First Existentialist Congregation

NEWS: Eboo Patel and Wendell Berry are among the featured speakers at Louisville, Ky., meeting in June.

IDEAS: We need a secular Easter mythology.

Congregations embrace jazz in worship

The Atlantic looks at the use of jazz music in Christian worship, and talks to the Rev. Galen Guengerich, senior minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York, whose congregation has held jazz services since 2000. (The Atlantic – 3.14.13)

Guengerich also appears in a 2003 UU World feature article about jazz and Unitarian Universalist theology.

UUs work to improve their communities

A small group of volunteers, primarily members of the UU Church of Fresno, Calif., has been working to improve conditions in local homeless encampments. (indybay.org – 3.14.13)

First Religious Society (UU) of Newburyport, Mass., has joined with three other area congregations to raise money to restore and maintain a local playground. (Newburyport Daily News – 3.18.13)

The Champlain Valley UU Society in Middlebury, Vt., hosted a forum on “Our Guns, Our Towns, Our Questions,” to help educate the community about current firearms regulations and the ways firearms affect peoples’ lives. (The Addison Independent – 3.14.13)

Mysterious graffiti, immigration reform, and more

A stencil-style graffiti image of 18th-century writer Mary Wollstonecraft has appeared on the side of the Newington Green Unitarian Chapel in London, England, coinciding with a current campaign to create a statue to the feminist icon. (Islington Gazette – 3.15.13)

In an article about clergy seeking immigration reform, the Rev. Susan Karlson, of the Unitarian Church of Staten Island in New Brighton, N.Y., talks about the difficulties immigrants often face trying to access government services, healthcare, and more. (Staten Island Advance – 3.16.13)

UU Treasurer Tim Brennan talks about the Association’s decision to leave its historic home on Beacon Hill and relocate to South Boston. (WBZ-AM Radio – 3.15.13)

The Rev. Jeff Liebmann, of the UU Fellowship of Midland, Mich., is quoted in a story about a stalled state Senate bill that would let health care insurers and providers opt out of offering services based on moral objections. (90.5 WKAR – 3.15.13)

The Rev. Dr. Stanley Sears, of the UU Society of Auburn, N.Y., writes that, rather than giving something up for Lent, he uses it as an opportunity to talk about faith. (The Auburn Citizen – 3.17.13)

UUA on the move

The UUA’s move from Beacon Hill was a hot topic in UU social media this week. The Rev. Dan Harper celebrates the change of neighborhood.

Admittedly, the [new] neighborhood isn’t quite as cool as it was in the mid-1990s, when it was home to some edgy galleries and artists like the Mobius Artists Group. . . . In recent years, rents have been going up and the neighborhood is increasingly respectable, but it’s still interesting. 24 Farnsworth Street will be a much more suitable home for the UUA than stuffy old Beacon Hill. (Yet Another Unitarian Universalist, March 15)

Equual Access shares the process by which the UUA inquired about the accessibility needs of people with disabilities. (Equual Access, March 15)

Tim Atkins is unimpressed by the shift in geography, saying that “we moved from Boston to Boston.”

In a time where we could use bold leadership, I can’t see a move down the street as bold, forward thinking. And I don’t see how the move reflects our bold aspirations or how it’s a historic move. (Tim Atkins, March 15)

Walter Clark compares the UUA’s move to the cardinals’ choice of a new pope.

The Catholic Church made a bold move with Francis. He is someone who will very likely remind his followers that the church is there to help those who need it most. The UUA took that same bold move, choosing action over reputation. (Lack of a Clever Title, March 17)

The UUA’s Margy Levine Young tweeted this graphic announcement:

Living in relationship

The Rev. Kit Ketcham cringes when she realizes that she has criticized a family member, despite knowing from personal experience how much such criticism hurts.

