both again i'm preparing for the dark. I'm preparing for i'm preparing for the deaf. Of the goddess i'm preparing for the death of mother earth. And knowing that mother earth will be coming back again saul wayne is also an extremely important time to recognize those who have passed on our culture is we. Including those people still in our lives. There's not a way that we have in this particular important to me of talking to our children about them there's not a way that we have including them and and really connecting ourselves and our families with our with our ancestors and our heritage and this is what's alwayne does for us every year at samhain we created following alter we have pictures of all of the ancestors who been important to us includes into my childhood dog. Includes you know my best friend from when i was 18 it includes my grandparents it includes last year there was a ball from a hamster who had an unfortunate miss feeding. And it is the time that we hope. If you believe that these things happened that that the spirits of our ancestors and our loved ones will come back and give us a message and that they will they will communicate and and just need to spread their love their love on us so we put out food on altars austin. Trick-or-treating and all of that kind of stuff also came out of pagan heritage know how to invite me back again next year to hear more about that. Another child growing up it is it is the bunnies and it is the eggs it is about to hatching you know that the dino baby everything is happening around the spring equinox so let me. Is there any questions about that cuz this is really important stuff and i know i'm supposed to take questions at the end but i like i like this. You talked about. You hope that your ancestors get in touch with you is that what you said. Paganism being in that true religion in which i haven't had anything about law for behavior. You just just mentioned that you hope your ancestors get in touch with you is that a belief belief in another world that belief in the supernatural. All energy is. Everything is energy the leafs that are outside or energy where energy and the rocks have energy and when that energy. When the physical body dies the energy still exist. So you can call that a metaphysical thing that's happening you can call that a physical thing that's happening so i believe that my ancestors are still with me in their energy and their spirit i believe that they've got other things to do besides just hang out with me. Their energy can come back to me it can manifest in several different ways i mean i did it i did a ritual several years ago that was extremely powerful where was niall. It was and it was basically a ritual isn't it's a trance if you will a meditation 22 journey across a river a very long river where you're you're going to another world and on that in that other world are people who have passed on before you and and people who are important to you. And i was thinking about will be really cool if i you know if i talk to my friend kaylee that would that's the thermite my childhood friend growing up two people showed up there and it was really important to me and made me cry it was it was a beautiful beautiful spiritual experience. So. Any other questions about the the holidays in particular cuz i'm going to get more into the beliefs and so and so forth and that's it's a fabulous question. Some of the other spiritual pieces that i love i love the feedback here so. Are extremely important see southwest and north again it ties into the physical manifestation of our world it's probably not something that you think about except for when you're following your mapquest directions but it is something that each direction has its own power has its own manifestation and how this. How this manifests for me in ritual is as everytime i start a ritual i do something called i cast a circle and what it what is what it's called and you start by pointing to the east which i am and invoking the powers of the east and i'm moving to the south and invoking the powers of the south. And the north and the west and what that does is it gets. It gets me back in touch. With what. What is what is spiritual form and what does he need the power of the air it's the wind it's our breath. It's you know the size of a child the size of a loved one it's the oxygen that we're all sharing right now in this moment it's what connects us and what keeps us alive it's the breeze on a nice spring day or the lack of one on a really hot summer so it's it's the it's the air it's the currents it's whatever whatever it might be and it is the power of the sun it's the power of a fire that keeps us warm on a cold day it's the fire that might be inside of us it is spirit that you see in people everything from the oceans to have so much life in it. It's the water of our wounds that gives birth. It's the water of everything that we might touch water spiritual refining so it's the spirit the spirit of water. That connects with us and then the north is really another physical manifestations of earth rocks. The animals the vegetation so it's everything from you know the stone that sitting out there to the beautiful oak tree. To every living creature including ourselves. It's everything from my dog bailey to a beautiful lion it's the you know it's it's the energy matter around us. It's the flowers it's it's everything it represents. What is what is solid in hand grounding for us on the earth so those are these those manifestations and with that comes with the air there's mind and consciousness. You know someone i'm invoking the east i say the power of the east i talked about all the things about the air if it is working for me and i also talk about my mind you know let my let my mind be clear let me drop on my logic let me let me be. Turned into my experience and what. Has worked for me let me learn new things let me be conscious. Of what's going on when i turn to the south. The powers of the south the fire the fiery passion but this is all about the spirit the human spirit and all aspects of it the good the bad the ugly i mean this is the the passion to send me when i argue with my husband. And the passion when we make up it's the it's the spirit that makes you have your convictions about what's right on this earth. Our social consciousness if you will about being angry about the injustice has that we see going on and it's honoring that and invoking invoking that when i invoke the powers of the west i call to the spirits of the water the connecting that i feel flowing through my own body but also this is emotions and intuition this is about. Acknowledging that the east which is its opposite might not always be. Letting me write down the same right ruth down the right path you know that intuition might be the place that i need to be touching right then that i need to honor my emotions that i should allow myself to have those emotions whatever whatever it might be. And then the north. Again kind of the opposite of what the south is is the biotic body in the physical and when i invoke the north. You know i invoke whatever animals might be calling to me the great mountains the beautiful grass but also i asked to be grounded on the earth i asked to be here in this moment i ask for strength of body i get connected with my feet touching the ground and feel my feet reaching down they almost like tree roots down into the earth below me and and feel the energy from the core of the earth coming up through it that's what i'm doing. That's the basis if you will you know all the spiritual stuff on that is based in this and then it all done at all layers layers on to it. Okay any questions about this the northeast southwest and any of that oh my ok. Would you guys like me to cast a circle physically i mean would you like now you heard half of it i can do it doesn't hurt if you all would you all if anyone would be willing to would you like to cast it with me okay but i need you to do stand-up. But what i do is i face the east and just kind of make my body opens the powers of the east. So i say hail to the powers of the east. To the great goddess. Of air. Of the breath that connects us. Breathing in. And breathing out into another. Of our intuition. Have you ever of our mind of our consciousness. And all that we hold dear. And what we know. Morning time of our lives for. Be with us now. And what you all say as hail and welcome. And then what i do is i do a sign of a sign of the. The star. And i will do that but i'll tell you a little bit more about that in a second then we turn. To the south. Hail to the powers of the south. A fire akitas passion. Have everything that flows through our blood when we're angry when we're loving. Hibiki that warms us the sun that is coming on. Stronger and stronger this time of year. You are nurturing. Motherly side. To the caring father. Be with us now. Hail and welcome. Hail to the powers of the west. To the great oceans celayix the streams. The water that flows through us. In our veins. The bloodwater that nourishes us. Your emotions and intuition. Let us be connected. With it. To the evenings of our lives. Hello and welcome to the power of the north. To the great buffalo. The mountains. The grass. The hillsides. And the valleys. Hell. The midnight of our lives. Help us be grounded. Play what we are here on this earth to be to accomplish. Hello and welcome to the future. To the center of our spirit. The spirit that is in all of us so those are very much grounded in the in the physical elements but their sets that that's fifth element which is spirit. Some of you saw the sign of the star different than the cross that is if you will there's the four points which is the northeast. South and west. Helen is the top which is the spirit. So every time you see you know this. The cross. So okay well that was interesting. Yes please i'm sorry i still have three more questions go ahead. Your circle have opposites complementing them. And us. And recognizing. The both have value you know there is there's a lot of times that we say you know oh i know i'm angry all the time you know i'm angry and this is bad i need to not be angry. No you need to give me to embody that anger you need to own it and. Find what you can do to get in touch with those the other balance side of it too. Hereafter. How to differentiate us from the most fundamental of religions that we know in the world today. That's a fabulous question. Almost all the fundamental religions that we know today came from this. So that that isn't that the key thing to recognize is that you know if you grew up in another tradition oh gosh what did i do. It's miss mary ground in a lot of religious beliefs. And a lot of pagans stealing borrow from from different things as well we create our own rituals you know it's. But i don't know if i've got a concrete answer for that i mean it is it is what it is and the other ones grew out of it i'm going to go through a couple a couple other things and then i won't going to take a couple more questions if you will. Groundhog's day. It's about returning of the sun. Right it's about whether they're 6 weeks or so many days or whatever it is it's pagan. Easter ok the cross and all of that kind of stuff definitely christian. The bunnies the eggs the easter egg hunts all of that pagan easter is is set to be on the first sunday after the full moon after the spring equinox and it was a lot of these a lot of your. Traditional holidays were placed into the pagan pagan calendar in order to get the pagans. To incorporate them. So you know it was very natural for easter which is about the resurrection resurrection and the rebirth renewal to happen on the spring equinox. Okay. Beltane. If you ever. I might be crossing a line here and i'm really really sorry i maple it's just think you got sick and you got the wrapping of the ribbons around it. And there's a there's an image there if you get it great if you don't talk to me later the the mets basket that you took that you used to make as a little kid. Maidens were sent off into the fields with baskets of food to sustain them for 3 days. While they experienced the beautiful offering set that their human sexuality can have can have. I'm not putting a basket is. Thanksgiving certainly has been invent that but it naturally falls on the you know the time of the harvest with his very very key i talked about saul wayne and halloween a lot almost created the catholics created all saints day. The next day to try to make up for the sins of this since day before or something i don't know actually i do there's some really complex history on that is very interesting and then christmas is the ultimate. You know christmas we know that that christ was actually born sometime in march. But the somerset their winter solstice is the birth of the sun sun. It made perfect sense for put the birth of the son son. Honor at the same time you know that you will you will listen name for the winter solstice. The christmas tree all of those things are and lights lights are very much welcoming back the sun to the earth. Is is a is a pagan thing so that all of those things have an in-car incorporated and there's a lot of different ways that it happened but it's putting the christian calendar on top of a pagan calendar so the pagans would accept it. And just as beautiful melting pot of the turn it different traditions that ended up having symbolism in both ways. Okay. Okay. Just a couple key things. There are many different practices there are everything from the very symbol. I'm to be extremely organized and hierarchical. Okay and it's just like any other religion there are different sexes. Sex sex sects i know you guys are going to think that i'm just like you know this terrell for. It is it is not is not what what we do this is not theirs there always be some misguided youths who want to annoy their parents. Who will adopt some things thinking that this is what's going on but the truth is that anyone who believes truly believes in pagan beliefs and beliefs. Police and the rule of three which is whatever you do will come back to you threefold. So if you do good. Freehold will come back to you if you do evil watch out. So it is this out of this is my part where i was going to get into the manifestation of the god and the goddess you know the yin and the yang the partners. You know and everything so some literally some figuratively and. The nice one of the nice things about paganism it is a true respect for the earth. This is not just saying oh i'm feeling environmental recycle today this is honoring mother earth and all of its. All of its beauty and splendor and protecting her as if she was. Our mother. Recognizing the power of the ancestors the healthy respect for sex and death i think you've gotten that already. And spells in another's austin's kind of patient with spells. Spell the physical manifestations of what we want if you will to meditation it's a prayer it whatever but i usually do something tangible with it so in other words if i want to manifest something good in my life. I will write it down on the side of a candle for example. And i will burn that candle all night i will put some energy into it to make it happen i'm going to recap and then i'll take a couple questions. What can we learn from this. Reconnect with the earth. Bien soon with a natural cycles that are going on. Release the shame and taboo i won't say it again. Connection with a female female deity in paris doesn't mean you can't have the mail but i think in our culture owning some of the female peace is nice too. The power of ritual and what it can do rituals in your family and your life. And creativity and worship we make up a lot of stuff it's a very very creative. I think this is whatever we want to manifest and bring you the power to do that okay. Chinese. 24. And also believes. Body somehow girl girls. Also relate to the 24 season 4. 24 season. So they have a sinkin syrup they're concerned on earth but it also have things concern about heaven so therefore they're more there probably isn't that's why because something's. Preach birth of humanism. So they're not a size must come in part because earth is in in the sun of muscatine. I don't advertise though because son is young german german son and then that i have a conversation. Other language different in different cultures and so on and so forth so thank you. Part of the issue is not that you have people with an agenda to make pagans come in but it's essential that pagans are in. And they're the ones making decisions on the calendar and its you know it cuz you have funeral. One guy's christian his mother was pagan right you know it's not this kind of image in modern history. With the terminology we get a lot of female like an address in the beginning you get a lot of people upset over terminology that gets used overloaded load into the words. One of the ones for example for just take pagan which you know you go to the dictionary and it's anybody who's non-christian in the muslims or pagans the other. Isn't there a better word to use than something so broad cuz i could say i'm an earthling but that doesn't really you know bring me that hannah doesn't sometimes more beneficial to 22b that or is there a specific reason. Why the fundamental religion. Fundamentally earth-based religion chooses to use the word paganism of pagan is is an earth-based for it does mean that now but my understanding is the history and i don't want to talk. Originally i hate labels i don't know what to do with them you know i can say that i'm in an earth-based religion. And i don't know i don't have the benefit of saying here's how i can describe myself in words. That are acceptable to people much less. Revered you know so i think that was the last question i'm going to be here this is some representation of my alter i am thrilled that you all had questions i'm sorry i ran over maybe we should have cast a circle but it was thank you for doing that with me and it was so it was a pleasure to be here with you guys today.

universityuus_org

SS2005-05-15-Intro2Universalism_1of2.mp3

John higgins. Melbourne and cocoa. Matter. I want to make an announcement for sure. I wait wait. My wife. I bought myself everyday for having married her. I'm responsible for that music come out. And i knew those two and a half. In the garden was one of the favorites to my mother. Never got to sing that again until her memorial service. A what i. We call ourselves unitarian universalist really much about want universalism. And i don't suppose we think very often about. From the beginning of liberalism. Where we are today. I'm going to talk to you about is people who had believe you have none of you think you're going to hell. Unitarianism mean i believe that there is only one person in god there is no trinity. Formula. Not only that but part of the people in the early church. Human being. Universal eternal punishment. That means even the most vile spinner. Schneider electric parts in christianity. It goes back to the forerunner of christianity and judaism. Zoroastrianism. Michael's back in the 7th century bc when we have actual written records. Universal is dominated by. The good god and his opponent angra mainyu. Medieval. A death follower. Would have to walk the path. Heaven. Narrow razor-thin bridge across the great abyss. And they fell into the abyss. However. The idea of university. The writing to come up early christianity. In vatican 2. The early christian writer origin. Early because later on with a heretic. Repeat that everyone would be saved even the den demons at the end of time. Claire's. Humans are corrupt. And asking for help. Salvation. Unrelated. Departamental it's unfair it's unfair. And the answer is. Backpack. But it demonstrates god's mercy no one is deserving of salvation. I guess so he didn't get lonely. Alvin goes back to the 16th century. Determination but it never became adoption of the christian church. Predetermination. Had a very gloomy view of life. And he's remembered by those who are liberal. Predetermination. Unitarianism. Emerge. From. Harry truman. Jordan church of the time. Emerge from a period when the bible was beginning to be questioned. Early 1800s german scholars began to look at the bible instead. It isn't what they said it is. At the references to time in plato, they were inconsistent. No historical corroboration. Particularly. Migration. And slavery to the promised land. Birthday party people got in their way. Now these terms get very confusing. Time i'm going to discuss. Because they got mixed up and you're going to hear me talkin about calvinist baptist. Or calvinist quakers where universal earthquake-proof reimbursement baptism. Try to hang clothes. Now the argument. I'm talking now i'm going back to the 1772 1800. The great revivalist movement that took place. United states. Dominant religion dominant outlook. Becoming unitarian. As opposed to trinitarian. And probably the unitarians in the trinitarian. Magic scepter probably okay.. Wild creatures out of the incoming one another plate. Revivalist. When all through the country areas remember most of the country what country are country area. Preaching. Wild. Erica lang curbing that talk about hell and fire and brimstone and coming to jesus. They were generally done by uneducated preachers. And they were tremendous style. Educated unitarian ministry. Doll came from holland. And they were educated. Faith by these wild men. I hate women. Now. Later on something else did darwin. And the notion that we are all. Develop from earlier speaking great prices and christianity. We have a new religious denomination emerging call universe. The first names remember john murray. Founder of universalism in america. He was a product. Other religious conflict.. Cointreau family of calvinists. In hampshire england. 1741. He may have been born into the emerging middle-class. At any rate. He read the classics shakespeare. He was confirmed at the pool place angleton. Although he was flying toward methodist. Message at that time. Expecting. Methodism relied great deal on music for previous message. A young age of attainment. Begin their careers in their teens or early twenties. Harvard graduate for variable. By the time he was able to combine religion and romance. He married eliza neil we met at one of his many religious meaning. Fountain county year. Roughly equivalent $5,000. 17. Worked for last year. Could any rate. Wife died shortly after that.. I found himself deeply in debt. Very enlightened country attack. And his brother-in-law. Bailey now. And he decided that you had to get away from it. America. Hayden. Because nobody thought of anything of america better very difficult. Getaway. Hanukkah. I can't remember the name of it i'd forgotten that i. Remember him too well. And a mile down from boston i got worried that the portal is closed down the american revolution was on the way. They went to norfolk. And everybody got off at norfolk. People crossing the ocean taking a couple of weeks. I don't know where they're headed. I get off at rangpur a couple hundred miles away. By the time you get off. Marie decided. Now i had the news that it was wrong boston wasn't close. Headed back to boston. On the way the great navigator. Grounded. Dupli-color cranberry inlet. New jersey. Jean-marie got off to go and find some. Supply. How many got there. A man named. And he had built. Chapel for visiting ministry. And he had quite a bit of property there and you. Landed gentry i guess you would call him. I need again questioning. Marie about you. And i found out that they were both in universal. Bento. Appointment. Andy. Group. Quaker baptist. Also. It wasn't unusual almost anything. Very very very. Body related from type b. No people universalist for long time. Chimerical. Oregon had sent dawn marie there. 1770. University. Magnificent event. Spoken more than one baptist meeting. And eventually. Ended up. At this point you at that time. That massachusetts was dividing irises. Eric protect. Toupee. A neat person whose residents had a special permission.. Had to pay taxes to the church. His message was 17 people from gloucester. Seventeen members. Congregate. 17 people. And they stood the members who had not pay their taxes. Projections taken and sold at auction. Now. Batman. Unitarian universalist. And basically they were too. Somewhere. They were part of me. But now they smoky mountain claims. That nomination. He got by with it. Birthday pic read in the country. He made history for seventeen members. Guy with an english accent. Jackie had. Devoted following. War with on the revolutionary war. Kaplan. The rhode island regiment. Now the other ministers were someone who didn't believe in eternal punishment. Batman had. Republic figured one of them was george washington. Washington. Kaplan. I can't picture this. At all in my mind. Business surprising how many of them are able to ingratiate himself. Murray had this particular again. And after the war was over. He married a woman who is very politically powerful to. A writer for her. Now before i go on somebody before this is over it's going to ask me why aren't there any atheist or agnostic another date unsinkable. Unthinkable. Now he went on he went. Massachusetts. Hungarian tablet to dump the rest of their life. Very very very very well. Friend in the house. Governor of massachusetts. Washington. And be really quiet. Now he is heading a news organization. Bringing many convery. University. His wife even after his death. We have the information about him. It was a newspaper called the cleaner. And very often. Dawn marie would reject leader in there with the articles about the value of women how they should be allowed to vote. 1800. And how. They were very bright told his wife that he was she was much brighter than. He was right. Articles. 33rd article. Amongst. Atlantis v2 circle. Play turn into a book. More with that attitude after you died. He was the one from whom we get most of the information about him. No. Don't remember. Don't talk much about himself at the trinitarian. Deviates from christian. Back in time. White doctrine that no one was going to condemn. Universalist minister we're not educated. Not convenient. Medication would do them any good. That they would go back to the perverted way for christianity. That they were inspired directly by god. I think enough they were inspired to different positions on the trinity. Unitarian and somewhere trinitarian. Murray medical toronto he died. Unitarian. But he did not. Remember. Pokemon michelle. Universalism. Hard-hit by many factors one of them was. Moral laxity. To prevent universalist. Testifying in court cases. Anyone who is so unstable. Now there's some problems among universalist ministries. You know everybody. Some people are even crankier crabby. Like that. I don't care what it is. Thankful. Glyka. We go unpunished for all the things we're done. They decided that. A quick-thinking and prayer searching for free. . i remember you like cake. After. And then after that 50000 years they will be purified and return to those who join christ. Well silly 50,000. They said that died. Human humanity. And so there was no need to worry about that. You got your hell in life. Life. These people would call restoration. Now as i said the idea of an educated clergy was absolutely anathema. Universal. I thought they were listen to people with country accent or not elegant do not spend. Hours and hours and hours on sunday. Do you currently looking at them everything. The same kind of thing. But a lot of them. Lot of university. At the same time. Did not believe in one god but they did not want. Did not want to take people think they were like the uneducated. Maybe even semi-literate from universalism. Is it a long time before they started trusting each other. Now in the 1880s time when a great number of higher education institutions were established in this country most. Where. Very few that were secular. University secondary education. Secondary education is not common for everybody in those days. And they had to. Secondary school. Time went on. Anemometer college university near boston which is the universal college or university. Quite a good university. And it's called herself universalist. Another one with st. lawrence university new york. Institute in pasadena california institute of technology. History. Survive. What are there colleges that call lombard college lombard in pawtucket. Chicago. Started out as a college with another connection. And after a while they decided that they couldn't make it in lombard farming town quite far out and day of no road the railroad. Lombard. They went broke. Part of their property. The university of chicago and the other part. What put up by a place in pennsylvania called meadville meadville. Bought the property. The universe. M lombard archaeology. Adrian lombardi. I might have a part. Where is bradley university. We're able to go with the flow at one point. Been reported. And i never had a national organization. Bennett avenue. Financial stability they didn't like giving money connect to organizations they all went to local convention. My two convention still going on in new york and in pennsylvania they're basically funding institutions now property of the universe that went out of business. Universal 102 large extent on farming community. Although there is the universal church on the eastside of central park in new york city. Big tine upgrade members of n.w.a.. What is aurora new york. Small congregation. Bandit. They had an organ. Size of the whole wall. Open all donated. Inherited. University around the country. Late 1800s they were variously. Largest protestant denomination the 8th largest protestant denomination. 1930s no one ever heard of them. I'm one of the reasons was that. Churches separate into fundamentals and modern it. No problem. Worrying about hellfire. That was not their major message. God mercy. Could not accept evolution. Spell ability bible. Unreliability. Little people found no reason to go. Universal salvation. Universally. And then. Early 1900. Perhaps the 1940s with the capstone of a humanist movement. Unitarians basically with the people behind the first human. One universalist minister who went today. Universalist. Can i get the middle of the 1930s. Aluminum. Oxymoron. Admit that they believe human thing for high responsible play behavior. Had to take responsibility for the world that somewhere there still wasn't.. Bitlife. God who created. Universe made it perfectly. Call carpet clockmaker. And then sabbatical. All yours now. Molarity there between universes. God. Humanist were still responsible. Progress now. I did have a place to train minutes early. Founders the early major figures. Bill did not believe. Comenity. As i said they would only repeat the erica christianity. We can meet anybody between god and our ministry. So we came up to the 50. Universalist unitarians again looking at each other. Found out in the large cities universalist unitarian churches for. 13 time. Amerie. I have a copy of the contract. And they agree to join and become one denomination a number of university. Very strong christian background. 961 on wechat. Define denomination. They do not fear, i know of no. Universalist church. Route to northeast there are many places where there the universal church. Unitarian church. Until the universal church because it very often have a cross on top. Not the bait. Are all christians and so that means it's where we are today and next time i'll talk to you about. Anniston 326 the first grade acumenical counselor church withheld. And alexandria. Repeat that jesus with not equal to god. Different thompson. Majority opinion was that really the son of god. God the father and god the holy spirit. Trinity position one out hundreds of years until the aryan pathology mariah. We're gone. Three persons in one god. And i think that's a wonderful answer it's a mystery and will understand or not when we get to heaven. Temperature. The wife of murray. The rider. And she also wrote to. Under the other i'm not sure i've never come across a copy of the real quick to defend him. Charges that were made against him like he wasn't truly a patriot and she points out that he was at home he was invited to john hancock home and john hancock became governor of massachusetts. Where's meadville pennsylvania to chicago. I ignore the picture it's about halfway between pittsburgh and erie. You were talking about. A large number of the founding father. Thomas jefferson. They were beginning to separate themselves in massachusetts. They take that from. No visual argument. Little bit. Jefferson. That the next generation of the country with all the unitarian. That makes me unitarian okay. Only doing anything to know he did not. Made it on bible. Capital took the king james version. How do you listen to jefferson bible you'll still find it library. I need a good idea.

universityuus_org

SS2004-12-26-WhatWasStarofBethlehem.mp3

Operand worldwide ledger. Prison break. Thank you very much. Inviting me here. Controversial. Sunoco reviews christianity. You know there were. Audience. Writing for. Don't worry. Very happy. Matthew. Dare. Important. You know i wouldn't. By someone who either. Dunkirk. Language. Research. Superfly. Convertidor. Cradle of astrology. They stole it from the babylonians. Play-doh. Obviously. The biggest and most powerful. Constellations. One complete. No. And that's what was going on in the 70s. Broccoli. 4 reasons. Conjunction. of about a thousand years millennium. Millennium. Universe. Jon voight. Information. At least according to the author. Thank you. For supernova. Chinese and korean. People hurt. Mars in saturn and jupiter. Vrbo. Mp4. You know. Anywhere. When you ask. Coin or anything. With the significant. Inflation. How would you define the difference between astronomy and astrology. Modern difference. What it means to be life on earth on on whatever level. Curology really didn't check them out. Over. Why did they go to.

universityuus_org

SS2005-09-04-WeatheringtheStorm.mp3

Regular speaker head. We're not going to do today talk. Open coronavirus. Halloween. So what i'll do what i'll do is i'll give that i don't know what the date is october. In the work that i do in hospice emoji flag where my middle name is flexibility i will offer walking and everyone was expecting but if you always expect. You always expect. You don't always get what you need to get. Supposed to be. Electric. Ceiling. About what happened. How you feeling. Spell mini mini emotion. Expressions. In your life. Or not. Devastated. Microphone. Alcoa. Where do the finger playing. What's your primary banner. Okay hold on. Loft. Little things like driver's license. Your insurance papers your will. Everything that makes you an identifiable human being on our planet computer record. If we ever fully. Absorb the impact of what it means to lose so much so quickly and so completely. You find yourself have you found yourself to get away from that level of intent bombarding almost like the hurricanes hitting you but in a different way it's pounding like all human nature look over at the accident on the highway and uncle. How many. Okay able to focus. Okay. That's more common response in places where i've been working in in the bluetooth libreria it is so overwhelming. We're still in pain and some people here. That haven't been healed. We can talk about law for 20 minutes and never fully unpacked. Frustration. With everything. One of the things that last year i did when i prepared my little hurricane take away. Was put all my family photographs things you cannot duplicate ever. And it's very important. The one word. Guarded anger. Are you saying that you're angry. Okay okay. Please turn that in. Overwhelmed. When you realize k5 of the area devastated. We're talking about. Even though. Bill coleman. Better. Feel better. I don't happy. Create. 19 year old patient. Favorite wine. Killian. Market. You telling me just to push through it. Corporate response you also need to find an individual response. But now we talk about the lawsuit. Play more about. Sanitary condition. Basic needs. And for all of our technocracy 2005 we really are very much as people as human beings. That is a remarkable thing to watch. Set reminder. I'm actually. Mine. We're trapped in a hotel right in downtown. Multiple. There are. Call lb. The american way. Great american theme. Lack of social control. The animals. That's another that's another piece think about is the animals. Erratically. Building. Was interviewing was giving her report of her. He broke down and started. The way it really was. I'm compelled. Something about tragedy. We're creating meaning right now. The reason. We are. How you choose to defend yourself or laugh or void. You can stand all day long. Come on. Yell at it. You look like the recipe. What are you scream or not. Now the average person runs away from the beach and i refuse to admit the tide coming in they denying runoff. Hurricane. The water tower. Experiences with it. And recognize the cycle. We don't like to recognize. Suffering is necessary. Inoculation. I doubt that or create suffering. As we grow. Are so many good things. Multiple. We don't want to look at all. In our country and our corporate spiritual body that would not have occurred without. I mean things will happen now it seems horrible that we have to have something like this. Light a fire under corporate society but that is the nature of the human experience. Who is happening. War is coming as the earth continued to change and our life and in all of the ships in all the levels of power. Situation. Incorporate. That makes sense. Newer heights. Where were you. Go to the world. Thank you, lots of people have that what do i do i feel helpless. Expedition. Is it. Second life. Abdication of responsibility it's a way for the human spirit to handle the impact and what's going on. Passive-aggressive. What's happening. Annoying. You think i'm here. First pres tracking frustration. Motion for me. I said that. If we didn't have. Travel plan. Travel plans. Anguirus. Some of you may have noticed. Incredible. What was likely to take place. Finally. The greeks understood all of this so very well. Talking about. People out there. We feel fear. Expurgate. Experience. What is a. Build a house under 100k elevation. Collectively. Really hard. Lady. Started talking about one of these. More. Soul. Okay. I'd like to suggest. I'd like to suggest that. My first feeling. I will honestly. That wasn't me. Now. But that's still human. Horrified. Remember last year in may. Relieved. I know where they are. The air works. Food my refrigerator. Right now. My world. Waiting to happen. What other. Ignored. Tomorrow. I'd like to offer. Closing. Theology. And they were his feet. Everyday. Would go out and count. Your body spirit. Increase energy. I like you to hold on to it. Hold on to the pebble. As long as you're breathing. As long as you figure out what to do. As long as you're working through. What you're going to do about. Life. Weather. When you find a way through it and process. Maybe it's a loved one grave. Find a monument. And come to the. Lay it down. .. Put on top. Of your leds on your desk so you can look at it and remind yourself of all the way. Set reminder rock. When we all get one. Water still being passed out. Can you read something. It isn't the thing you do. Contender word unspoken. The letter you did not write. Flowers that you might have sent. Stone you might have lifted out of your brother. Bonita park health council. Like to hurry. The loving touch of the hand. Total active pine-sol out of mine. Angel. Become a knight to skyland to take away the greek. Stop. Life is all too short in sorrow is all too great. Calculate. Bitter heartache. Constantin corporate communion. I asked you to call. Strength and comfort and courage. For your own heart. The girls have their own spirit. Strong and very present. Blessing. Individual live. I'll wrap your own heart. And mind. Realize that they are you. Strength of spirit. Nicole. Overcome.

universityuus_org

SS2007-02-11-TheGreatestLoveOfAll_Thyself.mp3

universityuus_org

SS2005-05-08-PragmythicBeliefcraft.mp3

Alan nordstrom. We've always enjoyed. Background graduate. Yeah go blue so. Talon. So you can look at it you don't have to look. You gotta look at it. What i'm giving you. Exactly a couple of things. And one of them is something that some of you would have heard because i. What whatever creed ology belief ology. Buckeye was using the term in a court inside the power of belief. What is the power of belief. Belief in some higher power or something like that. What what does that have to do with believing. More about today. Probably something about that before i even realized. That's what i was doing. Find figure out what what do i believe but. Why should i believe in. I have something to present to you a half an hour. Who has heard miguel. Poems and park.. Kind of traffic in the past. Thought that i might fit into a program that was coming up. 17. Academy of religion and psychical research. You can. I won't hear from her later i'm sure but. Secular humanist. I'm a recovering secular gilmer but i don't know where that is. I don't even know. I'm not i'm not sure i go along with a lot of the stuff that they're doing. What are they doing. It's a program. Title misology. After-death communication. End call. They got a number of papers submitted and. So that's what i'm giving the keynote. And i'll let you know anyway. Because i thought. And then i realized it would work it would perhaps be a keynote. I wrote something to some college. But i've also turned out to some colleagues at the at the college mall. A little better. I'm enclosing consisted pectin griffin a different need to be brought into better coherent. But for now they seem to work more like movement. More like that. And you might consider. I'll explain what time. Having having use those musical terms. Will be. Not one. Coherent lecture that's illogical 4445. Coming up what i'm talking about like 1 mode. So i've called the thing something different then you have in the program slightly different i'm calling it. Pragmatic. And what about mick foley. Sound like i'm not reading. So i want it i want it. Take a good look at the last paragraph. You probably. Happy writing a whole lot of stuff. What's it come down to. Introduction to networking. Am i mind what. What am i. How does belief. Relate to knowing. Emo. How much of what we think we know about reality believe. How much do our beliefs about reality state park. Very different concept reality. And intentionally modify. Our beliefs about reality. Call my wife. Anymore. Not quite. Park burger. Turn what we believe reality. Reality itself not just our perception of it. What about. What are the words that i or we. Are you wet. Are you committed to. Somebody are one of my friend colleague creditworthy. My pregnant stomach. That what we believe know. Therefore our beliefs about what. Go tell the world as we see it. And our beliefs affect alter our perception of reality profoundly. We're responsible for the mental world we inhabit the consequences of our mental construction. Public arena. What you believe. Leslie therefore. Learning how we recognize alderaan control our beliefs is a vital skill. Upon which personal and societal. Preferably crafting comes in. My bank is that we need to study human phenomenon of belief. Most if not all of our just taking a nap. But we might prefer that crawl acknowledge and underline. But most of what we do. Not positive proof. Questions and issues grow more speculative than existential the less susceptible they are. Creeper. Therefore. Convection currents elise need to be grammar. When and how we do but when and how much we do. When and how much do we depend on. How do we form them captain ancient invalidate them. What is the power of belief. Big tents and influenza b attack and how much of what we regard as reality derived from our beliefs. More we understand the phenomenon of belief. More clearly until. Doppler. You're going to hear believe. Barbara moore. And now we. When i get to the point where i think i've connected it with what. Country. Twerking. Pino's address. And by the way you got my email address. Have any suggestions. I'm looking for a way to prevent my topic of property note harmonize what might seem the different subjects of his conference knitology after-death communication and realize that belief supports and connects tomorrow. Mythology. Invisible forces. .. Communication may or may not be factual. An evidential. They are for me i think. Communication. May or may not depend on fact 11th but the presumed evidence for it appears more readily not to skeptics. Immeasurable. The word for that mysterious animating force that holds bodies together as living sentient. Conscious beings the fragile extinguisher. Where did she go. Double tap on pass away. Department for elsewhere more than anything else most of us want that to be so we want to believe it's true and most of us do. When you're in the blades in a university meaning. We yearn. Pictures of an all-loving creator. Yearn for a cosmic stories and where we came from why were here where we go when we die. We also need to know why this mortal life involves such suffering calamity done. Nantucket ferry. A good and bad fortune. Stuck injector. Cuz we do not know by any scientific. Controller. Delete richardson-gaffey the chasm between knowing. Playing bridge with ropes and flats by which we traversed from physical proof. Rather than taking a blind leap of faith across the death of unknowing to land on solid surface. Most of us would rather like spiders for hope program. We send our beliefs ahead of us. Berkeley make. Then we rely on them. Dorothy and toto food. Provide. But kinder para playing. The realm. Of ultimate question occurrence served us well enough. Movement 2. Because life presents us with profound mysteries that stinking cannot fathom. Because our need for comprehensive and urgent. We regularly substitute beliefs of various sorts to fill in. They're buying hoping thereby to patch over the pothole. I believe many of our stopgap. Feeling empty play norway on lights. More than anything else.. Zebra live to be meaningful or we cannot be happy. Quest for meaning belief weather in science. Offer premises and promises to help us make sense and understand the way things are. Ultimately. Or like. App for meaning of dropped some kind of mystery. Much of what once seemed mysterious has since opened to the clothing science. Would grow ever more sophisticated than. However. Ultimate matters. The why questions as opposed to the how question. How many belief picks up the gratify her. We hope to be gratified dancers ad. And god loves you and wants only what is good for you and. Reruns of touched by an angel. Doug something for me i can't believe in angels but i love that program. God works in mysterious ways god does not give you what you want but what you need. He's hearing from the universe turn we crave hearing that life is not meaningless and that our lives are not or not. Even if some cannot believe in god no.. Evensong cannot believe in god we may believe. Positively in the welfare and progress of humanity. Themselves to the betterment of life on earth and life even beyond. Like biosphere. We can make and believe in sustaining. The miracle of life present in the universe. We're risking a lot without behavior. They can't believe entertaining the miracle of life presence in the universe and the blessings of consciousness and self-consciousness. Goodman valor work indignity. Quest of the heroic. Either religious or a humanistic. Not playing. Reminder. Delete. Melon. Knowing. Wake 12:19. Dunnellon police must be evaluated by their effects on our lives in the world. Kayak part of craigslist. Nonetheless belief. According to how well they fill the potholes. On life highway and keep our lives moving smoothly. When you believe. Because they are not robots. We break through the surface losing courage hope and purposes we plunge into the void. We then i hear joel dwight exhorting on hair. But an ennobling trip us up. Pragmatic police craft. Magnetic police craft then is learned more vital than any other. It's a survival skill for the soul. What could be more important to driving as a human being by devising and durable. Completing an ennobling lift. I meant to live up to. Supreme court elevation. Crack pipe. Given that we cannot live by the bread of knowledge alone. And that our spirit crave uplifting belief. Challenge in life is to craft beliefs that serve a cat make. But many of our spirits have been handed down to us. Indoctrinated by the culture of our family and society ultimately. Amateur hour. Belief becomes more conscious considered exercise more free will and deciding and selecting what to believe. Choices based largely on the expected consequences. Crying out contesting one another. Then we're responsible for our choices. Quite likely wilson family. Not having calculated well the consequences. The current play the suicide bombing. The power. Override. The fundamental survival instinct power. And your ablation self-righteous and heavenly reward for my i can knock things off the wall. Move mountains. Phenomenal. Smokin bones. Spell whether or not. In the power of imagining. Yep for what we do dream. We are responsible. We answer for the consequences. Let's talk about. Factory. What's playing in the wheels police. Okay. I know what i know. But how much of what i think i know. But but what i believe. Which is something i have chosen to do. Consciously or more likely unconsciously. Better to take more than i really do know. Even though much of what i assume is only when i have taken on truck. Terrified. By the way. Will walk about in the in the world relying on lots of the pumpkin that the strength of our belief. Turn my mind into skirting table we believe we are walking on solid sidewalks instead of the rickety rope bridges long over chasms that our beliefs amount to. Delete may sustain us for awhile even though our lives but they remained. We make 12. The question is whether we can live by fact alone or live atwell without police. Possible. The time believe unavoidable for human beings. We need goodbye carrier for judging our beliefs and our beliefs. I'm saying that we consciously. Scribe to become wedding certain belief. Bolling fidelity to diamond trucking. Believing. Delete them is like. Speculation that comes through our minds that work or the duck for a more robust police. Abstract discussion more concrete pumping concrete. You coming down from class now. Consider the prospect of a thriving world. For depriving world. When you explore the fundamental question of how people's beliefs affect their lives. Supercuts. What each of us may believe or simply unconsciously. About. What kind of food. Is your idea of the future optimistic. Whichever way you affect how you live now right. But because the future. Nebulous concept. Nebulous. Consciously. Just pondering and planning. Within your private studies work and personal relationships harden up. Would you not be happier though if you held a strong hope that despite all the evidence and terrifying troubles in the world and of course i couldn't do know about. Imagine that human history. Supporters of millennium. 4 years after. 2000. 911. Well. Cats that look like. How you feel. Progressive. Catastrophic how you think about that. Call imagine that human history is truly progressive learning however slowly to live within social economic political technological ecological. Do you cannot know the future or confidently predict how the world will go during your lifetime and beyond. One way or another you can also whip it. Then if you combine what you imagined and we're developing. Hooking up of imagination and engineering. Conversion. Make a call. Make a call. Hopeful imagination. And clever ingenuity designs machinery to make that dream real. Denver. Provide the willpower to run the machinery. Temperature. Making the dream. Many people succeed in realizing their personal and family dream america. Spare. Enlarge their grain to include the need to bother the world. I would say the ones most worthy of our most inspired by the bigger dream about. They are better suited to do a better world according to their vision of what that mean. Why do might not hitler. Think of themselves. Double edged sword. Human intelligence has slowly figuring out how human beings drive. And how weber planetary life. We're walking into trying to swell. Commitment to promoting.. Albert schweitzer's reverend for life. Baltimore. Who is not contributing. Mind heart and soul is the dream of thriving. Most of our modern efforts in that direction have focused on material as if that's where all it takes. We have much more to understand and practice in the mental emotional. Go app. How do i fry. What do others mean. What does the world mean for driving. However small away. Make you happy. Enviable. One work. Now if you want to hang in there for the for the cota. This is a poem that i wrote. 123456. Final stanza. How it works. Kind of line. But it doesn't have rhyme. Mine is hurted a word. Antenna. You get six words at the end. 5. In the final. What you think of the word of the word text words that are repeating. That much. And then. Reply. I think i did under those parameters here. Reiterating. Maybe nail down what i was talking about all the time. Play jolly rancher. Jubilee. Helping out if you know. Praise that i can't recall. Responsibility. Not mason. If i'm responsible for what i dream. Then all the more am i for my belief. So life is not a play he'll what's at play inside my head by live. Remind. Could use a little help. Play belief in god can help with everything. Gunplay. Wish and hope. Can you help us live more happily and even work to rectify. Does green pacifier. Bleach. Cologne. Play with noah. Delete the hypothesis we formed to help imagination. So how's work. Proposition may work or not. Stumble on and learn. Meanwhile we mostly play with rff. Call lemriel. What first we dream evolve in the belief which put in hopeful. Ducktail. I think after all my ruminations about what. The general about the general nature of beliefs. That however another time but i'm here now. It would be well for me. But if you want. Something-or-other. Thank you very much. I want i want to thank you for that. Accept him and he also. You are going to hear steelers talk because he's going to deliver it twice cuz it's sunday morning and then she's going to drive over the conference and delivered again. I i will. Bring some brochures and put them. By the lamp over there. Gloria. But i have to. Play i've had enough redundancy. What i would suggest. What advice do you have for a confused. Circle word help. Creator. Minecraft. I have. Ok google. If you believe you got a parking. 2020. I really enjoyed. A lot of modern art. On that printer. Well. I don't know. But i'm thinking about it. Football. I am the one. I agree. I found the plankton.. Material. And i know. However. Directions. Play something. So. Call get temporary liberty imagination in literature. More latitude.

universityuus_org

SS2005-08-14-TheSimpsons.mp3

Mark. Quit reversed. Rather than a medical. Water cream. You put my mind. Okay but it's. Despite the raptor. After 17 years. Lucrative television enterprise for the fox network. A record-breaking kids. Which act today. Joe draws on every aspect. Call tara. About 1. Question relating to. Theology. Over 70 talk about religion in every single time. When's the last time in primetime tv. Never. Bren. Law & order frazier ally mcbeal we are home improvements. None of these episodes have ever talked about going to church you never see the character you never hear the characters discussing god. Children. Question is. Wheelhouse bar. Certainly not. Bark app. What if you're a really good person but to get into a really really really bad fight and your leg is gangrene and have to be amputated. Will your legs be waiting for you in heaven. Define extol teacher answer. Another important question question of life. What is the purpose of suffering. A question. But most of it is. Never aired. Angel. Alright. About. How we live our lives. I took care of a two-year-old. Extremely. Religion. Where do i go. You know what happened. Questions about. And i thought about the importance of attendance. Religion. .. Religion. Very important. Parent guardian. People growing up. American culture. Regardless of where everyone in right now religion. And i know your background and i know your journey and i know that a lot of religion.. Even if. But you're here. Is your religion. Are you losing your religion. Religion is a piece of american life. Identify that song.. Connect. Religion and religion. I guess we have no choice. Problem. Accordingly. Will start. Right before the cross. I am not. Specializes in mockingjay. Pseudo religion found in american popular culture. Really about the religion that we see through the filter of movies and television. We are. Question. When you have a chance. Anime. Worried over by neiman parents president of the united states. More closely resemble. Paseo court. What religion plays in america. There is evidence in the real world anansi. Regular. Adherence to religion lead healthier lives. A longer life. You'll live longer and you'll stay healthier longer while you live longer. Chronic bronchitis one-car accident suicide and other various types of cancer in the life. John hopkins school of hygiene and public health studies show that people have less cardiac. Religious citizen are also likely to be better adjusted. Among the explanations offered by social scientist. Phenomenal a cleaner lifestyle. Breath of prayer prayer prayer. Anthony the support of a religious community. That alone is enough. I don't come here and talk to people that have to come out. Unitarian. Health problems. Crayon. American lion. Character. The reverend. Idealist. Mustangs on house in the hurricane. Little lisa simpson. Springfield answer to question no one ave. Delete mark leonard and heather lovejoy are more narrow-minded than rubbing. Afterlife. Without a doubt. Adam and eve. What's that thing called. Allen. Very difficult. I agree with. So wonderful. How many people watch. You like. Or below. Stevens academy of religion. Interface with religion and harry potter. You want to make any kind of connection. Mention mention think about because i feel religion in popular culture. No no i need your i have i have been. As much as i would convert to what i was saying. Harry potter. And you don't have time. Yeah. I don't watch a lot of times weather in cartoon form. I recommend. Thanks a lot.

universityuus_org

SS2005-08-28-Tombstones&Cemetaries.mp3

Weather today. My wife kathy perry. Kathy has a doctorate in public health. Black. Garnered a lot of. Neon tombstone. Cemetery of the folk art in history. A well and if you notice on the back of her license tag on her car i think she has. So many dead relatives so little time with doctor perry good morning. Cemetery amion. Cemetery with a lot of room. There would be a lot of different rooms with a in the cemetery biography. Zurcher of cemetery. We would be there a long time. We have a half an hour i like to talk about. I'd like to talk a little. A little bit about. Greenwood cemetery new york. 1865 cemetery with established a little earlier than that. Symptoms would you associate with the puritan. Symbolism. Flower. And this figure is called. It seems to be rising to the afterlife for the puritan. Topeka. The puritans came over bringing with them their english background and the english background for tombstone at the time they came over with what they called the memento mori remember that's also barnes. The reason that they brought over with them originally. Time running out. Ouroboros. Eternity. Again. Baby game. From. Here we have more like. Ariel. Charleston. But security quickly became full. The second place. For burial. On the family farm on your family's property. But. Streamline. Crowded. Cemetery in landscape. Landscape. Cemetery. Cereal. Beautiful landscapes. Burberry here. Mary baker eddy. Strawberry. Auburn cemetery. Auburn. So they can get aaron amid the taurus. Auburn. 19th century. Caromont virtue. An amputee. Morning style pictures. 14 to be edifying. Iconography for flowers. Cemetery as heaven's garden. Rafi. Killer. Individual. There were. During the victorian.. Popular. Array. Especially in monument. And then there was the idea of america at the new republic. A lot of. Roman. Architecture. Here we have. Popular. Actually. Seven wonders of the world. Story with a wife side.. Tan-tar-a. It dominated harbor and when. Alexander the great. Will the display of wealth is always. Organization. Speedometer app. Secret society. 1747 1847. Grand army of the republic car. Organization started by union veteran. Represent. A woman and her orphan. And this is orlando at the turn of the century. City directory. Socialize. Revolves around. Rodger. International order of odd fellows. Order of the iron fortress. Number to whirlpool mason. Oculus rift. Emblems important. Started. Any primarily paid-up member. Sorrento insurance company. Organization. Oakridge a certain type of insurance. 15. About 15 years. Coinstar. Started in. By someone who was born in washington dc. Worried about the aftermath of the civil war. Heroes president lincoln city. Charity. This is the odd fellows. Fraternity. Where to find pictures of old. Secret society. Greenwood cemetery. Ar burial site. American brethren. Fraternity has their own burial areas. Number two. One thing about orlando that's unusual. And they were willing to. African-american fair. Federal unit cell. Cemetery. Orlando. Number here. Oddfellows and. Grand army of the republic. That was a popular feature. That means. They were hoping. Manufacturing. They don't deteriorate. They don't deteriorate. People still preferred song. The grand army of the republic. Every carrier in any cemetery. Diablo style on the memorial. Are some of the military song. Civil war. Demarker. And it wasn't only white people that had their fraternal organization. Target african-american. Prince hall and kitchen. United states. Got a charger and brought it back here and started his own. Automotive. Oviedo. Blac chyna. Eden cemetery. Masonic symbols. Burial area. Emblem. This is boston cemetery. You can see. Preference for flat stone ledger stone. Monument. Bicycle shop. Call lover florida. The marker isn't as important as the site itself. Florida. I think you're something special about. Turn on mini landscape. Answer. That can affect us. Good morning. I think you're special. A special insurance. Folk art. Meaningful part of a line. What are alternatives. And our landscaping lander and blander. And some of this planet is. Emotional experience. Becomes more and more limited. Funeral industry. What goes on in the cemetery. Only be in the ground. Is gone. We have a landing of our. Environment. No i had dairy read in the beginning. I do not favor grass covering or battlefield. I do not. I do not favor forgetting. Sober remembering. Memorial helper free number. But actually about. Able to do each other. Breast pumping. I like it it's sort of a real pain for your i knew him well. Perhaps he's contemplating. I wonder is this. Express care. I like this one especially. You are plateau and pappu looking back at us. From the other. Well. I have a contract. But. Personality. Now we're more. Have symbols. One thing about. Never know what you're going to find there. Far from here. And. April 69 died in 1934. Warriors. I don't really know. It's probably a practitioner. Practitioner maybe asking for protection for. Protection i don't really know what. Now in. Orlando. Practitioner. It's very common. The opener of the portal. In doorway. Provide protection people come along over as head. Director of greenwood cemetery. Outside the cemetery. Cemetery in some of these offerings go to that particular stain. Another reason. Incomparable. Natalie zea. Cemetery in that cemetery. How old she was. River. Rivets. Greenwood cemetery. Palmerton. Down here. You could order from sears centre. $8 to $22. From people who. What well-known people. Call you. At the top in latin. Earth anniversary. Stone from st. mary's. Actually probably when you're from another talk we had her earlier in the year. Spiritualist favorite creation. But there are a few. Mention. Cursing. Passing into spirit realm. The first cremation society was cremated in a public ceremony. So the people can understand what cremation water. Down here in orlando. How many people's parents. Are buried in the ground. How many people here. The popularity of cereal right now in greenwood cemetery. About 40% of the burial or cremation. .. Promoted cremation is more scientific. People with an edifying time. Problem. Talkabouttd. I do not wish to be kept alive by any machine that has a popcorn setting i would like to know about my apartment. Do not resuscitate. Coming to question. Having having looked at all the cemetery. Look up question. You don't my parents said it's like a man and a woman talking at night. And my parents said no we want to be cremated and hashtags. For the other family members on downman to know you know a little bit where alice fuel kenoak was born. Biodegradable crowned with a biodegradable marker. Biodegradable landscape. A speaking of family. The great majority of people who visit newgarden do not know. Find out. A more prestigious place. At the turn of the century. A camel more popular and prestigious place to be buried. Prepared. Organized tours to italy. Above all that out. I found out about it. Call family undertaking. This provocative documentary explores the complex psychological cultural legal and financial issues surrounding an important and growing trim the home funeral movement. Profile several families who have made the decision to forgo the typical mortuary funeral and instead care for their loved ones at home. They are learning and experimenting with ways to make death of a beloved family member or friend more personal and meaningful from preparing the body for burial or cremation at home to designing and creating catfish with meaningfully reflect individual personality and value in federal cases are dying person's themselves are participating in planning their own funeral video challenges viewers to re-examine their own attitude toward life inevitability that run toward life only inevitability. Produced by five-spot films for independent television service with funding provided by the corporation for public broadcasting. Common one. just ended 16-under. I think. Dairy. If you ever get a chance. And what happens in fact be the hero is wrapped in a shroud. Has a green burial. Different. My grandfather was born in poland. Woodcarver maker of. One of my office in one at home. Earlier this year in may. Lithuanian cemetery. Add large cobbler. Where has had very very modest markers to their grade. Work for my mother-in-law especially wonderful time for her. There with her husband cemetery. I work for the als foundation and one of my patients with 49 he lives here in titusville. So he picked out a place he thought his family would like to come in a place where they allowed a lot of what i call grace.. They're not there. I would have to ask her permission to have kind of a private group. Elementary school.

universityuus_org

SS2008-09-14-ChickenLittleUpsideofFallingSky.mp3

Our speaker this morning is the reverend mark spivey. Mark has two master's degrees and currently works for hospice as a spiritual care council. Is fixture congregation roughly once a month and always leaves us ready. Please put your hands together and welcome the wonderful mark spivey presenting falling sky. Thank you. I speak to you roughly once a month. I like that. I'll try not to be too rough on you this morning. I was stuck in traffic coming over from daytona beach there's a lot of. Stuff going on in the highway so i'm a little bit late but. No worse for the wear good morning how are you happy september. My goodness you all look happy this all of. Truth or is it just fake. I have entitled today's talk quite simply the story of chicken little. How many do you have read chicken little. Some of you might accompany penny. There's several different names for but i'm going to read to you the actual fable this morning. And it's more well-known version. Chicken little. Was in the woods one day when an acorn fell on her head. It scared her so much she trembled all over. She shook so hard half her feathers fell out. Chicken little said help help the sky is falling. I have to go tell the king. So she ran in great fright to tell the king. Along the way she met henny penny. Henny penny said. Where you going chicken little. Chicken little said oh help the sky is falling. How do you know. Chicken little said i saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears and part of it fell on my head. That is terrible just terrible said henny-penny. We'd better hurry up. So they both ran away as fast as they could. Soon they met ducky lucky. Ducky lucky said where you going chicken little and henny penny. Chicken little and any penny said the sky is falling the sky is falling. We're going to tell the king. Ducky lucky said. How do you know. Chicken little said i saw with my own eyes i heard it with my own ears and part of it fell on my head. Oh-dear-oh-dear. We better run said ducky lucky. So they all ran down the road as fast as they could. Soon a man. Yes you guessed it juicy lucy. Goosey lucy said hello there where are you all going in such a hurry. Chicken little said we're running for our lives. Any penny said the sky is falling. Ducky lucky said. Goosey lucy said. How do you know the sky is falling. Chicken little said. I saw it with my own eyes. I heard it with my own ears and part of it fail. On my head. Goosey lucy said goodness. I better run with you. And they all ran in great fright across the field. Before long they met. Turkey lurkey starting back and forth. Hello there chicken little any penny ducky lucky goosey loosey. Where are you all going in such a hurry. Chicken little didn't say anything except. Henny penny said we're running for our lives. Ducky lucky said the sky is falling. Goosey lucy said and we're running to tell the king. Turkey lurkey said. I bet you can guess. How do you know the sky is falling. Chicken little said i saw with my own eyes and i heard it with my own ears and part of it fell on my head. Oh dear. Set drug dealer. I always suspected the sky would fall someday. I better run with you. So they ran with all their might until they met. Foxy loxy. Foxy loxy said well well. Where are you rushing on such a fine day. Chicken little henny penny ducky lucky goosey loosey and turkey lurkey altogether said help help at all the sky is falling and we are running to tell the king. Foxy loxy asked how do you know the sky is falling. Chicken little set i saw with my own eyes. And i heard with my own ears. And part of it fell on my head. Foxy loxy said. Ic. Well then. Follow me. I know a shortcut to the king. The foxy loxy chicken little henny penny. Across the field and through the woods. Aladdin straight to his den. And they never saw the king to tell him that the sky is falling. Isn't. Sad. Chicken little as an old fable about a chicken who believes the sky is falling. Now the phrase the sky is falling. Has passed into the english language today and the american language today as a common idiom that signals are hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent. Do you know anybody who runs around saying the sky is falling the sky is falling. I know a lot of people who don't even say it they just act like it. Everything's an emergency. Everything's a disaster. And if you ask them how they know course they can see it with their own eyes and they have heard it with her own ears and it has fallen upon their heads. Where where people that get excited easily aren't we now if i had to ask you and i just have to this morning which medium in our current pop american culture often uses the sky is falling as an idiom to what. Tv news journalists politics. The weather channel. Let's go ahead let's let's what a hush fell over the crowd. And now let's just think for a moment and ponder amongst ourselves and reflect personally on our interior sense of soul. Raise your hands if you're willing to admit. You watch the weather channel on a regular basis. If you okay okay. $5 in confessions following the service. Yeah we're addicted to the asteria to the hype. And the sky is falling. No depending on the version the moral changes to the story some of you may have heard different versions of this story there are different version i read you the classic timeless tale version. There are different versions and it depends on on how the ending occurs. In the happy ending version has what do not be a chicken but have courage peggy. Don't be a chicken but i'll correct it other version the morale is interpreted to me do not believe everything you hear. Do you know people that really you should never believe. People that say things that may not be true you have to wait and see. In our current recession / political change i'm not sure what's going on climate chicken little could well be a cautionary political tale. The chicken jump to a conclusion. And whips the populace into mass asteria which the unscrupulous fox uses to meet like the crowd for personal benefit. I'm here to talk to you for the next 20 minutes about what i consider to be the upside of a falling sky. I see you all know me how many do know me. Okay how many you don't know me. Oh lord. Let's say i just hit a moral dilemma should i behave myself. I thought you all knew he was going to say you all know how i love. The gloomy dark stuff because i think it's through the dark as we find all the good stuff and i love looking into the blackness and into the pain into the sorrow in the sadness in the suffering define the good so i'm always looking for the silver lining in the clouds so i'm attracted the clouds and darkness and sadness and roughness. I'm attracted to that stuff. I like it because i think that's where our treasure lies. That's where the gyms are i don't think anything we ever get this word having is good unless we suffer first to get it. Stuff that comes easily worries me worries me worries me. And we're right aren't we in our culture with lots of stuff to be upset about honey we've got all kinds of issues going on don't we. Hurricanes and gas prices and political climate changes and you name it we've got troubles. Right here in orlando. And waterpark. And florida and texas we've got troubles all over the country all over the world people have trouble so i think there is. A lot of people walking around out there on tv and off tv saying the sky is falling the sky is falling. How do you know how do you know well i've seen it i've heard it you seen it on tv you heard it from friends and co-workers and part of it has fallen upon your head because maybe your house. Has been flooded and now you are displaced. Maybe you are one of those who are running around trying to go and tell the king only don't know which king to tell. You don't know what the king is or where the king is. So what i thought i do is i would look at a few things that i thought were positive aspects of. Falling skies. And i'm not going to be the authority on this because how can i possibly know all the good things that can happen. Internships in circumstances. For one thing. Temporary setbacks. Temporary setbacks like hurricanes or recessions often prompt us to make collective course corrections. Have you noticed that it often takes a crisis before someone does something how many of you have written your local councilman or complain to a neighbor until they put a. Stop sign there. Someone's going to get hurt and of course what happens peggy nothing happens until someone dies at that. Corner stop sign there. It takes someone to get hurt or injured or or takes a dead it takes a tragedy doesn't it sometimes before we make changes what is that. Why do we like to wait until tragedy occurs why did 100,000 or so people refuse to leave texas when i was coming since. Haven't they learned lessons that collectively we should have learned obviously not they stayed and now they're stuck and now summer dead and now summer missing is it their fault no i'm not going to say that. But it's interesting isn't it tell we don't seem to learn sometimes when we have opportunity to learn. Why is that is that just human nature. Looking at your own lies i can see some of you nodding at me i'm not sure if you're falling asleep or if you're just thinking about your own life that there are things about your life that you simply haven't gotten yet aren't there. There's stuff that you're maybe 6057 tatu maybe 22 you still haven't learned how to do whatever it is you trying to do you keep messing up with the same crap over and over again. Over and over again what why is that. What what's taking you so long to learn the lesson. You have to ask those questions and you have to wonder what it is about that situation that's working for you right now. That makes you want to hang on to it. No chicken little and i differ when it comes to a matter of recession clark whenever i hear chicken little screaming recessions chicken littlest thing financial ruin financial ruin you know what i'm hearing. Grandpa and grandma made it. Grandpa and grandma made it. People have made it before me they survived on. Less than i have currently right now. If you were old enough in this room to remember a mood ring raise your hands. How many the old one. I still have one. Yeah it doesn't work anymore but i love that mood ring. Remember a mood ring earth shoes how maybe hader's shoes and bell bottoms. The first time around. I don't want you secondary hashers the first time around if you're old enough to remember those things then you probably can remember the quote stagflation days of the 70s. Remember that. The forecast then was dire do you remember the forecast. Good gracious the reception was horrible. In 75 inflation top 14% 14%. Unemployment approached 6% and doubled in some locations and fuel and food prices were up. Into the roof. Do you know what's interesting to me. I was about 12 or 13 years old linda i don't remember the sacrifice. I don't remember how i suffered. I don't remember the pain. I don't remember the sacrifice we all shared cars we all drove used cars we all live within our means there's a novel thought right robert. We actually live within our means why we were compelled to we couldn't afford not to. Credit cards work widely experiencing felicity and and people just couldn't go to the bank hardly anybody could afford a mortgage bernie 10% and higher so people shared apartments people shared living quarters and you didn't really notice the sacrifice. How many of us know somebody who lives beyond their means. And a hush fell over the crowd. Allison even the poorest of americans typically try and live beyond their means it's the american way. This american way. We don't have the mindset that we used to have it we were forced to have because we had no choice. I think sometimes the best opportunities come when we are compelled to do without. Having said that you'll never catch me or called me saying you should do without. I wouldn't say that to somebody. Not out loud anyway. But i think that there are an awful lot of things we have there are more trouble than they're worth. A whole lot more. We shouldered in the 70s. None of the financial burden. That most of us today consider essentials. I can name three right now. Telephone. Internet service provider. Fitness membership. In the 70s those didn't exist. That's $160 for me personally every month i paid for what i consider to be an essential. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous half a car payment. $160 a month. For stuff that i think i can't do without now how come people can't wait till i get to my next location for me to call them back beth. Why would they call me in transit. Is it going to get fixed any faster no it is not. I'm usually get my next location within 20 minutes so if it's an emergency 911 can respond more quickly why must they reach me. And jeopardize million traffic. Why must say. Why must i call them and talk in between the red lights of the green light. Why do we do that. And for the privilege of paying for this extra service each month we endanger our lives. People's lives. Is it a funny the world we live in. I'm preaching now or am i better stop that. Who is shorter than of those bird sitting me considering this stuff isn't it how many to have cellphones by the way i put it on mute right now. Mines on mute right now. Cuz they can always reach me because of you guys stay connected. Okay. Right oh you better state do you never know and how do we live in the past without this connection you know i admit it's great to happen if you break down but good great where's your sense of adventure. And how about the high-speed internet. I maybe have at ya. For years i had my dialogue. I loved it. I got kicked off now man but it was time to get off and i was on a too-long anyway. I should have been off. No no it's faster and now you got multiple speed and you can pay $3 less and get half a speed good grief it's a market it's a business about staying connected. And of course you got tv how many that tvs in each room. Yeah yeah yeahs convenience is we live in a convenient place. And how many we have membership so this will be a little bit less hand-eye thing. Yeah gym memberships. Now that asking might pay for itself you take care of yourself you can prevent medical visits that actually might be a worthwhile expenditure. As far as i'm concerned you can spend as much money as you want on this thing my point is life was different when you did without. And now we consider these things essential. Must-haves. Absolute essentials and when we think about cutting our our expenses we don't think about cutting off our cell phone service or internet service. Think about cutting first. Going out to eat we start going out to the restaurant. We cook for ourselves if we know how. Yeah. The amish yeah. Living like the amish that far but. I do have some amish friends but they don't visit they don't visit. Now no one wants a recession it causes serious. Serious economic paying for lots of people and. You know people suffer during recession people suffer during hurricane. A friend of mine who's a political scientist. A professor. Political science retired from rawlins. Said to me just yesterday was real and he just said it out of the blue but it fits in he said you know what i think. And i i said i have a feeling you're going to tell me whether i want to know or not. And he said he said people having suffered enough. Said they haven't suffered enough yet. Is it today they think they've suffered they don't know suffering. Until they suffer more they won't be real change he was jumping off on that political word change that both candidates are using that they haven't suffered enough at all. I said i won't be alive to see it. But you might. That's interesting isn't it. Haven't suffered enough. And some of us would say all we suffer too much. We haven't suffered enough. Are you suffering right now. Okay i won't be too much longer. However economist tell us that there are reasons to actually welcome and embrace a recession. After all every session is the are part of the natural ebb and flow of the us economy. Let's lift up. Are half-full cups of regular unleaded and let's toast. The following. Good things that come from a falling sky. First before i give you my top four favorite do you have anything that you'd like to say right off top of your head that you think is a good thing that comes from a falling sky. Amelia comes to your mind. Fresh food. Fellowship. Who said fellowship. Can't see your face. You did. Yeah. People actually. Get together because they're forced to. You have dinner because you had no choice. You like to eat alone in privately and not be about it but you don't have any place to do that so you're forced to talk. Communication skills have you noticed people don't have good social skills anymore. Don't you hate it if you don't you're going to hate it when you're in public and someone is on the phone talking about my not know what they want for supper. Oh i hate that. I don't want to hear what yours menu is. I don't want to hear any of that stuff that's a people are now having private conversations in public and not even aware of what they're doing. It's become so commonplace they discussed very private intimate security issues. How many stopped at the get them in trouble. Private matters bank account blah blah blah blah medications are on aisle 3 at publix. And they're not even aware that the world has changed in such a way that this is affected how they breathe in live you would never have done that. In the past. Wheeler weird lies. Yeah anything else that comes to your mind right away roberta. Listen to this my favorite idea the more exercise good music some of the best music that's ever been written has always been written as a result of bad hard times. The best music comes from. Spiritual reactions from artists to the pain in the soul that you get when you suffer and you're right good music i'm not kidding some of the best stuff ever comes at a part-time yeah. Become more environmental more conscientious of natural environment i haven't even got to give you my less you guys are doing great. Exactly. Yessir. Exactly. Exactly. That's the silver lining because with disaster comes in you to repair and that's exactly right absolutely absolutely others that come right here mine robert. Right right. Right you know you couldn't hear what he said but. And this is going to sound very very sacrilegious but then again it's me talking so i'm going to go ahead and say it. I don't mean to sound mean. However there is a time and a place where plague. Years and years ago when i was a young 20-something on a church board. I actually was a young 20-something on a church board. And we had people in the church who said we want biscuit. I'll tell you what we'll do and i laid out my plan and it was a great plan clark was going to work but you know what happened there was always a human being that stood in the way. They want to hire you and let you do it but they don't want to back and support you. See what they do is they say off in the corner and they just sandbag you on a regular basis that's a one-day i just stood up and i said it took a little courage because i'm a shy type. I just up and i said i'll tell you what's going to have to happen here before this church ever changes and you ever reach any of the goals you think you're going to need to get rich. It's 3 of you're going to have to flat-out die. I did. I did. Yeah. I was 25. I'm 46 now i wouldn't do it quite that way but i wouldn't be afraid to say it. But you know what they were mad it was a lot of fighting and a lot of anger but later on there was people that came to me said you're right because they weren't about to leave. It alone okay. They're going to stay right there till they died and cause trouble. So what am i supposed to do wait till they die to get things have to just die and get out of the way and then change can happen. And it happens in corporations that happens in movement it happens in churches it happens. how to make it off on this. The play against the plague. Sometimes plagues and and a sickness. Let's just face it let's just be flat-out unitarian honest. Who's going to pay for all these sick people. Who can afford. To properly warehouse all these sick and dying bodies. And dispense medications and take care of them all. Who do that. Who is going to do that we can't do it now we don't even have a serious problem so death is necessary wouldn't you say judy. Yellowstone. Who's that. Yeah the fire 88. That's exactly what a great natural example yellowstone national park fire it actually burned away what we considered a national treasure but it restored. There needs to be a burning away and i would not say anybody oh my gosh thank god you got cancer praise the lord. I wouldn't say that because it wouldn't be heard properly it wouldn't come out right but what i'm trying to say to you is when bad things happen at least as we perceive them as bad there are reasons for it. There are necessary reasons for that. Do the things i picked as upsides are family or friendly dinners. People who spend time together. Receptionist and let me quote recessions 10 to foster family meal times as the pin money that feels fast feud. Food meals and overscheduled live drives up. Quotes nothing to be better for america according to the substance abuse and mental health services department. Over-scheduled lies how many damn over-scheduled lives. I do it's ridiculous. Yeah. I shouldn't be here this morning you know why i should be spending time with me. If i follow the advice of my therapist. I would not be here this morning i would have said no to this and i would have taken time for mark because i don't take time for me i admit it. I admit it. I don't. My life is over scheduled i deliberately over schedule it i wonder if that's because i can't stand being alone with myself. I don't know. But i can't say no i admit it i admit i'd only say no. Do you have that same problem well all of us seem to over schedule ourselves. Research has shown that family and community togetherness promote a healthier and more balanced diet foster's better communication reduces teen suicide eating disorder substance abuse and reduces illness that is often the result of isolation. Something else i think is an upside to a falling sky is shorter lines at the gas pump. You notice when it got over $4 you had no problem getting gas at all. I didn't. I hate going to be awful roller hot dogs at had a slurpee and and fix my makeup if i wanted to there was nobody honking behind me in a hurry to get gas. Nobody. You know the gas prices are about to go up again so i wonder if we'll have that same trend. People were riding their bikes more who said that earlier yes roberta. Yeah don't ball sleeper but a hold on hold on it's almost there 5 more minutes and we'll let you go. You hang in there. Hang in there. How many people gotten less junk mail. I have i've actually gotten less junk mail less credit card apps. Don't leave me alone a little bit. I've gotten less junk mail back a blessing is an upside. Less junk mail how about 3 fitness. Your ride your bikes more now i've noticed since the price of gas has gone back to normal i see less people on the roads with bikes by the way i was on call for the hospital when the big everyone ride your bike and everyone by the scooters phase started clark. My first weekend on call i responded to 8 calls people were hit on their scooters. There's an upside to everything. Job security for me. Necessary work. It's an interesting twist of fate isn't it. It's a strange world we live in. We get scooters to reduce the price of gas and save money. We ride bikes for better exercise but cars don't see us they hit us a man up in the er. I get called in so my personal me x taken away. Tell daryl i am working again. My circle of life. It's the nature of the way we work. Free fitness. How about business startup opportunities how many of you in here would consider yourselves to be entrepreneurial. How many do you know you've been you we will know this that some of the major companies. That we now have today started during hard times. Started during a recession. Yeah course. Can you name any. Well that's not a company though major company a major. Fedex say some more. Walmart. How many do go to walmart. Put your hands up admit it. I need to go to target. How many bogota neither. You try not to. We can we can help you with that. Quote. Entrepreneurial startups by laid off and downsize employees. Managers and executives often helped to get the economy growing again. Sometimes a layoff forces a person into a direction he or she would have otherwise delayed. A direction that leads to their bliss. Microsoft. Hewlett-packard and disney. + 30 other major companies on the delaware all started during hard times. All of them. Hard times recession. Create opportunities you can wow wow wow or you can say hi. Opportunity. Knox. And you can take your moment and seize the day. How many do garden. Yeah garden toyota flower garden a rose garden how many de cut your own lawn. Avalon. Automobile living condos in may not have grass. Yep okay. How many people alarm service put your hands up. Higher higher higher. Hahaha. They also suffer during a recession especially in florida because you start doing something you haven't done for years you cut your own lawn. Exercise cardio. Spiritual opportunities for growth to be one with nature how many do like dirt. How many of you so dirty already don't even need to bother. Filthy dirty. Getting your hands right in it a recession is the perfect time to get back to nature. Picture lawn service goodbye and put your mind in your body back into your garden. I like to quote something for you. This is one of my favorite quotes it has been for many years. Dog hammarskjold said. You cannot play. With the animal in you. Without becoming holy animal. You cannot play with the. Falsehood. Without forfeiting your right truth. You cannot play with cruelty. Without losing your sensitivity of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy. Doesn't reserve a plot. He who wants to keep his garden tidy. Doesn't reserve a plot. As i wind down my talk. Let me just very honestly say to you there was a large section of my heart. And my brain. Did i have dedicated. And reserved. Things that i insist on keeping for myself that i know are not good for me. Relationships i should long have severed. Situations i should long have put an end to. Habits i should have kicked. And yet. I stand right here and honestly say to you that at 46 years old i have not made the full decision yet. The takeaway that area of my garden. I continue to levi spot for the weeds. I say that to you not as a minister but as a fellow human being. Opening my heart and leg advair and sharing what i already know you have as well. Everyone of us. Save. A place in our hearts. We reserved space in our brains. That choke out our capacity to live and be who we are. Most of us will never reach our potential because we choke ourselves out with too many weeds. And not only do we reserve the spot. In our lives for the weeds we feed those weeds. We regularly tend to that part of the garden. We fertilize it and sometimes we spend more time there than in the areas where we actually can grow nurturing food. And this is our interior spiritual garden. That part of our souls that makes us who we are inhuman. During hard times like we're in now during recessions when the sky is falling and everyone is. Crying calamity. It's the perfect opportunity. To examine your garden. To walk around and see what you're growing to see how much room you've left for the weeds to see how the weeds are doing. Maybe you spent the whole last year. Justin the weed sex and haven't even gone over to the side it feeds you. We do that. We do that. A cherokee elder was teaching his grandkids about life. He said to them. A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf represents fear. Envy. Sorrow. Regret. Greed arrogance. Hatefulness and lies. The other stands for joy. Peace. Love. Hope. Humbleness. Kindness. Friendship generosity face. And truth. This same fight is going on inside of you. And inside every other person too. The children fought for a moment. Then one child ask his grandfather. Grandfather which wolf will win. The cherokee elder replied. The one you feed. Hold the handle the first. Let's just be quiet for a minute. If you need to close your eyes to focus go ahead. She don't.. I want to create an attitude. Prayer is not always ask. It's not always. Kneeling. Where is thinking. Heartfelt. Mind focus. Examine your heart. Salmon. Your plot. Ask yourself. Wolf. Within you you feed them. Many are screaming the sky is falling. You can find opera. Create a. To conclude. I like to read something simple. If history is any indication. We as human beings are inclined. Listen to this. To resume our consumption. Full speed. Once the economic engine starts rolling again. Translated we tend not to learn from. But our progress toward a more sustainable future comes in increments. During those times. That we are forced. I say it all the time and for those of you who don't know me. I'm always saying here less is more. We can live on less. We have 5 minutes. Are there any questions. If there are the microphones coming around. The questions. 4 comments. Please tell your therapist. Did the residual good. Talkin to us. 4 ways to target to spend. On your own. Kmart. Here here. I sure will. Peggy framer. I always have. When you don't have any money. Yeah i think easier to be. Living on less when you truly have less. It's harder to do this when you have more. The self-sacrifice that's a hard thing to. At roy's here hey roy. I'm pretty good i wouldn't. I just want to say. I did this. Anyway. We had a guy sitting next to issues with barca. $5,000. And very close to. I said i never i told you never to call me here again when i'm eating my dinner i want peace and quiet. Now go away. It actually worked. Thank you roy. You don't hear an update we we have these new challenges of our allied everyday lives of create opportunity for us to be creative. I have a few tricks that i do too but i won't share them from a public pool. Maybe next time. Well thank you for your attention and i'm glad it's nice to see so many of you here today i guess while you were on vacation and the rest of you obviously have nowhere else to go. So we thank you and i wish you the very best of these fall season and i'm going to be here more than usual the next few months i think i'm doubling up in november and december. So i've got some 12. Part 1 and part 2 and i'm going to be a little more. What's fun. Listen to my therapist. Thank you.

universityuus_org

SS2005-01-09-ThomasMerton'sLastTalk.mp3

Well i got a freelance editing. With an unreasonable deadline. Apology. I gave the wrong date. Last call. Bangkok 1960. Uno. Meijer. This american life. Poor reception. 1960. International conference. Breaking down. What happened. Publisher's note. Journal. Before the conference's. I'm getting out of the shower. On december 10th. 27 years earlier. Another american monk at the conference reported that for alligators. The day after burton died. And on the grass. A dog. Parable. The form taken by the god of death. What's an alligator. That a buddha is reincarnated on earth. When. We will know that our buddha has been among us when alligators eat a dog. Shooting shooting shooting. Martin's death attracted other erie interpretation. He was electrocuted. The last words of his autobiography. Written twenty years earlier were to know the price of the burnt men. His death. Divided his life apart. Before the monastery in the monastery. Like saint augustine. What is autobiography. 48. Several million copies ever. Text kara.. Volume. But he traveled around the world. Committed himself to christianity. Paradoxes. Martin. Screw meaning. Unlike reality. Martin was born in 1915. On the border of spain. Bohemian artist. Father mother american. Martin returned to london where his appointed guardian sent him to cambridge. Sophomore year and fathered a child. Spider-woman. Spell. Welcome. Martin enrollment columbia university. He was editor. Hooray magazine. Who was involved. Fraternity line. Play rocket. One of his closest friends from colombia. The man in the. Quite forthcoming. Revealing. Debauchery. Cartoon. College friends were taken by surprise. Which was. Crackers. Beyond. Property tax. Annabelle trailer. 1941 merton minter.. Unfortunately. No other part of the ground. Bathroom. Mirror. Toro bravo. Their work clothes. Red. Barley coffee. Everyone. Walmart in westfield. Ann martin. Nevertheless. Story with chat. .. Apocalyptic. Conyers. Property of the slum. Harlem. As a result. Burien. Lawrence ferlinghetti. Jack kerouac. Midland group. But martin had a relentless church. Throughout his life. Martin was given a quiet cell. Block building. The fireplace. A biography of martin kids. Written by john howard griffin a friend of martin's 10 black like me. Biography. Hospitalized. Back surgery. Mertens. His feelings were reciprocated. Martin woodring. Permission from the nurse to reveal his relationship. Which republican. 7 volume. We're not published. Tell 25 years after his death. Biography. Thomas merton volume of merton. I love he wasn't open. Physical emotional and erotic. Also during martin's writing became more political. Provocative. Heavy criticism. Starting tonight. Is pinestead the restriction. Western mindset. Martin said. Correspondence. Drastic international conference. Road everybody. California. Where to travel for 2 months. Dalai lama. Martinez.. Nachos martin's last talk if we're only halfway through. Bangkok. Western. Marxism. What's despair. In a world of revolution. Qualified. Qualified. American. Merton describes marcoux cannot only. Santa barbara california. Location. The month. Forgeworld. Tell me about the validity of certain. With regard to the purpose of man. Recognize. Difference between the monk and the market. Equipped. That remember that marketstar. Marxist materialism. The world of the economic. Mark. Mark religion. Additional monasticism. One come to a monastery. Then when praying for others. Realization. Translation of. Love. What's the main statement we all know about marxism. According according. Realized. Managerial. Most aggressively. Under capitalism. What type of color what brand. That's great. Idea of a. Living under certain economic conditions. Has lived according to somebody else. Alienation. Martin accidentally lama about his parallel. Marxism. About the abbotts. For example the failure. Referred to a. Relevant. The begging bowl. Theological beliefs. This concept is the most. Cool ideas. Martin said that monasticism. Get beyond. Rebelution. Kind of. Available. Ending. Weather remar. Martin's body was returned to burial. Go home in a military plane. Supermarket. About merton. Disappear. Ocean and political radicalism. Take those in the monastery. Argue persuasively. The higher value. Friday. I did not catch the name of the author of the. Not mark pandora. Columbia. No. Red seven storey mountain. But anyway. Cardi and seven storey mountain about communicating. Red lobster conyers. No no. When i was when i used to attend. And i passed. Particular crapper. So i did and i've been there probably 45 times. Building with wood. A meeting carver. Onamonapia. Well i just wanted to say you fell in a lot of gas today i thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed the cops i did not know about the i knew how he died but i did not know about the caucus. Copart. Asian journal. Yes i did. There will be no more. Which is why. About. Because any reform movement is always something. Monetary. It's obvious. Being. Call mom. One response would be. Merton. Under one abbott. And then the abbott. Life was not the ordinary life in the monastery he was recognized. Another one. There are. Are almost agoraphobic. I know i don't have a television stereo. I live alone. If i'm out on the porch and a neighbor comes out. Provided merton who is certainly a very. That privacy. Modern life. Who are serenity. Wonderful. Mother manager housekeeper. Well i will join i will go with you everybody else. 7 years in the convent five monetary. I can also attest to the fact that. Manta resort. Monkey's uncle always looking at. Well to go to the outside world. There is real opening. With the sense of. The world. Monasticism. Terms of galax. Philosophy. Call. Poverty of springfield. It's hard to do it company. Conversation. Wisconsin. Okay i definitely get drunk. Fat food. Pablum. Property in ark. So yes. Critical. What you're saying that you won't find peace in the world. Are in moana. But only in your own hot i agree with you entirely about what you thinking about ob taking and if you're an education. Do you have any men they found a lady that remote play. Coronavirus. How to make simple life. That died he stayed in the palmer. No i wouldn't i wouldn't. And i do listen to bbc on my computer.

universityuus_org

fldsj2004-gw_Intro_Track%201.mp3

Good morning. Like welcome everyone this morning to the 10th annual florida district social justice conference on global warming and climate change. My name is paul riley i'm here. Before we get started this morning. Which will allow you to get a better pick up for the microphone in the back corner be happy to help you out with that. You're the most important thing i know this morning is restrooms. They're just down that hall berkeley ladies on the left on the right. In the light of truth. The warmth of laura. We gathered. Good morning again i am jotaro turn on the chair of the. And i'd like to go to do. President. You know better than i do but if i recall the district 44 congregation. State of florida one in south georgia and two in the virgin islands american virgin islands. That's a big digital cover. Martinez. My pleasure to welcome you all on behalf of the district board there's another member of the board here today. I'm really happy i'm happy. I better power of the social. Parker. I participated in. 7 general assembly and the processing job fair to pick. Ar. Scotty. And i've also. Organizers for the. All of you to go. Back from him. Tumblr. Your own congregation. Educate inform and find out. Wrong number. Information. On global warming. Water has gone under gone. Extraordinary. Hurricane season. It has. Impacted. Our overall community. Some more than others. It had impacted ruu community. We had at least one congregation might have to. For rebuilding. They're building or building another one. Congregation. Other congregations all over the state that have. Trump hyperbole. Impact in terms of. The building or creed. As well as members. Ambient gautier toscana. It is. Natural. It is absolutely natural. In the florida gators game. Root beer. Papi. Global warming and climate change. Wonder if there's a relationship between them. Roy mary hurricane season. Global warming. Map. Topbuild hoppy here. My personal observation rv. Correct m confirming as we go along. I do not think the fact that we had for hurricane crock arcade headed to do with global warming. A product of factors. However there are two observation that i do think. Had a lot. To do with global warming that i'm aware of. Number one i can never remember another hurricane season. Free category 4 or stronger hurricane in one year. I haven't studied the data over maybe another one but i i don't remember that in a long time. The other one is enough that i learned on a vacation in canada. I was up there during. Of course you know hurricanes were around the nation and even in canada big topic. They had a hurricane category to hit halifax dead on a year ago. And i happened to the morning i was. A teddy bear t-shirt. Good morning. jean cross florida and i enjoyed the concern i told him about. Our congregation to shut down because of jeans. Ask them to. Buccaneer clock and they were telling me about this is the one-year anniversary of. One right in i'm going right over there, and then after service he went out in the backyard. And showed me this sunny area that was paid last year because they had the same thing we did in this congregation free falling over. You know it was bigger and i wanted to do they have a something similar to our hurricane center here. A one-man show in canada they are concerned about hurricanes up there because they do get up there occasionally but it's not it's not as big a thing as it is here and that person was on tv. Talking about her. And he mentioned that one of those and i don't even know the name of it but one of the. Perkins did not make the radar this year but was just out in the ocean having any minute and you know who weatherman we're tracking it. First hurricane in history actually gained spring. The middle latitude. That is not a wake-up call on global warming i don't know what is. With that i welcome you again on behalf of the district. Well let me take a minute here at the beginning and. Biker tattoos rapaka information in there. Does the first thing we have for today's activities outline for you. We have an evaluation secret will ask that you complete. At the end of the day or when you have to leave for or if you forget to email back to it took office. And we have the biography of two of our speakers. No more detail later. Eye doctor dan latshaw from the. Natural resources defense council and the honorable harvey ruvin who's come up from. Miami court. We have. Document for you which is a product of the energy. Work. With the. Quarter climate alliance. No longer exist. But wasn't yours. And i regard. Enjoyed working with the lion. Project produce. Doctor's going couple years old and still pretty pretty current so we were able to get copies broadview. Napa auto. Hey ya. Lot of information again on the left. Principal project. Are represented here today by. Speak to you later. About her work and it said more information. About her. The temperature for project and. Zodiac. We have a document that we've included for your information type of the cry of creating global warming global justin. The product of the interfaith climate change network. Which again wallet is not a rich not presented you as any kind of dogmatic statements a religious statement. What do important that we do here. May or may not we're going to connect. Scientific practical political issues. With moral and ethical. Document example. Kind of the grassroots thing we have we have now a growing awareness activities. Country. Religious and moral issue. Pictures that various others nomination. Making your own statement. We are in the forefront clearly adopting your cousin study i can meet you at 10. Anyway. Call pamphlet. We are at the local races at the capitol. And most of you able to get in one last key in your pocket. Able to get off the internet this morning before breakfast. Date of bridget denver yesterday. Scientific consensus. Printed in the magazine so you can't get more current in yesterday. Well when we started putting together plans earlier this year. For the pediatrics. No. Economic globalization civil liberties 9/11 civil liberty. They are criminal justice prison reform. And we were pretty sure i'm planning to this year's conferences that you all were going to be sitting here. Cocky rock seems like mary. Get that we thought that was kind of the right. Dan at dia. Family adopted. Global warming. Goldwin rosemary heard about that before. How are you going to make that texting. Greater. Greater depth of knowledge than any of us. Well we schedule rihanna program planning in. Lightbringer hammer. I think we didn't know then coming. Wake me up at 1 a.m.. People i thought i would call when when we. Head massager. Local environmentalist. Bar none. Who can we get conference. Boiling point. Reading boiling point. Income from washington d.c. and miami respectively. We are very very fortunate. And then i made contact. Going to be a. A good day it's going to be a little bit of a sexy day is going to be an informative day. Allergic to other people. Right now. Sriracha. Senior member of the years but in it.. Stevenson. Burlington helping champion in a few words about how to study action issue process. Work. Get the highlight and then we'll get into armenian speaker. Thank you so much. Yeah i was in fact. Convinced that marriage was going to be an issue. We organized a great conference, coffee parker. Very moving experience to have people come down from boston. Got married on may 17th. Great press coverage. Study action issue process. How many popes have been to gta and has participated in. Plenary session. Great. Okay so you guys know exactly what's going on. Basically app. Plenary session on. About five issues that go before them and vicky are my surprise. Global warming and not gay marriage. Costas is currently two years probably going to go to three years. Give us more time but we have a two-year process here. Daddy issue of global warming affecting climate change and then deciding what can we do about a problem. Beyond getting bored and walking sign on to the toyota protocol. Where can i learn today, stop by what's going on and what we can do. Get it down to the local level and your local congregation. That's the whole purpose of a reaction. Global thing he what can i do about why should i worry about it question i heard meyer your wife. Tell me a couple days ago. What i've done on a local level. Get a bigger on sunday morning to talk about the topic and congregation. Right afterward we have a table for both down and talk about it. And we use question. Your questions in your materials. 30 question. A real question. Eddie table and we have a recorder. Quarter. Van. By first of may. Crypto market february. Navigation combines all the answers together all the feedback and. Filled out a form incense virginia beach. Ray-ban combined together. Find statement. Jen comes out in second gear. Rap concert. Been around our second year of its process hope grande just got the word of a draft statement and then the second year at general assembly the draft statement to hold it on and and half. But right now the two-year process we have to study action issues going on. Global warming is the first one this year when you get to act the way you are. Talking about a word of a draft statement. Hit you back in a second here right now is criminal justice and prison reform. Call doreen right. Felons after they leave prison locally. I guess there's anybody have any questions about that process. I just like to say we organize this conference for now. In december three months. Go back and organize something in your own congregation. January february march. Coming out of the conference today at our little break break out. We're going to combine. Panther in gillett going to combine them. On our feedback from the district. Your local congregation can. Uncle affiliate. Alcohol whenever things if i'm up here. Florida district council has a yahoo. Horticultural and racial justice. What's happening locally broadcast into a larger group. And if you aren't already a member of yahoo your name and email address on it. Well i meant to be reporting to have their speakers for never going to call tonight one of the speakers. Intern will make a presentation. You have it at the question. Speaker. During rapsodet presentation. But don't worry if you don't have a question like then because after. Beat that will complete the morning s. We'll have lunch and then speaker turned by doctors also will have a four-person panel. And that will be the opportunity for a lot of discussion questions and taking notes and thinking through the courts the morning presentations driver chance to get all that going over in the afternoon. After the panel discussion. Then we will. Making a small group. Identify we didn't know how many were going to end up with what we want to break into groups of about five or six. Paw patrol. What organization has people in your part of the state weather. Stop florida north florida central florida. west florida. When will rain start in the afternoon.

