More “eye-candy” today, as my time is short.

This fabulous mural, titled “400 Years of Living Unitarian History,” is located at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica, California, and was painted by Ann Elizabeth Thiermann. How many figures can you name?

One of the challenges in a faith that does not profess a specific system of belief is the ultimate question of good and evil. How do we judge moral behavior without a supreme moral authority outside of ourselves? How do we live our values?

The answer is of course multi-layered, and open ended. This excerpt from Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803-April 27, 1882) gives us a place to start in an ongoing dialogue.

Emerson is seen by some as the quintessential Transcendentalist, a true “father” of modern Unitarian Universalism. Although he graduated from Harvard Divinity School and was ordained as a Unitarian minister, he left the official ministry after just three years in the parish due to theological and philosophical differences.

He spent much of the rest of his life lecturing and writing, and much of his writing is now online. This snippet comes from one of his earliest sermons, collected at emersonsermons.com, before he left his parish, probably written in the late summer of 1827. His text is a phrase found in I Timothy 5:4, in the King James: “let them learn first to shew piety at home.” His own records show that he preached this message no fewer than 27 times!

As with any material from this time period, you’ll want to engage your internal translator.

from an 1827 sermon numbered “X” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803-April 27, 1882)

It is the duty of but very few of us to command armies or rule or counsel nations. If we therefore keep our virtue in store till it find a field which we shall think worthy of its action it will wait long, or rather it will never exist for virtue exists only in action.

(Read on … )

One of the beauties of Unitarian Universalism is that we draw inspiration and wisdom from so many sources, among them direct experience of transcending mystery and wonder, and another the words and deeds of prophetic women and men. So, I’ll be branching out a bit more as I select material for this website, to include more of these kinds of things, as well as writings from our own members and leaders.

It seems that when life gets busy, it gets harder and harder to take a moment to hold still and really look at the people around us, particularly children who seem to never stop moving and growing. This poem by Elizabeth Spires from her book Now the Green Blade Rises, featured by the Writer’s Almanac on May 25, 2007, helps me to focus, for just a fleeting moment, on what enormity there really is in this journey of life.

“The Faces of Children”

by Elizabeth Spires

Meeting old friends after a long time, we see
with surprise how they have changed, and must imagine,
despite the mirror’s lies, that change is upon us, too.

Once, in our twenties, we thought we would never die.
Now, as one thoughtlessly shuffles a deck of cards,
we have run through half our lives.

The afternoon has vanished, the evening changing
us into four shadows mildly talking on a porch.
And as we talk, we listen to the children play
the games that we played once. In joy and terror,
they cry out in surprise as the seeker finds the one in hiding,
or in fairytale tableau, each one is tapped and turned

to stone. The lawn is full of breathing statues who wait
to be changed back again, and we can do nothing but stand
to one side of our children’s games, our children’s lives.

We are the conjurors who take away all pain,
and we are the ones who cannot take away the pain at all.
They do not ask, as lately we have asked ourselves,

Who was I then? And what must I become?
Like newly minted coins, their faces catch
the evening’s radiance. They are so sure of us,

more sure than we are of ourselves. Our children:
who gently push us toward the end of our own lives.
The future beckons brightly. They trust us to lead them there.

Source: “The Faces of Children” by Elizabeth Spires from her book Now the Green Blade Rises, featured by the Writer’s Almanac on May 25, 2007.

A visual and contemplative treat for today: an exploration of Unitarian Universalist labyrinths.

Many Unitarian Universalists find the practice of walking a labyrinth to be extremely fulfilling, and many of our congregations have permanent labyrinths in or near their buildings.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff in Dallas, Texas, has a beautiful setting for theirs:

“Though circular in design, the four directions have been consulted. The opening is to the east, it also is the exit. Here is the place to pause, to wait, to think or empty out your thoughts. Then step within and let the pathway guide your feet while your mind is elsewhere occupied. There is no must or should, as your experience will be unique.”

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin, Illinois hosts the Earth-Wisdom Labyrinth, modeled after the famous 11-circuit design laid into the floor of the medieval cathedral at Chartres, France:

Rev. Dan Brosier says, “The labyrinth is here to keep the spiritual dialogue open—to be a reminder that there are a number of paths to the sacred.”

This one was spotted at the Unitarian Church in Princes Street, Cork, Ireland:

Other congregations have come up with not so permanent ways to enjoy the spiritual benefits of a labyrinth, such as the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Virginia, who have reproduced the Chartres pattern on canvas:

When we lived in Milwaukee, I had a chance to walk either this canvas labyrinth on loan or one exactly like it. It was set up in the upper chapel, and provided a wonderful, although needfully temporary, experience.

What better way to acknowledge the great Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who the nation honors today, than in his own words?

Dr. King spoke to the 1966 Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in Hollywood, Florida, as the distinguished Ware Lecturer. His remarks are very long, so I reprint only a segment here. The entire address can be found on the UUA website.

For some context, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was in 1955-56, the “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered on the Washington Mall in 1963, and the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1964. At the time of this speech, the Civil Rights Act had been in place for not quite two years, and the Voting Rights Act for not quite one year. Dr. King was tragically killed almost exactly two years later.

Note: I have added some paragraph breaks to make this easier to read.

from the Ware Lecture to the 1966 Unitarian Universalist Association

by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Another thing about this philosophy [non-violence] which is often misunderstood and that it says that at its best the love ethic can be a reality in a social revolution. Most revolutions in the past have been based on hope and hate, with the rising expectations of the revolutionaries implemented by hate for the perpetrators of the unjust system in the old order. I think the different thing about the revolution that has taken place in our country is that it has maintained the hope element and at the same time it has added the dimension of love.