I’d spoken without thinking. “Oh, you shouldn’t have done that!” I’d said, not remembering how it had felt to me decades ago when my own mother was critical of me over religious issues. (Ms. Kitty’s Saloon and Road Show, March 20)

Garner Takahashi Morris examines her privilege as a transplant to Oakland—and the spiritual practice of learning to say hello.

Real change begins when I take a breath, when I remember that everyone was once a small child, when someone extends a handshake or begins to share a story. Once I, as a privileged person, have learned to truly listen to those around me and see their humanity fully, maybe then I can learn productive ways to act, based on the needs that are actually expressed, not my preconceived ideas of what they might be. Those are the moments when we can create connections as people, not as stereotypes, and those connections are where justice is made. (Vive le Flame, March 18)

Events in the news

Alluding to this week’s verdict in the Steubenville rape trial, the Rev. Tom Schade points out that these are exactly the circumstances in which a free mind is necessary.

Every one of us will be end up in a similar situation someday. Most of us have already been there. A situation when the group is going in the wrong direction, and you know it. What do you do?

It is a moment when your level of self-possession matters. Can you get your mind free enough from the  human hard-wired instinct to conform to the group to do what is right? (the lively tradition, March 18)

The Rev. Dan Schatz writes an open letter to Michelle Shocked in response to her recent homophobic public comments.

You hurt a great many people with your comments, not least yourself. But maybe this experience can move you forward. Maybe it will help you find the right people to talk to about your spiritual crises. Maybe it will help you ask for help in your emotional life. You said yourself that “truth is leading to painful confrontation.” Maybe the truth is your own spiritual crisis, and the confrontation is with yourself. (The Song and the Sigh, March 19)

Noting that a clear majority of Americans support marriage equality, Patrick Murfin asks how we UUs will cope, now that we are no longer lonely crusaders.

Not that UUs have a corner on this. It happens to a lot of social justice crusaders who spend years, often most of their lives, fighting the unwinnable battle against enormous odds. We are used to being the only guy or gal out in the pouring rain with our picket sign expecting to be spit upon. We are so instinctively counter-cultural that we are suspicious of any popular opinion.

But what happens when after years of diligent work, we wake up and see that it has really paid off—that slowly our concerns were heard, tolerated, accepted, and finally embraced? . . . It can be a little disconcerting. (Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout, March 19)

Discontinuation of Saturday postal delivery prompts the Rev. Dr. Nicole Kirk to outline the history of interaction between religion and the postal service.

The news about Saturday delivery caused only a ripple in the news cycle, and it probably went unmentioned in most (if not all) sermons. But the post office has had an important place in American religious history. Delivery changes may seem small today, but for much of our nation’s history, the post office has been a vital part of how we communicate and an important means through which faith has been disseminated in America. (Christian Century, March 20)

The spirit’s inner voice

The Rev. David Breedon shares a poem about the apophatic approach to spirituality, a path chosen by many UUs.

How to explain she
planned to build fires
until the most concrete
of bridges fell to embers?

How to say she would
wander across whatever
border until every shape
wore a foreign costume? (Quest for Meaning, March 21)

As part of a series called, “Would you listen to yourself?” the Rev Meredith Garmon writes about our connection to our inner voice.

It’s no easy thing in this post-industrial, information age world to connect with ourselves—to recognize in the moment what our deeper wish is, the wish that a day later we are able to recognize if asked. In the moment, it’s just so easy and inviting to flop back on the sofa and reach for the remote. . . . We always have a part of ourselves that is quietly watching and is providing us with guidance. Often, we are not as in touch with that part as we could be. (Lake Chalice, March 20)

Religion and the internet

The Rev. Victoria Weinstein issues a manifesto in response to the question, “Is the Internet good for religion?”

I think the internet is really good for liberal religion. Liberal religion is about interpreting, evolving, being open to the cross-pollination of ideas and theologies. Liberal religion has inquiry at its heart and delights in challenge (or should!). I think the internet has been great for that. I don’t know if it has been as good for orthodoxy, which is dedicated to tradition, hierarchy and authoritative interpretations. (PeaceBang, March 16)

Following up on the Minns Lectures, Peter Bowden asks, “Did your congregation get lost in time?”

