Rabbi Lerner and the Democratic Convention

Good stuff!

The High Priests Gathered to Praise the Dems-but the Prophets Were Missing
by Rabbi Michael Lerner


For all the media chatter about how far we've come since the Democratic Convention in Chicago,1968, or the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's. "I Have A Dream Speech," if you were expecting that the words of the prophets had moved from the subway walls and tenement halls into the mainstream of the Democratic Party you'd be sadly disappointed.
I thought I might find that voice at the Dem's Faith Caucus on Tuesday,Aug. 26. I was wrong.

One minister I spoke to at the Dems' Faith Caucus meeting on Tuesday (Aug.26) put it this way: "Don't expect anything here to upset the Democrats apple cart-this is about winning, not about speaking truth to power."

Unless the power is elsewhere-in the Republican Party or in the Bush Administration. There was no lack of attacks on the perceived political enemy. And no room for Jesus' admonition to stop criticizing the blindness of the other until one dealt with one's own blindness.

Speakers at the faith caucus were some of the smartest, most principled , and in my view, most admirable voices in the religious world of the U.S. (whoops, not including Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc. who were in short supply in this caucus). They were articulate and powerful in their critiques of Bush and of McCain. And they were positively ecstatic when it came to praising the Democrats for even having a faith caucus for the first time in its history.

There are two possible directions for a faith caucus. A faith caucus can be, and at the moment it fully is, a cheerleading squad for the Democrats, bringing to the churches, synagogues, mosques and ashrams "the good news" that the Democrats policies miraculously happen to coincide with the message of our holy scriptures, and on top of that, that they intend to expand funding of local religious communities as long as the specific programs funded operate within the bounds of separation of church and state.

The other direction is to be a prophetic voice within the political party, bringing to the attention of the leaders the voices of the most downtrodden, demanding that the party live up to its own principles and that it move beyond the rhetoric of peace and justice to really embody that. A prophetic voice would have asked the following questions:

*Why did the Democrats promise to end the war in Iraq in 2006, then go on to fund it in 2007 and 2008? How many dead and wounded Americans and Iraqis should be on the conscience of the party that controlled both the House and the Senate and yet voted hundreds of billions of dolloars to continue the war that they promised to end? If cutting off funds would have caused a split in the party, why should that be more feared than a split from God's command to pursue peace and justice?

*Why did the Democrats promise to restrain President Bush, then refuse to consider impeachment, but instead vote to extend his powers to violate the Constitution by increasing surveillance on American citizens?

*Why did the Democrats fail to challenge the tens of billions of dollars of windfall profits made by the oil companies, rather than passing legislation to appropriate much of those profits to be used to help poor people pay for the heating oil to survive the winter heat and the gas to enable them to get to work?

*Why did the Democrats not challenge the underlying assumptions of the War on Terror-that security comes through domination and "power over" others, and instead embrace the Strategy of Generosity that underlies the Network of Spiritual Progressives' proposed "Global Marshall Plan" now articulated in HRes. 1078 as proposed by Congressman Keith Ellison and backed by 19 other Congresspeople?

*Why did Senator Obama embrace the death penalty for childhood rape-do we really believe that as people of faith we should keep quiet when our candidate talks of extending rather than contracting who our society puts to death?

Of course, the FaithCaucus might have done both of these things, but it did not. There was not a single speaker addressing our disappointments with the Democrats in Congress (though nationwide Congress' current approval rate under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi stands at 1/3 the level of approval of George Bush-it's now at 9%).

Meanwhile, in the halls many delegates whispered to each other about the fall in Obama's polling since his campaign started moving to the "center," abandoning its own ideals, and in the process losing its most important asset: the excitement of young people around the U.S. who had allowed themselves this past Winter and Spring to abandon their cynicism and believe that this would not be "politics as usual" with the liberal candidate talking peace, justice, an end to militarism and poverty and then qualifying those to death in the actual policies they would back.

Of course, Obama's lofty rhetoric Thursday night may reinvigorate the hopefulness that won him the nomination in the first place. Yet people of faith really failed him and the Democrats when they spent so much time praising and so little time asking Obama and the Democrats to realize that in the 21st century taking spiritual values seriously in politics requires looking at the spec in one's own eyes-- and it is that kind of help that makes the absence of prophetic critique in the Faith Caucus not only ethically disappointing but substantively a betrayal of the best interests of the Democrats and of the Obama candidacy.

But don't speak too soon-the wheel's still in spin, and Obama might yet transcend all his advisors and his cheerleaders and return to his most visionary self.

--Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun magazine and Chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives which convened a series of meetings in Denver on domestic and foreign policy in the past three days.

church growth

Drums matter.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0103/p01s01-ussc.htm

Process Observer Checklist

General Process Observations Name Date


1. Did the Board stay on task?



2. How was the energy and focus of the group?



3. Were presenters and reports well prepared and did they use time efficiently?



4. Were handouts useful and clear? Were e mails useful and clear?



5. Was discussion productive? Expansive? Balanced? Respectful?



6. How was conflict or dissent handled? Specifically, how were "minority" perspectives heard and considered?



7. Was business concluded and decisions made in a timely and purposeful manner?



8. What suggestions do you have to improve the process next time?




Process Observations Checklist---UUA Board of Trustees--T. Payne-Alex/2002; J. Shanti/2006--J. Lund/C.Wooldridge

Facebook Success

Tonight, for the first time, I received a letter from a Quad Citian seeking a meeting to discuss spirituality and religion because I have a presence on Facebook.
A very exciting development, and reason for me to continue to think about how the Unitarian Church in Davenport can continue to push the envelope around a presence on the internet.
Roger

A NOTE ABOUT THE COMING YEAR

THE UNITARIAN CHURCH PEEKS AT THE FUTURE

With a new board in place, the annual board retreat was a smashing success. The board took on a serious and sustainable and do-able study of the way we view stewardship in this congregation. We were helped in our work by our stewardship consultant, the Rev. Tricia Hart. She’ll be with us a few years to work with us on adopting an attitude of can-do generosity. I cannot wait to see what kind of transformation happens among all of us around the idea of giving, generosity and vision-making.

Just think for a moment of all that has been accomplished of late, think of all that we can build upon: the cool campaign which enabled us to put in geothermal heating and cooling (including in the sanctuary); the addition to the building in the 90s which provided additional space for religious education; the lounge and the patio in the 80s; not to mention all of work for Guatemala, for community projects, or even the building which this year will turn 50 years old! Whatever the future holds, we know that this congregation responds when called to step up to a new project.

This year will hold other significant events in our collective life together:

September 7, we’ll move back to our 11 a.m. worship time period with Water Communion.
Our children and youth will be engaged in two significant learnings: OWL (our whole lives) which focuses on sexuality education and spiritual growth and good decision-making and Famous Unitarian Universalists, about the kinds of individuals who helped shape society, liberal religion and the beloved community.
In September, you’ll have a chance to participate in the first annual Unitarian Church Spirituality Retreat. A great group of lay people are working on making this retreat as powerful as possible.
On October 12th, we’ll commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard with a joint service with our friends at the Metropolitan Community Church (they’ll come to our church to join with us on that day). While honoring Matthew’s life, I anticipate that the service will be positive, proactive and empowering.
In late October, we’ll have a wonderful CELEBRATION SUNDAY, in which we all of the members and friends of the church will gather to give our pledges for the year. A powerful group of committed members are working on this, headed up by Dr. Dick Kaspar.
November 7-9, we’ll have an opportunity to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, which ushered in the worst aspects of the Holocaust. I am working with the Yom HaShoah committee to bring in Victoria Barnett, Director of Church Relations at the Holocaust Museum in DC and filmmaker Martin Doblmeier who has devoted his life to the work of justice and peace through his films.
In the Spring, Paul Rasor, a Unitarian Universalist author (Faith Without Certainty) and theologian from Virginia Wesleyan College, will come to speak about liberal religion, war and peace.
In the Spring, we’ll celebrate the 50th anniversary of our “new” (third) building, our little beacon on the hill.

There will be many opportunities to connect, to grow, to learn, to discover, to share your gifts and talents. There will be children to dedicate (starting with the Tim and Angela Reier’s child Amelia). There will be opportunities to say a welcoming word to newcomers. You are the greatest gift in the life of this church!

Let us begin again!

Love. See you in church. In faith,
Roger

Rabbi Lerner Writes to Senator Obama (D-IL)

Clergy Appeal to Obama: Don't Lose Your Ethical Vision

n an open-letter to Senator Obama, over 140 American clergy appealed to the Democratic candidate for President to retain the ethical and spiritual vision that won him the nomination in the first place. Rejecting the "inside-the-Beltway" wisdom that a Democrat must "move to the center to win the election," the clergy disputed the very notion that this is an accurate understanding of American politics.

"The central dichotomy in American politics is not Left/Right but fear/hope," says Rabbi Michael Lerner, chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, editor of Tikkun Magazine, and an initiator of the letter. "When Senator Obama positioned himself as the prophet of a new kind of politics, he energized millions of young people, and even older Republicans and people who had become so cynical about politics that they have not voted in recent years. But that depended on him being the voice of peace against war, social justice against capitulation to the rich and the large corporations, and ecological sanity. If he now moves to what the inside-the-beltway crowd call The Center, he ends up in an election campaign in which he will be trying to prove that he is a better general for wartime than McCain, and a better mini-manager of the same old system-and that will undermine the hopefulness that was the ticket to his political success and the Republicans will become Republicans again, the youth and the cynics will return to their other concerns, and Obama's political possibilities will be worse, not better."