universityuus_org

SS2005-04-03-LifeandPoetryofRobertService.mp3

Water park resident 1984 retired long island. Robert service the legendary poet of the yukon. Dramatized. Valid. Play welcome roberts goals. Daddy pig. Survive a 10 minutes. 1077 here i occasionally. Drop a word or i have to refer to my my notes hopefully that won't be necessary. In 1880 at the family dinner table. Glasgow scotland. Robert wasn't i have time here now to give you a little more of a surly backgrounds very brilliant. Voracious reader. Missouri board for school. Great his boredom turn to disruption actually and he was invited to depart so at the age of 14. Good job. In a bank. A seven years work. Errand boy to a full-fledged color. And saved his money. Penny by penny. He had enough money. North america. Bummed around. 30 odd jobs and finally. He was able to get a job as a bank teller. Commerce. British columbia. 1904. Whitehorse the capital of the yukon territory. North northwest. Dawson city. Of the klondike gold rush. Rub elbows. Hearing. Wonderful wonderful song. Color. Recalled. Call the wild. Have you gazed on naked ranger. Nothing else. Drop curtains. High mountain to heaven. Black canyon with a rapper. Search the basket for something you will. Denver.. Have you wandered in the wilderness. Desolation. Saban press level where the cattle graze. Ragtime creation. Call you. Have you. Are you broken. Have you marked. The native races. Robert horry. Grown bigger. Heard the text. What is the journey. Does it storage lien the gaita. Calling. Let's go. Robert service when they work with done at the bank. Would usually apartment. Local. And then. So he would go for a long. 4 hours. The outline of a ballad camden. And. We got back to his apartment. Many of you know it. A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the malamute. Back in the barnyard. Whatever the night. Dog dirty. He look like a man with a foot in the grave. Burrito. Spell research.. Does madison have to rip your eyes and hold them hard in the cell. Angel. Bates motel. When i got the cigarettes. The ragtime kid with cabins. Where you live around in the great alone. Timberwolf. What high overhead. Fireplace. Boomers. I guess i'll make it. 21st. You don't know me. But i want. My poker true. 1. And that one band brew. Can i drop my head in the lights went out in the dark. And a woman. They play the stranger. And i'm not i'm not so why. Robert service published total of 8 poetry. 1307. Poetry. I don't speak french to put a towel apostrophe envoi. Which is a rather obscure. Basically dedication. My favorite. Title of balance. He's a rookie. Sourdough. We talked of yesteryears. Play the game. Beyond measure. Campfire comfort. Of what. 14. Another tale. Stare. You may recall that. Petland. Batman fight is worth. Ballad. That helped put robert service on the literary map. Telephone. Make a very. There are strange. Clearsight. Nothing. God. It wasn't. And i'm very nice. Minecraft. Bella brow. Started on. It was blasted to play. In my heart. Piranha. Betrayal. Beer that i might crematorium some boards i tore from the cabin floor and i looked a boiler fire. America. Robert turbin. Apparel. Detroit. So he volunteered for the ambulance corps. Remy ma. What. But there was a nine-month.. Poem for me. But here goes. You're right. A boil. Die. It's a room where they cut. I got a big boil. Robert service road when he. Nespresso. Popping your favorite. Tired. Beautiful ecru monogrammed irish linen tablecloth. Bi-rite. The reckoning. It's nice to have a blowout in a fancy. It's nice to go out every night. I never save it. Have a good time. But god. Robert curtis. Died in september of 1958 at the age of 84. Xray prank. Biography. He wrote. Nature from. Lovingly. Forgiveness. My failures. And now that i am of no further use to you. Internally. Caldwell. I have written. Robert turbin. I have. And i understand that you're allowed to steal somebody else's. Quantico year work. Around the world again for a lonely guy. I must go around the world again. Call isabel wilder. I want around the world again like a child. Far-flung nations to enjoy. The word discover. Robert. God rest your soul. Tablet. Yeah brand new. Theater. Dot-com. Er. Comfortable. 9020 robert services. Thank you so much. Microtel. And he had a daughter. What are you up to. He actively. He would rather. Current temperature. Their name. You don't know the name of. If anybody ever care to write a biography. Weird. Well. The march of the dead. You're also fine what could not be considered that it would be considered carnal but.

universityuus_org

SS2005-07-24-WhatHappendedAtThe2005UUGA.mp3

What happened. Veteran. You coming up here. 12. Oliver. Mardi gras. Our fair share. I have this. Outgoing and incoming president for this congregation. There's another button that i wanted to talk to you about it. Florida new years thank you. Got up. Really rally. Alpharad. During the hurricane season last year. We benefited directly from. Repair diameter. Don't know. The general. Visitor from fort worth brockport worth weather records that's what you get there. I wanted to focus on my talk today mostly talking about. Dojo environmental. Something that has to do with our principal. Large issue. Don't want. Learn about study a couple years. Profit statement. Because it is. Old. Final process. 1 year old. A lot of presentation and workshop. For the following the one that we passed the statement of conscience on. What's criminal justice in the prison reform and you can remember where we have an actual form up here local people. One global warming. Moral values. You have the opportunity. Word argument. Arby's morality. Work. Not a dogma finite rules with very narrow interpretation. Can i look forward to. Other. Aryan. Nobody knows what they're going to be. Ideas. For certain. Items. Number of petitions qualifying number of petitions over equality. Voted on. Rapper down. Pat and jen. The first one was united states sponsored torture and. Report of the united. Farm workers boycott. The third one was support for the u.s.. Develop the one entitled. Report one word. Crimes against humanity and therefore. In the last 10 local issue. I want to take the opportunity to talk about. First of all. Presentation. A leader. Part of a committee mural a leader. Therefore i have not listened to. Everything that i would like to talk about it. Spark my interest. Different park. A couple years ago. Rock music. Minister. Reverend robert hardy gemalto. One little thing. Talk about the name of no. Approximation. And i never knew where that came from. I got to thinking about that. Tell me a lot of. Ar. What's the difference. Christian identity. Others. Yourself. I thought that was. Beckley had a few book at at va. I am really hoping that we will. Where. I went to work. Drug ground truck home. Introduction. Triangle song. Forgot to mention. A lot of them. Ida program. But i wanted to do. It began 1820 a 108. Go to the hospital. Don't know atheist. William sinclair who is the president. Responsibility. Heritage. Responsibility. Entitled. Bank.. And that the office of religion is to create a beloved community. Life-affirming and focus on the world. Where we take the reality of the natural sciences. I got to see jim hightower. Opinion was divided. Summer inspirational. Like the many minutes in practice exam. May our time together with you our hope. Stella curry. Play the song. May the word invigorate. Touch of hands sound of laughter. And excited faces. African. Wonderful very very. They had a lot of. Writer. And it got to the point where the. Beretta number. We actually had conga line going down the stairs of the stadium going around down onto the floor and around and back up the chair. It was a lot of fun and i really would like to do. About $15 a book. But i a lot of you enjoyed. Traffic. Opening ceremony. On thursday. Banner. Are blue one. Very simple. Parade around the around the whole congregation. Target. Banner. 12. What are the value. A number of families. Different backgrounds. The woman multiple. Ethnic background. Show me what's a little bit hawaiian. They both played. Facebook a lot about. Call all family. Adopting a child and raising a child. Except. They even have children. Powerful. Provide. And one point in time. Number. It was made a sing-along.. But. No matter what. Saturday. All of the. Show up to support death penalty opponents in texas. Outside of the fort worth convention center. As well as local group. There were why are you had. One of them had. There were. Have nots. Well the one time you work filing. He ended up getting. Situation. Daughter flash granddaughter.. Have been executed. Who daughter. Behind. That daughter is now. President. Abolishment of the death penalty. Most of them were not opposed. Animated. But i forgot.. Argument. Start even spoken about by reverend hardy from. Was. Very powerful very powerful. Turn off with a. Modern. Talk about. But having fire. Really brought a lot to our. Charlotte appliance. Range of savar about forwarding. One of my favorite parts was. Yarn. Play red scare. They had. Number of. And they had immense move everybody down so. Pactron yard. Aristocats. Buy yarn together. Connect connect. I work about a week to keep it on that long and then. Org. Fort worth. It will have to go down to your audio clip photograph. How big can a livestream. A lot of work.. The respect that i order and presidential paper. Have. A lot of professionalism in a lot of pain. That really makes me appreciate. Back out a little bit more. About. Welcome. We are brothers or sisters or cousins. I found her. Them. How much time do you spend talking to visitor. Reminder. One congregation. They might be more. Set reminder we're not friendly. They may not even consider. Also remind everybody. Information. Which is to bind together. Where to buy dr. elaine cagle. Headache. Quotes from. Gospel of thomas. Kirk franklin. What is inside you will destroy you. I brought the. Anybody have any questions. Heavyweight. Fortunately. Okay. And you remember that. Timer. Paper with. Title something like. Universalism. Liberal politics. So my question. Ignored. I don't think because i know he refers to those who. Motivated. I can't answer. I can tell you that i have. Bill. About. Denomination. But. Ford. Talk. talk about. Realized. Tiger in congress. I really do. One final score. My question to me. What is the preview address. Morning worship. And again and again and again. Robert hardy. Basically talking about. Bartram born right the first time. And. And basically what he said again and again and again. Another website. Stagnant. A while back. We're talking about getting one place and not changing. And if you're not changing. You're not growing.

universityuus_org

SS2005-10-09-Humanism_n_UUs_2of2.mp3

Damien fortunate to have reverend john higgins presenting the second. Black mountain part 1 doctor who talked about the general rise and development of humanism from the mid-nineteenth century. Reverend hagen. The reverend hagen. I like coming here at the only place where i don't have to begin by saying can you hear me and if you've been dismal are you charging you know just what i mean. We were few minutes late today because i took a shortcut getting here and my wife and i have a tradition that we can argue about which way to turn. Boatwright today do it today and boatwright today. Everytime i come how you have changed. Grown grown. Brewery. And i'm. Before but i haven't. Farewell to. I do know that no one who attend unitarian universalist service is expected. Adopt a particular creed. All are welcome. However i think it's important for us to know what more people than any other group. Come to work. Lakeland pound. I suppose talking about you coming into my can say what they don't believe. But that's not quite true. Last month i talked about you already been reminded. And today i want to speak to you about 3 minutes. and i hope you might renee remember a couple of days name. Their lives when they're teaching. Examples of modern religion. What is modern religion is based on knowledge. Not supposition. Not supernatural beings. The intellectual climate engendered by the western unitarian conference and i will remind you that. The weather. In the middle of the 1800's west of buffalo new york. And the real west is like is like iowa. Where we did have. Hartford women ministry. Develop that distinctive attitude of freedom. Overrun by people. Makkah progress that oregon has had the largest number of divorces. Which means people don't hang on very long. And. One of the reasons for many divorces i suspect is that 57 years of married life. Today. 53 years of married life and i think somewhere down the line. Although formed in 1852 with adults with christian christian outlook. After the civil war. You unitarianism not universalism and became a decidedly open religion. The western movement at the dolphin called. But very few people know anything about our history. What really centered in chicago. Actually innocent became almost in our tournament sunday new churches sending missionaries to new places and in general trying to open up. Well-known person in there. You don't have to remember the same but it's a nickname kanken. Lloyd jones something about your first name. Located in chicago.. And. It is located on the campus of the university of chicago right across the street from major lombard theological school. I know. The principle of the ethical reading in the chair commitment of all congregations to personal moral growth and social improvement. And he was so much. Devoted. On the wall. And he left it that way because he wanted you to imagine what you want to put up there. Good idea. How do you get trapinch. However they did. Engender a great deal of resentment. Particularly in england about how they have a name. Search for primarily christian unitarian. Which does not mean that they are god. God. And they were horrified by what was going on. Kind of religion a religion based on knowledge. Time. And concern for human being. It did not. Encourage. Dealing with the supernatural. Make note of our movement and particular aspect of it. He calls john. Dietrich the father of religious humanism. Dietrich born to farming family. And it was a family that had followed a twist reformed church of albany swingley. God and the people. When we do not believe in it. Depended franklin & marshall college in pennsylvania. New york city. Where he found a very wealthy person. A unitarian who hired him as a secretary. With that person he occasionally attended. Also church. After death new york eternal return to his home in lancaster pennsylvania. Oryana co-op. Ministerial training. Eastern theological seminary of the reformed church i think that mary higgins in lancaster pennsylvania. Prepare a paper to read the graduation ceremonies in 19 5. Regional regional paper comparing the history of christian doctrine. He denied that jesus was god but rather was a martyr. Tone down his paper at there would be many rapport ministers in the congregation. But he lost his battle professor it down. Which is kind of an odd thing to say because he was the one who found it down. After graduation 2017. I noticed there was a visitor. Gutenberg here today. Family name wolf. And really really built the church they provided aldi. Necessary. And the wolf family had a widow and a daughter remaining in the congregation. Goodbye without their contribution. Years went very well today.. However he began to spend more time on his sermon and left on visitation an interesting thing about some of our more famous than they really didn't like visiting people. They wanted to spend hours and hours on sherman. I don't know what that says about maybe. Butterman for an hour long. And they had to be meticulously prepared because they be reported in the newspapers shortly. Well he picked a new hymnal. He began to flirt with some unconventional ideas. They withdrew their support. Survive because he had brought a new members. Behind him. Continue to preach radical notion schedule for heresy trial in july of 1911. Something that people like to go to bible and even had a liberal reform rabbi speak to his congregation that was absolutely unheard of to have a rabbi. Fundamental. Service is he often compared document doctrine with modernity. To the detriment of the doctrine. Eliminated the apostle creed. And accepted the ideas of evolution item in 1850. Gristmill abandonment oregon. Bible not true. The congregation doubled in size during his tenure. And on sunday the other ministers were a little upset that many of their members went to his church anyway. Business partner behind. However in all good conscience i think he realized they weren't a heretic. And you didn't go to trial. They had hoped he would resign ahead of time so they would avoid the trial but instead of course. The minister dr wolf el maton impressed with dietrich and recommended. American association. Accepted. He was offered. How to get master at first unitarian in pittsburgh. With the understanding that you become in your memory. Senior minister. Minister. He couldn't do that he thought it would be dishonorable. Even though the previous church closed for year after sermon. Two months after the scheduled heresy trial he was minister of the first unitarian church in spokane washington. Rapid turnover. Identity members in a run-down frame building. 5 years. 1500 members. And had a brand-new theater as a meeting place. During his time in spokane than orthodox. Alleppey idea of liberal christianity. And ted. Talk about the importance of buddha confucius the hebrew prophets and greek philosophers. Like many contemporary. Liberal ministries in lakeview and with him another relation. That people had discovered that there were other relations in the orient and they were ancient religion. And the world religion something we all had in common a religion. In 1950. Howard at work in world war ii. His most famous sermon. Quite notorious. With the right to be well born. Woodmont family planning. Magnet. 90 years ago. In 1916 he went to the first unitarian society of minneapolis 20 minutes or 22 years. Rotolo 27 years in unitarian ministry. Churchill now in today at the flagship of humanism denomination. And here is one of the things about you minutes. I've got to remind you this is the language of 90 years ago there was only one gender at that time. Long and involved and have more common. More common than words sometime. Hard to do so i will read it. Apparently. With the universal accepted theory of a stove which was separate from the body. The real personality and which continue to live forever. Christianity. His whole idea of reward and punishment. In the afterlife. Why would inhabit a body. Is there fort worth or two places of spiritual boat. One place called heaven where they lived in eternal bliss. Do good deeds during their earthly sojourn out.. Another place called hell where the evil told continue to exist in eternal top foreman. And christianity colleges not as a theory but as an absolute certainty. Now humanism regards this whole idea is true and respective him. And beyond. And therefore in the case of the idea of god through the position. If not complete agnosticism at least a complete neutrality. That is a position in which the future life neither dogmatically affirmed or doormatic denied. Religion of human is based on science and scientists never dogmatic. The longest thing has not been scientifically demonstrated to be true or untrue science maintains an open mind. Survival after death. Don't worry. And i remember that was involved in public life. In minnesota in 1925 divided successful fight against the fundamental to try to retrieve passage of a law prohibiting the teaching of evolution and public schools last day. All cases right now. That are trying to stop thinking of something called. Individual. Intelligent design are another word for creationism. 9 long time. Dietrich believe that minister not stay forever in the pulpit. Do at the age of 60 he retired. Minneapolis church in berkeley california. 1941 davis. Somebody visited him just before he died. I don't think he ever got to use to know if you got out of it because he died 19. Adult l. Insignificant as a religious thinker however is based on its audacity and rethinking the doctrine of the western religious traditions. Perspective of naturalistic human. I want to talk about. Curtis wilfred reid. Who is born on a farm in the blue ridge mountains of north carolina. The reef family was devoutly southern basket. At the age of 9. Grateful dead before the congregation that he was at dinner. Salvation through jesus christ. It was midwinter but they still took him outside and dunking in a pond. Backspace. As you grew older he was convinced that god had called him. Typical of fundamentalist by god. Dependent marker like a baptist institution in mars hill north carolina that kill is there. Ordained baptist minister shortly thereafter. Now i remind you that baptist ministers you don't have to have any particular qualifications accepted the congregation like the moon called. Education it was unusual to do graduate work in. Administrator. What's an ordained minister in very briefly he helped your brother for tomorrow churches in that area. Baptist theological seminary in louisville. The idea of higher criticism. Higher criticism. Denial. Bethel bible engineering. Predator dorkly correct. The word of god. Very kind of way. Checking on the veracity of the scriptures. One of the ways. Form criticism. And that means when one look at a document that was supposed to have been written and 1000 bc and it was written in the language. Ar500. Number people. I know you can handle it. Better to die. By the minimal amount of information he received here they had to mention it. Commended. Blow. Panda net worth. Why was in lewisville he decided to do it sunday and took some of his track for the unitarian church there. I'm not sure how he was received. But you went away but a track called salvation by character. Experience as a minister at southern baptist church wasn't satisfactory. Open in tiffin ohio. A northern baptist church. At one time he said i preached whitey sunday. My conscience bother me. I can say what i believe but not what i didn't. Had to find a more liberal base. Again. We have someone riding to the rescue. Unitarian minister in toledo ohio. Represented a brief. Statement of estate one. Universal father god. Do a universal brotherhood mankind. Free universal rides. Freedom. Universal motive love. By the universal aim progress. Informed that has believed for consistent with unitarianism. Contacted the western unitarian conference andrews referred to a congregation alton illinois. Involved in controversy. In a reformed. Campaign for mayor. Candidate wanted to clean up the city. Well. Gambling. And whatever evil can be found on either side of that. Double time. By the underworld. And on one occasion had to hide. Attic. While. On the night of the election with one by the reform candidate. He was also hiding out at britney's house because it was a mob in front of his house. I had a big fire going and he wasn't quite sure what they were going to do it. Patrick. Happy new year's to move to des moines where he was again involved in social issues. Until the camp followers were there and all the corruption that go along with them. Prostitution illegitimate the venereal disease and unsanitary housing were ripe. The housing problem with so bad that he spoke to the mayor about it. They are recommended to the governor. Kind of attention. The governor. Wal harding place to be able to rectify unsafe housing. We've made a great lobbying african the iowa housing bill resulted. The recognition of his service to the state research made first commissioner of housing in iowa and i think that may have been. Secretary of the western unitarian conference. Vista canyon. Headquarters of what went on. Buffalo. 33rd previous president of the failing universalist lombard calling. A college in lombard which is about 50 miles south of chicago. Call the christian connection about whom i could buy nothing. I didn't trade universities were very close. And what they taught or what they didn't. And he felt comfortable accepting the presidential even though it was failing. What he did with the keaton moving to the campus of the university of chicago. University of chicago. University of chicago the relatively unimportant. What happened next was at the unitarian meadville college from meadville pennsylvania and the two met. Lombard college. Chicago. And is it called again. Together. Call me unitarian of lombard college universalist. Time together. Very far. I'm here he briefly considered as president of the lombard. John luther adams they were both considered. Images of scale. Modern radical john luther adams very close to being christian. Until they did not. Poetry as a president. We talk by noted person many evening meaning it had a library it had a clinic for quote optional. Parenthood unquote. Birth control clinic at that time. Important. Johanna. Boys and girls camp public library and was known as the major cultural center in chicago. During these races time. Maintain a 50-50 balance of blacks and whites. Employees and participant. He retains respecting part of his baptist heritage particularly in the baptist insistence of. Separate them church and state. However he disagreed on the nfl ability of bible the virgin birth and the doctrine of hell. He also founded directions of god irrelevant. He never called himself an atheist from god open. The quotation. Thomas thurmond and sometime in the late 1920s entitled humanizing liberalism put sports in philly and again this is one of those quotes. Before 1920. The basic content of most religions has been bad a permission of person to supernatural agency and a quan consequent appropriation of reward. Man was worthwhile because he participated in supernatural agency. Anniversary supply. Delete this man got their rights powers and goodbye servile tenure. Hello. View of religion rose with noble heights in the expression. Die will be done. Continue the realm of the divine is now subject to investigation. Beer is elsewhere the scientific method is being applied. Deregulated observation experiment may result in newton theological discovery. And so. Remain undogmatic. In regard to god. Ideologies of augustine panning the theology of billy sunday and that he will might all be found a highly inadequate without consequent injury to the religion of the liberal. Liberalism is building a religion that would not be shaken either the thought of god we're outgrown. Later on he described humanistic liberalism. Humanistic liberalism understand spirituality to be a man that has been staying in mind healthy and body dynamic and personality honestly facing a heart attack not feeling from his greatest trouble. America's most worthwhile causes. Loyal to the best ideals ever hoping striving and achieving. No one's self is inherently worthless act you to find truth expression and a widest human service and consciously become a co-worker with a cosmic processor actual.. He died from coronary during a board meeting of the meadville lombard. Axiology. Text my alarm. Preaching the same message when in the middle of the country in one in the northwest. They combined the 1921. Anime you a meeting. That's another sermon. The question of not accepting humanism in a ua. What a protagonist. It was a convert from catholicism a. Reverend sullivan. We cannot allow people in. Widely regarded as a wonderful man. But it went too far. Embarrassed. Eliminate. Andy. Francis charles francis potter. Quotes from me that i found. My wandering. And inside the name was carl frances potter who is living. Hotel in new york at the time. A very happy man. Doubletree of unit was widely heard in public during the years between world war 1 & 2. Unlike recent dietrich born in marlborough massachusetts. It was another baptist was licensed to preach in 17 that doesn't mean he was ordained. 7:40. And like a first-degree. At any rate. He left the baptist church when he found out but i do not believe in messianic prophecy or the second coming of christ. Eventually he gave up a belief in god. Elected after church and guess what. Now he must not have. Strong impression because they sent him. An alberta in edmonton alberta. And here he had a parishioner who spent part of the time in spokane and part of the time in edmonton. Annie found out about dietrich. They were preaching the same message from. Middle of canada. Enter the country. Taking kratom on spontaneously and they only found out about each other later. Daily derby record time. Detergent several unitarian churches. A very long. Attacking liberal debate. Rescheduled. The first one he won the second one he lost a lot of the newspapers that you won between. And they canceled the rest because their original idea had been to get him to convert. And i found out just the opposite was happening that more people we're at leaving than joining an interesting thing. The fundamentalist terminology. I'm at your house. Evidently even new york. The first meeting would be held in a venue that had 250 seat capacity. 100 people turned away. Remember. I want my mtv tv radio is just starting out. Free entertainment. And it was pretty exciting. How to get larger auditory 106 members signup. Anime. Example of a braided mane. Hanging down way to bucknell university after like two and a half years of high school by working factory. And later preaching. Automobile accident. Factory by writing quite a well-known writer who wrote many. Articles very prominent. Magazines of the day and several books. Died from cancer 1952. Died a few years ago they were born within a few years of each other. Daiquiri. I don't know any of these people in my lifetime and i'm sorry i didn't i came here to turn in universalism too late. But it's not too late to carry on teaching and dedication to the human sign spinner metal. I think that many of us can relate to those words i write a few moments ago. Spiritual magnetism. And now and identity to make,. Jack is there any. Single book that talks about the early history of the unitarian. Febrile. And i will i will send you a list i'll send them. A library you really should have them. I would rather amazed. Who wanted things to be equitable and. Unitarian church 50/50 african-american and. Doesn't lend them our idea. When we we can convert people i have to be on the road to being what we are. To convert from being a fundamentalist. In the bible are true. You build your life on it. I remember listening to a radio show. Prime minister in melbourne. And he was asked about something on this and this isn't. I think. Don't go there you'll have to reorganize your whole life if you do. Totally organization how you look at look at thing what's good what's bad politics and so forth. I texted too much to ask of an individual. Another thing about reading. His mother when she found out he became a unitarian. Wrote that he would rather have him dead. Because he knew that he would be. Hop around and round up there. A picture had named her son after him and changed his name to that of a fundamentalist minnesota. By splitting up.

universityuus_org

SS2005-05-01-TheHillTribesofThailand.mp3

Barbara briscoe. Middle school honors mathematics educator. Art educator. 1990. Unable to walk away. Human formula. Transformational. Tickles global transformation. Barbara morning before i start talking about this. What's a philosophy is. Find what i do in my relationship. My relationship with. Umbrella. Underlies everything. Is the idea of a lot of people. Isn't there one reality. Imaginary friend. Here in the united states. Rugged individual. There is no. Victor body stop right here. The only. World. Interact with other people. Global. Araquanid. Or even a portion of. That way. Everything you do. When you interact with another person or your environment. Interacting. You are going to. Behave in a manner that. That idea. This idea of. That. Part of how it came about. Started when i went on vacation. Bible people. Boundary. I now bring agencies people informed dormitory. How did you know. Line of demarcation. But what i can tell you is. Remember when i was. I always wanted to go to. Very important. I can go around. But i kept in my heart and i kept alive and it is. I thought you know. From living my dream. Created the fertile ground by keeping those alive to allow me to apply for the job. Get accepted. Tell my home. There was another opportunity came up. Play. Warm. I went to thailand on vacation with very loose plan. And we got over there. Don't want to go with remote. Five guys. But i felt like that was really. A blessing baseline. How do people. Now bad. If i wanted to. Because what i realized was. I did not know a second time. That was very profound. How how can i walk away from there. Without doing something. I can do this at least 100. I left that village i went down into. The market. Price leblanc. God got a sense of how much it would cost. Slater. I went back with the money. And at that time i i just called. And we have to make sure you have money. I thought i had money. Volume. For four-wheel drive pickup. And we were able to bring 569 different villages. That's the background that's how i got started in the end now on friday. Thailand from. That goal of 100 blankets after this. The people of thailand. Call thai people. Border. Thailand and myanmar. Myanmar or burma. One of the worst. In the world. Perpetrate. Human rights. Were originally. Fire. And i really felt that. Hired to provide some warmth around and talk to. What i was going to do in my heart. Whether i knew that or not at the time. When you go to a town or region in thailand go to the temple. Score. Beautiful. Booking price. Where we are. Is. Where this rectangle is right here. Is the area where the refugee camps are. Under military patrol outsiders are not allowed in the military. Underreact. Pipe public welfare on government official in other. There are an estimated 100,000. Rest area. We're carrying these cats with dandruff. Violin. Considered. Al-qaeda a lot of other groups have a presence there because. With bringing a to this area. American. They know i'm an american and everything i do is. They're very happy to see me. With american. We went under military escort. My derma. Unless they went outside. However. Do a lot of cattle herding. Go out of the village. Outsiders exotic other when you're when you're over there. I have brought not only quilt but we also have supplied. Sometimes it dies of royce. Bacon. Raise the livestock and have. They can maintain themselves. Hours a day. Water. Gravity. Walden. A lot of water in the river they still have water inside the village. 1000 the world about water at every how about 1. We are rebuilding. They will. Delivered. 2600. Christian girl. Hunger. That was just blisters. Collectively. I left the money to get her. The quilt. That i have made now instead of blankets the second time it was quilt are made by a woman's cooperative. Cooperative public welfare. We have a clock that we cheap. Eye contact with type of welfare. Right there. The reusable. Raichu. Bother. Available. On the upper left-hand corner is. Map of akron housewares on the right. 4a. Hackberry tart i'm feeding them. School. Drive to bring education primary education to. Education. In order to go to the regional. Government. If i work with are very very small. For 420. 125. Helping out. Greater up education. Government. Are amazing. Life. Not only. Go to school. They raise their own. Walked around quotes. Everything. Totally take care of themselves. It has to be something. Elder teaching. Can i go back friday having implemented. The cafeteria. What i would like to tell you charge you is. How appreciative. Appreciative. Because i am getting everywhere in our lives. When you really are you are. You are. Giving and receiving oral. A transformational. Process for me. Priority in my life. How do you tell if something about. Animal. That's a fairly complex question because of. They were nomadic. Talking about. A lot of that is a fedex label that the government has. At one point. But they all have. 7 years. Operated. And then let it grow back and need another pot but that was very good. What has happened is. Land is at a premium government. What happened with the native americans. Butter. Calling. United states. Back in her 30s and we got electricity. I respect by you have your picture in there. A woman where did the power come from. Power tools. Ironic. Battery. That will operate. At this point. Open youtube. Are they making an effort to do something. They are trying to help. Our refugee. The government doesn't have. Very hard. Aren't even there. The governor. Rhonda i don't know how the government. You probably won't. Another one. Any survivors. Covered with. Yellow. The rebels were they. Photograph.

universityuus_org

SS2007-02-18-TheWarOnDrugs.mp3

universityuus_org

SS2005-02-06-UnravelingtheDaVinciCode.mp3

Gmail. About. Encouraging. Malcolm x. Tired. There is no. Nobody. Well. We're going to. I'm really not impressed. It was great. I don't mind. By the way. The davinci code. Great-grandfather. You're pissed. Okay. Anybody else. Regeneration. We talked about rude. American. I don't i don't. A member of a secret. Order. Remember. About. Mary magdalene. The mediator. Pictures of artwork. Architecture. Is impeccable. Daily times. American. American. Are you. Are you here. You know. About. What are you doing here. Where am i going to pick on you. Android sold in. Open to dialogue about. And. Talking about religion. Development. I want talk about. Mary indeed. With difficulty. Parks colorado. But there's no evidence whatsoever. 1st corinthians. If you wanted to get married. Argument. When were the dead sea scrolls. 1947. What is annie from. Are you talkin about. Already. Entertained. Married. Right. Or is it perhaps bloodline. What do you think. Maybe some of you think. You wouldn't. Are you all intrigued. I don't think so. Call me to call him. Believer. It all comes down to. American spirit. What about a secret. Starving. I think some of you are starving. Is anything else. Religion. Religion. Don't want. Perfect. In the words of somebody. Married. Amazon. By arguing. Power. It was very difficult. Building on. A little bit further on your call car. I don't want to be. How little we know about. You use that you're torquing. If you are going to. Airport. In the world. The right. So i won't go into anything out yet. I don't care. Create lively conversation. Alright. Oh no i didn't go back. Great. Will you pose like that there is a name for people who. Call you. Do you know if you look for hidden code long enough and enough reliable unaware. Vermont worthwhile to reading inn. Daughter by timothy frankie and peter gandy. Christian missed cycle. And it was very very. Predominant. And i your head. Celebration of life. Didn't realize the power i had. Handkerchief. I encourage you to make your life.

universityuus_org

SS2005-10-02-Science&EthicsofCryonics.mp3

Good morning. I am turned on right my turning you on all right. And i don't think i can remember. Hearing aids. During the. Announcement of an illness. Twilight take a moment to acknowledge. I like it the prey. Value of life. Corridor. Ever-present human need to understand. We are thankful here as a community. Baby alive today. Ideas. Ideas. Malevolent. Make a difference. And spend time doing the same. On an argument. Or negative feeling. Amen. Halloween. If the magistrate we're living in today. Flathead and cryo preserve it. Set time in the future as medical science. Modern medical science. We have. Anime. Can we bring back. How many degree today. Forever. 1. Straight. How many you don't know if you want to live forever. How many you are alive right now. Immortality. Because this is a great opportunity for him to improve his career. A specialist at publix. They work the night shift. Cryonics. He can apply those skills 1-day to the possibility. We actually free. Cryonic. About freezing. Let's talk a little bit about the science part of cryonics and and. About. You might expect that specialist that i loved so much that i work with hospice cryonic automatically. Love playing in the freezer. But i actually do it. If you're still here in 30 minutes. Cryonics. A 1960s neologism meaning. Is the practice. Is the practice of reserving a legally dead person. Four possible revival reanimation. Future science. All potential damage. Becca mouthful. Cryonics. Is the practice of cryo preserving. Illegally. Dead. Illegal. When a person is pronounced legally dead final thrive medical professional. You haven't prepared cryopreservation team. Understand why the way that there's a difference. Cryonics expert would say we're not raising the temporarily not available. They would say that you are legally and then you are cryopreserved. Cryonics. Cryopreservation. First aid at the last intervention. Or report the problem that you're having. Cryonics. Raising. They don't see it as a horror story or halloween. Effort. Cryopreservation. A legally dead person. Reliable win future science. Happy mouthful right there hunter. Computer science. We'd like that. Younger. Can reverse. Cryopreservation. What do you want. It's a little cheaper. Cryopreservation itself. Call william. Is head head. Bonnie. Nobody. But separately. There is no merit by the way according to my best sources in case you're curious about this for halloween there is no merit whatsoever that walt disney's actually cryopreserved. Bassinet. Urban legend at the wonderful idea. Dna is documented. There's no evidence. William. Is cryopreserve at a place called alcor life extension. Ar. Is a large container that. And it doesn't require any electrical care. Neurosis. Call the neuro. Your body. I got a picture of it i don't have one. I'll pass it around electric. If i can find it. Holly start over here. If you are chronically preserved and maintained. Glen. First name john. John glenn. Is merely a body under discussion. Ed williams. Bionic cryopreserve a patient understand. Beautification. Bishop acacian involve the use of a cryoprotectant. They use. Ice cream. Scream cream. Primary ingredient. Fracture. Propylene glycol. A frog. Redneck on occasion. Amazing. The human. You're right we have successfully. Chronically preserved and re-warm very very early. Human embryo. Sperm. Red and white. And bone marrow specifically. In my humble opinion absolutely. Within twenty years. We will have the technology. Science of course sometimes forget to ask common sense questions. A lot of things i can do. Mickey mouse. Although a person is legally dead. Cryonis is philippe not irreversibly dead. Animation. Animation. Sometimes only the head is preserved. There's a quote by one of the expert. Call a neuro. A neuron with a crayon. Technology can repair. Generate or recreate oregon. Endicott. Nobody. More rapidly making it very easy. I had to be stored more economically. Santa whole body. What do you think of that. That's a quote from one of the expert about about saving just ahead. What do you think about that. Where to get the bike. I'll go ahead and if i were. Royal reserve just my head. I don't really want to come. You know if you have that kind of technology i want a whole new package. I want to pick out how i come back. Let's go one step further. My consciousness and my impact memory. Capital s. Spell. Frames. I like that idea better myself. Don't you. Any more thoughts. What do you think happened to it. Are usually very spiritual people not religious. Medical expert. You're stealing your consciousness. Is attached to the vet. Religious principle. Temporarily offline. Environment. Cellphone has happened so fat. You're bringing up things that have been brought up before and i'm glad you're all thinking about this real practical problem to it it's fascinating to think about it well. Modern. Nanotechnology. Are you guys star trek fan. By design. You are about to die. You think you're pretty valuable to our society. And i think you are. You have the money cuz it's about 30 grand. Doesn't usually see 200 grand. I want to stay around. People are going to need me. You have your cryopreservation. Down. Good number i like that. We have. Reanimating damage occurred as a result of our process. It's not nice to go in and send. Nanos. You're going to wake up 32 years from now. And 32 years. Martyr. What do you think of that. Okay. Modern medicine. We really will. Going not asking. Will people want their. Money money money. Insurance will pay for it there there. You imagine. You imagine. You got somebody to take care of. You haven't you have your keeper. Okay let's move along. Bottom line. Progress. Clinical trials are in progress. Don't have any progress. How we view ourselves. Our options. Colyer insurance. You'll be just fine. That for me. I mean i've got people. Call. We're having trouble feeding people now and taking care of. What's the value of. Value. Cycle. Aren't we kind of shooting or how arrogant and how. Multiple. Responsibility. Okay. Okay let me read let me read about moving to the question. Call what is enlightenment. What is enlightenment. Connie barlow is an evolutionary biologist. Question and answer. Honestly i haven't worn to think about it but. I guess probably i would have to say yes. If not actual immortality. But i haven't. Why not. Answer. For another. I think that i. Death becomes her. Generative. Problems. Asking questions back and forth. Why would anyone want to die. And how it could be achieved. Indestructible. Murder. Evening. Personal belief concerning the capacity. What is considered by some a false hope. For recently deceased loved one. What do you think. Coldwell banker misophonia. Call kaiser baby. I appreciate that,. However i'm interested in one is that people in the 18th. So i'm always amazed i agree with you. Any mammal. Human embryos very very early one. Are frequently. Right. Cryobiology. Interesting. I did not know that thanks. I want to ask you i am a little vegas. I'll tell you what i know from what's in public. Basically. Daughter. Cremated. Court and everyone else did not look like it signature. Space exploration. State transport. Are even interested in hearing about. They're really into life here and now. Imagination. What nature does for us. As we get older and ready court. It's a whole new idea though they consider the fact that what would happen if. Idea of death. Mr williamsburg. You know i'm also a. Vampire. Empire. Metaphors for culture. Severe anxiety about being alive. Forever. That human needs to die. Human needs. Vampires are born. I think that were interesting vampire. They represent. Empire.

universityuus_org

SS2005-08-21-HolisticMedicine.mp3

Now per hour when the student is ready the teacher will appear. If one wishes to experience miraculous transformation. Hold your mind. State of. Whatever comes your way assisting in this endeavor. Witches philosophy in mind. Is dr kirti colitas. 1 degree. A board-certified in internal medicine along with a doctorate. Today. Completing her residency program. At the center for integrative medicine. 50th and cumberland. And audience recognize some faces and all new faces. Ebony and leather on have. Adding a pro pack. How to find the physical body. And my past started in. And my background is i was going to hindu parents my mama commandeer. My dad was born in africa. And i'm entering the medical field. Combination excetra results. And i can be the healer i can help them but unfortunately problem. And my vision was become part of mainstream america. Get into it. And i would choose my goals in tampa talking others. Overtime and also three years of residency and bingham practice in the orlando area for 11 years. Re-align. Dominique rack. Read about it all the time. Mayo clinic in chicago lawsuit. Rihanna. I'm not planning the answer. Because of that in 1998. I am. What about nitrification option. And the first time that i went to portland oregon i felt. I do my package in 98. I turned 40 and people said well maybe you need. New life. In the northwest what they seem grounded they had no connection with mother. Connect to rain all the time because it's not only the body but. And the two years of experience and open up a vision of health to me that has gone beyond words in my office now. Open up a new principal. And peyton 59. Looking for body at home. Look at the root tone. Optical. I'm at home on slow is my diet right. We don't want to cause any harm. And allow the body to heal because it have innate ability to give the right to. The word document. Can only come if you open up the top of the universe. No the last 5 years. What have you done what is a mental health counselor. What is what have you read. Make a list. Spending time with you. Anime. But the way i did.. Animal. Blending 2. I need to know about the landscaping pipe. I need to know you. I need to know. Probably waited more time. Over the time i've looked at it from a different angle. Anderson. Just a few words about the. And enough. We have made several attempts in the state of florida. And to me it's a big deposit you know they want to hold on to me the other day with some new york. I like you because. You don't need portico to look for your family. New york news. Orlando. Navigate around implants. Anything could go around finding ontaga to happen if it's not going to happen. We can look tall glasses. Sometimes need to open up the possibility. And again uvula rabbit pythons and and and the hurricane plan. Nvidia time. Tomorrow. Experience. Living philosophy. Network connection. My home office parking tony again to me i don't even know. Punta gorda on the rectum. Discipline. We need to i reach 2.9 my practice way we need to look holistically need to look at it paradigm separately. What we've created within the office interns to find balance on the physical level. Am i going to the doctor return sinus infection bronchitis. What is the typical doctor. 2 months later. Food around here. Going to diagnose he was rheumatoid arthritis. Lopunny. Infection. I'm sure we all agree and i can listen to. Dr. gary gordon. We are all packed. Where they bled montreal snake. Whatever we look at all the pesticides drive on iphone. How about the texas time. In ossining. What home depot. The only change to our attention two years ago and then the multiple but 10 years ago they realized it was bad for the animal. Because my climbing on vandeventer. Holman automotive. In your mouth. Turn on your head and go up into your brain. American dental association. Believing that it's not a problem. In other countries like sweden and japan. I taken out in the government pays you 50% take it off. Japanese medical code that they will not allow it to go into anybody's house now. Getting america. We need to change our thinking we have a choice until her physical body but doesn't make your brain fog. Things that go on august. Maybelline. Supported by garman and get alcohol. Today. 7-eleven. And then on top of that. Aldrin. Unable to detoxify. Lot of people have. We need progressive addressing the root cause. Go to the doctor. 10%. 10% of the us population. Heather gallbladder removed. I'm not saying you don't need it when you're. I didn't take your oil. When you order pasta in japan. Guidon. And why they taking it can't focus at school but i've given something up because it rained up falling asleep medication called adderal. I need optical asked you how long you sleep. We have a problem with insomnia the first. Magnesium hydroxide. Anything my brother-in-law the cardiologists in counterfeit. Some of these drugs. Do not have a zip code in your body. They don't have a zip code you don't know what to do. Does nutrasweet have a zip code. Does ambien have a zip code. A reptile. 1. Nutrition. Lighter. Homeopathy. Breaking 11. Stabilizing. Entertaining naturopathy. Countdown. Traffic problems going on is going on. Cutting your own hair. Going. The mane choice right for yourself. All i can do is educate and hope and pray. Tactacam few things about physical into walking with two bags into my office. Thank you scream. Add protein to feel comfortable with. Arabic food. 99 cent. And don't buy store-brand because it come in boxes. Find natural organic. Healthy oil. Your body cannot produce. Could not connect. We can get them. We are the only species. Relion. And an alarm. Intensified. And then the list of supplements need to come in. I can get so caught up in august. What works for me. What's my heart calling for with my soul control what do i need in terms of nourishment am i doing. Am i doing what am i doing standing in my constipated. 19. Important. And what i like to do now is calm down to living you know inside into what you do and how close. A macbook on the physical emoji. Not going to come together if you want. Article title. Connect connect a patient with pride for the first time and i have time today. What i'm saying. Make the right choice. Thank you alec to call doctor lyrica. Really inspiring the worth and dignity of every. Actor cariou. Acceptance of one another where we are to wherever you are is where you are cruising meaning the goal of world community. And respect for the weather in your two hours behind is here fall right can't take that out on the patient and so i can put this in my office and remember that for every person that comes in the title. When you're going to. When i have a person in my office even work. I had a paper. However i said. Scenario. This is one of my most favorite plant. University. I know i'm about to. You guys know why it is in europe and south africa that they are more open to the medical center.. Organization. And then. Bottom line. Crying. Barbara direct sub attractive how would you approach. Syndrome and autism. When i call neurological. Timer. Funny picture. Bank of america we are and then what happened. Ducati peptide protein around. Allergy. Specifically. And finally. Then we have. Accreditation. Cancel. You making it. I cannot. Appropriately. Program. A few minutes afterwards.

universityuus_org

fldsj2004-gw_Hon_Ruvin_Part2_Track%204.mp3

Different. Enduring environment growing climate. W. 4. Later in rio hammond. Build up. Bellacor formats for rio. 14. Not to be a membership. Boqueria. 5. Greek mythology doing inventory. Battle creek powersports. Gopher. Call mom. Target production. Call toronto target of 20%. 20% reduction from 1990 levels. Recommended. Target. Old ways the local government act. Anyway. Retrofitting old municipal building. Call range. Acting. Dr. francis myles. Quantify. Nathan strickland. Worldwide. You have the correct event. Active the last month. Project. Vehicle-miles-traveled. Raccoon. Our web page. Referee title. You'll really understand. Protecting even when you talk about. Activate. Dhole. More and more. Green weather event. Finally have. Earthquake. Government that the government. Everybody to represent. Privilege. Environment working. Undeveloped nation. Go to country inn you only have any pics. You're the one. The world. Involved very very. Gold. 7%. Ducking 12u. Right now it's pretty clear that we need to go to. Demagogue. Back. Take me to globe. Your black giving up my ground. In rio tropical. Framework for a. Secretariat. Carpenters of the party party bean story. Document. Carpenter party. Developing regions of the world. Corbin pregnant one another one. Process whereby. Dawgnation. Rock bottom. Lakewood mall. 14 communities. Champagne cork. Avoiding. Tractorhouse. Weatherization. Quincy. Economy in the world. When i look at the need for federal acne. Acceptable. Carbon. We're not going anywhere. About. About 75 million. The car in the united states. Outright grandpa. Cap program is allowed into road to credit discount. Wind flower. Got a little bit. 1958 grand prix on university florida with bike. He called me baby. I've been trying to get with him. Overview. Commercialized. Connect energy sources. America. Viable. Dummy you're running for president make it a hot-button. Every question you can imagine. Give me the camera.. You know you can talk about environment confirmed. Generation. I don't have clean water. Major driver in. Environmental. People in haiti. And that resulted in. Larger social consideration rental. Organism gumroad. Some rule that actually had a perfect. Word party. Toca life. I believe. He died 1997. Repertoire. It will be. Happier. In our lives. Gave her. Who recorded the profit. Practical deposit. Project. I like to look at climate change. Challenge. Be the proper monitor of dynamic equilibrium. Golden pasture happening. Probably going way beyond point where we can. We'll talk right now. Probably already. Override. We put together chat for. Engineers architects. It doesn't take a long time. Life including operating. Goodbye price died from the tracker. World. Yorkmail. Raising boys. World hunger. Talk about. Google activity. Wright brothers. Darien. We can. Open my company quincy jr. They're rioting. Alachua county. Go to that website aclj.org. Supernatural council. Yep old amazon website. Every city that involved. Airplane. Proper pronoun. Iraq. Call barbara. I'd like to see you. Regretting saying something like that. Everybody. When company. Give them incentive and financial benefit. Milestone. Maybe bring back the same group or new group head. Covid-19 criteria. Arepa. Hurricane before. Yeah i think it's. Where are you. Aries. Have you ever thought. Art board at half president of costa rica toy story of how they many years ago their legislator lathrop voted unanimously to adopt their lumbering industry and they did that knowing that they were going to punish their country into decade of economic hell because that was their main industries now. Liverwurst. Aruba.

universityuus_org

SS2005-07-10-MindBodySoulWorkout.mp3

Speaker is rev mark spivey. Mark has a master's degree in clinical social work and theology and philosophy. As a professional thanatologist he is currently writing a book addressing the various ways that a soul survives a dying body. Mark continues to pursue an advanced studies in the field of neurotheology through the chicago theological seminary. Market is also affiliated with the hospital hospice of volusia flagler as a spiritual. Care specialists. Please put your hands together for reverend rex baby. We're having technical problems this morning. Can you hear me how about that that better. Alright. All right there the whole time. Would you put your hands together for a few moments let's take a moment and join hands. Close your eyes. As our eyes are closed in our hands are being held we are aware of the presence in this room and the strength. That comes from our own human souls. We lift up our energy and our good wishes for those who are in harm's way. In the presence of. Disaster approaching we are also quite thankful that. Disaster does not approach us. May this positive energy and thankfulness and gratitude. Move towards those who are in harm's way. Amen thank you. 2500 heraclitus. 2500 years ago heraclitus live. He was one of the early. Greek philosophers they call him the pre-socratics he hung around with pythagoras and sperm entities and he laid the conceptual foundation for socrates and plato. He was a very interesting fellow we don't know if you wrote a book or not but we do have about 125 epigrams or fragments. That are wise saying that heraclitus is known for he was a contemporary of the chinese finger confucius. And the indian guru siddhartha gautama. Heraclitus. Said a lot of things and how to exercise. Heraclitean epigrams to describe and discuss the mind the body and the soul. The first is. Mine. The mind workout. Heraclitus said and i quote. Lovers of wisdom must open their minds to very many things. Lovers of wisdom must open their minds to very many things. Most people. If you're like most people spend your life half-asleep. We live our lives sort of an arrow restricted vision where we're not too sure what's going on we're trying existing go from moment to moment in the day or thinking patterns are restricted and we often fail to grasp what's in the palm of our hands. Heraclitus says lovers of wisdom must open their minds to very many things there's a very unitarian concept. Oh yeah that's a little better some of you want is open as others perhaps well the problem with opening your mind of very many things is that heraclitus also said sings love to conceal their true nature so while you're opening your mind. Sure i called it's designed deceptions there are built-in deception. It's built into society's built-in we see it in ball games i'm not a big sports fan but we see it in sports. One team will disguise. The play to confuse the opponent so that the intentions are miss webs we see it in politicians politicians are famous for disguising and decoy. Riddles. Don't you like a riddle. A riddle about a riddle riddles are. Spoken by people who want to delude wannabe solvers is only good if the riddle contains extraneous information and misleading assumption just throw you off track. How can you carry water in a suit. Ask question. How can you carry water in a self at the riddle. Anybody have an answer. Who said that. You know i can say more about this red and this hair but i'ma leave it alone that's exactly right you freeze it. So coarse how do you carry water and if you freeze it. How many monkeys can you put into an empty barrel. None. Do i hear a turn-on. 1b answers one because want you but one in their well robert if not empty anymore. Right won't you put one in the barrel it's not empty anymore. Heraclitus recognized through the problem inherent itself and riddles because another one of his epigrams he said. People fail to recognize the obvious much in the same way that homer wisest of all the greeks. Fail to realize the truth of what some boys told him some boys, and once said what we saw and caught we left behind. What we did not see your cats we took away with us. Homer did not realize the boys were discussing life. And he missed the riddle himself. It was not lost on heraclitus the value of understanding the obvious you have to learn to do something else and heraclitus suggested expect the unexpected or you will not find it. You have to expect the unexpected or you will not find it how many do you think you expect the unexpected. 1. 3. Expect the unexpected or you will not find it we live lives based on assumptions it works very well for us in fact it's one of the great accomplishments of the human mind that we are capable of assuming what's going to happen based upon what has happened. It helps us project and anticipate it's a great thing for us to do christopher columbus challenge some spaniards to stand an egg on end. They could not do it cuz the rolling away and send it up. Video on fair on fair that's not fair and christopher columbus said well. You just assumed more than you needed to. You just assumed more than you needed to you have to watch assumption back in 1957 a young dashing robert. Had his own car and a ducktail do and he showed up to pick up an for the dance. Well and was not on time of course. And so mom said come on and come on in robert it's down and and mom says what are your intentions with my daughter. Hello robert says what will go to the malt shop most likely or maybe we'll go watch a drive-in 12 and mom said why don't you go out and screw. All the kids are doing it and and roberts like what what. Cuddly robert change of plans himself alright perhaps i won't go to the mall shop and just about that time and the saddle shoes and she's already. 20 minutes 25 minutes passes. And comes through the door and screams. What's wrong. It's the twist mama not the screw now i can't help but wonder how many here who just heard that assumed. Did the screw me something that i didn't mean to work well for us it's a great success story but you have to wash them because they'll end up. Taking you in places where you'll miss the unexpected and you don't want to miss the unexpected you really don't know it's time to play a game i'm going to give. Sandpaper to this side. Don't mind what i'm giving you you want to help me why thank you kind sir i paid for this side. You have once you get the paper 2 minutes. 2 minutes. And i want this side of the building. Imagine if there's a line right here. I don't want this side of the building to imagine the same although you got to push a line kind of further. Okay everyone get their paper get your paper get your paper that sold hospice of volusia flagler paper so don't mind that the printing at the care plan if you need help and go ahead and write some things down and i'll be happy to take that in otherwise i want you to make a paper airplane and i want you to fly it up here past the line. The person who gets the most airplanes up here decide wins. Everyone got paper. No you're slow you're slow. That's okay the hurricanes missed us you can be slow. Come on if you get it start doing it the timer starts now you have two minutes. I'll drink while you're doing it there's one there's two. 9. 87. Text. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. What a mess congratulations it looks to me although it's hard to tell that this side got more up so you guys did a great job. What was the point of the exercise. Thinking outside the box. Some of you thought really really outside the box and look at what you did you wanted it up and threw it at me the criterion the only criterion you had to satisfy in this exercise was flying across the line. Those of you who thought outside the box and the point was to get it across the line. 1. Your idea of what an airplane is is restrictive and narrow i don't care what the airplane looks like that was extraneous information i didn't care about that the exercise was for you to realize the goal was to get it across the line some of you actually got up here very creative crowd we have very creative. So i can see that i can rub on here for you soon to the body aspect of our talks because maybe their minds are already open. Ramsey wanted to hear a happy and very open thomas edison create so many brilliant think. Make it a practice to be on the lookout for novel and interesting ideas that other people have used successfully. Your idea has to be original only in its 8 at patient to your problem or your challenge. Where do you look for ideas. And moving on to the body i'm going to show you a clip which has i think then reverse too far back. Because i don't want to show you all this. I think it's too far. Jose. This is too far. I went to sleep and when things go to sleep you wake up and you don't know where you are ever have that happen to your own personal life. Real videos of the same way. What's okay because at this juncture i'm just going to try and fast-forward it this is the scene from steel magnolias how many of you seen steel magnolias how many you haven't seen steel magnolias please leave the room you don't deserve to be here. Is a quote from weezer boudreaux. If you know weezer boudreaux she has a great philosophy on the body and wellness and fitness. And when weezer comes in and gives her clip. I'll be able to give you a little idea of what we're going to do further nice haircut here in this lovely now you're ready for sound when i'm ready for sound right all right. Okay. Only our lives moved too fast. She doesn't like her hair is too short. Dolly parton is tired of her praying. It's very hard to know young man. I had the clip queued and it was lost when it went to sleep so now i have to find it again. Yes. Oh i'm glad that she's always on time little skirt and saddle shoes all right. Okay we're about ready here she comes a big mouth. You can found it now. Your hair. I don't make the rules i don't make the rules don't ask me why weezer boudreaux's wellness mantra the sooner my body gives out the better off i'll be i can't get enough grease into my diet. She says this in the presence of shelby who actually does have a disease and whose body actually is wearing out it's a beautiful and delicious opposite irony in the same room. Weezer's. Capacity to marker good help is possible only because she has it. Only because she has it says it is disease. God makes hell. Pleasant. It is hunger that makes fullness good and weariness that makes rest sweet. Instead of me suggesting today a catchy concise and contagious concoction for total body help. I'm going to recommend that you stay in your rut and fully embrace the opposites if you're fat and unhappy stay fat and unhappy. The key to understanding the value of your life and your body wellness is to understand the power of the opposite the power of the opposite is what will lead you i suggest that you appreciate what not there. Appreciate what not there this morning we appreciate what's not there don't we. We appreciate what's not here which is a hurricane. We appreciate what's not possible. If you are having trouble understanding what appreciate what's not there means perhaps you like sheryl crow we said it like this i don't have digital i don't have diddly-squat. It's not having what you want. It's wanting what you've got. The value of understanding what you have is by realizing what you could not have. Do you remember george carlin's great on stage performance when he got out and stood there and did nothing. How many dissolve at. George carlin death. He came out on stage and they all expected him to start his deadpan approach and he just stood there and shifted. He stood there any stood there and the laughter was more uproarious than usual because he did nothing you see the art comes in the paws. The quiet space is often where things belongs how many you look at a cup and see the cup and realize wow what a great coffee cup you say wow because you like the color you like the shades feel like the sides but how many you look inside the cup and see the space and realize that the tub is only available because of the space within its utility is based on the space within the cop otherwise. We often in our lives don't realize the value of an opposite and we try and and overrun what is not there. Appreciate what's not there you have to venture into the realm of the fool how many of your fools. Put your hands up cuz you are. Years ago a fool was considered to be an honored member of the court they advise kings emperors because fools have the capacity. See what's not there and to make fun of the trivial and the trifle with the big shots and to take common perceptions of circumstances and parody them for example. says success is far more rewarding if we've tasted defeat. I made you can see what i did. Life is more precious. If we are capable of understanding death. Everyday i meet people who are. More appreciative. I'm what's not there. What's not in their lives perhaps disease. If it's lost and regained. A fool will ask this question what does a rich man put in his pocket that a poor man throws away. The answer. Snot. Ever think about that. Do you have a watch people actually pull out of handkerchiefs blow their nose into it and stick it back in their pocket. They're sticking snot back in their pocket or four times. But somebody else will choose paper that they can throw away and remove from them why would you keep snot. But a fool smokes that was not there and turned ideas upside down and it's important to look at the office it's because they shake up your thinking pattern why do we do the things we do the little habits my favorite on-screen animated food. Homer simpson you tried and you failed. The lesson here is never try. He says trying is the first step to failure. If you take live on your tip it upside down and you look at it from prospective you embrace what heraclitus called the opposite. So i suggest that we are taking care of your body and you're considering body wellness if it's important to you to take care of yourself and eat well and prevent that's fine do that but why don't you embrace the idea of a fool in fact why don't you become one of your perceptions and your practice. It is true that we do not fully appreciate what we have until we lose it or experience the opposite we don't appreciate our help until we are riddled with disease or until someone that we know loses their health until we're better for healthy. Sick people imagine what it's like to be well. Well people imagine what it's like to be sick i wonder what it's like to lay there all day long with cancer. Imagination. Is the key to reawakening the next part of our talks the soul. I believe that the soul and the imagination are exactly the same thing. And by exercising our imaginations we exercise our soul. Heraclitus said i searched. Into myself. I searched into myself. Heraclitus believe that consulting our imagination and consulting our intuition will bring us inside. We are born with imaginations but as we get older we somehow become imagination list. We call it child's play and put it away and we lose our minds we lose our ability to play and to be imaginative and at one point in society there was an institution responsible for stimulating human imagination. Anybody tell me what that institution was. For many many many years. Society look to an institution to stimulate the human imagination. No church. The church. Was expected to stimulate the soul was expected to stimulate the imagination because they were the purveyors of god and all things spiritual but they dropped the ball in fact regarding imagination. The religions have a precious cargo. But they often fail in their job by moralizing. Intellectualizing and defending themselves to such an extent that their real purpose is obscured. Today people all over the world are abandoning the religions in disgust and anger. Everyone has an instinct for transcendence. People know intuitively that some kind of spiritual life is necessary. And so many are searching on their own and joining new churches and new communities thomas merton. Thomas more. The souls religion. This is a new community. The only reason i come here because your minds are open. The only reason i drive 61.3 miles used to see people with open minds. I spend my days a people whose minds are so close and so narrow that their own lives are being snuffed out and they can't realize it. The openness and the capacity to interact with your own imagination is in fact and inherently spiritual and religious exercise every time you imagine anything you're engaging your spiritual sense of soul every single time. I told you before steven cuz i tell you lots of things. That i like it with me a psychologist james hillman says imagination reflected speculation through dreams through image and through fantasy. I believe the soul expresses itself through imagination and imagination recruits the body to enhance the experience of what it means to be human. i would suggest to you that your soul is like a flickering movie. And it recruits your body as if it were a theater of surround sound and tactile auditory and visual stimulation enhance your human experience of what it means to be a human being with a spirit and an imaginative force. Does that make sense. That makes sense. Does that make sense. How many defense in your your flickering movie has a real missing. How many distinct you forgotten how to play. You've lost your sense of imagination. Perhaps many of you are very imaginative and right now you're imagine you're somewhere else. Play imagine what's for lunch. Imagination. Is something that people strain to connect with and i've noticed through my work with dying bodies that imagination returns during the dying process i often will look past the body and look for the snapshot of the human soul that is the imagination that lies fill within that body what what an awful tragedy their sense of imagination. Take a painting class. Take a pottery class. Play in the mud again make mud pies if you wish it might work. I suggested you reacquaint. Yourself with your childhood friend. Your childhood friend who's never left you your imagination unless you're one of those ties for your imaginary friend william play with you when you're in trouble. To recap i would like to say that mind body and soul according to heraclitus. Naturally and normally the exercise it will just remember a few things. Things love to conceal their true nature if you don't expect the unexpected you will not find the unexpected never assume more than you need to for any given situation trying think outside the box. A fool for become a fool and consider what's not there to inspire your own program of body wellness and for your soul i suggested you search into yourself use your imagination. Thank you. Maybe mark will now have a question answer.. I'm not standing back up okay you can imagine that i am standing back up if you wish please keep your question short and to-the-point irwin. And please raise your hand eric will come out with the microphone. I have a question who's going to clean this mess up. I never i never had one but martin. I always thought you came here to convergys understand why i speaking unitarian church is they really don't understand that i'm off the deep end. But i love it i love it. Mike one of the. So-called new thought notions is that if you can clear your mind than some of the ways you were talking about starting get out of your own way and let the spirit flow through you. Your creative imagination will. Finally re-emerge where you saying anything like that. Yes sir i was yes sir i was that's exactly right i think that sometimes we need to clear away the debris in our lives we get used to the ruts and we get used to anticipating what's coming next. And so naturally we know what's coming next hoping you know what's coming next you'll often not look at what could come next and you'll miss opportunities that are right in front of you because you don't respect them and you discount them in the picture and you're looking you looking you looking it's a lady and one moment and it's a flower and another that's the nature of moving out of your perspective and trying to open your vision. Yes ma'am. I left the point about. Imagination is so. And if i think about emily bronte. Who lived a very quiet life. She died she died when she was 32. Select on the morrison wild place. And yet she has. Has poetry is definitely my mind portrait of genius. Where did she learn about those emotions and how could she expresses herself so well if it wasn't from somewhere that. You know. You count explain a lot of inspiration so if you can't explain it. That might be the sole i'm not talkin about religion i'm talking about something else with right i'm calling this the right. Thank you. Different words for how we express that non palpable part of ourselves soul spirit stuff energy light. Higher power. Can my mind all of that is valid whatever time works for you is fine. Okay i have a question okay. I was raised unitarian and i understand your concept but at the same time i believe. In. God who created every. Let me stop you and define your terms you mean an old testament idea of god or a new testament idea of god or a bible idea of god or whose idea of god do you like. Yeah really okay okay. We'll have to get an idea what you mean by god because it could be a personal thing that's looks nothing like anybody else's idea of god. Where do you combine. What do you combine what you just spoke of. Which is. That creativity which is outside of the box. And yet that commonality which unites us all is god's children. I'm not sure i understand your question i'm not sure i understand we were all created originally by some you know sperm and egg meeting. We have control to be creative thinkers outside-the-box like. So where does that mean. Where does that mean i don't know but it needs to me i don't know that you're i'm not sure that i understand your premise why you trying to combine something that doesn't need to be combined. Yeah. You said how can we appreciate disease without. Health and hathaway appreciate. I'm just i'm just curious how do you reconcile those two because. Originally to know your spirit outside of it you had to know it some way in it. Tilda think outside of it didn't you step further than that and answer your question i don't think i think metaphysically i don't have an idea other words. This is an abstract question i'm not sure we want to take up the time to answer it. No don't be sorry it's a good question it's just said i'm in a different place with that. Ask me. My interpreter. Okay i'll find you in a few minutes. Okay you know you want the microphone the whole time i was one of those kids as matter fact but i remember my. 2nd grade teacher writing in my report card. Steve lives in his own world he's daydreams half the day and i was i was out-of-the-box most the time for some people here think that i still am but the point is that you know you have to do the monday and you have to connect with people inside the box. Most of your life. But if that's all you do then you don't you never appreciate. The imaginative creative part of your soul. To be able to go beyond then. I understand what you're saying but i don't understand what you're trying to combine. I don't know what you're trying to bring together. Oh i see what you're okay okay. Okay now that everyone is thoroughly exhausted with the question. I'll see you in a little while. Okay, i don't want to know we're very short on time and i want to be sure i get everyone. I'm going to get finished with mine okay you got a define the box because we we build our own box right. And if we. Stay in that one box then then we don't know how to get outside of it right but but i want to go back to your talking about eat what you like. I am so tired of dietitians telling us when i mostly eat carbs i know i don't know what those are. But there was but there were times. When we couldn't eat eggs because now that they finally realized eggs. I mean it's everything and mother's milk they didn't know what was in it so you have formula. Which killed a bunch of babies and india's someplace. Impress the biggest thing to me growing up in texas where you don't. Haven't even because it's too hot this was before air-conditioning very quickly. And the people in the south were less fat than the people in the north who baked everything and had the heat in the kitchen. Appreciate that little.

universityuus_org

SS2005-07-03-TheDeclarationofIndependence.mp3

Thank you everybody in my eye. Anyway as i was last here on june july 12th. 2004. It was. Register at your house of worship weekend. And this is something i hadn't really thought about back in january. January for all of you. Speaker and i got a nail in my tire. We are talking about people breaking ground. I was be honored. Building. And i was thinking about that when i was driving up here were talking about people who are permanently in the right direction. Anniversary of tomorrow anniversary of its. And also the signing of the civil rights act of 1964 july 2nd. Reddit multiple times and. Playing cards. Our ability to work with one another. Now. Number one. Thomas jefferson. House music. Question. Decoration. Not power who doesn't why. Let's decide to have this kind of a government. Articles. Better. Assistant. Bat. We don't we not living by the government. But. Power over the counter. Please help me out really bad. That whenever. It is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. Happiness. We are naturally going to. That will hurt you. Notion. And people arguing. George w bush. Basically. That. Call welfare reform. Now it's called. Personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act. High school. What a great idea. Welfare. Welfare. How do we help. People have the right to principal. Right. People. And we will have friday. Everything. Confirmation. Orbitz. What walk was talking about. I'm sitting here but there's my handbags. That i might not be able to. Liberty property. Government rules around protecting people. Why. Allow our community to be stable. Better off. Why. They can survive without you but they can survive. All of these all these people who want to be because of all these babies. You have to wait longer. Are well aware. What is the. Protect. Today is. Document. Contract. Many ways are not favored by the government. Divine providence. What. Life liberty. Create. But. Overwhelmed. You are a majority of the classroom that you can. I was teaching an undergraduate. The last couple weeks. Not only. And i thought for sure looking out at my. Part of it is trying to. Rattata. Congressman and senators. Americans have described as a cognitive dissident. Government. The person cutting happened. We remember. Okay. Mike. American. I've heard it described one. American. President resign. Why workers. We don't have much loyalty. Fervently. And now. And now we have click it or ticket. Back then. Most people are not allowed to vote. Now we have really. Diversity. Circumstances half-and-half. Presidential nomination. Can i get the question. The president. And where does kb. Founding fathers had. Article. The weather. The present-day in harbison. President. And guess what light it up. You have a problem. And therefore. My started or another reference. What. Then. The record company. We can get. You know it have it really sweet. What can you do about. Australia. Lower. Democratic. Here is my clue.

universityuus_org

SS2005-06-05-ThePrometheusProject.mp3

Project we would like to welcome john calero professors calero. Valencia community college. John polera with the project director for the planning workshop number. Professor of humanity. He was stationed from carson newman college jefferson city tennessee linked geology. Papa john's calera i can hear it myself. Thank you so much for. For making this possible today within the contact centre arrival because steven called told me i had to be here by 10 p.m.. About 3 years ago. I was literally sucking down i-4. I heard an interview of her own story who is the author of the publication entitled brittyy44 and we were just like. And most people think about or think they know anything about how she might say something like a job. Until he was talking about it was practically impossible to thought. What is demographic. 2. Find a way out of poverty baked-on accept orlando. Leaving about. Gladwell. The victim. David. That. Emergency lepore. And the result. Elements that are. It almost have to read publication entitled richard for the poor. Probably can help you. And. In what he called around the port. Making it virtually impossible. Around the port event that. Nebraska to what he called the mall like a downtown. I don't think we can interview. Meaning. Poor performance system time. I understand.. If we can put this in front of my colleagues at the college go in a collective way that we brought together we talked about. Northpointe republican 2000. I had read some top and i said well at the roberto clemente family guidance in manhattan. And the bread choir students in the clemente court. What's a release from prison. Go to ronda street downtown manhattan blowing time. I love people trying to find their way out of drug dependency. At all events in covid-19. Liquid glitter. Why. Dialogue. David eno. And i thought i was reading that gave their greenlife implemented. Downtown orlando. What is limited are women's residential and counseling center on east colonial. included women who have been victims of the map we caught a certain number of kabul government credit courses. Orcutt number time and then we said good luck with hector. College-level credit score. Are we about ready to offer the poor. Colorado traffic court. Black thursday. Living on north maple drive off of colonial and we have about. The resident. Doesn't mean that everybody who stepped into this contact. I will continue at the college level and will graduate from eventually a four-year college or university and continued at the graduate level. What's a technical. The world. Power. Blacking out. Based on individual. Because everybody. I too would like to thank you all for inviting. I personally can attest that. This is powerful program community college. What started back in 1995 i cannot imagine how many wives must have been pain i can only tell you about one in particular. In june of 2002. Everything. Suddenly. I was one of those disenfranchised person. One of those. Who have no. Go to report about something known as around newport. Part of the way that works is when you have limited resources. Rollie on youtube. Infant. And children. I got that means. But there is no counterpart in there are gaps. Society. Mostly from the customization that has been going on for years of. I need someone to take care of them. We have a way to grow. But i know that graduate from the time in june when i started feeling my own personality for running away. I've got it with me anymore. Treadmill. Nothing seems to be going forward. I'm at jones gloria perkins leo man at the ripple effect gathering. At lake eola park. Back in early rachel iowa. On august 10th that was a big orlando over the 50 accordion. People are putting down. In the doorway or well they can be carted off to jail in february. Protesting presentation. Napoleon. Timber. And started talking about this clemente course in the humanities. My friend kelly kilpatrick said what about that. I don't know anything. Going into the program. Monday kelly pick me up and let me give you a ride we're going to go down and visit brian. Presentation. Knowledge. Power. Can you have money. Robert over to david. Professor who taught my first course for pilot for the program the first meeting was october 5th on 2002. I guess that means it's important if i remember the day but. David got installed more about what would the discount. What does it mean when we talk about love. What is intriguing. That got me in the door. I could never expect what would happen next. Beginning with a. Immediately followed by a review of the allegory of the cave. I thought. Something. yeah you can't get caught looking at the illusions in front of you of what other people are telling you. It's time to pull out of that cave into walk into the sunlight. I figured if i took back to work on my truck in my mind a bit. What i didn't realize. Is it stopping by spirit. Reprogramming accurately name to prometheus. What was prometheus among the greek mythology. Another from the program. Weather in january 2003. After we started just started the program. I was enrolled. As a full-time student. Science degree. Short-term again. But once i started to see how well i was doing. Applying the critical thinking skills.. I put back to gopro. Which i'm getting ready to finish up. Going part-time. And then on to hopefully get back from the music. Romantica music. Aldosterone. Not bad for someone. Who had lost it all. Puerto rico. One thing that no one can take from you and locked yourself. And if you look hard enough. No one. Permanently hide the truth. Take time to reflect on what the truth is of who you are. And really get to know who you are. Well steven davis's story is. Another. Everybody. We are hopeful of course that a project and. Most of you about republicans project so you don't have one or would like another one we have additional one right here on this little pouting. And i wanted to give this book as i said i would too tall to deposit of your library here and perhaps we would be poor. Paw patrol. What type of grass is on the boat or interact with that you can call it up on your own because they have the homepage on the homepage. Which we will probably revive sometime this summer. Garage weather. Find out what number question. No. what you thinking about and do pokemon. What timer for taxes do i have to give you a test before the end of the grade and i'll return your grade. Yeah that's that's the homepage. If you want to i i don't know what i would somebody like to collect. Okay so. Laptops. Okay. I don't think it's going to give you the proper responses. But i know all the answers but i'm not telling you any of the answers because i want you to go back and take it with yourself. You can look at some of the question. Because everybody has the view about. Property of nature. The demographic affected. Piano percentages. Duck hat that. Impact. Could i get wildcats record will be a wild country is there a substantial number of children living below poverty. Looking for. The working poor. Project. You no invite. As i cut individual to reside in temporary shelters for men and or women along with those who are homeless. The working poor. Not too long ago i'm at riverpark rosen. The rosen hotels & resort. We talked about. Working together on. And also inviting other people to work longer i drive cordova. Open. What does accommodation. If you look at the bookstore that we provided the qualifications. Must be 18 years or older. Right. Be able to read a tabloid newspaper. In english or whatever it says. Newspapers are written at a certain level based on what i am. General. Yeah yeah whatever reading killed someone and then they're a couple other. Lockdown. But over the qualifications. And that we have a project application then. Why they think they're interested in connecting with the project. Dianne wright. Credit status project now. Living in the fall we will implement to. College-level credit courses in the united states. Neighborhood. Well. Emigrated with dr decor. David cotton and elizabeth park. And i think maybe. Attractive dialogue begin. They get over that. Invited. At different times and reception we talked about. Lifepro sometimes that oliver and we have to find ways of. Beyond. What the program did. Was it woke me up. Answer who i am. Different. Different. They discovered. Recruitment. What fields can i use this for. It's nothing more than individual. Also my wife involved with music. I have a high school diploma. The college pool reserve credit. Yeah. Well. Requirements. Invited. Everybody and their brother. You know because i offered. That's why the college good thing. And not every student is like we have a couple other two are. And help work but i have not decided to continue. Doctor. And what. Lando. So i got some. You people are. Committed. People are really people. 22. Proposal. Call vicky. For its upcoming national conference. Making. Dialogue and civil discourse. Dialogue. Grandmother. I don't know when that was locked but the elector was reading. And that indicted cigar workers do recalled. Apollo. One of them. Whatever you are. The idea of stereotype. Frank billingsley. Indoraptor. In order to bring together. Roberto clemente family guidance center. I want to thank you for.

universityuus_org

SS2005-06-12-Propaganda&You.mp3

I would like.. Electrical. Well we're well-prepared. Warranty. The topic for today is propaganda. Basically the words often dancing about promoter. Government corporations and social organizations are involved in the creation of public opinion. What architectural i can do with individual. Webster collegiate dictionary. Information. Deliberately or to damage an opposing viewpoint. Books on propaganda. Public relations people history. Propaganda. Individual. Early christian church sermons and ritual parishioner and government. What to do. Viewpoint. That's one thing and. Notary. Couldn't have a certain viewpoint or couldn't. And now.. Herman. Government. Everyone. 1800 was the formation. That was the primary. A producer. What happened. So what happened was. Network in conjunction with his papers they were able to pay an extra advertisement. Releasing some information. Simultaneous development of the modern corporation. Increase. Automobiles increase. Modern electricity. What's the backing of westinghouse. Clean the washing machine lighting hair conditioning and refrigeration. Real life. Generac power station. What were the. The first messages. In order to make avertisment. How cars were sold originally. Walmartone. Propaganda. Country with essentially pacifist. Pro-war. German propaganda. Correct. Doctors. Retired us military commanders etc. Eye doctor my wife. I retired military commander map. Endorsing a reaction. Call. Approaching conflict. Population. Text warriors are often highly compensated. One doesn't. Paper that i have and i don't have it with me but i can bring it next week if somebody people are interested. After the 9/11 attacks on the united states. Were invited. After battle. Directly to the expert. Good, so i can trust him i've known him for years and so forth. Voice of an older man or woman. Video or photography individual again. Call me. Everybody. I want to make clear. 2003. Expert and legislators viewpoint. Remember the croup. Call the french resistance. For the separatist movement. Who is approved for house. Whitestone. I will be in education president. Or i represent family values. Vote for me is a vote for. Call now the only thing. Coronavirus symptoms. Several different. Department. During wartime. Traumatized veterans. The first world war. Wurstfest. Then after vietnam war. Left of a real connection with with what's going on. National. German workers party. The mother or the father. Surrounded by. Transfer. The reality what it takes. Where'd you connect. 1935 sylmar. That was what. Catholic church. Pycon fort worth. Large tall buildings that went into the heaven. Play spice pires and large banner to carry nazi. Slightly above everyone. Prior to the november. Card stacking a larger war attractive presentation to show favoritism. Never smiling. 20 lb. Another one. Advertising. Writing and surrounding objects. Hopefully for the advertiser. Something. Prior to the 2003 invasion of iraq iraq. Remember the aluminum. President vice president. Cloud and biological weapons. Support. Right. By their funding. Mobil oil. I'm over here fighting for our country. Play something now. Corporation. A form of propaganda. Reminder rampart empire. The racial war. Child of the people love greater. Augusta white. Who will win. Record. We will win. Japanese. What i'm thinking propaganda. Annual. Barney fife. Outlander. Other. I want. One way or the other four individuals. Actually. Actually pretty important. University. Propaganda. Except for number 3 which is exception to one another encouragement spiritual growth. Freudenberg. Increase. A reduction. Wake up conversations i think of american put one another. How to protect yourself in your family from these influences. Americanfreight.com. Harbor fox news the only one. Advertising on television or radio. But we're running out of time. On any topic by reading encyclopedia internet. Draw your own conclusions. Challenge. Turn question. View last month has to do with propaganda. Turn off the 11 news get your information from the printed word re-timer life or even your local newspaper but the same. Has bother me so much is that the propaganda we're getting about the terrorist all the orange red green whatever. The book administration has been using terror alert as a propaganda to have faith in the bush administration. Comedy what goes on with the newspaper. And with the tv you cannot get your information from the tv because they got a very limited b there and you don't get all of the information the newspaper huge to give the main facts and add on to it but now it doesn't and if you look at our local newspaper who are they. Put the poker. What they put in maine. Headline. Frequently at only the sports the magic it doesn't have anything to do with these things in the world and if you want internet you have to look inspection b-14 to find us. Drake instagram. I remember the lion king 4. We had come out of depression. Labor movement. Almost unspoken warriparri labor and vinegar production good. Avocado propaganda. What is the means of restoring a certain patriotism. To work. That was effective. Adult. Directions to whitaker. Follow up on the soundbar. You might follow the news with more and more coming out about the congress withdrawing support from publix are radio on public television and. Carrier i wonder if you can somehow discern the buggy line corner equation. Propaganda. Perhaps. Problem. Mark moore. Commercial. Background. Elaborate a little bit on what we were. A persuasion you were saying and aware that hasn't come up here. Is rhetoric. Maybe. We really have come cuddle. Negative. When we talked about propaganda colors bad. That may not be. What the dictionary says. Propaganda. Probably. Antibiotics done.