I’ve discussed with United Church of Christ colleagues the fact that the UCC seems, to me, 10 years ahead of the Unitarian Universalist Association in some regards. They in turn chuckle and say they feel the UCC is 10 years behind where they should be. That puts us, if you do the math, 20 years behind! (UU Planet, March 19)

The movie reel

Peter Bowden’s UUTV links to this video of the Rev. Tamara Lebak’s recent sermon, “Fishing Naked.”

NEWS: Unitarian Universalist minister’s letter on gun control raises ire of state representative who says, ‘by all means, leave.’

SPIRIT: Grief and celebration are interwoven in this world, like winter and spring.

UUA to purchase new Boston headquarters

The Unitarian Universalist Association’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the purchase of a new headquarters building at 24 Farnsworth Street in Boston and sell the Association’s current properties on Beacon Hill. (Boston Business Journal – 3.15.13)

Read UU World’s coverage of the decision, and the Spring 2013 cover story about the possible move.

See also:

Unitarian Universalists selling Beacon Hill base (Boston Herald – 3.15.13)
Unitarians to sell Beacon Hill portfolio, move to Seaport District (Boston Business Journal – 3.15.13)

UUA puts pressure on coal producers, UU martyr remembered, and more

InsideClimate News reports that the Unitarian Universalist Association and advocacy group As You Sow have asked two of the country’s largest coal producers to tell investors “how much of their coal assets would be left ‘stranded’ in the ground” if the United States passed broad greenhouse gas regulations. (3.7.13)

Chevron Corp. is pushing back against interference from its activist shareholders, including the Unitarian Universalist Association. (SFGate – 3.12.13)

Forty-eight years later, Don Schilling reflects on his too-brief friendship with UU minister and civil rights activist the Rev. James Reeb, who was killed in Selma, Ala. (Press Democrat – 3.10.13)

See related: Witness to Reeb’s death looks back (UU World – May/June 2001)

The New York Times looks at the story of Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a Unitarian minister, and his connection to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry raid. (3.6.13)

Fresno Bee columnist Paula Lloyd has a brief history of the UU Church of Fresno, Calif. (The Fresno Bee – 3.9.13)

Christine Organ, a UU who was raised Christian, reflects on the one thing she misses from her childhood faith. (Huffington Post – 3.7.13)

First Parish UU Church in Framingham, Mass., installed 84 solar panels that will provide 75 percent of the church’s power. (Framingham Patch – 3.5.13)

Second Parish UU in Hingham, Mass., which had a tree fall on its bell tower during a February blizzard, gets a mention in an article about continued storm cleanup. (The Boston Globe – 3.10.13)

The Rev. Michael F. Hall will be installed as the new minister of the Keene, N.H., UU Church. (Middleboro Gazette – 3.7.13)

Budget concerns have put a strain on the UU Church of Lancaster, Pa. (LancasterOnline.com – 3.7.13)

The age of collaboration

Social media was the focus of last Saturday’s Minns Lectures, entitled “Ministry in the Age of Collaboration,” given by Peter Bowden and the Rev. Naomi King.  Appropriately, many UUs participated in online conversation in response; King’s curation of these discussions is available via her Storify profile.

The lectures also inspired graphics, such as this one created by the Rev. Sean Dennison, based on a quote from King:  ”As people of hope, we cannot be called back; we are called to help, and we will keep doing so.”  (UU Media Collaborative Works, March 13)

Friday’s Minns Lecture, given by the Rev. Andrea Greenwood, was “Sticking with Stories: Unitarian Universalism and the Creation of Children’s Literature.”  For Twitter reactions to her talk, and for more complete coverage of responses to all three lectures, search the hashtag #Minnslecture.

We have a pope

Several UU bloggers responded to the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina as Pope Francis I.