"Still," Lerner continued, "we approach Obama not as his political strategists but as religious, ethical and spiritual leaders to challenge him to put forward a fundamentally new ethical vision, which is actually the oldest vision-the vision of our various religious and spiritual traditions and of the wise humanistic values that pervade all religions but can be accessed without being religious. We hope that Senator Obama will allow himself to be Obama again, rather than be swallowed up by the ethical visionless-ness of business-as-usual American politics."

The Network of Spiritual Progressives will be holding a series of events in Denver at the time of the Democratic Convention and has invited all the delegates to continue this conversation. For more information: David Lapedis at 510 644 1200 or dlapedis@tikkun.org.Rabbi Lerner can be reached at 510 526 6889 or RabbiLerner@gmail.com.

The full text of the letter is below. For the full list of signatories: will@tikkun.org

Dear Senator Obama,

As strong supporters of your campaign to become President of the U.S. in our own personal lives and as leaders in the religious communities in the U.S., we understand well the pressures you must be facing to tone down your message so that you can win the election and then later be more courageous in challenging major assumptions in American public discourse that have been inserted there by a powerful conservative assault for the past thirty years by conservatives and champions of the elites of wealth and power in this country.

Others have articulated elsewhere why "toning down" or "moving to appeal to the Center" is a politically disastrous strategy, not only because it causes disillusionment and passivity among the youth who momentarily thought that something new was happening in American politics and who might otherwise return to apathy when they perceive you as "playing the game" the same old way, but also because it generates despair among all sections of the population that had momentarily allowed themselves to hope that America might become under your presidency a society that unequivocally supported a politics of peace and justice. People who thought that they would vote for you as their peace candidate who seemed more unequivocal than others about ending the war in Iraq, for example, may become less enthusiastic about a candidacy that now calls for escalation of the war in Afghanistan and talks about giving Iranians ultimatums to be followed by green lights for military attacks.

We are writing you from a different angle, not as your election strategists, but as people of faith whose primary allegiance is to be prophetic witnesses to the ethical vision articulated in the holy texts of our religion and the elaboration of those religious traditions over the course of the past two thousand years. It is our view that America needs "a New Bottom Line" so that both corporations and non-profit institutions, social practices, legislation, government activities, and even our own personal life activities should be deemed "rational, productive, or efficient" not only to the extent that they maximize money, material security, power or gratification of our sensual desires but also to the extent that they maximize love and caring, kindness and generosity ethical and ecological sensitivity, enhance our capacities to see others as embodiments of the sacred and enhance our capacity to respond to the universe with awe, wonder, and radical amazement at the grandeur of Creation.

It is from that perspective that we appeal to you to fulfill the promise and the hopes you raised in the early months of your campaign, and to sharpen the distinctions between you and past politics by articulating new principles that would govern your presidency. In particular, we call upon you to (unequivocally and persistently in your public appearances and ads) call for: *Replacing the "Strategy of Domination or Power Over Others" (that has shaped too much of American foreign policy in the past) with a new approach that gives at least equal weight to "A Strategy of Generosity and Caring for Others" (for example as manifested by the Global Marshall Plan suggested by the Network of Spiritual Progressives www.spiritualprogressives.org). You should not allow the public discourse to push you into having to prove who will be the most effective candidate for running the next set of wars, but instead insist strongly and make this central to your campaign that that strategy for achieving Homeland Security is seriously flawed. Effective security strategy must rely on two legs, one the strong military defense of our interests, and second on the strong commitment to ending global (and domestic) poverty, homelessness, hunger, inadequate education, inadequate health care, and repairing the global environment (please see House Res. 1078 introduced by Keith Ellison and endorsed by nineteen other Members of the House for some helpful language in this regard-it endorses our version of The Global Marshall Plan). Those who are ill-equipped to articulate and implement the Strategy of Generosity are "weak on national defense."

*Rejecting the notion of armed struggle with Iran and opposing any military blockade of Iran (universally understood as an act of war) would then give the Iranians a reason to attack, which in turn would provide the pretext for a war, either before or after the U.S. elections. You should publicly call on the Bush Administration to refrain from taking any such provocative actions that might lead to military conflict before the next Administration takes office.

*A commitment to sign a Presidential Order that forbids and criminalizes torture and the direct or indirect aiding or abetting of acts of torture on the part of the U.S. , directs the U.S. military to abandon Guantanamo prison and end the activities of the School of the Americas related to training people in South and Central America in the techniques of counter-insurgency and torture, and directs the next Attorney General to explore criminal charges against those who have violated US or international law in regard to torture.