universityuus_org

SS2008-10-19-LetYourHeartBeWide.mp3

Okay our presentation today. Is by sister and kendrick. Many of you already know sister ann. I'm not telling you. Anything that you don't already know. God is not as complicated as people make him out to be. A quotes. Coding nika in the old testament sister and says. Got any f3 things of us to act justly. To love tenderly. And to walk humbly with god. Gray-haired face activists is a whirling dervish of love and energy. Who follows in the footsteps of the legendary catholic worker co-founder dorothy day. But her past two apopka florida began has a upper middle-class kid in syracuse new york. As a sixteen-year-old high school exchange student sister anne was introduced to abject poverty. Guatemala. She loved the people and started on her life's course. Kendrick attended trinity college in washington dc majoring in spanish. Popular three times class president. During the tumultuous 60. Kendrick worked with the poor and returned to central america where on a service mission five-year-old girl died in her arms. That tragedy made and realize that she wanted a life of service to others. Graduating in 1966. Kendrick entered the sisters of notre dame de mar. Idina menzel. An order devoted to the poor. She laughingly says now that back then i didn't have a clue what i was getting into. 1971 orlando bishop william borders called. Is notre dame. We concerned about thousands of farm workers and their families living in horrible conditions in central florida. Youngin sister anne kendrick. Sister act. Kathy gorman. Flew to orlando. They made a one-year commitment. And now more than 30 years later they are still hard at work improving conditions. For the working poor. So i'm sure you'll. Be happy with me that we have this wonderful. Good morning. By that sounded pretty yeah. Oh my god. A part of my intro and i've been here before so. I don't know i've always feel at home when i come here first so i can never find it you know i always think i know i remember and then they've done so much building up around the things that i identified with. And then it was so anyway how did find it. I feel at home here cuz there's so many. There's so many people that i see it other venues of social justice. Yoda. Unitarians are always things in my opinion and. And don't just do the sunday platitudes but. You show up with your purse you know with your commitment your financial commitment as well as your. Tell your body your showing up at events to be writing letters engaged. How many. People of faith ara. Engage with a personal you know a personal deity of personal faith that does not. Connect with the world war i just don't. I don't know who you know how they were trained or with who. Who told them that good people just don't see. Integration you know in the connection and i'm. And are willing to kind of get involved in the messiness. You have the social political and economic issues that face our times because none of them are just neat and clean and it easy. Sort of them. You're a position that is so sort of crystal. Clear. So i am i under you because of that. Yeah and i also know and i hang around you are there alot of i used to be a catholic i used to be catholic i did find a lot of. Potawatomi old troops here. What happened to me. Anyway. Start with a piece of music that i just left. There's a don't know if any of you went to a but she came to perform at the downtown unitarian church. She may she wrote a song and i think they use a lot in there and it is part of their at sunday service. And the song is. Carol mccain put to music poem by marge piercy. And the poem says my heart is moved i had copies i don't know if there's enough for everybody but my heart is moved by all i cannot save. I feel that way about you. Yo that we moved. Why what's wrong by what we can't say by what is yet to be. Address in our society we can do better. We could do better by artist move by all i cannot save so much. Has been destroyed. That we see the pain and suffering in our world and we want because of our faith to be able to do something. Something about it to make a difference. So much has been destroyed i have to catch my ladders at the next line. I have to cast my lot with those. Who age after age you know what. I don't know if you are fan of brian andreas eunice storypeople guy that draws all those great things and he said you know anybody. It was a real hero anybody can slay a dragon. But it takes a great heart to get up every day and love the world. Your son doesn't want to do some big grandiose things. The really change happens. Getting up every day and loving the world again. So what is the next line event. I have to cast my lot with those who age after a gym is my favorite line and perversely. Unitarians are perverse. Sore some roman catholic. I'm in that crowd perverse meaning we do with unexpected we don't do the easy thing we are perverse. Another friend of mine who's a great author margaret wheatley. She just invented the t-shirt that says. Continue until apprehended. I love that don't you like to see. Continue until every hand that i'm going to buy a bunch of them. Perversely with no extraordinary power we are we are we are perhaps. Or showing up. To care about the things that we care about it so many people are waiting for somebody else. Somebody else who's brighter who's bigger who's more powerful who has and that person is never going to show up. I know that because of my own community of court immigrant people. Who started out as farmworkers it now are your lawn guy you know the sheetrock guy you know there's a new work at word in spanish. Sheetrock er. What is your dad doing. Sheetrocking. Sheetrock guy the finisher. Those people are all out of work. You know i maybe you know people's portfolio has declined a few million dollars but this crowd is working a day a week 2 days a week maybe. With no extraordinary power what do we do we reconstitute. The world so let's just listen to that piece of music. Yeah okay sorry. I forgot. And i just think that the know that her sentiment you know that we are we need to be perverse we need to do what is not you know expect. It is expected that all people of faith right willis vote yes amendment 2. Because it's family values. Tandem. I just expected you know and that we will. Yeah that we care about one or two life issues but we don't see. Life is a intyre at woven. Piece of fabric. That we care about children once-born we care about health care we care about support we care about. Yeah we care about the death-penalty we care about all of those. And not just one. But you know i don't know you know i've been told that when you got to be my age 64. Yeah that you're that you're free or that you either that you don't care as much but yeah there's something i mean you free or to yourself to take a stand. Because you have less because you know you're sort of. Lived that piece of your life where you've made your mark or not or done whatever until you care less or less. Focus and what people think of you or people's reaction. And i don't know if you know if i'm you know just weird but it feels to me that in this day and age it is scarier to take a stand. It there's more risk. There is more at risk in terms of people's identification with the religious. Community if you differ. If you did for your patriotic either in terms of the political. And there's ways that your perverse not in the sense that we use this song. But really i think central. The debate which i don't ever hear much real debate going on. About about public issues. We don't do that it's now all polarized it's all position and its rhetoric and it's fighting. It is not trying to find a common ground or an understanding of the one who thinks different you know differently at least i rarely in a conversation. It has that level of integrity or. Engagement. I don't know about you but in it also feels riskier to me like in terms of the level of confidentiality in this group. Anybody ratting me out to my source. Because you know orthodoxy belonging you have less of a problem with that. Orthodoxy or belonging and narrow definition. And if you don't want to be put out thrown out or ostracize or marginalized you have to be careful about what you say what you believe. And i don't think that's just a roman catholic phenomenon i think that's happening in a lot of. I really just didn't emanations how sad. Because faith and belief comes from the inside out. It doesn't come from you know a set of unit rules and regulations in. Support you know for jesus is crying soon. Masters crowd. Is made of this. You know i left. You know i left some basic. Do some basic values and where have they gone. But it feels riskier to me it feels like i mean i feel in my own work because i need to i have a public face i need to raise money i need to be okay. In a lot of sectors in order to be able to do my work. And i'm much more cautious i think about can i say that. Can i go there. For example i was invited to be at the there's a rally actually today. People of faith about. Amendment 2. I thought that's probably not a good place for me to show up. In a public forum. You know and that that dumb. It disturbs me. Because i don't want to jeopardize other things that i care about don't have people discount me because i'm. George crossley are. John butler book i don't know if you noticed people there little kind of radish. Cringy. Anyway so anyway i don't know why i got onto that but it feels like a very scary time. Things that i care about for example are. Ibis immigration issue. Not being touched at all by our politicians that are running nobody everybody's running away from that. Because man that is that is it that is. You say one thing about that and you're not going to get elected. Anywhere so you don't say anything about it and actually that's not people who can actually vote you in or out very well. You know and then when you are elected you're not going to do anything. And i'm going to talk about the issues about immigration in a minute. I've been working in base in apopka for those are you don't know i'm a catholic nun, sister is notre dame there are four of us we live in apopka became the same year mickey mouse came to town. We're on the plane with mickey. I have a fantasy of if we who cared about the things that we cared about 1971 whereas well-organized. As creative. Is determined and driven. And as well funded. Is the disney operation. Yes face of central florida would be different. And. You know and i have a fantasy also about putting a kiosk next to the disney kiosk in the orlando international airport. It says. This is the real world circus world this is a real world you know ever half of the price of admission to a disney attraction. I will take you on a non-air-conditioned band ride on the back roads of. Central florida the places the tourists don't see the places that people who live here don't see or don't know. And show you what the real world looks like hear the people that work underground the people who work. Still in the field for people who work in the low-end service industry. Serving the taurus and the people who work in used to work in construction and. And. But that's a fantasy. But i. Think people need to know because as the poem said you know if your heart isn't moved we don't do anything. We have to. And then even if our heart is moved to things can happen we either that moves us our heart has moved and we moved to action. Our heart has moved and we're so overwhelmed by the trouble in this world that we step back from. Because it's just. Don't tell me i don't want to know. Don't tell me cuz i can't bear it. I don't want to see that i don't want to know about that because somehow. I going to feel compelled to have to do something in my plate is already filled. So what do we do about that. My friend margaret wheatley if you don't know about her you had to read some stuff about her she wrote leadership in the new science. She wrote turning to one another. A simpler way. Another one that my. Brain justo. Won't drop. You can find her on the web. Margaret wheatley and she's got an insult to call a canada rkan a. About things that really matter. Things that really matter either. Degenerate into a fight. Are we just talked about junk superficial you know. Is it isn't really from mario hard that we don't really know how to engage in conversation. And it's all great social movements religious movements movements for chain began with a conversation around the kitchen table. People sitting in circle. People sitting as peers. Talking about what's on their heart. What gives them joy. And what gives them pain. What do they see in the world that they care about. What what gives them cash. What what. Evok stock. So i'm just saying a bunch of general things. Define markers. But i do. Because i think it's a contact. You know it's it's it's not just about what i do. Or what the people i care about our suffering. It's part of the whole world context and in a part of a point you know of you. I've been working in apopka. For 37 years the organization started out it was called the office for farmworker ministry. We were this little 20 some year old nuns you know we thought we knew everything. Cuz we read paulo freire a the great brazilian educator. And so we learned some things you know and we we even said to the catholic bishop we are not coming doing some parish work. It's not about bringing people into the catholic church is not about getting a baptized make the first communion and do all that sacramental catholic thing. It is about as although as wonderful as those rights of hazards can be if they are done. With ritual and ceremony and onnn ecumen way. That's not the place to start anyway we need to start we need to know who the people are and we need to be able to develop our work out of that. Together with them. The very first things we got involved in was. That is political that's you know you're not supposed to be in church doing a church thing that you don't know even anything about that. We do we did we went to california actually before we came here because we knew that the union would be coming to florida and that would be the oranges in florida minute maid. Buy coca-cola would be one of their target. We didn't want people to say we're just a bunch of naive little nuns who don't know anything and we're being you know. Led around by your nose or fooled so we went and we worked in california before we came here. So we met cesar chavez so that when people say he's a devil with horns and that you know the antichrist or. The things that they're now saying about barack obama. You know at you we can say no we meant we met and we worked with him it's not true we know something different so we did that and we helped the union. It'll in a lot of ways which is a very controversial. Moment but you know it didn't feel as bad as it does today. I don't know if i don't know i don't actually have words i'm just thinking about this but it doesn't i don't have those were controversial hard times. Hard times really hard. And hot. A controversy about unionization of workers. But it didn't feel as that mean spirited and. Nasty. And as dangerous. In some ways is it is it does today. And i don't need anybody else's get some insight into that you can help me. I figured that. So we worked on that we helped get a clinic started which is now community health centers we help get housing started wichita called homes in partnership they built over 4,000 houses. Are we helped get a credit union started called community trust federal credit union managing. We have not been bailed out by the way. Just like to say that managing $9000000 of communities money. Poor people's money immigrants money mostly we do have we are cuz we're community development credit union we are eligible to take. A deposits and outside deposits and donation. But we're still actually in the black. Amazing and we actually make home loans are we struggling is the housing if you know affecting yes mostly though it's the economy of the people the people. Yahoo live from chad paycheck-to-paycheck. Is this the sort of the trajectory of the farmworkers. Oranges. Vegetables horticulture mushroom and fern are basically that the agricultural. Products the people were engaged in for 100 years. Since i've been here. In but in the last few years as you know oviedo marketplace is going to replace the orange groves as you know lake apopka at 15,000 acres went out. In one day and 3,000 workers were laid off. The fabric of our communities not so agricultural anymore although in floor in a pop-tart there still tons of horticultural nurseries and there still is some vet are some vegetables around the shores of lake apopka. In some foreign but a lot of those workers been transitioned. What did they move into is construction. Taking the footers preparing the land the low-end the subcontractor of the subcontractor of the subcontractor the subcontractor of the subcontractor offer for cash. Often without insurance and benefits or. Or anything. Those guys are all out of work. For the most part maybe a day or two. They've moved over to beat your lawn guy. Some of those people had already moved over to be your lawn guy to move into landscaping the credit union lends money for people to make a little get a little trailer in a little mower into set up the lawn you know the lawn maintenance business. And if you have a long guy and you're hurting a little bit you're not going to have your lawn guy come as many times as you had him come before. So. He's down and he's not competing with the construction guys you know who were laid off from construction. The other crowd went into the hotel motel you know cleaning and working in business offices at night from 5 on if everybody goes home cleaning up. A lot of those jobs have also dried up. If you'll see me in our community like you know it's the worst year that i can remember. The worst really the worst here. Last couple of years the worst years i can remember it's like a perfect storm. Tragedy. Because. People's jobs have declined. The number of hours that they can work the wages every that all is tanking. The price of food in the basic things and gas. Rice beans tortillas. That the basic things that people eat in the cost of gas. I'm not telling you anything that you also don't know. Has skyrocketed. And. The political climate is if you're an immigrant. You. Are not wanted. So that sort of. The public forum where it's just in the air where you might have had ideas. About the race of people about their. Their culture about their their language. At you didn't say it because it just wasn't politically okay to say those racist things that people still think. But they just don't say them anymore. But now it's open season. I've kids that come home from school going to come to our center after school. And they've been called every rat lousy racist thing in the book called a. You beaner you greaser you wet back you something go home. Somebody's kids are from texas. You're their second or third generation. But because of their appearance. You know and we say it's not race but bologna it's race. Because there's a pecking order even in the countries of those folks come from. The more white in european they look. The higher class they are the more dark-skinned and either african-american african or indian the lower you know the lower they are on the. The pecking order in their own place. And if they can't just you know like the irish going to lose your accent and you know you're in. Because you look like everybody else. So that you know that's not going to go away i don't know and i didn't argue know i live in apopka and we have a catholic parish there than it has three masses in spanish. In all white folks who been there for forever. Good times. We don't get the 90s flat anymore because that's you know we've always had that. These people are here you know in the other thing happens is you know they get we got a youth group going and they got 60 or 80 kids show up at once a week with their guitars and. Sound and music and having a great time and there's not one person on staff that they pay generate this meanwhile in next room you're the little youth minister is in there with six of his little. High school kids and their mother dragged that they hate being there. And he's in he's getting full-time anyway. The people are suffering you know they're being put down there being treated poorly so you know i've always been a meat-and-potatoes it's about wages it's about right it's about protection on the job it's about housing is about healthcare you know and the arts are fine. But it's fly. Yo it's four people they've got money is for extra if you got some extra time dedicate yourself to that and i have been convert. In the last few years that i believe these long haul things we're not winning them too well. Jobs healthcare. That you know that's a long-term. Struggle. And in the short term people's got to survive and they got to have hope and they got to keep their spirits. Yo & art is one way. A freaking home in the human spirit the humans soul-stealing in nurturing. So i would like to. I like to show you just a little clip. Of some kids that are are kids these are undocumented kids weezer throwaway kids these are kids that are not making it in the orange county public schools these are kids that are considered you know. By mainstream society. We hooked up with a group here on elam call the center for contemporary dance. And these kids put on a performance at the heaven stairs. Art center. In sanford. And it was stand-up professional and it was beautiful. And it brought a tear to everybody's i who is in the in the in the play so this is just a couple minutes. We ready to go my check esupport man here. And then maybe not. Maybe you'd like to see me dance. No you wouldn't. Well if we get it going it is just a great visual visual exciting you have there's another ticking in the audience. Think they know how to fix these things. This is like click and clack on. Issachar talk. Is computer talk. Flexibility is. I think another another one would work her. Now playing button. Will you would have loved it if you had seen it. It is just. Anyways just was wonderful we had about 30 kids perform in this you know haitian kids and hispanic kid. And. There is nothing. Like putting together an artistic performance that was really that they help corey yet choreograph some of. They created some of the dance. And then when they performed it really with such professionalism. And heard the audience just you know roar with support. I was just a huge boost to their morale to their to their self-esteem cuz these kids when they graduate from high school will not be able to go on to school. Because they don't have social security number. And their kids many of the pooh been in this country for another entire life seen a 15-year 16 years however old they are they came as infants became a small children from their country of origin. And there's really no place for them to go home too because they don't have this is home. You know there is anglicized bring a size or whatever happens when they become. You don't north american kids. I'm as as your kid. And i'm. But the prognosis for what's going to happen you know for their futures pretty damn. So. You know what i was hoping you could see that but yeah. Crystal hope you know we're perverse we're going to continue to apprehended or continue until this show so. Over the years we've done a lot of different kinds of things do the credit union and housing health. And now we're doing a lot with short of the more the more soulful things. Art. Will a parenting class because what we're experiencing is in the old days. Yeah the families were in together they were poor they live together and it was like you were going to make it. That's one of energy's gone. In families are now suffering. You know. The the the gift or the curse of the north american getaway. Drugs alcohol. Split up families you know that that's where that family unity that's so strong especially in the latino culture. The pressures of life the pressures of immigration the pressures of. Of the economy. He's working there she's working their life is a rat race the kids are gone at dawn and nobody gets home until 8 at night for family. The family unit. That sort of slower speed you could get out and walk around the plaza at night. And talk to each other and be with each other and relish that human connection. Because this is a community. Dit is born. And values more the human. The human you know connection. I am 27 americorps volunteers. Yeah but ameriquartz like the peace corps except going overseas so if you know anybody that wants to be an americorps member we're kind of full up right now but we start again in september to great opportunity we get to work with a great team. Our age span of our team of the 27 is the youngest is 18 and the oldest is 73. And the oldest was 73 is a flamenco dancer. I'm still is you know you know she's 73 version of it but she's teaching the kids some of this you know some of the art. Has found a new life you know she was. Widowed a couple of years ago she was depressed she was hanging around doing nothing to feel except feeling sorry for herself she lives in winter park in yoshi travels to apopka everyday. And these kids adore her. And as she's found a whole new energy you know for life isn't just a kid deal you know although we have a lot of young people right out of high school and people right out of college. And i'm confident. Is it like the tinkerbell that we oughta clap to tinkerbell you know throws her magic dust. Now we got the sound but you know. We might get the image in a minute. Anybody know. And here's a techie that stepping up. Be brave. I'm going to just keep talking. Too right you don't love me is more than i can bear. Their parents came and i'm going to do it again and i'll let you know cuz we're going to be going to do that and add some other things to these kids are really talented. Yeah they're very talented. And somehow the school never-ceasing. Yeah these are the kids that are in trouble in school these are the kids are down passing fcat. These are the kids that don't get good grades. And they're smart. They're smart their creative damn good hearts their damn good spirits and you create an environment where they can shine. And they want to do well. And they success story we have two young women that were part of this youth groups or no freshman at trinity college in washington. Dc25 thousand bucks a pop each one. Asda and their freshman and they're they're getting a's. And that they are doing the traditional college thing they're living in a dorm. They're going to school. And they have a damn jobs up there and they're going to get an internship on the hill you'll neither one is a cuban refugee she's been in the country a year-and-a-half. Has an incredible story of how she got here and all the subterfuge in the boats and the. Rivers in the desert that she had to cross. And one is it is it she's from the us citizen born in california when her mother and father on the season working in california all of her family's undocumented her father her mother all the rest of her siblings. A cheesy us citizen. So last year it halfway through the year christmas time as all the jobs began to tank. The father said we're packing up everybody and we're going back to the rancho we have nothing back there but we can't survive here any longer. I can't drive anymore did you know that since september 11th if you don't have. Immigration document that is. Yes real and good you cannot renew your driver's license so for example her father and they've been in the country for forever. He had to renew his driver's license he couldn't even though he had not. Yo mark on it not one that going to even speeding ticket which is better. Mine. He could renew it until he lost his job and just things began to go so he's packing up and they're going to go home to mexico and you know i went to him and i grabbed him by the collar and i said you may not. Take this child with one semester away from getting a high school diploma in this country. Not. You know the macho mexican guy is his daughter and you know she ain't staying anywhere except under his roof. You know until she's under. Her husband can't you know she's got one semester to go she's bright she's beautiful she's talent she wants to be a lawyer. She speaks english. He thought about it i don't know if i scared him by that you know i think he just really real you know he knew. And so he let her stay. And i keep everyday i pray please god don't let nothing happen to her i'm dead you know i might as well just pack up please. She graduated in trinity is at a college run by our nuns in washington. I'm and. You know i went back to them i said you know i've given my life to this crowd here you know give me something back here so they gave me two scholarships and so. So the both of them were there. Yo and they're doing well they're doing well and it's a wonderful you know what just in and they are a beacon for the others. But they are both of them had immigration documents so that they could qualify for a pell grant and then trinity picked up the rest. But you know a lot of these kids although what you know what seminole community college does like kids in who don't have a social security number but that's the only place we've so far we've been but they have to pay. Do they have to pay. Out-of-state tuition you know they have to pay triple you know what it cost if your local so you know i don't have anything to propose to you right now cuz there's nothing in front of the legislature but there will be. Probably again is called the dream act. The dream act would allow students who are otherwise qualified who have been in this country and have been educated in us schools to be able to go to college. They can't qualify for a lot of the other benefits but that they could go when they can pay in-state tuition. Although i understand in other states who allow that now they're being sued by. American kids from other states staying with you let these kids in with in-state tuition you got to let everybody in. With in-state tuition so everything gets a little bit of. I handed out to everybody and i'm not going to read it to you because it's you know you can read it yourself if you're interested. It's 11 myths about immigrants you know they're here and they're taking this and what their living off of indian side of each of those not by me not by things that i invented but actually by statistics from. From the us government in from other units sources. Actually some people are pretty sure that the social security system would have tanked already of this crowd wasn't already paying into it. You know these are people that are working there's nobody at home on food stamps or you know they don't qualify for that. Or any other kind of benefit everybody's working. And it's all going into the social security system which they're never going to qualify for it because they don't have straight social security now. You know baby. Their social security number is their mother's birthday and. Some other number that they. Like until irs catches up. But still was being paid detected and it's paid their they're paying into social security unemployment and workers comp which benefit they don't. Ever really qualify. Anyway if you're interested you could read more about it i won't bore you with that on the other side of it is our name and address and phone number and all of that junk. And a list of all the different things that we do we have parenting classes and we have ged we have citizenship every night there people in their learning english and trying to get their citizenship. Studying to pass the naturalization exam. So it is not true. Which is not true. Just not true. Lou dobbs. Just these are just too you know if little final pictures that i'm going to make that one is we've moved you know it last this is the first full year we've been in our new place it's an 8000 square foot building. How do we get that you know i don't know how it go. Adidas beautiful. It is beautiful but that has racked up a lot but we need to know in terms of money in order to be able to pay for it. So i know these are hard times for everybody but sometimes people have you know they're looking for a charity that's in their hometown. The backyard and they actually know the people. Agency the fruit of it so if you know if you or maybe you know people. Who are actually you know with all of this volatility in the stock market some people are still making a killing the other know how to. Yoplait that info you know anyway so we're always looking for for jennifer money because. Unfortunately it sounds so you know mundane but at. We owe $600,000 in your building. That's what god does for you what you can't do for yourself. We had we had raised $300,000 that's a lot of tacos we are selling you know what a lot of little bake sales and i heard you talking about the money that you're raising for these kids 1002. To go on it's it's just it's $20 it's $10 it's $100 and it 300,000. It took quite a while to do that. We can start building $300,000 that's. General. So we doing an alternative spring break until these kids came down from washington dc. And these are smart kids either college-bound families in the dc area. And they had and we put them out to do little do-gooder religious thing put them to live with the families. So you know they go from this is my bedroom and my bathroom and my personal computer and my personal space all of my own to living in a three-room house with eight kids all jammed in together. See what it's like see how you do your homework in that environment see how you have any personal space see how you. Can keep yourself anchored in cam. When these kids get out of control in school. I know where it comes from. And they went to work in the field. Cotton cabbage working cutting corn i working in at horticultural nursery. and these are these 18 year old boys you know and there are just the cutest kids. And how they got their sunscreen on and they think it's like anaerobic exercise the first. You know they're showing their muscles and it the second day they're dragoness by the third day it wasn't funny. And the thought of being a 40 50 year old man father of a family in. Update to support all of these kids. Get it feel it in your. Dna in your blood you know that's what the life of this crowd. No it. And they had a powerful experience of these two boys went home to their mother and father. So she was coming down on some little you know sort of touristy gig. I would like to come into place that my sons. Canada just won't shut up talking about this. First good. So she came and i gave her the dog and pony show in the tour. And she said that we were in our old place which. Was like a. She didn't say that but she said. How come you don't have a better place you do all this work from this place. Cuz we don't have any money and if we act when we have money to go to the programs and tore people to staff because that's the heart of what we do we have good people that work. And she said. I could get you some money. Yukon. Do you like to get you some money from the federal government you ready here's a dirty word don't let tom feeney hear that i said this. An earmark. I think the mark i said. This is before jack abramoff totally blew the whistle on all of us.. So i didn't work i don't think so first of all i've always been philosophically remarks but that's mostly cuz i thought we couldn't. I'm not that much of a purist but i don't think in this administration you know we're not exactly you know. Favorite people of george bush's crowd. And and you're the war and all that stuff i don't think i can do this she is a partner at patton boggs law firm which is one of the premier law firms in washington and she does she's part of her i said okay. I'm skeptic you say jump i say how high so. She put a few details together so i put a few deals together. And a few others that i know. And i went up to washington she set up a few gigs and i went up and did the dog and pony show. Colors. Yeah both sides of the enemy we got the republicans and the democrats supported it. Isn't that put it's within striking distance so we went to the old bishop of. Orlando and said you know if you not to cough up now because we got all these people so anyway. So we're in a new building although we still owe $600,000 of it i think they should forgive our dad but you know that's. That's my opinion anyway you can help us and we're also looking for an executive director. Actually were actively looking now for somebody who's going to be an executive director and development person actually pay somebody for that so. We thank you i thank you very much for your attention and this is our information on here and i thank you for. Borat listening to me.

universityuus_org

SS2007-02-25-JournyThroughTheChrysalisWay.mp3

universityuus_org

SS2005-03-20-TheThirdPrinciple_CanWeHandleIt.mp3

I'm so happy to introduce our speaker morning his name is john and higgins we've heard it many times before always to our benefit he is currently. Adam in rockledge florida. And it's a predominantly humanist congregations and he's been a member of the aha for 10 years. Is president of the edwin wilson chapter of the humanist association of brevard county florida is also the founder and current chair of the interfaith alliance of brevard county. Ink prior to entering the uu ministry he was a teacher professor and administrator in town from six different countries and six different us states higgins holds a b&m a degrees in education from los angeles state college now california state university of los angeles a doctorate in education from the university of toronto. And a master of divinity degree from meadville lombard school of theology and has authored numerous. Well i can hardly wait to hear me either. Acceptance of one another encouragement of spiritual growth in our congregation. I think that's kind of vague. It won't be trying to make it specific that we run into trouble frankly i was really quite reluctant to speak on this topic and steve call me a little over a month ago he detected my reluctance and i guess the reason was i'm a minister and ministers are real touchy about this. They keep changing jobs because they make mistakes and how to deal with it they are not always willingly relocating. However i go from church to church and i could always drop one or two but i had to address it i think it's something that a lot of us work on. What do we do about that well the words of the principal simple and honest but it doesn't say acceptance of anyone who wants to join our congregations follow most of us kind of indicates that anybody who walks through the door is welcome to sign the book. That often leads to difficulties that are unforeseen well what are we going to do. What problems we recognized as a free and independent congregation we can pretty well decide on whatever we wish. We do have some limitations in that we signed an agreement when we became fellowship. In the by-laws of the uua section c21 as the principles and purposes and under section c 2.3 i will read this association and its member societies and organizations has a special responsibility to promote full participation of all is and their activities and the full range of human endeavor without regard to race color sex disability affectional or sensual sexual organization orientation age or national origin and without requiring adherence to any particular interpretation of religion or do any particular religious belief. It's not unique to us. Our society says we are not to discriminate on these basis but if a congregation violates that it may be disciplined or even removed from fellowship i have never heard of that happening. Everyone. Doesn't believe that the principles and purposes are deep and insightful messages davidson laura was a minister of the first uu church of austin texas and i say was because i haven't checked up where he is now in 2002 he wrote that almost all of these so-called principles are derived from the secular valley values of the century of the enlightenment the phrase within the current approve limits of our political ideology. Statement here he talks about. Our first principle being respect for human life. And then he goes to but where are most. Unitarian universalist on a question of abortion are pro-choice at what point do you respect this. I'm not making any comments right or wrong on that i'm just saying there seems to be an inconsistency personally when i look at the seven principles it's perfectly obvious that they were done by a committee there's hardly any buddhist-muslim. Catholic pentecostal would really objective then maybe a little bit about freedom of religion that's subject to some of those people but they're not that exciting frankly are they. So let's treat them i i look at them and they really are not very defining statements they are subject to interpretation and the third one i think is one of our primary problems today as you know we are having very shortly. I'm very close by i just picked assembly and the topic is this diversity and then they publicity it talks about the dimond. The demon. Of our diversity. Now i'm going to backtrack a little bit a few weeks ago. The district. Council invited ministers and presidents of congregations comedian stewart. And they want to discuss some of the implications of this. Principal were talking about and ask for some feedback from the congregations. On this i don't recall a really got much feedback. There was a minister among us who kept telling us this has already been decided by the uua. And first of all there wasn't enough time after lunch to talk about in the secondly ministers never argue with any ministers in front of life people essay. As a rule but what this man was missing is the fact that our congregation to our independent you make the rules in your congregation and i'm not sure you all know it but if someone here wanted to get ordained minister and you all agreed you can ordain that person a minister. The ministry's don't have to come through the uua. Can there about 6 around the country that don't. You may decide on your own policies you may decide you wish to become a member you may decide that you don't want anyone to be a member and you longer if that person is terribly disruptive this is what it's all about and what so many congregations don't realize. And it's what comes up. In the background when we separate ourselves from another congregation this independence we have. Now in siri and sometimes in practice anyone walking down the street to be called in an ordained if you wished it. And there are around the country some rather unusual people who have one ordained they do not have normal credentials. I did a survey of them once and found one woman who practice faith healing and she had been a nurse she did not have any theological training was another one in this state. Who was the. He's published a little thing called that old time religion by which you meant paganism. And as far as i could find out he had no theological training at all but his congregation decided that's what they wanted and that's what they had i don't describe i don't subscribe to the position of our problems is that boston has spoken. Boston is a central agency that is supposed to assist us now there has been a historic confrontation between those who want some kind of centralization. And the principle on which our congregations are founded and that's independence back to the early 1900s before there was a uu denomination it was just the unitarian and a separate universalist. From boston and loan stipulated. That. Pua. Had to approve of the person who also has called as minister. Violation of the sanctity. And the importance of the congregation i have not been able to find that original document that someday i'll find it now hold it up as they see what they tried to do i'm not saying. Cuz you have to pose boston i'm saying you have to see if the interest conflict. Catholic. Orthodox anglican or any other denomination. We would generally be expected to attend a church. In our district in our parish. And when we attended we would know exactly what was going to happen we would know that a particular time of year and these high churches that he'll be certain investments warned there would be certain passages read from holy scripture and are we certain kinds of activities took place whether you like the priest or minister would make any difference. Keep it still. Give you the same message and there would be no deviation. But we don't do that. We don't have to come here. Skipper unitarian universalist and need a congregation in central florida. You could go to a congregation that was primarily neo-pagan. Humanist. Partially christian. And then what i call generic christian. You can go to a place. Where whoever for paris's service has to look through any other writings are the hams and make sure that there's no god mentioned in it. And we all know and we have known since we became you use that many of us don't sing because we like to read ahead and see what book about the words are that's just a truism. We don't go to some places because we don't like the services they have. We don't go to places. Some of us are there are prayers we don't go where there are any. People and dressing god. On the other hand there are churches that are semi christian in outlook where prayers are part of it or where we pray to a non-denominational god. Whatever that is i'm not quite sure but it occurs. You may want to go to a church we're on sunday we're having. Marilyn the psychic. Has the featured speaker yet. We have them around close by. For you make want to go to one where there is somebody called the atheist in the pulpit. Or you may go to one that again deals with this generic god. You may go to humanist church. You may go to a church. And i keep saying church but you know that's not the official name of many of our congregations including this one right here this is the society others are fellowships somehow or other everybody talks about church we like that christian language lot of jews from coming and joining us there are. This was one of the things that drove a congregation. Where i'm consulting minister to separate from the parent congregation minister was leaning closer and closer to traditional christianity and some of the members were getting farther and farther away from him. I heard just recently. That administer whom i cared about very much. I've been ill for a while when he came back to his congregation he told him that they should all become christians no divine providence intervened and he died so it didn't break up the congregation you can see speakers dress differently you can see some dressed in ordinary clothes and you can see some wearing a geneva gown. I once asked. A minister of what why the gown and the answer was this is to show that i am giving you god's message. what do we do when we get. Congregations that are deeply divided over their outlook towards religion and expressing it we do a number of things. And it depends on the culture of the congregation each congregation i am sure has a specific specific and unidentifiable culture. There's certain topics. We will come for. Under certain topics we stay away when we see what they are experienced about. 5 years ago with a congregation i was going to fairly frequently and i had announced that my next talk would be on what is the bible. Now i certainly wasn't going to tell anybody with the word of god. But that was a whole row of seats about six people who weren't coming because they didn't like that topic not saying they were wrong i'm saying it's too bad they didn't come it would have liked it but that dish shows that there was some deep feelings about this time when i got to christianity. Was wonderful members of the congregation. Just want to hear about it anymore he was like many people come cuz he's been hurt by his experience with some form of christianity. Most of us are comfortable where you are now i think that i'd like to remind you that you broke away from another congregation because of a difference in the culture that was there and what you wanted. And i'd suggest you that that's not a bad idea. Not that i'm taking size and what happened but that they were two separate groups of people to groups. That had different ideas as to what they wanted to have on a sunday and during the week. Two groups that objected. Two different practices. Check took place in the congregation. Sometimes the brakes. Take place because of the ministers if there is a minister involved but usually when this takes place it isn't minister isn't unpopular just because he or she has a nasty personality or favors one group over another it's because that ministers related with a particular theological outlook. Those two things come together and they're hard to separate. And unfortunately most congregation do not separate. Happily. They don't say this is best for both of us there are animosities that last 4 years. And where this hurts his as the congregation matures. I'm seeing this in a congregation now where are they. Original. Separation they blamed on the minister the minister drove them out before stem. Half the congregation out and after 12 years. They were still. Beating up on this minister who had died eleven years before this was very distressful to the newer members. Because they weren't part of that experience and didn't want to hear someone who is dead being berated. This is understandable luckily i wasn't around when this man was. But it does affect. The congregation those lingering memories even when only 10% of the congregation was part of the original group. Does principle mean we have to accept everybody. Well. We really don't usually get people who aren't comfortable with us. If we come into a place and for some reason whether we're not comfortable. We don't come back to make ourselves uncomfortable instead of through some kind of masochist and then we'll have to find a special group for them but we come. Because we're comfortable when i first started preaching i used to be thrilled when a lesbian or gay couple would come and say here we are we are the accepting group. And then i'd ask if they're coming back and they would say no this isn't my kind of relation. Shall we. And of course i said to myself why should i expect that just because we're accepting no questioning why should i expect them to. Agree with us on the way we look at life than the way we look at what relation is but that's self-selecting. 10. There are a lot of things. Great considering on this. Who do we want to come. Couple months ago i was here somebody asked about polyamorous news now in case you don't know what that is it's anything from orgies to. Multiple marriages several couples. Now you know if you look at our principles. Why can't we accept that. The law doesn't stop people from cohabiting anywhere as long as they don't scare the horses and i don't think many of us care what somebody else's sexual practices happened to be. People who say this is a way for people to bind themselves together. It seems to me if we were following that we would have to accept them. Had a few people i know engaged in this. Happened to follow the patterns predicted by marriage counselors and psychologists it doesn't work. The married couples break up. They separate i don't know what happens to the children because i haven't known these people that long i did have a couple come to me once by some person probably didn't like me and and and told him to come to me for counseling and they weren't members of the congregation but i hadn't quite realized what they meant and they both came together and she meant she mention polyamorous. Handshakes plane it to me and she said when we got married we understood this was what it was and now he doesn't like it. But that's typical to. That's what happens and i told him to go to a psychologist the psychologist will tell him. Either get over it. Four separate. Anybody with any common sense would tell him that. Despite the third. Principal i would not participate. I told you i go to other churches one of mistaken church once at one time. It was. All you missed and edwin wilson one of the humanist. Uu ministries who signed various documents was part of their. Their group during the winter and now they are all pagan now what do i talkin about i don't talk about paganism. I don't have any special revelations many gods or goddesses i talked about you using i talked about social problems i talked about public morality and sometimes when they get me off i'll talk about george bush but i've sworn off that for a while. Theoretically we should welcome all these people remember. Practically. They don't feel comfortable. However there is a small group and daytona. It started out as a congregation of 100 is now down to 30 and they accommodate. Humanist. Christians and pagans how-do-they-do-it. Well they have. Speakers who will not upset any of them on sunday and once a month to christian. The christian group meets at the house with former. A protestant minister and they have communion together. The pagans meet at the congregational headquarters and they have. Pagan meetings and humans belong to the local yumminess group they have been able to go on this way at least for the last five or six years i find it very very unusual because the normal pattern is retentions to build up. And if enough people over one persuasions they break away and form a new congregation right now there are four new congregations forming an estate. When i'm missing girl and punished in gainesville. And i can't quite remember where the other two more but the district has special training sessions and such before they are brought into fellowship where they learn to do this and i think the general attitude is that this is probably best. For everyone because of the cultures that develop within a congregation let me say something about membership there are in this state. A number of congregation that insist when someone. Ask to join. That they take a series. Have lessons for indoctrination sessions with the minister. If there is one. But the religious education person if there's no minister. And with an officer of the congregation some places require three of these meeting so that a person knows what he or she is getting into. They may also require that someone who has been auu in another area come in and take some instruction or orientation as to the culture of the particular congregation something about his history something about where we think. People are in their beliefs about god or no god or spirits or anything of that nature. I don't know whether they're any more successful and avoiding misunderstanding. But when you consider that nationally 93% of the people corn. Congregations like this. On sunday. Have not been brought up you use you'll see that there's a reason. To deal with these kinds of things. And you know what kind of culture and has by the speakers over there. They're soaking some congregation to have one speaker after another and i look at their i look at their monthly schedule is absolutely fascinating what they have. But really they're not having a religious service because the speaker's maybe on anyting from. Psychiatry to medicine to politics they are having a series of lectures. Anything that is. It's called spiritual meaning other than oneself is not the prominent part of that. The prominent part iv spirituality comes during the parts other than send a talk. It comes during the sharing that we do and it comes during the day. Davarius. Verses in touch we recite together let me go to something else about membership congregation were on the consulting minister did a survey of people who had visited the congregation never come back. Wicked pretty brave. Or foolish. But they did and what they found out is that most people who didn't come back didn't come back because no one. No one spoke to them during a coffee hour. It wasn't overwatch being said. Because people who come and see us. Usually have an idea they're not going to be praying and nothing going to talk then i can be told her going to hell and not going to talk people to repent. None of us would ever do that but. It was the personal contact. I also remember a number of years back when i was in a seminar with ministers and most of them were missouri synod lutheran. Talking about people coming andy. Milano's fundamental set. People come back to where they feel safe at home wanted. Can you can't do that. If no one talks to you now that's not really related to the third principle but it is related in the sense of who comes to us who stays who's happy with us. I fully agree to you your congregation shouldn't discriminate on the basis of race sex age nashville orientation or sexual attachment i think we all take that for granted and i don't know any congregation that conscientiously does that. I dunno occasionally. That. A minister who is a lesbian or gay bring out some of the latent fears. 4 homophobia from some of the members of the congregation if they overdo talking about this particular particular issue and ministries have lost their jobs over there. And you could keep your friends there are three congregations in brevard county one of them. Was originally composed of members from the other two churches. And the older members still have those animosities younger ones doing as i've already mentioned and freedom of belief we still believe in the truth but we are going in different directions to find those posts so truth. There's another way to hold people together with larger congregations and that is to have you some beating just as i mentioned that daytona cuz there's another possibility and that is to have different kinds of services. Week after week 11 you might have a pagan service when you might have a humanist service when you might have a legendary christian service. You will find. Set the attendance is different at each of those services and i suppose you met you may find this to and you see who's speaking want to come or not but now we're all you use. And what do we have in common. What's a little bit like family of people that don't get thank you letters from their grandchildren let's talk a minute about our children and how they grow. When are children. Go their own way. Whatever is that is. They take on new responsibilities if they marry they take on the responsibilities. Avenue family. They may take on a new religion. And i've even heard some whose children turn republican. I have one they will and by the way we do have lots republic can you use don't let anybody tell you any different 902. There's some congregations that are predominantly republican in some parts of the country. Different religion. Different politics different way of raising children and you know none of your children raise their children as well as you did yours and that's a given. They may be stricter they may be more lenient they may give them more and weekdays and they live entirely different lives and in the case of many of us here they live hundreds of miles away from us. But we're always glad to see them. Always glad to see our grandchildren or nieces and nephews coming i'm going. Tensions kind of buildup remember those children. As i get older they start remembering grudges that they had is kent what you did to them as a teenager forester remembered with the teenage mind and teenage perception. Build up the steel family. We still want to be in touch with him we still want to hear from him we get upset if we don't so we pick up the phone and say why didn't you call. Now i look at the other. Congregations that have separated. Or have grown into a different persuasion for example of pagan one as being like the family members like the children who have gone a different route. I relate to them as people. As fellow people are almost all liberals. No matter which direction is gone in. They all want to be part of the you organization. They all support their churches. And they generally care about each other very much. To me it's family. It's family that went in a different direction and so i say we support them we deal with them but just like was families are certain topics we don't touch your talk about. When i go to the pagan church and i hear that they're telling people to bring sticks to make wands for the witches i might ask him what's it going to do but i don't comment on it because it's just like arguing politics with one of my children. And at that point i'm going to stop because i'm sure you have a lot to say. I seem to keep asking this question. Well. Have couple years ago we had a humanist give you a conference in melbourne and we had the president of meadville lombard theological school one of our two ministerial training institutions and he was asked about what the ministers are today she said many of them are the wage. Many of them are very unconventional and their personal beliefs. Show not since it has now my experience in 20. Congregations in florida i don't do these all the time just is that most of them are older. Average age is older most of them are missionaries from that place called up north and most of them are humanists or don't want to label themselves. I don't i see. New age has come into some of our larger older congregations. I remember being in miami today used asked me once here to talk about you minutes him and some of the people told me that there are members there who had formed a healing cult. I would call that part anyways it's creeping in all over but it's not predominant in my experience in florida. Jack the other two congregations the new congregations in florida that you can think of are in palatka and there's one forming in the kissimmee area in addition to the deland and duke has any. Okay okay but i also wanted to. Make a comment on your your talk in general. You can't really in nu dip. Put the two together you can't really talk about the. Third principle. talk about fourth principle which is the. Free and responsible search for truth and meaning that free and responsible truth takes us all in different. Directions and what you're saying about. Those directions being different and to the point that. One person's direction. Is not comfortable to another person's direction is a very true reality and it causes to the problems that you've you pointed out where you. A congregation either has to have a certain bat which is. Not necessarily. Comfortable for everybody and i go look somewhere else or they leave or whatever one of the healthier situations that i'm aware of. Where this is. Bent over, this is what i understand to be the. You you. Flavor in the twin cities area minneapolis and st. paul where there are i think it's five congregations all large. All different from. I think there's one of them that is pretty christian and pretty ceremonial right on through at the other spectrum humanist and i'm not sure where they have paganin or not and the congregations are close enough to people can pick and choose. I got to wait congregation they want to and ministers have even recommended that you're not in your in my tiger gation but it's not the right one for you why don't you try this one and to me that sounds like a pretty healthy. Waiter panelist still think i want to comment on this is the richness that shows up in general assembly and to some degree in district functions when you have. All of these different traditions in one place. And being able to observe those that i don't find in my congregation i may not agree with spiritually but they are very. Interesting. To be aware of and observe. And this richness is something that is unique to you unitarian-universalism emma and i really appreciate it. I wouldn't object to that at all it is in my feelings if you can find a place, you're comfortable and even when people leave us and go to some other denomination we're about that too we can be glad for them that they have found that way. It's still possible not it's not easy in a place that is as long as as long as two other congregations and i speaking. One of them. Har. They go from being really child-centered. Pandora congregations like that where they want it sends an upward about theology but they want to work with their children more and we also have the pagan one. And then we have us and. People can be more comfortable in some congregations and i think we should be glad for that. This morning before you before you came out of there was an re-group disgusting this principle of acceptance that bi-mart my creative it towards the end he raised the question and we found it. If i can find out in the. Dictionary anyone around to the 14-man and every one of them had a different definition. I'm sure that's a very helpful i think it means feeling that you're not alone that you're more than one says a word epiphany epiphany is experience that might change your life or make you reorganize yourself or or look at things differently i think those are related units have a tiffany's to say suddenly sees things differently see the world a little differently to become more tolerant. But spirituality i think is. It's like truth it's individual. I can feel i think it's spiritual listen to some hymns for example i can transfer some operas. Are some people get it through art. How do people get it from being here together. Knowing that there are so few of us but there are so many of us gathered here. That can be a spiritual experience without kind of manufactured. I know that's not an answer and i don't even think amelia we three unitarian churches very different 11 in minneapolis and two here but why do we have so few black people. Because most black people trust one institution and that's the black church depuy institute number of years back to the survey and 5 people and who they trusted not government. Of those who are religious. Because it was a black church that led the civil rights movement it's the black church where your friends go. It's a black church where politicians have their power bases i don't think we've got anything that draws like that i must tell you a story.. We had an experience i had before but we just kind of gas but nobody talked around for some reason really she didn't feel welcome i'll just actually relate a little story. Religion of her childhood she was looking around investigating different churches and she wondered what he could offer to our for a while about her beliefs. And finally suggested she go to a congregational church and said i think you'll find that very satisfactory he said several months later after not hearing from her she came back and said you know. I talked to a lot of people and they all promoted their own church except you and i decided the first one. That'll satisfy you. Didn't know if he said he said you'll have to put up with me.

universityuus_org

TA2005-09-04-OntheaftermathofhurricaneKatrina.mp3

Diminutive. An aquaman. When asked god occur. Hurricane. Greenshades. John denver. No man is an island entire of itself. Every continent. Any man's death diminishes me because i am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for. I can't hear. 1. Section of new orleans we have lost. Never replace. Reason. Reddit individualism. Lightning hurricanes new orleans. Country or collectively. Hurricane. Hurricane. Hurricane. Unnecessary. Godwin hurricane country are responsible for the global warming or ocean and hurricane of a ferocity not known in our history. Hurricane for the citizens of this country collectively responsible for. God what hurricanes are responsible for not demanding more of our meeting. Have not only been devastated by. When we met. It has been a wonderful outpouring of help to the victim on the part of ordinary citizens. Havelock. We are all one people.

universityuus_org

SS2005-07-17-Intro2Universalism_2of2.mp3

He has been a member of the american humanist association for more than 10 years. Prior to entering the uu ministry he was a teacher professor and college administrator. Reverend higgins holds a doctorate in education from the university of toronto and a master of divinity degree from leadville lombardo. Today's talk is the second part of a the dress that. reverend higgins offered last week so i'm sure that all of you who were here last week or anxious to hear the rest of this and for rest of us thank you very much. Good morning i always get nervous when somebody plugs before they hear what i have to say and i don't want to inhibit any of the discussion. The last time jack and i were here we've been to africa and last week we were too. I'm family reunions in california from which we escaped just a few days ago i mean california we escaped from not the family so i understand if you just moved here from california that you're probably stunned by the beauty and lack of. Traffic jams at you haven't california why we were in africa we came back through nairobi nairobi is the city of probably three million people at the capital of kenya is very. It's very sophisticated city in many ways. Why we spent as sunday there we were told not to go out of the hotel yet was very sophisticated you get knocked down to another hotel i guess. And we weren't to go to certain neighborhoods so we rented a car. That was very interesting to make. Panda. He asked what that was it was a church next door. And it wouldn't tell us what kind of church it was because i'm sure is a pentecostal church. As we drove around the city we saw a big tents just like you used to say in the south years ago. With pentecostals preacher speaking in english. And we saw a huge catholic cathedral and my inquiring came up with the understanding that. Majority of nairobi is christian a majority the christians are catholic. With pentecostals running close behind. And i looked around and i heard the singing. There wasn't very far we can do without a big tent of some kind. American pentecostal ministries active there. But christianity has been there for at least sixty years. And i was. Really. You won't believe it. But i was thinking about speaking to today on this topic. And how long it has taken us. And this sophisticated west with so many ideas percolating. To come to the idea of liberal religion. And. I'm going to be talkin about 200 years ago. When people the idea of being an agnostic or non-believer. Wasn't there. It was not something anyone could consider. Or at least. Not even whisper to. His wife or her husband. They didn't exist. I know later on. In the nineteenth century giuseppe verdi opera composer was a non-believer they said non-believer. I wouldn't say atheist. I don't think it was invented yet. An agnostic was not invented yet. Sew-in talking about universalism we're talkin about part of the road. That are free desestres have traveled. To get to where we are today. Where we are. Skeptics. Where we are. Interested in other religions but we do not accept what other people tell us to believe. That didn't happen overnight. And i think that's the important thing we have to keep in mind. It didn't happen overnight. It took a long time. It took the protestant reformation and then something called a radical reformation and you will not be surprised that scholars call as part of the radical reformation. They don't say we're cranky or cantankerous as a radical. Hello. I might. When i spoke to you. 2 months ago about universalism i spoke with the work of john murray. Sean murray was the founder of american universalism. I mentioned that he was a. Follower of a baptist preacher named james really in england. That preacher. Caught. Universalism universalism means there will be no eternal punishment. It's bad enough to have to live through this now without going through more but that the idea and i just came from the christian idea of salvation jesus died for our sins therefore. He's not going to condemn us all to hell. This was in direct contrast to the retirement predominant doctrines of that time. And that was generally calvinism. Which says you're all going to hell. Which is a happy message but for some how some reason or other this was a dominant. Train and protestantism. And that's the right word weirdly enough. Our moment is descended from the puritans. Who were calvinists. And believe that newman beings were corrupt. Immoral. And deserving of hell. And only a merciful god. Accepted a few. And there were determined before they were born and nothing they could do. Would change the predetermination. Are there salvation. This is always a tough one in graduate school in theology someone will be mercifully says we're all going to hell. And so he has showed his mercy by picking out. A few here and there who will call the elect. And that was a dominant theme song universe with him. Was really strange. No i had a following in new england only in this country a few years before the american revolution started. And he was on the side of the american revolution although we had an english accent nobody quite believed him. Which kind of an awkward situation. He was afraid he had a following immediately connected. And then one point george washington made him a chaplain. In the rhode island regiment. Don't want to miss me so is this do that alone. And preaching about universalism. This was an idea that was emerging from under the rocks set. We can't just all be in this horrible condition no matter what we do. There were german immigrants who followed a form of baptist belief which denied eternal domination and the early 1700s. And that noisy church. Yahoo telling us that the earth is 10,000 years old. Talk about a group of people whose. Distinction was that they believed in adult baptism. They did not believe that baptism and they still do not believe that baptism is for the remission of original sin. You were born in sin and baptism takes it away they were almost any kind of. Odd beliefs or different beliefs non-conformist. And they took many forms. Universalist for originally baptist. They're baptist, otters. Among the sleep. Liberals has been calling for then was dr. benjamin rush assignor the direct of the declaration of independence. Winchester and george de benneville both. Figures in the american revolution. However despite those people on hand already marie is considered the founder. Of universalism. At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. I told you about. The predominant belief calvinism. There were several people opposing calvinism. Leaving universe was out for a little while because there were a handful of people and they were stuck in backorders when no one listened to them anyway. There were two other opinions. Prominent in europe. Andrew european readings to americans. They were dia stand are minions. Armenians are not people from armenia. I'm minions for followers of a dutch theologian. Jacobus arminius. I meant to said people could affect their salvation and. Concert with the grace of god. And this was. A growing movement within it was the worm in the puritanism. Call calvin. Another way she was eating away at it. Very important at this. of history ideas is and was there are still dias. I think some of us are diaz. Wait till i tell you what they are before you nod your heads. Adidas is a person who believes. That a god created the earth in the universe. It's like into the perfect watchmaker this watch is never out of tune it takes on all the parts are there it doesn't skip a beat. When he finished. He took a sabbatical. And some people took it horry said so long guys you're on your own. So there was here was an explanation of the beginning of the universe. Thomas jefferson was a deist. Now i know some of you have a have a sweatshirt or something somewhere that says he was a universalist. You can't believe everything you read on t-shirts so. He wasn't he was a deist. And much of the declaration of independence anyplace it talks about. The creator he's talkin about a ds creator. Who is gone. So this was a merry. Very. Threatening idea too many people. Universalist those who were there i mentioned a number of them horror names in american history did not all agree on their theology. Agreed and part i know eternal condemnation. However there were a group. Who had a little difficulty with this. And they said how could it be. That human beings can do side rotten things. And then do straight to the presence of god. And they thought about it they said nope can't happen. And so they search the scriptures now if you want to find anything at all. Search the scriptures you'll find it there. And they decided that. They would be a. after death of 50,000 years. Where people would be. And remedial education i guess. Torture some of them call it. Until they were cleaned up and could join those. Who had already joined god. These people by the way it's purging potato.. Call purgatory purgatory from purging with a catholic doctrine. So. These people became a small group for then universalism which was already small group. Now the major influence. On universalism was hosea ballou. I know some of you haven't heard that name. And until a few years ago i had never heard it pronounced i'd only read it. Great misfortune. I had a direct descendant of hosea ballou. Andy friendship fellowship. And mentioned it and call them balogh. He was there and he raised a great stink. About it. It's an unusual name. So it's blue. However i suppose i got the last word because i did his memorial service a few years later. But like many of the preachers of that time. He was the sun. Baptist preacher. He had only a few months of formal education. And his father also told him with what he had. He was a great reader a great thinker. And extremely influential. Among. People who are dissatisfied with the ideas of calvin. His writing show that he was not sophisticated. For we have of his sermons show that he was not. Pollock. Like the universalist ministers. In his late teens. Still a baptist. He attended a meeting with her friends put forth some embarrassing questions to the leaders and the question was. How could a good god-fearing sponsel for endless suffering in hell of men creatures of his own making. How could a loving god. Enjoy torturing people. Eternally. There's no time. No beginning and no end. So you can't look forward. To a couple. Something after burning for while it goes on and on and on. This eventually he became a baptist preacher. Now it was not unusual to summit in late teens become a baptist preacher. Harvard graduates for example we're finished with their education about 18 maybe even younger. And they generally became unitarian ministers not universalist. Blue presa new hampshire and massachusetts and later in the newest in portsmouth where he held a pulpit and the salem massachusetts. In 1817 he took a pulpit in boston where he stayed for 35 years. He was heavily influenced by ethan allen's book reason the only oracle of man. And i'm sure you've heard of ethan allen a major figure. In the publications during the american revolution. Did not become an atheist or non-believer you believe in god. But he was very much influence. By the unity of the godhead and by common sense in relation. That's something we unitarian universalist a let me talk about common sense and religion. He didn't become a ds but he felt. That is they who are helping confronting errors that hint. Kendrick christianity. Christianity was full of errors. They came from the time at all christians were catholic right on through the reformation. He believes that more damage was done to christianity by christian propensity to condemning opponents. You may be aware that. Certain christian groups condemned everybody else. Nobody else has the truth. The major writer. Universalism was ernest cassara. You still alive i believe in massachusetts. Great people and unitarian universalism are somewhere in massachusetts especially. Black. Follow. Universal salvation. But he didn't ignore sin he said yes there was him. And sin cause suffering. Not only just to the people who were sent against but for those who sin but he had a logical argument here about. Universalism. There could not be an infinite sim. I send that would last forever. Because only god was infinite. And therefore. Before it could not last forever this is certain logic in that. He spoke of god is eternal love. And you always talk about reconciliation. And the atonement of jesus. Now the basic premise of christianity. Jesus was god. Jesus. Came down and suffer for the sins of humanity. 2. Satisfy himself as part of god i guess. I'm being a little snide here but that's roughly what it boils down to. Save-a-lot of stories told about him now he was a popular preacher and preachers were what got people into churches in those days. No movies very few plays. Books were not cheap enough that a lot of people read them. So sunday was a big entertainment day of the week. Sherman's lasted hours. In massachusetts monday morning for daily papers. Four reports of sermons. They're also arguments carried on in the papers. At any rate he was quite popular. And so people would come and argue with him. He was once consulted by a man. Busan. Was taking the low road. In other words he evidently was frequent in brothels. And while they're not only imbibing in the fleshly pleasures but also drinking. I think he might have even a little bit. And i he consulted baller what would we do about this. And blue said. Please play descendants going to hell. And evidently. Cancer story goes genesis story. The sun was down the road he was due to leave the premises and walk down the road and a big fire right here. And as soon as your son comes knocking down and roll around this fire for little bit. That's my son. And course message was father said if you as a father could not do this how can all merciful god do this to your child. And another one. Story is that he was riding along with a methodist minister. And the minister said. You don't believe in hell no. Well. Stop. A universalist. I'm hitting me over the head. Stealing everything i've got. I'm taking my horse. And the answer was. A universalist would never think of doing such a thing. So their whole series of stories like this. He was constantly consulted on matters of faith. And goodness. Any became known as father ballou. And he's known in the history books and among universalist. They will all remember father blue. Occasion i come across someone who says. I'm a direct descendant. And i have. Artifacts that he had like a prayer book or some kind of. Service said he used in church. He wrote a book called. On the atonement. It's very difficult to read. Remember he was. Had no formal education. And it was. Mustang sentence might run two pages. I tried to read it once a service. And i noticed it was anybody left after 5 minutes so i never read it again. But. It is an idea on the atonement being for all for everyone. Forever. Murray. Balut was born the year marie arrive to new jersey. 1790. Now they were both of different persuasions as far as some of the intricacies. How christianity go. Murray remember the founder. What's a believer in the trinity. Blue came to the country. Nevertheless. Murray did invite below to his church to speak because mary was constantly being called upon for various churches to speak. Now remember believe in disbelief in the trinity is unitarianism. 2. Talk. At maurice church. This is before he moved to boston. And he gave a sermon that was heavily unitarian. As a sermon. Ended. Murray's wife. Who wrote mostly what we know about marie. Went west bridgewater the members in the choir. And as soon as. Baloo had finished. Set members stood up and said. The audience will please take the audience will note. That the views expressed by the occupant of the church pulpit today i'm not those that are usually promulgated here and not those entertain by mr. murray. But that's a wonderful thing to say after major talk. Blue retirement said. The audience for please note what our brother has said. And then he went on with the final him. Another words he didn't. Get offended. Things bounce off him. 2000's loved. Actually they're not on the best of terms. Blue respected murray. For what he had done. And he was invited to lead another church in boston but he did not do that until much later. Did not want to split with marie. Tell mary cooperated and died. Add another church to school street church was built. And below accepted that church where you stayed for 35 years. Play remember then as now boston was the center of the universe. And it was amazingly major city. I did not millions. Maybe a few tens of thousands. But it was a center of culture the major northern center of culture. Universalist went on it became larger and larger. It was very appealing. When you have a forest out there are people who telling you are going to hell to find a tree that says you're not. And so we grew. Now they have. Doctrinal differences. They've had.. Among creatures. Most of whom were self-educated. In 1803 they had a convention. And winchester new hampshire and they had a document call the winchester profession. Now as always in the history of unitarianism and universalism. We're never terribly definite. We always leave loopholes. 1. We believe that these and hold at the scriptures of the old and new testament container relationship of the character of god. Another duty interest and final destination of mankind. We could probably handle that with a few. Pencil. it has one god whose nature is love revealed in the one lord jesus christ and only holy spirit of grace will finally restore the whole family of mankind of holiness and happiness that almost split. Do unitarians at one point. We believe that holiness into happiness are inseparably connected in the belief porter be careful to maintain order and practice good works. For these things are good and profitable to men. Hockenson or you with that. Now. Just so that they covered all bases. The general professional belief we leave it to the several churches in societies or smaller associations within the limits of the general association to continue adopt within themselves such articles his face as maybe a best for them. Another words. You can take it or leave it. Recommended all the differences. Now mrs mary. Was very prominent. She wrote. Article. Can a newspaper. That was. Wiley read weekly. At one point she had 37 articles published and her husband was reading it one day and said hey this is pretty good. And she told him i wrote them but she didn't write with a woman's name of course. Cheap over the man's name so she was very good she did write his biography and what she said. After he was dead. Is that there were at least 77 opinions different from what her husband taught increased among universalist. That's pretty good we don't have bad 47 now. What is prominent in boston. Not among the educated. He was not accepted. Because. He was not educated. Remember the predominant religion dynamites unitarian. Unitarian minister has came from. And they were highly educated. And what unitarians treasured. Was great sunday sermons. Elegant. Constructed beautifully. Baloo spoke as a country bumpkin instead. So we spoke to a different audience. 1 things that unitarians began to think about is. Maybe there's no hell. I became fairly common among the unitarian ministries. 2b universalist in that respect. But they only told each other. Because they were ministers most people wouldn't understand that it would also cause controversy. And so they kept that to themselves and they would not. Except. Hello. Under any circumstances. You think of how strange that his butt against formal education. He felt that. Setting up seminaries would only reintroduce the errors of christianity. The crisis to which i alluded a little bit ago. Occurred. There were many different versions. Have unitarian universalism. By 1826 it became serious. Balloon his friend edward turner published his theories are friendly exchanges over punishment. Or not an afterlife. Had not been fully developed. Sobolo and turner exchange these articles is what ideas they weren't. Doctrines. And something happened along the way. Because it began again. Heat it up and serious. And blue took the ultra universalist position. No. Punishment of any kind. Turner. The other. Restorationist. Restoration after 50,000 years of punishment. He would be restored to god. They became enemies. Turner got the notion that baloo helped. Him helped his enemies to remove him from his church. The discussions were picked up. In a reverend jacob would took up the issue and inflamed emotions and a lot of personal attacks were made. They actually did forma separate association. The association of universalist restorationist. That's almost as bad as unitarian universalist. At least each of these sportsmen salmon. And for number of years they had several churches they probably had maybe somewhere between 5 and 10 churches and ministries. And this was not very popular now. If you join a universalist church because you didn't want to go to hell at all. I had another group saying well maybe you go over 50,000 years you can see it. Some of them drifted back and i just went out of existence that it was just an interesting. Kind of footnote to universalism. By 1841 they were not left. Now universalist were not very strong in some respects. They did not have a strong national organization. So you will know. Beacon street is where the uua headquarters are. Universalist where two buildings away. But their headquarters. Unitarians were building up a strong national organizations. Universus went to state. And regional organizations called conferences conventions. By 1840s unitarian universalist. For prospering in all of the states and territories there were 700 societies and over 300 creatures. Sentimental lot of preachers when she wanted more than one church. According to cassara the historian of universalism. By 1850 they were double that number and over 800. Church. Memberships church's proclaimed. State. A census figures. And universalist figures. Did not add up. I must say that neither unitarian universalist whatever february good at statistics. They never are. If you go and look at the last few years. And you a directory. And you'll find out. Set the numbers how many there are altogether do not agree with what we're told and you uworld. I don't know why. You know every time they do an actual census it's a there 500,000 unitarian universalist. And the church is count them there 160. Which means they're a lot of people coming in not paying away. At any rate at one point it was reported that universalism was a fifth largest protestant denomination in the united states. However. Some people said the eighth-largest and some said the 10th. What was happening. Well i suspect what was happening isn't the various state conventions. Did not keep accurate figures. And what would be called the church was not necessarily very large. I want started a college in mansfield pennsylvania which has 200 sold most of them are lost but it's a tiny town. In the northern north eastern part of pennsylvania. And as you came into that town there was an old wooden building. And i found out by looking up in the town records said it was the universalist church in 1917 it had 17 members and it had a woman minister. And like many other rural churches it just disappeared the last i heard they were having a pentecostal mi group meeting there. But the wooden building was still there. I thought that was tremendously interesting because i couldn't find nothing else. But that particular building being register there still universalist. Square pipe. Strong in the country areas. That doesn't mean all the churches were universalist. On the eastside. Central park in new york there is a universalist church. It looks quite large. And on the outside is a big sign saying affiliated with eeuu way. The first church in which i preached for anytime. I was in a suburb of buffalo new york. And they haven't given a puppet and an organ. From university church that had simply faded away they left the property and it was picked up so there are very few. Universalist church is left. Accepting cities. Because the country areas just disappeared people left the country and came to the city. Universes were very threatening. To mainline protestants. Things that wouldn't bother us today. They were considered dangerous. In massachusetts it was proposed that they would be barred from service. I'm curious and not allowed to testify in court. Because anyone who did not fear eternal punishment was not to be trusted. Summit sounds reasonable to me. Because of the hatred and mistrust. Universal has found that by the time that children got to secondary school and they believed in education. That they were very uncomfortable until they began to start their own secondary schools and colleges and remember back in the middle 1800s. There was a blur between a secondary school in a college many things we called. Colleges. Today. We're not post-secondary. Now there's an argument.. Disagree that we needed second secondary schools. However. There was some ministers who said ministers need education. But father ballou felt that the illogical schools but only perpetuate the errors of christianity. Many members had come out of the baptist for jason but he did not require educated ministers. You might notice that from baptist church to baptist church in this house to they do not. Call someone who has had formal education to make call somebody was a member of that church for years and read the bible. On the other hand the larger ones will call someone from a four-year ministerial institutions. Ballew said the holy spirit could choose his spokesman ministers without the help of schools. The first theological school wasn't established until after his death. And even his. I believe it was his nephew. Whose last name is also blue. Was opposed. Do higher education from ministries they were inspired by god. Nevertheless. They did establish. General education places. Tufts university outside of boston is universalist. St. lawrence university. I need. St-lawrence river in upper state new york. Still going. Was universalist. Is now the university of akron. And through. It's now the university of california institute of technology. Some very distinguished institutions founded at last. Some of the institution did not last. Play established college in lombard illinois lombard is is about 30 miles south of chicago. And it did not do well. And so they decided. To move it. To the university of chicago campus is right in the center of the campus. Lombard university. A few years later. Unitarians were having trouble. Running their school to and meadville pennsylvania. And so the unitarians came. And took over. The universalist property. Some ugly soul to the university of chicago and today it's called meadville lombard institute of theology. Just wanted to. Totally unitarian universalist. Theology school i graduated from meadville lombard. It it had its 75th anniversary i think in 1997. So they came together for the training of ministries they would still separate denominations. Protestantism. Evolution. Darwin. And higher criticism of the bible. Not neither unitarian universalist or very much upset by this. Protestants divided into two groups social gospel and fundamentalist. Social gospel meant that the stories of the bible about jesus were meant to tell us about our duty. human beings. And regardless. I want you believe in evolution. that was the basic idea that's mainline christian fundamentalists the bible is inerrant. And so this is where we get that division which is plaguing us today. Political writers are a group among the fundamentalist. Well. Denominations had a tradition of reasonableness. Another higher education and higher biblical criticism. Real looking at the bible what it was who wrote it when it was written is it true or not. And evolution we're not problems. Until this time prada 66 after the biblical. Chronology of usher of ireland this is church of ireland a catholic who is that creation had taken place in october 23rd 2004 bc at 9:30 a.m. and i'll pause while you write that down. There's still people who argued it so low that many of the fundamentals that will conceive the earth is 10,000 years old. As time went on. The message of universal salvation wasn't that big among mainline protestants. And universalist began to be smaller and smaller and number. Unitarians had a brief. After the civil war. But they began to be smaller and smaller to. And the denominations began to look at each other and realize. That the major differences for organizational. A national organization. Growing stronger. 4 unitarian. And local. Conventions. At. The state-level even the south had a group named states. 5 years ago there was one church the south that was started before the civil war had seven members left. And during right after the civil war its minister envy governor of alabama. It existed before the civil war. Universal supported slavery. At least they didn't their publications. Unitarians did not. At any rate negotiations negotiations between us 22 started 1923. Remember we don't look fast we don't move fast. It wasn't until 1961 that the merger took place. And here we are today. What happened. In the interim between 23 and 51. Is that a new challenger rose in both denominations humanism. We had a number of. Very powerful speakers all throughout the country. Maybe but mainly in chicago by thomasville can wanted edmonton alberta. Duty of human beings. Irrelevance of god. Human beings responsible for making the world better. At one time. Run 1940. Majority. I've unitarians. Where. Eunice. Now. Universal swimming difference. They did a survey in the 50s. And they found out. That most universes would agree that they were theistic humanist. Now. . michelle say that's an oxymoron. However 50,000 people getting. And they said yes cuman's are responsible. But there is a god who will reward and punish. Call mercedes position. Mercedes-benz. At any rate. There was one. The humanist manifesto of 1933 was basically a unitarian ministries document. One universalist minister. Signed it. And chevrolet people signed it. So this is where we are today. We are now in with a good deal of give-and-take on each side. Universalist. Speak of the universal love each other. Unitarian speak. Are there longer history and grading recognition factor. And today we are still left with a lot of divisions. And have decided to live and let live pretty well among ourselves. Now most of us don't know much about universalism it has a noble history and it's part of the evolution of where we are today thank you. Kevin higgins will be available for questions but for right now we're going to sing the song of the music or the words please me are in your programs and the song from what i understand has an 8 bar introduction. Thank you very much there will be a few more minutes for questions if you have them. Well i guess it's okay please. Cummins 2. The sudden ocean of. Of others suffering. Of you not having the universal salvation seems to be very popular. Especially with this new series of books about the rapture which apparently are selling by the millions do you think i don't know if you're any of your degrees are in psychology or sociology or in those areas but i guess a seminary school obviously you get into some of those. But it seems to me there's something about the human psyche. That people like the idea of other people suffering and of and of of limitation of only a few getting that those tickets to paradise or tickets to get into heaven and so on.. Just a comment of whether you think that's true or not you're right though i do know everything. 10 and 1 of its true religion. I know absolute truth and everything else is wrong. Do humans, it's part of the animal nature i think. It's better than fighting and killing each other though. Are you all familiar of the end time books. Yeah these are vicious things generally coming with the end of the world coming and the villains are jews and catholics. Sia. The heroes are people who believe in this time i'll talk about millennialism another time it's related to pentecostalism and i think we do that because i think we need to know that watch so many people are thinking. Other than the truth that we have. You you mention ernst or ernest cassara. I wonder. Are we talkin about the linguist. Are you mentioned him as a historian of universalism. So i guess maybe they're different t-pain i'm i'm not sure whether he was a chairman of one of the. Churches in boston or whatever is a son because his the dating to his writings are fairly older back into their 40s. You said he still living i think. Second question this meadville lombard school of theology located in the center of the university of chicago campus do i get that right. Is that the main theological school if university of chicago. That means when you go and take courses are you take some of your courses. At one of the other nine theology loads of corn theological institution if you want to stop at the university of chicago. But you say tufts university institute. I don't think it's a very good question did emerson have anything to do with universalist. No. Not that i know of.

universityuus_org

SS2005-06-26-WhatWillHappenAsMoreLibertariansAreElected.mp3

Thank you. Denver. We have an interesting round table. Many of what will what will happen. Problem. What is carrion. Davenport number. Set the right to live your life. Probably the most important. Government. Unfortunately we don't live in. We could not convert. Personal freedom. Personal responsibility. Are we liberal or conservative. No. Again break it down to a more basic common denominator. Government bureaucracy. Comparative or liberal. How big is the libertarian party why should i throw my phone away. Libertarian party of the united states. Then our numbers within our community. The number of libertarian. A republican. Later that day. Randy morris. Describe the backing of the people who were outraged. There are more than 300 electric. Costa rica. My government has multiple parties. Florida. A vermont. Onalaska. Remember this date. Republican. Medtronic. Parkway senior vote. Score. Harry brown. I regretted it. And have regretted it today. 2004. However. We are now concentrating on florida. High probability. One form of private. Almost derailed by this was the announcement. Turbo conversation. And that will. Right now i don't believe. Politic. Got married in his house. All whereabouts. Dollar economic value. Are we are we are about more than just an economic. I thought not build a second high school in oviedo. Because. Go watch the football game. School board. Irrelevant what you want. Now not that our business model. Acquired the government property. You had no alternative where you were going. Finally. Allowed. Make more money. Play taking people's property. So that issue is going to be far and 1. Corporate welfare. And i have talked with. They like the idea of not subsidizing. Whether it be a developer. App. Agricultural. No other way. It cost $11,000. And that. Play frankly doesn't pay the car. But what did i do to you. Slow down. Raise value of your home. Python dollar amount now cost. And probably doesn't have to be rezoned next year. That was your downside for having this. We are hundreds of billions of dollars behind in infrastructure. Support what we have now. An area that i'm the most knowledgeable on water. Hundreds of millions of dollars. There are some other alternative. But quite frankly. Difference between. Remind.. Play camp. A higher level. We're only replacing it. As it's happening all the time. That's one of the major areas. Look at the cost of services. Water board. Add a meeting. If people want to help. Money. From private corporation. 12:00. Ferrara doctor program. We're making $1,000 a year program. Female back. Power programming bear program shepherd. Their programmers working well budgetary process. No they didn't want $1,000. We're so fortunate with the thornton water board that we have an executive director who is under control. However. Over the back to the email. Broader. Their concern. They're not going to get that bud. Tioga county. Your budget money. Why again. Turn down. Google,. Oregon. Long-term health. County lake county actually phone. What's the weather. Dollar of services. Delivered. Partner. Volunteers. We have a botanist. But we put together for the black. We have to account for the value of $1 an hour. That are donating their services. And they're working with the homeowners. Call big oak ranch. Large working ranch how many of you are familiar with the problem of agriculture. No it and about 90% of all revenue or. Predominantly you. Awesome awesome. Waterboy cast. Perfect. Weather. Book ranch conservation award. Now what we're doing is. Possible outcome. Then we are negotiating. Problem. Call every problem by creating another government. Although. My wife ellen. Count register. My wife has a very libertarian thing. Voluntarily. Government involvement department. American experience. Other nonprofit. Not helping people. And i would never support anything. But we. How you survive. Very early in my life. Document. Prepare meals. Help. And my job. 80%. Bringard chocoline. Started. Everything. We believe government. App. Omar gooding. One of the items we talked about over here. Paramore. Driving. War. Call the war on drugs. And war on drugs. Ever done. Cannot work. Large quantities of money. Professional basketball. Rap singer. Most of them quickly realize our chance of the rap singer professional basketball player. Call big country. The war on drugs. Not where they cannot. Malcolm how hard. Oil tell you how. Constantly. One of the major libertarian. We're going out and catching smoking pot. Violent crime. Shimano. If you're free. Lowry beer. Not. Finally. The movie. Iraq. No. Split. Are piper society. Not at work. .. Ar. Carfi corporation airport. Corporation of america. Retinol. Number to dollar store. Has become. Walmart. Play more money. Even when we're developing and taking water where we don't have it. Government. Wake up it's gone what are we going to have left. Welfare. Stereotype. Welfare act in public. Are elderly people who work hard all day ride. We're actually working. Giant survival. Welfare welfare. For a while. Considering the percentage. I apologize. I think you'll find. You don't rap. How is it delivered. I don't disagree with. Going on. Government. Lower-income area. Violating the law under. Happens when you don't have a business. Are operating and. Operation underground. Impact 100. But. How to get there. Ignore her forever. Hypothetical. Libertarian form of government. Involuntary. Rather than. Pacsun. Mine. Incorporate. Who have your own self-interest. Rattler. Corporations must be. Corporations don't make money. Tom's of maine. Bottom line back to you. Better. I donate more money that i don't write. Problem. American. Nothing happened. You are responsible. Where am i going to. Blackrock i want. A lot more. Motorcycle. Ripple. Well february 1st off. Helmet. However what you will find a motorcycle. Our problem is the government deciding for. Not wearing a helmet. Great war helmet helmet. Far more money. About money. Important depriving every action. That's more important. By the name of robert. Dido. One question for you. That i am important to him. Go back. Elected to office. Who retire with. How you feel about these two. And he says much of the same put the bank on hearing from you also does not want corporate welfare. Also killed. And i want something real. Probably one of the most recognizable name. Is the radio talk show host neal boortz i wonder how well you wind up with ideas as well. Ralph nader. Government. Call paul the government. How to solve. Problem. Radio broadcaster. Probably 20. However. Number one. Basically. Government. Call. Larger. Turn the mountain be refunded. Rather than. Something. I liked a lot. I run a business. How to create. I'm sorry i know when i have money in the bank when i need to buy things online and i don't need all these schedules and i don't need to pay for the government. Don't want to keep supporting you because you're out of a job.

universityuus_org

SS2005-09-25-RationalMysticism_WesternVariationsOnAnEasternTheme.mp3

Today we welcome back speaker tom cook. Professor of religion and philosophy at rollins college. Who's presentation we finally recalled as being as athletically engaging as his material was fascinated you still up. And actually use. Still true. Therefore even though we're running a bit late this morning we want to return the compliment. Question.. You will have questions we guarantee. Please welcome professor tom cook. Good morning and thank you very much for. The welcome i was here. But it certainly. Good to see you folks lots of friendly faces and a thriving fellowship. I was grateful to to my colleague ottella nordstrom who called this morning to offer me a ride out here. I thought what an unusual expression of collegiality among the faculty at rollins college and then when we got here i saw the reserved parking place for the speaker and then i understood what he was about no thanks i did appreciate. I say that because i feel as if i have friends here and it's always nice when one sees that one's friends projects are flourishing and and thriving as this one seems to be. Another reason it's nice to see this group doing so well is that the unitarian fellowship represents for me. An attempt to. Realize i kind of ideal. Specifically a reasonable religion. This is not my top exactly this morning so i don't want to belabor it at end. But i bet you've had similar experiences to my experiences. I have friends and colleagues in my fields. You know of my interest in science and my distaste for true believers of any stripe. And they're always shocked or at least a little bit befuddled when they find out i'm going to attend or speak at. A church. What are you doing going to church they say. The implicit assumption is if you're irrational scientific type then you got no business in church. I learned by the way from allen this morning that there are people here who don't think this has any business being called to church but. 1 pieces from the other direction as well. To take a randomly-chosen example for my wife. Who's the pretty seriously religious person. Can't figure this unitarian thing out at all. They sit around and talk about science they carry on philosophical discussions and religion. That's not religion where's the pomp and pageantry. Where are the sacraments. Where's the prayer. Where's the mystery. Implicit assumption is if you're at church you have no business focusing so much on reason and science and such. My wife has a nice way of summing this app actually she says tom if they're interested in talking about what you're interested in it's not a church. Now what i like about the unitarians is that they try to be a irrational scientifically minded religious body. Since the advent of modern science in the 17th century there have been individuals who tried to develop. As an alternative to the more traditional orthodox institutionalize churches. A reasonable religion. I think for example of john locke who in the late seventeenth century roadwork called the reasonableness of christianity. Or i think of immanuel kant. Who wrote the book the religion within the bounds of reason alone. Newton of course was very interested in figuring out a way to reconcile his contributions to astronomy and science in the 17th century. With his traditional christian faith or some version thereof. So i want to focus this morning on a related topic. I'm the effort to reconcile scientific rationality and mysticism as it's found in the great religious traditions. I say scientific rationality not because i want to suggest that the only kind of rationality is scientific rationality. I don't want to propose a version of scientism here as its critics call it natural science. Presents for us these days. The closest thing to a rational attempt to understand the nature of reality and ourselves as a part of reality that we have. So when i speak of scientific rationality. I mean it in that sense. I'm presumptuously assuming that some of you are a like me. And that you are. Attractants to scientific rationality. And yet you are at the same time attracted to the mystical tradition in some sense or other. And. We could spend the entire morning trying to define what we mean by the mystical tradition here whether there is such a thing as a cross religious mystical tradition. That's how much disputed topic actually. But it seems to me perhaps you'll agree that. Or that you two are interested in mysticism at least insofar as it's characterized in the following way. The mystics would tell us. That. Our everyday experience of things doesn't reveal reality as it in fact is. That there's a. Difference. They would say deeper understanding of reality experience. The mystical tradition holds that we are capable at times on occasions. Apprehending. This deeper truth of the way things in fact are. Deeper than our everyday experience reveals it to us as being. The mystical tradition holds that when we do. See the way things are at a deeper level. We will see them as being in a. Way more unified than our everyday experience reveals it as beard. The phrases very often junio mystica the mystical union the sense that there is. Among things between us between ourselves and the larger universe a kind of union a kind of unity that is not manifest ordinarily in our everyday. Way of experiencing. And the mystics hold in a certain sense that when we see things as they are. They will. We will find them how shall i say effectively positive. We will experience. Alternatively they described it as the miraculous. This two-day take to be part of the mystical tradition. Now we who takes seriously natural sciences account of a way reality is. Understand and relate to that. Mystical tradition and how are the mystics. Supposed to relate to. The scientific worldview as it's presented to us. Our best scientists. This is actually a project just been going on for a while and i don't mean going back to a john locked into newton ethicon. But rather. During my lifetime and for some of you our lifetime. Attempts to figure out how to relate scientific progress in scientific understanding to the mystical perennial philosophy as a color. Some of you remember back in the 60s. The point of which was to convince us that. The scientists of the day usually. We're revealing reality to be like the ancient hindu mystical and spiritual tradition head reveal reality to be. This was empty remember free cfkappa in his book the dow of physics or the dancing wu li masters. Claiming that our scientists are revealing reality to be the way in which the ancient mystical tradition had always said. It is. You don't hear so much about that anymore you do to some extent but that was. I would have come back to that because it seems to me that there's some truth to that although it was. Being exaggerated in the way it was being presented at that time. Another way in which. Science and mysticism. Entering into a juxtaposition the rapprochement of sorts now. Is the attempt to do scientific study of the very mystical experience itself. That's going on quite a lot now this again back in the late sixties and early seventies and some of you may remember it. Army. I would have suggested you had anything to do with this but you may remember reading about studies for example of drug-induced mystical experiences back in the sixties you'll remember timothy leary or remember that whole generation of folk. Actually have a story to tell about this system. We have time for this. This place is so good. When i was a freshman in college i actually at this is because allen was telling freshman in college stories on our way over here so you get subjected to a freshman in college story. I was at johns hopkins university in baltimore. Owner orientation schedule. We we freshman it was all guys at the time it was a guy's school we're supposed to get in buses be transported over to the medical school in order to hear a lecture on drugs. We thought this is going to be a lot of fun. We are the mets going somebody tells us how bad drugs are for you. But okay we were in town. To hear electra on drugs. And one of the persons doing the lecture maybe a name familiar to some of you his name was stanislav grof. Maybe song if you don't know him at 8 right. We got in there somebody at the undergraduate college had called him at school and said is there some expert there or some panel of experts who can speak to our incoming freshman class. The obvious suggestion being in order to. Encourage our students to stay away from drugs and not to get hooked on those bad things. But somebody on the receiving end of this message misunderstood. Put out the word through the medical school is there anyone doing research on drugs who would like to talk to the incoming freshman class of the college. So we got the most fascinating talk you ever heard from stanislav grof. Who was at the time doing he was doing studies on the use of lsd. Fourth cycle therapeutic purposes specifically he was working on. Terminally ill patients. And. Hopeless chronic alcoholics. And his thesis was his hypothesis that he was working on his research. What's the diff you feed these people enough acid. And put them in just the right circumstances they all have a religious experience. They'll see god. And if they're terminally ill patients they will be reconciled with. And if they are these chronic alcoholics who are having these problems they'll be. As he put it that night i remember this he says it's likely to turn them into obnoxious jesus rapes but that's better than alcoholics. And in the process of this he told us about how he had had an experimental subject whom he had given. Acid to end who in the process of her trip. Adren these remarkably detailed pictures of pyramids. No one understood how this was what she was doing she was an uneducated woman who had no background that would suggest you knew anything about archaeology. Then we did some research on our heritage and she was out of my inherited. So we take this as evidence for the truth of union collective unconscious or archetypes or something. When he finished his talk we couldn't wait to get back to the dorm to find the drug dealer just see god truly this is what this was going to happen. And such. Not atypical in the late 1960s this would have been the fall of 1969. Does not atypical that someone was doing a scientific study on altered states of consciousness. Interested in drugs. And any right that's what he was doing. These days. Today 2005. There's still a lot of interesting scientific research going on for the drive to altered states of consciousness including mystical experiences. But not. These days so much drug-induced on the contrary. Good example of researcher at university of pennsylvania named newburgh with him some of your will be familiar. Trying through functional mri. Magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Used on people who are engaged in specific tasks cognitive tasks tasks at the time he's doing functional mri studies on them to see what parts of the brain seems to be most active when they are in those altered states that we think of as. Quasi mystical states. And he's making some interesting discoveries by the way i don't know if you've i can't even remember the title of his book now but the god something-or-other. I did write this is a serious research psychiatrist at the university of pennsylvania this is not nonsense. And he's discovered that what happens in these altered states of consciousness that the mystics describe. And these are mostly. Tibetan monks some nuns in cloistered carmelite orders people who spend hours a day in meditative prayer and. I'm that kind of meditative practice. He discovers that when they achieved this state of mind that area of the brain which is most active when we're engaged in. They're most active for spatial and temporal orientation. Seem to be very inactive. At that point. So that part of the brain that sort of tells me where i am and then tells me how i'm i can negotiate this environment moving around. That part of the brain is inactive at that time and it seems that part of the brain with which i get temporal orientation past present and future memory back to the future. That part of the brain is relatively speaking in active at those times when you think about it makes sense if you think of. These sorts of altered states of consciousness. As involving a loss of one sense of tim spatial-temporal. Location in isolation. That oceanic feeling of being lost in something larger than oneself. Any right this guy recommended interesting work he's doing. That's the kind of. Rapprochement from one direction you're likely to find lisa is between natural scientific research and the mystical tradition an attempt on the part of a natural scientists. Using our newest technologies. Brain research in euro scientific research. To ascertain just what's going on cerebrally. In the process of. I think that's interesting too. Not the only interesting or the most interesting way to understand the relationship between the natural scientific view of the world and. The traditional mystical you are the world. Steps are guy name. Ken wilber home i don't otherwise know much about. Speaks of the mystical tradition has the eastern path to enlightenment and natural science as the western path to enlightenment enlightenment means two very different things in those contacts normally. The natural scientific tradition really does sort of come out of that period of european intellectual history that we call the enlightenment. And we think of that as a time of rejection of superstition we think of that as a time of embrace embrace of the scientific worldview and such but we don't think. What the eastern tradition and what the mystical traditions mean by enlightenment. Till i like his way of putting that that the scientific worldview presents a western path to enlightenment of a certain kind and the eastern mystical tradition prison. A path to enlightenment of a different kind. The catholic churches. Profound very long mystical tradition. Well. One more thing about research into the mystical tradition these days. Oh by the way what's regard to that last thing i was talking about scientific studies of the mystical experience. This book by john horgan called rational mysticism is really quite good i'm just that particular topic that's sort of all it's about but it's. It's about that miss quite good. There's an argument about whether there's any such thing as the mystical tradition the perennial philosophy. Aldous huxley you may remember wrote a book called the perennial philosophy in which you drew from all the different spiritual and religious traditions. Ancient and modern eastern and western from wherever and claims to have. Isolated achor. A philosophical assumptions and convictions that underlay. The spiritual traditions. Around the world and through the ages. You get a lot of argument about that today whether there's such a thing as a perennial philosophy. Spiritual traditions in the same way. A mystic there is a christian mystic there's a hindu mystic does a dallas mysticism. Did the traditions are so contextually bound. That. What the experience. That we might call a common experience means in the context of this tradition this tradition of this tradition is so different that we can't isolate or extract out a commonality of experience across them whether you believe that or not. It seems to me. Some of you know my favorite philosopher is a guy named spinoza from the 17th century. What attracted me to spinoza in the very beginning was to takes one he is a an absolute die-hard rationalist. He was living in the mid-seventeenth century and the beginnings of the mechanical new scientific worldview and he embraced it wholeheartedly. And believe that absolutely everything that occurs in the universe occurs in accordance with natural law and that we can understand every event that occurs in the universe as a manifestation of and as bound by the laws of nature. And he believed that those laws of nature will ultimately turn out to be mathematical in character. So that. By the way turns out basically to be right for the guard to that last assumption we was right with the guard of the first was another matter. He was in this sense as i say a die-hard rationalistic. Causal determinists. We would say scientist stick finger. Mid-seventeenth century. And at the same time. When in that. Work called the ethics he asks what's the highest good for humankind. His answer is. Twofold one the realization of the union that exists between the human mind and the whole of nature. + 2. Something you called amor de intellectual is the intellectual love of god. Now. What i like about spinoza is both of those. He's a die-hard rationalistic scientist ixora to thank her and at the same time he thinks that if we understand reality scientifically. Will realize that. There's a kind of unity that exists between us and the rest of the whole. And it will accept that experience that realization a profoundly positive affect. Much of spinoza seems to me. Fascinating fascinating enough to spend most of my professional career studying him. At least in the following since the more we learn about. The world as revealed to us by science the more we learn about ourselves as a part of that natural scientifically understood world. The more we realized that there is a kind of remarkable. Underlying unity and identity between ourselves and it. It being the larger natural world. As it happens right now i'm co-teaching a-team teleported this course at the college with a biology colleague. Ion genetics and bioethics. Sister most interesting revolutionary scary fascinating miraculous stuff you ever saw. It's astonishing but among the most astonishing things about it is the extent to which you know this probably we share genes with other species. Wildly different seeming species. That seems it turned out wild difference was so profoundly different to us. Is underlain by disturbed profound and remarkable similarity. At that deeper level so that. What do we share 99% of our genes with chimpanzees but 70-something percent of our genes with you no centipedes. There's a kind of. Deep similarity of structure units of structure unity of kind of being between us and all the rest of it. It's just quite astonishing i mention the mathematical aspects of spinoza. And of course that's true of natural science today it is for mathematical in character. Interested spinoza most about mathematics at the end of part one of his work called the ethics. If mathematics had not shown us another way of achieving truth we would still be lost in superstition and blah blah blah. What do you mean by that is it in mathematics when you're doing you put in geometry or when you're doing algebra whatever you're doing. You don't ever ask the question why is it this way. When you're looking for a purpose. There's never a purpose in mathematics. Right why is 2 into 40. Another one when is 2 into 4. Where is 2 and 24. Spinoza emphasizes those are stupid questions. Because. Mathematics has nothing to do with location mathematics has nothing to do with. Temporal location. Mathematics has nothing to do with purpose or goals. Mathematics just has to do with how things essentially are and how they relate to one another. And on his view. The more we come to understand math reality and a mathematical scientific way. The more we will stop asking those sorts of questions about other things as well the why question. When i read that the first time i remember thinking about passage from. 17th century mystic named angeles silas use. Who wrote wrote in germany ryan's and german but basically what it says is the rose is without a y. It blooms just because it blooms. It doesn't notice what it's doing it doesn't notice whether anyone else is watching. When you see things without a y. Then. You see them differently spinoza things when you see things without reference to time and place then you'll see them differently spinoza think sandy thinks ultimately. That the more we understand things natural scientifically he was felled. Aspects of ourselves and other things which emphasize the commonality. And unity between them. Texas claim. I suppose. Allen also. Sent me a piece of paper. Regarding when he saw the topic that was talked about today he kinda said a piece of paper in which. The objection was right is quite plausible is that. Science and mysticism aren't going to. Have much of a small because of the difference in the ways in which. Scientific knowledge being discursive empirical research based. Mystical knowledge being intuitive. I talk too long and won't be able to go into that difference very much but think about it if i had time is that for a slithering out of an argument. Is that the scientific worldview. As told us by the scientists as a result of their empirical research etc. Can be internalized can be assimilated. So that we can get to the point that we immediately experience things. In terms of the concepts and categories and laws of natural science. So that. And i want to say that would amount to something like intuitive. Knowledge of the world as it is known to the scientist if we could get to the point that we could. Simply experience that way. One example that i think i thought you was talking about something else here before and i'll quit. Imagine. You're a musician. And you know something about chords and melodies and notes and that kind of thing. And somebody comes along and teaches you that. Concert a pitch is really a compression wave trained in the air at 440 cycles per second. Somebody knows better correct me if i'm wrong i think that's right. It's a compression wave train it's a wave a 440 cycles per second. And a higher pitch is a wave of frequency. And a lot of glitches. A wave of a greater amplitude it said for you know these things and you've been working in the lab you've become. Been working in the laboratory new been using these terms and you been. You've gotten to where those few other folks who can hear a concert and they immediately say a. They're called people with perfect pitch and it turns out to be to some extent trainable. Where you hear concert at you write down 440 cycles per second. You might want to say wait a minute you hear the same thing everybody else hears you just interpreted differently. I'm not sure i'd want to say that i'm not sure i wouldn't want to say you here. A compression wave training 440 cycles per second. You have so assimilated the siri so internalized the theory. That your experience. Those theoretical categories inside. If that's possible. How far am i that go. How far could it be made to go to what extent could we be brought to a understand. To experience. Ourselves. In terms that the scientists tell us are the two terms of the way things really are. And would that be. For reasons that we don't go into. That that experience would be a profoundly effectively positive experience. And it would be an experience of the immediate and direct unity between ourselves our own minds and all of reality. And that that is. Appositive. Blissful and joyful experience. When you think of the world as it revealed to us by our best scientific categories these days some people think. No that doesn't understand myself and it in those terms doesn't sound quite so a joyful to me. But. There are those who have thought traditionally that it would be and i'm. Going to stop because this gentleman stood up in the back there by indicating to me about this whole conversation is getting ready to start so. Tell me i'm wrong. Yes sir howard. You're a scientific method. Yeah. Schism. Which explains a lot. As a matter of fact you will notice i didn't talk quantum mechanics because i don't understand quantum mechanics there are people who say that quantum mechanics. Reveals the truth deep truth of some ancient wisdom tradition. The specific truth.. Some health consciousness is essential to reality and reality is fundamentally mental in character not material. Quantum physics suggest that the observer and the observer's awareness somehow is essential to the determinacy of the observed state and it somehow that. Ties in with the ancient traditions of the importance of consciousness i didn't talk that way cuz to put it bluntly i don't like that way of talking and i'm fundamentally a materialist i don't think that mentality and thought is at the basis of reality i think. Atoms and the void are at the basis of reality. But there are folks who do think the quantum mechanics is the way to go to see the reference mall between the mystical tradition the scientific. I don't like it. I said the kathy giordano's got the mic in her hand. You're right this is not exactly what i had in mind in terms of question answer. Giants. Mysticism and mysticism inform. Is how we formulate a hypothesis. Adventure adventure. Totally intermingled. Good point in thornton. Point there's a lot of interesting literature on scientific creativity on the way in which scientist practicing scientists arrived at their hypotheses and that sort of thing. Very often. They say things that sound remarkably. As if they could have come from the wisdomtree the perennial philosophy tradition the mystical tradition. Where it came from i don't know i just suddenly saw. Things in terms of this law and saw that they would fit together if only this were the case. Yeah they say things like that. Where is. When you first talked about how context. Figure saying how you experience things i thought of this and then you helped me a lot when you got to the end. Because you're your analogy about learned experiencing intuitively in. Physical terms music. There's an approach called emic. Which links the way that people are taught by their language to think. Mostly the only way it really is studied is in terms of categories words for a lot of different things. Getting away from this. I'm trying to grieve what you're saying about how your perception your your intuitive perception. Your actual. The way the university is the way the universe is to you is stop by your call too and it just can't be studied scientifically. Good point. We should know we should do some social scientific study. My experience of the world immediate experience of the world can be altered by the language. The conceptual scheme that i've imbibed at my mother's breast and at the end from the society within which i grew up. The culture. Yeah that's a really interesting question to what extent can my experience be changed by that. And all i was pushing for was okay if that's possible then maybe we could think of the natural scientific worldview. As if it were a culture's worldview and as if young people could be acculturated into the scientific worldview and come to experience the world. Threw those categories in and concepts. We don't disagree on how interesting it is to study the extent to which that's possible. The way i actually became interested in this this is kind of interesting. Philosopher named churchland writing about this sort of thing says look it's possible to experience the world as a copernican. And i think i am course i think that the world goes around the sun the world going around the sun the sun going around the world. Church on says we'll go out on the beach one night. When it's the moon's here and the sun's there and. Follow the following instructions and instructions for how to. Line up the horizon here and get your head and just the right position and for a moment he says you can get the sense that you're feeling the earth. Move and the moon come into view as the earth turns. Rather than just experiencing. It was possible with his little book in his instructions and putting myself in a weird contorted position to have a momentary experience it is. And it was a real eye-opener for me it was. If i can get that far into experiencing in terms of our best science. How much further could one go. And maryland tried that's an empirical question for the social scientist. Yes ma'am. Actually i'm a i'm a cognitive psychologist the training i had a comment and a question for you the comment was with regard to. You talked about in the processing and that might be some evidence for the mystical tradition. And one thing happened did everybody enjoy the phenomenon called the extra paradox. Okay and then you put perhaps to task to teach what's all the things you know to a novice. People can't do it. The knowledge has to come and present has become automated the speck in the back of your head you know how to do it. Levels-of-processing. I'm fine. Now the next level processing perhaps would be to see deeper patterns you notice the okay they all look the same. So my question to you was this idea of levels of processing when you get from the show. As being an artifact of cognitive process he so to speak because his idea you know when you start seeing skeet a detecting patterns and in schemas and and category 5. Not just where perhaps my baby and artifact. 91. The one place. The one person who has certainly looked at that and articulated actually wonderfully in the midst of this huge. Complex metaphysical system espinoza he thinks that. The experience of recognizing a pattern and understanding is itself intrinsically joyful experience and talks about that at some length. The question i have for you cuz you know obviously more about this than i do. Is. To what extent you describe a bottom-up processing. Process. To what extent 10 changes made at the top. Filter down so that you could get a top-down. The fact so that having learned pretty abstract principles from scientists that could then have effect on one's very experiential level back down i mean you described the bottom up very nicely. Do we know anything about the extent to which top-down processing can have this effect. What is a minnesota's way to tackle that question but we can talk about it more after his foot but just to the quick-and-dirty answer is. Princeton's analogical process problem-solving would be one way you teach somebody to go about solving a problem you put them in a similar situation that has certain. Markers that are. Close to what they learned before and then you see that transfer that problem solving strategies that would be a top-down approach a lot of it is is just looking up references to get out there and have a structure. Okay tell me how this is put together and then i was going to drill deeper and get more of the detail. Part of it is also a preference what kind of information we seek. Girdle. And the girl. Demonstrated that in mathematics. Liechtenstein did the equivalent in language. And i'm wondering if that answers your question. I don't want to say much about making stein cuz i don't know much about victor stein. Certainly your right he showed us that you couldn't axiom at eyes the whole system. Which means among other things that spinoza's project was hopeless from the beginning and he said he didn't know but he couldn't have known that the 17th century. Does that mean that. Iliff nursing questions there are people whose principal we can never build a thinking machine they can do what we can do cuz it would have to be asking that baba box. But does this mean you can tell me later does this mean. That. A mathematically based science of nature is in principle. Impossible because in principle incomplete. Maybe i'm and by the way i don't know that. Anything i was saying about the possibility of assimilating the natural scientific worldview to the point of being able to experience in terms of it would require that it be possible for there to be a complete. Completed science. I guess i don't think that. But you're right there limitations on this and maybe they'll turn out to be. I'm sure that they're that's it i know they're mystical fingers out there who. That shows that. There's a limit to anything like discursive rational thought. And that's where our intuitive kind of knowing comes in that's not that way they'd be happy with that i'm not. Sorry. Actually i am. Are you coming voluntarily you didn't have to be this morning you listen is if you are interested and then you ask.