Acknowledging that some people believe that sudden, radical change is possible, while others think that nothing ever changes, the Rev. Tom Schade asks, “Is Francis a sign of change?”

Some commentators see a pope from Latin America, a pope from the Jesuits, a pope naming himself after St. Francis and they see how this might be sign of something new happening.  Others look at the tremendous historical inertia of the Roman Catholic church and assure us that nothing is really changing. (the lively tradition, March 13)

The Rev. James Ford explains why he, a UU minister and Zen priest, cares about the election of a new pope.

Well, Pope Francis may not command any divisions, but he is the spiritual leader of a tad more than a billion human beings (and yes, that’s a “b”), and I know his lieutenant here in Providence is busy carrying out the dictates issued from Rome, with lots of emphasis on denying civil rights to LGBT folk, blocking access to contraception wherever and criminalizing abortion.

It would be nice if we could find ourselves working together a bit more in those areas of agreement we have around so many issues, such as immigration and poverty. (Monkey Mind, March 14)

John Beckett, a UU pagan, admits his fondness for the Roman Catholic tradition, and offers his best wishes to the new pope.

Cardinal Bergoglio took the name of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose life was admirable and whose “Canticle of the Sun” expresses a relationship to the natural world familiar to many Pagans. There is power in a name, and I hope Pope Francis will use his influence to care for the Earth and to respect all its creatures. (Under the Ancient Oaks, March 14)

Embracing unorthodoxies

The Rev. Danny Spears writes that too many of us live as if there were a theological “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

I remember a conversation I had with three colleagues a few years ago. . . . We were discussing a variety of theological subjects over lunch; feeling safe with this group, I shared a few of my more “unorthodox” beliefs. Imagine my surprise when all three of them said that, for the most part, they were on the same page as me! One of them said, “I agree with your comments. I just can’t say those things in my congregation.” The other two clergy persons agreed. (Losing My Religion, March 14)

Cooper Zale asks, “Is the world ready for a God-embracing atheist?”

Though I define myself as an atheist, the search for deeper meanings and overarching narratives in life is very important to me, to help me guide my path forward from day to day and through the years. In that way I find some kinship with people who are religious and who do couch their beliefs in terms of deities. (Lefty Parent, March 13)

Thinking about UUism

As she prepares to teach a homeschooling unit about the Iliad and the Odyssey, Mandie McGlynn finds parallels between Greek civilization and UU governance.

Continuing the UU analogy [to the ancient Greeks] . . . , one could argue that we UUs can best reach our own human (and spiritual?) potential within the societal structure that is affiliation—society, a congregation—in all its benefits and struggles. (Mandie McGlynn, March 13)

When readers of a right-wing publication insult one of her colleagues, the Rev. Dr. Victoria Weinstein explores ways we react to criticism.

Putting on my hat as an evangelist and congregational image consultant I can keep a pretty cool head and not take these rants personally.  For better or for worse, they  are a helpful snapshot of what a segment of the population sees, hears and believes about UUs. . . . In this new era of what I feel—and hope—is a deepening of our maturity as a faith community, it’s worthwhile to reflect on how we react to this sort of pile-on. (PeaceBang, March 9)

The Rev. Dr. David Breeden explains why he is a Unitarian Universalist.

I am a Unitarian Universalist because I believe religions are very human attempts to find meaning and purpose. The texts and practices that have accumulated over time are at once sad and glorious, brutal and loving. We humans, all through time, have been whistling in a graveyard. And writing poetry. (Quest for Meaning, March 14)

Family life

Army spouse Bridget Rainey shares what the sequester means for military families.

The military services that are being cut . . . . are what our families depend on to get through all of the dark times. For most Americans, the war in Afghanistan is winding down. But for us, it’s not even close to over. For some, it might never be completely over. Last year the military reported record high suicide rates—for the first time more suicides than combat deaths. This is not a time to increase the stress on military families. (Twinisms, March 11)

Thalasa and her husband don’t believe in having “the sex talk” with their children; instead, they believe that sex is a lifetime conversation.