Many people would disagree with me and say that love hasn’t been there. I think we have to stop and talk about what we mean in this context because I would be the first to say that it is nonsense to urge oppressed people to love their violent oppressors in an affectionate sense. And I’m certainly not talking about that when I talk above love standing at the center of our struggle. I think it is necessary to see the meaning of love in higher terms. The Greek language has three words for love – one is the eros, another is the word filio, and another is the word agape. I’m thinking not of eros, or of friendship as expressed in filio, but of agape, which is understanding, creative, redemptive good will for all men, an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. When one rises to love on this level, he loves a person who does the evil deed while hating the deed. I believe that in our best moments in this struggle we have tried to adhere to this.

(Read on … )

This poem by Marge Piercy exquisitely expresses the longing for Spring that many of us feel at this time of year.

Ms. Piercy has written many poems that are used in Unitarian Universalist worship services, and she has written some specifically for this use, in her words, “poetry intended for public performance by people who are not poets.”

Winter Promises

by Marge Piercy

Tomatoes rosy as perfect baby’s buttocks,
eggplants glossy as waxed fenders,
purple neon flawless glistening
peppers, pole beans fecund and fast
growing as Jack’s Viagra-sped stalk,
big as truck tire zinnias that mildew
will never wilt, roses weighing down
a bush never touched by black spot,
brave little fruit trees shouldering up
their spotless ornaments of glass fruit:

I lie on the couch under a blanket
of seed catalogs ordering far
too much. Sleet slides down
the windows, a wind edged
with ice knifes through every crack.
Lie to me, sweet garden-mongers:
I want to believe every promise,
to trust in five pound tomatoes
and dahlias brighter than the sun
that was eaten by frost last week.

Source: “Winter Promises” by Marge Piercy.

I was approached at church this week by a visitor who had one question: “How would you explain this religion to me in a nutshell?”

I’m ashamed to say that I punted — lucky for me that my minister husband was standing right there and could jump in. I struggle with brevity and yet clarity of language for explaining this faith, as I think many of us do. And so, today I bring us one take on “A Unitarian Universalist Catechism” that I find immensely helpful.

The Rev. Richard S. Gilbert has written many books that have enhanced our theological movement along with his long service to many churches, including the First Unitarian Church of Rochester, New York, where he preached this sermon on October 15, 2000.

While Standing On One Foot: A Unitarian Universalist Catechism

by the Rev. Richard S. Gilbert

There is an old story in the Jewish tradition of the man who asked Rabbi Shamai to teach him Judaism while standing on one foot. Shamai, notoriously impatient, chased the man away. Then he went to Rabbi Hillel and made the same request. While standing on one foot, Rabbi Hillel responded: “Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t have them do to you. That is all the Torah; all the rest is commentary. Now go and learn it.”

That story suggested a similar question: how might we respond if we are asked to define Unitarian Universalism? By the water cooler at work? At a dinner party with neighbors? Or speaking with our Unitarian Universalist friends here at church? What is the essence of our liberal religious faith — and more — how do we articulate it? Succinctly! We are likely to be embarrassed. It is almost as if we had been asked to undress in public.

(Read on … )

I don’t have a reading for you this morning, but rather a series of questions.

This site’s readership is between 30-50 pageloads per post, not counting random Google searches. So, I’m at the point where I need some help.

What do you want to see here?

What is working, and what isn’t?

Am I choosing things that are too long, too short, just right?

What kinds of themes are you interested in?

Are there subjects that are not adequately represented?

Am I spending too much time on certain things?

Does the Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule work, or should I go to Tuesday-Thursday?

Any specific suggestions on authors I should be looking at?

The more constructive comments you all can provide, the better I can make the site. Please speak up.

Sometimes even the briefest of statements can lift our hearts and strengthen our resolve. These closing words by Rev. Susan L. Van Dreser, recently retired from the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg, Canada, do just that.

Let us sing the magic of imagination

by Rev. Susan L. Van Dreser

Let us sing the magic of imagination by which we know one another and learn the lives of eras gone by.

Let us sing the magic of creation by which we build the world of our soul and teach its wisdom to others, young and old.

Let us sing the magic of our lives together, holding and shaping by the movement of breath from heart to lung all new life that is to come.

Go now with singing. Go now with magic in your fingertips. Touch this world with life.

Source: “Let us sing the magic of imagination” by the Rev. Susan L. Van Dreser, recently retired from the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg, Canada, from the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Worship Web.

On Monday, Doug Muder reminded us why we belong to religious community.

Today, Rev. Audette Fulbright, from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke, Virginia, reminds us that what we find inside the walls of our religious communities is something that deserves a greater audience than just those sitting in the pews.

UU Evangelism/Sharing Our Good News

by the Rev. Audette Fulbright

Let me start with a combination story/article that comes from a UU Minister and someone now serving as a district exec., the Rev. John Morgan:

“A few weeks ago, I happened to use “evangelism” in a sermon. As I was gathering together my notes and heading for the coffee, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that someone was marching toward me, faced flushed, angry eyes looking for a landing spot on my psyche.

“Don’t ever use that word here,” she said.

“What word?” I asked innocently, already knowing from past experiences what she was going to say.

“Evangelism!” She drew back as if the word itself had caught in her throat. I think it had. “Don’t use it again. We have newcomers here today!”

(Read on … )