universityuus_org

SS2005-04-24-PassoverLessons_EncounteringTheAngelOfDeath.mp3

Mark has both a master's degree in clinical social work and in theology and philosophy. As a professional thanatologist he collaborated in the development of a conscious sedation protocol for hospice. For the hospice of volusia and fend flagger. Flagler. Hint. How do you say flavor. In port orange where he serves as a spiritual care counselor. Mark is also pursuing advanced studies in neurophysiology through the chicago theological seminary in conjunction with the university of chicago. I don't know i kind of prefer fackler myself thank you for that that was nicely done nicely done you knew i would use that course to my advantage. Would you hold the hand of somebody next to you. Close your eyes. Maru katha i don't know how bizarre baruch attah adonai. Cabaret. goffin. Animal toberman ahkeem. Chevy rockingham. Shalom aleichem pesach. I'm in. Blessed are we among human beings who celebrate the day of passover how good how pleasant it was to touch the hands of fellow human beings. Blessings to you happy passover. Let my people go. Charlton heston made that. Famous when he was portraying moses and he was speaking to pharaoh. He could have pulled out a gun being charlton heston but he knew that pharaoh would die of cancer soon enough. Let my people go. 3000 years ago the israelites were enslaved by the egyptians under the rule of pharaoh ramses the second although some scholars will argue that that was cut mostly the third i don't care which one. According to the book of exodus moses a simple jewish shepherd was instructed by to go to pharaoh and demand the freedom of his people. Moses plea of let my people go. Was ignored. In response yahweh unleashed a series of 10 plagues on the people of egypt. Blood. Frogs. Lice. Flies. Sounds like central florida cattle disease. Boils. Hail. Locust. And darkness. But pharaoh was unconvinced. Danny refused to free the jewish slaves. Until the last plague. The slaying of the firstborn child. In exodus 3:12 and strike down every first born. Most men and animals. I will bring judgment on all the gods of egypt. I am the lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. When i see the blood. I will pass over you. The passover holiday in hebrew is called pesach. Which means passing over. For protection. I needed the ride specifically from the instructions. Given to moses by yahweh. During the last plague. In order to encourage the pharaoh to free the israelites god intended to kill the firstborn of both man and beast. That included egyptians and the israelites. To protect themselves israelites or their houses. With lamb's blood. So the yahweh could identify them and pass over their homes. And spare their lives. I've entitled today's talk passover lessons and countering the angel of death and it is the purpose of this presentation to look at the passover as a metaphor in three ways. To describe the inexorable fear. Apprehension and anxiety associated with the coming of the angel of death. To consider twenty-first-century ways that modern man uses blood rituals. Devices and other amulets to ward off. The death angel and you suggest at least. Two lessons that we can learn from the passover holiday. You'll notice that i'm doing something i don't normally do which is stand behind the pulpit. I don't like it back here. I like to be out there amongst. The people. I'm a man of the people. But because i am going to cover so much information i have outlined it so i will wander less. Notice the wanderer fun israelites egypt sinai eye with me alright. Can you hear me alright can everyone hear me i seem to be going in and out in and out is that because there's a problem with communications around my alright can you hear me. Did you hear me put your hands up. Oh good that's good. I know you can hear me to do that. Fear and trembling there is an inexorable fear of the angel of death. That death is feared that death is denied that death is dreaded and outwitted is evident by the prolific euphemisms that we use to personify it. We are even afraid to say the word death. We don't even use that word if we can avoid it. We talked about it and other terms have you noticed that. Death is a terrifying thing that we don't like to discuss because somehow it means something we don't want to talk about. When you're born you inspire. When you die you expired. In between you perspire if you're not careful you'll cons fire. But we don't die. The healthcare industry doesn't say people have died or your dad was approaching we use all kinds of cute funny things to describe the dying experience let me give you a few of my personal favorites i have so many but i've only pick 10. Los. I lost my wife last year what do you mean you lost her. Well she she passed away what do you mean she passed away past what you can't get them to say died. I lost my wife. To be taken. Well the great. A great lord took my uncle took what do you mean. To be taken. Cash in one chips. I hear this one all the time cash in one's chips is this dying. Cachet wants chips. To blink for an excessively long. of time. To bite the dust. You've heard that one haven't you. Across the stage in fairy. How about my favorite. Peasant under grass. How about this i hear this all the time in the hospital metabolically challenge. Metabolically challenge. Death is the cessation of life in any living organism in any living organism. So seriously has impacted humans seriously impacted we have tended as a human race. Because there is no other race but human we have been tended to try and cover up death and cast death in what we call anthropomorphic figures. We don't talk about death we don't say the word deaths but in popular culture and mythology since the beginning of recorded history and storytelling itself. Human-like qualities grim reaper. That's an anthropomorphic assignment. Anthropomorphism what is that anybody know what that is. I know bob does. Hold on. Casting one's gods especially in human form and throws his man. You can of course anthropomorphize things other than the gods but that's the way it's hard nearly used thank you doctor flick that is exactly right it is basically assigning human characteristics. To a god to an animal to a thing are you coming up here after me. You going to fix it. I like it when i'm fixed. Make this fall open okay. Alright how's that is that better. Okay. Alright. Locations depicting in animals or things or or anything that we wanted to pick in human terms. Peter rabbit. Winnie-the-pooh. The hand of god god has no hand. But yet we talk about these things in human terms to help us understand these difficult concepts and deaf. Has austin and almost always been talked about anthropomorphically the hand of death the arm of death the grim reaper the angel of death. People don't always talk about sometimes they decide to discuss terms. A doctor can inspire dread and anxiety a doctor's visit a doctor brings bad news adjudge. Adjudge can hand down a death sentence or hand down a sentence that is received and interpreted as a death. Sentence hospital. How many you like hospitals. You associate with hospital pain and misery and suffering and dreads doesn't anxiety that accursed one of the best examples of of death today is not even the word answer. Cancer and i'm making mediately you assumed f is back most people don't say cancer out loud. They whisper it. Or. Say we tend to whisper certain words that somehow are more painful to say out loud. You say cancer today and automatically you're thinking the angel of death cancer treatment center. Chemotherapy. Minister. Hospice is often associated with that excuse a hospice and the concept of death comes to mind you usually get. Because they assume it's on its way hospice is often seen as the angel of death. My roll one of my rolls and hospices chaplin. For spiritual care provider. I've had patients and families tell me don't tell me yet because if you come i'll die. I'm seen as the angel of death. Somehow i bring death because if i show up as a minister or spiritual person i'm going to represent the grim reaper for the angel of that i'm god's emissary. And god can looking me different ways for people who are suffering. In the end. Another wonderful popular. Expression of the angel of death would be mother-in-law. Let me see if you are awake see if you guys are awake. Let me ask you a question. Serious question let me ask you a question. What is it. What is it about the approach of the angel of death. Pain unknown. Cessation. Unfinished business. Could the event could be right i wish i had permission to explore that. Learning stop learning. The approach of the angel of death. Assign any anthropomorphic term you like the death the approach of death and it's angel. Inspires dread and fear apprehension and anxiety. The most common answer i get is something along the lines of mark this is the only life we know and it's a pretty good one. I don't want to give it up. I don't know what's going on this i don't know what's coming. Hello up and say now wait a minute didn't you have a life before you came here. Didn't you experience life for 9 months in a place that was pretty good i didn't want to leave that either if that's you were compelled to leave he were told my mom get out. Angeles that life. And you came into this life which you now defensor rigidly as it's pretty good and it's all i know. I always think of myself as the next experience. Somehow not going to be as good. Do we have any evidence to suggest that our next pushing out of the womb of this life won't be as much fun as we're doing right now. But i don't know i don't know. Charms. Amulets. Devices how many do you wear a cross around your neck. How many if you have a charm or a bracelet or anklets for something that you wear or you keep near you to encourage. 2 to comfort you. Love you do. Does it mean anything. There are a lot of people who who. In the 21st century project will use. Charms to ward off the angel of death. To somehow. The angel coming to get them. Or try and keep death at bay. What blood rituals. What amulets and charms do we use today. To ward off the angel of death many of us right here have already painted across our doors to protect ourselves from the oncoming avenger. Before i name the seven things i thought of. Anybody have any ideas of ways that's 21st century americans just like you and just like me. Turn off the angel of death things that we do everyday. To try and keep away from us. The gym are avoided because you go to the gym and exercise. There's some jam that smell so bad you die if you walked in the prices so high that would tell you but yes exercise preventive maintenance going to say the same thing. Vitamins. That's it you're done. Okay. Vitamins the gym. Proper food. Proper food. You don't need that you look fine plastic surgery. Oh yeah. Plastic surgery let's look younger let's look prettier let's change things. Any else. Health check-ups. Where that's one on my list. Medication that's on my list too. Lose weight. Okay. Self-help books. Lord in heaven that quieter. That's quite a market there. Improving the environment. What else. Training a new styles on the secret square win. Anything else. Cleaning. Are you saying cleaning. Cleaning. Making things germ-free are you a microphone. Use the word god and off alot. And you think that helps you. But you use it. Does it comfort you to use that word. Okay. Okay a lot of people who would say i'm not religious are comforted by certain religious icons are certain figures crucifixes in the word god or churches but they're not religious but it brings him comfort somehow especially when you're diagnosed terminally and that's just true it just is. Anything else. Puyallup mentioned several of what i'm going to suggest there are a lot but i only picked 7 yeah. Wright's mini smokers who have quit. I think that they've somehow postponed death and they're going to ward off the angel of death drinkers for example anybody who's addicted to anything if you quit that addiction you think you have a new lease on life and you do. To certain extent. Keeping yourself active. A variety variety is the spice of life right. So sometimes you can ward off the angel of death by killing the angel of death first. Right. If if that is approaching you and you can kill death first. Why not do that people do that all the time don't they. I would say and i will say watch am going to say it euthanasia is an attempt to kill yourself off before death get you. We do it all the time we want to control that coming of the angel so the angel can't have me i'll take care of how i die so behind that drive behind that euthanasia behind a lot of our advance directives in medical care is an attempt to control how the dying process occurs. We don't mind the angel coming some would say but we want to take a little control over how that's done. Manipulate that a bit. First thing i wrote down was procedures. Intended not that your butt to prolong life. Procedures that people would have if your life is good and your life is it is well and healthy and it's possible to continue i mean people who are terminally diagnosed or people who know for a fact that the procedure is not going to cure them but it's going to prolong their lives. We do a lot of procedures in this country a lot of money to be made on procedures that don't care but prolong our lives to keep the angel of death at bay. Just a little further away. Medications manufactured not secure but to maintain. To prolong to delay death. Multiple medications you can take every single day to keep you alive one more day. To keep you alive one more year or hopefully keep things in check so that your life can continue to delay the onset of death. Someone said prayer. What evengelical iconai special to have this answer dairy what evangelical icon use prayer in an effort to put the angel of death away. Daikon. Jesus. Do you know the prayer. Father let this cup pass from me. But not my will but thine be done. Jesus christ prayed and asked god i don't want to die the angel of death was coming in the form of the crucifixion. And jesus use prayer in an effort to try and intercede and save. Himself from death. Superstitious beliefs. Black cats walking under ladders salt over the shoulder how many you are superstitious don't answer. We're all superstitious to a certain extent we all have our ideas about superstition how about rituals. Rituals people often use ritual compulsive personalities will do more than break mom's back. They really think that somehow by performing their rituals throughout the day they're prolonging their life and if they break or rituals or they move out of their compulsion they're inviting death. They risked death square all compulsive to a certain extent we all have rituals and we all do things that we hope will ensure our help ritualistically jog every morning in an attempt to exercise an attempt to prevent premature death or at least a good one in my grave. It's important you know it's all about ego isn't it. Isn't it. Don't you think. I'm going to talk about that in a second. How about relics you know what a relic is beside the person sitting next to you. You are a relic is what's a relic. What's a catholic church relic. A bone or a piece of tooth or sometimes a lock of hair a part of a body usually it's a bone of a saint blessed by the church if you put that bone or that relics on a person's forehead or in their palm and your prey known that person is in the dying process. Then you can hopefully cure and heal that person relics are attempts at people used to ward off the coming of the grim reaper for the angel of death. Crucifixes. Hangover doors hungover beds. Hung beside doors. Call arnett place on bodies. Play near bodies i've walked into many places and found the crucifix stuffed under a pillow of a non-catholic person who if they knew was there would have thrown up. That happens all the time but it comforted the person coming to see him. So they thought somehow that amulet that cross the crucifix not just across there had to be a christ figure on the cross so it depends on the kind of sign to the end it wasn't as going to work. I have a lot of friends i do have a lot of friends i do and they think they're going to church. He's going to save them. Not just spiritually but somehow going to church the act of showing up and being there is itself. A ritual that will keep the angel of death at bay. The actual act. Important. How about. Cryonics. Cryonics. Ce qui onyx when i was joking around with somebody nobody knew all there an audience full of professors and nobody answered so i the bad guy said cryonics when you cry black tears. Nobody got it nobody got it you get it cryonics onyx black. Cryonics. Cryonics and of course ted williams is the most famous cryogen right now but they're all there are multiple people who have actually died and that they think that they can freeze an end and a comeback so cryonics is a wonderful modern technologically-advanced way of keeping the angel of death away from you. Cryonics. Cryonics. How about military measures. How about what steve mention war. We regularly send young women and young men to die and shed their blood for us on foreign soil to keep death from coming home. We regularly let them die we encourage them so i don't have to die. War the wonderful way that we use to keep the angel of death at bay. All kinds of ways that we use to ward off the angel of death things that we do try and keep. Death away from us. Some people will sell all their all their all their property and they'll fly to egypt and roll and sacred mud. That happens. Some people will cash in their life insurance policy and they'll they'll fly to a certain jungle or they'll traverse a certain mountain in attempts to dip in water that said to be healing they're said to be blessed sand and part of the world and they'll sell everything to get to that location in hopes that dipping in that or being covered in that or just being in that location will somehow keep the angel of death in bed. Did there's some way to be healed and stay here. Stay here. People do all kinds of things to avoid the coming of the angel of death we paint our doors red all the time. We have all kinds of proverbial ways that we paint the blood in our lives to keep living just one more day. Take for granted today that we have. Cuz we don't realize what we've got until you lose it. Because we're here and we're enjoying it but yet we don't really know how to enjoy it. Many times when i show up in a patient's room. Or families house. Interesting thing happens. They died. It's true. I think part of the fear people have. Chaplain or a minister or spiritual person or vicar or a shaymin whatever assign term you want to use to a spiritual person arriving is that once. I show up. People panda relax. And they died. So many times families. Don't want me there because when i show up there going to seriously make peace with whatever it is and they think whether i say or anything or not but somehow i'm going to bring absolution of sin i'm going to help the guild go away but my present it's amazing i walk into rooms and it's amazing how people change when i'm in my. Outfit and i show up representing a certain things how their bodies relax and how they look at me as if somehow i'm the bringer of blessed release or or some kind of comfort and that's an awesome responsibility that i don't like. Because i realize they're looking to me for things i can't give them such as healing and cure. Sometimes when i lay my hands on someone's head and hold everyone else's hands and i pray for healing and comfort and hope and use nice generic term that works for everyone in the room. The person died five minutes later sometimes they died right when i'm touching them. Sometimes they open their eyes and they're better for 2 days. That synchronicity element that arrival of me as the angel of death of the grim reaper not only brings death of brings. Sometimes absolution. Closure. I think it's wonderful that bob brought up the funeral society because you years ago we used to bury our own people. We laid them out and wash the bodies and put them in our living rooms we had immediate ongoing closure we touch the bodies we said goodbye in ways that make sense for our whole family's and the funeral industry association came in and remove this task from us. Thinking they were removing the burdens from our lives of the pain of death death is endemic to the human experience. And it took away from us in many ways the chance to heal. I like to see it's change that. I like to see a change that a little bit. Yeah. Moving on. The third and final part of what i want to talk about this morning from the passover holiday. Passover represent into the israelites deliverance. It represented freedom. Freedom not just from the bondage of slavery but freedom from the ideas that enslave them. He promotes change an on-off switch is an eight-day celebration but today is the passover sunday i recommend that. Let you think about changing. I've never seen people change anymore than when they have encountered or see on the horizon the approaching angel of death. There's just something wonderful about death that brings change that people won't do otherwise i've often said that cancer is a gift and the reason i say that is because cancer or disease or calamity. It brings opportunity that won't come otherwise people tend to wait. People tend to act like they have forever people live their lives like they'll be here tomorrow. Eye cancer or calamity enforces your hand and it forces you to talk about. Think about and make friends with stuff you'd rather just avoid. It gets those conversation started now. With family and friends. That's so good. I can't go on about how good that is long enough that's so good to initiate that now. People will do all kinds of things. And she did. We had a great talker that you said i should let you in sooner you're so much fun i was fun. We play cards we had a great time we just talked about what she wanted to do. People make changes personal who they are and how they perceive life. What do you think you're grasping at straws commonly occur.. This is an honest question. Why do people grasp at straws at the last minute. What is it. What what is it in our human experience i'm looking at all these humans tell me what is it why do we grasp at straws why do we clean and hang on when it's clear there is no home when it's clear the body is dying from the body will be dead in 12 hours for the next date when the body is clearly dying why don't we accept it. Why do we grasp. Why do we clean. What is it. What is don't say fear. Don't say it's not just hear what is it. Rejection. Desperation. The world live. Cheated death. Self doubt. Miracles. Okay. Does someone else want to say what what about what. Another work is to final. Who sang it's too final. What is it. Year. They talked about it they made plans for they know they're dying and still they grasp at straws and hope against hope. Human emotion is that. What is that. What about that. What's an active human self-preservation still want to stay alive. For for your loved one to want you to stay here. Is it you go after all. I'll change in 5 years. But right now i think that often what i'm seeing is nothing more than human ego not knowing how. The stop. We're all inherently selfish. We all are entitled to certain things. Even altruistic have rewards. So what about. Is there just one more thing we like to hang onto is it an act of selfishness at its deepest route. I don't know the question. It might be just avoiding pain. That's what i exactly what would you have us do. I do make. Well no no say i made people all i need people everyday that's a 3 out of 10 i meet are okay with that they welcome their. They don't exhibit any of these frustration anxiety signs and i always ask them in ways that work for them how is it you come to this psychological position and place where you're okay over here and joe blow over here is not. Because i need to learn how that happened. How is it that people look at me and say what are you worried about this is easy. There's some people but intuitively already get it. But they've already been there or or they understand the spiritual aspect of the dying process and they're comfy with the body dying. And others don't know how to get out of their bodies it's like this is all i've got i like this. Device is falling apart and i'm broken down but it's mine and i'm not giving it up. There are some that are okay with it. There's a difference. I'm trying to understand it i don't have a definitive answer i don't know but there are some that are alright with the angel of death. The grim reaper's their friend. They're not morbid they just they just in a different level. And i want to know how to get there. Halo. A lot of things. Doesn't want to be there when it happens if i just don't want to be there when it happens. Alright. As things that i think we we learn from passover is it it promotes appreciation. Appreciation for what we have right now. Right here and right now. It's often not having the things that we wanna life is learning how to walk and appreciate what we already have. And i think that. Use the moment. With the people and the things that we love. There is no time. If you wake up every morning and you brush your teeth and you have one little mantra just tell yourself there is no time you don't have tomorrow you don't have tonight. You're lucky to get your teeth brushed and you're alright. Really is your last day it's hard to do that practically. Try and act like he don't have that kind of certainty. That part of the fear is when your trembley diagnose suddenly you have a sense of certainty about when you are going to die and that man alone frightens people. I don't know now there's a deadline now i can see it and if i'm not careful it's going to get me. We are at the end of our time. Thank you you are aware. Do you have any questions or thoughts. And i would i would say that if you want to if you want to live more now see that one he always has one. Your mouth big enough they just yelling. Okay. Actually i think the cryofreeze preservationist. Are one of the more interesting groups. But i've read about. And some people in here may identify with that group in the reason i think it's because they put their ultimate faith in science and materialism. So there the feeling is that. They must die naturally anyway. What they think of course is that by. Preserving. By freezing. Their body. But eventually science will get to the point where it will totally understand the workings of the human body at some point they will be able to cure all illness. Matter how long it takes because once they're preserved even if it's 500 years into the future. That science will be able to first of all thawed them out. Cure their illness and then they will simply go on. Discount benefits in 4 years in the future as my current cell. Not even considering the implications of trying to adjust. To live 200 years from now i can't imagine that. Yeah that's great i don't know okay. At the risk of leaving myself wide open to you about risk. When you were talking about pesach being you know a time of renewal and change i just wanted to emphasize it prior to the eight days you are to see that your entire household is completely clean and every direction to open that door. If you have broken relationships. If there are things you've been putting off and you haven't done. Is it time for you to do that. Time for you to clean house. Spiritually literally emotionally physically. Goof off learn how to play and enjoy life and never never never never follow the crowd never never not only is it boring but it diminishes your opportunity in your spirits are becoming who you're meant to be. Don't follow the crowd don't follow the herd. Yeah. There was an article in the orlando sentinel was thursday it came from the new york times and it talked about. In our country. Relationship. Sing. Country have this mentality of a born-again where is europeans they live for the now and that's why they smoke because they they don't have this thing exercising and do all these things that you are going to erase the past. But a europeans don't tend to think like we do in this country. His reasons for that and you just figured i'll mention real fast and i talked before in the past about different kinds of lies and different kinds of death. And i'm a strong advocate for body death. Not spiritual death. I think bodies died i think the energy in the spirit live in the venue does not die. Where that goes and all that that's another whole talk but we're talkin about body death angel death comes to take the body where's the rest of that go. When my late husband was dying of cancer. The week before he died he said that he was not afraid to die and this had a very soothing calming. Affect. For me right. But he was not afraid. And his death was very peaceful and very loving very gentle. And it was a beautiful thing to see very difficult. For me to live on. Afterward.. It did help. Marcus ware. Hi judy the information that you gave about pretending like everyday is your last. I would i would just issue a word of caution about that i think every cell in the body. Here's every single thought that we think and every feeling that we have and that we program those cells for however it is we want. Things to play out and so thinking but this is the last time. And the other thing is this passover is highlighted by two other things that are pretty unusual one of them is a full moon today. Attention attention. Go out tonight if you can look at the moon it's going to be remarkable. Really. All of us in flagler county will be. A question and a comment oh no i'll give you the question first okay. What do you wear. When you go to someone's house in your official capacity to the fact that you put on a costume of some sort what people need me to be so if they are catholic in background i will wear something black and i'll even wear the collar if they like it off and disenfranchised catholic so i'm a surrogate if they are surfers. And i took care of a fourteen-year-old kid he wanted me and sandals flip-flops tank top and so i become all things to the people that need me i dress age stage appropriate so i wear what people need me to wear so that they're comforted. 13 or 14 minutes in my timer station i find out what they need me to be. You're not trying to come at your chameleon. Learning how to be there for them in ways that work for them but also for me. The brief comment i think comes from the meditations of marcus aurelius who is the stoic. That goes simply something like this. Before i was born. I was nothing. And nowhere. After i die. I will be nothing. And nowhere is so fearful about that. I thank you. Other questions or comments i want to thank you guys for coming is a lot of you here. Is that because you're afraid to die. Comment about someone saying some people. Suddenly become very peaceful. Maybe because they suddenly realize they know where they're going. There's a place to go sometimes they turn the corner and they're ready. as long as their first. Go hand-in-hand teachings i found the address. Tibetan bowl cover. I like that. Weather. Thank you. Do you know birth is death you realize when you're holding a baby that a death occurred for that to happen so and relationships are born and die everyday so i'm not surprised to see this every new beginning somewhere and you couldn't start over again. He also works with an indy circle of life. That walt disney world captured so beautifully you know you have to really you know that's that's always there thank you very much i appreciate it.

uuasheville_org

150913-Come-in-Come-In.mp3

We never know where the invitation will come from. For mary oliver it came from when she chanced upon a clutch of goldfinches. Chattering and warbling in a patch of thistles. They're strong blunt beaks drink the air. She said. Estates drive melodious lee not for your sake or for mine. Nor for the sake of winning. For shear delight. Ingratitude. And that display oliver read something deeper than just a momentary distraction on her way to wherever she was going. Believe us they say. It is a serious thing just to be alive. On this fresh morning. In this broken world. And so she urges the reader. Before going on. I beg you. Do not walk by without pausing. To attend to this rather ridiculous. It could mean something. Could mean. Everything. It could be what rilke meant when he wrote. You must change your life. The something like that ring a bell for you. Have you ever had such an invitation. It may not have been golden birds dancing in thistles. It may have been simply our attention drawn to the dental fold of skin in an infant's neck. It may have been at sunset when the clouds shift and opening to shades of deep magenta. It may have been watching an aging parents face. Help me break out into a gleaming smile. Dh lawrence describe this as being born to humanity. A moment when we are drawn outside of ourselves to a new perspective on the world. He says that what we calls our first birth is to ourselves. The world is our nursery. Pretty things to be snatched for pleasant. Some people he says. Never leave. But most of us eventually. Move on to a larger. We become conscious. He says of all the laughing. And the never-ceasing murmur of pay. Enssaro. Reverb. Across the. It is here he argues. What. We calls our second birth. That we formulate our religion. Be it what it may. Empyrean produces an interesting phrase. A person he says has no religion who is not slowly painfully gathered one. Together. From this perspective and religion is not something that we go we we get by signing up for something or affirming some belief state. It comes in how we gather together and make sense of all the ways that we are stirred by what he calls the low vast murmur of life. Coupling are hitherto unconscious. Selves. No dh lawrence was a controversial figure in that twentieth-century for all the sexual themes that emerged in his writings but it's worth noting that. Do we have little use for organized religion. He called himself a passionately religion. Ma'am. Whose work he said it's written from the depths of my religious experience. It's something that we share with. I'm here and how we frame the first of our six sources of our living tradition. Which we call direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder which moves us to renewal of the spirit. Openness. The forces that create and uphold life. So our religion our faith. It's a response to how we experience. The world. It is as dh lawrence portsmouth something we are always shaping and adding to. It's never complete. We are ever being invited into new ways. Experience. My colleague victoria sanford offers one way to look at this. What if. There were a universe. Cosmos which began in shining black missed out of nothing. Heading to a team billions and billions of stars and you're one of them a blue-green world so beautiful that learning clergy couldn't even speak of it code. And scientists trying to describe it with sounds like poets. I'm into that world kane animals and elements and plants. And the imagination. She's such a universe existed. And you noticed. What would you do. What song would come out of your mouth what prayer what praises what whirling dances what referential gesture would you make to greet that world every day that you were in. I hear a similar invitation in the passage i read earlier from isaiah. Call mike we learn to live in such a way as to see the world. Infuse. With wonder. It isn't easy for our lives. Are too often mired in the pedestrian and the. Pecuniary. Peter heister. Come by without money without price. Coming. Come in. What time does to the goldfinch to the bluegreen world so beautiful not one of us capture that cogently until we begin to sound like poets. Wine labor for that which does not status. There is a goodness before you without a price tag attached. And there is a goodness. Within each other. The calls us to a larger line. Send invites us into service whose value is beyond what we could ever charged. On a different occasion victoria safford wrote of a conversation. She had with her friend. Who worked as a counselor in a mental health clinic. For college. The woman told how not long before a student who she had known and counseled. It was a difficult loss. One that have closed. At one point she said the woman looked up with. Tears running down her cheeks. With a tone of what victoria could only call. Science. As she spoke of a new resolve she had found a new understanding of what victoria called her vocation. And hours. You know. Bicameral faith. I'm not here to save anybody or save the planet. All i can do what i'm called to do is to plant myself at the gates of hope. Sometimes they come in sometimes. They walk by. But i stand there everyday and i call out till my lungs are sore with calling and beckon them. Urge them. Beautiful life. Amlo. Beautiful wife. I told you when i first heard that story the mountains and hills before me. First. The song. The trees of the field. We are each laborers in the field. With limited scope. We put in our hours we do our jobs ouiatenon to our loved ones and our households. But there's more of which we are capable. There is a larger way of being to which we were in would be invited if we would be born into humanity. And accept our calling to beautiful life. And love. These are words i want to place before you as we look to the worship year ahead of us. What invitations are calling to you and how might you respond. Is the craziness of your schedule getting to you. How about some experience of mindful meditation. Are your hearts and mind telling you to dig deeper to find a better way to connect with what truly matters. In the company of others who share your hope. There's so much. Bean group classes spiritual practice group. You'll just have to find a place to jumping. Are you ready to put your heart and your hands to work that serves your values. Let me tell you that will open your eyes and feel your soul like nothing else. It can be a little daunting to jump in by yourself so hop on board one of the things that we're doing now and. Perhaps later you can lead us to the next step. I offer all this not as marching orders. But as an invitation. An invitation to leave into the promise that you are. The gifts that you bring into this world. The hope that we realize when we are joined in common cause to give flesh to the great vision of beloved community. Where we let all that divides us fall away like the insubstantial froth we know it to be. And affirm the unity. That is ours. It's not easy. And because it's not easy we stand together and support each. It's too much on our own. We need others to be in it with us. To cherish and teach each other's children. To listen with full present and speak. With full respect. To help us celebrate our successes and grieve our losses. Beyond our comfort zone. What are seals in places where we have the temerity to think. That we just might help change. The world. We have so much.

uuasheville_org

141019-Claiming-Myself.mp3

What a week. It has been. What an amazing week it was a scant ten days ago that north carolina one marriage equality did you think i was going to talk about something else. We have all experienced that new reality in different ways. For me it was both a deeply personal moment and a somewhat dramatically public one. There has been so many gifts scattered throughout the last 10 days some that i expected and some that surprised me. And aside from the first and most important. Gift. That my own marriage is recognized in my home state. And that i was standing. Next to my wife when we got the news. The greatest gift for me. Has been how all of you were present. Through all of it. From the beginning. Back in 2011 i've known that the congregation sobote supports both mark and me in our work supporting a full marriage. You have continued again and again and again to stand on the side of love. Whenever the call came. You stood with us and with the campaign for southern equality more than once. At the register of deeds office some of you even requested marriage licenses. And were denied. Back in the day. And you all helped with the campaign to defeat amendment 1 which of course was unsuccessful until recently. You grieve. When it passed. You supported mark and betty and carol when they decided to sign onto that little lawsuit as plaintiff and just in case you weren't clear. It was that lawsuit it was betty and carol and mark and the ucc and a bunch of other religious plaintiff. It was their lawsuit. That the ruling. Was part of in favor of equal marriage in this. State. By friday at 5 p.m. i had spent countless emails with different tidbits of different plans was two different action alerts. Many of you were ready and waiting for the bat signal. To put our day one plan into action. Things were at the same time moving very quickly and slow as molasses. But once that order came and once the ruling was made and the celebration began. The most powerful things for me with how you all just showed up at the register of deeds. The pure joy showed in your faces you banded together hugging in your gold shirts hugging and celebrating cheering when each new couple came out with their license or was pronounced legally married on the steps. And then. And then we got to monday. After a 1-hour long planning session on sunday afternoon the team leaders took off running and when i arrived on monday morning i walked into a full-on wedding. It was amazing i can hardly describe it there were ministers and couples and flowers and photographers and the cake oh my goodness the cake. And somebody needs to give me the punch recipe cuz that was pretty awesome too. I want you to remember what you accomplished. Last week. You came together and you made a party for a bunch of people. You didn't know. And might never see again. Because you had been fighting the fight from the beginning. And it didn't matter that we didn't know them. We know them now and we were able to celebrate. With 10 couples who are legally married. Right here. We learned also that there are a couple of really great wedding locations in different places on the campus as well. Just in case anybody. Remember my friends remember that if you put your hearts and minds together you can and you do accomplish. Amazing things. It has truly been. A remarkable 10 days and i am so grateful for the roles that each of us has played in this journey. Because marriage matters. It matters because of the legal rights. And it matters because calling a union of two people in a lifetime partnership anything other than marriage. Is separate but equal. And that my friends is unconstitutional. But i don't believe that marriage is actually the sticking point. I have a saying that comes from. Years working in churches the saying is it's never about the hymnals. There's a joke among ministers that if you want to split a congregation into. Try to change either the hymnals or the paint color in the parlor. People will freak out. And so i hope that it's never about the hymnals or the paint. In some way our emotional response to these things is rude rooted in a deeper place. An emotional place. And in many cases my work as a minister is to tease out what that deeper emotional response is about. This is good advice for any system not just churches. Conflict is rarely resolved bike solvang. The surface-level issue. Always look. It's never. About. The hymnal. And so. I hold it for the most part. The fight against marriage equality is not fundamentally about marriage. We see over and over and over again that some opponents of equal marriage will say that they support legal rights for couples. As long as it's not called marriage. We hear them say that marriage has always been. Between one man and one woman for the purposes of procreation. Many christian opponents let me be clear that we are not talking about all christians we are only talking about the christian opponents of equal marriage. They will say that they are fighting for biblical marriage and none of that is historically or biblically accurate. So the quest if the question of who gets to be married is not the fundamental question. Then what. Is. Same-gender marriage is threatening because it does not fit into traditional gender roles. Further. There is a religious construct in much of western culture that holds that men are dominant and women subservient. Obviously that's. The patriarchy as a whole and it's bigger than religion that the religious narrative in the u.s. is predominantly christian and even outside of the us we see the abrahamic religions as largely dominant in christian in western culture. So the dominant narrative in this case is that god is male. God is in charge. And human relationships are based on god's relationship with humans. Therefore. In a marriage in a relationship between two people. The man becomes like god in the relationship. It's a construct that permeates our culture for better or for worse. In general fundamentalist religions of all kinds rely on this patriarchal structure the domination system to manage relationships and to keep a level of control. I knowed of course this is not how we as unitarian universalist look at marriage or relationship or god or any of that stuff. The reality is that the cultural norms that surround us are steeped in this story. And so they continue to have an impact on our lives even if we have said this is not what who we are not what we believe. Traditional gender roles are part of the racist and misogynist system that dominates our society. We see this phenomenon very clearly in the common question that lgbtq couples. Tends to get. But who is the man and who is the woman. And if you think that people don't still ask that question let me tell you it's not true. This question implies that there is no way to be a couple that doesn't include. 1 male role and one female role. And further it assumes that there's only one way to be a man. And only one way to be a woman. And that is the greatest gift. Of queer community. We bend and we change and we do what works best for us. We push the envelope. We tend sometimes to live at the margins of things. Most lgbtq couples i know have negotiated roles in their relationship because they don't make the assumption. That one person is going to be the man and one person is going to be the woman. If that assumption is not fundamental then we are not assuming that the man is person will do the manly thing and the woman is person will do the womanly things. We assume that we are people who have different strengths and gifts and we create a structure that makes sense for us in our individual lives and relationships. It's true that more and more heterosexual couples. Are negotiating rolls instead of accepting traditional male female roles which is awesome. But it is also threatening. Because of the success of the domination system requires that everyone stay in their place. Men should be strong and non-emotional. Women should be sexy and nurturing black men should be thugs and poor people should stay poor. This is a construct that hurts. All of us. Our willingness and ability to choose our own roles to understand that identity is complexed and malleable that is the true threat. Of equal marriage. We see in the history of queer life many people who went their own ways. Not publicly necessarily they weren't out as we think of it now but they navigated their way through a culture that was not welcoming to them at all. And many people continue to do this in our culture today. They created community with one another they created codes and signals to help keep each other safe. And they survived in a culture that did not welcome them. We live in amazing time. So many changes have happened. And in general. We tend to be safer and more able to live out and proud than we ever imagined. But that experience is far from universal even in this. Community. This room but the community around us. It is far from universal. And it is not as simple as just making sure everyone who wants to can get married. A colleague said in a news interview recently that now lgbtq couples in north carolina can be as dull as everyone else. And while i appreciate where he's coming from i don't agree. I don't want us to be joe i want us to be fabulous. I want to live my own boring life. With my wife in my house. Idiot kitten. But i want our community to continue to be able to push the edges of culture and expectation. And continue to embrace our queer identities. Because the goal is not to assimilate. But to achieve legal equality so that we all have the ability to live our most full and authentic live not just those of us who identify as lgbt. But everyone. Feminism has the same intention. Do it often gets a bad rep as encouraging man-hating. But the truth is that more the more of us that are able to live out our true identities free of gender stereotypes and expectations. The more whole we all get to be. A rising tide if you will lift all boats. The trouble with the dominant construct as it stands today is that it accepts the premise that justice and wholeness are finite resources. If i have more justice than there is less available for you. But that's not true. Like love justice is multiplied when it is shared. If i can live out my own truth. Then i'm more likely to want you to live out your own truth. This community is one that celebrates all paths. That wants everyone to find a place in society. That stands on the side of love and so many many ways. And so we come to the reading i shared just a bit ago. It is an excerpt from parker palmer's well-known book a hidden wholeness. Some of you may have participated in mark's workshop last weekend at the church retreat that talked about circles of trust. Parmalat palmer's book. Explorers a very specific model for creating community. But regardless of whether you use that particular model directly. The premise is that we all have an inner teacher. And we all need other people to invite. Amplify and help us discern. That inner teacher's voice. And that is our work. Here in this community. To find ways to help one another both discern and listen to. That inner teacher's voice. Find the hear it but you don't listen. Great i know i i've never i've never ignored my inner voices ever. Receive this intention in our fourth principle of free and responsible search for meaning. That's the part where we all have our own path. Our own teacher. Our own understanding. And the third principal acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth. That's the part where we support each other. Our work. Is to discern a path together. As we each explore our own. When i claim myself. I am modeling a possibility for others. And the same is true for you. Because not every choice is as simple as supporting lgbt rights has become for we for us as unitarian universalist. As he said it takes 4 children a variety of guides and 7 volume. Pacific through everything. And travel towards the truth. And we. We'll muddle through. Together. I invite you now to take a moment and take a peek if you didn't already at the cover image. For today's order of service. That's a reminder. To all of us. Let's do this work toward authenticity is essential. And deeply serious it is also imperative that we approach it with a sense of humor. That we remember that we are all beings made fundamentally to express joy. To play. And above all. To laugh. Hopefully together. And that was the greatest gift of friday and monday of last week. For me at least this community showed up to support and to celebrate. And well i had a public role in this particular event. So did you. This was at the same time deeply personal and quite public. And i appreciated knowing that you were all standing with me. In person. Or in spirit. I want to conclude this morning with an excerpt from an email that i got yesterday evening. From one of the 10 couples married here at uuca on friday on monday. Dear friend. We want to express our joyful gratitude for the marriage ceremony your faith community provided us on monday october 13th 2014. Think so wonderfully into place so fast this week. And your generous gift to those newly entitled to marriage equality was beyond words. Faith communities around the nation are looking for ways to respond to this new new reality. You showed them how. I hope that the bold and gracious step you took monday will set the pattern and motivate many more faith communities. To offer the same. You helped take what we had thought was going to be our private moments of celebration. And help make it a joyful public celebration. We cannot thank you enough. Nor can we adequately praise you for your thoughtfulness. Special thanks and appreciation to all those that helped make this day so very extra special. To the many couples married there. This community created space for a beautiful thing. To happen. Here on monday. Let us create space. For more beautiful things. Let us seek our inner truth. Together. Let us be guy. For each other. May it be so.

uuasheville_org

160103-Begin-Again-In-Love.mp3

For the past 10 years i have made a practice out of the last week of the calendar year. It has been built. Gradually. Beginning with an art project. That i start around the winter solstice intention collage you might also call it a vision board. Things that i want to bring with me into the new year. I work on it about over over about 10 days time and finish up before new year's day. Over the years my practice has evolved. And now includes my intention collage. Taking the week between christmas and new year's off. 4. Rest. Reflection and preparation for the second half of the church year. I do a deep clean of my office here at the church filing away papers from last year starting the new year off with a clean slate. Rested. Refreshed. And ready to roll. It's an important. Pause for me and one i have come to cherish and look forward to. And this year i had planned the same thing. Started my collage on the solstice some of you know the punchline. Michael eyes on the solstice and was looking forward to vacation and rest after the christmas eve services were put to bed. But then a few days ago. My wife and i took temporary care of two children. Ages 13 months and three years old. And suddenly everything changed. We've been working on getting licensed as foster parents since the fall and have made lots of preparations and plans ready in our home and our hearts for this new journey. The family. The parenting as some of you know is one of those things that no matter how much you prepare for it. You can't really prepare for it. Show my quiet week of rest and reflection. My plans to sleep late and go to the movies in the middle of the day. To be creative all day long. Imploded into a week of sleep deprivation. Diapers little hands and feet. Everything i thought i knew about anything. Has gone entirely out the window. A friend of mine said that parenthood is proof of why sleep deprivation is used as a torture technique. I'm constantly second-guessing myself as i try to learn the language and needs of these two little beings who have been recently displaced from everything and everyone that they know. And somehow despite all that they have experienced in their lives. They walked into our home. Into our arms and trusted us. The care for them anyway. Quite an amazing gift. And yet in every moment i'm questioning my skills and knowledge wondering if i'm doing it right. You won't know i like to do things right. Hope it's ivan i am helping and not hurting. Every moment is an opportunity to choose how will i respond. Will i choose self-judgment and fear. Or will i choose love. It's always my intention to choose love. But i can tell you honestly that this week it has been hard. To choose love. Not outwardly of course impossible not to love these two little boys. I'm talking about choosing inward love. Loving myself as i moved through an extraordinary transition. All that intention ality. Quiet time space out the window. Traded for sleepless nights and cheerios on the floor. All that focus and preparation and reflection. Traded for a week of being intensely and unavoidably in the present moment. The idea of being intentional is a core piece of my own spiritual discipline and especially at this time of year i think that it's really important to reframe the idea of making new year's resolutions. Into. Setting intentions. Setting intentions can be a powerful experience for everyone. The usual rhetoric around the new year is centered around. The idea of resolutions what do i want to change about myself. I'm going to workout everyday this year. Maybe i'll go on a new diet. I think i'm going to try to stop swearing at other drivers. Going to clean out the garage using that new method i learned about on facebook. Speaking of facebook i really need to limit my screen time. This is my one big chance to do all these things on this fresh new year. The beginning i'm going to do all of them all at once starting today. How many of you have done that some version of that. Bright. And how'd it go. Yeah we know from experience from research from observation. That we all too easily take on too much and fall off the wagon weekdays or sometimes even hours after we start. Until we get into a cycle of self shaming and doubt. And then not only do we not meet our goals we backslide or get stuck. It's so my suggestion always at the beginning of the year is to shift those resolutions into intentions. What ideas do you want to bring into your consciousness in the new year. What do you hope to accomplish in a more abstract sense. Instead of lose 20 lb by saint patrick's day what about choosehealthy and life-giving food. Instead of making a swear jar for your car. What if you invited yourself to take more deep breaths. That's the general idea of intentions versus resolutions. But i have i have learned this week it's all well and good to take a week off and be present and focused and spiritually disciplined. But real life rarely allows that. So what do you do when it goes when it all goes out the window and a split-second you have to reframe and refocus everything. What do you do when your intentions are stuck in a box under something somewhere but you can't find them because now everything is covered in toys and cheerios. I really had no idea how unbelievably ubiquitous kyrgios could be. What do you do when all you can do is stop the stop to hold the baby until he stops crying. What do you do when all you can see is the very next step in front of you. Where does intention. Fit. Into chaos. We can choose each new moment of chaotic life. To begin again in love. We can set an intention and start over today or tomorrow or the next day. Anne of green gables that iconic orphan with freckles and red hair and such a dramatic personality with someone who didn't quite fit in anywhere. Chris just a bit too loud or to uncouth or clumsy. Outspoken for most of the people around her. And yet she robbed her way into the hearts of many of the young child. And i imagine their parents as well. The phrase i most often repeat from those stories which i read again and again and again. As a child. Is tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it. But when i looked it up to confirm that i had the quote exactly accurate. I realized that i had left out an important part. The quote actually ends with the word. Yet. Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it. Yet. And gives us a powerful tool in this phrase to gives us the assumption that we're going to make mistakes. Not just that we can move on when we do. Not that we will inevitably mess up but that we always always always have a chance to start again. We don't have to wait till january 1 to start over. Can pick a new intention any day of the week. Any hour if we need to. We can choose to begin again. Begin. Again. In love. What a powerful difference that can be. It's the polar opposite of the resolution mindset. Instead of lipstick everything right now. It's a more incremental approach. It gives us a realistic sense of what it's like to be human. Understanding that we will try and fail stumble fall get up and then try again. And this is the greatest lesson of this week for me. It's easy to approach these two little boys from a place of love. They need support. They're young enough that their greatest need is for us to love them and give them a safe home for as long as they need it. But me. But me. Approaching myself from a place of love is much much harder. So many expectations around parenthood. Around. Who i want to be as a mother. Wanting to give these kids my best. When i'm not sure i know what my best looks like. So in these days i've been remembering and surely almost constantly. I'm not just talking about tomorrow is a new day. I'm living in the next minute is a new minute. And each minute i can choose to begin again in love. Knowing that i will make mistakes. Knowing that i am as human as any other person and then it is my choice whether to put the expectation of a full and perfect year as my achievement. Her to choose love over fear whenever possible. What are your intentions this year. What do you hope to do more of. What energies or ideas do you hope to draw closer to you. What do you hope to let go of or. Hold less tightly. What if you decided to give yourself permission to make mistakes. The flip up. To create a mess. And then get right back up and start a new day. Fresh. With no mistakes. Yet. Because mistakes are inevitable and mistakes almost always get us somewhere we didn't expect to be. To remember that there is no need to wait for a certain date on the calendar to start over. Set your intention. Make mistake and begin again in love. As we begin this new year. Hear some lovely word the blessing from neil diamond. I hope that in this year to come he says you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes than you are making new things. Trying new things. Learning. Living. Pushing yourself. Changing yourself. Changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before. And more importantly you're doing something. So that's my wish for you he says and all of us and my wish for myself. Make new mistakes. Make glorious amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before don't freeze don't stop don't worry that it isn't good enough or it isn't perfect. Whatever it is. Art or love or work. Or family or life. Whatever it is you're scared of doing. Do it. Make your mistake. That. Your intentions. Make your mistake. Begin again in love. Begin. Again. In love. Begin. Again. In love. As many times as you need to. Madfish.

uuasheville_org

130714-How-The-Is-Cs-Help-Us-See-Our-Vulnerability.mp3

We're filled with energy laughter. Smiles. Oh yes. And since we're diverse probably a little. This is over-the-top. Critique going on to. Oh my gosh. Bill we may even have forgotten about herself for a while. In the enjoyment of the process blending the service elements. But what happens to each of us. When we put our intellect. In front of our heart. When we place our rationale. Thought. Through. Ideas. In front of our spontaneous. Intuitive. Is life a happy song then. Even for an hour. Or a full day even. Do i really depend on you. Venue. And you. And you. Do i depend on you. To rely on being by my side. How does. Compassion. And caring. Propel me through. My. Self-created maze. Of independence. Interdependence. And introspection. You know. Bill. I've had many an occasion. Over this past year. To think about those questions. To ask myself. Myself yeah all of them. Well he's a psych major so he can help me the real reason welfare. To ask myself why. Do i continue to extend myself. To volunteer. To lean in. Twice moments. Rather than. Just sitting my mountain house. Be still. Pretty nice. Or even run away. From any engagement. And believe you me. I've had those moments 2. How do i live in to pastoral care. In this community. Or receive. Pastoral care. For myself. How do i. Develop. Anna live. Collaborative dependents with. You. And other members of this congregation. Rather than be uncomfortable dependence on. My fellow community travelers. On tuesday i returned. From a week on the atlantic ocean. One of those serene. Very positive. Deepening places on mother earth for maisel. I sat intentionally one evening. As the sun went down. Watching laughing waters edge. And breathe in the lovely saltair. And jotted in my journal a list. A list of all the major events that happened in my life in 2012. You know me. A little. Lists are part of who i am what did i tell you. So. Here are the items that were on my list. The first two months of 2012 i celebrated my 65th birthday. Taught my last classes of a four-year teaching career. And was honored. At 1 retirement party after another for the final week of school. That was then followed by a six-month intensive. In oklahoma. Where i studied theology until it ran out of my ears and my eyes and every orifice in my body. And that 6-month. was dotted with my mother-in-law's death. In april. My niece's wedding in may. Injustice general assembly in phoenix. And culminated in my. Ordination process as a liberal catholic priests. In july. I didn't return my mountain home to what i was going to. Weed was going to be serene. Now my retirement could really start right. Wrong. I was promptly immersed in a half months every month. From august to december. Driving to south bend indiana in back. And. I supported my mom. And my dog angel. During the last three months of 2012. As each move toward their respective death. Angel died on my partners anniversary. In october. And mom died on christmas day in december. Somehow i'm linked to anniversary things that happened in couples. I closed 2012 with the actual closure. Of my mother's internment. Box where my family celebrated her 90 years of living on this earth. We saying. And all of my brothers. Sisters. We're in the off. At that moment. I was tired. And emotionally drained. When my pain. And my wife. Came to some kind of closure. At the end of 2012. My annual list. Always always jeremy. I don't know if you do them. But they always. Charge me to look. But my mind continue to race. Noting that the first six months of 2013 have begun with vigor. Andy moments as well. What was queer as i reread this list. Smattered with tears. And supported with. My nods and smiles as i reread the lines. Is that every single person. In this congregation. Sitting right here. In front of me. And next to me. Can. Also. Make such. A list of highs and lows. Alyssa. That mimics the laughing of the water's on the shore where i sat. These moments truly are apart. Urban flow. Of our human experience. They challenged us to redefine in day-to-day nitty-gritty waze. What we consider the concepts of independence interdependence. And introspection. To mean as we carry ourselves through the front lines. Of this exquisite journey. Of living. As we say in our congregational mission. But i repeated for you this. We journey to nurture our individual search for meaning. And work in community. For freedom. Justice and love. My work. On our pastoral care team has taught me to appreciate that pastoral care. Is not confined. The only moments of despair. Or oncoming deaths or hospitalizations. It's about being present at all moments. Where need is express. Or a b. Moments of enormous joy. Of gratitude. And good light. Or moments of. Uncertainty. Confusion. And difficult decisions. As renee brown noted in nancy red so very well. These moments engage us. They cause us to either sink into a place where. Having the world in the palm of your hand. Isn't even imaginable. Or. Reaching out that palm. And choosing to dare greatly. Helps keep our hearts and hands open. The image of hands. Remaining open is a wonderful metaphor for our need for one another. It's sometimes much easier. To keep our hands in our pockets. Or the clasp them together behind our backs. Or two volume up into a fist. Always of partially disengaging. Not risking. Any moments of sweaty palms. Or trembling fingers. Or awkward thumbs. Perhaps the intertwining of my hand with yours. Calls me to be more compassionate with myself. More caring. In my outreach both to you. As well as myself. Perhaps. Being vulnerable with you. Letting you win. And me being all in. Helps me to appreciate. The mysterious miracle we strive to achieve. That martin luther king jr. called the beloved community. And eleanor roosevelt described it this way. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. Today. Yes gif. Just. Perhaps. Being vulnerable calls me and you. Into daring. To touch one another. In the deepest. Recesses of our spiritual presence. Perhaps we can be vulnerable. And seymour completely. We can see who we can become. Through facing our challenges. On a day. Today. When joy christie first approached me about sharing a service about vulnerability. Would jump to mine were my high school years. In 2007. Two people very close to me became very very very very sick. My father had bile duct cancer that would eventually end up killing him in 2008. And simultaneously my best friend william. Who had been a healthy state ranked wrestling champion. I contracted crohn's disease. Witcher progressed to the point where he was living with a feeding tube for nutrition. Luckily after a year of living with his life in the balance william has returned to full health. He now plays rugby with gaston at chapel hill. And once again is able to wipe the floor with me when we wrestle. That's none of their sandwich. But. During a time when most kids were focused on getting cars and getting dates. And getting those dates into those cars. I watched two of the most important people in my life literally waste away. I also saw all the eyes and the seas. Enjoy christy began with sharing with us this morning. I became much more introspective. When faced with the specter of a grim reaper on a daily basis as he young high schooler. I spent a lot of time thinking about the big question. What's right morality objective. Is there an afterlife. Not surprisingly. I talked about those big questions with both william and my dad. And those conversations deep in my relationships with both of those people. Enter measurable weights. And when i reflected on how my dad and william handled their illnesses and how those around them responded. I realized. Type of man that i wanted to be. Tomorrow your imagery. I wanted to be a man with open hands. I wanted to risk engagement and the deep and buy it. I clearly remember one day debating whether or not to go visit william. When he was sick. He was frightening. Creepy looking and foreign. His skin was wrinkled and crinkled from extreme weight loss. And had to taken on a pale blue green tent. This was not the person that i'd been on sports teams with had played in band with i can't with on boy scout trips. Watching his decline with scary. My seen his vulnerability. Well living daily with my dad situation. And declining health. I was doubly reminded of my own fertility. However i went for the visit and that visit was far more important for me than for him i think. When i arrived we played a game of chess. We'd lie. Make fun of each other. And perhaps the most meaningful thing for me. Was that my frightening and foreign looking friends. Skin and bones palace paper with a plastic tube coming from his nose. Ask me how i was dealing with my dad. My friend to look like death warmed over. Wanted to make sure that i was okay. It was then that i realized that those eyes that your christy mentioned we're out of balance. And although independence is wonderful and self-sufficiency is a virtue on crimes very highly. I was not giving interdependence the respected desert. I thought by going to play chess with william. I was taking for myself and i was helping him. But in fact he was helping me far more than i was helping him. Another person. Who inspired me during this time with my neighbor mark gallagher. When my dad got sick. Lots of people offered condolences and responded in true southern fashion. Food. Lots and lots of food. I'm sure you've all had your fair share of consoling casserole. Many also offered to help in any way they could. However mr gallagher unlike the others. To set anyway they could as a polite rather than true action-oriented statement. Mint. And he described what he meant. He said to call him when my dad became bedridden. To call him at 1 a.m.. To call him to help clean up bodily messes. Or lift dad when he fell. Or basically to call him for any reason. The overriding lesson. That i learned from this time was that in moments of great vulnerability you will receive community care. However after my dad died and william got better and life return to a new normal. I realize that like you said. Community care has a place not just in those moments of great burn ability. But also in moments of enormous joy gratitude moments of uncertainty. Fusion. And in the spirit of that i've tried to be there for my friends and members. Community during daily life. This is my community was there during my life change. I try to let my friends know that didn't i say. I'll help i mean call me at 1 a.m.. And when i'm having a bad day i try to remember that i'm pretty sure it wasn't as bad as when william had a feeding tube in his nose and he could still ask me how i was do. All faith communities have an obligation. To create and nurture those bonds. But as you use this obligation is. Stronger for each of us. We do not offer our members eternal salvation. We do not offer rituals like priests. Confessionals that will mitigate transgressions. And we most certainly do not offer certain. What we do offer. Is a covenanted community. We offer a welcoming space shaped by our principles and mature community of questioners. Grow and learn from one another. The quote james luther adams. Professor at harvard divinity. And did you use the illusion. A free church brings the individual into a pairing. Trusting fellowship. That protects. And nurture nurtured. His or her integrity. Spiritual. If we agree with this. And i think i can say we do so. The statement. Closely mirrors our fourth principle. We need to nurture this. To do this we need to open ourselves up. We need to expose our own vulnerabilities. As you all just did. To invite others to expose there. When we do this we can engage more fully. With the members of. Congregation. With our co-workers and with. Community as a whole. One of the biggest challenges to opening up and today's ever-present electronically driven universe full of ipads. Phone. Ipods and facebook friends. It's us all over the eye universe. And with that it's too easy. Flea. From the intimate settings where people can. Truly form clothes spring. When everyone has a device on their hip and now it's google glass facebook in front of your eyes 24/7. It's hard to fully engage with one person at a time. Because we're trying to constantly engage with everyone all the time. But only under 140-character limit that twitter will give us. We spread ourselves too thin and end up not fully communicating with anyone. Now my high school latin is a little rusty. But i know commune and communicate are related. And one of the great tragedies in our time is that according to webster commune. Which means bonding or intimately relating with someone. Is an obsolete transitive. This past winter. My girlfriend broke her phone and it was one of the best things that could have happened to me. And our relationship. But not for the reasons you think. She still went all the arguments and i was always. But without that. Without a means of instant communication we had to face the great horror of our generation. And making plans. And then sticking to them. Even if there's plans had been made more than 24 hours ago. This meant that more often than not. One of us would show up where we supposed to meet and have to wait for the other one. And without a phone. We would end up talking to whoever we ran into. I loved it. I'm already extroverted and i thought that i made a good. Cancel purpose will meaning of all sorts of people and trying to keep myself open but without a phone i realized how much i wasn't doing that. Without that constant technological connection. To all of my facebook friends many of whom i have not seen since i graduated high school. I was able to make personal connection. To remain open to being vulnerable in our day-to-day life those connections are required. Rebecca adams. A professor at ewing. Achieve recently said in an article in the new york times. It's sociologist consider three conditions crucial to making close friends. Proximity. Repeated unplanned interactions and a setting that encourages people to let their guard down. That last one is important for our topic today. In order to make close friends you need to be where you and others can open up. To truly build intimacy a crucial part of any community. You must be rohnerville and allow others to be vulnerable as well. Our congregation is the perfect place. For this to happen and for the. As part of the wider world. We already have two of those three karen. Conditions guarantee. Right off the bat we have proximity and repeated interaction. Those are free beats. But we need to work. On the last condition. We need to work on creating a space where. Feel that they can let their guard down. When we say we are welcoming congregation we need to not only open our doors. When we welcome people but open ourselves and all that we do. We might get hurt and we might get burned and we certainly will uncover uncomfortable differences. Diversity is not. Super comfy. But by engaging and connecting with others at a deeper level we will be rewarded. I recommend always be willing to take off your electronic and emotional armor. And be willing. To make those tonight. Wherever you.

uuasheville_org

101107Sermon.mp3

There are few of our predecessors that we lionize more lavishly. Then ralph waldo emerson. And yet the irony is that it was only after he had abandoned the unitarian ministry. Did emerson have the greatest impact on our movement. Largely against his wishes he was one of his generation of his family who was expected to follow the footsteps of his father. William emerson. Minister of boston's first church. Who had died when waldo was not even a teenager. Emerson matt his duty but the life of the parish minister was not for him. With increasing discomfort in the role and the death of his first wife. He resigned his position at s church. And set off for tour of europe. I'm returning he embarked on a different tack call at cobbling together the life of a writer in public speaker. Beginning with the work that would launch him as a voice for a nuvision. If you just heard selected. 175 years later emerson's nature is still a little hard going in places. With its dense but evocative language. But the book caught the imagination of many readers at the time. Including one-time colleagues amongst unitarian clergy and in time the thread of thinking that emerson introduced transformed not only the church that he once served. But also the way that people even today. Think about the religious life. When people these days call themselves spiritual-but-not-religious. They are describing a distinction that had its roots in emerson's thought. Nevada mccluster of unitarians who joined him who came to be called transcendentalist. Emerson and his colleague centered their thoughts not on some arcane knowledge or unique personal revelation. Put on the kind of experience of which they felt every one of us is capable. That experience which they consider the very foundation of religion. Required no text no priest no training merely the willingness to open oneself and let what the world has to offer. Him. Highfalutin name they assumed which they did not choose. Transcendentalist. Came from their fascination. With higher criticism of the bible and idealism den the rage in europe. So let me take just a moment to outline the impact of this movement on the american unitarian. Remember that early unitarians distinguish themselves from the calvinist puritans who settled this country by rejecting the notion that all humans are born depraved than the human knowing could not be trusted. The unitarians insisted that youmans are capable of learning the good through instruction and have it. Stay adopted the ideas of the british philosopher john locke who said when we're born we are understanding is like a blank slate. Filled over the course of our lives with what we learn. So i'm like the calvinists who sought to rule true religion to trigger an emotional experience that would bring believers closer to god. The unitarians appeal to reason to argue for what they considered the truths of religion. They also believed that once a person took in and fully appreciated these truths that would engender a sense of. Peace and well-being in the believer. What would call the time piety. Fifth worth remembering do that they felt it. Piety and it's. To understand. It came only from the tea. So enter german idealism. German scholars made the americans nervous. First by questioning the miracles of the bible in finding enid metaphors and teaching stories. Rather than literal truth. But even more troubling was this movement from the philosopher immanuel kant who said that our minds are not blank slates. Rather our own mental machinery plays an active role in shaping an organizing our experience. There are then some aspects of our knowledge some ways of knowing that are in 82. And so they transcend what is gathered by the senses. Timer. Emerson and the others felt that this suggested that our minds a. Or capable of intuiting some truths and that these were in fact. The deepest truth. True of the soul. These were not choose to be discovered outside of ourselves and our experienced but throughs to be found within. So you can understand the dissatisfaction that emerson and others felt for the religion of the day. Even the liberal religion of the unitarians. Learning reflection on scripture and all the duties that pot. Was in emerson's words. Retrospective. Tales of the lives of prophets and preachers were perhaps vaguely instructor. But in the end they diverted us from the more important work. I'm coming to terms with that spiritual element within each of us. That speaks if expression in our lives. Sms inputted haven't heard stories of how foregoing generations beheld god and nature face-to-face. Why should not we enjoy that same original relation to. It's relation he says we discovering up by combing through dusty books but placing ourselves in the floods of life that stream around. By fronting the world firsthand. The nature did emerson experiences is not a symbol or a metaphor for something else it is what it is powerful evocative it changes. The feeling that emerson paints of such an experienced a little later in the first chapter of nature is not some mountaintop moment. He wants he says merely crossing a bear common in snow puddles. At twilight. Under a clouded sky without having in my thoughts any special occurrence or good fortune. And yet even there he found his head bathe. Imp lifecare. Uplifted into infinite space feeling the occurrence of universal being circulate through me. He was not a moment of some privileged communion with the holy. If anything it was the opposite. All mean egotism. Vanished. I am not. And yet i see. Paul. Watching the blowing of the branches in the wind he says he's new to me and old. She's effective like that higher thought or better emotion coming over me. When i seen that i was thinking justly or doing right. Watching the leaves blowing in the trees catapult into this other place. And yet he says it is certain that the power to produce this does light does not reside in nature. But in man in me. Or in a harmony. About. This is a unique image of spiritual connection. And one that may transcendentalism a touchstone ever since. There is no deity we must bring to mind no scripture to recite no altered consciousness required. What is required is a temp. And open. And what we receive and experience. Reverberates across our. Plastic branches. Bringing up seeds of other emotions and. Quotes about how he works in the world as if there were a sense of integrity of all being shot through all things. It's easy to see why many new england clergy were alarmed by the. What emerson the others were doing in one way or another was disentangling the most vital element of religion. Out of its historic tradition it located in the heart of each person. In doing so they unhitched the christian tradition from its position as the unique source of revelation. And so. In addition to their walks in the woods members of this group began exploring testimonies of other religious inside. Buddhism or hindu scripture. Margaret fuller who we heard quoted earlier recruited a circle of women in boston who in conversations that she facilitated explorer writings from many sources. Including greek mythology. Her words. Very early i knew that the only object in life was to grow. Thumbs up the attitude of that group. Life of the spirit was not the search for that one answer to all questions. But of continually growing. Empty pint. Tangible promises. Well-defined hopes. For such things that religious traditions claims to offer. They felt no longer much need. And so fuller found herself in the calling about life of journalism in social reform. And emerson found his own electric circuit. But that wasn't true for although. Several unitarian clergy who counted themselves among the transcendentalists stayed within the fold. Theodore parker. The most erudite scholar of the bunch and an arden. Abolitionist. Launched america's first megachurch. The 28th congregational society in the boston music hall in the 1840s. M50. Wherefore a time. Sunday crowds of 3000 or more. While he remained in the christian circle he also argued that what was distinctive about christianity was not the church not the tradition. Not even jesus himself. But the message of love that jesus taught. James freeman clarke became one of the most widely published clerk churchmen of the 19th century. And he was also a badly-needed force for hollering. In forbearance in his own movement. You see because well. Transcendentalist thought influenced american literature and such throughout the nineteenth century very important. Roll it remained a cause of controversy. And division among unitarian. Especially those were part of the new england established. It's the population center moved west though. Many of the young unitarian ministers who moved with it had transcendentalist leanings. He founded churches in cities like louisville kentucky and cincinnati ohio. They had perhaps their strongest advocate in a welsh immigrant who was the uncle. Frank lloyd wright. Thanking lori jones. At the designated western missionary he started churches across the midwest and gave encouragement to women to serve the ministry helping to start what became known as the iowa sisterhood. He wasn't until the 1890s when both sides transcendentalist in the more conservative bostonian came together and agreed to work in common purpose. It is one of those interesting twists in history. But today we count emerson and the transcendentalist. Thinkers who soft to separate themselves from the church of their day. That's on the strongest influence on the church we are today. But in that twist malaya truth about what we needed. For us if this religion is to ensure. The church by nature even a liberal one like our is essentially a conservative institution. One that teaches and is organized around a commonly understood and agreed upon way of looking at the world. And yet if that institution is to be vital and ally. It must speak to an illicit response from the deepest chords within us. The transcendentalist touched a nerve. When we invited their readers to find the source of religion not in their bibles and catechisms in cathedrals. Putting themselves. And so they also invited the liberal church to envision itself. Not as the keeper of a testament. But as an agent that provoke each of us to connect with that source of peace within. Some years ago princeton university religion professor lee eric schmidt who charted the evolution of american spirituality in his words from emerson to oprah. Identify what he called the rise of flourishing nineteenth-century religious liberalism has the force that offered to chart a path. From the old religions of authority. The religion of the spirit. Today some unitarian universalist are a little uneasy about the prospect of accepting such a title. Like our nineteenth-century predecessors many of us are much more comfortable staying in the realm of what can be intellectually argued. And we start to squirm when the talk gets a little. Woo woo. But perhaps a reflection back to our transcendentalist predecessors can give us a frame to hold that. Religion of the spirit is not the realm of diaphanous being floating about. It is religion that makes room for that in each of us that grounds and connects us most deeply. We embrace that understanding today when we named one of the sources of our living tradition as direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder. Affirmed in all cultures. Which moves us to a renewal of spirit in its spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life. Robbers and prescribing and defining. Vidal liberal religion invites. It provokes. And at the same time and provide the embrace a covenant that holds us in community. Where is margaret filler put in our lives will be renewed. And we're with courage then. We may reach out. To each other. And the larger world. Becoming agents of justice and of hope. Imprisoned for a time in the world who stream floods around us. Whose beauty around us glows. The richness. The wonderful of lot wonder of life is ever-present. This is what religion invites us to see. Let us be about that work.

uuasheville_org

20160925-What-Is-Required.mp3

The week before last. I spent a couple of days in the habitat for humanity building down near biltmore biltmore village. In the company of about 45 people. It was a fascinating mix. Ranging from people with high public profile. Asheville superintendent of schools and members of the school board. State senator a city councilwoman. And positions of responsibility. Someone from mission hospital the asheville housing authority. Asheville police department buncombe county sheriff's office. But also high school students. Community activist social service providers and others. Even more it was unusually diverse foremost gatherings in this town. Young and old black white hispanic. A different gender identities. A topic before us with something that usually isn't discussed in mixed gatherings at all. Rick. Not race as an abstract concept but how notions of race had evolved over time. In-shape. Our culture. Our upbringing. We were guided in this work by facilitators from a group called the racial equity institute from greensboro. Astoria they had to tell. Was hard to hear. Call reese emerged at the wedge. To divide people in this country from the time of its first settlement. Howard acted not only to discriminate against black people but also looking for advantages. On white. Affirmative action we learned is a practice that goes way back to the founding of republic. But it was white. My black. It was designed to benefit. We can see it as early as the 18th century immigration laws into jim crow legislation after the civil war even up to the social security act. The gi bill. Federal housing. So is it any wonder today that we find an enormous disparity in wealth between blacks and whites in america. Eddyville now. I'm invidious races. Whispers that the gap is simply evidence. Awesome inherent lack. On the part of. Trump inability to complete pete on a level playing. A point of the training was to describe to demonstrate how the playing field for blacks in america has been anything but level. Like starting a race well behind your competitors or walking in late to a monopoly game where nearly every property has been purchased. And your every move every move diminishes your wealth. Of course for the participants in this was no game. White people like me were invited to tally all the advantages that they and their ancestors had unknowingly accrued. How black people were left. Some with tears in their eyes unable to see. To consider how much loss. They and their ancestors had endured. Lost medford not just in wealth but in well-being. Mlive. Demean for cut short. Even in their own hopes for their lives and their own loved ones. Organizers have invited participants to a potluck supper this coming week. Which will be held here this church. To talk or for what we learned in the training. And where we will go with it. I'm glad that the operative with the opportunity to continue the conversation. But i also worry. Just this week in tulsa and charlotte we got another reminder of how close black people are to the boiling point. In frustration over centuries of oppression. But they see no signs of abating. We can debate the circumstances of this or that shooting and whether police officers were justified here or in their actions. There. But the larger point is that by its actions by its policy. Our society our government shows over and over again that it counts black lies as cheap. And that is simply unhinged. We are nashville are not far from her own accounting. The state bureau of investigation report on the police shooting the summer of. Jared try jerry williams due to arrive soon to the office of the district attorney. Tod williams. Whatever action the district attorney chooses. We in this town will have worked. Much current concern has been expressed about whether there will be violence. Of course no one wants injury and destruction. But it needs to be said that the work before us will need to be more than just keeping the peace. My colleague the reverend jay leach. Found himself in the midst of all the chaos in charlotte this last week. He summed up the state of affairs this way in a post on facebook. You gave me permission to pass it on to you. That's disturbing at the images from last night are. I am more and more convinced the sending the message that we all need to be calm is the wrong thing to do. In fact more of us need to stop. Being so calm. So accepting so willing to ignore so supportive of an unjust and unsustainable status quo. Spring street train. Things must change. Until they do until there is justice there will be no peace. So i wonder. Do you hear an echo of the quote from gordon mckeeman that we heard earlier in j's words. We live in a time mckeeman road. When there are a great many scared people. Who do not want to hear that they have to enlarge. They do not want to hear that they need to widen their sense of concern and consciousness. To embrace the whole of the world. We ought to be pointing in people's lies to the urgency within those lives to wholeness. That no person can ignore. Vet in urgency. Excuse for her own wholeness save at her own. It's interesting that like today mckeeman was speaking at a time of a contentious national election. October 9th. A moment win again like today. Fear was driving some people's political agenda. Just bought a little differently people he said do not want to hear that they have to enlarge their cell. They do not want to hear they need to widen their sense. Of concern and consciousness. To embrace. Whole. Upper world. What is pointing to here is the heart. Universal. Remember that historically universalism arose in the christian tradition with a notion that all are saved. Shepherd in the very simple theological proposition. A god whose nature is love. Woodmont consign his creatures to eternal damnation. Such an act is contrary to the nature of love. And if we understand god as love then it is contrary to god's nature. And so there must be no hell. Even more the old universalist declared it was god's intent to bring every person to a happy end. And so is mckenna says universal universalist became known as the gospel of god's success. Conveying the image that as he put it. The last unrepentant sinner would be dragged kicking and screaming into heaven unable atleast to resist the power and love of the almighty. What an image. In time though the debate over heaven and hell i was faded. The focus shifted instead to the duty of the living. And the nature of the world. In which we find ourselves. That context he became less urgent that we consider how or even if we image the nature of god. Something that lies beyond proof whatever side of the quest. You are cute. Intern what we might consider to be the nature and consequences. Of love. What does love call us to in our lives. What does. Love. Require of a. Universalist argued that theirs was not a theological proposition alone. It was a description of the world. Has gordon mckeeman put it. Running through all life is the urgency to wholeness. Two integration to the putting together of scattered pieces of life. There is a universality of natural laws and there is parallel with it a universality of the religious impulse. The desire for holiness or wholeness. We can find evidence of this he says when we look at the other side of the coin. When we see people seeking to live out parochial partial and insular assumption. We discover people who create or perpetuate the tragic divisions of life. Cost of which in human misery and pain and suffering. We continue to. There's another word that an old word. That sums up the agony of what we experienced in this. One that we might use to describe the state of affairs. So maybe he'll. But it isn't something that was created for us. It's something that we create for each other. Why would we do that. Well we get confused and distracted. Selfish and afraid. We learned at the racial inequity institute that in this country it was fear and greed that tended to drive white people each time they turned up the heat. In the hell they had created for black bean. Whether it was new restrictions on voting or housing or job opportunities. The thing is that we live with this bizarre notion that while these people are endearing he'll we white people can go about our lives. Building our own little heaven. Return to ourselves that we live in the american dream that anyone can accomplish anything with grit and determination. Course we come to learn that this isn't even true for most white people. Many people suffer and struggle against forces far stronger than they are. Robin question this myth. Bury themselves in shame. Trick out of the rat race. And dive into addiction. Pretty death. Hello. Universalist warned us against this long ago. Has gordon mckeeman puts if hell is about separation. We set up our little islands in the human experience. Thinking we can make our own way independent of what's going on with the rest of humankind. And universalism he points out unequivocally. Cannot be done. You cannot have hell for some people and heaven for others. So let's be clear. The hell's we create on the hell's we occupy are not just the way of thing. Become about by choice. We and others make overtime that create false divisions and unfairly advantage some people over others. And until we stop privileging these policies and practices we will be powerless. To alter. The solution is not to narrow our loyalty. The build walls and gates and find new in different ways. Separate ourselves from others into little islands of our own. The solution. Dewine. Carlisle. Twin large or sense of who we are. Remembering that old. Universalist rhyme from edwin markham. He drew a circle to. Parrot. Rebel thing to flout. But love and i have the wit to win. Huitres circle. How we do that is a big part of what about. 70 members of this congregation we're struggling with yesterday. We got together and then why did each other to name those concerns and injustice has that rankled us most. Then we both can broke into groups to talk them over. It was big stuff. Racism. Immigrant-rights mental health and prison reform and on. But this was no gripe. It was a gathering with an eye to action. So this afternoon will be meeting further to talk about what that action might look like. And you're invited to attend. Whether or not you were part of the discussion on saturday your voice is welcome as we sort out how we at the congregation can be about widening that circle. It's serendipitous that pbs chose this week to air ken burns powerful documentary defying the nazis. About the role of unitarians wait still. And martha sharp and helping hundreds of jewish mother refugees marked for death. Escape from occupied europe. And if you missed it it's still online at pds by the way. Butterfly knife only till october for 6 so make a point of looking soon. The story i told earlier of martha sharp initiating a child refugee program is one of the most compelling examples of their work. But there was much more. Escorting refugees on hazardous railway journeys. Sheltering them and safe houses. Fabricating travel documents are visas to help them get places. He was work that put their lives in danger repeatedly. Fhf.. Even though it meant long absences from their children. And streams that eventually broke apart their marriage. Little wonder that weight so sharp reported it when the uua president first approached him about the job he was told that 17 ministers before him had. So what is required of us. As lisa said it's something we all struggle with. Because we know or at least into it. The answering that question will open an avenue to help us get. Sense of meaning for our lives. Our tradition through both of its trains unitarian and universalist. The clearest answer to the question it's not something we can expect to be given. Something we must. Fine. And we begin with the journey in our own hearts. Pizza hut it right we eat. Pray to hear our own calling. Courage. Audacity. It does not require that we be activists on the model of wasteful in martha sharp. But it is also not sufficient that we. Coast on. Either insulated in privilege or paralyzed by fear. Watch adrienne rich we might take time. To examine our own loneliness. An existential truth that we each come to know. And come to terms with it some point tonight. What's the use. What am i. How could i possibly. But she won't leave us. Define lonely. It must be the loneliness of waking first. A break breathing dawn's first cold breath on the city being the one awake in a house wrapped in sleep. Not isolated not defeated. Awake. Aware. If i'm lonely she says it is with the rowboat iced fast on the shore in the last red light of the year. Knows what it is. That knows it's neither eyes nor mud nor winter light. Buttonwood. Ikea. Universal. Edward. They called it love. Love calls to us. Bags that i said please with us packet drags of kicking and screaming and says get out here. Your presence is required. Your time your talent your treasure your genius your compassion is needed if we are ever going to end the despair and depravity of separation. If we're ever going to live into the wholeness of the world. Red husky. Love's.

uuasheville_org

140831-Unbottled-Water-Ceremony.mp3

Our story today includes a well. Now many of you know what a well is many of you may have grown up drinking from a well. But some of our youngest unitarian-universalist may not be quite clear on exactly what a well is. The word about that. There is a great deal of water. In the earth. And if you dig down deep enough you can get to it. So especially a long time ago before we had faucets that you could turn on. People would dig. Deep deep into the ground. To find water. They would use stones to make a long. Solid hole into the ground. And in some parts of the world. Those wells. We're open and free to everyone. Especially. Dry pot. So if you were thirsty. You could go to any well. Drop down your bucket. And bring it back up. Full of the water we all need. This story. Is about a time and a place. With those kinds of well. One day muhammad told his friends and followers a story about a thirsty man. A well. And a dog. This was the story. A man left his home to take a long journey. It was a hot day and he had not walked far before his head began to ache. And his mouth felt so dry. The sun blazed overhead. The fields he pass for brown and withered. And no water could be saying. I'm so thirsty. He matter. I must find water. And he walked on. I'm so thirsty he said surely i will come to a well. Just as he had that thought. He did see a well by the side of the road. Thankfully he hurried to. Almost tasting the sweetness of. Cool water that lay in its depth. But when he arrived at the edge of the well. And peered. Down deep. Side. He saw. The well was. And even more thursday now. He continued along the scorching road hoping to find another well. Sure enough. Before long he saw one. At last water he whispered. Looking into the well. In anticipation. But at 2. Poor guy crawling along in the desert. Maybe direct cactuses around and vultures flying overhead it's a really sad scene. It's not an image that we particularly think of here. Settled as we are in one of the most watery places in the country. But we may get a week or two of droughts during the summer sometimes. But there's a big french blogger broad river flowing by and you go walking in the woods in the mountains and there are streams gushing all around us. Still even in this watery place we can see something in that image of that story that we on. Something you might describe as a feeling. Aflac. We know what that's like to want or even need something but not be able to get it not to find it. Smell the great thing about stories like this one is that they invite us to think. Deeply about. And more broadly. So while the story is about water. It's also i think about something. Have you ever had that feeling in the pit of your stomach that made you anxious and. Sometimes we're not even sure what that feeling is about things don't feel right we don't know what to do we should treat it like we're lacking something. I know i'll raid the freezer and get myself some ice cream. That would make me feel better. But after the ice cream we don't always feel better. We might even feel. Or we know people who will go out and buy lots of things there's some sort of needs a fill. Feed the poor trying to feel and somehow that need never stops. I think this story is. Speaking to this experience that we all have in some way the feeling that we're lacking something that were looking for something to feel feel that way. And the further we go the first year we get. What could. Satisfy arthur. There wasn't. I drop. Sister-in-law. With a parched throat. And feeling so weak now. The man walked on. I can't go much farther without water. He said. And then. The distance. Through the glare. He saw. A well. Almost afraid to hope. He looked. Far below. The darkness water. Allah be praised the man said. He looked around for a rope and a bucket to lower into the well. So he could bring up the life-giving water. But there was no rope. No buckets. How could he reach the water he needed so badly. Only one. Way. Remind. If the water would not come up to him he would have to go down to it. He scrambled over the top of the rock wall. Racing. Alongside. And. He crawled. He descended. Foot by foot and by hand. Into the dead. Of that well. Deeper and deeper he went. Until it laugh. He touched. Cool. Wet. Water. Cupping his hands he scooped the water. Anne frank. And drank. He murmured. There. In the water. Praise allah. For the liquid. Still remember that feeling of lack. I was talking to. Holy. Good when you finally find something that really satisfies. I want to tell you about a man by the name of jeff lockwood. He's a writer a scientist and a unitarian universalist. You lived out on the plains of wyoming. A place where water is almost always a concerned. But it's also a place where most people know where their water is coming from. Usually a well in the ground. That's similar to us we pretty much know where our water comes from if we live in asheville or reservoir up in the mountains. Keeps the water that we drink out of. For those of us who live outside of town many of us have a well too. But jeff notes that that's not true for everybody. Some people can't get access to clean water. Out of their tap so they have to use bottled water. And they have to rely on other people to provide it for them. He says this reminds him a feeling of lack that many people feel. Around religion. Some people grow up with a sense that there's only one place where religion can come from. Stella comes from other people that it has to be filtered and interpreted in a certain way by certain. Do frogs have something that makes him grateful about being a unitarian universalist. Because we see so many different sources of religious truth that each of us. Has a direct experience of the wonder and beauty of this world. And that helps us. To see how each of us is worthwhile and how we are connected to all things. Yes we drink bottled water sometime but we know that water comes from many places. There's more than one place in the world. That we believe there's more that there's more in the world than any of us will ever need. It's helps us see the truth of our world and our lives. It's not black. But bounty. Abundance enough water to spill all over the floor enough to satisfy. And hila. Feeling much better. The man began the long. Difficult. Climb. Out of the well. At last you reach the top. Astrid again on the road under the hot sun. Started to walk on. When he heard. Sound. Soft. Sad. Why. He looked down and he saw a dog. Sniffing at the ground. Dog. Looks. Miserable. His eyes were glazed and he was panting with thirst he came up to the man and lick the edge of the man's robe which was still wet. From the trip down into the well. This poor animal is as thirsty as i was a man said he'll die in the seat if he doesn't get water. Dog looked at the man. And wags his tail. Grateful. Even for the bit of moisture. He got. From the hymn of. So the man made his decision. Wait here he said. And i'll bring you water. Into the well he went. Again he descended. Down down. All the way to the bottom where that cool liquid life. When he got there. He braced himself against the walls of the well. And thought. How would he. He took off. His saw. Leather. He dipped. 1 boots. And then the other. Into the water and fill them. Now how would he get back. He clamped. The tops of the boot. In his. And began to climb up again. Now this time as you might imagine the trip was. Much. Harder. Does heavy water field boots pulled at his teeth. And that hurt. And want to lick wet leather lips. And he almost dropped. But he tightened his grip. And he went on. Slowly much more slowly. He kept climbing. Until he reached the top. It would have been so much. It's full of water backup. But when he was on the ground again. He knelt. And he opened the boots so the dog could drink. And the dog drank all the water in both boots his tail wagging happily. A man smiled. Now neither of us will die of thirst he said. He pulled on his damp boots he patted a dog again and he continued on his way. But doesn't that end neatly. That's how the story goes and i'm supposed to say. That muhammad health says listening. That all it was greatly pleased by the man's kindness and all the man's sins and bad choices were forgiven and that when he died his soul was allowed into heaven. Somehow that's just not enough for me. Maybe it's because i'm a good unitarian universalist. Because i can't help. But ask a few questions. After the traveler gave that thirsty dog water the story says he put on his boots petted the dog went on his way. I wonder about that ending. I wonder about what happened next. It seems to me that the man and the dog were changed. About what happened at the well. They were both saved. One way to put it. Now i don't know whether that means the man was rewarded with eternal. Pleasuring. Life in heaven after he died maybe it's because i'm a universal s. Or a religious educator. Or maybe it's because i'm a parent. But i'm more concerned about who is thursday in the here-and-now. Then i am in the great hereafter. And hands. And boots. To help the dog he himself was transformed. He was change from an eye to away from ami to an s cuz i bet you a bottle of the purest water that when he walked on. Even though the story doesn't say so. He had a dog at his side. We all brought water here today as individuals. We all had a story special story in our hearts. About why that particular water was special to us but when every drop was poured together all those molecules of all those stories got mixed up. And i became another kind of sacred story. Something like. A story of holy water. Because it became a story about our shared abundance and maybe the most important thing we can do as a faith community is to make sure. Not that our own thirst is quenched. But that nobody is thirsty. How much good can we do with a story that big in bountiful. With a well that deep and true. Let's put on our boots today and walk away from this place and this story with our thirst quenched. But our commitment. To save each other maybe healing the world. Just. Getting started.