Chickadee is six, and so far (because she has expressed an interest), she knows where babies come from, the biological differences between males and females, that some people might be biologically male and feel female on the outside (and vice versa), and the general mechanics of what sex is. . . . And guess what? The more Chickadee . . . knows, the less impressed she is by any of it, and the more she understands about her own body and how it works (and how it is hers). (Musings of a Kitchen Witch, March 13)

The Rev. Heather Rion Starr celebrates the this-moment focus of parenting a young child.

For now, for us, this is what’s happening, right here, on the floor: overturned pots, wooden spoons, clanging and laughing and kicking, going nowhere today except around the block to look at the newly bursting flowers, letting our own focused lives be full enough, letting this be bountiful, this ordinaryness be beautiful. (Quest for Meaning, March 8)

NEWS: Board approves lease-to-purchase agreement for 24 Farnsworth Street in Boston’s Seaport District.

Your Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees made the decision to move our Association headquarters from its long-time home on Beacon Hill to a new home in Boston's Innovation District. We did not make this decision lightly. We did so knowing the heart of our Association is always in our covenanted communities. The administration made a compelling case for workspace suited to this collaborative age. This move will strengthen our Association spiritually, financially, creatively, and technologically.

In a message from the Rev. Peter Morales, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), he shares that the UUA's Board of Trustees authorized the purchase of a new headquarters for the UUA at 24 Farnsworth Street in Boston's Innovation District and the sale of our current Beacon Hill properties. This is truly a historic moment for our Unitarian Universalist movement.

Your Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees made the decision to move our Association headquarters from its long-time home on Beacon Hill to a new home in Boston's Innovation District. We did not make this decision lightly. We did so knowing the heart of our Association is always in our covenanted communities. The administration made a compelling case for workspace suited to this collaborative age. This move will strengthen our Association spiritually, financially, creatively, and technologically.

UU World reports on the Rev. Chris Antal, a Unitarian Universalist military chaplain, who has established the first and only Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Kandahar, Afghanistan which offers weekly worship services on the 25,000-person military base.

IDEAS: As the UUA looks for a more modern headquarters, Unitarian Universalists reflect on the symbolic meaning of its perch on Boston’s Beacon Hill.

NEWS: 500 worshipers gather for rousing service in college community.

Spiritual practice, spiritual community

For the growing number of people who call themselves “spiritual but not religious,” the Rev. James Ford suggests two things: get a spiritual practice, and consider joining a UU congregation.

The human ego is not a pretty thing to behold in isolation. We need each other. We need our rough edges bumped against, and worn down a little. And little does this as well as throwing one’s self into a spiritual community. And, again, of Western spiritual communities, it’s the UU ones that I find most congenial to actual spiritual growth. (HuffPost Religion, March 7)

The Rev. Meg Riley reports on  the Wisdom 2.0 conference, which emphasized individual spiritual practice, and ignored the role of spiritual community.

The only spiritual community lifted up, in fact, was the workplace. Apparently on the job meditation and yoga cuts down on absenteeism and lifts productivity, while also providing health benefits for practitioners. Pardon me if I don’t think workplaces really qualify as spiritual community. (Quest for Meaning, March 3)

Working for justice

The Rev. Tom Schade urges us to “wake up about Detroit.”

Detroit did not “decline” or “suffer hard times” or any such euphemism. Detroit was divested; all forms of capital withdrew from Detroit because there they faced a sophisticated, experienced, industrialized and militant African American population. Detroit is one of the largest abandoned places of the Empire. (the lively tradition, March 2)

The Rev. Dawn Cooley plans a creative response to Kentucky’s proposed HB 279, which states, “Government shall not burden a person’s or religious organization’s freedom of religion.”

