Today’s selection is really a treat. I went looking for Unitarian Universalist perspectives on the events in Pearl Harbor, the attack that happened on this day in 1941, and came across the writings of Rev. John B. Isom (December 2, 1909 - April 23, 2004), who served as an Army chaplain during World War II. He was a Baptist minister, who then underwent a theological crisis and became a Unitarian in 1955. He served churches in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Louisville, Kentucky, Wichita, Kansas, and the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines, Iowa, where he was named an emeritus in 1975.

Rev. Isom was quite a prolific writer, and his children and grandchildren have collected many of his works for the public to read. The excerpt I chose for today is from “As I Remember Me,” Rev. Isom’s memoir, specifically dealing with his theological crisis. His reading of Albert Schweitzer’s The Quest for the Historic Jesus was a major tipping point for him, which he describes here. What strikes me is the pain that is evident in Rev. Isom’s realizations that he can no longer believe what he was raised to believe, and his sense of loss as he comes to these realizations.

I hear echoes of the sermon I posted last Friday, in which the Rev. James Covington states, “No, my friends, you and I are not free to believe anything we choose. You and I believe what we must. The beauty and genius of a faith like ours is that we are not asked to pretend to believe things we do not believe. You and I are not free to choose what we believe, but we are free to stay with our religious community when we grow and when we change our minds.”

For consideration: Have you experienced a crisis of faith? Have you experienced a conversion to Unitarian Universalism, not just from another religion, but perhaps a moment of realization of your commitment to your faith?

From “As I Remember Me”

by Rev. John B. Isom

When I went to Spartanburg, as I have already confessed, I had some serious doubt about some things I was expected to believe and teach as a Baptist minister. I knew then that I had no hard evidence to justify me believing some of the very basic assumptions which were essential to the Christian faith of Baptists and most other Christian believers, such as the Bible being the holy word of a supernatural being called God, who created the heavens and the earth and all life therein; the supernatural events associated around the birth, life and death of Jesus; Heaven and Hell as places for the eternal abode of all human beings. By the time I read “The Quest for the Historic Jesus” I knew I had no evidence for believing such assumptions. All I had left was a very dim hope that such evidence might still be found. After reading “The Quest for the Historic Jesus” that dim hope was no longer possible. There are a number of reasons why that book made me face up to the truth of my disbelief in the basic essentials of the faith as taught in most Christian churches.

(Read on … )

One of the struggles in Unitarian Universalism is to balance the needs of the individual with the needs of the community, to go beyond the individualism that a free search for truth and meaning can sometimes foster, and to see our place as part of a greater Whole.

The Rev. Tom Owen-Towle, currently serving as the interim minister at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito, California, spoke beautifully on these concepts to his congregation this September, urging and challenging members to build Beloved Community (pdf) right where they are planted.

For consideration: how does membership in your community challenge you to become more than you are by yourself?

Growing the Beloved Community!

by Rev. Tom Owen-Towle

I wrote a book recently on what I consider the 12 hallmarks of healthy congregations. Now, there’s been a lot written on theology, from every conceivable angle, but precious little on ecclesiology, especially the art of being and doing church the liberal religious way, our Unitarian Universalist Fellowship way.

I will be conducting a Saturday morning workshop, November 17th, here at our Fellowship, on this very topic. I hope you will plan to participate.

As San Dieguitans you pride yourselves on being individual questers: pursuing the good, the true, and the beautiful in your own fashion. And so you should, and so do I. But, I dare say, there’s more to this strange, wondrous business of progressive religion. Being a solitary traveler is but a 100% half-truth. For Unitarian Universalism, at its finest and fullest, demands far more of its adherents than rugged independence. It requires that we become builders and sustainers of the interdependent web wherever we’re planted.

(Read on … )

On Monday we heard from the Rev. A. Powell Davies, a formative figure in the history of Unitarian Universalism. What some may not realize, is that at the side of such prophetic, successful, figures is usually a partner, and helpmate - in Rev. Davies’ case, his wife Muriel A. Davies.

After her husband’s death, Mrs. Davies continued his work, most notably serving as the organizing director for the River Road church in Bethesda, Maryland. This church now has over 600 members, and on November 19th, 2007, Mrs. Davies’ 100th birthday, the congregation ordained her as a Minister Emerita:

“There was no minister in the beginning and for 18 months she was the sole staff person,” said the Rev. Scott Alexander, minister of River Road. “She contacted the families, and then got the church school going. And she did all this from an office in her home.”

. . .

“It was wonderful,” said Davies, contacted later at home. “The day and the ordination meant a great deal more to me than I can say. My connection with River Road is very important to me. I went through a very hard time when my husband died in 1957. The church really changed my life. It gave me self-confidence and I became a different person through that job with the church.”

There aren’t many works by Rev. Mrs. Davies on the internet, but I was able to find a jewel of a sermon that she gave on May 17, 1998, the occasion of the 90th Anniversary of the Unitarian Church in Summit, New Jersey. Enjoy.
(Read on … )