uuasheville_org

160904-Walking-the-Path-of-Fear.mp3

I have the oddest experience about a month ago. I woke in the middle of the night. Out of a dead sleep. Sign up on the side of the bed. I have no idea where i was. The dark was so deep that my eyes were useless to me and nothing seemed familiar. Gyros. And began cautiously to feel my way around. Am i confused mine still wrapped up in sleep or kind of. Fear almost verging on panic began to rise. What is this place. How am i going to get out of here. Gradually though i seized on to something. It may have been a chair or a dresser i don't remember exactly what. But i was able to make a connection. Bedroom. The panic subsided and we really. I made my way back under the covers. Feels funny that way isn't it. How we can get so easily frightened sometimes by the silliest. Thing. We even like to play with each other. That way. Waiting around the corner and jumping out when a friend happens by. Psychologist remind us that after route. Our fear response is actually a good thing. It's what we rely on to get out of physical danger. My muscles need to be primed for action so the blood pumping quickly. Hunting brain portable brain effectually shuts down the since we may not have time to reason out a proper response and instead the bodies old fight flight or freeze response kicks him. Ok google have moments where we've been grateful for such a response it save us from some minor peril. Okay store times in front of us like to have fun with that fear response. Who is after all a kind of exhilaration that we feel in the moment when fear strikes. Give me that helps explain the popularity of the horror film genre. The first time the zombie pops out and scares the bejesus out of. But the second and subsequent scares intensity of the fright diminishes. But we still feel the rush at that quick hits of adrenaline. Episode of such films are not my taste but i got how they can be at raw. What is a real feel is not a state. And if we want to spend much time. It's exhausting. Disorienting. You don't think clearly or respond compassionately when we are afraid. We just want to find safety. Whatever in the moment we may take that to be. The truth has many of us don't even really like to admit scary experiences. Sweetwater just smith's or deny them. In fact we feel a little embarrassed by them. Even though we don't get the emotionally we don't forget the emotional intensity have ion what happened. Depending on the circumstances that intensity can become a source of a kind of internal narrative. Story we tell ourselves that almost justifies the response. I was right. To be scared. Somehow gets attached to the memory of that event. Even if overblown exaggerated or flat-out fabrication. The memory is retained. And its intensity gives it the feeling. Proof. Leather true. Or not. Lupine that memory can become one of the building blocks we use in creating our world. The problem used to learning that we take from our experiences of fear is notoriously unreliable. That's because again it comes from a time when we weren't thinking straight. When our judgment was skewed and yet at the same time we experience intense emotion. It can take a real effort of will to seek out and find the actual truth in a situation. Like waking up from a nightmare with her pulse racing and eating the, self back down again. It's okay. Supreme. Bernard day today live so we may not immediately recognize when fear experiences trigger. Spin the moment we may not be able to surface that fear examine it even challenging. Basketball for most of our lives we come to rely on our emotional responses. If that's something doesn't feel right there must be a good reason for. Beautiful cat specifically say what that reason is. It becomes even harder if we're challenged. In that response by someone else. A fear-based experience is not something that we can really fight in an argument for someone that made me frayed. Really. Today's indy something we talk especially want to fess up to. But that doesn't mean that in some way we don't still cling to it. That's the truth. There's probably no better of a example of this than all the forms of. Wayfarers nessnitty gender expression that are floating through our culture. I think of that old song you've got to be taught remember from the musical. South pacific. The unitarian lyricist oscar hammerstein. Suspect that a song with the 1949. On the source of racial prejudice would be controversial and he was right. You've got to be taught. To hate. Fear. You've got to be taught year-to-year discuss to be drummed in your dear little ear. You've got. Be carefully taught. Because hammerstein was pointing to one of the most intensely felt. Fear-based fabrications. That we live with. Racism the song status is not grounded in anything real. The samira cumulation of. Misapprehension sande hurts in flight. And we told him then that lies that were told do other people battle people. I'm tempted to go to tweak hammerstein lyrics just a little. And argue that we are taught by our communities and our loved ones not so much to fear as. True. Ultimate fears that drive our prejudice are grounded novel so much in our experience. As an experience of those who surround us. We take on the fears that our innocence in the water of our upbringing. Experience their fears then learn. To adopt them and put them into our own worldview and then justify that to ourselves. I don't believe it's a conscious process. But it can be powerful all the same. Soda springs me to reflect on the state of our politics. And our nation today. I cannot remember a time in my own lifetime. I'm so much in our public dialogue was driven by fear. Kohl's conferment there wasn't any particular issue this rolling the electorate. It's just raw suspicion that settles on random target. Immigrants 1-day transgender people the next and so on. We. Flip from one to the other. Increase alarm. Relief underneath it all. Willie if i spicy the yearning for safety. So maybe we shouldn't be surprised that this is the year for the most obvious signals are fearful thinking or not only lighting up at being celebrated wherever we look. Name-calling belittling narcissist. It's tempting to tag donald trump as the cost of all this. And he certainly is it poster boy. But he succeeds merely by poking this miasma of anxiety. Bob evan really inventing. There is much cause for concern in electrical seasons. But innocence the greatest danger that we might forget what politics actually can make possible. It is something that our nation was invited some 83 years ago. To think about. When an incoming president remark. The only thing we have. Fear is. Fear itself. Nameless on reasoning. Unjustified terror that paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. Did every dark hour of our national life franklin delano roosevelt told his. The leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. In that terrible time. Roosevelt 22 what was not only a political truth but a spiritual fact. The people of inherent worth half the capacity. To watch together in a way that sacrifices none and benefits. But our strength of the nation will be found in affirming common dignity. Half a common cause. Not long ago there quicker writer parker palmer. Told his own experience getting lost while on a 10-day solitary retreat. People hiking out on a poorly mark mountain trail. I finally realized he missed. Important turn off. He started back down the hill i couldn't see it. As the sky started to darken he panicked and began to rub. Just the right thing to do when you have no idea where you're going don't you think. He remarks with some irony. After b thankful. Estop. Settle down and let the fever subside. Promise that he stopped for a moment and remember the fuel lines from that palm of david wagner. Stamps. The trees ahead in the bushes behind you are not lost. Wherever you are is called. Here. And you must treat it as a powerful stranger. Standstill. Horse knows where you are. You must find. So he stood still. I could not tell you what i was listening to he said except that it was something both in me. And around me. After few minutes he turned and walked slowly uphill and. Began looking to his left and before long there was. The trail that he missed. Sam still in the jumble of conflicting forces and feeling erupting in our lives. Scrambling screwing ducking dodging. It is where we must begin if we are coming to terms with what drives our fear. Beer after wall narrows our view in from such a perspective there's so much we cannot see. Give me broaden our view view so much more comes into focus. It is just that wisdom that i think. Nancy's discovered in that. Dark time during her first marriage. The buddhist teacher pema chodron speaks of the opening that comes from confronting the fears that we carry. Finding the courage to go places that scare up cannot happen without compassionate inquiry into the workings of our own minds our own ego. Cholas car sound. What do i do when i feel like i can't handle what's going on. Where do i look to for strength. Canon what do i place my trust. The scary place to be. She says. So we treat it. Tempoe. Well then go against the walls and barriers that hold us back with a sledgehammer. He says. We pay attention to. Swiss temple different honesty remove. Closest to house walls be. Touch them and smell them in. Get to know them. Well. Way out then it's merely taking the first step. Defending ourselves i'm looking for the path that will lead us. Back to home. Call william stafford offers similar advice in his poem for my young friends who are afraid. Fear he cancels is a country to be crossed. What you fear will not go away. It will take you into yourself. And bless you. And keep you. Pat is the world. We all live there. Joan didion discovered in the year that followed the death of her husband. John gregory dunne. Such a thing. It was a time when she says her grief let her to what she calls magical thinking. When we somehow persuade ourselves that if we just hope hard enough work to things and just the right way we can remake the world the way we wanted. Tubi. Does aerobic fear can take us on to. When things seem to be too painful to confront directly 3 find a way of persuading yourself if that's not really a problem. What's the stinking does of course is dig us in deeper. And make it that much harder to free ourselves. Fear looms up like that swift and powerful currents in the title tool that didion describes. Something that can either dash up against the rocks worth propel us into our future. Each time she and her husband swim in that pool she said i was afraid of missing the swell hanging back timing it wrong. John. Never w. Ground turkey. Never once or never let his own fear holding back. He showed her the way. And at the close of a year of magical thinking. Memory of that experience invited idiom. Inchworm or clear-thinking path of her own puke. You had to feel the swirl chain. Pet impulse toward health and wholeness rising in her heart. You have to go. 2 chainz. So we must. Here in this congregation we hope to create a space where we can do this work together. Providing these walls. Shelter for doing that and being with each went with one another. To celebrate that let me invite you to turn into our closing hymn. Number one in your gray hymnal. Those rides are willing able and straining the singing mean nothing evil cross the store. We close our service i invite you to speak cedar for just a moment we close our service now with. An understanding of the work of his congregation given what we've heard in worse than our worship how shall we live our lives in the week or so. Hello here. Reminding us that there are doing mission in the world is to nurture ended.

uuasheville_org

150510-The-Myth-of-the-Perfect-Mother.mp3

Cindy and i have just adopted a new kitten. If you happen to read my facebook page you may know that the sermon came. Very close to being entirely made up of cat videos. It was a little bit hard to concentrate on anything other than the adorable scampering orange tabby. For the last couple of days his name is pj. And so after a year of being without a furry beast we are getting back into the swing of being pet parents. There are of course substantial differences between pet parenting and people parenting. Not the least of which is that cats don't need diapers. But in other ways it's very similar the experience begins with sleepless nights and getting used to a new being in your life. One of the primary differences that i see be between being a parent and a human parent. Is that the. Cultural expectations are different. As long as you rescue a pet and don't use a puppy mill or a disreputable breeder. Pretty much people are content to let you parent your pet in the way that you want to do that. Some dogs run free in the house some are created some cats are indoor some cats are outdoors tables are pretty much kibbles and toys. Are pretty much toys. It's not that people don't have opinions it's just that we don't seem to feel as free to comment on each other's choices. We just say oh what a sweet little nose. Look at his soft velveteers all watching scamper across the floor and leave it at that. People parenting. Is different. Especially mothering. There's a long-held cultural norm about idealizing mother's dictating their actions and values and judging them harshly if they fall short. I know that mother's day is a challenging day for many. And for so many reasons. And i know more than one person that who stays home from church on sunday on the second sunday in may. Every year because they just don't trust the church. To make it an experience that will be positive for them. What i have come to know about these traditions of honoring mothers on mother's day is that on one hand it is good to honor the sacrifice and the service of the women who raised us. But even in that simple sentence. There are a ginormous pile of assumptions about what it means to be a mother. And most importantly that sentence universal tries to universalize and experience that is by no means universal. The image on the front of the order of service and the character that monica brings to us today. Is surely familiar. It is that quintessential mother figure from the 50s i always remember the shake and bake commercial. And i helped. But it's that picture right in the kitchen with the mom and the kid. She is nurturing she is kind. A great cook. Teaching her daughter as if she were a tiny clone. To inhabit the one roll. But they were both given. As women raised in patriarchal culture some of us can get a little snarky about this i know i do. We are tired of having our experiences denied or diminished. For me that's narc comes from. All the people who have asked me who is the man in my relationship assuming that there's only one way to be a family. It comes from assumptions that people make about whether i want to be a parent or not. It comes from hearing a friend of mine who is a terrific auntie to her six nieces and nephews be told over and over and over and over again that surely she will change her mind eventually. And want to have her own children. Even though she's been clear for decades that she is quite content. With her auntie roll. Mothering is complex. It is a challenge. And everyone's experiences are different. For some is it is about loss. For some it is about unfulfilled wishes. For some it is about pure joy and unconditional love. For some it is about abandonment. For some it is a tangled combination of all these things and more. But the barest truth that i have to tell you about motherhood. Is it there is no such thing. As the perfect mother. There is no such thing. As the perfect. Mother. Mythical mother stories have existed as long as human beings have existed. Here is a brief and slightly over simplified overview of mothering through the ages. Gleaned from the book myths of motherhood by shari thor. We begin with the great mother. Who gave birth. Underwent transformation death rebirth and everything in between and she caused mortals to do the same. Is maternal goddess was the oldest of all the gods. The original deity and she was all-powerful. Mothers in this context we're not primitive cavewoman. But fully actualized and independent females. Buy 600 bc we begin to see patriot patriarchy established in most of europe asia and africa. And both virgins and mothers be good begin to become seen as commodities as women are associated primarily with their ability to bear children. The greeks i'm sorry to say were known for their practices of infanticide. With husband's choosing which children will be raised and which would be exposed to the elements and left to die. Or. If they were lucky become protagonist in greek tragedy. We also see the beginnings of the use of words like womanish as pejoratives and mothers have an incomparably low status at this point. The romans begin to a develop a maternal ideal elevating child-rearing rearing to at least a worthy pursuit. This was quickly picked up and magnified in the christian tradition by the veneration of mary mother of jesus. The blessed virgin has become an architect. A missive such dimension. That it cannot but exercises sway over our unconscious lives. She became the epitome of motherly ideal. The unattainable goal of unconditional pure and unending maternal love. We see from the series of readings that monica and i shared that mother's continue to be given conflicting messages about who and how they should be. Augustin's mother served with devoted care as if she were mother of us all. Chaucer's virgin heals all is merciful and good. Victorian mother with her angel eyes provides the happiest place the purest intention. Not directly mentioned in our readings is the double burden which was first named by russian socialist alexandra kollontai. In which mother is work all day in the factory or elsewhere and then come home and take care of the home and the children. We see the similar kind of complexity in langston hughes crystal stair. The image of the black mother who has struggled and kept climbing and exhorts her son to do the same. Finally in the reading from modern woman in the twenties we see acknowledge an acknowledgement that woman has value as more than. Just. A mother. The fifties though bring us to the leave it to beaver ideal the impeccably dressed. Perfectly quaffed. Mother who meets all of our needs and has none of her own. The changes continue through the sixties and seventies through multiple waves of feminist feminist. Discourse and experience and increases increases in women working outside the home. There's too much complexity to cover in one sermon but what we know is that the ideal idealization of mother and those impossible expectations. Can you into the present time. Today it's called the mommy wars. Organic vs conventional breast versus formula babywearing sleep training all of these things that are either the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do and there are people. All sides saying all different things and this is all said by the pervasive assumption that it is appropriate to comment on people's parenting choices. Without warning or invitation. The sociological construct of mother has changed over time and continues to do so but what hasn't changed much is the way we accept the assumptions that have been made over centuries. Mother is pure and selfless without fault. And one-dimensional. Her experience is universal. When in fact. We know that this is a lie. There is no such thing as the perfect. Mother. Or the universal mothering experience. As we live our lives as women and as people who love women. We know from experience that there are as many answers to the question. What is mother as there are people who inhabit that roll. It is our work to lift up the many experiences we know and normalize them. It is our job to seek out the stories we haven't heard and bring them into the light. Lucille clifton gives us the most real and down-to-earth portrayal of motherhood and it is the one that speaks most deeply to me. Won't you celebrate with me she says. I had no model what did i see to be except myself. Don't we all. Sort of just make it up. Don't we all hold tight to what we know and reach out for support when we can. When we mother we shape the lives of others as well as our own. It can be a gift an honor a responsibility a burden. But won't you celebrate with me what we did. What you did. How you found ways to be nurturing be in nurturing life-giving relationships. Enter provide them for the children in your lives. Whether those children were you. Or whether they were your own. Or whether they were someone else's. In religious community we share our joys and our triumph. Our sorrows and our broken places. In this circle of care. We make space for the complexity of life. The myriad experiences that blasts. And break our hearts. The truth of human experience dictates. Put on any given day. We each come to the table with hearts in different places. It is especially so on this day. Invented to honor women who nurture. And so. In this circle of care. We honor the truth. That mother it mothering is not. And never will be quantified in one single descriptor. Mother can be elusive or infuriating. Fulfilling or confusing. Commonplace. Or triumphant. It exists in the everyday experience. Experiences of each person. There is no human being that is not connected to. Or disconnected from. A mother. And so we honor the complexity of experience. Writ large in flowered platitudes. But here in this space. Laid bare. Honoring the truth in each of our hearts. There is room for all. In this circle. If you have carried a child or children. Whether or not they came to be born. We see you. If you have fervently wished to do so and circumstances of fate made it impossible. We. Cu. If you love children we cannot see whether because of death. Or estrangement. We. See. If you never wanted to be a mother. We see you. If you are happy to mother other people's children. As an educator. An auntie or a foster parent. We see you. If your mother hurt you. Physically or emotionally. We. Cu. If you had no mother at all. We see you. If your mother is or was your very best friend. We see you. If your gender says that you are not a mother. And yet you take on the role of nurturer. We. Cu. If you wonder whether your mothering has been enough. We see you. And if yours is a different story altogether. We honor your unspoken truth. There is room. For all. In this circle of care. May it be so my friend. This day. And always. Amen. And blessed be.

uuasheville_org

151018-Opening-A-Way-to-Reverence.mp3

It is funny. How some words can ignite great controversies. From years ago just as i was ending my training and seminary. Reference turned out to be one of those words for us unitarian universalist. The controversy was prompted by a 2003 newspaper report. The sermon by the van president of you you a william sinkford. It called for adding the word god to the unitarian universalist purposes and principal. Actually in a sense it was already there although technically not in the principles themselves. Animal whisperer often accompanies them up six sources of our living tradition. Among those sources are jewish and christian teachings which call us to respond. To god's love by loving our neighbors. Has larsa. In any event bill quickly announced that the reporter had misquoted him. What are you actually called for was that you use look at reclaiming some of the religious language that many of us had abandoned. And for him. That included the word god. Religious language she said doesn't mean have to mean god talk. Or returning to christian traditional christian language. But he said i do feel that we need some language that would allow us to capture the possibility of reference. The name of the holy. To talk about. The ability of humans to shape. Frame our world guided by what we find to be of ultimate in. What was interesting is that bill framed his sermon as inviting you used to cultivate what he called a vocabulary of reverence. He said that he could borrow that phrase from a 2001's a by david boombah. Quit the time was my. Advisor in seminary. David however had made a very different point from bills in that accident. As it's clear from its title. Toward a humanist vocabulary of reference. Robert energon you used to reclaim traditional language david's wasn't appeal to what he called the humanists witnessed among us. Consider how we might recover a vocabulary of reference from our understanding of the natural world. He reminded his readers that the decades ago humanists had in his word set the agenda for religious discourse. But now he said it seemed to him that you missed had become increasingly defensive and dismissive of any hope of dialogue with traditional religion. This concern he said was that you missed have lost the ability to speak. Of that which is sacred. Holy or of ultimate importance. So parallel. The language that would allow us to enter once more into critical dialogue with. The body of his essay was devoted to demonstrating how they might do that. All the discoveries of modern-day science from high-energy physics to genomics and all the wonders of biology he argued i'm not only interesting and useful development. Fake inspire. The more we understand about the macrocosm he said the more reason we have to stand in awe and reverence at the process that shaped instructor is evolution and our at. The history of the universe he said he's our history. How can we snuff stand in awe before the very fact of our emergence as a consequence of the same vas processes. Who created the galaxies sons. Star. Implants. This story david. Is a religious story. In that it calls us out of our little local universes. And invites us to see ourselves in terms of largest self we can imagine. A self that was present in some sense in the singularity that produced the emergent universe. At the birth of the star. A self that in some senses related through time to every living thing on this planet that contains within it the seeds of a future we cannot imagine. In our wildest flights of fancy. I must admit i am partial to david's vision of our religious story but my point today is not to promote his notion but invite us into an expansive understanding. Reference might be in our own lives. I don't happen to believe that developing a vocabulary of reference requires that we reclaim traditional religious language. But it doesn't preclude it. David and bill represent two very different religious positions in the spectrum of unitarian universalism. What each in his own way i believe invites us into the kind of exploration that serves us all. As we seek to get clear for ourselves and what his deepest and dearest in our lives. Where's david put it in the subsequent essay what is so precious to us that we cannot betray it. Without losing our souls. What are you talkin about i believe is that for that for which we have reverence. So that means we need to get clear on how we're using that word. Place to begin. Is to take note that while it is often used in a religious context. Reference it's not strictly a religious concert. Some years ago the philosopher paul woodruff made this point. In his book entitled reference. He noted that the idea of reference points to that for which we have all that engenders in us a sense of love and respect. Let me repeat that reference refers to that for which we have off. That engenders in a sense of love and respect. It may or may not emerge in a religious context. Woodruff pointed out it was a central concept in both greek and chinese for thought we're operated as a civic virtue. For the greek cset to have reference was to live. In a way that is conscious of our own humanity. Both our wonder and beauty and our foibles. It was he said the greatest virtue of leaders. Because it feels powerful people the strength to listen to those who are weaker than they. And remind them. But no one no matter how successful was born complete knowing everything. In the same way in the complex social system of confusion china. To live with reference was to behave in a way that was in tune with what they believed to be. The natural way of things. The duties and feelings that naturally emerge from our relations with one another. In both cultures. The notion of reference was also bound up with humility. The sense that our understanding is limited and that we ourselves. Are part of something greater than we can know. And that we need to be wary of presuming. That we are in control. Or that our knowledge is greater than it is. So it is possible to experience and cultivate reference outside of religion. It's also possible for religions to operate in the way that is that odd. Which reference. As an example woodruff gives him his book. Is a campaign he saw conducted on the billboards of the city where he lived at the clare. God voted against proposition 2. Define he said maybe an expression of faith. But it's an act against reverence. If you wish to be reverend he said never claimed the awful authority of god and support of your political views. You cannot speak on such matters with the authority of god. There has been much speculation recently on the positive reception to pope francis around the. My sense is not that people are suddenly persuaded to the views of the catholic church. But they find a sense of reverence in a way that man has taken on the mantle have his awesome responsibility. Acting as a leader of a church that opposes homosexuality. Just say if someone who is gay. Enter francis's words searches for the lord and has good will. Who am i to judge. It's the speaker. Promescent. A rapper. So i think that both david bumble and bill sinkford are right. Us unitarian universalist to reflect on that of which we can speak with reverence. What is it that fills you with a sense of all that engenders in you a sense of love and respect. Or in the words of the ends statements composed by your board of trustees. Do you embrace what do you embrace it helps you discern. That in which you most deeply trust. To which you give. Your heart. It need not be something big and fabulous. To my mind robert frost humble little poem hylabrook that you heard earlier is an appeal to reverend. An ephemeral stream that has only the weak and faded foliage of weeds. Tread by its flow. To show that it ever existed. Is nonetheless love by its author. Equally. Each of us humble souls have but the memories of our loved ones to attest to our having. We love the things we love. For what they are. They might not count for much in the wide world. Yep they are for us where the attention. And respect. I recalled that the controversy over bill sinkford sermon now 12 years ago. Generated quite a tempest over how we use words. Over what might count is a vocabulary of reference. It's understandable because words have power and they have him pack. Bill's remarks centered on one particularly powerful. God. In his sermon he told of how he had once had a life-changing experience of what he felt was god that helped him evoke a sense of reverence in his life. And that experience he said helped connect them to his own feeling of what was ultimately important. In an essay following bills. David said the notion of god and other words of traditional religious language. Have the opposite of. He said that in our postmodern culture had seen that language used in his words. To support political agendas of questionable merit. Soap cereal and automobiles. The result has been to empty what has been called the language of faith of any meaning. For him. Instat david says. Eastern to language that he believes has the potential of unshackling the religious vision from its enslaved. The politics and economics of conventional society. A language she says rooted in the vision. Have reality of humans place in the world. That's emerged from the natural sciences. We in this tradition gather in covenant. Currency no words are prime aphasia off the table. As we seek to address those deepest things in our lives. Instead we look to each person to use that word. Those words that she or he can claim with integra. All the while agreeing to listen with equal integrity. With reference. Knowing that they will do the same for us. Finding reference gazing at the stars. Or listening to the singing of amazing grace. One or the other may not do it for us. But knowing how it moves are partnering conversation may open something in us. It is one way that we express a sense of reference for principal at the center of our religious tradition. The inherent worth and dignity of each. The words we use after all are embedded in the stories of our lives. None of them carries the trump. A settled proof. Instead they speak to the struggles and epiphanies that made us who we are. And opening up to each other with curiosity and humility. Letting go of our fearful need to have everyone share our. We create the possibility of growth. For us all. I offered you the words of the bengali poet. Rabindranath tagore earlier. As an expression of reverence that is always resonated deeply with me. The poem speak to my sense of a deep connection of all things. It's after the sweep of all being. From humble hylabrook. To the ocean cradle of birth and death. All shot through with the running dancing joyous throb of ages. Which is life. And like the poet. My pride comes not from some vainglorious vision of my own importance. Or the importance of my species. Spring being immersed in the midst of it. I recognize that it is such an improbable gift. Dead from this tumultuous waiver being in this brief glimpse of a moment out of all eternity. The conscious entity that i have become. Humor. Who the f***. Yep there it is. It fills me with such awe and gratitude to reflect on it that i am called to celebrate with joy. Not only my own existence but that of. Every leaf. Every bug. Hestia gore puts. Made glorious by this touch. The world of life. Cause for reverence. It is everywhere you look. Let us open ourselves.

uuasheville_org

140622-My-Brothers-Keeper.mp3

Am i my brother's keeper. Is cane's insolent response to god's inquiry as to ables whereabouts. This was a course of rhetorical question. Because having just murdered his brother in a fit of jealous rage. Kane had certifiably demonstrated that he was not his brother's keeper. What does anew less familiar with that story which mountain is found in genesis. Kane's part question is merely an aside in the myth about the two brothers. Kane was said to be a farmer why label with a shepherd and in the story it's implied the canes violence toward his brother. What's precipitated by god's rejection of pain sacrifice. The produce of his fields. But god subsequent acceptance of abel's meat. Brother's keeper mark doesn't really seem central to that story. Some have claimed it was about the rising ascendancy of agriculture over animatic lifestyle. However despite that question. Am i my brother's keeper. Genocide. It's a question that seems to have stayed with us. Maybe because they don't really understand the whole cain abel dynamic. But that question. Are we responsible for our brothers. And sisters. And if so what is that responsibility. How do we make good on it. In my view we co-create this world of ours and so like it or not. Horse. At some level. We're all one another's keeper. But who can truly be helped. What does that helping really look like. This morning i want to share some of my jumbled thoughts with you about. How. We are each other's keepers and how we can really be helpful. What is helping. Now i know many of you have devoted your lives. To helping. In some way or another. Maybe all of you. I'd like to think so. After all. We tell ourselves. That we are compassionate people. I know many of you have had careers as. Social workers counselors. Being involved in social advocacy and witness. Ministry. Nursing. Doctoring. That list goes on and on. You do these things i think. Because you believe that people can be helped. I know the kind of helping that we do that isn't necessarily a part of our vacation. It looks like a form of good deeds. We all try to do these things. Sometimes they're really great big things like. Donating a car for someone who's just getting a first job after being on unemployment. Raising and donating funds. Descend somewhere where there's been a terrible natural disaster. There's a kind of helping that might be long-term helping over the years. Volunteering for a specific just justice cause. Fostering a child. Another of those left great helping things we might do. Nevertheless i think they have a capital g for great. Working on a habitat house. Going to work for an afternoon at the manna food bank. Taking somebody next-door casserole when they're sick. Getting the newspaper. For somebody who can't get around so well anymore. Goody's might not even be that tangible. Listening to a friend whose chips are down. Letting somebody have that cut in line in the grocery store because it looks like they could really use it. Saying and encouraging words to the batter who just struck out. Giving a hug. These are a few examples of the obvious kinds of giving that saves and touches me. I'm sure every day of my life. Someone opens the door for me when my hands are full. Someone has cooked a meal for me. Someone responded to my distress call with yeah i can pick up the kids for you today. Actor sean. A business professor at mit wrote a whole book. Called helping. How to offer give and receive help in 2009. What began at his has his book. About advice. Two organizational consultants. Became a book about. Success. Human relationship. Because he said. I had to reframe any social processes. As variations of helping. Because helping. To be successful includes trust. Cooperation. Collaboration. Teamwork. Leadership. Change management. And in doing so i have come to recognize it helping is at the heart of all of our social life. Whether we're talking about ants or birds or humans. And it would seem that if we can be more effective his helpers. It will improve life for us all. Trimix the number of insightful points. Are the two that really struck me r1. We shouldn't just assume that we know what. Is needed. Just because we've been asked for help. + 2. Don't try to take other problem other people's problems on yourself. If we want to provide effective help. Do you. His helpers. We have to really understand what it is that is being thought. In fact. The person who seems to need help or who has even approached us with a request. May not know themselves. Shine suggest. That we start from a position of known ignorance. Instead of being in that. Heady position of. Well of course they came to me. Because. I can help. To realize. That we don't know what's going on. To say. Show me more about what you need. How are you feeling about the situation. What are some things that you've already try. Even those sorts of questions which may sound like. They're only four in a situation when we're being asked for advice. Might be applied when you're at being asked to do something. That is least if you have time. Shawn gives example of somebody asking how to get to a certain street. But instead of reply immediately replying. Waiting first and asking. Where is it exactly that you want to go. In which case. In that instance he learned that the person didn't want to get to the particular street but rather they were looking for a building in that part of town. And upon learning that shine is the helpers able to offer a better route actually avoiding the busy street in question. But such humble inquiry is cheyenne calls it not only gives it would be helper more info information that may presage a solution. It can help to level the playing field between the helper and the healthy because inherit in a request for help. Is a power imbalance. Which man course be why so many of us are a little bit low to ask for directions. In the inquiry process. The helper reduces at power and balance by becoming an open learner a listener. One who is truly interested in the plight of the helping. In that process to the helper avoids one of the most common pitfalls of helping. Jumping in too soon with the solution. Only to be outrightly rejected. By the healthy. Making both helper and helpy. Feel. Chucky. What is brings perhaps the more important points to me in the book. Effective help occurs when the healthy owns the problem. This might seem evident first glance. But i'm not sure that it is because it begs the question of responsibility. Who is responsible. For our lives. I'm reminded of course. I'm reminded by blanking on his name. I'm reminded. Did it is we who must take responsibility for our lives not because we make things happen to us. Things happen to us. But we are the ones who are responsible for how we react. Was viktor frankl. Please give me that our culture however offers a really mixed bag on the question of where the responsibility. Burl ives rest. Cuz on the one hand we're taught in america. Where individualists. We make it or break it on our own. Which is of course to me i think ridiculously untrue. But at the other end of that spectrum. There's a strong current that tells us that we are the mere victims of state. We must seek a causal link beyond ourselves for every perceived difficulty. Out-of-shape. Sadly this is caused by the really poor genetics that you were given. Unhappy with where you want to be in your life. Well. You just had a terrible and damaging childhood. It's all up for you. Poor relationships plaguing you. It just turns out that everyone i meet is a jerk. Lots of the chatter i think in our culture seems about. To be about who or what we can find to take responsibility. For what we don't think is going right in our lives. And it gets exacerbated by our legal culture. And work where we are constantly encouraged to plympton blame. Such that you and i find ourselves. Constantly signing liability waivers parents in re i know you know what i'm talking about. And out of sheer habit. Looking for culprits. For the failings of both others and ourselves. But this runs counter. To the very heart of the unitarian universalist tradition. Because after all ours is the tradition of radical responsibility. It's not a great god in the sky who determines our fate. Who determines our happiness who determines everything in the world. It is in our hands. The oft-quoted. God helps those who help themselves. It's not found in scripture. What is attributed to benjamin franklin. Benjamin franklin who was on hand for the first openly unitarian worship service in britain in 1774. Scooby-doo nonetheless want to be helpers we want to be compassionate. We might believe that each person has inherent worth and dignity but we know we aren't all created with equal opportunities. One of us is born into wealth and privilege and power. Another goes to sleep hungry every night. It's right that we should strive to create structures to help bring about a prosperity for all that will help to lessen people's burdens. About. So we need to be mindful about our compassion. Because even well-intentioned sympathy can create problems of its own. Consider for a moment the comments of university of california professor faith ringgold before she became a famed author and artist and children's book are they are off the. Children's book writer. Show me the art teacher. In the public schools of harlem where she had grown up. She's upset by the unthinking prejudice she would hear whispered by the other teachers about their students. She says they would say. Oh poor so-and-so they can't do that. Their mothers on drugs their families on welfare. Well she says that's a sympathy that just drags you down down down. X face expectations are the key. I was raised to know you could. Do it. And that's that. Out of compassion. We can quickly turn to pity. Creating a mindless attitude victimhood. And from that. Powerless. Springs. Many many years ago my husband and i lived in mali west africa. And there we met a little boy named soleimani. Sumani would bring us these adorable little clay figurines of animals. That he had made. Soleimani could make these figurines because he had hours. And make them. Because he couldn't run and play with the other boys. We don't know exactly what he had suffered. Maybe polio. But his legs were twisted. Any walks in an agonizing distorted gate. One day. We were on our motorcycle. Far away some three miles from our village. We were on our way to an appointment we had to make. We were stunned to see somani. Out there walking with the family milk gourd. I've been sent by his mother. To the next village where there were shepherds to get milk for the family. Respond. Only two on the moto. We were do elsewhere so we couldn't offer him a ride. But he waved happily to see us. I've often reflected on this time. I'm not sure in this country we could have a soleimani. Soleimani sent by his mom 6 miles roundtrip. To get milk for the family. Suleimani who despite his different ableness. Was given the responsibility of contributing to his family. Who is not being taught to see himself as helpless. Philemon is mother. Did not hold them. The intuition coach sonia choquette says. Ultimately. An overly empathetic heart maybe a vote of no-confidence. And those you love. Perhaps if we hold people responsible for their own lives ultimately they will live up to it. It's a good reminder to honor the ability that those around us have to take care of themselves. What we can do instead. Is focus on taking care of our own selves. Not only do we as helpers need to be mindful. That we. Might need to be mindful so that we don't contribute to someone's losing a sense of responsibility for themselves. I think there is another form of giving. Then we might take for granted. It's not the do-gooder kind of giving. Don't let me disparage that. Do-gooder giving it's important. But when you think about it. We also saved by the pursuits of others. Unrelated in any way to their consciously trying to help us. Because i know. That my life is impacted. In every way. By others pursuing their own creative vision and their greatness. I'm doing what they do that what they do. What do i mean. I'm talking about people developing themselves and their talents. Taking their own lives to the fullest extent possible. An easy example of course would be to think of art. We like to acknowledge art. Music. The great thing. It adds beauty to the world. But we might likely categorize pursuits of creative passions has. Somewhat self-serving and therefore less morally valuable than say the work of a special education teacher. But is that really true. What about. The musicians. To bring great joy into our lives. Allowing us. To go on with a lighter heart. Allowing us to sing that melody later in the day when we're starting to feel a little tired and wore. What about that gardener who works daily. Producing blooms for their own satisfaction. But yet when we see them our spirits are uplifted. And we are inspired by the color. The fragrance. What about the architect design. Shaped our building. What about the cellist whose skill inspires a whole generation of young string players. Do not people shirley. Give us things by living their own lives. Weather in direct pursuit of their dream of saying. Being an athlete. For making movies. Or just doing a job. To support one's family. To support other dreams they might have. I'm making money to live. To pursue a better life. In countless ways. Talent skills efforts and works of others. I guess their own lives. It's important to be mindful that these many benefits we receive from so many others. Adam simply living their lives. For work and pleasure. But i'm not sure that i'm making sense with this points and let me just throw it in the negative. What would the world look like. If we didn't pursue. Our desires. What if we all focused on selflessly helping everyone else. I find it really hard to even imagine what the world would look like. Primitive i suspect. Very little development of human culture. Sewart. Architecture to music. The technological skill development. We might manage to feed ourselves in order to feed others. But could we really progressed far beyond that. We think when we are following something that motivates us. That we are doing something for ourselves. But don't let that impede you if you're one of these people stuck in the. I need to be a selfless person. You can have both. It's a both and world for wii unitarian universalist. We can do good things for ourselves. Bennett turner good for others. We can be a lawyer we can be a teacher. We can run a cash register. We can work on the highways we can build things we can work in our gardens. We show up to do that. To the best of our ability. And my gosh that keeps the world running. Of course if you're in a job that you hate that's another issue we might need to talk about that. Kansiime. It is in the pursuit of our lives. But the interconnected web. Rolls on. I need to take notice of it. And be mindful. Be mindful that it's important. That we follow up on these desires that we have. Because if we're constantly engaged. And taking care of others. It might be that we are the ones. To grow resentful. Worn out. Feel impeded. Back on the bridge. There's always going to be something that somebody. Offering you a rope. Do you really do them a service. The woman on the bridge was faced with a terrible choice. To pursue her own wants. Her own goals. Or stay there forever with that dead weight attached to her. Thoughtful and compassionate. She tries. But the dead ray just refuses to accept any responsibility. Finally. Our hero juliana realizes. Does not mean that she can accept responsibility. As you saw. Even if she does. There can be no success in that. Looking around i'm wondering. If anybody has ever handed you a rope. I know i've had it happen to me. Maybe not an issue of immediate life-and-death. And sometimes it happens too fast just like to the woman on the bridge. Who who course said yes. Before she knew what the wrong way. Can i do. Takes little time. To work these things out. And that's where we can circle back to our humble inquiry. Do you want to be a help. Try to understand. Rabbi edwin friedman who wrote the table i told was a rabbi and family therapist who practice and was serving in the dc area for four decades during the 20th century. And during the course of his career after working with thousands of people he really became convinced that the biggest way that we could help one another. It's the self-differentiation tape. I worked on that. That is to not be sucked in trying to fulfill others emotional needs or even in trying to change others. He saw the presence of members of a family or an organization. With the ability. To take care of themselves. To pursue who won wanted to be. We're able to exert the greatest influence on the system. But those who tried always to change others. Ended up holding the rope. Much of the aid that is affected friedman say doesn't have to do with providing any kind of care at all but merely. Being true to oneself. Which in turn can be the model the inspiration. The catalyst for others to act. As well as behaving in such a way that. The focus on the one who would be helped. And now we're back to shine. The problem with. The client. We can't take on. How we handle ourselves not the advice or even the physical help that we give. It's not always the most useful thing we can do. How we handle ourselves not the advice or even the physical help me give is the most useful thing we can do for one another. Isn't that what gandhi meant when he said we should be the change. We wish to see. Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive. And go do it. Because what the world needs. Is people. Who have come alive.

uuasheville_org

160221-If-You-Cant-Have-The-Life-You-Want-Then-Want-The-Life-You-Have.mp3

There are things i love about winter. Like a certain slant of light on the mountains at dusk. An explosion of pink ecstasy on a comforter of clouds at dawn. Like the reflection of a full moon on fresh snow. Tree branches laden with layers of white stillness. I love the hiss and crackle and. Ward's of locust log burning in the fireplace. Omitting the aroma of scorched wood & pete. Winter is when i enjoy hiking up the mountain. And resting my eyes on a majestic blue ridge panorama. Screen through acres of forest. I could go on and on but you get the idea. There is much to love about winter. And there are only three things that i hate about it. Cold. Cold. And cold. My fingers and toes go numb in winter. And so i'm very grateful that my husband and. My husband shocked and i have friends who come after christmas. To take care of our goats so that we can head south. In our motorhome for about a month. Well this year. We stayed at a campground in melbourne beach florida. Last july i reserved us a nice site on the indian river. Where we would enjoy watching dolphins swim by and observe a variety of water birds. But when we arrived at our site. After a tarantula visit from el nino. Most of our waterfront site was waterlogged. We made a decision to move to a higher and drier site that was not on the river. They're always cancellations we were told and we could check back in the office to see if a better sight came available. Well i checked back about twice a day at least. Hoping for that perfect bit of waterfront property. And ask her about three days of walking around the campground and envying the folks who had those really great sights on the river. I realized. But i was spending. Too much time and psychic energy. Trying to be somewhere else. I heard the lyrics of that stephen stills song in my head. If you can't be with the one you love then love the one you're with. Only i i know that's a 70 song and we won't go there but. Only i said to myself. If if you if you can't have the site you want then want the site you have. I gave up checking on cancellations and settled in to enjoy the rest of the vacation. You know how it happens. You stop by the grocery store on your way to a meeting. And you get stuck. In a long line. You decide. To change lines because you're in a hurry. And that other line over there is moving faster. But then the person in front of you wants to pay with a check. And the manager has to come and approve it. And then you watch is the person who was behind you in that other line. Goes on through with the groceries and out the door. We have opportunities on a daily basis. To witness our cell getting all worked up. Over nothing. I find useful on those occasions. To cultivate the buddhist practice of mindfulness. I talk to myself. I say. Sarah. You are wearing yourself out trying to be somewhere else. Pay attention. To where you are right now. Be present here in this very moment. Notice the people around you. Smile at them. Receive their smiles. Plant yourself where you are. Let go of your notions of how things should be. Do not be attached to results. Let go of expectations. Open your heart. Do generosity. And compassion. I am reminded of the story of a priest. Who is in charge of. A small zen temple that was famous because of its garden. The priest had been given the temple because he liked nothing better. Then tending gardens. A very old zen master. Live next to the temple and another smaller temple. The priest was going to have jeff and he had been busy all morning perfecting his garden. He had raked all the fallen leaves together and throwing them away. He had sprinkled water on the moth he had even comb the moss here and there. And he put down some leaves again in the right places. And when finally. He stood on his verandah and contemplated his garden. He was pleased that his garden was in every respect as it should be. The old zen master had been watching the priests work. With interest while he. Leaned on the fence which separated the two temples. Isn't it beautiful the priest asked the master. My guess will be coming a little while and i want them to find the garden as the monks who originally designed it meant it to be. The master knotted. Yes he said. Your garden is beautiful. Something is missing. And if you'll lift me over the fence and put me down in the garden for a moment. I'll put it right for you. When he had lowered the master carefully into his garden. The old gentleman walked slowly to a tree growing in the center of a harmonious rock and moss combination. It was awesome. And the leaves were dying. All the master had to do. Was. To shake the tree little. And the garden was full of leaves again. Spread out and haphazard patterns. That's what it needed. The master said. You can put me back again. Story and sarah. I think there are times. But that's send priest. Visits each one of us. I don't think he's saying you should not want to create a beautiful garden. Or to prepare a delicious meal. Or to share your skills. With excellence. He is reminding you not to become attached. Do what you want. Life is suffering. Said the buddha. And the more we cling to our desires. The more we suffer. Daily encounters with ourselves. In the checkout line or. Maybe in the trader joe's parking lot. Those are rehearsals. For dealing with. The bigger thing. Rehearsals for dealing with times of grief for illness. For the big transitions like getting through a broken relationship. Or making a big move. A times of true suffering. If you can't have the body you want. If you can't get the job you want. If you can't have the life you want. Then want the one you have. On the other hand. What would we ever accomplish if we did not envision a better life. As the poet road in this morning's reading. This is the heart constant project. This simple learning learning how to hold. Hopelessness and hope. Together. To desire everything. And nothing. At once and to desire it all the time. And to contain that desire. Fleshly. In a body. I just speak to it almost of all to speak to it everyday everyday saying to one part. Well. Maybe this is all you got. While saying to the other. Taiwan. Break it open. Let it go. So i am thinking now. Of 2 people. A man and a woman. Who were married. For about 3 years. They were an unlikely match. She was an overachiever who gave up a high-level job at pricewaterhouse to return to arizona when her parents needed her to run the family tire business. Then she got involved in the community and local politics. At40. He was a member of the united states house of representatives. Her husband. Former cop in new jersey. Was a street-smart naval pilot. Who decided he wanted to be an astronaut. The woman is gabrielle giffords. Her husband is mark kelly. Well chuck and i were on that vacation in florida my. Uu colleague in vero beach scott alexander invited us to a lecture. At his church where gaby and mark we're bill to be the speakers. Gabby giffords is the congresswoman from arizona who was shot. In the head. January 8th. 2011. And suffered severe brain damage. Her husband mark kelly. Is a former astronaut and commander of the space shuttle. They had it all. They were both ambitious hard-working risk-takers. They were both called to a life of service. They did not live together but they spoke to each other daily and supported each other. And their careers which pretty much consumed their lives. It was just one thing they wanted. And gabby wanted it desperately. A child. Mark. Father-of-two. I had a vasectomy and it was not successfully reversed. They spend a good bit of time and fertility clinics and. Had two frozen embryos scheduled for implantation at the time of the assassination attempt. On gabby's life. At the luxury that we attended and vero beach mark spoke for about an hour. Telling stories of his life and their life. It was a new jersey cop who dreamed of being an astronaut. Dream big he said. Never stop trying to achieve what you want. I can recall several stories from his speech. And then gabby took the podium. And she spoke for about. 3 minutes. After five years of speech therapy. She spoke in whole sentences but haltingly. After five years of physical therapy. She walked. But. Not fluently. I don't recall anything she said. It was mostly upbeat. Platitudes. Did matter. She was the miracle. She was courage and hope and the power to endure. She was humanity at its finest. If she had said when life hands you lemons make lemonade. I would have stood up and shouted amen. I do not know what life is like. For mark and gabby. Astronaut turned caregiver. Public servant and potential senator or governor struggling. To communicate a few words. Their longing for child. Maybe a lost dream. On january 8th 2011. Gabby's life as she knew it was over. Mark's life as he knew it. Was over. Their life together as they knew it. With over. How they long to have that life back. They do not have the life they want. But they are living meaningfully into the life they have. Her recovery has been in the words of mark. A long excruciating slog. With breakthrough moments like her first word or. First sentence. Her first step. And i shall not forget the first time she returned to congress to cast her vote on a controversial issue. Gabby and mark have adjusted for reality. And adapted to the new normal. Over and over. While continuing to work. Very hard. To recover her health. They have given up their high-powered careers and they use their fame and misfortune. To inspire others and to work for legislation. That will reduce gun violence. Asap ferg. They suffer. And their suffering has given them what one buddhist master. Called. The spiritual warrior's tender heart of sadness. We are all spiritual warriors. And our task is to come through our own suffering. With the tender heart of sadness that deepens our compassion for others. As spiritual warriors. It is our hearts constant project. To hold hopelessness. And hope together. To desire everything. And nothing at once. And to desire it all the time and to contain that desire fleshly. Antibody. And to speak to it. To speak to it. Everyday saying 21 parts. Well. Maybe this is all you get. While saying to the other. Come on. Break it open.

uuasheville_org

150426-A-Web-of-Care.mp3

We are a congregation that cares for one another. It is as pat said part of our covenant. And fundamental to the connections that we make and cultivate in this place. I know it is a characteristic of this community in which many of you take great pride. Are carrying begins at the welcome table when when newcomers walks through the door and continues throughout your time here in the congregation. It isn't always easy to care in a way that is supportive and life-giving. We began this morning with a reading from henri nouwen in which he explores the meaning of caring. We feel quite uncomfortable he says with an invitation to enter into someone's pain. Before doing something about it. Caring is about presents. It is about listening. And about allowing the other person to have agency and control in their own healing and recovery. We're not here to rescue but to aid and support. Think of it like your aaa membership. The entity that exists you have your membership and your handy card in your wallet i keep mine in my. Car visor. Even if you have a flat tire or any kind of road emergency are you have to do is call and they will help you out. It's always there but you have to pick up the phone and ask for it when you need it. How to make this comparison to highlight one of the fundamental goals that i have for pastoral ministry. Which is to always encourage and allow full agency on the part of each individual who needs our help and support. We want you to know that you are supported. Want you to know that there is a structure in place for assistance and listening. At the same time that you understand that it's your call. When and how to engage with that. Support network. Investments theme study materials were quoted pre-eminently uuc legend james luther adams. Who said we cannot properly put place our confidence in our own creations. We must depend on a transforming reality that breaks through our encrusted forms of life and thought. To create new forms. We put our face. Atom shows in a creative reality that is recreative. Revelation is continuous. Perhaps that is one revelation about being a people of care. We depend on one another to break through those encrusted forms. Of life. And thought. How many of us how many of you feel comfortable. Caring for others. I know the scores of you volunteer to help many people to hospice or tutoring or at the hospital and in many many other places. You bring meals or offer rides for others when they are sick or recovering. We are good at tearing. But it is so much harder. To be cared for. Let me ask you what happens when you are down and feeling bad. If you're anything like me you tell everyone that you're doing just fine and your bowl under the covers to wait it out. Until you are healed. It's instinctual first of all the cave. But it's also reinforced by our larger culture. Ticket has to do with the worship of individuality that has become our american norm. When in fact we are only saved when we are connected. We only. It only works when we work together. I fell prey to this ideal recently. Myself. Was trying to recruit some volunteers to help with a project in the congregation i sat at my desk after making a bunch of phone calls despairing because i feel like i spoke at that moment like i am always asking people to do things. And many of you expressed feeling overworked and unavailable. It's ally reverted in that moment. To something that is pretty easy for me i just did that particular project myself. And i was relaying this event with another person to another person i was talking about this for. Progression of events. They said to me but you know. If you don't ask people to do things they will think that you don't trust them. To accomplish the task. Empowering each other is another way. Of caring. I hadn't thought about it quite like that before but it's true and this morning i want to say to you i trust you. I believe in you i believe in us. I believe in the way that all of us together work. To continue and create. This beloved community. Artwork of empowerment and support is broad and it is varied. We stand in solidarity with many people outside of our walls. We show up to be present for them in their time of need. Couples applying for marriage licenses workers who have been treated unfairly or people in our community affected by racial injustice. We wear our yellow shirts are standing on the side of love shirts when we do that many of us. Don't want to ask you to imagine with me for a moment. What would it feel like in your moment. Of sickness or crisis. What would it feel like in the moment. Of your challenge. If we all put on our yellow shirts. For you. What if you had a support team. With slogans and signs. Surrounding you with gold shirted love. When you. We're having a struggle. It sounds a little silly and. Sure if i was sick i wouldn't want you and your yellow shirt surrounding my hospital bed. 50 idea. The idea of showing up in that way. In that present. And. And. Grounded and. Communal way. Showing up for each other. Is in some way what we are doing what we are trying to accomplish in the caring ministry of this congregation. We are standing with you and offering you support as you recover from. Crisis. It is this gift of presents that we give each other. The humility of listening. Of being present and honoring our individual experiences as we work together to create beloved community. Mark and i work together as the minister's to provide pastoral care to this congregation but as you know even with two of us there is no way for us to do it alone. Therefore this congregation has created a few simple structures. To help you care. And be cared for. They all fall under the larger umbrella of the congregational care team. The core of this ministry is the pastor of visitors. These are folks who have been trained in active listening educated about. Hospice in hospitals in general care. As well as spending time real playing scenarios and appropriate boundaries. They meet monthly with me for support and continuing education. You can identify them on sunday mornings because they were blue name tag. There's a postural visitor on call at all times. And their name and phone number is listed in your order of service as well as in the e-news. Pastoral visitors are there to be a friendly connection to the congregation and a support and a sounding board if you are dealing with an acute. Or ongoing health path crisis grief. Or another challenge. They are not therapist. And they are not social workers. But they can be a wonderful connection to your face community. Anna support. In a challenging time. In hospitals especially i've learned the catholic ones. It is common for patients or their families to refuse a visit from a chaplain because the perception is a chaplain it's the same as a priest. And if the priest comes. He is there to administer what used to be called last rites. Now refer to as anointing of the sick so in that constructs. If you see the chaplain it means that you are about to die. And i want to tell you that that is not the case here either. If you receive a call from someone who is offering. Can meet with you on behalf of the. Congregational care team. It means that marco i have identified you as someone who is going through a difficult time and could benefit from some extra loving support. It doesn't mean we think you're a disaster it doesn't mean we think you are on the brink of death it seems that we. We. Have assessed based on you or someone else making us aware of your situation. But if the work of our community to be present to one another in our highest and lowest. Moments. Our caring ministry is not only for the emergencies. The second piece of the caring structure is the caring response network. This is quite simply an email list of people who have agreed to be contacted in the event that someone in the congregation. Needs assistance with meals. After surgery first of a child and he kind of thing that happens like that or rides to doctors appointments things like that other simple tasks. Booby signup sheets at the congregational care table after the service if you are willing to be a part of that ministry and you have not already signed up. Please give us your name and your email and we will add you to the list. The way it works is that you'll receive an email from someone who needs assistance attacked the emails actually come from jules from publications. If you're willing and able to help with that particular thing you can respond directly to the person requesting the help. The simple way to support each other is there anyone in the room here who has. Given assistance as part of the response congregate congregational care. The response network. There anybody who has received help if you are willing to share. So. Some of you have done both. And that is wonderful. In addition you will see in the e-news the tlc section which stands for this loving community. It is where you find announcements of major life milestones including birthdays above 75 years. There is an online form linkedin the e-news or you've heard about the qr code for the money donations but down below. There is a qr code for caring. Support there is an online form that this code. Connect to and that form goes directly to me and to jules and. Toast. Allows us to publish your news or it's also way to ask for support. We strive to also respect your privacy our policy is to only publish milestones illnesses a request for assistance. With your permission. There's a box on the form to check the lets us know that you have permission to share if you're sharing on behalf of someone else. You can call me or mark or the on-call pastoral visitor and as i said if you are jazzed about technology you can also use the qr code. We can't function at the same level as a social service agency there are limits to what we can do in a concrete cent. The ministry of presence and caring is what we do. And it's. Fairly simple. The most important part of this ministry is not the email distribution list for even the individuals who have been trained to be your first responders. The most important part of this ministry is you. Each of you is a jewel on indra's net. Connected and sparkling. Each of you is a reflection. Of that clock kaleidoscope. What are the things i love most about this ministry is the number of people over the years who asked to become part of pastoral visitors. In the congregation because they were touched by the care that they received when they were in a crisis. It all comes back to vulnerability. Enter presence. We are co-creating a ministry of care within this congregation that allows us to be vulnerable to one another to accept support when we need help. And then to switch roles and offer support to others when they need help. It takes humility and openness. It takes courage to be vulnerable. But the rewards are rich. This is part of what revelation means to unitarian universalist. Our focus on covenanted community creates a structure in which we are able to hold each other and be present to the complexity of life. If revelation is not healed field. His revelation is not sealed. We as human beings are part of how it continues to unfold. As we reveal ourselves to one another we become stronger both as a whole and as parts. That's why the kaleidoscope images so powerful. We are fragments we are reflections of one another all parts of the whole and as such we are more alike than we are different. And are shifting continues to reflect. And reveal beauty. Complexity and grace. This is creative generative work that we do together. Before and with each other. And that is a powerful force. There is a bridge between the now and reading and the reading about the kaleidoscope. By elizabeth tarbox they do seem to be saying different things. I did that on. The bridge is that the dual truth that the bridge is the dual truth that we are at the same time. Present in the moments of one another's pain. And reflected. In the fragments of the kaleidoscope. We can be present to one another and we can allow ourselves to be vulnerable to accept. Support and care. This helps us to have the strength and the compassion. To share it with the next person. The candles of joy and sorrow that we light each week are the centerpiece of our web of caring. I have attended uu congregations for nearly 30 years and so i can recall in it in my mind's eye along progression of candle flames that i have lit in countless church buildings across the country. Marking the milestones of my life. The triumphs and the heartbreak. The wishes and the transitions. These are the reflections of our kaleidoscope. Remember. Elizabeth tarbox says we are in it. Of it. Not observers of the pattern but part of the very texture. Of which it is constructed. So let us dance in the flames that we see. Let the ark of our creativity. Embrace our moment of time and let us add our light. To the kaleidoscope. Trusting in the unity of the whole. Even as we speak symmetry with the part. May we find in our relationships a spirit of mutual care. May we listen. Pain into challenge. Before we rush to fix it. For the kaleidoscope of this community reflect our strength. Our compassion. And our connection. May it be so.

uuasheville_org

140914-Creating-Home.mp3

I remember. When i first left home for college. That first time i went grocery shopping on my own. It was one of those moments. A small moment but none the less. A universal life. Passage. I wandered through the aisles of the store. Secretly wishing i had made a list or honestly secretly wishing that my mother had made the list. Because she made the list in order of the store. So you just had to go down the aisles and pick up each thing in order and then. You're done. But i picked out a few items to put in my cart. I think we had walked over a mile from the oberlin campus to the store. So wasn't buying a lot of stuff. But there were two items in that store that gave me pause. The bread. And the laundry detergent. I remember trying to decide which kind of each item to get. And it's some point in those grocery store aisles. A light bulb went off and. I realize. Did i wasn't required to get the same kind of whatever it was. And my mom had been buying since i was however old. As it turned out. Was the moment i realized i didn't have to do everything exactly as my parents had done at home. As it turned out i got some bread that was not so healthy as i was used to none of that 19 grains plus nuts and seeds business. But the laundry detergent i got was exactly the same kind that my mother would buy. Because. None of the other brands smelled right. There was a freedom in choosing a different kind of bread. But there was comfort. And getting the detergent that smelled like home. It's that universal moment the transition from childhood to adulthood moving. From our family. Into the world. There are so many ideas of what makes a home i'm sure we've all seen. A kitschy needlepoint pillow like my grandmother made or a painted plaque that says home is where the heart is. But of course in this internet age there's more a google search stipulated that home is alternatively where the coffee is. Where the wi-fi connect automatically. Where the cat or dog fur sticks to everything but the cat or the dog. And apparently for some. The place that you can dance without pants. Jokes or hokey sayings these may all be but they each points to important elements of what makes home. Home by these accounts. Is where we feel most comfortable. Where we have our basic needs met. Where we find our loved ones whether animal or human. But perhaps most importantly home is where we can be most authentic. Where we can relax and let loose a little bit. There was a time in my life where when i moved frequently for my job and so home for me was not. By any stretch an established location. The only constant with my 83 honda accord. To this day the best car i've ever owned. But every time i moved to a new place. The first thing that i did was make my bed. And as soon as my special burgundy and green log log cabin quilt. Was neatly spread out. The room became my home. Now i confess it's the books. The first thing i unpack in any new house. Is the books and the bookshelves of course. There's a sense of familiarity and grounding for me that comes from being surrounded by those familiar images and colors the names on the spines. Some of them always go in the same order and in the same general location and others get reorganized as i. Move around. There's a satisfaction that comes from arranging those books. But even though that first action gives me a sense of security and familiarity. There's a longer process of really settling into a new place. You have to learn the noises and the quirks. Of the new place in our house now our kitchen faucet. Pushes down instead of pulled up. I think that's right might be the other way around whatever you're not used to. And it took a really long time to get used to doing it the opposite way. You also have to discover the routes and the roads around you. You may recall my first sermon i preached here i made a joke about that weird right hand left turn to get onto clingman avenue when you're coming from downtown. I figured that one out pretty quickly it only took one time to realize what i had to do. But i also remember the first time i ever felt like. I figured out the roots here in town. Is driving home from church on an evening and there was a drastic backup on 241 that i could see before i got onto the merge onto the merge lane. And so it was soon enough that i could change my plan. In a split second i was able to observe the traffic and also think in my head of two different ways to get home that didn't involve route 240. And i remembered. A sense of triumph. But also. I had the thought. I really live here now. This is my place. Because i know. More than one boutique at home. It should be clear i live about three miles away from the church. I knew that i felt settled. In asheville. Settled. Is it good word. In the last month. Over the last year we've talked a lot about my call as associate minister. But another way that we describe a ministry. Once you have been called and duly installed. Is to say that it is settled. But i. And settled. And that. My friends is a reality that does my heart good. I've had my books unpacked. In my office here for a good long while now. And we've gotten to know each other pretty well. Cindy is living and working here and asheville. After two years of not. That. I can tell you is a delight. I still remember the first time i heard that closing song we sing each week at the end of the service. And i remember feeling. Peach. A distance of welcome. That has stayed with me. It was my first sunday here i'd only been in town a few weeks. A few days. Yeah it was i think i got here on the 6th and it was the 8th but it was. Is a short. of time between when i drove my car in and. That first service. And i would preach my first sermon for you that next week. I remember hearing the song as we all held hands. And seeing how you sing it to each other. How you make eye contact with each other. And i contact with people who are new. And i remember feeling he'll. Surrounded by love. And surrounded by a strong and deep. Intention of inclusion. The words that struck me most that day and continue to do so are the ones may the pure light within you guide your way home. I remember knowing that day that this place could. Become my home. And over the past three years i've heard the words differently. At different times. It's the last thing we sing until we remind one another as we go forth. That we will return to this home. Next week. Sunday worship is often articulated as the one that our we gather together to be inspired. And recharge before we go back into the world. For another week. And in that sense. We sang to guide each other home. The next week. I have song those words seeing many new visitors to the congregation. And heard in the words my own hope. That newcomers would find a home. In this place. As i have. I have song those words knowing that i member ark of our community is ill or dying. And in those moments it felt like a prayer. For peace and comfort. Tula body in transition. The words are a blessing to a traveler ascending force. Telegraphing both a wish. And an expectation. The sun will shine upon you. It will warm you. And the light within. A different light. But light. None the less. It also suggests that that pure light within you. The divine spark. The individuality that is you. That light can guide you to the home of your soul. Your most authentic self. And isn't that what we are called. To do. Together in this place. Because home means different things to different people. For those who have houses. Filled with violence or strife. Weather. Now today or in childhood. That feeling of finding home can be elusive. For those who have no roof over their head. Home. Is complicated. For some of us home implies family. That sense of where we originated. The place that holds our. History. Four others home implies choice. Choosing our space. Setting it out the way we want it to be. Choosing who and what we'll get our resources and our energy. Home can be a feeling that calls forth a memory of things past. Or it can be a wish. For inclusion. We may lack a memory of home. But find it in a feeling. Or quality of belonging. That is new. I hear that often. In. People who come to unitarian universalist congregation. Who have come from another religion. That has. Not serve them in one way or another a feeling of coming home to a space where i can be. Myself. And for some people that space is not available. In their house. And so they find it. In another place. A house is a building. A shelter. Structure. A home is a relationship. It is hospitality. And nurture. And that. Is the crocs. Of home. Home is active. We must create it. We must apply our hearts and our spirit to this place and to make it what we seek. Sometimes that's done in concrete action. We paint. We have a pile of books out-of-the-box. Perhaps we raise money. For a welcome project. We bring food we set out tables. And sometimes our action is more abstract. When we dream for the future. When we listen deeply to one another. When we show. When we. Imagine. Either way whether concrete. Or abstract. Home is deeply personal. And home is also invitational. The things that make a house feel like a home are the things that help us feel connected. An open door. Sharing food laughter and conversation. Warrants in the winter and cool in the summer. Familiar sights and sounds. And the things that help us to feel whole and supported and grounded in our own identity. So i wonder this morning what does it mean to make space. For others. To find home. My house is expressive of my needs and interest. I have my grandfather's wing chair in the corner of the living room because it recalls my history. I have my favorite things arranged near the places i sit most often. My shoes sit by the door so that i can grab them if i need them because i hate wearing them in the house. But the soap. In the bathroom is on the right hand side of the sink. Because that is cindy's habit. For a while i found it confusing but i've adjusted and now it feels. Normal to me also. And cindy and i place a high value on hospitality. We love to open our home to friends. Hosting impromptu gatherings with hot chocolate on our porch. Or. My annual themed cocktails and dress-up party for the oscars. We share a wish that our friends will always feel welcome to drop in and visit. Our guest room is always ready. Because for us our home is both a sanctuary for our relationship. And a place we want to fill with laughter and experiences of our loved ones with us. So here in this congregational context. Our home is always open to others. Every sunday we have guests. And that's not always easy but it is always good. It feels like home. And it is public space. We create this place that becomes our personal space of sanctuary. And an open church community it is that constant tension in life. It's never either or it's always both. And. I once heard a consultant say that the most important constituency within any congregation is the next 100 people who walk through the door. Honestly when i first heard it i wasn't sure if i agreed. None-the-less that phrase has stuck with me. It's like the quote from nelson mandela that reverend jake shared yesterday at my installation. Paraphrase we work for justice so that our grandchildren can dance. Weehoo find a home here in this congregation are called to create a home that is accessible and open. Both for us and for the next 100 people who find us. And that. Is a particular challenge how do we keep the things that make us feel at home when we arrive. But also make the space for others. To feel and find their own. Since. Perhaps it is about finding a balance between the concrete. And the ineffable. Living in the tension between freedom and comfort. This is the home that love. Made. Some of you were here. Before i was here. Some of you. Have arrived since then. And all of you have welcomed me in you have given me a home. A place to feel rooted. So that i can grow both. In my own ministry and with you. I have joined your work for justice. I have sat with you in times of sorrow and sickness. We have brainstorms together solutions to problems. And we will continue. We will continue to learn and grow and dream. Together. We are constantly creating and recreating our sense of what this place. Is. And what it can be. And constantly finding the balance between being settled. Getting comfortable. And being called to co-create deeper and more authentic relationship. Because we do. Meet. On holy ground. We need. This time. And this place. And these people. This is the home. That love made. The place and the people within it are beloved. Our wishes for each other are good. And we work well together accomplishing wonderful exciting things. This is the house that love made. This is the home. That love makes. Every time we meet. And when we park. That love. Goes out into the world. And may the pure light. Within you. Guide. Your. Way. Fayetteville.

uuasheville_org

150315-Black-Lives-Matter.mp3

There was a festival feeling in the air as we marched west along selma avenue last sunday. A brilliant son was in our eyes and people were gathered along the street. Smiling in something between amusement. And amazement. In their eyes. Flood of humanity passed before them. The tenor and pace of the mark. Change though as we approach. Broad street. It was here that we began to get a sense of the true scope of this gathering. Turning left. Two-faced the alabama river we saw for the first time some five blocks from the distance that iconic marker of the civil rights movement. With a heavy block letters spread across its central girder. Edmund pettus bridge. More remarkable do was the amazing crowd of people spread before us. You get a sense of it from the photo that i took that appears on the cover of your order of service. The crowd covered every bit of the bridge and the street leading up to it. Organizers had also put up a massive screen that you can see to the left. Images of and video interviews with major figures in the 1965 voting rights campaign in selma were protected. I happened to catch the moment when an image of the reverend james reid. The unitarian universalist minister who was minister who was murdered in selma. Adjust. Been displayed. What this picture doesn't show is that many others who spilled onto the side streets leading up to the bridge and we're lined up for several blocks behind us. It was incredible. Once we turned onto broad street it was no longer possible to march. We inched ahead step-by-step as we could. It must have taken 20 minutes to walk the flute few blocks to the bridge. Hi-5 have found myself in crowded settings like this before. But i can't ever remember having been in one that was as diverse. Even more. I can't remember ever having been part of a diverse gathering where the racial animus or just discomfort that seems so often to lie just below the surface when white and black join together was so. Low. As we move forward it seems at the festival feeling that we felt before had shifted into something deep. Carnival i'm sure was the way defense of moment. Here we were black-and-white celebrating with our presence are joined affirmation of the principal one through the civil rights struggle 50 years before. All people have a right to a role in deciding their own destiny. Did that right is embodied in the unhindered access to the vote. Ultimately winning that ride wasn't extraordinary victory that ended the pattern of oppression that had been in place for centuries. And here in selma in 1965 was the tipping. Card one through injury and death. But one. Hall of fame. But beside that sense of occasion. It was something else. It felt to me like. Uneasiness. Communicated and smiles and casual banter. Pressed together as we were there was no pushing or in painting and patience. We took our time. And it was okay. Looking from the crest of the bridge on that picturesque bend in the alabama river listening to children laughing and clusters of people singing freedom song. It was easy to get lulled into a kind of happy kumbaya. On the bus ride back i remembered remarks from the reverend bernice king. Daughter of the riven. Dr. martin luther king jr.. How to service only three days before. At the baptist church where the summer campaign had its origin. To remember the martyrs of the civil rights move. As good as it may feel to celebrate she said our nation is at a critical moment. When we must shift our mentality and our behavior and our practice. We must do something radically different. If we're going to be able to continue to move forward as a nation and as a world. And it's true. 50 years after the march on the across the edmund pettus bridge. Our nation is challenged with a different. Blood on the pavement. Ferguson missouri staten island new york cleveland ohio. Ugly truths about the persistent disparities in the lives of black and white american. How far we have to go can be measured by the fact that as we celebrate the civil rights victories of the sixties the most powerful slogan of our time is that black lives matter. Yes we have both elected and re-elected our first black african-american president. Yes african-americans are media entertainment and sports superstars. And had major corporation. All that is true. And still racism remains embedded in the fabric of american life. The difference from the 60s is that the way it makes itself known he's less obvious. At least those of us who are white. We haven't been followed around in stores by suspicious retail clerk. We haven't had jobs or mortgage is denied for vague reason. We haven't been pulled over in our cars. For no apparently reason and searched spread eagle outside them. Office close on. You're not just out there in the big wide world right here. In asheville. Bibimbap do is just the surface. It gets more frightening as you move down the economic ladder. We're opportunity for employment is lessen the chance for entanglement in the legal system is greater. It's a world that few of us here in counter and yet it is devastating even destroying the life of. What's especially frightening now is the escalating level of violence that we're seeing that has resulted in the needless shooting deaths of black man. And now the tragic deaths. A police officer. Prime. Horrors. So what now. Last december our associate minister lisa bovee kemper challenge you to consider how we as a congregation might respond. She presented you quotes from a couple of our colleagues. One was from the reverend tom shade he said. We who believe in people. Must join in the movement that demands that black lives matter. It is the cutting edge of your assertion that all human beings have inherent worth. The other was from the reverend victoria sanford. To observe. Our longest march. Maybe the one that takes us down from the dais of competitive debate. And rational inquiry. Into the common ground listening. Witnessing. Morning. And embracing. Lisa closed announcing i stand before you this morning with no easy answers. No call to action. I stand before you. Brokenhearted and tired. Feeling as if the darkness has come so close and i can't see a way for. I have faith. In the power of good will to act. I believe we can turn that anxiety into anger and anger into action. I have faith. We will find a way forward. Until we announce a way forward. By posting black lives matter on our sign out there when we convene the meeting. Those of us at the meeting resolved that before we decide what to do. We need to know what we're talkin. People are encouraged to. Words that courage to attend the upcoming building bridges anti-racism training to make contacts with community groups like the n-double-acp. And we announced that everyone in the congregation would be invited. To read michelle alexander's path-breaking book the new. Pro. And we would organized groups to discuss it. I hope that many of you had a chance to at least look through alexander's. It can be dense in places. What you makes a devastating case. For how many african-americans are being essentially denied rights of citizenship. The irony she writes this just as the civil rights laws were taking effect. Tearing down century-old jim crow laws intended to intimidate and exclude african-americans from civil life. A new raft of laws and practices were being adopted that accomplished the same perp. They weren't built that way. Instead they were offered his tools to protect public safety. But how they were enforced. Assured that a generation of young african-american men would be swept away. Stigmatize. Ripping apart families and neighborhoods across this country. The numbers alone, shocking. Since 1972 the number of people held in prisons or jail has risen from 350,000 to more than 2 million. And a disproportionate share of them are. The number grows even larger when you add those on probation or parole. In fact that she says there are cities in the u.s. today. We're more than half of all young black men are under. Correctional. The main driver of this increase alexander shows is a program once highly praised by politicians of all stripes. The war on drugs. You were called the grimm stories of crack houses and drug gangs turning urban centers into war zones. Politicians promised to come down hard on the perpetrator. With laws that vastly increased prison sentences for even the smallest drug offenses. Certified for a moment the fact that the war on drugs was declared at a time when drug use was actually on the decline. And the treatment is a far more effective preventative for drug houston prison still. What devastated the african-american community with the police targeted their neighborhoods for enforcement. Even though studies show whites use drugs at the same rate. That meant that in the highly publicized perp walks of drug dealers in the news it was almost always a name african american face on display. And that in turn fed further racist assumptions that intensified the drive. Even further. Meanwhile african american men were being warehoused for years. And when finally released discovered they they were tainted for life by laws that forbid those convicted of crimes from participating in civil society. They were unable to vote unable to obtain licenses for most profession. Or obtain housing or food assistance. Fifa will not forbidden by law to hold a job their conviction with a stain that shut them out of jobs. American script that we celebrate that anyone with gumption can make it in life. Cuz i'm available today. The net effect of all this michelle alexander argues. Has been to create. A racialized. Past system. The devastates lives. And threatens to destroy any effort of social work. So what to do. Well here's where it gets hard. Because the state of affairs forces all of us white and black. To examine ways of thinking that unknowingly perpetrate. Alexander says that what distinguishes the new jim crow from the old is it as it is driven not by racial hostility but biracial. We begin with the simple notion that those caught up in the criminal justice system got there by their own choice. Nobody made you buy that cocaine today. Commit the crime do the time. Except of course we know that's not the way the world. I won't ask for hands. But i invite you to reflect on the laws that you have violated in your life. Ever smoked or dealt marijuana. He'd even taken cocaine. Or maybe your brother sister friend. Many people make foolish choices. Even barack obama admitted to doing some blow when he was young. But he and most of us grew up in families or communities where people eat we're not vigilantly watching for drug use. And even if caught. Sympathetic police or judges could often be persuaded to. Give us a break. As a rule young african-american man. Don't get that. So we fool ourselves if we pretend that race is not a factor and how laws are enforced. This is what drives the fury of african-americans in places like ferguson and yes even here in asheville. And it helps explain how african-american see racial animus and police officers even if the officers don't feel it. The truth is that raced does make a difference and has made a difference since our nation's founding. It's a pretend that it doesn't is to perpetuate an injustice. In the end we are left to declare that it is unacceptable. It is morally wrong. To write off a generation of young men because they happened to get themselves entangled with the law at some point. Demonize them as evildoers who had it coming. And never need concern us again. Preparing for the services service i visited discussion groups who were working with michelle alexander's book. And found that many of us followed a similar arc in our responses. First anger. Or the injustice that she's so persuasively described. But then something like. Deep sadness and remorse. For the terrible toll this is taking. For how our own racism. Blinded and distracted. My own moment came in the last chapter of alexander's book when she thumbs up her case and makes the argument that for those who want to make a difference. But the chief work before us is not tinkering with rules and legislation. As badly as the laws may need to be changed. But the building of a movement. And with a sense of personal investments. Ultimately she writes. It is a failure to care. To really care. Colored lights. It lies at the core of the system of control of every racial caste system that has ever existed in the united states. Simple. Reading that forced me to confront once again. Excuses and evasions i used to avoid letting my heart. Touched. By the wanton cruelty of racism that unfolds before me everyday that i open the newspaper. To say that black lives matter is declare declare that we do care. That we are ready to open ourselves to the truth of a travesty of racism that it makes of our community and our nation and the way it inevitably poisons us all. Back at selma at the living legacy conference proceeding bridge crossing. I heard the reverend mark morrison reed. Discuss what led the pioneers of our movement to feed the call of martin luther king to come to selma. We assume he said that people are drawn by the righteousness of the cause and the magnitude of the injustice. That was their yes. But 201. He discovered. It was. Relationship. That compelled them to go. Relationship to people and communities especially african-american people and communities. The trap them on those planes and cars and buses regardless of the clear risk of that choice. Play pose the question for those of us who are mapping how we as individuals as congregations as a religious movement might respond to the strife we're living amid now. With whom. Are you. In relationship. It's a question i posed to you. Because if we're going to engagement. It needs to be on the basis of more than high-minded principles. We need to have skin. We need to care. And that begins with relationship. It's mark morrison reed put it. When your brother. Your sister your friend your grandson. Kohl's. I need you to come. You're compelled to go. It doesn't matter if you have all the answers have solved all the problems what is matters is that you are there. Fantasy eyehole. It's at that moment of peace that i experienced on the crest of the edmund pettus bridge. Master fleeting moments. But a foretaste of the future. A future that we hear might be agents in bringing about. Where all people learn to be easy. With one another. Preparing. Respect and love. Flow freely among us. I'm not sure if the best way. I just know that we have to move. I'm encouraged to hear how many of you have been prompted by this initiative to find your own way. And i look forward to us sharing our learning and inspirations. I'm willing to accept that will make mistakes along the way. Because i know that the focus of our work will not be getting it right with the proper wording in the proper gestures. The building of connections. Sometimes messy. Sometimes wonderful. Mature to change our lives. In all of this. I'm comforted by the words of john lewis. Grievously wounded at the foot of pettus bridge. Foot soldier for voting rights who went on to become to become one of our shining leaders. All of our work. He said. Points to a simple truth. Wr1 human fan. And that the struggle we endure to overcome the many ills that persist among us. Brutality poverty oppression. It's a loving gift. We make. To each other. That we might finally see. Incandescent beauty. Wake me up song.

uuasheville_org

140810-Walking-Towards-Trouble-sermon-Lisa.mp3

Has pat mentioned every year at the annual general assembly the where lecture is the usually inspiring keynote speech. One of the highlights of the gathering for sure. This year's speaker was sister simone campbell who is known for her support of living wages immigrant rights and the affordable care act. Among many other issues. She is one of the nuns on the bus. If you watch the video of her speech which i encourage you to do if you haven't already you will notice that the uu convention audience of. Between 3 and 5000. Is moved to cheers and applause throughout her remarks. My purpose here this morning is not to summarize her words. But to expand a bit on two of the themes that most moved me as i listened. I hope that this small taste of her inside will inspire you to watch the whole thing. And maybe even to attend general assembly yourself sometime. To experience. The lecturer and many other things firsthand. The first thing that i'd like to explore is her is. First team that i'd like to explore is her invitation to invite listeners. To join her in walking towards trouble. And the second is her assertion. That hope. Is generated. In community. Sister simone said that she has observed that all of the spiritual leaders she has encountered. Walk toward pain or trouble. To embrace. To touch. And to heal. It is such an evocative phrase and it reminds me of buddhist teacher pema chodron is directive to lean into the sharp points. Deline into the painful parts of life because that. Is where you find your own transformation. We walked or trouble when we leave our comfort zone and take chances. We walk toward trouble when we enter into community. With all of our foibles and differences. And pledged to remain in that. Covenant in that community through the good. And the bad. Our first reading this morning refers to a light that shines. When we work for justice. Have you ever seen. That light. Have you. Felt it. I know i have felt it. And seen it. I see it in this community. In the way to join together to care for each other in times of illness or struggle. I see it and how you stand up for justice and no it isn't just the glow from those screaming yellow shirts. I saw it in asheville. On monday. At mountain moral monday. When dr. barbara was preaching i stood on the stage and i watched the crowd. As you stood wrapped. Faces turned up. Hands clasped or clapping. Jumping up to cheer at an inspiring line. It was an amazing moment. Was actually an amazing number of moments. Inspiring energizing community building. In those moments we do feel less alone. We find sometimes in those moments that we. Feel that anything is possible. But the moments like that. Are only one piece of the puzzle. We have to find ways to harness that energy. To distill the inspiring message into concrete action steps. And engage on a deeper level. Our second reading pushes that envelope a little bit. Invoice is a common experience one with which i struggle regularly. There are so many miseries. Both close by. And far away. I would much rather. Go. To a luncheon. Or right. A check. Then engage. Right here. And right now. The author names the trouble that is hard to face that we are not exempt. From struggle. When we make a donation we can stay detached from the reality far away from the lived experience. Of the people. We are helping. It takes energy and compassion to connect with real people. It hurts. To walk through the desert. And see the places where people are struggling to cross. It hurts. To know that the causes of that suffering are so vast. And complex. It is daunting to know how many people are hungry and unhoused here in asheville. And if we get to know them. If we hear their stories we learn how very similar their stories are. To our own. We learn perhaps. That some of those stories are here. In our midst. Some of us don't need to learn. Every day there is another heartbreaking story. It gets overwhelming and. It isn't. Easy. But when we walk toward trouble we are able to make connections. To build relationships and to find creative solutions. Last may i was invited to a meeting with representatives of the asheville buncombe county homeless initiative. As well as different congregations and nonprofits in asheville. We already knew that asheville draws a lot of homeless youth and young adults. Because of its reputation as a progressive town. But the direct service organize organizations. Had noticed that there was a substantial spike in the numbers of youth and young adults in asheville last may who identify as lgbt. And that spike was expected to continue throughout the summer. Most of the shelters in asheville either can't or won't. Accommodate. Lgbtq people. Some. The majority have religious. Objections. But the ones that are left that don't have religious objections. Are not easily able to manage the needs of lgbtq. Homeless and on house. Folks. Because they are gender-segregated sometimes that's one of the issues that they can't promise that people will be safe. In gender-segregated areas and there a lot of different reasons that that doesn't work sometimes. But without a commitment from the shelter that they're willing to accommodate that we are left with. A subgroup of our homeless and unhoused. Youth and young adults. Who. Have nowhere to go. So this meeting was called to explain to the community organizations. What the hole was in service coverage. And hopefully to work together to find a solution. We discovered in that meeting that there's an intentional community here and asheville called beloved house. I say we discovered as if we didn't know that they were here already which i think. It wasn't a surprise that they were there but. But we we discovered that they were willing. They already were open to lgbtq people but their resources were already stretched. They were willing to open their doors but they were not able to do it. And they're extremely tight budget they could not do it without support. We learned also that the campaign for southern equality has a small emergency assistance fund. It is used to help lgbt persons in the community. For example the year or so ago there was a couple that had to move because they were being. Abused by their landlord due to their sexual orientation. And. That fund was used to help them with their costs for getting a new apartment. But that fund is small. They couldn't do it alone either. The community church has had access to funds but didn't always know what to do with them. So last maybe loved house opened their doors. The campaign for southern equality manage the funds. And the congregations offered to support in any way that we could. We all i think pledged some money to the cause including our earth and social justice ministry which voted to donate $500 to the. Moments like this combined the best of our community. And yet even here there was more we might have done. Even here. We could have engaged on a deeper level. As of july 1st here at the unitarian universalist congregation of asheville we have made a big change. In the way that we are sharing our plate on sunday mornings. Since mark announced the change he and i have been working with the share the plate committee. To translate this vision into reality. We have a new online form to make it easier for you to suggest organizations and ideas. Thanks to jules and we have some exciting ideas for how to go deeper in our work for justice. There are so many causes. So many great ideas. So many wounds to staunch. And here at uuca we have a lot of resources. Not just in money but in people. In commitment. And in brain power. 2 today. I am inviting you to think outside the box. In 2013 14 fiscal year. Donated over 14,000 and cash money to charities in our community and beyond. $14,000. That's the amount collected from one week a month plus a couple of extra fundraisers that we did. And now this change has us looking at 52 weeks a month. I just i just completely change the calendar. I can get so much done that. Sorry just crack myself up. So now we're looking at fifty-two weeks a year of collections. We are not going to switch 252 charities instead of 12. Instead the share the plate committee is standing ready to hear your creative imaginative. Out-of-the-box ideas for how to engage not just our money but also our hearts our minds and our hands. Remember sister simone's words about the importance of community. The importance of inclusion she talked about she said that hope is generated in community that the essence of what we do if as people of faith is to walk toward trouble willing to be present. And to hear someone's story. The primary goal of this new vision for share the plates is to invite each and everyone of us. To go a little deeper. To donate our money if we have it to donate. But also to learn about the issue. To meet the people impacted. And to get our boots-on-the-ground together. To bring ark our community here into the larger community. We are looking for proposals that include ways for the congregation goes to donate money and to engage with the issue. Imagine. Imagine engaging with the immigrant community here in asheville in buncombe county. Cultivating the relationships we have built since the on documents was here. Imagine throwing a letter-writing or and or phone calling party to advocate for. For immigration reform. Imagine leveraging our privilege. And supporting the undocumented as they continue to be in conversation with local and state law enforcement as they try to improve relations and build connections between the two communities. Imagine asking our partners at defensive comunitaria what initiatives they might need. Funds and people power. To support. Imagine with me. Imagine an extended partnership with beloved house. Donating your surplus vegetables to their free farmers market for seniors. Participating. In the rise of student. The rise up studio community art initiative. Supporting on house and low-income community members as they create art. And you. Imagine pledging funds for a downpayment on a new and permanent location that would allow beloved house. To increase their services and impact. Community. Imagine. All of these things and more are possible if we work together. If we get creative. And if we use our imagination. Because this is yours. To imagine it's yours to create it is our work together. Mine and marks and the share the plate committee and each of you. Oh. Of us. Every once in awhile my mother will call me on the phone and she'll say. I've been working on another cockamamie scheme. And i know when she says that that she's thinking big usually trying to get the whole family together for a party or vacation or something fun. We have an amazing opportunity here. As mark says to doubled-down on mission and find ways to really make a difference. To get past those money-raising luncheons. And to bring our light into the community in a more engaged way. The share the plate committee wants to hear your cockamamie schemes. And your biggest dreams. Cuz we have an opportunity to bring more light into the community. To generate more hope. To spread more. Love. Let me share. One more story. Event light of hope. I felt. That light of hope. When cindy and i walked out of the winston-salem register of deeds office after being denied a marriage life. Stephen jones. Member here. Had driven all the way from asheville to winston. To lend his support to the seven couples who requested life. Does that day. Cindy and i were the second couple to go in. And stephen walked with us. Standing just behind us. As we went to the counter. I could feel his quiet presence there behind me. If we requested. And were denied. A marriage license. And even though we expected that denial. There was still a flood of emotions that came for both of us. We walked out of the office. And as we came. Into the hallway. Steven came up. From behind us and he scooped us both. He scooped us both into. A great big hug one. In each arm. We three cried together. And i don't remember what he said. But i know that i knew that he was grateful to be with us. I knew that he was proud of us. I knew that he had. Our. Beck's. And i do remember one thing that he said he said he could feel the whole congregation standing with us. In. That. It's so hard to put words to how it felt. To have that support. Difeel stevens strength and compassion. 10:00. Deep down. That we are not alone. In our journey. We walked toward trouble together. Me and cindy. And steven. And all the folks from cse. And we were lifted up. By that hope that is born of community. We felt. That warmth that light of hope that is generated only. When we make those clothes. Heart. Connection. Nearly two years later as you can see. Neither i nor cindy can talk about that moment without getting emotional. In the moment of denial when we felt no. Hope. We needed stevens hope we needed your hope. Tow lift us up. Because we felt overwhelmed by the sting of exclusion. We needed your. Hope. We are all. In this. Together. May you generate life light. For yourself. And. For each other. May you. May we all. Have the courage. To walk. Towards trouble. And may you. Imagine. Amazing things. For all of us. May it be so.

uuasheville_org

161009-The-Hubris-of-Discovery.mp3

Buy jewelry by jingo by ge by gosh by gum. The language of e.e. cummings poem is a little dated. Not surprising as it was composed almost 100 years ago. In the 1920s. But we can still recognize the figure that he archly lampoon's here. The blowhard politician. Whose speech is a kind of scrambled eggs of warren pieties and pseudo patriotic. Gobbledygook. Indeed in this tumultuous election year we had don't have to look far to find this person. So. Your phone is good for a chuckle and a weary shake of our hits. What if we linger a little longer we can see that cummings is also making a deeper and more penetrating point here. Give object. Is to draw attention not just to the politicians spouting the piety. But to the pieties themselves. Sorry if he's the poem suggests that are in many ways. No less foolish than the speaker himself. We recognise these polity pieties for they're not radically different today than they were in cummings time. They celebrate a triumphal view of american history that we all know from our high school textbooks. As he says land of the pilgrims in every language deaf and dumb. Where the voice of liberty rings clear. Imparity is in katharine lee bates great civil him. Beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain for purple mountains majesty. Above. Fruited plain. America america god shed his grace on thee. And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea. Oh beautiful for pilgrim feet. Whose stern impassioned stress a thoroughfare for freedom beat. Cross the wilderness. America. America godman thine every flaw conserve confirm my soul in self-control by liberty in law. I must confess that i was taught well. My patriotic art. Still beats a little faster when i hear those were. Such lovely images such soul-stirring sentiment. There is it is true historic truth embedded in those verses. And yet. And yet so much else remains unspoken. Or even unacknowledged. That is cause not for celebration. But for morning. And atonement. This month in our worship and small-group ministry we are turning to the discipline of healing. Healing is a process of recovery from a wound. Physical psychological emotional. Spiritual. It's not something that we can impose our thrust on another it's something we can only offer with humility. Impaired. When we speak of healing we begin with a presumption that the one in need of healing. Has the natural capacity. To recover from injury. But it's also likely to need some time or a sister. 2 deuce. Today i invite us to consider what it would mean to be agents of healing. Of one of the oldest and deepest wounds. Officemax. One that centuries after it was first inflicted continue to be aggravated today. A wound thumbs-up in the word. Discovery. We all grew up we being told about the age of discovery a time roughly from the 15th to 18th centuries when courageous europeans set sail to establish routes to trade with other people. Africa asia and the americas. But truth to tell those sailors were interested in more than just trading. Where they found valuable resource. Precious metals gems and so on they sought not just a trade but to seize them. For their own. And in this enterprise they received the blessing of the church. In 1454. Pope nicholas the fifth issued a proclamation a papal bull. The authorized the king of portugal. Whose soldiers were colonizing west africa to and i quote. Invade. Capture. Vanquish and subdue all. Pagans and other enemies of christ. And to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery. Had to take their possessions and property. After columbus's trip to hispaniola in 1492. The spanish court sought and received a similar papal bull that extended to them the same privileges. Other european courts adopted this doctrine of discovery to support their own colonizer. Discovery. What an exciting word. What's gold's so many of us in our work. Discover new thing. Boldly go where no one has gone before. Right. Who would have ever thought that it could also be a shield. Repression. Murder. Enslavement and. Evangelical. Ghost plucky pilgrims among our religious forebears paid little minds to the indigenous peoples who occupied the land they travel to. So their eyes are looking upon pristine virginal wilderness. Remember from america the beautiful. Oh beautiful for pilgrim feet. Whose stern impassioned stress a thoroughfare for freedom. Beat across the wilderness. No. Sorry. Is roxanne dunbar-ortiz points out in her book. An indigenous. People's history of the united states. That untamed wilderness was actually occupied by some 15 million people. The majority of whom were farmers who lived in town. Also by their actions it's plain that it was not freedom that the settlers soft to spread across the country. But dominion. And thomas jefferson. He who proclaims that it was self-evident that all are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What's quick as secretary of state to claim the european doctrine of discovery. As a way of 29 indian claims to their own lands. And so we could open it up. What's up. Later chief justice john marshall. Declared in the supreme court decision that because of this european doctrine of discovery indians had in his word lost their rights to complete sovereignty as independent nation. And would only be recognized as. Occupy. Pearland. Subsequent decisions did designated indian people's ass. Domestic dependent nation. Forever subject to the control of the federal government. Those precedents not only remain in law still. Put in here since have been used repeatedly to appropriate indian land. Previously given by treaty and remove indians from their own ancient homeland. It's our neighbors the cherokee. There are also the basis of. Great campaigns of violence. Moment including moments that were nothing short. A slaughter. We can even see it on this fence in the current. Presidential camp. So when donald trump asserts that the us should have seized your rocky oil wells in the drove out saddam hussein. He's making essentially an extended argument based on the doctrine of discovery. It's the kind of to the victor belong the spoils philosophy. Their offense is sorted by conquering nations. But which in fact amounts to nothing nothing short of a war crime. In america it is part of a legacy that is crippled and marginalized native people for generations. Roxanne dunbar-ortiz is booked walks us through much of it. I recommend it to you if you'd like to pursue this further. Again and indigenous people's history of the united states. It published by our own publishing house. Beacon press. And so we are left to wonder how to deal with it. No. As dunbar-ortiz points out this notion that we as a nation or even we as individuals are privileged to do what we want. Grab what we like. Throw our weight around heedless of consequences or the impact on other people he's collateral damage. From the wounds that the doctrine of discovery has inflicted. So back in 1993 at the 500th anniversary of columbus arriving in the americas. Indigenous peoples argue that to recognize their history. The day now designated as columbus day which comes tomorrow in the calendar. Should instead be designated indigenous people's day. Since then there's been a growing movement seeking to bring attention to the experience. Of indigenous peoples. This year for the first time the city of phoenix will join seattle and minneapolis. All places with strong indigenous communities. In recognizing indigenous people's day. So far south dakota is the only state. Back in 2014 bill lakota activists bill means. Had this to say about why the celebration should be changed from columbus day to indigenous people's day. We discovered columbus. Lost on our shores sick destitute and wrapped in rags. We nursed him to hell. And the rest of history. He represents the mascot of american colonialism in the western hemisphere and so it is time that we changed this myth of history. Not a bad idea. Maybe it's time that we discard this myth of discovery. That we acknowledge the damage that our forbearers inflicted on native peoples. By the ravages of colonialism. And maybe it's time we open a conversation about who indigenous people are anyway. Not exotic figures out of some mythic past but people with a unique story. And a unique place in this country today. In 2012 our general assembly. That's a buena terra universalist association adopted a resolution repudiating the doctrine of discovery. I move that put us in company with the episcopal church and world council after. We also resolved to in the phrasing. To expose the historical reality and impact of this doctrine. And eliminate it wherever we might find it. Even on our own policies and principles. What might that look like. Interesting challenge for us to consider. Roxanne dunbar-ortiz talks of how frustrated native peoples are been in recent years even as their history has been acknowledged. Define themselves lumpkin is just one of many racial minorities who have suffered historic discrimination. All that she says ignores the the many very real ways in which they continue to be marginalized. Today. She quotes to your jeep way historian jean o'brien. Who talks of how indians are written out of existence by what she calls. First thing. And blasting. Town she say create monuments to what they call the first. Settlement for the first dwelling. As if they're never been occupants of those places. Before euro-americans. Meanwhile she says the national narrative tells her last indians and last try. The last of the mohicans with a famous. Sculpture by james earle fraser that mounted indian slumped over his horse entitled end of the trail. Among the initiatives our own uua resolution urges. Is it congregations make an effort to learn about native peoples in their local context. To develop relationships with them and awareness of their culture. Several years ago as part of a class here on developing a sense of place. I arranged a visit for our group to the museum of the cherokee indian. Where education director barbara duncan told us something about the struggles the cherokee face. I'm still face. To claim their identity and sustain their culture. The koala boundary that 56000 acre reservation of the cherokee in cherokee north carolina. Provides a place where many in eastern band of cherokee make their home. But their heritage in this part of the world extends far beyond this narrow place. You can see it in dozens of burial mounds that are scattered across this region as well as town sites and sacred centers of years gone by. You get a sense of it from the fact the cherokee teal tails. Feature places that remain popular today including what we know is mount mitchell. Devil's courthouse and as you heard in the story clingmans dome. Here to though the cherokee struggle with being perceived as a relic. Robinson active evolving culture. To avoid that fate. They rely on the hope that some of the descendants of europeans who colonized this land. Will relinquish the hubris. Of their heritage. Charlie indicated hubris is the pride that blinds us. An overweening arrogance that insists on its way will not be bothered with the facts. Or other people's perspective. What might it look like. To discard outworn pieties and remove the blinders that the. Discoverers of this land left. And look with new eyes on the land and. It could be a path toward healing. Perhaps something like the one the cherokee boy found. When you follow the wounded cub. Up the mountain. Leading us to a place where as the great spirit puts it. If we love all our brothers and. And if we love the animals of this earth. We might just be madewell.