As soon as this bill passes into law, I will officially begin conducting weddings and signing marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples, as is standard practice in my religion. It will be my right to act in this manner, in accordance to my faith. (speaking of, March 1)

The Rev. Dan Harper remembers participating in an action against the Seabrook nuclear power plant, twenty-three years ago; in the end, he wonders, “if we had done more damage than good.” (Yet Another Unitarian Universalist, March 7)

Reproductive rights and sexuality education

When the Rev. Ellen Cooper-Davis visits her state legislators to express her support for full reproductive rights, the staffers she meets with have a different religious agenda.

I was subjected to what I can only call a sermon by these staffers. People should practice abstinence if they don’t want children. Sex for its own sake is part of our sinful world. Single people should be celibate. My morality was questionable. And they “just don’t want to pay for other peoples’ sinful behavior.” (Keep the Faith, March 7)

In Alabama, the Rev. Fred Hammond speaks out against his state’s “Religious Liberty Act,” also known as the “Hobby Lobby bill,” because it would allow businesses not to cover certain medical benefits.

Imposing our religious beliefs on a woman who is struggling with an unwanted pregnancy is spiritual violence. . . . Yes, by all means offer counseling, offer education, offer alternative options but do not tell her her decision is wrong when she makes it. (A Unitarian Universalist Minister in the South, March 2)

The Rev. Dan Harper writes that we still need Our Whole Lives (OWL), even in progressive communities that offer sexuality education in public schools.

Recently, the student newspaper at Mountain View High School (which also serves Los Altos) ran a spread on sex and relationships that aimed to supplement and fill out what is not taught in health classes—and some very vocal parents objected. . . .

Too much pressure can be brought to bear on school boards for us to be certain of comprehensive sexuality education in the public schools. Indeed, I would argue that we need to expand our OWL programs so we can offer them at no charge to people outside our congregations—and doing so might be the most important social justice effort we could take on right now. (Yet Another Unitarian Universalist, March 4)

Though her children now attend public school, Mandie McGlynn and her children still pursue educational projects at home—including a recent investigation into genetics, sex and gender.

Jude, who sometimes decides he’s a girl, thought that maybe his chromosomes change periodically. Quentin wondered what would happen if someone had two Y chromosomes, either together with an X or without any X. Then he wondered about having three Xs or just one. (Mandie McGlynn’s Blog, March 7)

Personal reflections

As she adapts to a new role as a seminarian, Jordinn finds that those closest to her have their own adjustments to make.

The thing is, I’ve been a pretty prolific curser for my entire adult life. . . .   Past a certain age, the f-word, standing on its own, just isn’t that funny anymore. Except that it suddenly is, right now, in my house—at least when it comes out of my mouth.

After weeks of snickering and sympathetic pats on the head, I finally pressed my husband on this point . . . and the explanation he came up with was “holiness juxtaposition.” (Raising Faith, March 4)

The Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern considers some of the difficult things she has accomplished in the past decade.

I didn’t take them on for the sake of the challenge itself, but in pursuit of some other goal, but along the way I had to, in Eleanor Roosevelt’s words, do the thing I thought I could not do. They have built on each other, the knowledge of having done one giving me courage to do the next. (Sermons in Stones, March 6)

This Lenten season, the Rev. Tony Lorenzen gives up his silence about his struggle with anxiety and depression.

The irony embedded in this is I believe my depression is responsible for much of my spirituality. I am introspective and reflective. I feel both pain and joy deeply. My first major depressive episode began a lifelong spiritual journey that still continues. During that episode, the pain was so great, I found myself in the heart space of the psalmist, crying out to God for comfort and release. (Sunflower Chalice, March 2)

Don’t forget!