uuasheville_org

140406-Pull-a-Thistle-Plant-a-Flower.mp3

So how do we learn what it is we are to do with our lives. For the figure at the center of our service today it came to him while he was harvesting wheat. On his family's farm one bright autumn day. Only just returned from service in the civil war as an artilleryman with the 6th wisconsin battery. Jenkin lloyd-jones didn't see much future for himself. In farming. As he joined his brother is in the field his head was full of all that he'd seen in the war. The folly and the bravery. The terror. Endothelium. Eddie marveled over how is he was to put it later. The war seems such a wrong way of doing the right. Sensibly it occurred to him what his path was. He wants to be a unitarian minister. Not the kind of epiphany that occurs to most people. But then the members of the jones family were not most people. They had immigrated to wisconsin only a couple of decades before when jenks as he was known was just an infant. Their home had been in cardiganshire wales. What's the time hosted. A dozen welsh unitarian church. 9 of jenks uncles. We're going to therrien. Including another jenkins would precede a jinx family to wisconsin. And who barely a year after they arrived died of smallpox. So the family was not especially surprised by janx announcement. Even offered to that point janking it never actually attended a unitarian church. So it's true the family read from the old welsh bible end in this literate household. Drinking head read whatever he could get his hands on. He also experienced his father at times offering up sermons at nearby churches. Not often. Since the liberal theology he promoted always seem to get them in trouble. Earning them the nickname the god almighty jones. It would be a decade or more before unitarians congregation. Formed there but the family affirmed the gift that they saw and drinking. And sent him off to seminary without so much as a day of formal. Arriving at meadville theological school jones was the proverbial farm boy. Laughing social graces and struggling with the demands of school but. Bright. Earnest. Persevering. It may have been his unusual origins or his family's proud heretical heritage. Jones always said that for his family. Freedom. Was a word to conjure by. What from early on he had a different vision of religion than most centenarians. If idea is he put it later was that the church would be a free congress of independent soul. A place of in his words universal brotherhood that would lead in the campaign for more proof. Rather than to indolently stand guard over some petty fragment of acquired. It was an attitude that ended up putting this welsh wisconsin farm boy at the forefront of what was to be an emerging movement. Expansion into the west. In a denomination that at the time mostly saw its proper role as offering biblical instruction from the high pulpits of boston. So no sooner had he graduated from seminary than jenkin lloyd-jones and listed in the role for what he described as wisconsin missionary. Really it was a role that he created for himself. There never before been such a position in the unitarian church and never would be again. But it turned out to be a winner for all involved. For jones possession got him back to his family in familiar territory. And for the newly emerging western conference of unitarian churches got an energetic organizer in the field to drum up interest in fast-growing pioneertown. Jones and his new wife susan landed in a vacant parsonage attached. To a struggling congregation in janesville wisconsin. We're between visits to emergent groups and growing towns he worked. To give form to an evolving vision of what the church might become. George jones the church first off was a center of community. Jokes to bring people together among his first creations was an adult sunday school held on sunday evening. Unlike the old catechism classes with their growth formula. The lessons were set up to explore all kinds of tough. Ranging from the predictable contemplation on the beatitudes to the natural sciences and great religious teacher. Ranging from. Socrates to buddha. Zoroaster muhammad. Confucius. Not a lot of that in the midwest. The classes game strong following in janesville and revived that congregation. Joe jones and his wife monster package up the lessons and send them off to others. Within six months eat a subscription of 700. After a few years jones success led him to being named missionary to the entire western conference. Which at the time was vaguely defined a stretching from old the appalachian mountains to. The pacific coast. Is activities though we're mostly focused in the midwest and plains states reaching from ohio to iowa north to minnesota. He was challenging work that he wants to scribe as that like that of the woman in the medieval story. Who appeared in the marketplace with a can of water in one hand and a flaming torch in the other. Declaring that it was her purpose. Put out the fires of hell with the water. And set fire to paradise with the torch. So that men and women might learn to serve the right. Regardless of their own selfish interests. Whether it be for hope a future reward or dread of future punch. The schedule that his expanded duties demanded of him were insane. His first year he logged some 10,000 miles by train or oxcart or horse. Often sleeping in train stations in. Boarding coaches without enough money to get home. Hoping for freewill offerings that would give him return fair. He mostly visited distressed or dormant churches or isolated groups of religious liberals who sought to start new church. Put a paid-off with him establishing many new congregate. Is encouragement and support when a long way to holding struggling congregations together and nowhere was that support more crucial than in iowa. Where women were emerging as leaders of some small congregation. Denomination leaders in boston had no interest in encouraging women to take on the role of clergy. Which owns have been promoting equal rights for women since he first arrived in janesville. He was delighted to find women eager to step into the pulpit. Especially since few male clergy would travel to serve those prairietown. After arranging for the western conference to ordain one of these women. Her name was mary safford. Jones trumpet at the achievement to the wider conference and invited other women to join her. Matthew surging meadville his alma mater began admitting women and soon brought about a half-dozen more to join safford to minister to those country towns. In what became known as the iowa sisterhood. Venus travels jones gathered allies in his work. A group who work together to create a magazine to communicate their views that they dubbed. Unity. The text the bob red earlier by william channing gannett. Probably jones's closest trolley. Open the inaugural issue of that magazine. Forward-looking vision speaks very much of the ethos of that time. You remember name three essentials of religion is a star. Freedom. Which they said implies respect for the past but reverence for the future. For the continuing unfolding of truth. Fellowship. Opposing any exclusivity in religion and seeing unities across human experiences and traditions. And character. The view that morality. How we are to treat one another. Is the focus of religious life. As a statement it was none too popular with these men's college bacci. Lacked any specific reference to christian teacher. Donut sister jones insisted that there was no need. List the principles they endorsed embraced the heart of the christian message. That argument unfortunately got him exactly nowhere with his opponents. And in time he found himself increasingly marginal. When headquarters in boston finally got around to starting new churches they put big piles of money to build great new buildings in university towns where they could send their educated preachers who were schooled to address these. This proper clientele. Jones regarded all this as elitist nonsense. Bill ignored his own efforts that in the course of a decade that helped fund some for he conquered nations across the midwest and plains states. The downside of his strategy though was that many of the congregations he helped start we're desperately poor. And why support. From jones and headquarters to make their continuing existence go on. Many of them were pretty precarious and some. As it happened increasing conflicts with conference leaders and. Jones own weariness with travel let him to refocus his work. Now located in chicago he turned his gaze was struggling congregation in town. Fourth. Unitarian church. He gathered the dustin remaining members and it grew rapidly. Changing its name to all souls church. Again he was a dynamo in the community sponsoring weekday lecture series helping to fund the chicago peace society. Starting the first post office mission where he sent religious materials out to other. My car. Church of the larger fellowship today. Arguably jones most spectacular success. Wasn't general secretary of the group that planned the 1893 world parliament of religions. Other more prominent religious leaders captured the headlines. Ameer vann. They provided the first exposure that many americans had to asian religions. But it likely could never have come about without jones as a spark plug to make all the logistics. The glow of the parliament left jones less inclined to end than ever. The compromise with what seemed to him hidebound bureaucrats in boston. And so after a time he withdrew all souls from the american unitarian association. He tried to build another alliance of other religious liberals but it crashed. Instead then he turned his attention to creating a new venture. He called at the abraham lincoln center. A settlement house modeled after jane addams hull house. It was designed by his nephew. Frank lloyd wright. And included apartments for jones and several teachers a 900 c hall classrooms a library gymnasium art rooms and so on. It proved to be an important gathering center on chicago southside. And it continues to operate today. One of jones most enduring legacy. With war on its way jones the avowed pacifist found himself marginalized even more. He was among the few clergy in america who publicly and urgently opposed the war. Reminding his hearers of the horrors. He himself it experienced half a century before. Many ministers who shared his views including some unitarian. Lost their pulpits. But jones remained at all souls. In 1918 shortly after the us enter the war jones died. Cared for near madison just down the road from a chapel. His family had built. Situated at a summer camp he had created at the site of an old civil war tower used to make shot for rifles. It's not what state park. The epitaph on his grave at the family senate cemetery was a quote from abraham lincoln. One of jones's favorite. He sought to pull up a thistle and plant a flower where flower could grow. I guess you can tell i have some affection for good old jenkin lloyd-jones. Untiring activists wells farm boy visionary leader. Back when i was a student intern at the first unitarian society of the madison wisconsin impersonated jones. If my closing sermon for that congregate. Complete with. Bushy white beard and 19th century frock coat. It was quite a scene. It seemed a good choice because. Bolt because of a jones connection to wisconsin and because the madison church was another one of those buildings designed by his nephew. Frank. And the connections not a bad one for us to make here as well. Since our member bill moore was deeply influenced by riding his design of distilled. At the madison church. Just like there. The natural materials in the structure that you see the wood and stone give you a sense of place. An organic connection that links us in all things in the world. And the windows from every angle where light enters brings the outside in. Let's candlelight uncolored unaltered that reminds us how widely truth. To be found. I also turn to jenkin lloyd-jones. As i wonder about what our future is a congregation might. News reports are full of speculation about the decline of religion in this country. Churches are closing denominations are scaling back. Poll showed fewer and fewer identify with institutionalized religion in any form. Like every religious body we too must make our case. What are we here for. What are we here to be what are we here to do. These are questions that your board of trustees and i will be inviting you to ask and answer it. Not because we fear for the future. Because we want to be clear. And we want that clarity to drive our work together. There'll be different venues to do this but when the time comes i hope that you'll be part. The conversation. One of the abiding charms of jenkin lloyd jones was his unstinting hope and optimism. Thrive simply from a faith in what we humans are capable of achieving. The conviction in his words that salvation lies in the unmarked possibilities of the soul. We exist as a congregation to do. Is to persuade each other. Sometimes our cell. As we swallow szymborska we are each of us. Coincidences no less than thinkable than any other. Each with their own gifts and quirks. I'm all of them added together have created this incredible confluence of events. But he's our life. What an astonishing thing. Dislike. Hurtling along on the knife blade time. How shall we use it. Kerrigan jenkin lloyd-jones offers some instruction. Nothing in this world he wrote. Stands alone. Rather all of us are measured by our expanding sympathy. And so it is by the gesture of. Opening. Of inviting of. Embracing. That our measure is made. That our hopes are made real. B r destiny. Is realize. So that our life close. We might be left with that one gift that is ours alone. That realizes that's better than any other. Our.

uuasheville_org

1609011-I-See-You.mp3

We begin our fall worship season by raising up and celebrating. One of the foundation stones for us as a congregation. And for our religious movement. What is it that gathers people has a gathers us as a people of hope. And faith. It is. Cover. There is a document that we call the covenant of this congregation. A document that lays out in some detail how we agree to be with each other. The disciplines we agree to bring to our lives together. Sharing. Pairing. Welcoming the diversity of both people and perspectives. Define dire. And offering healing and support when we differ. It's a good. And it serves us well. But today i want to explore a different dimension of that word. Covenant not as a noun. But as a verb. Provenance. The practice. To do this i want to begin by taking us way back to the puritans. Who founded some of the earliest churches in new england. A number of which later became and remain unitarian. The puritans had a stern and forbidding reputation. And for a good reason. They're calvinistic theology held that only a select. Elite preordained by god before the creation of the universe. We're truly saved. Nobody else gets. But the writer sarah vowell. Points out that the nice. Spell hearts theology. These. Wordy shipmates in her phrasing. Perceived as something else must prevail if this community. Hope there's was going to endure. She quotes the founding governor of the massachusetts bay colony john winthrop to that end. We must. Delight. And make each other's conditions our own. Rejoice together. Mourn together labor and suffer together. Always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work. Our community has members. Have the same. Bye. It was not enough that they shared similar beliefs. The only way that this small band of settlers was going to enjoy or was if they made each other's conditions. Their own. And not just that they needed to. The light. Define joy. In the oven. It's not our conventional image. Pilgrim. Puritan. But it gives us a window into our topic today. Sarah powell says that it was winthrop's words that gave her comfort. In the days after the 9/11 attacks. She was living in new york at the time she says. When we were morning together when we were suffering together i often thought of what winthrop had said. And finally understood. What you meant. She says. I watch citizen. Happily. Patiently standing in a very long line. And she marveled. Having already experienced new yorkers impatient. With being kept waiting for anyway. But in this line she says. They were giving. Blog. We were breathing soudiere valrico. Episode composed of incinerated glass and steel. But we also knew. Incinerated. Flash. So all the people there really were. She and her friends were aching for some way to contribute so when the tv news announced it rescuers. Needed toothpaste. They took off for the neighborhood deli. By the time she got there val said most of the popular brands have been cleared out. So have to rescue headquarters she says like sheepishly dropped off 14 tubes of sensodyne. Toothpaste for sensitive teeth. We remembers of the same body. Breathing the cremated lungs of the dead and hoping to clean the teeth. Oblivion. Felt was right though in important ways. Those volunteers and first responders and everyone engaged in the rescue and recovering from that shattering loss. We're reliving a vision of mutual care and. Concerned that arrived on our shores. Nearly 400 years ago. They were engaged in the practice. A covenant. Have a covenant the 9/11 rescuers were practicing was not an agreement that was enshrined somewhere. It was instead a covenant insinna sense. Covenant of. Those people discerned in the moments before then. It was nothing that they needed to invent because they were already part of. In the fullness of the world. They simply needed to recognize what call do them from the center of their own natures. A similar point has made in the covenants i read earlier. Love is the doctrine of this church. The quest of truth is it sacramento. Conservice is it sprayer. This was offered up by people not as a theological proposal. But as a confession. Of how they understood the world. A relation. To it. Love is the response that the world calls from us. The quest for truth is how we advance it. And service is how it is realized. So. Stephen 22 wrote the book that you heard quoted earlier after serving on south africa's truth and reconciliation. The commission provided a forum for leaders. Of the deposed apartheid state to confess the wrongs they have done and to seek reconciliation. It's work was centered on the premise. Entitled. In tutus book. No future without forgiveness. The process he writes was a third way between prospects of trials for war crimes or blanket amnesty. It was away he wrote that sought to rehabilitate and the firm that dignity and person. Of those who have been so long silence. What made it possible. Tutu said with the african practice. Baboon. Early are you heard his description. Not simply being caring. Or generous or compassionate but living in a way he says. That my humanity is caught up. Inextricably bound up. In yours. We belong he said in a bundle of life. Genesis at the very essence of being human. A couple of decades ago when south africa's transition was in the news and it won't too was trending in news reports. There was much speculation about whether there was any equivalent term in the west to describe this deep connection among people. Some suggested that maybe it was something like community spirit. But really. Covenant. It's a much closer by. Like ubuntu the practice of covenant ross's to one another in a way that points are into our nature and our destiny. We are meant for each other. We are completed through each other. Fifth state of affairs is not something that we choose. It is something that we are firm and that the world invites us to give ourselves to. Something painfully ironic. About observing such a close parallel. At the heart of the. Two cultures. And american. Given our sad history. But what we share. And that we share reinforces the notion that there is something universal at play here. At the same time or separate perspectives. We each provide are in a position to offer wisdom to the other. The african offers in american culture riven with divisions of race and class a notion that kinship. Is a rock-bottom truth. Social harmony 22 said was at the heart of it all. We think of ourselves far too frequently just as individual. Separated from one another. Where is the truth is that you are connected to me what you do what i do affects the whole world. Anger lust for revenge. Resentment are corrosive to both social and individual happiness. Whatever i do to dehumanize another. Ultimately inexorably. Humanizes. Covenant on the other hand. Calls us to remember that our lives are centered. Compromises. We are as martin buber put if. The promise making. Promise keeping promise. Breaking. Promise. Renewing. Creature. And it is woven throughout our and interactions with each. It can be as simple when you and i are making an appointment. Promise making. I put it on my calendar. But then i spaced out and missed the appointment. Promise breaking. I don't blow you off. Our relationship calls me to get back in touch with you. Offer an apology. Trick to make amends and perhaps set a new date. Promise. Renewing. The ways in which we fall out of covenant with each other though. Are not always obvious. We affirm that every person has an inherent worth and dignity and feel called to treat them with respect. Emcare. It is a promise of sorts. But underlies our lives. Yes. We come to learn. That the privilege we have gained simply by accident of birth. Serves to keep other people. Oppressed. Feeling a little sense of worth and dignity. Respect. Care. It's a state of affairs we had no hand in. And yet it is playing. Did our advantage comes at the expense of another. Now we can say that that's just the way the world work. Some getting some don't. And while that may be so. This situation also puts us deeply and a revocable e out. With one another. And that's not a small thing. It is true that we are meant for each other. Each of us is a person through other people. This imbalance this broken promise will weigh on us until it is repaired. There is no saying what that repair might look like. But for the sake of peace. Our own and the worlds. We had best be about it. That is how it is in our lives together we struggle we stumble we are and still we return. Covenant continually calls us back again. And again. To the day-to-day work that reminds us of and calls us to dedicate ourselves. To the small discipline. The truth. Hopper holness. And unity. I read recently that 15 years after the 9/11 attacks a whole raft of books on the subject are coming out for young readers. Many authors apparently reluctant until now to treat such a difficult subject. But of course. How many none of their many of the readers now have no personal memory of the event. Since they were born yet. So what. Do they say. For those of us whose memories of that day are still quite sharp. Who is a similar quandary. What learning can we still take from that event what wisdom can we offer from our experience of it and the. Mulling this offer it occurred to me that. Covenant. My offer allen's to organize our thoughts. Has sarah vowell noted. For all the horrific images. Never broadcast that time. There are also heartening one. Blood donor. Sandwich maker. Clean up. They couldn't erase the damage done to our society. Or to our psyches by those assaults. But each in her and his own way. Was living into the practice of covenant. Information of a common bond into which each of us isis born. And with all of us are called to serve. Confronted with suffering. They looked into another's eyes and said. Cow bone. You matter. You are part of me and i'm a part of you. You are. Important. I need you.

uuasheville_org

161002-Forgiveness-That-Lonesome-Road.mp3

Is there a soul i wonder. Who hasn't walked that lonesome road. You know what i mean. James taylor is very clear. Standing in the wreckage of some intense argument that went a step or two too far. Or having. Confronted or been confronted with some thoughtless act. More egregious than everyday clueless. We find ourselves suddenly facing a yawning gulf. And what we thought was a pretty sturdy relationship. We probably feel this most intensely and romantic relationships but hiccups like this can happen in any significant relationship in our lives. Distracted sad. Are stomach tied in what seems undoable knot. We replay the event over and over in my mind. Did i have to say that. Did she have to say that did he have to do that. Did i have to respond. We sing from swing from. Self-righteous decide i'm back. That wasn't fair. I guess i wasn't. Maybe this is the end. What am i going to do. I had stopped to listen. If i had. Close my mouth and open my ears. Whitehead cooled my head. And warmed my heart. I got be honest. What we're talking about here brene brown says is heartbreak. Against the relationship need not be romantic but it is one in which we feel invested. Where we truly love. At what map break happens we tumble inevitably into grief. Which we feel is a sense of longing and laws. Of course we may not process our feelings that way at first. Finished with the pain of that break we may turn instead to anger or dismissive. Find. Text is going to be that way then to heck. With him. No skin off my nose. Is satisfying as such bluster may feel for a moment. It gets us nowhere. Because it is frankly a denial of how we really feel. Which is. Wow. Has brene brown puts it. There are too many people today. Who instead of. Feeling hurt. Or acting out of their hurt. Instead of acknowledging pain there inflicting pain on others. Rather than risking feeling disappointed. They're choosing. To live. Disappoint. First of all narrative in our culture that paints the image of strength as a person who presents themselves as essentially bulletproof. Who can take a hit and keep on going who acknowledges no hurt no pain. Brene brown argues that the opposite is true. Did someone who acknowledges no pain is not someone to look up to. It's someone to look out for. Because it means that that person has no clear sense of his or her feelings. We celebrate those stories of people who fight back from adversity but don't acknowledge the emotional struggle it took to do that. Edit doing that we misperceived that's the process that this truly involves. Heartbreak. Knocks the wind out. The feelings of loss and longing can make getting out of bed. A monumental task. So rather than celebrate impervious. Brown says she holds up what she calls. Badassery in relationship. Come again. That's right badassery she says when people stand fully in their truth. Or when i see someone fall down get up say. Damn that really hurt. This is important to me and i'm going in again. My gut reaction is. Whataburger. Badass isn't showing true courage and resilience not slinking away into silence or self-pity. People who wade into discomfort and vulnerability and tell the truth of their line. She says. Are the real badass. They're the people she had to say. Our family is really hurting now we could use your support. Or the man who says to asana. It's okay to be sad. We all get sad. We just need to talk about. Work the woman who says our team really dropped the ball. We need to stop blaming each other and talk about what happened. So we can fix it and move forward. It's good renee brown says that there are people daring enough to take on the tough tasks of justice making and community building that we need. But among them she says we need a critical mass a badass. These are people who win confronted with difficulty don't put up false poses of invulnerability. But instead who are willing to dare. Fail. Feel their way through tough emotions. Try again. Course this is demanding stuff. And esplanade brown suggest there aren't a whole lot of models. Where might we find someone today. Who could show us an example of courage and commitment. Who acknowledges emotional pain and damaged but also shows strength and coming to terms with who they are and what matters. Someone we might call a brave. Badass up forgiveness. If you want example that you may find surprising. Beyonce. That's right beyonce the singer songwriter mega millionaire pop diva. We have a fiance is the superstar who serenaded barack and michelle obama on the night of his election as president. Who sells out arenas with her provocative high-energy performances. Earlier this year though she released an album with a very different vibe. The combined cd an hour-long dvd entitled lemonade. Is a thinly-veiled rendition of the stages of anger grief. And reconciliation that she endured after learning of the infidelity of her husband. Jay-z the rapper. Beyonce has refused to discuss any of this publicly but instead on this album she let her art tell the story. Added.. It's a surprisingly raw and vulnerable statement for an artist who projects an image of indomitable fierceness. Yes she does even more than that. She conjures up the weights that african-american women have had to carry for centuries. Probably from disappointments in relationships but also from all the abuse that society gives that diminishes and belittles. Steven gets a place of honor two images. A mother's of american african american man who died in recent police shooting. In one song don't hurt yourself she intersperses clips from malcolm x saying. The most disrespected person in america is the black one. The most unprotected person in america. Is the black one. The most. Neglected. Black. And yes as if in response. She weaves in a clip from a video from the 90th birthday of jay-z's grandmother. Where she says you know i've had my ups and downs. But i always find the inner strength to pull myself up. I was given lemons. How to make lemonade. Joseph quotes a recipe for lemonade from her own grandmother. Telling her and. In the meantime. You. Spun gold out of this hard life. Country beauty from things left behind. Found healing where it does not live. Thanks for jay-z wealth. The message is pretty clear. In tough language she tells him in no uncertain terms that he's close to losing the best thing he ever had. Who the you think you are. You married to an average boy. And if the extent of her anger isn't clear. In one song she's video please she's walking down the street with a baseball bat smashing shop windows and car windows then hopping onto a monster truck that crushes the mall. Wow. What the funny parts of the video come in the sections that follow. Can redemption in reconciliation. If there's any question whether beyonce is one of brene brown's badasses willing to dare and fail and find her way through tough emotions. Those doubts are removed here. 10 times out of 9 i know you're lying. But nine times out of 10 i know you're trying. So i'm trying to be fair. And you're trying to be there into care. All the love and i've been given goes unnoticed it's just floating in the air. Looky there. Are you aware you're my lifeline. Are you trying to kill me. If it wasn't me would you still feel me. Cuz. You you you and me could move a mountain. You you you and me could calm awards. You you you and me could make it rain now. You. You you and me. Stop. Love. Sandcastles what you heard earlier is the turning point. It's the moment in the video where jay-z joins beyonce. From the dvd there. And then beautifully intimate damage. That's aaa all the glitz of their show business lives we scentsy simply two people finding peace and reconciliation in each other's come. And it's not just syrupy sweet stuff. Lyrics clearly point to the kind of things we must relinquish. If we're to find healing. Pride indignation self-righteousness. Andrea stabbed. Damage. The title tells how crushing this process is. All we had before she says their promises their vows to each other. Felt like sandcastle the dead been washed away by the surf. She paints a dramatic scene of their initial break. Number. I made you cry when i walked away. Misha smash. Photos torn from frames his name and image scratched out. Your final promise. I couldn't stay. But in the end she said she realizes that was one. Promise. Every promise don't work out. So is the next song for claims. Forward best foot in any case. We're going to hold doors open for a while. So we can be open for a while. Co-sleeper. In your favorite spot. Next to song freedom at all night long telegraph telegraph the relief and renewal that their recommitment brought. Freed from the chains of grief. And her decision that i found truth behind your lies. The closing song shows us once again that sassy beyonce i'm back by popular. Fascinates me to find a strong residence. Of market latina. Kol nidre. Beyonce. The kol nidre is up verse spoken at yom kippur services. Whose purpose essentially is to annul all the valves that followers have made in haste against each other in the preceding here. It invites listeners into the work of clearing the decks. So they're ready to enter the new year frida baggage from the past years errors. Okay mark says let's set it all down without hesitation or resent. The disappointments little and large the frustrations. Once we've named. Relinquish. Open or closed fist. Filled with self-righteous anger. Without regret. Without reservation. This is not something we do in the abstract. Mouthing words given to us by others that will feel somehow grant us some sort of absolution. This is the top work of digging in and pulling out all that gnarly stuff. Our stuff. Stuff we brother not face yet with you which we know is dogging. Keeping us from giving ourselves fully to those we love. To that which fills our hearts. We're stuck in it. So rather than nurse or grease and grudges recalled. Tripoli. Switch know what that is for us. Market latina names part of what's wanting him. The useless waiting. What am i waiting for. The obsession with things we cannot have. Comparing ourselves. Who are deaf. With others. Pinnacle assumptions unspoken anger self-doubt self-pity. Go ahead add your own. Drawing. Why on earth. Holding onto all that. Can't we just let it go. Let them sink like stones like hot rocks into cool silence. Picture of them. Nevermind feeling sorry for yourself. Is jtt. It doesn't save you from your troubles ma. No. And when it's gone. Bismarck pellatini. What's playback. And just float on this calm surface of our lives at. He's blessed lives that are such a. And let us open our eyes to the newborn world ready for anything. The new that new awareness is the payoff. The release the return the freedom. Pet are badass journey of courage and resilience. Gifts. Word for tip myself. I forgive you. Begin again.

uuasheville_org

161120-To-Be-Thankful.mp3

What is it to be thankful anyway and why to be thankful after all is to step outside of ourselves it's a moment when we encounter someone or something that helps us to see how we are touched by others and how deeply interconnected we are wednesday you give me a gift or do me some kindness i find that i am grateful not just to receive the gift or gesture but also for the care that you express in the exchange it's one more reminder.

uuasheville_org

150906-But-What-About-Hitler.mp3

We covenant. To affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This is the first of our seven unitarian universalist principles. Worth and dignity are actually two separate concept. So we have a. Habit of conflating them. Each person has both worth. And dignity in fact. One precedes and causes the other. We are each endowed with worse. And therefore. We deserve to be treated with dignity. Inherent. Means that the worst is not ours to bestow. Each person. Each individual. Has it simply by virtue of our existence. Like gravity perhaps. This is i think a law of the universe. Because of our inherent worth. We have a right to our dignity. Dispersed. Principle is the statement of our belief that each person has value. We believe that everyone is important. And we posit from that that in that humans are inherently good. This i think is where the giant smiley face. End. If we stop there. Then we are putting a giant smiley face on it and it is not enough. The first reading articulate the problem with the first principle when we let it be about only about goodness and sunshine it is inadequate. It begs the question that is the title of the sermon. But what about hitler. If every human being is good and has value. What do we do. About the people. Who do bad things. Each time something new horrible. Is done by an individual we hear some variation of this challenge. I see it on facebook i hear it in conversation. I'm having such a hard time finding the inherent worth and dignity in this person. This week it is about kim davis who's in jail for refusing to let her staff issue marriage licenses. In rowan county kentucky. In asking the question how do i find their inherent worth and dignity. We are articulating. This. Very struggle. With the question we express how challenging it is. A challenging it feels to bestow worth and dignity upon a person when we know that they have done something that we deem awful. But it is not ours to bestow. We don't need to find it in our heart. To give. Inherent worth. The word inherent. Means. But it exists without being given. And so instead of struggling with the act of giving. Worse. We must struggle with the ongoing practice of knowing. That everyone has. We must wrestle with how hard it is to reconcile with the experiences of evil and suffering. Throughout history. And in contemporary life. Everyday. We are talking about a big word here. We're talking about the odyssey. Theodicy lies at the core of the first principle. In systematic theology the word theodicy refers to the question of how a good god. Could allow evil and suffering to happen. It is the theological point on which unitarian universalism is often dismissed. Because of our religious pluralism and are widely varying understanding of god or lack thereof. We don't always have a clear answer to the question of why evil and suffering happen. The answer however. Is core to our relevance as a world religion. And it is core. To the first principle. We can believe that god doesn't exist. Or we can believe. That if god does exist god is not in charge in the way that that. Particular. Sentence. Articulated. And that can be true. But it doesn't make the question of theodicy go away. It doesn't make us stop wondering why there is evil and suffering in the world. Because it's human beings understanding why something happened is part of how we find comfort in challenging times. And there's no easy answer here. There is no simple explanation. So for us as unitarian universalist the question is not why does it happen. Or who causes it. But how do we interact with the fact that it does. What does it mean to be human. And to have the capacity for both. Good and evil. Within us. Evil and suffering were not created by an outside force as punishment. And that means that we are the ones who create it. For each other. That is not. A smiley face my friend. That is hard. That is hard and it is the core. Of what we must do. To really live. This first principle. The first principle says that we are born good. It says that every person begins their life. With innocence and a potential for good. We all live out this potential in small and large ways doing good things and bad things. And for most of us it never rises to the level of becoming a hitler. Hora pol pot. Or whoever is the latest mass shooter. For most of us our experiences of enacting good and evil. Our small moments. In a transient life. If we impose a limit on the worth of the people we think we can identify is truly evil. Takes us to an unavoidable endpoint. If there is a limit. And they're worth. Then there is a limit. 2 mi worth. Do your worst. Problem with hitler. Is that he was only. Amman. He had a lot of power. He was really smart. He believed in what he was doing. And he had a set of reprehensible ideals. He. Used his inherent. Worse. To break the human-covenant. And perpetrate. One of the greatest evils. We have ever seen. My colleague scout scott alexander says that under certain painful pernicious and evil influences. The human heart and mind can be twisted and diminished. In hideous ways. It overpower. And occasionally almost extinguish all together. That core of inherent worth and dignity. Indecency. With which we are all born. There are people he says who under the crush of circumstance formation indoctrination and personality. Do grow up to act. Any evil ways. The everyday. Hour-by-hour day-by-day work. Of the first principle becomes a practice for me and you to say yes. Hitler does. Have worse. Under the crush of circumstance he was twisted and diminished and he chose to use his power and privilege to mobilize and nation. To kill 11 million people. The everyday work. Is to see the worst. Of the people closest to us. The person who steals our parking space. The neighbor with the confederate flag. And refused to contribute to the circumstances that crush. And diminish the human spirit. We must ask ourselves how will i choose to use my own power. Will i keep the covenant of humanity and choose compassion. Will i be kind. Will i fight. For justice. It isn't our job to bestow worse on our fellow human beings. It's not our role. In fact. This is the hubris of the early american people. They believed that they had the authority. To say who was worthy. And who. Was not. Which brings me. Did the ongoing and vitriolic pushback. Against the phrase black. Live matter. Because black lives matter. Is part of this inherent worth worth and dignity. Conversation too. The fundamental reality underpinning the black lives matter movement is that the entire political and social structure of the united states of america. Was built in a time. One black live. Didn't just not matter. They were fundamentally understood. To be less than. Slaves were portrayed. And treated as animals. Not as humans. Their inherent worth. With systematically and intentionally. Denied. The dehumanization of an entire race happened specifically because. Of this question. If you are a slaveholder. And you admit that slaves are human. Then you are accepting that they. Have the same worth. That you do. And then. If you accept that. You must begin to grapple with the true ethics. Of your choice to hold human being as property. And abused them. This is the foundation. Of who we are as a people. This is the foundation of what. The south looks like. Today. This is the foundation. That they worth. The worst that was granted to an entire race of people simply because they were born. Because they existed. Was removed. By the people who were in charge of them the people who stole them and the people who abused and enslaved them. And the reason that had to happen. Is because if i. Understand as a slaveholder that i. And treating someone who has equal worth to myself. The way that people treated slaves. My whole world falls apart. Right. This fundamental basis. Who we are today. Is about. Comes out of the first friendship. It is the single most effective strategy of haters throughout the ages. To dehumanize people. It is also what hitler did. If you remove a person's worth. Their humanness then you can tell yourself that they needn't be treated with dignity. It is the road to the concentration camp. It is the road to the mass grave. It is the road to the urban riot gear clad police person. Dehumanization is the road to division. And depression. Our understanding of the first principle is not just a flip refrain. It is the solution. In practice it is more than just we believe in the primacy of the individual it articulates the fundamental struggle of being human. It is an ongoing practice of loving. It is the application of grace within our communal understanding of connectedness. And it is precisely how we stay connected. To the complexity of how difficult life. Is. Because hitler isn't the hardest case. The dictators in the sociopaths are not the challenge. They seem the hardest because their actions feel the worst. But in fact they have little impact on our day-to-day lives unless we are living in there. Realm. Because we know. We know we can tell ourselves that we will never be that. Evil. But i am telling you that those slaveholders were people like you. And me some of us in this room not all of us in this room. We say that we know that we can never be that evil. The hardest cases are the people that are closest to us. The hardest cases are the regular folk not the dictators not the sociopath not the people we can say. Have some specific problem that caused. Their actions. It is the circumstances and the people closest to us who create the systems. That can twist us into evil. Or allow us to bloom into goodness. We create those systems. For the people around us. Like the monks in the story. Who did exactly the opposite. What the flavor holders did. But the rabbi did exactly the office. When the rabbi told them that one of them was the messiah their behavior changed. They knew that if one of them was the messiah than they needed to be sure to be really nice to that person. We hear the challenge of that india cretin credulous responses to the rabbi. Could it be brother william. Surely not. Could it be brother john. And yet when the monks began to act as if everyone might be the messiah they became kinder to each other and they got more connected. And as a result their modest scary grew and became known throughout the land. Because when you assign someone with worse. You automatically treat them with dignity. Instead of focusing on the big bad dictators of history. We need to look at our day-to-day lives here and now. We need to understand the ways that our first principal calls us to see the humanity in each and every person we meet. We must dig deeper. Into our work with black lives matter. We must as a community work to change the system. So that every child no matter what their race or class. Begins their life with the same opportunity. An opportunity is granted by the seeing of worse. In order to do that we must begin to see. That every person could be the messiah. Because in our unitarian universalist theology. Every person is the messiah. In the sense that the messiah is the one who will save the world. It is what we say in our child dedication dedication seminary ceremony. Each child is born one more redeemer. Each person is born with the tools to change the world. And we must give each child the loving support and sustenance that they need to grow up knowing that they are worthy. And being treated as worthy. By the system. And that means that each parent must be treated with dignity. As we acknowledge their humanity their inherent worth. And work together to provide the tools to rebuild our communities. Because children who are raised to know their worth. And manage their emotions become adults who are able to be kind. Understand complexity. And have. Empathy. And if you live in a system. That treats you as if you have no worse. You cannot do those things. This. Is how the world changes. 1. Person. At a time. When we truly understand that each of us is born one more redeemer. We each have worth. And therefore. Deserve. Dignity. May it be so.

uuasheville_org

160821-Moving-Beyond-Belief-Unbelief.mp3

So some 45 years ago. I helped a college roommate. Moving to a new flat in ludington michigan for those of you who know the story ludington michigan right there. He was going to teach high-school there his first job. The flat was the third story of a magnificent old victorian house on a tree-lined street. With all sorts of gables and gingerbread turrets. He was gorgeous. And the woman who he was right in the place from had grown up in the house and did she have been born there. Many many years earlier she was in her mid 80s. And she was spry and she was sparkling. Chad never lived anyplace else. Carrying the boxes of books up. Flights of steps. We're both of us out. But. We decided to try and put things away as much as we could. What little energy we have left. Well assigning things to the various closets my friend and i found a very cleverly hidden. Sliding door. About half m square. In one of the closet walls. Toward the bottom. We asked the woman of the house if. Led. Someplace or if it was. Event of some kind we didn't know what it was. She said i don't know anything about it and we showed it to her and she was surprised. She says why don't you open it so we did. Man inside we found a box. About this big. Wrapped in some kind of blue velvet. And we opened the box and inside. Was the clarinet. The two hats folded over. We asked the woman obviously well. Who used to play the clarinet. In this house. And she said nobody. Nobody has ever played the clarinet in this house as far as i know i never did my sisters and brother never did none of the renters ever did. I have no idea. Why that's there. Or who put it there. If you want it you can take it. So i. Left. This place with the clarinet. Not that i have ever played a clarinet. But i thought it was an absolutely beautiful. And the little metal keys like i should call them coming down the length of it. Totally. Fascinated me and captured made it were very liquid. And i. Put it together i didn't had no reed. But i just hung up on the wall cuz it was so beautiful. And for over 40 years i've had that. Clarinet every place i've lived in detroit and berkeley. California and oakland california then in columbus. But i've lived the last 18 years. The daughter of a member of the congregation i served in columbus. Got married to the son peter of one of the most honored clarinetist. On the planet richard stoltzman. When he was in town for their wedding i naturally brought my beloved clarinet to show him. He was delighted. And he deemed it very old. Probably a hundred years old he said at that time. And if it was partly because of the very liquid. Shapes of the. Keys. He admired it and also mourned that there was some cracks in the blackwood that it was made from. Weather ri. Or anyone i know. Has ever played it. And clarinets. As you surely have figured out from this morning's music. Are not designed for decor. Although they most certainly are beautiful. But they are meant to be played. Are meant to make sounds arranged in a creative but particular order. Music we say. And this music. Like so much music i know of every kind i can think of. Can have the kind of effect. Describe did it in the first reading by cody del estrada. That is. Transformation. The man of the story had been hit hard. With a severe pain in his relationship to his beloved. He uses the phrase. A broken heart. Well i know something about broken hearts my heart's been broken five times. Thoroughly and totally and i know something about it probably you have a few stories yourself. About broken hearts. So he doesn't have to really say much more than that for me to get what he saying. A broken heart for him he says it's so great that he even begins to lose. His killer chew comforting religious belief system. Then the waiter. In the cafe puts on the tape and it's the mozart concerto. Clarinet concerto part of what you heard earlier. And something happened within that broken heart of his. It began to men. You describe this by using. Both are rather traditional theological word mercy. And then he fuses that word to very contemporary words out of recent chapters on. Neuroscience describing the chemicals in the brain. Then he reflects on his situation and he absorbs both the spiritual word and the hard science ideas into the concept. Of human feeling and experience coming first everything else coming after. He speaks of the chills we feel. At the climax of the song. Or musical piece and he links that the transformation the dawning sense of reconciliation with his wife. Which he's beginning to feel within him. Transformative feelings inspired. By the music he just heard. His religious beliefs and doubts both he comes to understand are not propositions. Or a list of assertions. We're skeptical blows against those assertions. You know i believe this to be true. Or i don't believe this to be. No. He suddenly becomes clear that the feelings come first the experience of the harmony in the music. Leading him to a renewed harmony and his heart. I don't know what kind of. Clarinet. It was or how old that was being played. Recorded on that tape. The clarinet however was indeed out of the box and it wasn't just a core. And it wasn't just beautiful. It was being used to offer transformation. No. I have served our movement for 45 years now. Pandit seminary. Put myself through seminary by doing for weddings weekend at my student congregation. Interned in rockford illinois. Served our congregations in san francisco. Hayward california in columbus ohio. Talked and several of our seminaries worked in a number of books sat on committees. Fortunate indeed to have traveled enough to see a great variety of our congregations both. Congregation wise architectural e. And i have been a witness to all of the amazing changes and culture worship an emphasis. In our association of. Free congregations during those decades. It doesn't look much. These days like. Church i first joined in michigan. Universalist church in farmington michigan. It was no child lost at the beginning of worship. It wasn't part of anyone's church much of that time except. A church that i eventually served out in california hayward they had been letting a chalice since 1963. But the great majority of our congregations back in the 60s and 70s. Fought against. A ritual like this. In 1975 what i entered seminary you could count on two hands. Not a big number. The number of women who were serving. In our ministry. Women were often dismissed in our congregations. When they were encouraged to be in the kitchen and not in the pulpit. When some folks brought up the idea of gender inclusive language in our congregations asking why everything was man this and he that. The folks who ask those questions were often mocked. I heard such mocking many times i even did some of it myself i'm afraid to say. But that's the way it's always been.. You can't change the way it's always been done can you. Sexual or gender minorities in our ministry. No way and 1975. Seven of our congregations back in the late 70s were very clear with me. When i. Audition to be there minister that me being gay was the only reason they didn't want me they liked my sermons but they just didn't think the congregation could deal with it or. The neighbors. Around the church could deal with it. The good thing was they were very clear about it. Didn't make any bones they didn't try to deceive me. The. Heart thing was i thought i would never get to serve our. Any of our congregations. But then one woman. Serving as the interim senior minister in san francisco. Knowing that i was looking sad. You know what you need. Dear. You need a foot in the door. Going to have you come and be my. Assistant minister during the sensor in time and that way. You'll have a recipe. That you can actually do this work. And at the neighbors. Actually don't count. What they think. The so-called blue hymn book the one that is before the. Gray silver one that's in europe. And your seats and fuse was. Put out in 1963. Members of the congregation of the committee rather than put that handbook together were very active in the civil rights movement of that era. Some of them marched in selma. And. Kenneth patton. Very famously it was actually written up in life magazine. On a radio show resigned from the white race. He said. It caused quite a stir. Yet even though he and all the other people serving in that committee had been active in the civil rights era. Not one single african american author or composer was found in that hymn book. Not one. Not one quotation from frederick douglass nothing. Nothing from gwendolyn brooks wood won the pulitzer prize there two years before or langston hughes. And. The other thing was when the book was published many of the hymns were in kind of like a recast but definitely protestant forum. Which. Seems outdated too many people right away in the book actually did not sell very well. I found out from the editor of beacon press. And then the principles and purposes were crafted over a period of several years in the 1980s involving everybody and every congregation. As much as possible. It was a very controversial time some of you will remember at some will not. But there were various groups. Wondering if they would be included in these principles and purposes or if they would feel excluded. So people began to try and divide us into groups. Small categories. Where you at capital h humanist. Without a need or a comfortable welcome for god language. Where you at transcendentalist. Someone who thought of the divinity in this world is being found in love and injustice. Were you more comfortable with a very liberal understanding of the basic christian message of love and kindness. Without any reference to the cross or salvation language. The arguments were pretty strong and all sides. I remember this actually a pretty tough time tempers flared. It was then that i realized with strange amusement. That we were the only religious folks in all of north america. Who called themselves by a fee logical label. Unitarian universalist. Both rooted in belief and unbelief systems of our ancestors. About the nature of god and the afterlife. Other religious groups were named for their. Singular practices. The baptist. The pentecostals. Organizational structures episcopal bishops. Congregational. A local congregation. Presbyterian. Send it. Or universal or ethnic claims roman catholic. Or greek or russian orthodox. Jews were named after a man named yehuda long ago who gave his name to a territory yehuda or judah. Which became roman you die or judea. Which eventually gave its name to a people who once called themselves by adam or ancient names hebrew. Mormons were named after a guy in there special book. We alone were named after beliefs. And envelopes. Admittedly beliefs for which we had once been mocked and persecuted. And even burned at the stake. But which no one really appreciated much anymore in their original. Forms. This realization startled me. And started me thinking along the lines i'm going with in this sermon. So. I'm speaking in witness of all the changes that i've seen. Our principles and purposes have always been beautiful lyrics. And saying extraordinary gorgeous things. Great music indeed. Written down by gray. Composers. A theological ideas. But there was some difficulty. And making them real. The resisted feminist thought of the 60s and 70s is non-normative. Amongst us. Women make up more than half of our ministry now. A lot of difference between 10. And half. I'm not the only gay man. To serve one of our larger congregations and there are many other sexual and gender minorities serving our congregations and. Great number. African american ministers are all over the place now there was a time where there was none. Many of our congregations are very active in black lives matter including this congregation with. Grand and beautiful commitment. A actually known for that in some circles. Are handbooks both of them are filled with a diversity of styles. And. Authors which might have surprised our ancestors just 50 years ago. The classic spirituals are there. Songs in spanish. The chalice ceremony is used in 98% of our congregation. At the beginning. Of our worship. Pageantry and color. All new just all i'm wearing wasn't there 50 years ago. The songs we sing in our services. I never said when i first. Joined this movement back in 1971. 472. What's happened. Andy's last 45 years. And where are we going. All this being the case. Now i can only speak for myself of course i can't speak for any of you. But then again i live inside my own skin so that's what i have to do. But all of these changes i've described have made me hopeful. The future. What i've seen in myself after 45 years witnessing is a movement away from. Stressing the trappings out of the religious roots that i grew out of. Namely belief and unbelief philosophical argument and religious skepticism. And moving toward an increasing awareness that the world does not revolve around. Me. As you heard in the reading. Recording lesley hazleton. Again. Quoting her i have found myself wanting to become more and more. Fully present. 2 mystery. To what i don't know. At home in the unknown. I'm strongest and i trust my feelings the most when i recognized. That the world. This isn't going to quote the world has become larger. Did my knowledge. Much larger than my knowledge of. To not know. To be agnostic about many things. Is not flimsiness. It's not. Weakness it's not indecision. It's not i'm still that i'm still seeking. Has hazleton protests for some alternate truth. Mike hazelton i am also a scholar of religion i have personally talked a new testament specially the gospels. And several of our cemeteries for years i am not ignorant. Or without fierce passion. Because i do not have any final information. I do not choose one belief over another. Because of that. I neither. Yearn to live forever noraim secretly. Longing to be saved. Whatever that means. Again. Reminder i can only speak for myself. But i find more more that all of the theological language for and against yes or no this or that this isn't that ism. This category that category. No longer works for me. No longer works for the good in my own life. Both in my own so. And in my relationship with everybody else. And everything else. And please. When i say i don't know and that i don't have a stack of beliefs and unbelief in my back pocket to tell me who i am. It does not mean that i do not live a life of faith. I do. Faith. Which means and has always meant since biblical days. The synonym for the english words trust and confidence. Has never been. A list of belief statements like it sometimes confused today. In the modern religious world this has happened in the last hundred years only. Before that there was a clear difference between those two words. So i have great faith. Elias i trust it when i see a lonely old man sitting in. Wheelchair in a local city park hunched-over all by himself. Or when i hear a friend talking about a terrible quarrel. With her husband or his wife or. His partner or her power. Or. When someone tells me they just been diagnosed with cancer. I don't need beliefs or unbelief to help me respond to that i have my heart. I have feelings. I can't work miracles. But i could respond and be present. To the unknown to the mystery. I'm suffering in the world. I don't want to argue argue anymore about god. More about jesus even though i teach the new testament. Or beliefs about anything else for that matter. These are eternal tennis games where the ball simply gets lobbed back and forth back and forth forever across a completely imaginary net. I want out of the dualism out of the essendon oh out of the everlasting conflict between believers and unbelievers. And. In the. Social sphere of the present. Edge. I want out of another. Duelist game. Those tossing the word racist back in. Instead i want to acknowledge that all of us every single one of us have been racialized. Might be a new word i don't know. We've been racialized this comes from the great john paul. Who is the head of the kirwan institute at ohio state university the best thing about that school as far as i'm concerned. A study tank about race and ethnicity in the united states. And i. Work with him many many times and he always used to say. African-american guy who used to say never use the word racist. He said that stops conversation. He said the point is to have one isn't it. We did talk about the racialization of everybody. No matter what their ethnicity color background we're all in a network. Established by a culture before us. The quickest intention with each other which does not exist existentially. It it was created. And acknowledging that and responding to that and working on being transformed ourselves. That's the issue. So i just went out of all the dualisms. As a form of daily practice i've actually given up the words belief and unbelief. If you want the fun experiment. When people say well what do you really believe. I'll say i'm sorry i don't. Want to talk about that. I don't want to i don't want to play that game anymore sorry. I'm trying to live a life of confidence. Faith. The life is worth living at my mistakes do not finally defined me once and for all. And that love even though yes surely it's a risk. Is always the healthiest action i can take. Even if i fail at it. So it's the music. It's important not the particular shape. Or look of the. Instrument playing it. Or even the person playing the instrument. Our ancestors offer the world. A form of music. They talked about the dignity of every human person. They talked about. Interdependent web later on. These were all great ideas it took us a while to catch up to her ideas in. The years that i've been witnessing outside notice that. We've shifted from arguing about belief. And our past. To becoming more and more aware. That the world does not revolve around any of us. And our music. Like the mozart. Clarinet concerto has the power. To transform. Broken hearts & broken lives. Beginning of course with ourselves. Or not the saviors here. We're all part of. 1 humanity. We're not above or below anybody else. Learning. The newfangled keys with all the rearranged drops mean. Clarinets have changed a great deal and their history. You still have to learn new things. But. It's always been there from the very beginning even before we were called unitarians are universalists. As you love yourself. So love others. And always struggle to tell the truth. Aware that the world does not revolve around you. That's it dorothy that's all there is. No reason to feel bad that you and i these last 45 years i've had to learn and unlearn that we had to bring our own treasure out from behind the hidden door. Bring the instrument crafted long-ago out into the light. The point is not to use the instrument for decoration. But to learn to play the thing. Enter play the music better and better with practice over the years. As we become more and more aware. Not of what we believe and do not believe but. Of who we are. In relationship to the entire rest.

uuasheville_org

160110-The-Flame-Of-Freedom.mp3

It was my junior year in high school. Can i transfer to a private school after mixed experience. In public. I remember feeling a bit of a fish out of water. Not sure where or how i fit in. Somehow it came up in my youth group at the unitarian universalist church where my family belong. Fifth there were small silver flaming chalice necklaces. Silver oval with a flame on a cup inside and then a simple silver chain. How about 1. I wasn't particularly given to wearing jewelry. But somehow this necklace didn't feel like jewelry. Instead it felt like a declaration of identity. A way of representing what was important to me and the community i stood with. I remember being comforted by the new feeling of the medallion bouncing around on my chest. During fuzzette class. Almost wishing the others would see it. And ask me. Our tradition takes pride in what we consider our thoughtful approach to religion. Our commitment to a reason to search for meaning that helps us articulate beliefs that we can defend. With intellectual integrity. It's good it's freeing. It's refreshing. We're not giving a katakana catechism to memorize or a confession of faith. The firm. We wait for ourselves what seems true. And we accept. Even welcome the broad diversity of faith stances that this exercise carries us to. Knowing that those stances will inevitably shift. And involve as we change and grow. It is liberating to be part of such a community. And i'm proud to be both a member and leader of this movie. Our attention to words and ideas the product of the head. Can lead us to neglect the role of the. Physical. The body in our spiritual lives. The religion professor s brent plate. Argue said it's easy to mistake what religion is about. Too often he says religion is explained as a set of beliefs which exists primarily in the thought processes of the brain. Look for example at that forbidding word orthodox. Which translates from the latin is right. The notion plate set. Is that the answers to religion are guarded behind the fortress of the forehead. And having sorted all the options that we make our decisions about old. Theism atheism. Whatever our isn't use of the moment and then in his words. The quest is over. All cleaned up and life goes on. Oh yes there are symbols and rituals and all the other ways that we dress things up. But these are seen to be secondary expressions of some primary intellectual order. In fact. Reverse. The actual order. As plate writes in his book a history of religion in five-and-a-half subject. There is no thinking without first fencing. No minds without their entanglement in body. Nope intellectual religion without felt. Religion. Acid has lived in streets and homes. Temples. And theaters. Now that we might miss this is not especially surprising given our history. Our unitarian heritage after all the merged out of the puritan churches of new england where worship consisted largely of hours long sermons in unheated meetinghouse. When the camp meetings of the great awakening with their shouting and weeping or spreading across new england in the 18th century. Our forebears took pride in their more sober and reason. Approached. It wasn't until later. When ralph waldo emerson and the transcendentalist. Calling that approach to religion in a significant way. We don't find religion a sense of faith from studying texts. But from our experience of the world. Religion emerson suggested responds to the joy of simply being alive. A sense of wonder that comes simply from being. We don't need to seek it out and some supernatural source we only need to make ourselves available to it. As we engage each other. And our surroundings. From it arises a consciousness that guides us in community and in the larger world. But making this connection can be difficult. And that is what sacred objects. As he puts it they helped us bring the spiritual to its senses. There are many ways to approach this but today i want to argue that it is one of the things that are flaming chalice. Can do for us. Connect us to a larger truth. The deeper understanding. To both our wholeness and our neediness. Into each other. So to tell this story. I need to step back about three-quarters of a century. Has centralized the childless has become in contemporary unitarian universalism. It is in fact the rather recent innovation for us. Born in europe in the midst of conflicts of world war ii. We begin to czechoslovakia. A nation that at the time had the largest concentration of unitarians outside of the united states. And a central church in prague unit area with a membership of some 3,000. The checks have been in close contact with the leadership of the vin american unitarian association. And in 1938 with nazi troops were invading americans began the fundraising campaign to support them. It might seem 39 they sent the minister of a boston-area church. Wastel sharp. His wife martha. To prague to help. They brought funds provided meals and helped secure several hundred wrestler recipe refugees. Help them escape the neutral country. Was not long though before their activities were noticed by the occupying nazis. So they fled to lisbon. Neutral portugal. It was there in may 1940 that they helped set up a new organization. Unitarian service committee. To help coordinate relief efforts. Over the next several years they and the usc help. Fountain. Of refuge. Escape the nazi and provide. Conduit for many other resources. In the shadowy world of espionage do during the war. Usc was unknown. So it's director. Charles joy. Decided he needed to adopt a symbol to give us some sort of dignity or wait. He turned to his assistant. Deutsch. For help. Joyce was a check. An artist who recently moved to lisbon from paris after it got in trouble drawing. Cartoons that were against the nazis. It was his pain that in 1941 gave us the first flaming challenge. George drew the chalice well that ever having entered a unitarian church. Experienced a unitarian worship service. But he told joy that he admired the denominations spirit. I'm not what you may call a believer he said but if your kind of life is the profession of your faith. As it is i feel sure. Then religion ceasing to be magic and mysticism becomes confession to practical philosophy and what's more active really useful social work. The director charles joy told the usc board in boston that. Deutsches thought was that the symbol was. The kind of challenge that the greeks and romans put on their altars is a symbol of helpful. Sacrifice. But he added that it also had an. An interesting connection to the christian theme of sacrificial love. Unbenounced. Istanbul also had a strong connection to an ancient checks. Of religious freedom. It wasn't late 1300's whenever foremast bohemian priest. Ian hood smita practice of reading the bible. In the vernacular and offering his followers the cup of communion. The church at the time but insisted that the bible could only be read in latin. And that the priest. Facing the altar. Could only he could receive the cup. From turning to face the congregation and sharing the cup. Puss was declared a heretic. And burned at the stake. His followers the hussites. Rebelled calling themselves people of the chalice. And were said to have combined fire of pussies pyre with a cup to create a kind of flaming chalice way back. Get injured as a symbol for several centuries and then kind. Funny how things. Unitarian universalist church is both joined in 1961 the flaming chalice was adopted as a symbol of the uua. Ever since then the child has been artistically re-imagined in many ways. And its role in our congregations has evolved. Growing up in the church of my childhood in princeton new jersey even though i had that chalice on a chain around my neck. I don't remember ever having a physical chalice in the sanctuary. Or lighting it is part of worship. It's a practice that appears to have grown slowly and steadily over the years. And not surprisingly spread first to children's and youth worship. Before making up with the bigfoot. Children after all engage more directly with something concrete then with lofty ideas. But are they really so different from adults and. I wonder if there may yet reside in us some of that old puritan suspicions of the ways that we can be tickled tricked or distracted by the concrete. By the fence. From those great ideals that we take religion. Be about. But if brent play that's right. And i think he is. But there's no intellectual religion without. Felt. Bennett it's worth our getting in touch with the felt experience that goads us. The gathering religious community. And perhaps the chalice could be the tool that opens that for us. I'm struck that our symbol begins with a gesture of both hospitality and safe harbor. Is hans joyce intuited the cup of the chalice has served for many years and in many sent many cultures. As a vessel that was used to hold something precious. That may be widely shared. It celebrates the sense of abundance that underlies our liberal faith. A broad welcome to all and a community that cherishes diversity and offers compassion. At the same time we recognize that none of us enters this community fully-formed. Haven't figured it all out. We will change and grow. And sometimes suffer hardship. And bill fortune. Short chalice also offers us a crucible. A contained space where we can be supported in our struggles. Where we can bring our full and true selves without fear of judgement. How to place that offers loving arms. Amidst our difficult. A similar sentiment guides us when we extend our reach into the larger can. It's not fruit abstract reasoning that we are drawn to the work of freedom justice and love. But a visceral response. The hardship and pain that we see. The sense of joy and wonder in being alive that we feel is not some experience exclusive to us. It is a heritage or right of all human being. We don't have to figure this out. We know it's simply by what our gut tells us when we experience the world otherwise. The abundance of h cup and calls us to share what we have. Adam division of beloved community. That it implies. As widely as we. I'm struck by the image and david's story of first man who finds his purpose. By creating world from what he draws from his heart. It is going to send a task we all face. Finding the joy heart-centered passion that drives us and building a life. Pixlriffs. And so we look to the flame. That symbol of warmth and light that casts out fear that keeps our dwelling places that illuminates the world gives us the power of discernment. The chalice we offered to the world is not empty. It is. A fire with compassion. A fire with hope. A fire with love. A fire even with. Impassioned. Reason. Contradiction. Not at all. Mr. spock of star trek theme notwithstanding. Let's not fool ourselves that there is no passion driving the well-reasoned argument. Rather it is the energy of a refining fire. It strips away foolish dross and takes us to the essential nugget of truth. And that in the end is what we are left with. Not our fantasies are the things we conjure out of our fear. But what annie dillard called. Feels of particular. Salamanders. Fiddle tune. You and me. The world. So into the space that we have created together we bring this symbol that gathers our community. Acid other congregations it has evolved over the years with many different manifestation. Our newest that you heard lisa introduced in september is a design created in the late 1980s by mordechai roth. I do you artist living in arizona who died about two years ago. The bowl decorated with branches as from a tree holding lamp oil and a plate over at holding a whip. With interlocking. Brass ring. Representing the two religious traditions of our heritage. I make the lighting up this chalice a ceremonial element early in our services. And invite our worship associates. You're right words to accompany the lighting been invite us into worship. It is for me a moment of grounding and centering. A reminder of the context in which we gather this tradition of memory and hope that we raise up each week. Later then. We carry this flame to our choice and concerns table. Or we pass it on. To you. In the hope that it might ease your sorrow. And illuminate your joy. Both of which we hold in community with love. It is away and sprint plate. If that we bring our spiritual life. To its senses. We connect with each other and with those who each week for dozens of years have lit chalices and unitarian universalist congregation and meeting places around. The world. Any chance of a bring to mind beloved friends. Who are no longer with us. Weconnect also with a fire inside us. The passion that calls us beyond the narrow window of our lives. To a covenant with all people. With all life. He was a growing awareness of that covenant i think. It occurred to me in high school. With that little silver medallion dangling from my neck. I think what i wanted my classmates to know. What's that. I was linked to something larger than myself. To community the cary division of compassion. Integrity service. Enjoy. Fire. That lives within me.

uuasheville_org

160327-Awakening.mp3

Every religious tradition has its foundational stories. Tails that neatly some up some central message. At its heart that invites the healer into the faith. Just so is the story of john maria that you heard joy tell earlier. It's almost too good to be true. Like something out of the book of jonah. But as far as we know it did happen. Here's this for raft universalist sales off for a new life. Only to have his ship caught in a storm. Founder on the sandbar just off the property of a man who had built a chapel awaiting the arrival of a universalist. In our newcomer classes i say that we call this our own little miracle story. And for many years and some of our universalist congregation czar forbearers. Treated it almost like that. Unfolded years ago some churches would hold annual john marie days. Waiting september. Time of year when marie arrive. That would be marked by special services or festivals. Play gathering sing john murray failed over the ocean. Hand sewing. I'm sure that i told that really did happen. The truth is though that marie's stumbling on thomas potter. May not have been quite as miraculous as a scene. Do it certainly was serendipitous. Is it happened thomas potter was not alone in his community in his universalist beliefs. There were in fact quite a few. Remember that at the time of murray's travels 1770. Many people were seeking religious freedom and drawn to what that area of what was to become new jersey on eastern pennsylvania. Near colonies founded by the quaker william penn. Among them were members of pietistic sets. Who's faith headstrong universalist tendencies. Included were german baptists known as dunkers. Who had settled much of that area and who potter himself may have had contact with. So in truth it's really not accurate to say that john murray brought universalism to america. It was already here. Kennedy benchley spread out from many centers ranging from pennsylvania to the hill country of new hampshire. That suggests that the story may be less important as an origin. Fantasy tale of the journey of faith. 30 even three and a half centuries later. Has something to say to her. So with that one. We can see that we return to the story and find it's really one of awakening. An easter moment of sorts. It tells us of the hope of rebirth. Even at a time that feels most like the. Where does this hope come from. Universal universalist answer to this has evolved over time as the tradition has it fall. But it is grounded in a basic understanding. The fish hope is not something we need to see. It is something we are called. Terrific. John marie's understanding was different from ours. Left the faith that he came on to annette woman's parlor. Was the understanding the jesus death on the cross gave everyone assurance that they be safe. But hosea ballou who succeeded marie is the leader of the movement in the first half of the nineteenth century. Disagree that we needed any sacrifice. Do universalist notion at the time was that a god whose nature was love. Would not require anyone's sacrifice. That the spirit of god's love with present in all life now. But the world is good. Our lives are good. And we are made for each other. Our work then you said was to feel this align ourselves with it and to act. With love for others and ourselves. Blue offered these thoughts and a book that disputed the traditional christian notion. Of atonement. This idea was the jesus had died for our sins and this suffering and sacrifice. Such as jesus experience. Cross. Is required if we are to experience happiness or home. Such a theology he said is a good way to make ourselves and each other miserable. But in the end it makes us know happier any closer to the divine. We can see how this works. As we each offer ourselves up for the suffering that we hope will earn us a chance at happiness. We are locked into a twisted cycle. Where we accept. Abuse. Esther price. Redemption. It's a pattern that unfortunately echoes throughout our culture today. That degrades our humanity and poisons our lives today. Yet even when we know what it is doing to. It can be hard for us to break through. When we experience a series of bad moments something inside of us bizarrely assigns them to ourselves as our do. Perhaps the consequences of our selfishness or misty. Who persuades us that we are unworthy and unloved. It leaves us looking for a rescuer. Robinson mining our own resource. And it can be a frightening. Gyre. To be caught in. And hard to find a way out of. Rebecca parker the former president of starr king school for the ministry. Describe the faith of universalism as we understand it now it's the belief that there is a fundamental integrity to the world. That the fullness of love is available to us always. But it is she says a fragile faith. Because given what we know about the world and how it works. It is something we doubt. Profound. Meritor worth we soon as something not something we possess it's something we must. Itachi. We trust in action in our own industrious nature to power our way through whatever difficulty we may find. We live in a go get them culture that tells us that. The way to fix things to get to work. When the going gets tough the tough get going. So rather than trusting in any inner capacity we shoulder the responsibility ourselves. For making that happen. Problem is though that in time she. Our will centered religion. Comes to a cry. Because no matter how committed we be maybe no matter how earnest our efforts are. There are limits to what our wheels can fix. After banging our heads against the wall for a time we're not inclined to find much to celebrate in the world that she says seems full of brokenness. Suffering and injustice. We become alienated. And with an alienated mind parker says we are care for the world. For ourselves and each other that sustains our confidence and even our identity. Can breakdown. Resulting in the profound experience. Agree. She tells of her own experience of such grief. After series of terrible events in. She found that nothing she could do could stop her spiraling. Into despair. One evening she said she left her house. For a walk. With an eye to a nearby lake. Prophase. What is tears. She said she set her course. For the water's edge. Determined to find consolation in the lake. Cold. Entering a park leading to the lake she walked onto the wet grass. And discovered between her and the light. With what seemed like a barricade that she would have to cross. She didn't remember that barricade being. What you got closer she saw it wasn't actually a barricade it was. Line of people. Hunched over what seemed to be strange spindling looking equipment. It was the seattle astronomy. Hulk love amateur scientist up and alert in the middle of the night because the sky was clear and the planets were in alignment. So on our way to the lake she was stopped. Wine enthusiast assumed that she'd come there to look at the stars. Siri said let me show you. Have you begun to describe the star cluster that his telescope was focused. Brushing tears away she peered into the lens and focus to write. There it was. Red orange spiral.. That ended her walk to the. As she put it in a world where people could get up in the middle of the night to look at the stars. I could not in my life. I wonder how many of us have had such a moment not as dramatic i hope. But i know that i've come to discouraging times. Where i wondered what the future could possibly be. Where i was out of options to fix the situation and just weld. Will evan. What save me in that moment is difficult to maintain. Parker co. But indian chief. Cluded. I was saved by the human capacity to love. Piping math. Right in the center of the pathway of my despair by one. Actually 100. Who wouldn't let me go that way. By the stars themselves by the. Cool green grass under my feet by the earth. Cosmos express. Which one may offer. And persuaded me to stay. It was the most welcoming kind of awakening. Not unlike john murray. Bit cleared the fog and helped reorient her to a life centered in a hope-filled calling. That was larger than the cares if it dragged her down. Calling it was grounded in the fullness of life. So are we each called. 2a knowing. Deep within us. To the life and work that will help us realize who we are. Double carry us beyond our peculiar little universes. Into a common life in the presence of fellow travelers. And the vast reaches. Stars. It is a moment fitting to hear handel's. Hallelujah. A moment when we wake into a world. A life. So rich. It astonishes. And feels us. Praise. As my colleague sarah york suggest. In the poem you heard earlier. Many of us learn to hold our troubles with in. In the tomb of the soul we take refuge from all the hurts and yearnings. The disappointments and pains all the heaviness. Weighs us down. We ship with all of it. Perhaps even nurses. Consoled it. But the time comes. When are holness calls us in sarah's where it's to push away the stone and invite in the light to awaken us to possibilities within us and among us. Possibilities for new life in ourselves and in our world. This is the season where we hear that call most urgently. Is robert west inputs of today of cold and gloom chill and wet holes in its graines the restless urges. Upward straining life. What's the sign that leaves and see under the ice crystals that there is movement. Undismayed. Like studly thrust upward nourished by the dark. This spring emergence is something we can feel as well and easter awakening that asher has us life insistent urging. And so the hope of our own awaken. Running through life. The universalists gordon mckeeman once said. Is the urgency to. Something woven deep into our being. And being that urgency is an enduring source of this universalist hope. Something that a test not to an inner deficit or lac. But instead to the truth of a deep integrity. Goodwills within us. Send invites us into love ourselves of our fellows of this blooming and buffing world. In this bounteous and blustery time of year may you feel that urgency. May you know that love. May it shine.

uuasheville_org

150927-Finding-Home.mp3

First place i remember calling home. With a ranch-style house built on an acre of bottomland. Carved out of second-growth forest. About 20 minutes from princeton new jersey. Oh young family my parents my five-year-old self and two younger brothers. Sister and another brother were yet to come. Have just moved into the area. We're my father was starting a psychiatry practice. Bmh of us living in that woodsy suburb still resonates in my memory. Don't no longer has a sense of home really. But we moved from that place after only five years to another. A larger house in pennington new jersey. And that house which my family called home for another 12 years. Having more powerful claim on my memory. It was there that i came of age where i had my most memorable successes. Failures in school. And develop the circle of friends many of whom revolved around the unitarian universalist church that we had joined shortly after moving to princeton. Also it was there that the ingredients of my sense of home began to expand. Geographically i came to claim not much more than the rolling hills of central new jersey. Put on into the atlantic shore where my grandfather had a beach house. In urban centers of new york and philadelphia that we found occasions to get. Now and again. Both within something like that hours. There are other dimensions of that sense of home too. The church frankly was one it was the community where i felt welcomed and valued even as a child. I want much from specific classes sticks with me some. 50 years later. I am left with a sense of being invited to discover the wonder of living. Of the world about me to treat others well to be open to wisdom. How many sources. So there was also a sense of home about our social circle to people we have most to do with. Many some young families like ours scrambling to make their way. Do i come to realize years later that not every element of that was positive. Most of the adults i dealt with were like my parents young professional. So that was kind of elitism marbled into my experience. Admiration and respect for some people. Thought so much for others. Also with some notable exceptions or social circle was almost entirely white. Tony was a kind of unarticulated racism provided it to. My parents and their friends likely would have objected to such a claim. They talked a good talk and extended themselves at times to communities of color. But the gulf between them and the people they served was undeniable. It didn't help that without exception the women my parents. Parents hired to clean our house we're always. African. We need to be wary left the sense of home that sense of belongingness. Colors how we see the world. For there are some things from home that we need to outgrow. It's our sense of home white. And so minded. As i moved off to college to what felt like. But home move beyond the memory of that familiar place of my upbringing. Instead the ruthlessness of school became a home of sorts. A home in my head. The familiarity of. Books in classrooms and leafy campuses. All the rest. It had its own unreality. The unquestioned dependence we lived. Cloistered circle of acquaintances. Until exiting into the cold shower of the working. We need to experience our own evolution as home of one form or another presents itself to our early lives. And it either suffice has or it doesn't. One way or another we try to make do until the realization dawned on us that home is not simply where we happen to land. It's also something that we choose. Didn't compasses not only our places of choosing but also. Partners as well progeny. We're not. Wife invites us to sort ourselves out and we take the opportunity to do that to make those choices. Again. Or not. Some who were confronted with these choices for golden. Faced with a decision 4010 they punt. And mostly true. They live on the surface they go with the flow never really put down roots. It is an existence that is figuratively if not literally. Home. For me when the fork came in the road. It's a now departed yogi berra put it. I took it. I met the right person we made the right choice to marry and boar three wonderful children. What's arbor the greek called the full catastrophe. But catastrophic only the some inflated sense of self-importance. Or cavalier he gets his. What the experience gave me was a pearl of great price. A sense of home stronger and deeper than any i had ever known. One of the surprises of parenthood. They're always how much goes into creating and maintaining a home. A place of love and affirmation the refuge from the storms of the world. Cold frame. Where tender shoot. Can put down their roots and send up their first leaves. Quickly becomes obvious we can't do it alone. And for us to thrive in this home we create to work we must. Wyd. The circle of our concern. We began looking for others in similar straits and if we're lucky. We coming to a contact with a community like this one. Pueblo breath of life experience is wide and where connections of care invite us. Once again. To deepen our sense of home butthole might be. I remember when our girls were growing up some of the most important connections they made came from adults. Who decided. They look like pretty interesting people. And that maybe they ought to be up there to try to get to know them. Experiences like this feed a new sense of well-being that extends beyond the particulars of people and places that we know contributing more to something like a fence. A faith. I want to speak of faith i'm not referring to the specific content of any particular belief. I'm speaking of that. In which we rest our hearts. Which we trust as true. It is stopping place within. At our core. The ground of our certitude. It was the religion scholar wilfred cantwell smith who referred famously to faith as a quiet confidence and joy which enables one to feel at home. In the universe. It's something that he says has less to do with belief. Then within his words equality. Human living. It isn't anything that comes at once it grows within us and as we go through the process of trusting. Fourth. Weed festival spence. Acetylcholine. Of meaning. One of the ways we develop our faith in his how we project defensive home outside of ourselves. How wooden tables. Hot holding braces others and even those significantly different from ourselves. Extends to the world beyond.. Last year for example in this congregation we convened a class we called discovering a sense of place. That was centered in the notion that how we understand our immediate surroundings can deepen our feeling of being at home. We walk after all in some of the most ancient mountains in north america and one of the most diverse ecosystem. And it's so much of our lives is removed from our surrounding. So we spend time examining all of it more closely. We took field trips to learn more about our human predecessors here ranging from the econo lefty village of the cherokee to hickory nut gap farm. And we surveyed the natural landscape investigating species of animals and plants. Like woodpecker. To gain a sense of our own unique niche in our nation's complex array of bio region. We were companions by poets scientists and thinkers whose writings urged us to widen our sense of boundaries. To where our concern might extend. But wider and distinct roots where we reside. To know it have a real place. It's something more than a place where were parked for a time. What is home. Home at the place that is occupied by our relation. Which means. Offense. But adams i could juicekeys poem. Illustrate pointedly what can keep us from making that link in our conscious. He wrote the poem you heard earlier just before the 9/11 attacks. It was widely shared at the time as a response to that disaster. But particularly be applied to the world today. Referencing. Our offering today. You've seen the refugees going nowhere. Watch stylus ships ply the seas. Well salty oblivion. Awaits other. We hear the executioner's across the middle eastern war zone. Sing. Joyful. This. Mutilated world. Essence atkins. It's cause for much heartache. Praise him. All the same. Remember the beauty of long june days and wild strawberries. The moments of peace we find together. Believes that in time cover over the scars on the landscape. Even the middle of it. We are home. Picnic on in his walking meditation. Pics of how we are so often preoccupied. Regrets suffering. Worries. Fear. But those are phantoms. I need have no power over us. In the present moment. The walking meditation is a good practice to bring us back. Each step reminds us of where we are and that we need to be present only to what is here. Focusing our attention on that moma. Brings. What shall we do with this present. This buddhist master suggest that we use it to get in touch with the wonders of life that are here available to us right now. Such as. Well how about beginning with our breath. App simple act. Perform without. Bright. So. At least for the moment. We are calm.. We are aware of our calmed self. And that call himself at least here and now. It's enough. We don't need. We don't need to go anywhere. We are home. Here. Now. And when we come to reflect we see that wherever we were when we last felt most at home. Rap cell. Very selfridge. Experience. What part of it. So wherever it was. With our families in our communities that are places of employment. Glorying in this good green earth. Where is home. Within us. Welcome home.

uuasheville_org

150823-On-Not-Worshiping-The-Teapot.mp3

Cohen cole. Thomas a unitarian universalist minister. For many years with his wife carolyn come served our church in san diego california. You're funny road. We continue to hear people applaud personal spirituality. I'll denigrating organized religion. Even in our own congregations. They point to the obvious excesses and abuses of institutions. But these same people would not say. I believe in medicine. But i do not believe in medical schools hospitals and clinics. Nor would they say i believe in law & justice. Federal not believe in law schools courts and police. Thought maybe they would. Nor i love art and beauty but i do not believe in art schools and museums. The medicine justice and art are worth fostering there must be institutions devoted to those purposes. And so it is with religion. Football's lee. Unitarian universalism is a religion. And religion is not personal but institutional spirituality. Of course institutions are and always will be. Complicated. Messi. Edit need a constant mending. Obviously here. But that's precisely why we need the interweaving participation of puppet and pugh. Entrusted with the shared ministry of unitarian universalism. We're not permitted to be freelance philosophers are roving prophets. Ecclesiology the nature of the church. Requires that we be active web builders and web tenders. A cosmic declaration of interdependence has little relevance unless religious professionals and laity in body or incarnate. Put hillary ellery channing. William ellery channing called. The sense of vast connections. Our daily duties and tribes. We are charged to serve aliens beyond our own compulsive little egos to use william james biting expression. If god is ultimate concern or the ground of being is philo john paul tillich. Suggested. Been a healthy local church furnishes a site. A human being can cultivate a relationship. With such altima seat and groundedness. Apply for example do we have communal corporate worship anyway. Why not just rely upon spontaneous solitary communion with god or nature. Corporate worship brings us sustenance. When were hurting. It shakes us up when we're smug. It's tougher to compromise your soul. Unitarian universalist companions. Are constantly needling. And nurturing you. Many are the times for me to come to church out-of-sorts unexpected do angry. And then something or someone touches are being. And a precious. Lasting way. Grace. Inspiration. Call it what you will. Something happens. We arrived out of habit. And our lives are altered. Because of a bus. Encounter with the holy. We are sustained by institutional. Spirituality. And we were supposed to sing that naboo sang it before. It's okay. David are so honored to be with you this morning and so glad to be sharing your worship in this wonderful. Evolving space. And to have a chance to meet you all. We're sharing the sermon this morning. Espn r. You probably heard this term. Spiritual-but-not-religious. It's the coming thing. It's the future of the church for millennials and their children. I've been hearing it for years. Often it comes from young couples looking for a unitarian universalist minister to marry them. We're not religious but we're very spiritual very spiritual. I understand that they're feeling a little nervous about dealing with the clergy person. They want to get married. The can't relate to any of the standard denominations. Maybe they've already been turned down and some particularly unpleasant way because they don't. Meet some requirement of baptism or belief. And if heard about unitarian universalism in a general way they don't know much about us but they've heard that we will marry all sorts of people. Well we have been happy. To celebrate same-sex unions long before marriage equality became a legal reality. Or evolution came just a little earlier than the rest of the culture. But sometimes couples. All i know is that they don't want. Only a civil ceremony there want any married by justice of the peace. They want something more. And so they come to me. Not sure what rules i might have trying to impress me with their sincerity about. Something. That's when i hear it. I'm not religious but i'm. Spiritual. Very spiritual. What is posting mean. Well i've heard this from more traditional christians as well. Some years ago in baltimore i was working on an anti-racism project with avis. She was a lovely elegant woman has sharp lawyer and activist and african-american and a devoted baptist. She operated out of a strong christian faith with all the standard creedal beliefs. And yet she said to me one day religion won't save you. That surprise me. If a baptist doesn't believe in religion who does. So i asked her about it. Well it seems that she meant what i might call religiosity. Not going to church. Or reciting prayers or repeating creed's. The trappings aren't. What. Saves you in davis's view is a deep. Personal relationship. With the ultimate realities of the universe. True course she names is god. And experiences in jesus. But that's not religion. I have a certain sympathy with elvis's point-of-view not necessarily hurt a confit ology but her direct connection with the unvarnished spiritual reality of the universe. After all religion maybe a little distant from the reality that they deal with. And they're always religious are always. Subject to the disparate needs. Paying the bills getting the plumbing fixed scraping the mud out from the door all the things that need to be done you know about them. Religions can easily become. To structure. Or toulouse. To hierarchical. Or to ineffective. To burden with rules are so big that nobody knows what they stand for. And even in the best of circumstances. Everybody gives up something. To live in community. A vital spiritual life is a lot more fun. It's constantly self-renewing it's a source of energy and inspiration for engaged living. And it doesn't need any committees to keep it going. So i to sympathize with a preference for spirituality. Over the daily reality of religion. And yet i'm always a little taken back when i hear that declaration. I am after all a person. Who has organized my whole professional and personal life. Around organizing. And nurturing religious community. With an institutional denomination. I love this religion. This denomination this face. Even when it sometimes makes me take tear my hair out. And so i want to urges to look a little closer at the issues of religion and spirituality. And that the related questions of religious language and religious. Engagement. The lake. Protestant liberal protestant theologian marcus borg writes about the necessity of the institutions of religion. Here's what he says. But the contrast between spirituality and religion is both unnecessary and unwise. Religion is the spirituality is institutions of learning art education to sound familiar. One can learn about the world become educated without schools universities in books. But it is like reinventing the wheel in every generation. Institutions of learning are the way education gets traction in history. Show also religion its external forms. Is the way spirituality games traction in history. Religion. It's not just. Spirituality. But religion also matters. It's forms are the vessels of spirituality. Mediators of the sacred. And the way. Well i agree with pork. Somebody has to mind the store. Somebody has to keep the church going so that it will be there when those spiritual-but-not-religious people need a wedding. When they come around later looking for a baby dedication or religious education. Somebody has to preserve. And nurture the home where we come together to work out our spirituality and act out our faith. Without an institution. How could we be sure that our values would have a reliable presence in the culture. How would brilliant but isolated spiritual millennials keep from going off the rails. Without a community to provide nurture and challenge. Picture and needling. But it is the last line. Of this quota for forks that caught my attention. Unencapsulated the question for me. Religions forms are the vessels of spirituality. No i've been taking pottery classes for the last. Decade or so. Making vessels of one kind or another. Even better teapot recently a dragon teapot. It's quite beautiful but because of a. I'm in felicity in the glazing process it would actually make tea. Well i've been thinking about containers about holding things about decoration and utility about structure and strength and art and creativity and when i heard that something clicked. I remembered a little saying i'm your sentence fragment when you may have heard i found it an even song. A lovely unitarian universalist curriculum for nurturing our spirituality. It was just this. Worshipping the teapot. Instead of drinking the tea. There it is in a nutshell. Or at least. There's the trouble with religion. Too often we worship the teapot instead of drinking the tea. It is so easy to get distracted from the precious tea. The thirst-quenching energy restoring delicious tea to get caught up instead. In the virtues and flaws of the vessel. To spend all your attention on worshipping the superficial. People understand this in a different perhaps inarticulate way until they tell me they are spiritual but not religious. But this is not the whole story. Have you ever tried to make tea without a teapot. Or at least a mug. Without some sort of container your tea will not brew. The boiling water will spill all over the table. And you won't have any energy at all. It's hard to embrace spirituality without some vessel to hold and shape it. So drink the tea by all means. Pruitt well. Try different kinds of tea. Plain black tea and green tea and exotic flavored teas and don't forget herbal tucson's aren't exactly t but they are wonderful. Share your tea with friends offered to strangers as an act of hospitality. Don't get all hung up on worshipping the teapot. But you have a care for the vessel of your spirituality. Don't break it. Appreciate your teapot did you inherit it from your great-grandmother is it a museum reproduction. Did a friend make it for you. I'm trying again with my beloved dragon teapot and maybe this time to clay's we'll work we'll see. Does that teapot represent a year that you spent in england does it keep the tea hot is it beautiful is it homemade. Is it filled with nostalgia. Appreciate the other teapots of the world as well even if the shape of the pot or the dacor or unfamiliar. The teapot is not to be worshipped. But it holds and shapes and makes the t available. And so it deserves its share care and respect. One of the things i'd hoped to learn and seminary was. What is. Spirituality. I've heard of it. Course spirituality. I knew that a lot of folks consider that a good thing. But i didn't know what it was. And i was embarrassed to ask. Ask about spirituality felt like asking. About the missionary position. I figured that everyone else already knew since it's the sort of thing you should know. If you're preparing for the ministry. There wasn't any course at wesley theological seminary unspirituality or the other thing. No exam questions on it no one asked me to write a paper on spirituality. If it was covered in class i must have missed that day or. We're falling asleep. During my internship with the unitarian universalist in princeton. My seminary advisor pressed me to have spiritual practices. I knew it. Practices are even if i wasn't sure what made them spiritual. I told her that i played hymns every evening. I offered read passages from the quran every morning. And that satisfied her. As i see it. Spirituality is not is not about how you feel. It's not a feeling or perhaps i should say it's not it's not just a feeling. When people claim to be spiritual when people are striving to be spiritual or more spiritual. We're not talking about a certain feeling that they have. For that they're looking for. Release date shouldn't be nearest me. The feelings were the issue then the answer might be pharmacological. If feelings were the were the issue the key to spirituality might be in the right drugs or alcohol. Sexual gratification. According to benedictine monks father daniel holman and his colleague bonnie pratt in their book radical hospitality. What people are looking for when they say they're in search for spirituality is often really. Comfort. Here's how holman and pratt respond to the idea of spirituality. Comfort. Genuine spirituality they say. Seldom makes you comfortable. The challenges disturbed unsettled and leaves you feeling as if someone were at the center of your existence. On a major remodeling mission. Spiritualities meant to change you. If it doesn't it is something less. Spirituality. For me. Whatever spirituality is it has to be tied to our experience in the world. It has to be tied to our response to the world. It has to involve relationships. Spirituality isn't comfort as much as discomfort. It's not feeling good. It's doing good. It's not about trying to change yourself. What about engaging in the world and finding that you are changed in the process. Is about looking for the meaning of life. Not through introspection. Natsu devising a program called. The search for meaning of life. But by participating in life. Participating fully. For me. Spirituality is related to integrity to wholeness. That's what the responsive reading. What's about. Here's an example of what i would consider a spiritual experience. It's one of father dan story from book i mentioned a minute ago. One of the families in his parish had has just had a terrible tragedy. The son is killed himself. The mother is inconsolable the father's lost himself in a drunken stupor. And there's a six-year-old little sister. Yourself father dan health. I went over to check on the family. The mother was locked in her bedroom the father was sitting in a chair completely intoxicated and basically unconscious. Their young daughter was sitting on the floor sobbing. With a frail little shoulders heaving and her eyes red from so much crying. Do you wondered if her little body couldn't handle the force of all the pain. She was completely alone in her grief. Not because your parents were cruel or uncaring. But because they were shattered. I picked up the child. Without saying a word i. I put on my lap and sat in the rocking chair. I held her in rock. Plus she cried for. Couple of hours. A bond formed between us instantly. Need i say the father dan did not set out to have a spiritual experience. Has he said. Rocking he did not think to himself. This is the most spiritual i felt all week. No. He was there to be with family in their time of need he was there as it turned out. To provide the physical comfort. Set the little girl so urgently needed. A couple of hours. Being held. Being rocked. We don't know what was going through father dan's mind as he sat and rocked. Perhaps she was giving the girl his full attention. Practicing the mindful esthetician at han recommend. Or perhaps she was mentally preparing a shopping list. For brainstorming possible tax deduction. I don't think it matters. Held and shaped and supported by the structures and practices of his church. Father dan was able to enter a moment of deep spirituality. Giving what was needed on a human level. Well being connected to the source of love and comfort in his life. Our vessel spirituality and by that i mean both our personal kratos and practices and the community that we nurture together. That helps us to brewer faith and to share the tea of spirituality. In a friendly and sometimes life-sustaining weigh. But what is that. How do we name our spirituality. The heart of spirituality is being aware of your connection to something bigger than you are. Liberal protestant theologian james nelson called it the patterned ways we relate to what is ultimate. In our lives. That spirituality comes in many forms held by many vessels. Some of them explicitly religious. Some of the brood and secular language. I think about my late father fred. Who called himself an atheist. Homegood. He was deeply and passionately bound. To the sources of goodness truth. Beauty justice compassion. The experience these in the music of beethoven. He raged over the state of the world and he wrote papers on foreign policy. Finishing one just before his final illness. He read voraciously politics religion science mysteries. Eddie gordon devotedly. He took up organic-gardening back in the 50s long before it was trendy and when he knew so little about plants that he thought peas grow underground. He traveled with enthusiasm and he loved meeting new people and learning new cultures. Fred was connected to a whole universe that was bigger than he and he participated with passion and goodwill and caring attention in that something bigger. Fred was clearly a spiritual person. Though he would not have used that language. And as a committed an act of unitarian universalist and a longtime supporter of our churches. An elder statesman at the unitarian church in devon the mainline church. He was clearly a religious person as well. We called himself an atheist. It must have been from fred that i absorbed and understanding of the spiritual life. The spiritual endeavor i think is much like creating art. You begin by paying attention to the real world. The world of hope. Or fear or dreams. Worlds that have at least one foot firmly planted in the everyday world. And you take some small bit of that world. Are you focus on it and you shape it lovingly towards the best. Towards beauty or truth or justice or compassion. You take risks you be generous to share yourself. You focus on something precious. Something within yourself or beyond yourself. You engaged. Through meditation or prayer or reflective thinking and then you move towards action. Social justice or hospitality or compassionate care. Wearing a black lives matter button. Gardening. Writing letters to the editor. Picking up trash in your neighborhood taking part in moral monday or assisting. And the tutoring program. Just like the things you have been doing here in your congregation as a whole and especially. And your religious education. You reflect on what you've done. You evaluated with others you look at it through the lens of your deepest values and then your turn to the refreshment and renewal of your energy. And you reach together for the next layer of action. The whole cycle of attention action reflection and renewal. Altogether that adds up to spirituality when done with intentionality and integrity. And a sense of connection. Too often we think of spirituality only is the reflection part of the cycle. Or as the act of renewal. Things like journal making. Art-making. Prayer meditation worship rest. These are a vital part of our lives. We need that time apart to connect again with whatever it is that moves us towards the divine. We need the time to refill a well of our creative energy. Weather through music. Or church services. For candlelight village or. Keysmart to a pep rally however we doing. But they are not the whole of our spiritual life. We also need the active. Of the cycle. To use our renewed energy. To wechat once again to the world to bless the world. With our care and attention. That teapot comes in many styles made of many materials. Some of them look religious. Some of them look secular. Summer for solitude. Summer for group work. All will brew. A good time. Cup. Terry's father might have argued with you if you'd suggested that he was a spiritual person. My father has been dead now for more than 45 years. I don't think you would have known what to make of such a suggestion. He was an institutionalist. The kind of person every congregation everything on the nation needs. Given the choice between the motivational mystical meditation movement workshop. In the budget planning meeting. He would take budget planning every time. Spirituality is often thought of as an individual matter as opposed to what goes on in an organized religion. Reven in a disorganized one. But that's a false dichotomy. Remember what unitarian universalist congregation have covenanted. Preferment promote. Under shortlist is. Spiritual growth in our congregation. We do not see spirituality solely as an individual matter. Divorce from a religious community but maurice what we strive for. It's what we do. Together. Spirituality requires institutional support. Congregations in my view heavy-duty and fortunately they have the ability. To encourage and challenge the members to grow in the maturity of their faith to deepen their spiritual roots. And to broaden their religious imagination. Here's a one congregation took advantage of an opportunity for spiritual growth. Not a unitarian universalist example that you wouldn't have to change much. To give it a youyou framework. Donnie would have loved nothing more than to lead the worship service himself but. Because of mental problems. His skills were limited. Besides he was not ordained and dusty was ineligible. During communion donnie had an annoying and distracting habit of repeating the last phrase of everything the celebrant said. Just heard the liturgy so often that he had it practically memorized. Sometimes you tried to say the prayers and formulas before the celebrant did. But how does a religious community a community committed to compassion and hospitality. How does a deal with such a problem. Donnie was not mentally equipped for extended reasoning. We're careful confit. Resolution. There were temptations for the group. Some no doubt wish that donnie. We just disappear. Some wondered about silencing him or even. Evicting him. Resentment and annoyance would have made it easy to resort to criticism avoidance. Name-calling or labeling. The congregation wrestled with the issue for a long time. Their solution was brilliant. Donnie was given one phrase in the service. Behold the lamb of god who takes away the sins of the world. Agnus dei. Toilet peccata mundi. This was his line and no one else's. But they promised appropriate moment to celebrate. Elevated the loaf of bread in silence. And waited for donnie to say his line which he did. With gusto and devotion. The congregation solution was brilliant. It was good. Everyone. Everyone involved experience spiritual growth. Course they didn't characterize the situation as a spiritual opportunity. They saw it as a problem of how to worship properly. Without compromising their principles. Of compassion and hospitality. So here's the bottom line is i see it. If you are looking for more spirituality in your life. Open your eyes and look. Around you. Don't look for a mysterious feeling. Don't imagine that you have to take a pilgrimage to tibet. Reven boston. You can even forget the word spirituality. Donut teapot it doesn't matter. But here's what i recommend seek justice in our nation drive to maintain a community of compassion and hospitality in your congregation. Practice loving-kindness. For both family and friends. Towards strangers. And take advantage of the opportunities for personal growth. Did obstruct your path. May we care for the many teapots of the world. May we cherish those teapots with which we have a special connection. May we appreciate also the teapots of others. But what may we remember that they are vessels 40. Not the t itself. And finally met we drink. The full rich t of spirituality. And work towards a world in which everyone. Can do the same.

uuasheville_org

140330-A-Tribute-To-Life.mp3

Chad asked me if i would help frame where we're going and we talked about this journey so to having three pieces to it so. Let me begin by just a couple of words setting the stage and then. Invite her into the space. I'm so the others are worshiping this month you'll remember is really. Really. I'm part of the journey that we're talking about is there's a there's a really to our journey we. We are born as trusting soul. People of inherent worth and dignity. But the world doesn't always reflect that fact. Our experience shapes how we see it in our hopes for the future and then boom it's in our face. Really. I got to deal with that. Good morning. So. Here we are. I'm from buffalo originally so. This is a gift for me it's a sigh. So this is. Just give you a little background. I was born in buffalo new york and. I am the 31st foster child. That my parents. Ever had mary. And elsie williams and i was the last foster child ever had in there. That's it they broke the mold after me. So. I was born to a neighbor's. Child my mother was. 14 my biological. 14. When. And mary was the neighbor. And she came to the hospital to check on my mother my biological mother who is dickie. And. What's the maternity ward she said. She looked in to see who i was and. She said i smiled at her. And she said she knew she had to have me. And so from the time i was five days old i went home with mary. Mary ann williams. Please say her name was mary ann williams. All right she's loving that right now. But i went home with marianne williams and. I was there. All my life with. I had. Six other brother. And sister siblings their foster brothers and sister. And. We all share the home together. She was my shero. She was my shero. She allowed me. To be where i am today. I remember i told her. I wanted to be an astronaut. And she's like ah baby you want. I said yeah. Shelly said what does that look. And she's make me describe it to her. Down to. What my breath smells like with the mask out in space. It says this woman had. Capacity to love that was just. Absolutely incredible. Most of the children she had in her homework. Trouble children. People really didn't. Want to take in or gave back. Mary took the met. She was already in her 60s. When. I was five days old. So we didn't have that much time together. So. You have to excuse me if i get a little emotional. Prison guard. So i'm so accustomed. Two walls being up. So this is what change for me and my life right now. Because i'm actually letting emotion in. So sometimes i get overwhelmed. And i welcome a. Because for years. Those walls were up. And i couldn't feel anything. So get back to the story of mary. Just wanted to give you a little bit. Get back to the story of mary. She was incredible. Her capacity to. The love. To open her heart. Tell the people there was nada. I only heard my mother curse one time. A my whole life. She didn't stay around that long. Bob's tu i was seventeen when she passed away. And. I was homeless. And. I messed that homelessness by my friends and. Hudson high school. A junior. And my friends didn't know i was homeless. But that's been a week at each friend's house until. It was found out that i. And. Then my teacher stepped in. So whoever the teacher in here thank you. Because if it wasn't for my teachers. I would have made. So one of the things that. I want to get across is. Just to show up. Show up at people's lives. Cuz people showed up in my life so i make it my. It's my mission to always show up. And i hope it is. So this is kind of my theme song. But showing up. So. Mary passed away when i was 17 and i was homeless. As i said my friends. Escaping shelter week at a time. My brother. My oldest brother. Gave me $50 to start my new life with a 17. Brand new crisp $50 bill. And handed it to me and i looked at it and i was like wow. Okay. This'll work i'm going to make this $50 work. And i did i made it work. I went to college and my teacher stepped in. In a guided me. Like parents. They snapped it i was never alone on a holiday. I never had to worry about clothes if. I have food they stopped by the house i mean these are public school teachers. Who took time out of their lives and their families to invite me into their homes. Forever grateful for them and i still go back to buffalo. And i still keep in contact with all those teachers. And all those friends. Who gave me shelter. I still keep in touch with them. I had a softball scholarship to college. I didn't even know how to play softball. But apparently i can't. At which was another blessing. Another blessing and having faith i learned from mary to have. So i went on this wonderful journey. College. And let me tell you. That was a whole new world for me for inner-city kid who have never went to the private catholic school. What was that. Oh but i had donna catholic school most of my life but i went to university in niagara falls and lewiston. New york by niagara falls. And i have a major in criminology and criminal justice and a minor in theologian science. So. I went on. To work for the new york state department of corrections. And i was a prison guard for over 12 years. This was not. Easy. This was not an easy job. But where else. We had to get paid $70,000 a year. But what you gave up soulwise i tell you not enough money in the world for me to ever go back. That job again. It. Texas toll on you not only. As a. A person. But in your soul as a human being that's not a lot of people who are in line for these types of jobs. It really. It really took its toll on me. Heartwise. And i didn't even notice. Cuz i was so closed off. Here's a fat. Corrections officers prison guards have the highest divorce rate. Out of any profession. In united states. So that should tell you something. I went through years of. Being closed off. Not wanting people near me. Not want to be touched by people. Not wanting to connect with people because i always thought everybody had an ankle. So i didn't know who to trust and who not to trust or just didn't trust anybody. And then one day. That all changed. I came here to north carolina. Just to move a friend down here. And i was walking past malaprop's. And some guy said hi you. And i said i'm sorry excuse me. Hey sis how are you. That's fine how are you. He's elwell my bursitis is bothering me a little bit. Daylight but we got a sunny day out here today what about you and i was like i know what about me i didn't know what to say. He like where you from i told him where i was from we had this great. Two-minute interaction with each other. Affect my resignation back to new york and i stayed here. Anytime somebody says how are you. Not to be here to get used to it. Took me a year to get used to this for being i was down i was stationed in new york city i was a sergeant in charge of a. Unit saint clare's hospital. For a terminally ill. Inmates. Male and female that was a tough job. But again nobody was in line to do that. So i was with them. At the end of life most of them. Anda. So i'm grateful for that opportunity cuz now i understand it. So. I come here to north carolina. I moved here in. What do i do. Get a job with the buncombe county sheriff's department. That. I discovered singing at karaoke. Hamilton karaoke. And that's how i got discovered at karaoke. Kiss note. Michael bolton got discovered at karaoke to. So for those of you who are karaoke singers. So start singing in the nightclub the one day. At the sheriff's department they told me got me at this big long desk. They didn't want me to sing anymore in the nightclubs. And i couldn't understand why. But as soon as they said i had to stop singing. I had a physical. Reaction to that. And it was unlike anything i've ever. Ever felt. It was like somebody came home it's like being married and somebody comes home and says. You know honey how's your raise and i don't want to be with you anymore. And so it was that type of reaction is just as gut feeling of the thought of music being taken away. So. I quit the sheriff's department. Flight pattern in these stories here. But it's okay cuz i drop everything. Free music i knew i was on. The right path. And i trust my instincts that tell me. You should trust your instincts that tell you. Where you're supposed to go. My face. Is unwavering. I trust god and whichever path. That he or she. Lead you on. Anybody know where i'm at in the store. I'm where i am. This is a. How to be honest. This is a whole new way to live for me. And it is way out of my comfort zone. To be here right now. But it's time. God gave me a gift. Give me a gift. Other voice. And i'm finally starting to understand. How to use it. I felt as though. If i had the attention of masses. Turn music. It was my. Duty to educate people. And so that's what i'm doing now i'm educating people. I just speaking to people. Everybody's been through a hat everybody has a story. Everybody has a story no matter what level or degree it is doesn't matter where you come from who you are everybody has their story. And so our stories connect us. And that's what i'm doing now i'm trying to connect with people. On a deeper level than jess. In the club singing some songs and then walking out for the rest of the evening. I've shared a lot of. Moments with a lot of people in here. I've been there at. Birthdays. Bar mitzvah bat mitzvah. All kinds of. Even in the life celebrations. And i'm am grateful and i'm honored to share those moments with you. And your friends and your family. So now i'm on this journey. And i haven't a clue. Where i'm going right now. But. I welcome the possibilities. Faith. People say faith what is faith. Faces trusting. That should be on that path. That you're beyond that right path there's always my mother always told me it's free things i learn from mary. What is. One monkey don't stop no show. The second is. God don't like ugly. And the third thing i learned from her is. When they give you hate. Give them love. And so i live my life by that. When they give you hate. Give them love. I was recently at a casino scene. In florida. And it was presidents day. All these giant posters of presidents all over. And i go. Where's obama. There was no picture of obama. And i was shocked because of the president's day party at that's our president not was a little bit shocked. So address the issue. With the microphone. Address the issue with the microphone. Needless to say i haven't been asked to come back there. But. I just. I felt i said i'm going to give these people so much love. Turn music music is the key music at you into places where other people can't go in atlanta and i see that. Pikachu in the places that you never imagined that you'd ever been i know for me i never imagined i'd be in similar places. Through music. As to why i'm here i'm going to give them so much love. I'm just going to get them this out for of love through music. And i did and afterwards. They were in a line the hug me when we were done. And i addressed these issues with them and i said i'm so happy we agree to disagree on things. But that's what music does it connects people. No matter who the matter how you feel about the music. Connection. I understand that now. And so modest journey. And i just want to thank rivermark for just letting me be here. This this morning this is something. Totally new for me. And i welcome at. And i had no clue i was going to say when i came here. Because i'm like i'm going to just let faith guide me. Wherever wherever going to take me. That's that's fine. And i appreciate you all being here this morning.

uuasheville_org

151011-Out-Of-The-Depths.mp3

For the end of the movie four weddings and a funeral. Matthew played by scottish actor john hannah. In his eulogy for his beloved gareth. With wh auden's famous poem. The movie came out in 1994 long before we had a glimpse of nationwide marriage equality in united states or any part of britain. The depth of feeling. The excruciating poignancy. Of auden's poem. And it's articulation of the loss of love that could not be expressed publicly. Except. In the circle of closest. Friends. Stop all the clocks. It begins. Stop. The world. From turning. Expresses the inexpressible. That sense that one's life. Has fallen out of orbit entirely and will never. The same. Empty out. The ocean. Turn off. The sun. It is the wrenching tight fist of grief. The depths. Of an inexplicable loss. So deep. That we are. Turn off. The sun. Have you. Belk. That kind of grief. It is not. To be dismissed. And yet we regularly dismissed such loss. And the grief that goes with it. Everyday we experience the individual and corporate losses of our lifetime. The accumulation of microaggression and disappointment. Death. And other personal losses. And we witness the suffering of others. Which has an impact. As well. I even found it difficult as i was writing this sermon to preach it in words. Words are so inadequate to express feelings like this i kept wanting to just stop talking and play various pieces of music like. The song juice from verdi's requiem. Or the symphony of sorrowful songs by henryk gorecki. It is no accident that we often turn to music. Or art. Or movement. When we are experiencing our deepest losses. We can feel these things more easily in our bodies. In our heart. And when we are able to feel them. We can then. Move through them. And let them go. In some. Way. We are not giving much of an opportunity to process when we experience grief. We generally get 3 days of bereavement leave. And are expected to move on. To get back to normal. But as anyone who has experienced a loss knows there is no returning. To that. Place called normal. There is only moving on into life. As it is now. As we gradually understand. What the new normal. Looks like. In our culture the practice of mourning has become almost entirely private. But their long-standing traditions of mourning of communal experiences of sadness and grief. Often called lament. Would you give us a window into the practice of allowing ourselves to feel our feelings. To let ourselves be present. To the pain. I've lost. Lament. Is the sound. Of grief. It is the sound of trauma. We see the practice of lament in traditions the world over. Often roll. Performed by women. But no less important for all genders. Keening and ululation i knew i was going to stumble over that. Ululation are forms of lament as is the requiem as found in classical music. Lament helps us to find our way in the midst of overwhelming feeling. So that we can find our way through. To comfort. And peace. And whatever that new normal. Will be for us. Psalm 137. Which virginia just recited is perhaps. The most well-known of the psalms of lament. It is also. The one known for those awful. Awful lines. About killing. Children. When it comes up. In. The christian lectionary every 3 years. Many preachers leave off. Those last two lines. And i can surely understand the impulse. To do that. We want to explain away the violence. To put it aside. But there's a reason they are there. And we would all do well to understand it. Sprint store on in the book of psalms for preaching and worship tells us that this song as 2 is to be understood as a poem. A literary form just like funeral blues. He lifts up songs like garth brooks the thunder rolls. Bob dylan's the masters of war. And public enemies burn hollywood burn. As similar expressions of lament. Both the song and these songs typically arise out of experiences of great injustice. Not violence for violence is sake. The song also demonstrate that while such powerful and volatile sentiments are more than some people. Can handle. They nevertheless make perfect sense to those who share the same social location. Lemons as put forth in the psalms is not understood as a literal instruction. Nor is it a verbatim account of something that happened in history. It is an expression. A feeling. That deep. Deep feeling of despair and rage. Hyperbolic. Venting of deep. And painful. Anger. This is the rage felt by a people who has been oppressed and enslaved an exiled. Had their children killed. And it is too much. To try to articulate rationally. And so we find the desperation. And the drama express. In the wish. To kill the babies of others. These people have caused inexplicable pain and suffering. And don't we wish. We could have vengeance. And retribution. According to biblical scholar greg carey. There's no need to explain away these forces. The song perhaps to a unique. Degree within scripture he says are true to life. They express the full range of human emotion. And bring that emotion into the room. Into the center of the community into. The presence of god. The setting for this song involve people who are being mocked by their captors in babylon. And the song expresses their grief and resentment. No one i think. Would argue that slaughtering babies is an appropriate answer to injustice. But many many people. No the bitterness that could lead to such. Sentiments. Have you ever felt. So angry. You thought about doing something awful. I imagine there is not one of us in this room who hasn't. This poetic form of lament acknowledges the truth and the depth. A rage and despair that comes out of our suffering. Expressing it in this way allows us to articulate it. Without acting on it. After we find ourselves in that vengeful place that place of deep. Feeling where we want the sun to turn off. For everyone. After we find ourselves in that vengeful place we are able to move out of it. Into an understanding that we are not our feelings. That we are a people called to peaceful resolution. Going to say peaceful revolution. That's one of those little slips that i want to remember. We are called to peaceful resolution and to forgiveness. And then we choose another way. Because those angry rageful thoughts. Come out. Of our feelings of loss. Not out of our actual need. And this is what the practice of lament can do. For us. We give ourselves a chance to experience that catharsis whether we throw paint on a canvas. Or dance. Or ride our bikes into the mountain. But into the mountain. Onto the mountain. The only way out. Is through. We experienced catharsis and then move through anger and fear and despair into forgiveness into acceptance. Into our new normal. This particular song according to scholar walter brueggemann. Is a psalm for the long haul. For those not able to see the change but knowing that hope for change can be sustained. Bruggeman also suggests that these communal psalms of lament. Give us a tool for processing the ongoing experience of witnessing suffering and experiencing suffering in the world around us. In our current age the personal is the primary way that we experience life. But bruggeman says we are indeed public citizens and creatures. We have an immediate. Direct. And personal steak. In public events. Communal lament. Is what calls us to action. In the present. And so. What do we do. Once we have let ourselves feel those deepest feelings of rage and grief. And lost. How do we move forward. How do we begin again in love. How do we learn to feel our feelings. And let them go. The practice. Of lament gives us a tool for doing just that. For moving through our feelings of rage and despair and loss. Whether we turn to poetry or music. Or movement or some other kind of creative expression. Where do we go. From the depths. For our spoken and silent meditation today. I'd like to invite you. To participate in a guided meditation. From the cygnus review. You are invited to close your eyes. Or to leave them open. And if you prefer not to participate that's okay too. In that case i invite you to sit with us. And be a witness. For the people around you. After the meditation. We will light candles. As we do each week. Symbolizing our joys. And our sorrows. Take. A moment. To get comfortable. Your seat. Ground yourself. Center. Yourself. Take. Sandeep. Bratz. Focus on your heart. And find the flame. That dwells within it. That flame. Burning. Heart. Feed. That heart. Flame. With love. Bree is into. Your heart. Invoke the power. Love and intelligence. Of the earth. And the sky. And notice. How your heart. Flame. Brighton's. And intensify. The light. Cast. By the flame in your heart. Illuminates your inner landscape. As you observe. That enter landscape. You begin to notice things. Perhaps. There are trees. Or other foliage. Perhaps there is water. Or a mountain. Or rolling hills. You notice a well-worn path way. Wyd. Flat. And you begin to follow it. Flowers grow along the edges. And the sauce. Warm brie. Touches your skin. As you move. Further down. To explore the pathway. You come to a fork. And move into a tunnel of bushes and trees. That gets darker. As you move into it. The world you just left. Feels very far behind you. You come to the entrance of a cave. In the rock. A wide. Pants. And move inside. Inside it is rough. Hewn. With a strange and musty odor. There is plenty of room. But you cannot see terribly well in the darkness. The air feels damp. You lose your sense of direction. Something inside you begins to shift. And you see a small pinhole of light. You are drawn. To that light. And you look through. The small opening. You are transported. To oisin. Of suffering. Somewhere. In the world. Perhaps you see a city. Where no family is untouched by the suffering of war. Perhaps you see. A trail of refugees. Driven by fear and desperation. Manny. Bearing the scars of man's inhumanity to man. With indomitable spirit. Perhaps. You come to a place. Where are the pressures of poverty. Overpopulation and racism. Drive people to throw themselves at even the smallest hope. For rescue. Everywhere you focus. Come to yet another. Act of sup. Violence and degradation. The pain. Of these people. Your pain. Gradually. You feel. A light breeze. The light tickle of a breeze. On your neck. And then you feel the wind and through the cave with a rush. A powerful wind. A wind of time and change. Which blows you back through the cave. And back onto that wide. Flat. Pass. That brought you to this place. Take. A deep breath. Feel. The open space around you. Shake off. The dust. As you continue along your journey. Back. Along the path. Feeling that heavy ache. Of sorrow. Turn to compassion. As you lament. How humanity inflict suffering. It is through the experience of suffering. That we learn. Compassion. Each. Movement along the path. Brings you to a sense of determination. To see that we all work together. To create peace. And harmony. In our world. Examine inside yourself. What you can do. What you can contribute. Two-piece. Peace within yourself. Within your community. For all the children. And. For the future. As you continue your journey. Reflect on the knowledge. Peace. Cannot come to the world. Until each one of us. Find peace within ourselves. You arrive at a place. A sanctuary. A familiar place. A comfortable place. Where you find your heart. Flame. Pay attention to the color. And the texture. Of that flame. Breathe deeply. From your heart. And feed. Your heart. Flame. With your breath. Your compassion for all the suffering that has ever been. And is still occurring on our planet. Because. Of hatred. And fear. And anger. As the flame grows and brightens before you. Your compassion also grows. Until it reaches a place from which you. Can begin. To forgive. You can forgive. Your enemy. You can forgive. Those who believe differently from you. You can. Forgive the perpetrators of violence. And. You can forgive. Yourself. Focus on what you can do. To create peace. Bring it into form as a commitment. A vowel. To action. Hear and feel. From the depths of your being. From the marrow of your bones. What you can do. To create peace. Now place your commitment. Onto the fire of your heart. It flares into a bright. Blaze. In the radiant light of your heart flame you now perceive a vision of a future where all beings live. Uncooperation. In harmony. In a world of natural abundance. A world where people are at peace with themselves. And with. One another. It is this vision of beauty and of peace. That you bring back with you. As you ground yourself. With more. Deep. Bratz. And begin to return. To your ordinary consciousness. When you are ready. You can open your eyes. You can return to this place here and now. Knowing that you will share your vision. Withal. Who can listen. Together my friends we. Can make it happen. And now. I invite you. To carry your flame forward. To be held. In the center. Of this beloved community. And so. We come. To the end. Of our time. Together. Understanding. That lament. Is a necessary practice. A cathartic. Experience. That allows us. To move through. And passed. Our. Grief. And our loft. And our anger. That our feelings are just. Feelings. With only. Are expressions of them. Requiring judgment. We do not judge are feeling. May this beloved community serve as a crucible for our deepest fears and losses. Allowing them to be held. And transformed. May we find in our hearts. Strength. And compassion. For the journey. And may each of us find together. The fire of commitment. To move. Through our pain. Into new. Life.

uuasheville_org

161113-Waking-to-the-Work.mp3

My colleague victoria stanford. Tell us of a tense meeting that was held at her congregation. About six months after the 9/11 attacks. Struggling social action committee had called it simply is occasion for people to share how they were feeling in the aftermath of that tragic event. But stafford said she was worried that the tender risky work. Would be quickly overwhelmed by in her words. All those noisy unitarian universalist opinion. All the articles they'd read the website's they'd found the npr commentaries they'd heard. Thankfully though she says the circle health. Instead of getting lost in the dry sands of rhetoric. They found a way to connect with with each other and with something. Deepen themselves. Sorrow flowed into the room. Rage decades-old made its appearance. And silence. Made its holieway. Fealty said like this group was edging toward the shores of cynicism or despondency. When someone made an observation. You know. We cannot do this all at once. But everyday offers everyone of us little invitations. Port resistance. And you make your own response. He told her the story he read recently indian fraser's book. On the reds. It tells of a time when the girls basketball team on the pine ridge reservation in south dakota. Travelled for an away game. When they stepped out to be announced. The team members were who did by the audit. Greeted with all kinds of anti indian hospital. Fans wave food stamps. Yelp fake indian war cry. Called-out epithets like. God eater. Uncertain what to do. It's a one of the team. 14 year old freshman. Surprised your team-mates and silenced the crowd by stepping out. And singing and dancing the lakota schulte. Not only did she reverse the crowds hostility but they cheered and applauded. But of course frazier goes on to say. They won the game. We convene the gathering not unlike that one. Victoria stafford describes this past wednesday. We ate a potluck meal together we gathered for a brief vespers service. A time to talk. Our purpose was not to debate or analyze that. Election results but to acknowledge the pain. Infusion the surprise that many of us were feeling. Into a firm that we are a loving community. That remain centered in a hopeful vision of the world. Now. Nearly a week later. The shock has mom.. And we're being urged to move on. After all elections, and go some candidates win some lose. We're grown-ups we know that. We seen hillary clinton graciously acknowledge her loss and wish donald trump well. Racine president obama welcomed a man with whom he traded some bitter words during the campaign. Into the white house. The promise a smooth administrative smooth transition. To the next administration. The gears of democracy. Appear to be working. So can we move on. Well. 11 level of course we will. Life goes on the government transition is already moving in. People will be attending to what the pending changes mean for what they care about. Who's worked. But on another level. No. If people of face before we go on. We need to attend to what this election season has showed us about some of the deeper and more disturbing strains moving through our politics right now. And how we are called to respond. To begin with. What this election reveals about the level of misogyny. In this country. That is not only present but viewed by many people as acceptable. A donald trump reveals himself to be a chief offender i'm sorry to say. If not just a matter of his frat prep boy antics. At the beauty contest sponsor. But his own history of sexual assault that even he brags about. Add to his repeated the meaning of women throughout the camp. And is it any wonder that women worry about their safe. Nor does it in their hillary clinton's bid to break what she called the highest and hardest glass ceiling by seeking the presidency. Made plain. The double standard that prevails. Continues to prevail for all women who pretend. Such b. Hatred for their confidence. The meaning for their ambition held suspect. For their success. Never before has the disparity in our national life like this. And thrown in such sharp really. And never more was it critical. To all people. Especially men. Denounce it. In demand redress. We're also left with a raft of racism and homophobia and xenophobia from trump and his supporters. And either explicit language. Or code phrases that have fueled attacks and acts of discrimination. During the campaign and since the election. Daily millions. Immigrants fearful of expulsion. Muslims fearful of discrimination. Glbtq people fearful of a loss of rights. Kosher. The government transition will go on. But we won't forget to call out the oppression that we plainly see. Or to turn from the work. Combat. But you know there's also an interesting dynamic. We find ram through the alarm. From early on in both parties. A deep sense of frustration that many people feel about the state of their own lives. And their inability to control their future. They struggle with economic stagnation. Growing death social dislocation. And in this election their fury amounted to a kind of tsunami of grief. Disappointment and complain. The washed-up estructura politics as we know it. There were people who looked. To the leadership in washington the both parties and soft entrenched entitled class. Feathering its own nest but doing little to change their lives. So. In walks brash and boisterous donald trump. Promising to upset that cozy applecart and make america great. The story is of course. A trope. As old as the republic. The outsider who pledges to turn things around as a man of the people. Anyone with a nodding acquaintance with history knows to be wary. Assurance. And what we see frankly of the actions of trump and his lieutenants so far doesn't give any cause. 4. But who knows. It's early. And we need to open our minds and hearts to what's possible. That's the work. But politics. And that citizens of this are charged with attempt to it. Raise our voices. Make our case for our nation's future. But how about us as a religious body. Where do we fit in. And it's here that i want to return to the parable of the sower. To her earlier. The metaphor in this parable is pretty clear. If we want to be fed we're going to have to plant the seed that will give us a crop. And we better be careful where we planted. Scatter it on the path from the birds will eat it up. Faucet in the poor soil and it won't grow. Planet your forms and they'll crowded out. Scatter it on good soil and you'll get a harvest. Simple right. Is agricultural wisdom is kind of a no-brainer. But there's something more here. Learning that isn't so obvious and so. In a month where we're looking at story i thought it might be interesting to say where this simple story might. I think that one experience that we have had of this election is that it leaves us. Hungry. Hungry for connection for integrity. Pro-life giving way that serves us and each other in the world. Feeding that hunger is likely to take more than just scavenging in the lambs. We're going to have to do something intention. To give us nourished. The parable suggest we find it in c. Gathered from a good and trusted place. Then we must find a fertile place in the world to plant it. Pandit. Cultivated. And bring it to heart. The story doesn't indicate where we might find the seed. Do i have an idea. Our unitarian universalist tradition suggests that we don't need to go searching far for it. There is ample seed. In this life giving crop. Among us. And we located in our own experience. In those moments of clarity that we have that tell us who we are. These are moments that glow in our memories but we don't often grasp that within them. Are seeds of a renewing hope. Impossibility that can center and ground. It happens. We in this congregation are currently involved. In a process of gathering. Many of you have heard about our board of trustees inviting us to meet in groups where we share experiences of clarity. That illuminates those values that are most important to. We called them experiences of the holy. We have several of these hour-long gathering so far. And there's another one coming up just after the service. So please stick around. I've attended a couple of these. And i have to say i find the experience. Amazing. To send her down on our moments of clarity. Open. Weak clear away the clutter and confined the clearest most hopeful part of ourselves. In this process i've heard experiences of. Gratefulness vulnerability. All inspiring beauty compassion and so much more. Once done gathering these seeds your board will sort through them to identify what seem to hold the key values of this congregation. I'm sure them backwards. It will then be our work. To give them good soil. And see them flourish. Because the point of this process is not just a gathering nice word. It is to nourish a life-giving way of being in the world. What we gather won't be wholly original with us. But it will embody that which fuels are fires. Hunger's in our own lives. And we hope take us deeper and wrote it rufus more firmly in the soil of arby. All the disruption surrounding the selection is a reminder of how hard it is to stay grounded. Of all the ways that despair and confusion can distract us from how we need to be. Let us take the time then. To get clear on our center. Let us we know and gather our strength. In venice miguel de unamuno working. Begin the work of bringing the values we proclaim into being and throw ourselves onto the fields of our endeavor. Let us like the lakota girl on the pine ridge reservation euro basketball team. Employ the genius of our grounding. Can offer our. Charles dance. To the world. I don't know what shape this will take. But i know it won't come to fruition all the months. It will take time and tending to accomplish. For each of us dedicating ourselves. Matthew fox called small work. Immigration. That means living by little acts of love and giving ourselves to the challenging task. Truth. Being clear about who we are at our center. Resisting and define that which diminishes off. And beckoning each other to do the same. We must be ready for disappointment. Occasional failure and indignity. But if we are well rooted. If we have been planted and tended well. We will hold. This past week i've been looking around all sorts of different people's response to this have been fasting. Many different places some of it arms firing itself some of it not so great. 1. Reminded me of something important. But i forgot about. Was announcement that went over email from our southern region you use southern region staff. My pointed us to. A song. As many of us before but it's been awhile. My family said this is the song i need to hear. So invite you to here. I almost 10. And i am willing. 2b whole playlist. Stream soho strain. If it is on earth. Those who go before us. Triple-i to chain. There is hurting. In my family. There is sorrow in my town. There is panic. All across the nation. There is wailing the whole world round but i. 2 b e whole playlist. Would seem so strange. It is saunders those who go before so leave me. I thought you see more clearly may be elders be more wise. May the winds of change. Even though. Burns out her eyes. And i am willing. To be hopeless. Would seem so strange. It is saunders those who go before us so leave me. By the law by the trains. Give me my tio. Hold my confusion give me a desert. The hold my fears. Give me a sunset. To hold my wander. Give me an ocean. Fill my tv. But i am open. And i am willing. 2b whole blessed. Would seem so strange. It is saunders. Zootopia for us so lift me up. By the light of change. And i i'm willing. 2b whole plus. Would seem so strange. It is saunders. Those who go before us so lift me up. Bible i change won't you lift me up. By the light of change. Princess return to the closing i turned once again to marge piercy swearing. Connections are made slowly sometimes where we can't even see where they go we need to keep at it while living a life we can endure a life that is loving and resilient and strong because after the tending and growth. The harvest.

uuasheville_org

160828-Drop-By-Drop.mp3

4-story today i'd like you to imagine a town. Inner part of the world much like this one. Let's call this town owl ridge. Eldridge was a small-town only about 20 families live there. But the people of alred loved their town. It was parked in a cove well up in the mountains but it was hard to get to because just below it was a fast-moving mountain river that people enjoyed the river they fished in it they got their water from it but it was too rapid to cross there near them. Anyone wanting to leave al ridge for any reason or come to it had to travel some eight miles down a winding path. Ferry across to aurora. Detective to a larger town. The townspeople decided. Really needed was a bridge across the river so it'd be easier for them to go out into the greater world and for others to come in to them. Protects a lot to build a bridge. So for a couple of years they talked and they argued until they finally decided. The thing would pool their money to build that structure and then finish it off themselves. And when it was done it was a wonderful bridge it was exactly what they needed what they had planned for. So when everyone had gathered to watch that last bored being hammered in place. Eunice the bridge team building leader. Had an idea. Now everybody like that idea but harvey had a concern. Who's going to organize and pay for the celebration i don't know about you. Now there's in the crowd mumbled nodded that was a problem. But then eunice's daughter jenny typed up with an idea. Remember when my brother jamie came back from server. Okay. That's right. What great idea. That martha was getting on in years and she hadn't been present when the last board for the bread with hammer. But when harvey asked. Nodded her head. Could do anything. She remember that celebration years ago too and even though it was a stretch to put it together then jamie had been her great-nephew coming back from the war and she wanted his homecoming to be special then. Well. This was her town. This was special to. I'm like this one more thing. Why. I bet this never would have happened another celebration. So it's my fault. I never should have said that we should ask martha to organize your celebration. Well the truth is that even though harvey acted angry he wasn't feeling very good about himself either he to wondered if it was partly his fault for asking martha after all harvey had said jenny's idea was a good one and. Harvey was the one who had actually asked martha to be in charge. He tried not to show it but harvey was sad. And a little scared. Martha had been like a second mother to him for so many years he couldn't imagine losing her. The spat at that meeting cast a dark cloud on just about everyone in our ridge everyone cared about each other and they work together. They wondered though now if that was just a story they told each other about themselves they wondered if the truth was different. Maybe harry was right. Maybe they were really all selfish. The next two days were pretty uncomfortable especially in harvey. And eunice's house. Harvey could parley baer the idea of facing martha again it has been so frightening to find her there like that. He was sure she'd be furious with him and he couldn't stand that. But he sure couldn't stand pacing around his house worrying and fretting either. I've got to go see. Well. I deserve it. Eunice was still mad at harvey. For the white he had yelled at jenny. But jenny told her not to worry about it after all she's up harvey was just upset like the rest of them. I want to go see martha at the hospital i want her to know that we care about her. Are you sure. It might be really hard to see her that way. I don't care i just want to see her.

uuasheville_org

140518-Building-Authentic-Community.mp3

Reflection one. Bringing our truest self. To relationship. From my experience authentic relationship begins by bringing who we really are to the table. Sometimes because of our upbringing. Life issues and confusion. The expectations of others. And what our culture rewards and punishes. It may be very hard to know who we really are. What are most corcell. Consists of. I know this well in my own life. Because i was socialized. To be a good girl. And to pay attention. To pay attention to and he the expectations. Apparent elders. Teachers. And bosses. I spend a lot of my early life trying to win approval. And show how good and competent i was. But there was another part of me. A stronger and somewhat outspoken young woman. Who was longing to emerge. Who was longing to share what she was learning. One of my earliest memories is of seeing photographs from the holocaust. In life magazine after world war ii. What brought those images to mind after so long. Happened in a workshop here. Called 12 steps to a compassionate life. Organized by frank valenti. The course was based on karen armstrong's book by that title. Which we read and discuss. Setting some goals of compassion for our own lives. It's the book she wrote. After traveling the world. And talkin too many religious leaders about what the world's needed to become a more compassionate place. In such a polarized. World. During the workshops we were asked. What are the first memories you have a feeling compassion. And the memories of those heartbreaking images. Of the death camps. Came flooding back to me. I could see those terrible pictures in my mind's eye. And felt again. The horror and unutterable grief. That i had experienced as a child. As i grew from a child to a questioning adolescent. I saw answers. I read the diary of anne frank. To kill a mockingbird. And lord of the flies. All of which have had a huge impact on my life and how i wanted to live in the world. Books became the way. I could share in the experiences of others and feel what it was like to walk in their shoes. Shoes of other people even from far distant lands. And have experiences that i would never otherwise have. I wanted to understand. The anguish. A bigotry. Racism. And just plain cruelty. I was full of questions. How could such terrible things happen. How could people be so cruel. How could people bear to hurt others. Later i started asking myself. What could be done to prevent such things. Was it even possible that i might do something to help make the world a better place. And could i find friends. Who would care about the same thing. I think these feelings and wondering for the beginning of my moral and ethical awareness. One of the streams of my life journey. It feels authentic to me. Core. To my defense sense of self. When i was young it seemed that i was alone. But i did find friends who share that car of compassion. My best friends in high school and i had a pact. That we would take the risk of intervening when someone was being bullied or scorned. It was pretty scary at first. But we gave each other strength. So many of us here at our core. Share the imperative to do something to make a difference in a hurting world. In this congregation. And the others. To which we belong over the years. We share with each other our passion for caring and justice. And try to work together to bring more compassion. Love. And generosity. To our wider community and our world. We build relationships that support our aspirations. And that challenge our paralysis. In the face of sometimes overwhelming odds. Reflection 2. Communicating from the heart. I hope you are enjoying giraffe and jackal. They are the mascots. Of nonviolent communication. Adopted. Buy the founder marshall rosenberg. The puppets. And the ears. Which giraffe in jackal are wearing. Are often used. In role-playing and non-violent, nonviolent communication. Workshops. And practice groups. Each of us have both giraffe. And jackal within us. Giraffe is the representative of nonviolent communication. Partly because it has the largest heart. Of any land animal. And the purpose of communicating non-violently or compassionately. Is to connect. Heart. To heart. With others. Marshall rosenberg road. Imagine connecting with a human spirit. And each person. In any situation. At any time. Imagine interacting with others in a way that allows everyone's needs. To be equally valued. Imagine. Creating organization. Mlife service system. Responsive to our needs. And the needs of our environment. That is the spirit of jackal i'm sorry i'm giraffe inside of us. But we also have a jackal within us. This is the part of us that has been wounded by life. By all the traumas. That are visited on children. And older people. By our human cultures. Whether it is being left alone. To cry in our crib. Being taken to the doctor against our will to receive vaccinations. Scolded or shamed. Physically punished. Humiliated or bullied. In school. Or boot camp. Caught up in an endless cycle of sometimes meaningless tasks. For which we may receive little appreciation. And so on. This is the part of us that react sometimes strongly. Attacking verbally. Or withdrawing. Fighting. Fleeing or freezing. When those old traumas are activated. It is the part of us that is filled with judgements of others. And ourselves. It is a part of us. That calls ourself. Stupid idiot. Would we make a mistake. An important difference between giraffe and jackal is sent to rap has never lost. Or has recovered. The compassion and caring. Stephen on violent communication community assume. That everyone was born with. And so she cares about other people's needs as well as her own. Jackal. Still suffers from trauma. Infection away. Becky is always looking out for himself. Defensive. And defendant. Speaking to meet his needs. And not yet capable. Of considering others needs. Sometimes it takes a lot of healing and receiving empathy and compassion. To be able to leave our jackal selves at home. When we want to be with others. To become less defended. More open. More aware of our own and other's feelings and needs. The more we can bring our giraffe to the relationship the more honest and open we can be about who we really are. What is alive and i said any moment. What we are feeling and needing. The more likely we'll be able to build an authentic relationship. It is also likely when we care equally about the other person. Or people. And their feelings and needs. And what is alive in them. You may have had the experience of a one-sided relationship. We're only one person's needs were considered. For only one person was willing to be vulnerable. And open. I've been learning nonviolent communication for several years and i have found that it isn't easy to undo 60 years of socialization. During my first weekend workshop with marshall rosenberg my paradigms were shifting so fast that my head was spinning. All the communication skills that i have been taught by various systems. Before. We're concerned mostly. Which getting my point across. Expressing my needs and trying to get them at. I'm trying to speak in such a way. That i would be understood. Nonviolent communication dos include these skills. Under the heading. Of radical honesty. But the way in which rosenberg's work is different is that it is more focused on. Receiving. Empathically. And sustaining empathy. Especially when you are hearing difficult messages are proceeding unpleasant behaviors. The most fascinating thing i learned that weekend. And since was that instead of holding someone's words and actions against them. Which i have been doing most of my life. I was to try to understand the needs that lay behind their words and actions. Really. The assumption is that every thing that anyone does. Is an attempt to meet some basic needs. No matter how inadequate their strategy for doing so. One of the most important skills i have learned is a just to be present. To be totally with. Another person. I don't have to say anything. Or do anything. In many situations the best that i can do is to be quiet. Totally present. Listening. And compassionate. My heart open. To the other person. Instead of charging those were angry and triggered our task was to give them a thief. By listening to them. Guessing their feelings and needs and responding to them without getting triggered. Now that if it turns out it's a lot more. Thought you see your duck said than done. 20 most difficult task of all because most of our triggers are from our past experience of woundedness. A kind of ptsd. That plays those reactions. Over. And over. And over again. Until we finally deal with those old wounds. This triggering was a major issue in the twelve steps to a compassionate life workshop. When we read and discuss the chapter on compassionate communication. Almost everyone in the group admitted to being triggered sometimes. And how hard it was to be compassionate in those moments. Especially. With those with whom we have the closest relationships. But even the people we love most in the world. I must admit that it has taken me quite a while to understand my own triggers. And to do something about them. I am still working with mine in an ongoing seminar. Under a biology and human relationships. The first step is self empathy. Now that is something. That our culture does not teach. Self. Empathy. This is a core practice of nonviolent communication. And one of the most difficult to learn to do. Our culture is so into blame and shame. That is very difficult to treat ourselves with the understanding that everything we do. No matter what our strategy. Is an attempt. Tomita needs. And we can learn how to understand our actions by understanding our own feelings and needs. Instead of blaming and shaming either myself or another i asked. What are the feelings here. And what needs that are not being met. Do those feelings reveal. Sometimes people say when they have criticised others spoken roughly or insultingly. I was just being myself. Authentic self. Are you telling me not to be myself. Spicy cabbage with chapel. The wounded and wounding self. That pushes people away. Rather than throwing them closer. Into intimacy. Ideally if we could all act out of the giraffe part of us. We would understand the pain behind the judgments. Since most of us get triggered in distance. By such behavior. We are longing for more understanding behavior. In our friendship. And groups. Reflection 3. Encouraging authenticity. So the question is how can we build relationships in groups where people can discover and be their authentic selves than a circle of understanding and compassion. 2 years ago our member ts pennington organized a workshop called circles of trust. Based on a book by parker palmer phd. A quaker author educator and activist who focuses on issues and education community. Leadership. Spirituality and social change. The title of the book is. A hidden wholeness. The journey toward an undivided life. Welcoming the soul. And weaving community in a wounded world. In the book palmer explains how he created what he called circles of trust. With a methodology for bringing people together to rediscover and claim their wholeness. Palmer continues. Afraid that our inner light will be extinguished or our inner darkness exposed. We hide our true identities from each other. In the process we become separated from our own soul. We end up living divided live. So far removed from the truth we hold within. That we cannot know the integrity that comes from being who you are. If the word soul bothers you. You might also think of. That still small voice within. Or your deepest intuitions. Or what he also called. The inner teacher. Also from palmer. I have been astonished to see how nature uses devastation. To stimulate new growth. Slowly but persistently healing her own wounds. Wholeness does not mean perfection. It means embracing brokenness. As an integral part of life. Knowing this gives me hope that human wholeness. Mine. Yours. Hours. Need not. Being our utopian dream. If we can use devastation as a seedbed for new life. So many of us have been taught not to wear our hearts on our sleeves. And to hold our cards close to the vest. From an early age. We learned that masks. An armored. Is the safe and sane way to live. But if we do that we eventually find ourselves cut off from others. And also from our own true self. In palmer's words. We cannot embrace that challenge of the journey toward wholeness. All alone. At least not for long. We need trustworthy relationship. Tenacious communities of support. If we are to sustain the journey. Toward an undivided life. Based on palmer's work and experience with a circles of trust that he led and helped organize. Some of which lasted many years and affected many lives. In our workshop we formed our own circle of trust. Gradually stepping into our own community of solitude. We learned more ways of being in community with a small group. So the each of us will be allowed without couldn't coercion or advice. To listen to our inner teacher. That still small voice within. That expresses our life's wisdom. We learned to be witness to each other as we spoke into the center of the circle. Without trying to solve each other's issues. Without giving advice. Without trespassing into each other's internal space. There was room to speak. Or not to speak. To wait for whatever a rose enough in respect to the topic at hand. The process of covenant group. And short-term seem groups here. Is very similar to the circle of trust we were learning to experience. Covenant groups are composed of eight to 10 people who form in order to share our spiritual journey. Our life's path. We focus on steens and questions that take us back into memory. So that we can see where we come from. Share what is happening for us now. And get a sense of where we might go. We become witnesses. Partners and friends in each other's journeys. We communicate with respect. And listen with empathy. Trying to really hear. And understand each other. Sometimes we can see our way through life dilemmas and problems more clearly. Because in our small groups. We can sense the way that we might go. That will be truer to our deeper values and longing. I wanted to share that vision of what covenant groups and short-term seem groups could be. Two members and friends here. I also want to share the hope. That existed with the creation of covenant groups here uuca. They're almost all of our members. Would be long to such a small group. How powerful it would be. If that were so. Covenant groups are an opportunity to have more intimacy with others. Which can sometimes be difficult in a large congregation. We form covenant groups and other groups and activities so that we can witness and support each other. In exploring our spiritual journey. And becoming more conscious about how we are living. And what values we want to pursue. Members of covenant groups also join each other and doing service to the congregation. And the wider community. Such groups really serve as a microcosm of the larger mission of our congregation. Building relationships that help us live. And more freedom. Justice. And love.

uuasheville_org

140316-The-Allure-of-the-Goldden-Calf.mp3

We are were you when you first felt it. That plaintiff tug of alluring almost painfulpleasure. Something that grabbed you like nothing had grabbed you before that filled you with longing that got your heart pumping like crazy. Debussy. Shrinks it seems to me captures that feeling about as well as any piece of music does. Duck hunting series. Chromatic cascade. Begin. Invites us out of the conventional world where we live into a seductive place of mystery and possibility. The piece evokes the greek myth of the satyr pam. Who was smitten by the wood nymph shrinks and pursued her into the woods. The story goes that the rings wanted nothing to do with pam's advances and fled. Eventually though she was trapped at the edge of the water and implored her sister wooden imps to help her escape. They obliged by turning strength into a reed. A waterside plant. So that when pam reached out to grab her all he found himself hugging with an armful of rushes. Defeated pan gave such a deep sigh that it resonated through the reeds and created a melody. Pan was intrigued by this sound and soap cut some reason made the first set of pan. You said to have played them wherever he went and they're haunting sound. Entranced the gods. By the way debut cease piece what she wrote in 1912 was the famous as the first piece. For solo flute flute by european composer in some 300 years so this. But beyond its cleverness is a kind of just so story. Bill smith offers some illumination about our topic today. An old word that we don't band the around much. Pan is hardly the first. To pad a monomania around and alluring figure he chased through the woods. Adventure that most of us have had the experience at some time in our lives are falling hard for some unapparent noble person somewhere whether it's. Willie mae's or marilyn monroe war happen. The chasing we do may involve direct contact with that person. The more often i think it's likely to be something like watching his tv show or buying her album. It's fun and in time most of us recognize that fits the pleasant little diversion that it was. Remove on reality sets in we get our priorities straight. Get a life. And michael way in aurora. For those of us who can't let go they like panda benchley discover an armful of russia's where they have fought to find. The object of their effects. Bat image on your order of service. Harkens back to one of the great moments of crisis for the early hebrews described in the book of exodus in the bible. The story is that why the people were camped out in mount sinai after moses had delivered the ten commandments god paul's moses back up the mountain for another 40 days to give him further instructions. After he's gone sometime the israelites getting nervous a moses's brother aaron the high priest to come make god's for us. Who shot go before us and that's for this moses the man who brought us out of the land of egypt. We do not know what has become of him. So erin directs the people to take off their gold rings and bring all them to him in one place. What's the fire and crafts the image of the calf. And the people declare these are your gods and aaron calls for a festival to be held. Meanwhile up on the mountain god is in the rain. Return to his people and vows to destroy them all. Moses the swave god from doing that but i'm returning to the campy angrily smashes the tablets he brought down. Tablets that had the very ryan writing of god on them. And destroys the golden calf. He rallied supporters to his side who moved through the camp. Killing several thousand people. Who had rebel before the golden path. A grimm. One regarded among jewish scholars is the greatest scandal of the israelites passage. Through the wilderness. There are debates over what the calf really represented whether this text represents some kind of internecine conflict in later times. The fact is it's that it was not aaron but the people who demanded the calf who suffer tends to support this tape. Still. It is fascinating to find this event in the text where it does where it is just a short time after we're told god was head to a pronounced the ten. An event accompanied so we are told by thunder and lightning in mountain shaking. Go back pretty impressive. And yet no sooner is moses out of sight than the people are ready to toss the commandments the side. Beginning with the first you shall have no gods. Afford other guy. It's telling that. This prohibition against false images. For the divine runs across religious tradition. In islam it is one of the greatest sins a person can perform. This explains why muslim art permits no images of any living thing. Left believers mistakenly worship it that's an image of allah. Aiden buddhism the famous then story warns against mistaking a finger pointing at the moon. For the moon. Precaution against idolatry also led our puritan forebears to build plain meeting houses without images icons or even stained glass. Nothing they fell to distract the worshipper from the contemplation of god. Apostle that resides with every religious tradition. Call. Does one come to know. The holy. Text or written disciplines are taught teachers are recognized prophets are honored. Put in the yam. Religion if it is to mean anything must connect. With must touch someplace deep inside. He must have woke from us an affirmation that is life-giving that lifts us out of our personal worries. And awakens us to how deeply we are connected to each other. And all life. How blessed we are simply. Tubi. But as we've already established there are so many things that can get our blood racing. That can give us at least for a time i sensation. Hopeful film. How then are we to distinguish this. Feeling of deep connection from other feelings. Beck and lead2pass that are unfulfilling even. Destructive. One way we can read j.r.r. tolkien tales of middle-earth. Is aspen extended reflection on idolatry. Ring of power that bilbo chances on and golems cave. In the passage by bread. Is at the center of the taealha character in itself really. Created so the story goes by a powerful figure in a craven attempts to dominate the world. It seeks to enthrall anyone it comes into contact with. With the same. Vein m. Throwing a kind of reversal of the holy grail missed the point of the journey that the lord of the rings pics us on is not to find an icon that will bring great spiritual power. But to destroy an evil idol. I'm so release all being. Perimeter. For two decades chris hedges. Author of our first reading was a distinguished. Foreign correspondent for the new york times. Covering wars and latin america africa the middle east. Former yugoslavia. He writes do that when he returns to new york city at the end of his chores. He was exhausted. And i'm sure of where he was headed. The experience of war and all its confusion in. Depravity. Had wrung him dry. Before entering newspaper work hedges had studied in the seminary but in the end concluded that it wasn't worth that was suited for. Returning to the states so he found himself. Revisiting the themes of his religious studies. Didn't help with his experience in sharp relief. And so in one of his books in the years that follow he used the prism of the ten commandments. Words he first learned growing up the son of a presbyterian minister. To put this experience into focus. Help find a measure of peace. I think that hedges explored all 10 of the commandments but throughout the book. Losing moses on the highway. It is really the first. But seems to weigh most heavily. And i think that's because he sees it or human inclination. At times to pitch are wagons to unworthy star. Can loosen whatever other moore's made ida. And open the door to some of the worst mischief. Humankind. Is capable. Still this is tricky. Remember that the error the problem at the heart of idolatry is confusing something of small value with something of large value. This sounds like it ought to be easy to spot. But it isn't. Necessary. Does one come to know. The holy. Patrick's point found in religious traditional religious terms the holy is ineffable. Kitten. It's mystery he says frustrates and defines us. We're left with no certainty. For security. So what to do. Well. We see. pumper. But we find it a treacherous ground. There is an allure to a way of living that assures us of convenience and ease. Complete with pre-packaged judgments and confident. Trajectories. There are of course compromises we make to get there. But we accept them for the security they seem to bring. Show me when we again. Find ourselves. By their consequences. That we learn their limits and the hollowness of the conformity they demand. If that light we can see them at the idols they are. Images ideas that we've adopted or firm. To protect. Sports column. Chris hedges points out the fundamental flaw in idols. Is that they are always about. Self-worship. We're taking care of number one here okay. And if the messyworld can't see fit to make that happened well i'm going to organize my life to make sure it does. Really. It just says that one of the chief lessons he learned on his tours to war-torn country. Was the idols we humans create have. No mercy. Play me for a time bring us pleasure they may bring us consolation. But in the end they simply consumer. How to escape. We begin he suggests by exiting the bubble of self-affirmation and self-approval that we live in. We begin by listening to the freaking of our conscience. The voice of a deeper wisdom in our heart. And begin paying attention to extending ourselves and attention to. Others with humility. Compassion. There's no point in grandiose gestures hatchet. Only the small mundane act of life. They hold us at bay the crippling power of death. And despair they allow us to live. Allow us to be human allow us to affirm others and ourselves. How does one come to know the holy. In such a. In acts of compassion and sacrifice that reach beyond our narrow circle. In acts that affirm the abundance of this world this life. And don't feed on the fear of scarcity. We come to know the holy. True love. And love. Has chris hedges points out. Means living products. Many parents he says know this sacrifice. The daily sacrifice not the temporary sacrifice we make to aid another but the daily sacrifice to create life at the expense of our own pleasure. Career war dreams. For whatever. There is drudgery and difficulty in this self-denial he says in yet. It is in this self-giving that we create and preserve life. Life. On life and ever greater life. And then this life we find a piece that goes with us. Even as we move through. Darkness. Confront our greatest fears. You may recall the last fall i introduced you to a champ. Are the rabbi shuffle gold. That was centered on the hebrew phrase in the verse from the 23rd psalm that expresses the sense of abundance. Of life on life and a greater life. The passage usually translates as my cup runneth over are my cup overflows. This image invites us to imagine the blessings of our lives. Has an unending flood pouring over us. So great the exceed even our boundless need. So i'd like to invite you today to sing it with me again. And in your singing as you can. Unburden yourself of the fears that clutch at you. It might incline you to build idols. In your heart. You yourself are enough. And the beauty of the wonder the joy of this life. So great and the love that you hold is so powerful. Has to overflow. Alba.

uuasheville_org

100801Sermon.mp3

It was a telling moment last month. When in the final hours of his tenure as commander of us troops in afghanistan. General stanley mcchrystal. Sent out a note of thanks to what it might have seemed an unlikely figure. 9 hours before he was called on the carpet by president obama for his intemperate remarks to a reporter. Mcchrystal sent an email to. Greg mortenson. Saying he would take. Tremendous comfort in knowing people like you are helping afghans build a future. Mortenson is the one-time american mountaineer whose best-selling book. Three cups of tea. Tells the story of how we undertook a project to build schools in afghanistan. Pakistan. After he got lost on a climbing expedition in the himalayas. Entranced on a small village where he was welcome. And then housed and fed while he. Recovered. Mortenson story is fairly unique among the tales that we often hear about westerners offering aid to third world people. He didn't parachute into the mountains with some beneficent vision of how he would save the benighted masses. You just happened to stumble on the place. But having received their hospitality. He listen. I was drawn into the culture and in getting to know them he learned how clearly they. Wanted schools for their chill. Especially. To make a better life for all. It didn't take him long to figure out how he could use his the privilege of his american connection. To make that happen. The book tells how the various twists and turns mortensen found owners in the us who would support him. And build trust for the project among pakistani. Since 1993. The project called the central asia institute. Has built more than 130. School. Most of them. For girls. Mortensen's tail of course has been all over the media. But it wasn't until i read the report on the crystals late-night email. But i saw it for what it truly was. A story of the rising power of peacemaking. It seems that in the last few years after mortensen's book was published the us military leaders ignored it. But the books discussion of the importance of girls education caught the attention. Hope the spouses. Historical top american commander. And they insisted that their husbands. Struggling for ways to build relationships with village elders the military turned to mortenson. To make introductions. Many of those early meetings resulted in shifts and military strategy to respond to villagers needs and concerns. These connections with military leaders apparently have made for some dicey moment. For mortenson. He's had to assure village elders that he actually has no connection with the military. And be clear with the military that he feels there is no military solution. Better decide your patient that empowers the afghan people that is their chief ho. Mcchrystal himself captured the significance of mortenson's effort. That they would in his words. Help afghans build a future. In a sense it is a premier example of what jonathan shell in our reading called the logic of peace. How actions arising from the best hopes of people can propel a chain of circumstances that lead to greater and greater freedom and happiness. In this case the military itself was drawn into the chain. We cannot know in the long run what this bodes for the future of afghanistan. It will take more than schools for girls to mend ancient rifts and hate. But it does offer a model for the making of. Peace. The perfect word is found. Like a universal him under oceans over mountains the world remotest rim. So sad for him by odell shepard in our hidden all the singing the living tradition. 70 the notion of peace sometimes does seem to hover in the distance like some crystalline presents. Lovely to look upon. But impossible to attain. Pieces the distant vision of the lion lying with the lamb. Everyman. And woman beneath his her vine and fig tree. The problem with these and other millennial visions of piece of course that they float above us. And drift away whenever the real-world so rudely interrupt our referee. Do today robinson call fourth battle michigan vision again i've invited us to sing a different song. We are building a new way. In june when our general assembly adopted a statement of conscience to guide our work together. Member congregations in this unitarian universalist association they framed artwork very intentionally as creating piece. Let us envisioned what we are called as people of hope and faith and love not simply to praise bless or hope for peace. We are called to create it. That's a very different thing. Remind other things that asserts that we have some. Agency. Peace we declare is not something we are waiting for a larger force than ourselves to bring into being. It is something that we as individuals. We as a corporate body. We as opinion shapers as voters as parents as lovers as neighbors. As friends. Can help mold. And with that agency comes ownership. We have to clear it ourselves creators of peace and so we take on the moral onus. Event work. In this way we are following a path laid down by our spiritual forebears. Enlightenment thinking that the claridge humankind both worthy and capable of making a better world. Led unitarians william ellery channing and noah webster to found the massachusetts peace society in the turn of the nineteenth century. The very first american peace advocate. Unitarian henry david thoreau spent the night in jail to protest his taxes being used to support what he considered an unjust war with mexico. And universalist aidan beaulieu founder of the utopian community hope day. Organized around a communal vision of peace crafted arguments for non-violent resistance to evil that later influenza. Leo tolstoy. And mohandas gandhi. Unitarians john haynes homes and universalist turn clarence russell skinner each buck prevailing opinion in their respective denomination. Proposing what they saw as us military adventurism. In world war 1. As the unitarian universalist association we opposed the war in vietnam and established a registry of conscientious objectors that counsels young men objecting to military service. I know. I was one of them. And are be compressed responsible government retaliation when it published the pentagon paper. Detailing the history grits story of america's involvement in vietnam. At a time when they were still considered classified. Menace over the years have been active witnessing for peace and many settings. And yet not infrequently. We find ourselves battling a sense of futility. Sharon welch a longtime peace activist and provost of meadville lombard theological. We're calls a story told an activist circles that addresses. A man comes to a city and is outraged by the injustice he sees. He stands in the center of town square and demands justice. At first large crowds gather. But each day the crowd dwindles until finally he stands alone. Apollo 3 boys. Denouncing evil it continues on change. One day a passerby stopped and asked him why do you speak in the square each day since you're only. Speaking to yourself. He says at first i spoke to change others. Now i speak so they will not change me. 11 level the story seems to offer an example of unswerving integrity. Prophetic figure who sticks to his principles. On another level. We want to interrogate this. Why can this fellow think of nothing to do then to harangue the townspeople. Happy engaged anyone in conversation. Boss palace. Taking time to get to know the townspeople. We could go on. And so sharon welch ass. Where can we find another. One that has the honesty to admit our failures to change others may well be out of our own making. Not necessarily the lack of inside courage and compassion in others. But a lack of creativity skill and empathy. In ourselves. What we have learned is that there is no one shoe route. There are many paths. Trump wanting to torture with political process. Others found by opening ourselves to the wider human family and different ways of living and thinking. Another still centered in simple personal awakening. Spiritual disciplines that help us respond to the fear within each of us. I can make us react. Aggressive. Apathetic. Into an epic arising from love. It means engaging in the offing messy work of shaping imperfect institutions and structures that deal with the roots of conflict to be found in people everywhere who are exploited or marginal. It means that every level supporting mediation and strategies to resolve conflicts without violence. Acting so we can support intervention to prevent the outbreak of. It also means claiming a place and a voice everywhere that the work of peace is needed. Even in the military. Recent years have seen a growth in the number of unitarian universalist military chaplain. Women and men who support the humanity and integrity of those in the service. Grounded in the values our tradition. Part of the work of pieces to support those who have chosen military service to help them send her their work in ethical principles. And ensure that they are supported as they enter service. And re-enter the workplace in our townsend society. Chucky to this work has to be abandoning the notion of peace as an adult. State of being. I think louise diamond has it right. In describing peace at the quality of connection. Connection that puts us in touch with our true natural cell. Open tar hearts and reminds us of our shared human. Did invite respect for others. And affirms the right of all people to justice freedom and dignity. We are also called to abandon the old notion of war somehow as a natural state of us sinful. Yeah. The past century alone is proof that proof enough that we are capable of the worst depredations against each. Conspiring even in the creation of tools capable of annihilating our species. Yep that centre also gave rise to some of the most profound and effective strategies ever achieve. Ever conceived for the advancement of peace. The american civil rights move. Gandhi's comp campaign for indian independence are only two of the most stunning. Durham anymore. The peaceful dissolution of the soviet union the end of apartheid in south africa civil resistance to dictators in south america the philippine democracy movement and more. Each accomplished peaceful m. Through non-violent means. Each was an example of a logic of peace at work. People building on democratic hoax and refusing to let oppressive powers steal their voice. And their agents. Orange alerts. But in the early days after the 9/11 attacks. There was a possibility of a similar moment in this country. Hurting as we were from the damage done and the lives lost. We were open to each other in ways that we rarely are. Grateful for our community. Carnation and all its diversity. And the people of the world held us for a moment in sympathy and love. We have the opportunity to gather that's. In-shape a creative spot response that opened a new way. Unfortunately we lost them. You'll concede response that hurled our nation into war erased that goodwill. And set us on a hard and rugged path. When was and remains unclear. Still the memory of that moment. Shein. Reflected in the resolve of people i craig mortensen who offer a different way of healing the world. Away be done in respect and gratitude. I'm grounded in a sense of the inherent worth and dignity of a people long oppressed. Let us resolve to be done with millennial thinking on peace. With tracy chapman let us locate heaven here on earth. Speaking naga paradisal dream. But in the chief about reality. With love for humankind respect. For what is earth. And deep compassion for each of us and the work. We begin the work of creating peace by beat beach being open to the presence of connection between an amana. And a wish for loving time. Each of us may be well. Maybe hole in that p. As we close let me invite you to join and i meditation i learned the summer a body men. It begins with. I invite you to look at. Familiar. They are and how little time we spend next. Supple and. Clever. They are our agency in the world. What power we are cells in act. Comes to our house. What it what we do with our house. Shapes. Call the world around us. What. Cool. Mpow. We talked. What tools what inch. What's shaping we do with these. Let me invite you then to hold them up. And think of all that in the world. That awaits our work. Be strong and supple. That's what awaits our work. What comes to your mind of the work of. Used to work. Reconciliation that these hands. Feel that work. Compassion that is within you. The light. I hope.

uuasheville_org

140907-The-Power-of-Promise.mp3

Good morning to you. We've got some folks trying to find seats raise your hand if you've got some room in your oil. We're friendly folks. Got some right down front hey guess what. Wonderful thank you for accommodating each other it's so wonderful to have everybody here we had our 9:15 early risers and here's 11:15 right we get to sleep in. Just sleep in answer to feel warm for the day before you got to jump out and be a misplaced. So we're talking about promises this month today and foremost this month what promises are all about we make promises of all different kinds in our lives. Everything from i'm going to promise to be someplace or i'll promise to love and care for you this a broad-spectrum right. And i was thinking today about where does where what are some good examples of promises and i was remembering do you remember that that dr. seuss story horton hatches the egg. Remember that about the elephant who gets persuaded by the little mama bird sit on his nasa sit on her nest. And he said remember the thing that the that horton promised his promise was. I said what i meant and i meant what i said an elephant's faithful 100%. That's a promise that's a deep and important promise cuz right he had an important job and most of her promises are important things were weird saying important things about way the ways we will be with each other. Fight you as reference this time to reflect on how promises shape your life. And then may we in this time together be reached some clarity there in. And get into a deeper sense of this for ourselves. So it's we will see the redoing things a little bit differently i'd like to invite your let's jump right into a ham and sing together let me invite you to turn your gray hymnals number 347 gather the spirit. Rice's you're willing or able. While reading material to help prepare for this morning. I came across two articles titled respectively. 5 promises you should make yourself everyday. And. 11 promises you should make to yourself. Oh my gosh i thought. 16 promises i should make. Which means 16 more things i should do. Everyday because promise without action is meaningless. Not that these were bad ideas they're good things like. I will listen to my body and my mind when i'm stressed out. And. I will smile at one stranger today. Who could argue with the correctness of those. I imagine that the first promise i ever made. What's in response to a command like. Bobby i need you to promise me you will never do that again much in the same thing that. Bart simpson had to go to the blackboard and right over and over again. These however are coerced promises they're not real commitments to behave in certain ways. Not that we shouldn't listen. Or to the should. Or shouldn't voices. Like someone in the morning that says i really should get up now. Apartment wanted midnight that says. No i shouldn't have that pint of ben & jerry's or even the one. It says i really should get to church today. But believing and saying we should do something is not the same as making real promises. A promise is a commitment not ashwood. The power of our congregation. Hasn't other uu congregation. It's not that we follow some rule or rules that we think we should. But rather that we voluntarily come together. Recovering it together. We promised each other we will be here. For each other. That we will show up. That we can be counted on. May the light of our childless. Be a beacon for us as we find ways. To look out the promises we make and the promises that we are together. Thank you bob. So those of you who been here while i recognize we're doing things a little bit differently this year we're kind of shifting a couple things around beginning with our music and jumping right into singing and such and then we'll see a couple of other places along the way where we change things and i'll try to give you. Fair warning and happy to hear from you how it works for you. I'm so tell remind you today we're gathering the first of our full worship services sogou great to see everybody here today are re people all our children and youth and adults all together in one place it's a special time. To be together here a reminder if you're brand-new here and it may seem a little crazy right now with everybody in one room but we're so glad to have you with us. Our congregation that had picks it as its mission to nurture individual search for meaning each of us. Recognizing we have our own lives or trying to figure out why we come together in community. When we work together for freedom justice and love. I'm so i want you to. Left that. Should have moved through you and think about the ways that it that it changes you and works on you. For us here on sunday it's important that we provide space. To provide room for our visitors for other people who may be drawn to us as well so. Please know that whatever your history whatever religion you were a bar part of before or not. Whatever your heritage. Whoever you love. You are welcome here among us today. And please do plan to stay with us after the service and sandburg hall you'll see there's a bunch of tables with information but also a lot of friendly people happy to meet you. If you are brand new to us i'd love to know that so that we could make a point of greeting you better after the service. Is there anyone here who would like to let us know that you're here today just standing give us your name where you from. Well welcome to you all and let me to remind those who have been here awhile don't let these people who have been so brave us introduce themselves to you. Leave without having been greeted at least said hello too. Be hospitable to life i know you are. I'm also to remind you that there are a number of things going on in this community that you should know about the first important thing is next saturday here in this space at 10:30 in the morning i understand our video says it's 10:30 p.m. that would be. We're going to have an installation service for our associate minister lisa bowie camper. I'm very excited about that event about. I was telling the 9:15 service i think lisa maybe the 8th. Minister to have been installed in this congregation i'm only the second woman so it makes a powerful statement about how our ministry is shifting and growing in that way. And then also a reminder that we're trying to bring new energy new intent to our covenant group and fiend group program m small groups that provide a way of getting to know each other and setting this big it's hard to see other than faces passing by but we want to connect with each other important ways. There'll be a table out in sandburg hall where you can get information about both covenant groups and theme groups and how they are there working here i think you'll really find it a wonderful experience and hope you will. Join into those. And then i have words coming from judy maddox. Hi everybody. I'm judy maddox and i'm with our social justice committee with of the hunger committee and i have some promises to fill the share with you. We have three outstanding programs that we have undertaken. To battle against hunger right here where we live in buncombe county the first you remember was last sunday are beautiful pie party yes how many of you were here. Yes great. Well this was for manna food bank and guess what how much money we earn from mana. $2,100. The second program we need you even more than eating pies. We need you to bring food now that school has started back we have amana backpack program where we have adopted right down the street isaac dickson elementary school and every week we augment the food that the mana program provides the kids you needed to take home for the weekend to get through the weekend where they will have some food so we need you please go to the uue news information for the list of food to add to your shopping list each and every week and put in our collection box. Which is right there right where you came in the front door delicious resale is 5 oz of tuna chicken salmon it's applesauce its fruit cup. And it's juice boxes. The last is really incredible news this summer. We participated in the summer feeding program. Maybe. You saw this. Well kids are still hungry in the summer when school is closed and there's no free and reduced. Lunch programs for them. So we partnered we hear it you you with buncombe county schools what they did was provide the food and cook it for us. What we did we had 61 volunteers. Who served 3700 lunches over eight weeks and three different feeding sites is that incredible. After i announced this at the 9:15 service children's first came up and gave this to me i want you to see it. This is a thank you note on the last day of the lunch serving over at emma. Was signed by a mom and her three kids and the on the note is sad. Thank you we would have gone hungry without your food. And they gave that to bonnie stone who gave it to children's first and you know what children's first did with it. They framed it and gave it to us and marks going to have it. Mounted here permanently for us is that incredible. Okay so the names of our volunteers there posted out on our social service board but you know what everybody who was here who is a volunteer and the summer feeding in the pie party and now the amana backpacking will you stand up please. Thank you judy and let me invite you then to bring yourself present at this time and space this wonderful moment we have in the week to make this hours. Our moment to reflect on our deepest values the things that matter most. In our world. And with that in mind let me invite joy. Francis torre. So good to see these rows and risers build i see lots and lots of children and youth and teachers and families. And everyone else. But i'm with you on the first sunday of each month during our time for all ages. I will be. Having this wonderbox with me i know you're all wondering what's inside. We need hazel. And brandt. And liam to come down and give us a hand with this. Most of the time what's inside the wonder box. Something that reminds me of a story. Nice hot works out that way. There's three leather straps could each of you open one of them. Detectives out. So what do we have hazel tell us since they got him out. We have a candle and we have a hershey's kiss. Now what could be religious about this. Think about this. Chocolate everybody likes chocolate right. But is there anything sad or in a big group like this than just one piece of chocolate. That's almost worse than no chocolate isn't it. I have a feeling there might be some more chocolate here. Shannon would you look underneath your row just to your left. Hazelwood you go over to miss shannon and get that basket. Oh yes. Is always enough to share in church. So i would like to ask. Liam. You. And bran. You. Could you please start passing that outraged van if you want a piece of chocolate. And hazel. Could you help this please. So the great thing about chocolate when you have plenty of it is that it's nice to eat but it's also fun to share yet just passed those baskets around good idea liam just give the basket you can come back. So let me ask you a question. What happens. When all of the chocolate is gone are those bowls full or empty. Empty. Liam. Liam. Will you hand someone the ball and let them pass it. Give the ball to her. Excellent. So i have a feeling you can come back brett just let it pass. I have a hypothesis that in just a few minutes those baskets will be completely. Empty don't you think so. So when you share chocolate it goes away. But we have something else that we can share. That does not diminish. It's right here in this room you were here at 9 a.m.. I know you're a good helper thank you for your help. Can either of you guess what we have here that doesn't go away when we share it the clue might have been. In the wonder box. It might be in your hands. It's our flame. Our chalice here reminds us it's a symbol of a promise we made a long time ago unitarians made it first of all it was during a big war just after a big war and a lot of people needed help just like they're hungry people today they were hungry people then just like they're homeless people today here in asheville there were people far from their homes then and europe and the unitarians decided they were going to help. Tortoise do so they needed a symbol something more important than the lines on the paper something that meant something. It was a piece of art. Not real jealous at first. A piece of art that showed a cup. The flying. Meant that there was plenty that we would help that we could give that we could heal. And the flame indicated that we would do so even when we had to sacrifice. You guys ready for the fun part. So when we share our flame come on up here. It doesn't diminish and i just want to prove it to you. Please take this. And you mr. brent. So please watch. When i light my candle from the chalice. Is the chalice flame smaller. No. When i use this slime. To light yours. Hold it straight up right so the wax drops on the skirt. Now we have more. When we share the flying from our chalice. Only keep the promise of sharing the light. The flame multiplies. Rather than divides. Today in our religious education classes will be talking more about the chalice will be making chalices. Thank you so much for your help can you blow this out. Thank you. You can go back to sit with your family. Thank you joe and so now will invite our children and teachers to head off to their classes. There i will let up the rest of you you'll see a a song that we will sing a sing that to them as they head on out. I will fight melissa to play it through on children and teachers will gather it's a call and then move down to your classes. As you gomez choice around you as you go go in peace. No i love you sweet you always as you go. As you go. Has you gomez choice around you as you go go in peace know i love is with you always. No i love you sweetie you always as you go as you go. So here's one of those places where we're doing things a little differently if you have only few have been gone for the summer and are just coming back now or if you have been bouncing around the older two important things about our offering for you to know. First every bit of cash and every check that you designated share the plate will go toward a particular cause organization that we support bob will be telling you more about that in the feud in the future. And then also robbed of in combining our offering and our joys and concerns were separating them. This will simply be the taking of our offering after our meditation will have an opportunity to share candles of joanne concern. So that's the way we're moving. Among the promises we make to ourselves and others are those involving how we share the financial gifts which we have been fortunate to acquire. As mark mentioned all the cash today they were receiving any checks written to uuca. And designated share the plate. Are given to an organization in the community whose work serves the values we hold last week we raised almost $2,400 for the haywood street congregation wrecked youth respite center. Prepare the plate organization for the month of september and this is different also in that we will be doing it the whole month. Is the guardian ad litem association. Guardian ad litems are trained volunteers appointed by the court. To provide an independent voice advocating for the best interest of abused or neglected children in buncombe county. Where you have a representative of guardian ad litem here today who will be at the earth and social justice table after the service where you can find out more information and also where you can talk about volunteering they are in great need of volunteers right now and would appreciate any support that we can provide them. Members and friends of the congregation are also welcome to use the offering baskets to pay towards your financial commitments and we welcome any support our visitors would care to make to the congregation as well. But you won't ordinarily you could be using the cutie code in the corner of your order of service but you will note that's not available this morning due to a printing glitch. So you can use the more traditional route of simply writing a check with no designation. Thank you for your generosity this morning. Have you might you now into a time of. Meditation both spoken in silent meditation. I have words i'd like to offer you for your own reflection in this time and then follow that by. I'm silence together. I'm afterward under this new change. We bob and i will be present to help like handles of dora concerned recognize. What is present with you today. Thought you bring to this kongregate. These are the words of the persian poet hafiz. A great. How to upgrade need. We are all. Holding hands. I'm climbing. Not loving. Is a letting go. Listen. The terrain around here. It's far too dangerous. You. You reading this. Be ready. Starting here. What do you want to remember. How sunlight creeps along a shining floor. What scent of old wood hovers. What softened sound. From outside fills the air. Will you ever bring a better gift for the world. Then the breathing respect. That you carry. Wherever you go right. Now. Are you waiting. 4 time to show you some better thoughts. When you turn around. Starting here. Lift this new glimpse that you found. Hurry into evening. All that you want from this day. This interval you spent. Reading or hearing this. Keep it for wife. What can anyone give you greater than now. Starting here. Right in this room. When you turn around. How are you with promises. I mean. Not only how are you at keeping promises but how are you at making them. I think that i'm generally pretty good at keeping promises. I try to think about the commitments i make and attend to them. Do i mess up sometimes. Just this past week and error i made in keeping my calendar resulted in someone cooling her heels in the church office while i scrambled to get in. Well it happens right. Sure but it bothers me. Because i know how i feel when other people fail and their commitments to me. And even worse if they seem to just blow me off and act as if it doesn't matter. So when i'm the one at fault i try to make sure to acknowledge my mistake. And apologize. For attempt the wrong that i've done today. It may be just an inconvenience. Or if maybe something deep. An embarrassed. Bird even deeply hurt feelings. I can't no. I can't change. But i can at least make some gesture of compassion. Respect. Because promises matter. Even the little ones. When we make a promise we put something of ourselves emotionally into that transaction. And have that promise broken. Feels a little like a violation. So i tried to be careful about the promises i make. So often these days i find i have little choice about. Just about every commercial transaction we make. Seems to have some carefully lawyer promise. Ridden into it. Weatherby the cell phone contract or a credit card payment or. There you are online trying to make some purchase. From suddenly up pops the screen full dance of full attack. Entitled terms of agreement. I agree to yada yada yada. And of course you read every word right. No i don't either. I look for the box i can check that will let me get on to the next screen and complete the purchase. The box may say i agree. But it doesn't feel much like an agreement. Except that i accept that i will be done if there's some hang-up. My credit card. The state of affairs may satisfy corporate bookakee. But it doesn't do a lot for the state of promise make. In our culture. Indeed it serves as a reminder that while our lives are flooded with promises of this sort. There's a whole industry of other people working to find the loopholes in those. There's a darwinian kind of feel about. The survival not necessarily of the fittest. For those who can best game the system. Okay maybe this is how the whole miracle of the marketplace works. But we get into trouble when the sort of sensibility invades our private lives. For no matter how grizzled or world-weary we maybe. There is still something 10. Inside everyone of us. That is looking for. The real. Communion with another human. It could be a partner it could be. Friend it could be. Community. It feels like a rare thing these days to be in relationship with people who live inside of it. Not because of the terms of a contract that loom over them. But because of a personal commitment to. I'm so we are weary. Reluctance to commit to others and ready to flee when the inevitable lie. Isn't. What did you expect. Some of us learn to harden or. Or to define the world by our own interests. Hideaway. To avoid the harm and deceit we feel sure is come. We also learn to deny the. Longing for connection that we feel in that. Decrease. Behind. That leaves. The importance of promise has been very old in our religious. Originating among the puritans who settled in new england in the seventeenth century. There's a statement of this sense of promise that comes from john winthrop. The first governor of. Who families famously told his shipmates aboard the arabella. Ship to the new world. We must be willing to a booger abridge ourselves of superfluity. For the sake of others. Necessities. We must hold familiar commerce together in all meekness. Gentleness. Patience and liberality. We must delight. Make each other's conditions our own. Rejoice together mourn together labor and suffering. Always having before our eyes the commission and community in the work. Our community as members of the same body. A language maybe archaic but the intent is clear. Winthrop was laying out the terms of a promise that he proposed the settlers make to one another. Heading into an unknown land seeking a new way in the world. He urged that they support each other. Not just in the supply of necessity. But also by laboring. Suffering. Together. Making each other's conditions their own. Bye. Delighting. In meekness gentleness. Patience. And liberality. History shows that the settlers had mixed success. And living up to that. Which is a big part of why our forbearers unitarians in universalist. Later split away to form their own religions. But the notion that we as religious communities are gathered by promise. Custom jewelry. We frame it and this congregation and elsewhere as a covenant. These are words of our own choosing the tell us how we intend to hold a space. For spiritual exploration that makes room for a diversity of beliefs. People new to this community may wonder how a religious community could ever exist among people with differing beliefs. My colleague meg reilly. Minister of the church of the larger fellowship says in a recent newsletter column that the way we create spiritual or theological common ground. It's so simple it's almost embarrassing. We agree to do so. No person no pronouncement compels us. On entering this community we are simply asked to enter into that agreement. The way of pointing to the fact that for us. Our covenant our promise to respect and care for each other. Just stay in conversation even when the going gets tough. Is more important to our community than the individual beliefs of its members. But in practice it is anything but. It means that we endeavor to leave ourselves open not just hearing what others say but also to being change. There are people across the theological spectrum. The estate. If two minutes christian buddhist mystic and more. Who can't imagine being in community with people with. It's what makes us distinctive then puts the lie to the criticism that. Has rebecca parker the former. Start. Score for the ministry puts it. You use are some kind of empty cypher. We are open to many things. But there are also ways of thinking that have no place here. To describe someone. You can hold the view that there is no god. Orthodontic this. But you cannot hold the view. The god isn't all-powerful determiner of everything that happened. If there is no human freedom. We hold that freedom is a real and essential characteristic of life. You can define salvation. Healing wholeness. In many different way. But you cannot hold to the view that there will be an ultimate separation of the saved and the damned. You use are clear that all souls are abor. You can be devoted to a specific religious practice. Prayer buddhist. Rotation. Pagan ritual to name a few. But you cannot hold the view that one perspective. Encompasses the exclusive final truth. For all times in play. Finally you can see this world as tragically flawed. Wonderfully gifted or both. You cannot hold the view that salvation is to be found slowly solely beyond this. Uuism is very clear the ultimate the ultimate is pressing. Here and now. And can be grasped and experience. Even if only partly. Within the frame of our mortal. And there's more. The reason is business of covenant making is so important to us. It's not just because we want to be nice. Although we do try to treat people. And it's not just because we think it's important to leave room for people to make up their own minds about what they believe. Do we do strongly hold that position. It's centered in the understanding that the covenant we make extend. Beyond ourselves. It's a way of helping us to see that we live and have our being. In relationship. The covenant we make with each other helps us better understand the larger unspoken covenant. Into which each of us. Is born. We are not our own. Writes brian ran in one of our hymns. Forms. Human leaves on nature's growing vine. And not just earth. Generation on generation reform each other in ways great. Small. Wasted may even be invisible to us. As deniable as they undeniable as they are. Beyond the beliefs that arise up among us out of the circumstances of our lives there is a greater unity that we are apart of. Our unity we hoped. Marble in our lives together and bring into being in whatever ways we. The unity of all things is not something we are observers to. We are in the messy middle of it. Bound up by our spirits longings by our very dna. The covenant we make acknowledges that and invites us into deeper. Miss being in relationship is one of the inescapable truths of our lives. A couple of weeks ago when asheville playback theater let our worship service. We invited you to reflect on to. Who are you. Repair these questions because they are inevitably interwoven. Who we are is define. least in part by those with whom we are in relationship. And our relationships are shaped by the. Peculiarities. How far individual identity. We're not always so good though in acknowledging. The covenant that is embodied in those. We take things we take each other for granted. Steven assume we are entitled to the bounty that is ours. Is it any wonder then that we are so divided from. That we have such a hard time. Has john winthrop put it three and a half centuries. Making others conditions our own. Rejoicing. Laboring and suffering. Together. Bill lighting. In each other. Abridging ourselves of all those. Lewis things. Holding familiar commerce together in meekness. Gentleness. And liberality. You know disappointment and grief we forget that we have at our disposal the power of promise. It is a power that i want to argue we in this community or gathered to employ. We gather to promise each other a crucible where we may bring our full selves. To the lifelong journey of spiritual exploration. Free of judgment. But not of chow. Free of compulsion. But not of invitation. An inquiry. We gather to promise to be press. To each other in each stage of our lives. To our wonder and. Parliament. To growth. Anticline. Joy. We gather to promise to call ourselves and each other to account. Live what we proclaim. To be guided by our hearts as well as our minds. To put our muscle and our money. Where our mouths. It is good to begin this worship year with reminder of the promise that i'm relies are commits. To this community and all the opportunities we have to put it into action. I'm grateful that our board of trustees is beginning this year with our process. Thankfully enable by henry and lynn doing wonderful work with us. To elicit from the congregation where we want this promise to carry us as a canoe. Last week they began by inviting about 10 members of our congregation to talk with him. About what nurtures them about this place. What motivates them to take part and also what hinders their involve. What they might add or change to a. We learned that these folks have a fairly positive experience of sunday morning worship. And religious education. Just wireless social activities like restaurant tours and family potlucks. Social justice work like room in the inn in. Are sharing our offering plate with a community every week. We also heard disappointing. At the lack of diversity in our kind. Difficulties some newcomers have finding a way in. And intolerance. It flares up from time to time. The process will continue the rest of this fall at the board and and other venues to throughout the year. Please look for opportunities to join in as you can. The puritans were the only people who ever struggled with holding. We to need occasions to remind ourselves and renew the promises that gather us. To challenge ourselves to live more fully into. One thing that 35 years of marriage has taught me. Is the promises are not static. They require continuing attention. Investment and care. And so it is with us as a covenanted congregation. To create what we hope to see. A place where are tender hearts. Leaders in. Deep connection with. Our best selves. Our deepest values. Beloved community. Will take a combination of both dedicated commit. And work. And making room. The gentle grace. It is forbearance. Out of great need. Climbing in dangerous terrain we are. Holding hands. Holding back playing the observer kibitzing from the sidelines. Always of what half. Calls. Not. Are not neutral acts. They are ways. Letting go. Won't you stay in the game with. Will you ever bring a better gift for the world than the breathing respect that you carry wherever. You go right now. What can anyone give you. Greater. The now. Starting here. Right in this room. So. Let me invite you to sing again. Won't you rise as you're willing or able and join me in the singing of him number 128. For all of it is our life. It's all my friends let me let you bring your promises to this place let us be aware of our promises to each other and learn to live into them in the time we have together in this. This glorious congregation we be able to create create here in the mountains. Wonderful world. Won't you join hands now in the singing of our closing song your words are printed in the order of service if you're new and uncertain just let us sing to you.