On the UU Collaborative Media Works Facebook page, Tim Atkins shares this reminder about Daylight Savings Time:

UU activists push for gun control

A multi-part series looking at perspectives on gun control and gun use in East Tennessee includes an interview with John Bohstedt, one of four people who helped subdue a gunman at Knoxville’s Tennessee Valley UU Church five years ago (part 3, Bohstedt segment begins at 3:12). UU World interviewed Bohstedt about the experience in 2008. (WBIR.com – 2.27.13, uuworld.org – 7.28.08, 8.1.08)

First UU Church of San Diego, Calif., hosted a rally against gun violence and debate about gun control laws. Coverage includes a short video. (NBC San Diego – 3.4.13)

The Rev. Beth Johnson, of the Palomar UU Fellowship in Vista, Calif., took part in a candlelight vigil for gun safety. (The Coast News )

See related: New urgency spurs advocate for gun control (uuworld.org – 2.25.13)

Climate change activism

Tim Brennan, treasurer and chief financial officer of the Unitarian Universalist Association, argues that divestment from fossil fuel companies is not the only solution to climate change. (Huffington Post – 2.26.13)

Brennan is interviewed in an article reporting on two shareholder resolutions aiming to demonstrate that coal companies would be overvalued in financial markets if carbon regulation becomes the norm. (Inside Climate News – 3.7.13)

Youth volunteers, advocate ministers, and more

Youth from First Church of Belmont, Mass., spent their winter school vacation week volunteering in New Orleans. (The Belmont Citizen-Herald – 3.2.13)

The Rev. Ellen Cooper-Davis, minister of Northwoods UU Church the The Woodlands, Tex., is interviewed in a TV news segment about religious leaders advocating for increased funding of women’s health, including birth control for low-income women. (KXAN – 3.4.13)

The Rev. Marti Keller, minister of the UU Congregation of Atlanta, was named Georgia’s Chaplain of the Day. (North Druid Hills-Briarcliff Patch – 3.2.13)

Darlene Anderson-Alexander, director of religious education at the UU Congregation of Danbury, Conn., writes about the First Principle, the Golden Rule, and why we should respect people of all faiths. (Danbury News-Times – 3.2.13)

A peace vigil at the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge, La., honored those who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (The Advocate – 3.4.13)

A finial stone that was cracked by lightning will be reinstalled on the bell tower of First UU Church of Marietta, Ohio. (The Marietta Times – 3.4.13)

The Rev. Fred Wooden, senior minister of Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., weighs in on the debate about how much control religious institutions should have over the lives and values of their employees. (mlive.com – 2.26.13)

Members of Manatee, Fla., UU Fellowship showed their support for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, who are calling on the Publix grocery chain to join the Fair Food Program. (Bradenton Herald – 3.2.13)

The Rev. Daniel Kanter, senior minister of First Unitarian Church of Dallas, Tex., is one of several faith leaders who responded to the question, “Considering the debate over immigration, what does your faith say about bridging justice and compassion?” (The Dallas Morning News – 2.26.13)

The Rev. Roger Butts, an anti-death-penalty activist, argues that there seems to be an “arbitrary nature” to Colorado’s imposition of the death penalty. (Huffington Post – 2.27.13)

The Rev. Mike Morran of First Unitarian Society of Denver, Colo., is quoted in an article about religious-based adoption agencies objecting to civil unions. (The Gazette – 3.1.13)

SPIRIT: I kept hoping that one day I would up and be the mother from the greeting card picture.

NEWS: Massachusetts congregation seeks to ‘do something’ in response to Newtown massacre.

State Rep tells concerned minister to leave state

The Rev. Audette Fulbright, minister of the UU Church of Cheyenne, Wyo., wrote to her state legislators recently to express concerns about House Bill 105, which would allow the carrying of concealed weapons at schools. The letter she got back from one of them—Republican State Rep. Hans Hunt—has gotten plenty of attention on the internet for its less-than-cordial tone, which can be summed up with the line: “If you don’t like the political atmosphere of Wyoming, then by all means, leave.” (Star-Tribune – 2.8.13)

See also:

State Representative Under Fire for Letter (KGWN – 2.22.13)
Minister Told by State Rep to ‘By All Means, Leave’ Wyoming Stands Her Ground (The Blaze – 2.28.13)
GOP State Rep. Hans Hunt Says ‘By All Means, Leave’ In Response To Wyoming Resident’s Concerns (Huffington Post – 2.25.13)
Blunt state rep tells woman to GTFO if she doesn’t like gun bill (MSN – 2.25.13)
‘I’ll be blunt. If you don’t like the political atmosphere of Wyoming, then by all means, leave.’ (Maddow Blog – 2.11.13)
Wyoming Lawmaker to Pro-Gun Control Minister: ‘If you don’t like the political atmosphere of Wyoming, then by all means, leave.’ (guns.com – 2.25.13)

Voting rights activist Liuzzo’s legacy

With the U.S. Supreme Court hearing arguments over a challenge to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, CNN ran an excerpt from the book Children of the Movement about Viola Liuzzo, a UU who was killed while working for voting rights in Selma, Ala., and whose death helped the Act pass. (CNN – 2.28.13)

Read more about Liuzzo:

UU civil rights martyr posthumously honored (uuworld.org – 11.10.06)
‘So nobly started’ (UU World – May/June 2001)

Religious people caring for the environment

After joining several youth and adults from his congregation at the “Forward on Climate” rally in Washington. D.C., the Rev. Ken Read-Brown, minister of First Parish in Hingham, Mass., reflects on the importance of climate-change activism. (The Hingham Journal – 2.24.13)

Jan Booher, a member of the UU Fellowship of Boca Raton, Fla., is coordinating an event for South Florida Climate Action Partners that aims to connect religious people who are concerned about the environment with scientists, urban planners, and environmentalists. (Sun Sentinel – 2.25.13)

Judy Moores, a member of the UU Church of Davis, Calif., is helping organize the multifaith environmental conference Climate Crisis: Putting Faith into Action. (Daily Democrat – 2.23.13)

Lincoln, activism, paper airplanes, and more

The New York Times Sunday Book Review explores Lincoln’s Tragic Pragmatism by John Burt, a Brandeis University English professor and member of the First Parish UU in Arlington, Mass. (NYTimes – 2.14.13)

Peace activist Curtis Bell, who is a member of the board of UUs for Justice in the Middle East, writes about parallels between U.S. and Israeli racism. (The Electronic Intifada – 2.21.13)

In two pieces for the Midland Daily News, the Rev. Jeff Liebmann, minister of the UU Fellowship of Midland, Mich., writes about the meaning of religion and investing in children. (Midland Daily News – 2.23.13, 2.24.13)

In the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, the UU Church of the Shenandoah Valley in Stephens City, Va., held “rolling” marriage equality vigils at locations around the area. (NVDaily – 2.11.13)

See also:
Local Church Advocates for Gay Rights (Winchester Star – 2.11.13)
Unitarians stand for marriage equality (Winchester Star – 2.14.13)

The Rev. David Carl Olson, minister of First Unitarian Church of Baltimore, Md., spoke to a group who gathered outside of a Walmart to protest low-wage employers and demand a higher minimum wage. (The Baltimore Sun – 2.21.13)

The UU Church of Marietta, Ga., hosted its annual Great Community Paper Airplane Contest. (The Marietta Times – 2.25.13)

Members of the Oak Ridge, Tenn., UU Church, who voted in September to sell their building and land to a commercial developer, have now purchased a parcel of land on which to build a new church. (Oak Ridge Today – 9.30.12, 2.27.13)

The UU Church of Farmington, Mich., is one of three local businesses and organizations being honored for their “community longevity.” (Observer & Eccentric – 2.21.13)

The Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge, La., will ordain Nathan Ryan as a UU minister. (The Advocate – 2.27.13)

The UU Church of Savannah, Ga., celebrated the installation of their new minister, the Rev. David Messner. (Savannah Morning News – 2.24.13)