uuasheville_org

141012-Five-Happy-Things.mp3

About 12 years ago or so. Todd ridibook and unfortunately he doesn't remember who wrote the book or what the book was called. But he took from it and nugget that has stuck with us ever since. It was a suggestion. To everyday sheraton things you are grateful for. Todd prefer to think of it is happy because that's a little more lightheaded a light-hearted. And. Maybe grateful seems a little too earnest or a little too heavy but happy is light and fun and easy to do. And so we started doing that we had at the time we had a dog and no yard so we had to take the dog for a walk and it was not unusual for us to do that together and for him to turn and say let's do our 10 things and we would name rr10 happy things. At some point or another. I guess 10 got to be too hard and we started doing five. And so for the last 10 years or so we've been doing this five happy things practice. It's very simple you just tell each other or when he was working night shift and we never saw each other we emailed each other. And here lately we have a little group on facebook so we facebook each other the five things that make us happy that day. And it can be anything it can be some little thing that it made you smile it can be a significant accomplishments. It could be something funny. Yes something you are grateful for. Something you are moved by. Something poignant. Anything really anything that makes us happy in some way. It is really easy. It is very simple. But it has changed my life. To my mind there are three steps to the practice of five happy things and the first is pay attention. Second is interpret the world around you and third is to share it. And i say that it said they're prescribed steps i don't believe those were in the book that he read. But it's just kind of what we have discovered makes the practice more powerful. So first is paying attention. It's just that simple just a matter of really paying attention to what's going on in the world the poem that i read by gerard manley hopkins was about that paying attention to the details of the world around us the song that todd sung was about paying attention to that moment in. His day. Just noticing what is going. Around and around you to the interactions that you have. You know living in the moment. But the difference is that you're really taking note of that moment because when you're doing the practice of five happy things you have to remember what you saw or what meant something to you. So i go through my day kind of noticing what i might include on my list. The way the dog. Houses on me in the morning when i get up. Everyday i drive down the mountain to work. And often it's there's a beautiful sunrise in the world laid out before me. Sometimes it might be that i got to have lunch. Might be that i got to have lunch at all but it might be that i got to have lunch with people i enjoy. It might be comforting a patient at work. It might be. Having a good dinner. The moonglow in the treetops. A good night sleep. But sometimes life isn't all butterflies and moonlight. Right. Some days are swallowed up by stress and worry. And sometimes awful things are happening. Which leads me to the second step of the practice. Which is interpreting the world around you choosing how you view things. My mother used to tell me that you could shoot i could choose how i felt about something. And i never really quite managed to do that i was probably a little too reactive but. But i do believe that we can choose how we understand what's happening around us. So a quick example to illustrate that point many many years ago there was a study on twins that have been separated at birth. And they interviewed one family about that that child taste and she said. It is so difficult she will not eat anything unless you put cinnamon on it. And they interviewed the other family and they said oh it's great she will eat anything as long as you put cinnamon on it. Right so same thing completely different understanding about what that means. So similarly we can choose how we understand events and interactions around around us. The best example i can give you of this in my own life is. With my grandma. She was. The quintessential grandma i was her only granddaughter so she got a lot of attention. Why used to come up we lived in florida is to come up to hendersonville and seaweed. We weighed we would make peach cobbler she let me drink chocolate milk. When i got older she made me a quilt for college. She made us a quilt when we got married. When we lived in texas she went to computer class so that she could learn to email us. But when we move to north carolina in 2005 is when i really got to know her as a person. You know as an adult you get to know your family in a different way and we actually lived with her for a few months until we got established. So together we read novels and talked about them. We watch dancing with the stars every week. We had sunday suppers with the family where we talked about what was going on in our lives we talked about our friends we talked about the joys we talked about our worries we talked about death. We talked about our faith. She was not only a grandma that i loved. But a friend whose company i enjoyed and a woman who i admired. And then she began to grow weaker. She had a bad year. When in and out of the hospital she had several falls. Eventually she fractured her hip. And then she fell again and fractured her hip a second time. And she died. A few weeks later. As you can imagine. That was not a happy time. It was very stressful. And anxiety filled with anxiety. But when i went back and looked i continue that practice of naming five happy things. And much of the time they centered around what was going on with her. One day i wrote. One grandma stood up yesterday and took a couple tiny steps. The first day she's at been out of bed in 5 days. To all the staff at the hospital they are caring helpful people who are competent and offers support. From joe who brings the food trays to housecleaning to the chaplain to all the people who actually lay hands on my grandma. And when i say thanks they just shrug because it's just what they do. And three my brother and his family come today a welcome respite. And time for fresh young energy and love. I believe this practice helps me focus on what she could do and celebrate the little victories and instead of being frustrated with the fact that her morning tray kept coming with coffee instead of hot tea. I focused on the fact that the woman who carry the tray in seemed genuinely concerned about how my grandma was doing. I don't know if you have spent much time in the hospital but it is very stressful place to be you're not getting a lot of sleep you're worried. Things get very irritating. But whenever i stopped to think about 5 happy things. I found myself. Realizing an overwhelming gratitude for the care she got. In fact one day all five happy things were about this one nurse that we really really liked shelby i will never forget his name he was kind and attentive and he made her laugh. And then even at the very end. Two nights before she died. I wrote. I am a very supportive person. I have a wonderful boss and co-workers pastor family and friends. And the hardest night so far was made bearable by friends who responded immediately and appropriately. And gave me exactly what i needed. When i needed it. That feels miraculous. And finally. My grandma isn't suffering. She struggled sometimes because this is hard work. But i don't think she is suffering. I made a conscious decision to focus on the parts of these events that were happy that could be. I could be grateful for. The decide that it wasn't all awful and terrible. That there were moments are aspects. That were poignant and meaningful. I interpreted the events around me to find the positive parts. And that leads me to the third step. And this really is a step it's really a very conscious effort and does take some. Focus on my part and that is to share. The five happy things something happened something changes when you share the five happy things. It becomes even more meaningful for years todd and i shared it with each other but now we have a little group of friends that we share with each other on facebook we have a special page that. That we share things on. And people share whatever they want you know whenever they want. And the post can vary wildly so one friend wants posted five youtube links of songs she likes. A friend of ours who likes dogs but doesn't actually have one posted one time one whoop whoop whoop. You are far far. 3 ruff ruff ruff for you. At 5. One friend announced on her list that she had stopped smoking that day. Her number five thing ever since. Breathing. Sometimes something is so big and happy that people will post one through five you know whatever it is. Today i could post that one through five would be. That same-sex marriages are now legal in north carolina. It brings some joy and meaning to each other. When we share these things. Which magnifies it. But sometimes as i said before life is dark. And it doesn't feel happy. Earlier i read from gerard manley hopkins. He wrote another poem. That starch. No worse. There is none. Pitched. Past pitch of grief. More pains will school at 4 pangs wilder ring. Comforter. Where. Where is your comforting. Sometimes there is no happy. One friend wrote to say she would not be posting anymore. Her mother had recently died and then a close relative had killed himself. And she just could not dare to think of. We told her that course we understood. And we would be thinking of her and we would be there when and if she chose. And then one day. She posted a picture of a sunrise. I don't i don't even think she posted any words with it. Just that picture. And it seemed to me. A signal of hope. That even in the darkest times there is some beauty. But maybe you have to be watching. And maybe it helps that there's a place. To share it. So that's the gist of the five happy things with you hopefully kind of get now and i could go into how that practice fits in with cognitive behavioral therapy. I am the social workers of course i i can tell you how it reflects into the social workers strengths perspective. How it relates to brain mapping. How i could give you various scientific studies because they have been done. That demonstrate that such a practice really does work. But i don't need to. I mean you just know. That it really is that simple. You are what you pay attention to and if you can see the good in what you were paying attention to. If you can take note of it and share it. You'll be happier. We will have some happiness there. If you read the little bayou in your bulletin you'll know that todd and i both work for hospices. Eva said i'm a social worker and he is a nurse. And often when we say to people that we work at hospice they say. Oh i could never do that. Isn't it depressing. Well it is often sad. It is sometimes draining to be exposed to emotional and physical suffering. But if i pay attention. Choose how i view it. And shared with friends i can always find the happy. An example of that is that often i go out to patients homes with the nurse. And a while back we walked into a patient a new patient. She had not been seen by us before by our hospice before. And her daughter let us in and we walked to the patient's room and she was. Lying in her bed. Just kind of curled up in pain. Lying in her own filth because although her daughter. Really cared for her and was trying to take care of her. She was in so much pain it hurt to move her. And she was so frail her daughter was scared to give her the pain medication because she was afraid. It might kill her. So we did what we always do which was to go ahead and reassure the daughter give her the pain medication. And when she was a little more comfortable to get her all cleaned up. Yeah we changed her sheets got it all got her all freshened up. And as we talked this small frail elderly woman in her bed. As i pull the sheets up to her chin. She looked up at me and chirped. Am i copacetic now. And that right there. That's the happy. That's what i take and hold in my heart. To help keep me going. I could of course focus on that it first image which was so painful and. Kind of awful to see. And i won't ever forget it. But the thing that i really make a point of remembering. Is that smile on her face. And her say. My copacetic now. There is always an aspect of gratitude. There is always something else in my life that brings me joy or delight to help balance that heaviness. And in that way i truly believe that the practice of five happy things has helped me keep going in this work that we do. I know it has made a difference in my life. And i know it's making a difference for others to. One of our friends. Talk to me about that he had had. Prostate cancer and underwent radiation treatment. And he said that maintaining this practice really made a difference for him. When he was going through the radiation treatments the very first thing he posted every single day and 5 happy things. And the first thing he posted was a countdown of how many treatments he'd accomplished and how many more he had to go. And he said it helped him remember that there is a lot of good stuff in everyday life even in a time that is not so good. My mom has started doing the practice to my mom and dad they email me everyday. And i know it's made a difference because my mother used to email me almost daily about what happened during her day and often it was the things that went wrong during her day. So i would get this email to be like oh. Well now she doesn't send me those emails anymore the email she sent me is her five happy things that happened and she likes to call them glimpses of grace. Which i think is lovely anna. She says that what she appreciates about it is that it sets up the expectation. The everyday there is going to be good stuff.

uuasheville_org

150503-Staying-Open.mp3

The call came from a friend i haven't heard from you in awhile. She had had her eye on a job that made her a little nervous. But she was none the last excited about. We have talked about this. Before. She wasn't sure at first whether she wanted to move. But as time went on she felt the urgency for a change increase. To the point where i knew she had a lot of emotional energy. All invested in it. The news. Was disappointed. She hasn't gotten a job. And even worse wasn't even sure it was for the right reasons. From the feedback she received she felt they had read things into her background and discerned things about her that. Weren't true. So not only has she lost the opportunity she sought. But the whole process had unsettled her and shaking. / confidence. She wondered about how she presented herself in the world. Even whether the whole trajectory of her career had jeopardized all her options. It was a rough place to. Listening to her i felt badly. But i was also aware that her tail triggered. Something a little like. Panic. Deep inside me. Insincere on earth to my own experiences of failure and rejection and all the terrible feelings around them and. I was aware of a small frightened voice inside me telling me. We. But i kept my hat. I didn't find some convenient reason to end the call. Or to jump into. Fix-it mode. Offering all sorts of prescriptions for what went wrong and why she's what she should do about it and so on. When a pause came in the conversation. I simply took a breath. And invited her. To go on. Frustration and disappointment are part of the warp and weft of our lives. But none of us wants to spend any time with. They bring us real pain and we just as soon avoid them. Yep that impulse to flee. Also serves to isolate. To disrupt or break the very connections that feed us most deeply. And what is more disconnects us even from ourselves. So how do we find the strength nut. To flee. To remain present to stay open. Even when the going gets tough. Today i want to organize my answer to that question around my understanding. Of a buddhist practice. That continues to fascinate me the more i explore it. It's a debate tibetan practice called. Tongan. And it translates literally as. Taking in and sending out. It's a practice center in meditation. But the course it follows is different. From the way we often understand meditation to work. Meditation is centered in the breath. And usually in meditation we imagine. Breathing in energy and vitality. And breathing out bad feelings or anything we want to get rid of it. Intern glen. It's just the opposite. We imagined someone who we know is suffering. And with the n-word breath imagine. Picking their suffering in. And then with the outward breath we send that person peace and good feelings. In other words we breathe in what we want to avoid and breathe out what we'd like to keep. That was that a good thing. Why would i want to take that ugly stuff in. Some buddhist practices even invite the practitioner to imagine if it's a dark smoke. Well to begin with. Another person suffering. Is not our own. There's no way we can feel it as intensely as she or he does. But taking that suffering in is the beginning. Of compassion. Literally feeling with. Another. When we sit with another person suffering. We don't belittle it or dismiss it. We honor it. And affirm the person who is endearing it. It's not nothing. It's real. And it matters. That moment of communion alone can make a huge difference and how that person experiences his or her suffering. Also because the suffering is not ours we have a perspective on it. That can be hard for the person experiencing it. To have. For them it's time seem all-encompassing. Skip. Phil's screen so to speak. But we see the suffering in a much larger context of what you might call the spaciousness of this person's life. We know the inherent goodness of disperse. Pirgifts his capacities. A larger story. And so we can send him or her the good wishes we truly feel. Happiness. Joy. And of course this process need might not be confined simply to our actions with others. We can apply it to ourselves as well. Do that holds challenges of its own. Buddhist diagnosed the fact of suffering as the chief ill that besets us. Robin confronted many of us to vote a good deal of energy to escaping or avoiding it. Our goal is to protect ourselves from unpleasantness so we become well practice that denial and escape. Problem is that neither strategy is especially effective. And each has the effect of removing us from the world around us from the people we love from our own true cells. Practice there is a crack in everything. The world will go on its way regardless of our wishes and everyone of us is fragile and fallible. And flawed. Serama then run from our pain why not accepted who knows. Even. Embrace it. Sounds good. Very compassionate to be sure. And yet let's face it. A little scary. None of us really wants to spend much time with that which brings us pain. We want to be happy happy. And we fear that dwelling on the hard stuff may just bring us down. Possibly even to a place from which we just can't get up. And then there's the shame that sometimes be attached to what brought us pain. Who needs to go there. Give me a the amazing thing. Sometimes when we owned our pain when we sit. With it without judgment without beating up on ourselves. We find that our capacity to injurious to walk. Is it worth next to it. Is greater than we thought. We can even learn to extend some compassion to others not. In a self cell. Martina self-pitying way. But anyway that acknowledges the pain is what it is. Acknowledges the wound it has given us but still. Appreciates that the pain does not define us. Justice that's true of us it is true of others. You can help if we remember that there is nothing unique about the suffering we endure. The circumstances are hours. Pain. Does the universal experience. And this can be a point that opens our hearts. We soften our judgment against ourselves and others once we dismantle the shields we create. To protect ourselves from our pain instead. Except. What's more this acceptance makes us even more available to be of comfort. Pork to us. Acceptance of our pain gives us strength of sorts. Grounded in the realization that we need not be the find firewood. Instead we are defined. By our good. And that goodness opens abroad spaciousness in our being. Spaces that can hold and release the pain of others. And respond to them. With loving kindness. Mary oliver makes this point with a poem we heard earlier. I love how she compares or relates our own sorrows to those water lilies. Wonderful image down there routed him upon bottom the mud hive. The gas sponge wreaking leaf yard swirling broth of life. The sims skyward on tall one's fist. With beaks of lace. B hair the surface of the water and break open over it. Honeybunch. Her wounds another word she says can be our gift. They can be an agent that opens us to deeper living into deeper compassion with others. It helps us breakthrough. All the tablets that paralyze our lives. Sun tan when meditation we take the suffering that we experience that others experience in. And hold it. Stop belittling it not dismissing it. Not holding it deep within us. Honoring yes even. Not the whole story. Park. Of the story that were living. And then with an eye to a wider truth of our lives. Deeper beauty within us we send a wish of peace. That we or whoever we are with or whoever we are holding in our hearts. We'll take you in and experience. A sense of the beautiful spaciousness of our and their lives. This is framed and buddhist practice but it also resonates deeply with my own understanding of our tradition. As we affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person. When we suffer we have a sense of ourselves diminished. Has a little less worthy than we thought we were before. The gift we can give to ourselves as to help each other see the beauty the wholeness that remains despite. Circumcised. We don't distract ourselves with imagining ways of evading or escaping the circumstances in which we find ourselves. But we help ourselves understand how those circumstances are nested. In a larger truth of our lives. What had seemed so scary and shameful. It's not a speaker. How does overwhelming as it seemed. And from that perspective we can find a way forward that presents itself that is. True. To our hearts. Part of what we can do as a community is to help each other see that way through toward compassion. We accept the pain is a part of life. Something that we will each encounter but does not define us. So we can be available to each other. Accepting without judgment. Making room. Offering space. Until we're able to tear through the surface. Our sorrow. And friends we do it with love. So let me invite you. Rise if you're willing or able in the singing of our closing song. What wondrous love that we create here is this.

uuasheville_org

141109-Rethinking-Wild.mp3

Nigel pitman. A field biologist who worked for a time and amazonian peru. Tulsa story of once receiving an unusual visitor at his station. He been through this. Grill before. But this person was unusual his name was thomas struth. A german fine art photographer. Dozens of visitors have been through the station from teachers to schoolchildren from philanthropist. The filmmakers. Per usual he showed struth a map of the area and offered to take him on a tour of some of the most. Photogenic sites of the camp. Proof thank them for his offer and said he would love to see those locations. But he wouldn't bring his camera. Differences in language made it hard for pitman's understand struth explanation. But he understood him to say that rather than striking settings in the rainforest. He was looking for complexity. Well fine okay. Pittman said he gave the photographer and his assistants a map and left them to their own devices. It was only later when struth volunteered to give a slideshow of some of his work that pippen got a sense of what it was all about. The first images were gritty scene from german cities and made the audience of scientists board. Andres. What's a saddle. What's truth moved on to a series of forests around the world that he was calling. Paradise. What's your name again the swamp in their seats again while some of the scenes were striking in their beauty. Others appear to be mere tangles of vegetation. They weren't the kind of scenes were observers could easily fix a gaze or tell stories about. There was just too much. The lights came on in the scientist supply didn't have heartedly. Happy to get back to their work. Three months later pittman received a note from struth in his email inbox. And attached work 6 images that he taken at the research. Dimension death these images when exhibited were enormous the largest as big as two king size beds together. Sometime later pick up and organize the slideshow of some of the most interesting photos he'd received. Any flip. Spruce images at the end. The scientist murmured with approval at the scene of a jaguar pacing the riverbank. Or if a woman giving birth in a canoe. Marijuana came to struth images they started muttering again. Killing me. Which was true innocence. And yet he reflected of the thousands of people would pass through that station. Only one did. The botanist after all the scenes were uninteresting. Christoforous they showed had clearly been disturbed by human activity another disruption. Crashed. They might call it. Something they hiked through to get onto a more pristine undisturbed plates. Pittman says he kept returning to those photos. Yes some of them may look like a tangle of vines but to him. They were the place he lived. They were home. Perhaps you've guessed by now that the images that have been cycling before behind me. Or in fact from thomas struth exhibit. Paradise. They come from around the world. Not just south america but china-japan australia. Germany in california. And i apologized without light. The image is not quite as sharp as it might be but. Give us some time. In an interview screw said that. One can spend a lot of time in front of these pictures and remain helpless. In terms of knowing how to deal with. Paper santa kind of empty space. Emptied to alyssa the moment of stillness and internal dialogue. Nowadays he says the human being is reduced to a consumer and therefore to an instrument of a global economic mechanism. I on the other hand i'm interested in peculiarities. The individual ways of people what goes on inside them when they're historic bearings. Are disoriented. Growing disorientation is a pretty good word to describe how we think about wildness. This fall marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the wilderness at. Legislation signed by lyndon johnson that set aside 9.1 million acres of federal land that was to be left while. To allow plant and animal communities to thrive dispensary undisturbed. The amount of land set aside for wilderness has since grown to 110 million. And as development encroaches on other fragile landscapes. Advocates are pushing to expand the designation. Solista dozen more location. Amid all the anniversary celebrations though there is a worrying undercurrent. Agencies that are monitoring lands intended to be preserved christine for generations are discovering an uncomfortable truth. Worms that we leave alone doesn't remain static. You change. Debbie and i discovered this last summer on a vacation trip to yellowstone and grand teton national parks. The scenery is still stunning. But. Invasive beetles are attacking the native pine. And longtime meadows are drying out. Threatening the elk population. And numbers of a tiny mouse like creature called pikas. Better pray for any number of animals. Or falling fast. No one knows why. Pick your favorite national park or wilderness area and you'll find a similar story. Invasive species and overall warming of the climate are a couple of the more obvious causes for these changes. In some cases that causes aren't clear. The national park service and the forest service are scrambling to respond. In some cases going so far as to spray pesticides. Coquille invasive pests in wilderness area. Or considering relocating iconic trees. From threatened landscape. There is of course a great irony to all of this. Once we start pampering wild places. Are they still wild places. The answer is not as simple as that question makes it sound. Scientists in the northwest for sample or concerns that the drying climate is threatening giant sequoia trees. We could just let them go. But isn't it worth having those trees around even if it means we have to see you at they're watered. Find just manage populations of elk bears and other animals with an eye toward maintaining viable ecosystem. Is it worth sustaining those ecosystems. And if we do. Doesn't mean we've taken on the role as the earth's gardeners. If so how do we decide what to protect and watch let-go. There are no obvious answers. One way to address all this maybe to reflect a little more. On this notion of wild. It was disorientation that henry david thoreau hopes to address in his essay walking. Which john read from early. Really what he offers is a prescription. Are the obligations of society wayne too heavily. Get on your hiking shoes and head out the door. The thought of some work will run in my head and i know not where my body. He says. I am out of my senses. And then walks i would fain return to my senses. And to use his language. Whither shall we walk. I believe he says that there was a subtle magnetism in nature which if we unconsciously yield to it will direct us aright. A source of that magnetism is what he called wildness. Hermosa throws contemporaries wildness was not an especially attractive notion. Wildness suggested danger. Savagery. Something that civilized society exists to protect people from. Throw for his part argued that civilized society offers its own form of savagery. Resulting in people who he observed lead lives of quiet desperation. And go to the grave. With the song still in them. Song. Still. In his essay he locates the wild in the west what was them mostly unsettled land where travelers told of primitive forests and vast mountain range. And in a sense we still do that. Out west is where we find those majestic parks in untamed wilderness. Images crew in a sentence. And yet also a fantasy. In fact there is very little in this country no matter how far out in the middle of nowhere you go. Humans. Including people who occupied the land long before europeans arrived. Did not have some role in altering. To describe a landscape as pristine is really to speak of how long it's been since it was altered. Parole only made one trip out west in his lifetime. And yet he found a sources of wildness in the forests around concord. Land that was hardly pristine. Having been clear-cut. Only decades before. No wildness was not a character of landscapes far distant from human city. It was more like an f. Something he said that one could almost drink in like hemlocks brewster arborvitae in rt. Onir too good it is. Whitney's what is wild he says. Why. Because life consists in wildness. The most alive. It's the wild. Wyomissing is that song in all things. That vital essence that makes each thing what it is. Little wonder that in throws words we plow and sail for it or seek to imported at any price. We seek the taymor landscapes to make them less dangerous more accommodating. But for thorough. Hope and future for me or not in lawns and cultivated fields. Not in towns or cities. But in the impervious and quaking swamps. A thanksgiving a few years ago when our daughters were out of town. Debbie and i decided to drive down to savannah georgia. For the long weekend. We saw all the standard tourist sites and enjoy them. Craving for both of us. The most memorable part of that trip was at or we took with a young biologist of local saltmarsh. Wearing high boots coated with bug spray we trudged through brackish water. And watched fiddler crabs skitter about any grits or and stand like statues. It was wonderful. It was wildness on parade. Everywhere you look. Even though we were a couple hundred yards from the main highway. Of course i don't need to tell you what kind of experience that's like. We here are blessed. To live with such amazing wildness near at hand. And whatever our location this proximity invites us into the kind of relationship that john spoke of. We are invited to locate ourselves within it. To enter it. Bringing our curiosity. Our compassion. And our with. Innocence the wildness of the world calls to the wildness within us. And bids us to respond. This is the place where we experience the power of our seventh unitarian universalist principles. Respect for the interdependent web of existence. Of which we are apart. It is one way of saying that we are not observers of the world around. We. Delong. Intimate. If every possible way. We are part of it and it of us. It has been our way we know. To imagine that somehow we humans rise above the great welter of things. There are plots and plans shape the larger scheme. We live still with the old biblical myth of dominion ringing in our ears and supposed that we far-seeing beings can look ahead to some greater destiny. It's a habit we find hard to break. Any of the deeper we dive into our understanding of the natural world the clearer it becomes that we must. It is this insight that i think gives us a way to contribute to resolving the disorientation that wants the debate around making space for the wild. Wyld is not just an attribute of distant forest or rocky crag. It is a character of all things. Of their deepest essence. As we struggle over preserving our wild places the issue was not to save particular iconic creatures or plants. It is instead that we are called to uphold life where we can. And to do so with humility. And respect. The extraordinary complexity. With which life about. And this i believe is the complexity. The thomas struth told niles pittman. He was speaking to photograph. In the amazon rain for. It is at the mention of life we can't get. At a quick glance. Nearest ross's in the same. The more we attend to it the more we see. I wonder if that's happened to you. And she's watched these photos psychopaths. Is there something here you find yourself drawn to where the tangle of leaves and vines. In one or perhaps the quality of life. Filtered for the branches of another speaks to. Perhaps the time will come for us. Winlock niles pittman. We'll be able to look at any scene like this. In all its wildness. And luxuriant complexity. Mc not some random arrangement of vegetate.

uuasheville_org

150920-The-Inside-Out-Way-To-Forgiveness.mp3

Do you ever look at someone and wonder what's going on inside them. This is the way that. New animated wonder from pixar studios inside out. Begin. And it offers a nice premise for a coming-of-age story that will take up the screen for the next hour and a half or so. As well as a good prompt to some deep conversations that we are all in the need of right now. Especially when the topic is. Forget. So let me set this up for you. That opening line is spoken by joy. One of. Five animated emotions that will hear from in this tale. All about 11 year old girl named riley anderson. Who after a happy childhood in minnesota finds her life disrupted by a cross-country move to san francisco. Square father is taking a job at some digital startup brother. It's a lovely notion. Supported by a raft of social scientists who consulted on the front film. B h natal emotion. The first feeling that emerges at birth is a fence. Troy. Oh why. What a wonder what a miracle what bliss just to be. Of course it doesn't take long for others to make their presence known. Anger. Appears when hunger first rumbles in our belly and our parents are not fast enough to get it. Feeder when we're confronted with. Unfamiliar or strange thing. Discussed windows first foods are offered. Sadness. When were not attended to in the way that we want. You could argue that their other feelings all to be represented here to say. Curiosity you're wonder. Expect you could name. But the writers pleaded that too many characters would mix up the storyline. The film mixing interesting point though that every experience we have is colored in some way by our feelings. We remember them that way experiences that were happy or sad or maybe left us feeling angry or sad. Best part of how we store them in our heads. Also the intensity of the emotion has something to do with their valence or strength. Some experiences are so strong maybe come with the film calls core memories. And they helped create the. Violin. Emotional identity. So up to this point in her life the film says riley has been one of those lucky people whose islands are all largely joyous one. There is goofball. Representing her silly side that they. That they demonstrate with monkey noises. And then there is the hockey. Which is a skill she picked up on the lakes of minnesota and finally the strongest of all. Every one of these islands though gets tested by the move to san francisco. A place where riley is a short will be. Beautiful and fun. But said she just finds to be uncomfortable. Inforum. Well this is going on there's a lot of turmoil going on inside riley's head. Joy as usual it's trying to be the cruise director. Keeping everything light and fun. But not all the other emotions are on board. In particular. Usually so quiet and unassuming is playing around with some of those memories were joyfill she has no business. Particularly she seems drawn to some of those joyous. Core memories. Which country touches them begin to turn sad. Joy is alarmed and tries to protect them in the back and forth between them both joy and sadness or doing this that and somehow they get transported wade from headquarters. Premier league. Until the rest of the film is devoted to them finding their way back. To set things right. Well riley struggles with the inability to access her feelings. Joy. What's up. Clever way of framing how disruptions in our lives can turn things upside down. Even as grown-ups when things go wrong we tried to be calm and reasonable but we struggle with the emotions inside of us that are raging. Part of growing up we learn. Coming to terms with those feelings but not necessarily letting them drive us. Even more we come to learn how to recognize feelings and other is in respond to them effectively. The film offers one example of a. Not especially effective. When at the dinner table riley response to a question from her parents in anger. I didn't fight her father we watch his emotions undergo something like the launch of us. Thermonuclear weapon. Ending with him putting his foot down shouting at her denver around bouncing her away. It's clear though. That display. Doesn't accomplish. And later he goes to robbie's room seeking to smooth the water. Pantages goofball island. He gets no response. Inside riley indeed we see that goofball island. Is crumbling. I'm falling in. The pit of a race. It's an excruciating moment in the. And reminder of how fluid our emotional lives can be. And riley's case goofball island was probably something that was going to go away sooner or later. But when it going as it did with no other positive core memory to replace it makes her vulnerable. We watches joy and sadness scramble for a way back to riley's consciousness while riley struggles with anger and fear driving all her responses as he's remaining island crumbles apart. And tumbles away. Joy is positively france. If she could only find a way back she sure she could fix things. She has an awakening along the way. Along their travels through riley's memory she and sadness come upon riley's one-time imaginary friend. Bing bong. Amana combination he says of elephants in tavan dolphin. Bing bong helps them along the way but he becomes despondent when the riot wagon that is his magical transport is taken away. Joy twice cheer em up come on. It's okay buck up. Without success. What time sadness comes to the rescue. She simply sits with bing bong. You lost your wagon. Degrees in after crying for a minute. He's ready to move on. It's worth our spending a little time thinking about what sadness brings to the mix of our emotions. Realco offers this interesting insight in his letter that he acts the wii excerpted from earlier. Could we see beyond the limits of our knowledge he says we would it in ensure that sadness is greater we have greater confidence in sadness than an arduous. It is he says because these are moments when something new something alien enter. Sanderson absences the kind of reality check. We are sailing along everything is great and then we're confronted in some way with something that catches us up shorter trips us up. When that happens we can of course respond in many ways. We can get mad about if we can ignore it. We could run away from. But each of these responses has inside it a bit of well denial. A feeling 2:00 now it's just lost that we suffered. Real her just be young poet in these letters not to do that. Confronted with sadness here just him to be. Lonely and attentive. Examine it. Treated as the gift it is. Be patient and open to its. Of course few of us want to spend much time with sadness. Like joy in the film we like to be distracted your love. But at the center of our sadness maybe an important learning. Away we over reached or exceeded our grasp. Or perhaps our first clear understanding. How what how deep. Particular loss we've experienced really is. We say refine will be okay. But to move on with our lives without at least for a moment. Shooting with the full truth. The full impact of say. I promise bro. A dream loss. Her relation. Damaged. Pull up one. We've all heard people say i don't dare cry because if i start crying i'll never stop. Course we all do. It just feels hard to give ourselves over to it. But hope of healing lies on the other side. And i think real to offer some wisdom here. You must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you larger than anything you've seen. In fact. That response that sadness is part of your own psyche guiding you through this maze. It is your life. Your inner wisdom. That is holding your hand. Taking you where you need to go. Not to fear. Consulting. Consoles his reader. Will not let. Fall. Likewise at the act of any at the center of any act of forgiveness. Is a moment of sorrow. Where each person the one injured in the one who caused the injury acknowledges the lost. The injury the failure to act as we should. And it too is a kind of reality. Try as we do to be good people we come up short. It isn't comfortable to acknowledge both the injury that we give is the perpetrator and the wound we receive as the recipient. That we can't hope to restore our own peace of mind. Already feel the relationship were in. Without somehow attend. Here's the great wisdom of the jewish days of awe that we are mentioned that we're working with today the passage from russia shawna to yom kippur when jews give and receive forgiveness and make atonement for the wrongs they've done to each. The words that we sang earlier from the great gates of repentance the jewish prayer book for this time lay that out. Who of us can claim to be pure of heart. Untouched by our unresponsible for wrongs that others have done to us all we've done to them. There is none on. It is a sad truth for a saw. Debra newell is possible for each of us knew resolve. A new attitude deeper compassion authentic humility. All that's required is for us to sit for a bit. The sadness of this rift in our lives. And then. Give and receive forgiveness. Offer and accept. Atonement. So. Poor riley. Driven by anger fear and disgust she has led to a potentially disastrous decision. For those of you who haven't seen the movie i'll leave you in suspense. Decision. Hershey barrels that had the emotions in her head. Show me realize what a mess they made. But i can't seem to do anything to stop. Gruesome funny and dramatic circumstances do joy and sadness make their way back and the other emotions looked at your boy to once again fix it all. Petroleum 10 instead turns to sadness. To do her work. Headed to staten. Send this to provide riley their reality check she needs to see the rash. Foolishness. Pro-choice. She makes it home tour france. Parents. And then collapses into. Confessing all the worries the fears the disappointment that you'd held inside how much she misses her old home and the life. Hydra parents. I'm into. Admitting their own sadness something they hadn't confessed. They settle into a prayerful. Hug. A grateful unity. So might we conclude our own inside out journey. Forgiveness. The sometimes painful passage. The teaches us to sit with our sadness. And then act. Take ownership of where we have erred and seek forgiveness for our deeds. At the gates of repentance. May we now forgive. At home. We may live. You mean now. Forgive. That we may live. Hi friends i confess to you that in the past year i have that time. Fallen short. Of your hopes and expectations. It makes me sad to think of and yet resolved to be more measured more intentional in my commitments. More compassionate. My dealings with you. And the rest. More understanding of others needs. Please forgive me.

uuasheville_org

140511-The-Play-Mothers-Day.mp3

My own memory goes back some 30 years. But this time the gender is in the scene that sharon olds holds up on her poem are switch. And it's me. And the one or another of my daughter's at one or another of the homes we occupied during that time. Before beginning i set out all the ingredients so. Shampoo. Washcloth towel. Queen close. And then with excruciating care calibrate the temperature of the water. It's slowly pours into the bath. I love a three bears. Talk to hot. Too cold. And then this carefully choreographed dance that my daughter and i engaging. The hold justice sharon describes it that i initiate. The child gathered in the crook of my arm as if she always belonged there. And then the slow descent onto the dance floor. Welcoming pool of water with the satisfying risks of steam rising from. From the infant's at first. clenching pence response to this new environment eyes wide apprehensive. Focused tightly on my face. But then with a gentle touch. The waters soothing fielder. Soaps slipperiness. A slow relaxing. A calming of movements and together we catch. The rhythm. Of this routine. Visions of all the things that could go wrong and do damage to the child before me. What is sharon olds said. Experience in time teaches. He teaches us not only how to navigate this time. It teaches us. That we are good for. This is how we are meant to be. Two people link. In love. Bonded but not too tight. And if we are lucky before mold nature of this interchange. The cleansing of a child. Devolved into something deeper. We just play. Whether it's the cooling or splashing or singing or laughing we connect and find uneasiness with each other that opens the way to intimacy. So on this mother's day. I'd like to take some time to take notice of and celebrate the many ways in the parenting we both give and receive. Play open. To each other. And the possibility of deeper connection. In our lives. This subject i must admit that i am of the generation that was raised under the guidance of benjamin spock. Remember him. We baby boomers now nearing our retirement. We're beneficiaries of the vin scandalous advice of this best-selling pediatrician that parents ignore all the rigid rules around child-rearing proclaimed by supposed experts. And simply use common sense in rearing their children. Your children want love and guidance. Give it to them. Your children will want to explore them. Talk to them listen to them and yes. Play. In his early tv appearances. Spock was sure to elicit cries of surprise and sometimes disapproval when presented with a clutch of toddlers. He would fold his six-foot frame and settle on the floor among them. Naysayers fretted. You're spoiling those kids. And years later commentators diagnose the nation's ill as the result of fox supposed leniency. Spock himself and anyone who paid attention to what he actually wrote. Dismissed such rubbish. Attending to your child doesn't mean you won't don't also guide and correct. Your plane is not the same as what happens in the company of their age may. You something else. A unique opportunity to create something that is really more like a moment. Of communion. For as people who study these things tell us. There is something extraordinary that happens when we are at play. Any parent is familiar with the phenomenon when they see their children settling and so are artists who anyone else in a creative endeavor. There comes a point when we forget about ourselves and whatever worries we may have brought into it and we enter into an expansive state. When we join and play we enter into that space together. A place where we are fully present is who we are. Present to ourselves and each other and yet not present. So absorbed in the play before rest of the world seems to vanish. And there is only. The play. This way at the time it is a place of great. Spiritual death. Something akin to what the buddhist called samity meditative state of selflessness. Where we feel the borders between us and everything else disappear and experienced ourselves connected to the wider world. Our play invites our children into that space. A place without judgement where they and we. Are worthy. And hole. And also bombed it. Of course as nice as play is our lives are busy enough. They can be hard to schedule and exhaustion off and robs us of the energy to engage. It's why we need communities like this one. Where the play of parenting can be shared. And one of the wonderful avenues it's across generations. It is one of the great joys of grandparenting. Benefits given me a new outlet for play. From the first peekaboos to the puzzles to the games of tag in the yard we are weaving webs of intimacy that we can draw on. A great mother's day recollection i have is that time when our daughters were growing up. And 101 my mother's visit she would put herself at their disposal. What shall we do. The answer was often some elaborate storyline with roles assigned based on dress up clothes if they would dig out of a great trunk in the family room. My mother would adopt whatever role she was given into except the clothes they chose to drape on her. Together with elaborate hats. I tapped into that same sense of play when my granddaughter touches my arm shouting. Is that moment. And that moment we are in it. Together. It is more than a lark. It is truly one of those great unitive experiences. He reminds me of who i am. And what i love. The writer stephen nachmanovitch argues that we make a mistake when we downplay the significance of play as something ephemeral or foolish. Creative play he says he's not the act of manipulating like it is experiencing life as it is. This is after all how we become. Replay. With ideas with our environment with. Each other. We step away from moments in the world with all its consequence. Koi with possibility. Fabian possibility we find our place. We reached a place where we are finally determined to take ownership of our lives. Now i become myself says the poet may sarton and often it feels.. Having lived within our tidy or tangled scripts that we cobbled together from our limited experience. We're called to something larger something greater. Those early scripts we now see were inadequate to who we were and what we needed. What we had no way of knowing that. It wasn't our fault. It was just too big in there is too much. More than we could possibly fathom. Somehow though within our fearful clinging cell. We can discern something deep. That is both ours. And great. A dimension a capacity that draws us out a linksys more wily with other people and with all there is. We find it. In the dawning moment. At the edge of perception where an astonishing fullness floods in on us. Pregnant with possibility. Rabindranath tagore poem whose words we sang earlier. Evoked a sense of that moment. He places it in the memory from his childhood. Sunkissed mornings winning his word the marvelous. Bloomed like flowers within his heart. The tone that runs through the poem i can only call playful. Taking in the world around him with simple joy where the grass and clouds are enough. To inspire fullest wealth of all. It is he says not the words that his mother speaks. Simply his mother's voice. That gives meaning. Stars. It reminds me of a kiwi here sometimes mistake how we touch each other. We were t well-reasoned sorts. Imagine that it is our arguments that carry our weight in the world. When really it is how we make ourselves present and to whom. That matters. Tagore closes this passage which he wrote for the end of his own life. Sing the faults of his own approaching death. Bring it back to that rising bedside curtain to the new morning with its life. Awakened in fresh surprise. What's love. It is in childhood of course when we feel that most intensely before we've constructed are filters and armored ourself against injury in disappointment. Get the fullness of life is no less available. The marvelous is still at hand. And love is every morning. Affresh. Surprise. So today we celebrate the mothering that has taught us to care. To open ourselves and are sometimes hesitant hearts to each other. To make room for the play that welcomes possibility. Our own i'm the world's. So that once nurtured in the crook of a loving arm we too. Born from the mystery beyond all knowing. Might come to move. How are silkie limbs at will. And realize the blessing. That we were born.

uuasheville_org

150628-Successful-Aging.mp3

The journey of aging. Begins. At the moment of conception so we all have expertise on the subject. I've asked some middle-aged and older uuca members and some non-members. To share their concerns and discoveries about successful aging. And i've led a covenant group discussion on the subject. I'm sure you all join me in thanking the generous people who contributed time and thought to help others. I'd like to tell you all their names but there are way too many. I'll mention only one. George. My husband. Who contributed his ideas and support during the time of preparation. A number of thoughtful contributor spoke with great satisfaction about the perspective their years of experience have given them. Finding it a powerful source of continuing personal and spiritual growth. They have little doubt that others find the more interesting because of this growth. Some have dropped the illusions about themselves. And are happy to see their lives more realistically. One spoke of her deep fulfillment. When she helps young people achieve a better understanding of aspects of life that puzzle them. Particularly their personal relationships. Her perspective in middle-age tells her. Not to shelter them from pain. But to help them come out of it safely. While learning something of value. Several contributors pointed out the importance of warm loving family relationships. You have to get started early said one man maintaining good relationships with your siblings and then later with your children. Your self-discipline and consideration will pay well at the time and reward you even more as you get older. One woman advises friendships are important don't just wait for them to happen look for people who share an interest with you. It may be playing tennis playing cards knitting cooking volunteering to help an organization. Anything that you enjoy. It will lead to finding congenial people. Some contributors have a warning. There's no getting around the fact that there will be differences in your life. Your friendships will feel different from those of your youth. Your body and brain will start having difficulties and deficiencies that can't always be remedied. For the rest of your life you'll have to make decisions based on increasingly limited abilities. Our contributors tell us that you may need these changes with despair. Or anger. Or acceptance. Choose acceptance they recommend. Serene acceptance if possible. Maybe even joyful acceptance. It's possible. However you may need to remind yourself from time to time about how desirable a positive attitude is. And what helps you to renew it. One woman told me about her aunt. Who had loved to paint ever since she was a child. Some of her happiest hours were those she spent creating colorful images on canvas. As she aged. She developed macular degeneration. Leaving her with only peripheral vision. She was not deterred she continued painting. Then she had a stroke. Which kept her from using her right hand ever again. As soon as she was up and around she began painting. Now using her left hand. She joked. This will be my abstract. nothing could keep her. From her enjoyment of painting. One of our contributors recommends an attitude of openness to mystery and wonder. People. The older i get she says the more i find to wonder about. It's like part of me keeps on growing i don't ever want to be finished. I find this to be so. In my life. For the past year i have ended my morning yoga sessions by gazing thoughtfully at a big maple tree. I've seen it in our backyard for 20 years. But now i find myself taking in the tree with my eyes. I feel myself as erect as it is. As capable of growth. As much a part of the interdependent web of all existence. I focus on its roots. Connected to the local skin of our planet. That good old western north carolina red clay mixed with pebbles flakes of mica. Bits of decomposing plants. My feet become roots. Powerfully connected to the planet. I wonder. Weather in the universe around me. There are other planets with other conscious entities living on them. Are they to wondering about the possibility of other conscious entities. Walt whitman wrote a poem about the universe as an open road. Late in the poem he calls the universe. Many roads for traveling souls. We can hear it as his version of the journey of aging. One contributor of ideas about successful aging reminders you can be amazed over and over. By the same simple things that caught your attention as a child but with an adults perspective. Let your heart be lifted when you watch the rising sun light up the clouds. Feel the power of the wind. As it makes the trees bow. And feel the strength of the resisting wood. Some contributors said. They're feeling of success in aging comes mainly from their continued ability. To be of service to others. Two other sentient beings not just other human beings but animals as well. Service makes these folks valuable and valued. Even those who need walkers or wheelchairs. Or are bed-bound. Can continue serving. Offering to people or to companion animals. The unique understanding and abilities that come from their years of living. Their value doesn't come from their vigor. But from their loving generosity. Some contributors have very practical advice about successful aging. Choose house or apartment that will help you maintain your independence as long as possible. Live where there's a mix of ages not just older people. Choose a physician whose views about continuing a painful life or ending it. Are the same as yours. If you need to choose a nursing facility make that congruence of use one of your criteria. Be aware. That laws which allow self ending of one's life. Tend to lead to longer lives as several studies have shown. Since people are likely to put up with more pain when they know they may end their lives if it gets too bad. Be sure to have all your end-of-life documents filled out signed notarized if necessary and placed where they are accessible to the people who will use them to follow your directives. I have a story from my own life to illustrate that point. Many years ago my father was admitted to a hospital because of pneumonia. My mother stayed with him for the 3 days that ensued before his death. She desperately wanted to hear whatever last words he might say to her. But the cause of an oxygen mask. It was not possible for him to speak. His passing was not only sad for her but also a great source of frustration. She was determined that her death would not be like that. So a few weeks after his funeral she made out her living will. And gave me her health care power of attorney. 20 years later she needed the care of a nursing facility. My brother bo and i accompanied her there together with her end-of-life documents. By that time she rarely spoke. It was just too much effort. Asbo and i were sitting with her she whispered. I'm. 2. Tired. As far as we know those were her last words. Later the head of the nursing staff said debow and me will have to put your mother on supplementary oxygen and a feeding tube. I saw bows snap to attention. Those are forbidden in her living will he said. The nurse replied sadly. I'm sorry. The living will can take effect only when her condition is clearly terminal. We don't know that right now we are required. To make every effort to keep her alive. I spoke up. I have her health care power-of-attorney i believe it gives me the right to see that our mother's living will is followed. The nurse brighton. Indeed it does. Now we know we can do what your mother wanted. Because my mother had planned so well her life was allowed to ever way at its own pace. She died that night. With her hand in my brothers. If she could have spoken. That's what she would have asked for. I find that to be successful aging right up to the last moment. The reverend forest church unitarian universalist minister had this to say about dying. Death is not life goal only life's terminus. The goal. Is to live in such a way that our lives will prove worth dying for. What makes a life worth dying for. Dr. church had an answer. The love we give away before we go. And that inside brings us to one last group of ideas on successful aging. What love does for us. Our love is a blessing to ourselves and our life partners families friends. Everyone we interact with. Love is a motive for service and a source of meaning. Especially in a life with less and less physical energy. The reverend doctor carter hayward says love is a choice. Not simply or necessarily a rational choice. But rather a willingness to be present to others. Without pretense. Argyle. One contributor pointed out that a loving attitude makes us attractive to others keeps us connected to the people and companion animals in our lives. Another said she sees people especially children. Who need to know they are worthy of love. She said i try to fill that gap in whatever way the circumstances allow. One contributor said that in his experience. Thinking about what makes another person lovable. Leads him to think about what makes him lovable. It's a powerful boost. Did his belief in himself. What i told you in the past few minutes doesn't cover all the thoughts about successful aging that people gave me to pass along to you. Fortunately the printed version of this sermon. Has many of them added. Copies are available in the rack on the east wall of the foyer. One last thought. The poet rainer maria rilke. Had this to say about aging. I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world. I may not ever complete the last one. But i give myself to it. We too. Can give ourselves to it. May we feel a sense of fulfillment. In this widening. And this giving.

uuasheville_org

mward100919.mp3

Those of you who have been attending a while. Know that each ball i have made it a practice in our worship life. To include a service on the subject of forgiveness. The timing of the service is intended to coincide roughly with the jewish high holidays. The days of all begun is with russia shawna and ending with yom kippur. Days in the jewish calendar that include rituals of forgiveness. Atonement. Community begins a new year. I do this not out of any personal connection with this time. To be honest before entering seminary i knew very little about this ritual moment. But ever since entering the ministry i have been. Drawn to this ancient tradition. Has one that embodies a wise and deep spiritual practice. Something that benefits each of us to do. At least once a year. The fact is no matter how hard we try. Each of us stumbles through our days in our relationships with each other. Sometimes we make simple goofs. Inadvertent errors that are easy to move beyond. Some of our stumbles though arise from our own pride. Or to the contrary our own. Fear. These are harder. Whatever the nature or source of the error we know that the damage and inflict on our relationship. Cannot be repaired. Until we reach some accounting with those we have. Afflicted. Until we acknowledge the error seek the person's forgiveness and offer a tone. By way of apology or some act. Compression. The genius of the jewish high holidays. Is that they integrate this act into the life of a full community. Not as some peripheral concern but as something that is central. To its endurance. Forgiveness and atonement make possible a new beginning. Both for the members and for the community itself. A recommitment. To relationship. These are called the days of all for good reason. Forgiveness and atonement are indeed. Awesome. In their impact on our individual lives. And on the strength. In fact a possibility. This year as we celebrate. Moments in the history of unitarian universalism. I want to organize our thoughts around this subject on an important moment in universalist. We go back to 1805. Only about 15 years after universalism as a move. Organize. To the publishing of a unique pratt. Call. Treatise. On atonement. Written by a relatively unknown preacher from the hill country of new hampshire. Name hosea beaulieu. The 11th child of a baptist minister baloo grew up intending to follow his father into ministry. But later parted ways with him on theology. Specifically he questioned the traditional calvinist notion that an angry god intended eternal torment. For all but an electric group of humankind. As he put it to his father once. Suppose i had the power to create a creature. Who might suffer everlasting misery. In my act of creating this preacher. Goodness. Instead belews sided with the newly emerging universalist. Who insisted that an infinitely good god had no desire to punish. Humankind. But instead sought to be reconciled with. After about a decade of circuit rider preacher. It was in a treatise on atonement. Fepblue sought to make his case as to how this happened. His approach combined both and exacting rational argument and a strong emotional connection. As you heard in our beginning reading he began with the humble clean. That our main object in life is to be. Contrast this with the dour puritans at the time. Who warned of a life of strife. With rewards to be looked for only in heaven. I certainly agree that there are any number of ways that we can be made miserable. But he insisted that religion. Need not be. The trick he said is to figure out what truly makes us happy. And that's not always. Blue rejected the notion that our wants and desires arbor nature sinful or depraved. But he also said that we can be led astray. By giving such desires excessive sway over our lives. This isn't something that happens naturally. He said instead it occurs when our minds are dominated by feet. Twisting our judgment and distorting our perception. We learn not to trust others. Even ourselves. We are. Particularly critical of religion that cultivate. Fear. Search religion he said makes fear a taskmaster. In our lives. Rather than leading people to good and moral living he said it abandons them to dependency and confusion. This takes us back to the passage. About in the reading about the orange. What exactly does it mean to want holiness for holiness sake. Without a clear reference our religion is disconnected from our experience. A left. Fearful. How can we overcome this. Fearful confusion which we find her. Something that blew acquainted with. The answer blue reply is complete. And here he waxed poetic. Quoting from the song of solomon. There is nothing in heaven above. Norton earth beneatha can do away with sin but love. And we have every reason to be eternally thankful that love is stronger than death. Many waters cannot quench it north floods drown it. Didn't have power to remove the moral malady. Acumen. Clear that for him. But love has its origin in the very nature of god. Who's aaron from the moment of our creation he insisted was to make. Mankind happy. Bluestar about jesus was that he was born not to save us from our sins but to remind us of loves redeeming power. A power that lies in each of us. What is morality. But the natural effects of love. Atonement then is not a basing ourselves to some ancient sin of our fathers. It is reconciling ourselves to what love calls us to do. In doing that we will achieve our great end of life. Blues track. Proves to be the foundation of universal apply for much of the next step. It was distributed widely and was sitting next. The bible in the saddlebags of many an itinerant preacher. In the larger world though it never made much of a splash. Densely argued and full of quirky metaphors it was not an easy read. And due to belews backwoods persona and his lack of a formal education. If your little attention from high church clergy. Including most. Ever since the 200th anniversary of its printing in 2005 though it has received some renewed interest among unitarian universalist. Well most of the theological demons that baloo sought to slay have faded in importance. The drift of his argument still resume. From his perspective remains theistic and centered and christian tradition there is much room for those of other theological perspectives as well. Anansi is for example can see the power of blues argument simply speaking to the power of love within each of us. And the grace of beauty in the world. Each of us carries demons that drive our fears and leads to needless ms. Misery from which love. Could rescue. When we return from this theological atonement that blue was addressing for the more everyday atonement before us today we can see how this plays out. Universalist were fond of saying that we don't need to worry about there being a hell in the afterlife. We do a good job of creating hell for ourselves honor. When we have done wrong to another person. We find ourselves in such. Buckle. I'm a walk through all kinds of scripts in my head justifying for myself what i have done. But they're not in my stomach puts the lie. To my fancy graciosa nation. I know that i am at fault. And i would like to be back in the good graces. The person i found. Yet often pride. Shame jealousy or fear. Stay my time. Or a person who offended me approaches me to make amends. Anger self-righteousness a sense of hurt stop me from accepting the offer and ham. Again. Hell. Awaits. Fed by bitter golf internal script justifying my position all drenched in the pain. A separation. Ian mcewan's novel atonement. The main character falsely accuses a man of rape when she is a child. I doubt she goes on to a successful career as a writer. That lie lives with her always. A hell. Supercell. It isn't until later in the story that we as readers learn that part of the very novel we are reading. Is that characters effort at atoning for that misty. Her story tells of her apologizing for the accusation later in life. And the man she accused in the woman he loved. Reuniting. Intrude. Though. The apology never happy. And the lovers. Perhaps separated forever died in the approaching. World war. In the hands of his main character though the story is a love letter of sorts. Creating a fictional context where she might make amends. Life's circumstances never gave her the opportunity to. The novel serves as a reminder of the hell's that we carry with us. Places where we left pride jealousy and anger cut off the opportunity for renewed. And how they eat. Raw spots where fear and pain still alive. It is here that i imagine hosea ballou enter. Reminding us that that fearful few of fear and pride. We fixing to remind. Something that he equated with sin. Is a false one. There is nothing on heaven above nor earth beneath that can do away with that terrible. Awful feeling. Pavlov. There's nothing that can erase those false images we create out of fear. Put that spark of hope joy and compassion within us. Nothing but love. Weatherforyou love is the presence of god. Or the hearts will or the beauty at the center of the world. It is that which widens are simple. Which draws us together which soothe. Our soul. It is that which bridges rifts and repairs the chinks in our relationship. It is that by which we are renewed. And reconcile. Love and miss spence's more than a happy feeling. It is the glue that creates community and empowers us to be who we truly are. And that the clearest each of us. Fully acceptable. Warts. And all. Naomi shihab ron nice poem speaks to this. Although the word in her contacts. Time. So many of us live. Prideful lives. Skating along on the surface of things eyes on the road ahead for our next destination. Kindness and social life is near beneficence. Charity. Something we can calibrate on our tax. No. Most of us don't really know a thing about kindness. Until we find ourselves in need. Anais worth when we. Lose things. And here she's not talking about misplacing or keys or our favorite sweater. But having things that cetera. Job. Marriage. Our health. Swept away from. When's that future we so confidently saw ahead of us dissolves like salt in a weakened broth. Starview from such advantages truly bleak. The haunting image she painted riding on a bus that you feel will never stop. Full of strangers staring out the window. It is such a place that we see how disconnect. There is not a soul here who knows us. Hamster. After the shock of loss we are brought to sorrow. Borrow that shuts us down and turns us in on our side. We don't know what to do. It feels like it just might consumers but nice as in time we learn. Speak to. And in doing so we see that the sorrow that we feel. For what it is. Not just our sorrow it is a thread that leads us to all the sorrows of the world. We are not alone in our sadness our grief. Our loss. Manny. Many have known. Know it now. When night owl says comes the dawning awakening. It is only. Kind. Makes sense. Whatever scripts we wrote for ourselves about how our lives are supposed to work and how special and unique we are. Fall away. Finest what amounts the same salute to love in action. Is what we are drawn. Kindness first for ourselves. To help soothe the shame and fear within. And then extend it to others and widening circles. Literally it is kindness that glimmer of life that gets us through the day. Tying her shoes sending us out the door on our errands into the company of others. It is such kindness that we turn to in times of forgiveness at a time. We begin with the understanding that has the jewish tradition holds. Differences we have done to others are not unpardonable sins that forever stain our souls. They are simply a patient's where we have. Mist. Kindness invites us to accept the onus of our act at the marcus not as contemptible person. What is fallible one. I'm kind of invites us to extend ourselves to the other. To acknowledge the error we have committed. Pain we have caused an affirm how we value that connection. It is of course not always that easy. Not every offense has a remedy. Best mcewan's book suggested sometimes the only atonement we can offer. Is it imperfect or incomplete. It may not fully resolved. At that first put some. Tourette's. In the effort.. We take the important step outside of our garden circle of self concern and into the blessing. Of community. Into the circle of love. Where. Has hosea ballou declared. Interpret.

uuasheville_org

PoetrySundaySegment27-25-10.mp3

I think it's appropriate that we begin our second segment of poetry with a form of out of birth. App which can also be not only a time of joy but also of introspection. That's laura chop chaises. This child whose birth. This child. Whose birth unleashes mind and heart. Who's golden-cheeked commands my eye to sing. Has yet to speak a word. Yet gentle part speaks eloquent. And soft. The infant king of all his parents kingdoms by the crib he forms for them of time allucid bauer. And from his nest. Against his mother's rib. Ginn's his journey. Measured by the hour. The fearless grace upon his tiny face bespeaks his fragile feats of comic daring. I'm sure as yet. Gravity and space. Aleene's as if in face. Upon our caring. In merest hours he ventures how to see. What does he see. Skin. Who studies me. Jeffrey did christopher aria takes inspiration from those who are working to make this world a better place. Beauty in our hearts. Love in our eyes. How is stride on tapestry that flows with a gentle embrace that caresses the cores of our souls as we crescent with comfort. This tapestry is love. Woven with the intangible indestructible bond of union. With no division of hands. Or hearts before joint. We share food and drink with synchronized gratitude and charity. Embark on voyages navigable by the charting of a team. We create to distribute out of the passion. Fortcraft and comrades. We cast out the differences among and within and are born again. In this we pledge our course. And this we seek to accomplish good. To give kindness to a world we can repair after it is shattered. And forgiving others for their faults. We embrace them as family. So we can match or together. And banish all darkness with our light. We choose to follow up. Difficult path. With undiminished persistence receipt to make all strangers are kin. Without harsh demands we give to those. For a wealthy only in spirit and generosity. We accept from them only face. In civilized values and brotherhood. In this we are never parted. Not even by the inevitability of death. So that all can follow our example. As we follow our hearts united. How we will continue this tradition. Without distraction or deception. And in the end. Triumph in the world. With one voice of peace and love. Donna burton takes her inspiration for her poem from her husband. Alzheimer's. This is the second of series. Sometimes i just sit and think about things. What's love injustice good luck. And when i'm feeling very smart. I know what they all mean. And i could tell you to. Other days i simply cannot define small. Is it like. Little. Just a bit. Tidewe. Simply not big. My husband says. Periodically. I'm the luckiest person in the world. I never say that. Not even on my very best days when i feel smartest and most mac sure. Not even those days when i know. What love and justice and luck are. Tell me. I asked how is that so. I've got. Good health. A loving family. And you he says. And alzheimer's i say to myself. Isn't he lucky. Even under the most horrific circumstances the human spirit can triumph. Executor 11 it found from from his dear friend for this poem. This poem. It's from a story that i'm. Older polish friend told me now deceased. Adoring. X. When he was. Russian gulag. And this is his story. Stanley's. Gulag soul. He kept the scene alive where each day. Merciless. Turns to the next. Hard with hunger. Stabbed with cold. Where the tormentor. And the tormented share the icy dawn. No crime has tortured soul recalled. Only with a shovel. Could you break the cold upon the road meaningless. To nowhere. It goes. In the door he saw on stand. In rags that hung upon his empty frame. And ice. That only turned inside. But on his feet his shoes. The round is his back. Follow glove-like. On his feet. He. In long-ago. Forgotten pride. Somehow kept them shined. Like gold. Destined only to further camps. Hold them against the cold. And for a moment. A smile creased his soul. Maggie barton's poem also offers a lesson in letting go. Nothing. Nothing left for me to do. Noah 2-ton nowhere to hide. Nothing to distract. Nothing. Nothing is my well comes to a stop. Nothing more to do. Mecca why here. Letgo. Let go of the past. Let go of the plan. Let go of the mind. Nothing left for me to do. Nothing more to do. Just climb into the emptiness. Be at peace in that place. Just nothing. Nothing going on. As i stop. The world stops i am poised in this moment. I become the moment. Accepting finally. This is all that is. I realize everything is in this moment. Does sam become a part of the timeless. Stillness. Infinity. Sounds that keep me apart dissolve. And in this moment. I become fluid with the hall. Just like a grain of sand is part of the shore. I breathe into the silence. I breathe out the silence. I become part of lights pulse. Nothing left for me to do. Nothing. I connect with a cloud. Feeling its gentle formlessness. Dreamily drifting along in my own lazy way. Carefree like the clowns. I become a tree standing upright. High branches swaying in the wind. Embracing my vulnerability as i stand. Rooted in this precious moments. Just there. Going nowhere. Being just. It is head that i rest unequivocally with mysterious unknowing. Creation. I feel like peace within the unknowing. Knowing that i no longer need to flee from it into my hole of distractions. No more grabbing no more enticements. No more stuff. Stopping all this drama because nothing compete with this brief. Infinite moment in time. But then this moment i realized the unfolding. As i become part of it. Not my unfolding but this greater deeper mystery. I feel like being part of this wondrous unknowing as i surrender to its bliss rejoicing at being alive. Sometimes we find beauty in the most unexpected places. Add and what others may find not so beautiful. As sandy pot discovered in her poem read by laura job. Secret admirer. I know i'm not supposed to. But sometimes especially in summer. I quietly sympathize with the kudzu. And i smile. Statues that shapes over abandoned cars and barns fences power poles and trees. A wonder vine. That thrives where transplanted half a world away from home. Who's corpulent root. Digs deep where stem touches soil bursting 30 vines. That advance 20in a day. Until first frost withers them gray. But they persist starting in spring where they left off. To shade our porches. Feeder cattle. Shelter earth wakar for highways. To block sun. Break branches. Troop trees. So that some seek to slay it with poison and fire. And many creuset as noxious. Invasive but a few. Women with graying hair plaited down strongbox. Try to transform it. Into baskets. And paper. And i. Late in summer along with the bees. Seek its purple cone blossoms amid ponderous green leaves. And i wish. I could taste. There's sweet. Cigarette. Clay matthews took this year's theme and crafted into a thought-provoking form. Let the beauty we love. B-flat video. We touch the sky by standing tall. Kneeling loaded kiss the ground. We paid her ex with shane of love. Where's the pleasure found. Pushing attendance full of angst. Mining mountains mineral thick. Sculpting frazzle forms of life. We danced the tune. Skip the music. Replay the stage of shifting scenes grandma blurred by ready motion vital energy shape. But spent as waves blend into ocean. Flash mode art by living it. Conceived the fruit of untaught fought. Find joy in what we do that's true. It's where our heartbeats called.

uuasheville_org

140615-Music-Sunday-Reflection.mp3

So the great conductor robert shaw had a response to anyone who asked him why he focused so much of his career on leading choirs. He said he'd come to learn that in his words. You can do something finer together. Then you can buy yourself. And probably nowhere in life to experience that more intensely. Venom choral singing. Members of our choir can tell you that blending your voice with others fills you in a way like nothing else. There is an amazing. Spiritual synergy that takes hold that is larger than the individuals who are a part of it. I know because for many years before entering ministry i was part of a choir at my former congregation in wisconsin. Making music with others. Deepens and changes our experience of it. We hear dimensions and feel resonances so we don't perceive on our own. To this day there are anthems that i sang in the company of those people that will ring with me still. But locate me in a point in time and connect me to people now distance. Orgone. That experience changed and grew when our daughters reached the age where they could join us creating a place of deeper wrestling. Widening their worlds and connecting us. In a special way whatever may have been happening in the tides of their lives or of us as a family. Taking on a different role here has kept me out of our choir. But i enjoy the choir of a sort that we create together each week in this congregation. When we joined in the singing of songs or hymns. Each of us contributes her or his own voice to the mix. Play the song unique shape. Timber. I know though that few of us these days have outlets for singing in our lives. And so many of us come here as reluctant. Ask a crowd of elementary-age kids to sing and they'll join you without hesitation. But unfortunately many of us when we were growing up received the message. Or worse at some point persuaded ourselves that we really don't have a good voice and have no business singing. Such a pain. Because when we make that decision we miss out on a great joy that can be ours. And when i say joy i mean it. You have to do not with your own vocal quality. But with what singing does for us. When you look at the way we are constructed as human beings you could say that we were made for singing. The capacity of our lungs the shape of our mouths and air passages that that musculature that supports at all including those complex folds of the larynx that shape the air we expelled and give it. The vibrations from that sound move through our bodies resonating in our naval cavities through our chest into our bones. Whatever the quality of our voices. Singing really does feel good. It literally gives us. So is it any wonder that from the earliest time. Song has been central to how we human beings mix spiritual connection. Whether it's the chance of the mystics or those foursquare protestant hymns the resonance of our own voices connect us with a deeper residence in ourselves and in the larger world around us. In this religious tradition where we affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We also affirm the capacity of each of us to connect with that resonant with our minds and our bodies. To open ourselves not just metaphorically but literally to open our lungs our throats our mouths to fully express our joy and living. In doing so we invite our song to lift us up. To awaken our hearts. The spark. Our imaginations. And so friends today as we celebrate the music. Strza in worship that opens us that captures our hearts. Let us celebrate the music makers. In each of us. As well. Oh. Let us sing.

uuasheville_org

140706-What-Was-I-Thinking.mp3

My wife is a but my wife is a speech language pathologist and she. Remind me to hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. It is really nice to be here this morning. Another gorgeous mountain day. And it's so nice to see all of you here i was. Passing the golf course that i pass on the way into town near where i live i don't play golf. But i wondered if i were golfer how difficult it would be to pass that up on a day like this. And i am so glad that you have chosen this place as your place to be this more. I was actually on the way in i was figuring out how many people. What number. Would it be that fewer than that and i would feel disappointed and the number i came up with was. Sex. So you are so ago i volunteer to be a worship associate for their coming congregational year. For those of you who don't know what that means worship associates are the people who make sure the sanctuary is in decent order before you get here. Get the candles are in their proper places that the minister has water all those logistical kinds of things. And we get to do the opening words at most surfaces that's the fun part. We got them all over the topic of the sermon. Try to divine where the minister is going to go with her. And come up with some suitable words to introduce the idea. What james has done this morning. A duralast worship associate meeting of the congregational year. When i leave minister markward asked if any of us would be willing to leave a service this summer i raise my hand. What was i thinking. Ray bradbury the science fiction writer is quoted as saying. Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down. And that's more or less what you're seeing in front of you right now building my wings like i'm down. Some of you may remember the. Program radio free bubba which aired on wncw some years back actually we're thinking that's it maybe 30 years ago. Folksy words of wisdom delivered by the likes of meg barnhouse. Who has graced our pulpit on occasion and pat jobe who is the minister at the greenville south carolina uu fellowship. A particular show that i remember is wondering which pat reminisced. About teaching himself. How to do underwater turns in a swimming pool. He was practicing alone in a pool. Not quite able to get it right. An older woman got into a nearby lane and started doing laps. He became self-conscious. Should be able to tell he didn't really know what he was doing. I had an epiphany. He realized that if he wasn't ready to seem foolish. To feel foolish and this stranger's presents. He'd lose the opportunity to practice to learn this skill. He chose to take the risk. And live with the possible embarrassment at not being very good. And worse not looking very good. And the company of a stranger. He understood that in order to become adept at making underwater terms he had to be willing to risk seeming like a fool. So here i am. Prepare to appear foolish. Some of you may say. Okay bob you've managed to do that now what. Allowing oneself to feel foolish requires courage. I researched the word courage looking for something pithy. Something your ristic. Now that's a cool word isn't it. And you don't get to use it everyday. It means something along the lines of serving to indicate or point out stimulating interest as a means of further investigation. That's what ministers do. Stimulate our interest as a means of furthering our own search our own investigation for truth and meaning. That's what's up i'm sure there are church services going on this morning and which parish nerves are not encouraged to think for themselves. But that is fine. Cara few ideas i came across from other writers. This is from mary oliver and her book owls and other fantasies. I want to think again of dangerous and noble things. I want to be light. And frolicsome. I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing. As though i had wings. Mark twain and pudd'nhead wilson. No relation i don't believe it. Wrote. Courage is resistance to fear mastery of fear. Not the absence of fear. Except a creature b park hour. It is not a compliment to say it is brave. It is merely a loose application of the word. Consider the flea. Incomparably. The bravest of all the creatures of god. If ignorance of fear were courage. And this from william ellery channing. There are seasons in human affairs. Of n word. And outward revolution. When new depths seem to be broken up in the soul. When new wants are unfolded in multitude. And a new and undefined good. Is thirsted for. There are periods when. To dare is the highest wisdom. Allowing oneself to feel fleurs. Requires exposing the self. And this helps limitations. Mark ward. Chose to play the recessional 3 weeks ago. He never played the piano for the congregation in the 10 years he's been here. I believe that few people even though that he knew how to play. Much less that he could play at 8. Performance level. Mark told me after the service that is fun i could been in an uproar all week as he prepared. Without even his wife debbie knowing it. For me. Mark demonstrated that he was not just another pretty face in the pulpit. On the way is that of course. Not merely a man of superior intelligence he was wed our congregation in a very positive way this past henry past 10 years. He is a man of courage. Willing to take risks and be one of us. Not trust our leader. When i was a navy midshipmen. I flew a t-34 trainer one summer down in corpus christi texas. Yeah i want to go there in the summer. Had a marine instructor. I learn to do acrobatics wingover figure-eight barrel rolls it was great. I had an instructor i trusted. A machine with the reputation of the plane you couldn't crash. Just follow directions pay attention. Listen to your teacher. And beyond that. There was an organization backing us up in this case. United states navy and the marine corps. I was not up there all alone. A while ago. Our president got in trouble with some people because he had the audacity to suggest that no one makes it alone. If we are successful. There have been other people who have helped and supported us. Who has helped make it happen. People who have beat been behind us if we are falling down or making made mistakes. Although there are those who are referred to as self-made people. No one can make a success of anything. With the help of it without the help of others. And that perhaps is what is most important to me today. The understanding that i do nothing important alone. I didn't learn to do figure eights in that t-34 by myself. I wasn't willing to come up here this morning alone. I have been willing to step out as a member of this congregation. Because of you. Oh i expect there will be some of you who will go home mumbling. We wasted a perfectly good morning listening to that. When missed the wimbledon for crying out loud. I hope they go 5 very lucky. So what was i thinking. When i raise my hand. I think i thought as another cliff off which to jump. It would be exhilarating. And i thought about the psychologist psychotherapist paul fleischman. Who wrote the book the healing spirit. And in that book he suggests that all people. Even those who do not consider themselves religious. Have religious needs. Two of these are witnessed significance. And affirming acceptance. What i do in this congregation is known. Witnessed by. And you. At least most of you as far as i can tell except me. And in your acceptance affirm me. I have friends here who experienced me in a way. Others in my life do not. For others to know our true significant. To accept dinner from us. We must be willing to let herself go. To jump off that cliff. That is how you will know me. This is how we will know you. And this is how we will know ourselves.

uuasheville_org

12-11-Buddha-Belly-A-Theology-Of-Joy-1.m4a

I talk to you the first time i say thank you and it is entirely impossible to follow and i touch it. I am a lifelong you're trying your versus that's not the last 15 years in the army mostly on active duty and i came out from active duty 2 years ago. And many of my sundays i have free so i will treat you different congregation or visit different kinds of nations. But i have to say this morning is the first time. And i seen the time for all ages for the song and dance. A beautiful way to demonstrate a great message. Okay thank you again for having me today. I'm probably one of the few ministers that brings aforethought illegal like this to the pulpit. And i was wondering if we could begin with you and don't swing me. I'd like to conduct an experiment. Will you remember me in an hour. Maybe something interesting. Remember me in a month. Knock knock. So this is the joke. Told to me from the back of my car so you can hear a smile and someone's voice i can tell you this big grin on his face and he was going to this joke. And it wasn't until i got to the entrance and knock knock who's there you forgot me already i laughed so hard i almost drove off. And he was so proud of himself to remember the entire jones but i've heard this not once.. Proverb. That wasn't chosen to the body laughter is to the soul. This morning to get good and clean if you'll so indulge me. To bring a buddha belly of giggling and lightness into our worship. An exploration of the sacred theology of joy. Never ever mark and i were talking in his office will pass buddha sitting tranquil under the bodhi tree it's not the emancipated buddha that is pushing the further limits of self-denial this is around buddha of self-indulgence of living fully in the world where laughter is a part of how we worship and celebrate. Life and community together. There's a light-hearted joy. Set a good joke readings and it's impossible not to smile so perhaps you smiled a little bit. Angel baby and talk to me for another story. The prisoner and i are sharing a leading congregations on the same street. I need besides enjoying their work i want to be ecologically responsible share resources. And he says well this is holy work beverages this is sacred work in caring for our community so i'm blessing our car. The robotix ramona. And she rushes back into the synagogue. And she grabbed some oil. And a hacksaw. Now why is this morning i've been in the army for 13 years and i would be remiss and even saying that because my mentor and dear friend chaplain colonel retired christy muller. One thing i've learned in my very brief time in the army is that they love defend us for training. I don't have enough education in and one of my most memorable courses is called the combat medical ministry in emergency course. Contact fort sam houston in texas. An app for learning how to be chaplains responsible and conscientious in talks with chaplains on the battlefield and in the hospitals and at age stations who do they teach us how to stand in a way that's helpful and supportive without getting away making things worse. But it sounds like they used to being an environment. Washington beholding and learning and growing and all these new ways of comprehending what it is to be a chaplain in the middle of bad things happening. One of my instructors told us a joke and said we laugh. Remember why we cry. Relax remember why we cry just said you can't have a rose without navigating the thorns. We laughed remember why we cry because there is joy and pain in this world. And this is thorny theology of joy is not to just look at the beauty before us. But to remember the suffering and within our communities. Our family is our country and across this world. Remember why we cry. Master pushes lights and lace back into broken and hurting places. As creations of the sacred. It brings oxygen back to refresh our spirits. It's hard not to feel better after a good laugh. Try not to release smile and feel lighter and i need filled. A physical manifestation of joy. We feel more alive we feel more presents we feel more connected and smile. Rabbi sidney minutes arabesque. When you said when you left. Aside from the endorphin rush. I could feeling that we guess there's also a spiritual opening in our hearts. Rabbi rides you're not so tight inside yourself. He said i've come. Second opening is a real gift. The loudness to become more open spiritually. And right now it's easy to feel tight inside. I heard more times than i can count waking up then wednesday morning. It's easy to feel tight inside it's easy to scared and alone and frightened and worried. And it's easy to go too long without recognizing how tight inside we are. Part of our calling as people of faith. Is being able and willing to look at those hard places within ourselves. Within our communities and our worlds. To acknowledge the ways in which we fall short of our highest aspirations eye-opening words this morning on my favorites. May we be reminded here of our highest aspirations. Those words are to mess our intentions everhart with her actions in our lives. As people of faith we choose to see. To feel the way in which our kin are suffering clothes and farro. The first principle our shared principal of our faith is that we affirm what. Inherent worth and dignity of all people. Sounds crazy but it took me until late junior high to memorize that. It's on my fridge using my children now. We affirm the inherent worth and dignity of all. People. Finger dragon lisa this morning she has a pin that says all. These all. I know all is in rainbow colors this is a place of radical welcome this is a place where we choose to see. Choose to hear and feel the cries of injustice. We choose to examine as people of faith are points of privilege. Ar points at power and influence his systems of oppression. Now if you were to follow me around for a day or a week and ricky battle by my schedule. The most ministers by nature according to the myers-briggs. Can i take a digital pulse of the world's my community my going online reading books reading local newspaper. I live outside of dc source washington post it's a horror story every morning.. And recently i was reading about standing rock. I'm a friend of mine had posted on social media about all hundreds of you turn your verse was that came from around the country. Christian witness and standing wrong. An example of unitarian universalist ministers and clergy who went to pray and offer support and stand with the water protectors at standing rock. Leaving our face. Our hard work is not just within our congregations learning to love and live together our hard work is in the streets and our community is that across this country is sammy witness to our face. And i certify smiling. Loving my colleagues and appreciating them so much and the work of our congregations to bring in love and justice to the world. But then i made a mistake cuz i want to know what time the steak was can you guess where the mistake was. Lives alongside wisdom and truth and justice and actual news. That word is having slippery definition of a sudden actual. Validated. Fact check news. And that mine is becoming grey. And the ways in which the worst of humanity appears he is on some of these articles and it's easy to feel tight inside. And it feels like a step back. It feels like we're not moving in the right direction so when we are faced. Without intolerance. Gosh. Harassment that's violence. Ability to accept those who are different from others with love. When faced with hate we praying with love and now this morning. In reflecting on her face. We pray with love. And we laughed to remember why there is time to cry and there is always time to cry and reasons to cry. So it's impossible to look at the beauty and joy of the world without acknowledging the broken and the pain of existence. When we experience a heart. Physically and psychologically socially emotionally. The body is often the first place we feeling remember when i asked you go like this. Integrity breath rumination. Did you feel it in your shoulders the weight of the world the garden cemetery. We carry these parts with us an oxygen and lighted laughter brings that journey back into our bodies. I heard you to go for a home and get on youtube. Don't wait,. And google a video from john cleese. Now i know john krasinski actor from fawlty tower some people tell me he was in some famous movie or two. Has donahue documentaries and when he traveled to mumbai india and visited laster camps. So imagine a bunch of people on the beach. Laughing together. Just laughing. Laughing with joy laughing with tears big last-mile nasty healing mass. Laughing together and it's impossible not to smile and shackle yourself. If you watch these videos. The self-proclaimed and founder of these laughter kim. Call the laughter of evangelist his name is dr. madan kataria. Can you imagine a laughing typically needle after ventriloquism. His laughter evangelist actor katrina has started over 5,000 lots of clothes in 53 different countries across the world. Every single human will be hit with some sort of four of us suffering. And pain. And bringing life and laughter into the world is his mission. And john cena says he's taking this video even go to al after camp in prison for violent offenders. Together. He reflected that they connect people. It's impossible to maintain any sort of social hierarchy when your howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy john cleese rides. After chuckling snickering snorting chortling he's laughter cams for an hour or spend the time together. But then they lay down. Understand. Hypothyroid over their hearts. And they pray for peace. Has the reading says if we want peace in the world peace must start animations. We want peace in the nations peace must start in the cities if there is to be peace in the cities there must be peace in our home if there is to be peace in our home is there to be peace in our hearts to relax and bring peace into our hearts. And we remember the ways in which we come together. In the complexity of life. One of the responsibilities i have is the assistant minister in my congregation is knoxville is to teach adult faith formation. And we're doing build your own theology. We were talking with her about the complexity that it is to be a unitarian universalist. I wanted an allergy someone uses. Catholic church most of her life. Left accommodation and then came to your terry russell is about 5 years ago. She said it's like walking in the gray. Being in chinese restaurants. We're not so black-and-white and i thinking. It's not joy or became. It's not suffering or. Completely not ecology we think we both. We strive to secret love. As we sit in our communities we celebrate with the candles. Type a witness to that we honor the celebrations would also the pain that many are carrying. Tell me one more time. Michelle bonds over yet another unitarian universalist. Thanks to jeff foxworthy. Goodnight being unitarian universalist. If you are unsure about the gender of god. My favorite might be a unitarian universalist if you have trouble singing the hymns because you're always reading ahead sissy. If you agree with the word. To have many doubts could be considered a crisis of faith to have time send out is to be a unitarian universalist. How many unitarian universalist does it take to change a lightbulb. 1. Jamaica song statement. Assalam spademan ritual affirmed the following. We affirm the rights of all michael through into the sockets of their choice. Define its fullest potential its best opportunity to develop itself in his path. So there is a thorny theology of joy. And as i was reflecting on this complexity if i had lunch with my soupy teacher last week and he told me of the prayer circles he did every month of saint john the divine in new york city. I'm a man have this time together and it would be an interfaith prayer circle for peace. And they were saying you met with chance and our hearts and our souls would expand their faith would be refreshed. But they would leave their time together. And i love this would go down to times square. To be reminded of the complexity of life. W reminded of how we live our faith in the midst of the dizziness. In the midst of the horrendous the gospel. In the midst of the tragedies that are two omnipresent. And also the reason with creation is refreshed each and every day. We delight in this world because we are apart of this world. We are called to be a part of the interdependent web of all existence in our choices. Even when i asked my children what does it mean to be a game-changer versus my child says it means you can believe whatever you want. After years of being entertaining first with minister you think my own children would have a better answer for this.. Is it is a search for truth in meaning which is a responsibility. It's a privilege and a responsibility. So as you find your truth is how do you integrate that truth into your life how do we live out. Affirming the inherent worth and dignity of all people how do we live out the intention pendant with a bottle distance. Our choices matter. Our witness matter. And a likeness in which we bring to the world matters. Dipsy ology of promoting human decency. Geology and epic of lawsuits are sacred calling. It is with love and greatheart we laughed together. Febreze life connection. And celebrate the real power of communities. Remind you of the words today by the persian poet cuffy's when he proclaimed. What is this precious love. And laughter. By being in our hearts. It is a glorious sound. Of a soul waking up. I'm in. Blessed be.

uuasheville_org

150607-Southern-Flame.mp3

So gordon gibson who we heard from earlier. This story of a couple who moved from washington dc. To jackson mississippi. In the 1960s. Standing on his lawn supervising the unloading of the moving van. When a car pulled up. A man emerged from the car and greeted the husband. He introduced himself as the minister of a nearby baptist church and invited the couple to attempt. Husband thank the minister for the invitation. But said that they would be attending the unitarian universalist congregation in town. The minister. Hesitated for a moment he said. You know. They shot the minister of that church. The reception for unitarian universalists in the south has not always been so chilly. But the truth is that even today or numbers in this part of the country. Are relatively small. For many reasons those who seek to make a place for our faith in the religious landscape. Kira can find it to be an uphill struggle. And yeah cuz we know directly. There are many people here and across the south. Who hunger for religion in the kind of different key. That we offer. At a time when congregations are other denominations are closing we are holding our own. In this part of the country. What sound congregations growing and new ones being added. We in fact believe that there's room for growth here in western north carolina. But you'll be hearing more about that in the future. Today. I want to acquaint you with a bit of the story of how liberal religion has made its way here. Best of what i see is the promise of our chalices southern flame. Are numbers on the smile for south may be small but it's worth remembering that in some locations our roots go quite deep. The first unitarians in the south arrived as the as the early commercial centers were being developed. Charleston in new orleans being prominent examples. In 1817 the independent congregational church in charleston took on a unitarian identity after one of its ministers announced that he had been persuaded by the theology of joseph priestley. Couple of years later that minister was succeeded by a harvard-trained seminarian samuel gilman who has deep connections to the unitarian establishment in boston. Thunder gilman the church grew to prominence serving some 400 members and prominent figures like the receptionist senator john calhoun. 1954 gilman go to the congregation to remodel its building into the impressive structure that remains there today. But the debate over slavery created difficulties. Dillman privately supported the union. But he and his wife had house slaves. If she was a public champion of slavery. His death in 1858 just before the war resulted in many years of turmoil for the charleston church. New orleans followed a similar path. Theodore clap was first called the first presbyterian church in 1823 only the second protestant. Church in new orleans. But soon after arriving began expressing his reservations about calvinist doctrine. In 1832 the presbytery they're convicted him of heresy and ordered him expelled. But the congregation stuck with him at 1837 declared itself unitarian. Class was a popular speaker and was sent to a drawing as many as 1,000. Cheapest weekly service. Unfortunately he was also a vocal apologist for slavery. Though he later shifted his position. Arguing that the essence of religion was against slavery but he opposed any abolition efforts. He retired later to kentucky shortly before the civil war though it was later buried in new orleans. Play members of the new orleans congregation kept it alive though making it one of the only 27 unitarian churches to survive the war. Are universalists was different. The faith there was spread largely through circuit-riding saddlebag preachers. Put in the country. Dominated by calvinists they encouraged deep suspicion of tell denying religion. In some cases towns where they were where they found welcome had been seated before with universalist thought from german baptist settlers dunker. In those communities they would often formed the nucleus of the early universe was churches. Here in western north carolina it appears that john plot. Who helped found the universalist church in the kitchen valley in 1865 and persuaded james in them to be as first minister came from a dunkard family. It didn't help though that many universalist. How many views universalism as a northern import that took a dim view of slavery. As it happens though as with unitarian churches organized many of these new universalist had no problem accommodating slavery. This conflict develop into a rift in the universalists dominate denomination that divided. And in the end few universalist congregation survived the civil war. It took decades before the faith spread south again. Going nineteenth-century then was the time of rebuilding. Although the universalists devoted more attention to the task than unitarian. Who's outreach to the south involved just two or three congregations they tried to get started. For the end of the century a self-designated universalist missionary. Quinton quinton. Move to the south planting several dozen small world churches. Many though were little more than family churches and few injured very long. It took until the middle of the 20th century. For renewal to come in the south. And this time it came from the unitarian side. With what became known as the fellowship. The way it worked was like this would be placed publicizing unitarianism and inviting anyone interested to meet a representative of the denomination. At the meeting the representative would describe the religion and offer support for those who want to startle a light congregation. That pretty much describes the beginning. If you check a directory of unitarian universalist congregation in the south today you'll find few with a founding date before 1940. It was coach fellowships that got us going again. Has gordon gibson puts points out in his book southern witness. The post-war period of the late 40s and early 50s transformed the entire country. But was a special pressure here in the south. Many factors including the return of soldiers from overseas a booming manufacturing sector and new accessibility to college to the gi bill was stirring up what was then and had been a pretty insular culture. Play let fellowships appealed especially to those recent college graduates and the transplant. Who discovered in the words of the advertisement of the time that they were unitarians and didn't know it. The early days were heady and liberating time. But some congregations got strong push back. For questioning religious ideas traditional religious ideas in that area. As well as long-standing social practices and none of them was more incendiary than racial segregation. Where integration efforts had were underway the fellowships were often right in the middle of it. Largely white congregations invited african-american speakers for worship. They welcomed african americans as members they started integrated daycare centers voting rights campaign's supported integrated schools in swimming pools. We're here were magnum. We help provide breakfasts breakfasts and clothing for african american children. But for many congregation. Testicles pointing out. Sometimes it was just strange men from their neighbors sometimes the cost is greater. Williamson and i began with example. The reverend don thompson made a statement about his ministry when he arrived in 1963 as the first minister of the congregation in jackson mississippi but also accepting a position on the mississippi human relations council that was created by the assassination of medgar evers. He took a place. During his tenure thompson help coordinate programs during mississippi's freedom summer. In the summer after the civil rights marches in selma the congregation open the first integrated head start program in jackson. August 23rd 1965 thompson had just dropped an african-american member of the congregation off of his apartment. Medemerge from the car from his car in a parking lot near his home when two shots rang out. One bullet missed. The other fractured his left shoulder. Thompson survive. I'm just determined to stay. Lspa fbi agents warned him that there was a credible threat against his life. The congregation struggled without a minister for several years having to sell its building and move to a smaller house nearby. It's a story that corey gordon gibson knows personally. Pnc what's the next minister to follow him. Iraq in 1969 and stayed for several years as long as the church could pay him. Resigning when they couldn't. And yet he remained in jackson for the next seven years. Working for the federal equal opportunity commission. Until he returned to the congregations part-time minister. From 1978 to 84. You'll get to hear more from gordon this summer but he comes here to speak on august 9th. Hockey stores in the south from that time are quite so dramatic. But many aspects of the story and jackson were mirrored elsewhere in quieter ways. I'm more from the night it was flame a rub of the ministers who bore the brunt. Somewhere doctors who saw their practices dwindle. Father has lost jobs that were threatened or abused. Some were involved in making history. We remember for example that maurice d founder of the southern poverty law center is a one-time president of the uu. Fellowship of montgomery. Many were part of demonstrations in selma including several dozen from the birmingham in huntsville churches who joined the march on the dallas county courthouse. The day before bloody sunday. Gordon argues that the history of the civil rights movement could probably be written without unitarian universalist. Her numbers were small and are influenced fairly negligible. There were places we made notable contributions. Important lesson he says it's not how we helped liberate african-american. But, being part of the civil rights movement helped liberate european-americans that largely populated our congregations. Those southern fellowships promoted an approach to religion that was open and accepting but also a crucible for dissenting ideas and religious questioning. Values central to our identity. Affirming the worth of every person. Freedom justice equity compassion. The interconnection of all things. The congregations they were sometimes quirky. Sometimes warm. But the struggles they encountered forced them to test those beliefs over and over again. The group's could endure. I'm out all did. Their bond and their commitments word ethan. Pattern it's not that far from we what we saw recently in the struggle for marriage equality. Being tested as we work helped us get clear on just who we were and what we stood for. It's an experience that gordon gibson argues is not dissimilar to the lessons of liberation theology that emerge not long after this time in central and south america. People who stayed with our fellowships he said we're forced to adapt to what was essentially a style a praxis. Reflecting on their beliefs articulating them putting them into practice and returning again to reflection. Over and offered each step leaving them teeth. Into their faith. Southern society said. By opposing many central unitarian universalist values forest southern unitarian universalist into a deeper understanding formulation i'm more passionate embrace of those values. Often leading to an active practical expression. Warm bodies. A value. So it's interesting to reflect on the lessons that are moving southern experience has to teach acenar work today. To begin with we have learned that this religion has staying power. Even in the face of steadfast and sometimes violent opposition. And that key to that staying power is being openly engaged in the communities where we live. We learned that leaving our faith is a cat. Strengthening and deepening it. So we are wise today as a community to create opportunities for and to invite each other into work that helps us get there. From the reflection within on our own centers of meaning. To the articulation among us in small groups that helps a rough and refined are thinking and are feeling. To practice in the larger world that is flesh to our convictions. And we learned that community map. When we have each other's back. When we can say yes to helping when we can when we are ready with care and support for each other during the struggles we endure. Southern flame that we carry. The flame of refining fire that focuses and concentrates are wisdom. Illumination where there was once confusion. I've witnessed it calls people to action. Compassion. And abiding love for all. This is how has the reverend hoover put it we can learn from and build on the past. We can ask even we can we can't be sure of the results. We can endure pain. And tears. Frustration and confusion and know that if we stay true they will empower and transformers. But that. Pr like.