* A commitment to make saving our global environment a top priority not only through encouraging individual and corporate environmental responsibility, but by alerting the American public to the full scientific evidence about the degree of threat to the survival of the planet that is likely unless we make major changes in the way use the resources of our planet, how we decide what products should be produced and how, and how we decide what items to consume. Tell the American people what the planet faces if the US and other countries including China don't make a huge global effort to reverse the patterns of destruction that are already endangering our planet.

* Affirming the need for an American health care system that is based on the principle that we have an obligation to care for each other, not on the need for the health care profiteers to make a good return on their investments.

*Affirming as a guiding principle for American society in the 21st century that we have an obligation to care for each other, and that this obligation requires a rethinking of many aspects of American law, American corporations, government programs, education, and persona life, and that you will use your time in office to encourage this new ethos.

* Calling on schools to actively engage in teaching students the skills of caring a.for each other b. for those stuck in poverty or homelessness or hunger c. the disabled d. our senior citizens. e. for their own health and their bodies g. for the environment. This should include teaching about "non-violent communication" and positive negotiation skills, but also teach about the various religious and secular traditions that have made "caring for others" central to their teachings, or have made awe and wonder at the grandeur of creation part of their approach to protecting the environment.

We are firmly convinced, Senator Obama, that these are ways of thinking about what is needed in America that are unlikely to succeed unless you build a strong foundation of support for them during your campaign. By articulating this kind of thinking now, you will not only strengthen the possibility of mobilizing parts of the electorate who have given up on politics altogether, but you will also be serving God in a way that is necessary at this historical moment.

Your advisors may warn you of political dangers. We think the opposite. But as we say, our calling is not to be your political practitioners, but to provide you with the kind of ethical and prophetic voices that you need to hear.

Finally, if you are elected, as we very much hope you will be, and as we ourselves will try to help make happen by building support for you, we urge you to meet with us during your presidency to hear the voices not of religious cheerleaders, but of those who dare to speak truth to power even when that power, as your own, is mostly for the good and mostly in service of the God of the universe. It is precisely because we believe in you and your strong ethical and religious commitment that we are daring to write this to you, even though we know that its impact might be to make it less likely that your advisors will ever allow us to connect with you directly once you are elected.

With respect and blessings, (all organizations listed for identification purposes and do not imply organizational endorsement of this letter)

Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun and Chair, The Network of Spiritual Progressives and
author of The Politics of Meaning and of The Left Hand of God

Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister, Executive Director of Benetvision: A Resource and Research Center for Contemporary Spirituality, and author of Welcome to the Wisdom of the World, and of The Gift of Years, and dozens of other books on Christian Theology

Rev. Tony Campolo, Chair, The Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, and author of dozens of books including Red Letter Christians and The God of Intimacy and Action.

Father John Dear, S.J. is a Jesuit priest and author of Jesus the Rebel and A Persistent Peace

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Chair, The Shalom Center and author, Seasons of Our Joy and These Holy Sparks

Imam Zaid Shakir, Zeytuna Institute, California

Rev. Graylan S. Hagler, National President, Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice of The United Church of Christ

Anti-Torture News

Dear Clinton Franciscans and Friends,

We are happy and honored to announce that Rev. Louis Vitale OFM, one of the founders of Pace e Bene, will be returning to Clinton to speak at The Canticle, home of the Clinton Franciscans, 841-13th Avenue North, on Friday, September 12, about the campaign to end the practice of teaching and using torture techniques in the U.S and abroad.

Father Louie is touring the United States to talk about his recent 5 month prison term served for crossing the line and praying at Fort Huachuca (the military installation in Arizona where we train our American Intelligence Officers in “Enhanced Interrogation” tactics such as the much publicized water boarding, among other torture methods).

Please plan to join us. The time of his presentation will be announced within a week - it depends on his travel schedule. It will be on Friday evening, 9/12. There will be no advance registration nor admission fee.

In the meantime,
By going to the Pace e Bene website - www.paceebene.org - and selecting the JOIN THE CIRCLE OF PEACE - SIGN THE DECLARATION FOR A WORLD WITHOUT TORTURE box in the upper right hand corner of the home page, YOU can join Father Vitale in the campaign to end torture.
Go to www.paceebene.org NOW; sign the Declaration against torture; and stay tuned for details on Father Vitale's appearance in Clinton.
Peace and all good!
The Clinton Franciscan Center for Active Nonviolence and Peacemaking

Sisters of St. Francis588 No. Bluff BoulevardClinton, Iowa 52732-3953563-242-7611; fax 563-243-0007sisters@clintonfranciscans.comwww.clintonfranciscans.com"Our corporate mission is active nonviolence and peacemaking, the heart of the Franciscan charism."

Beattitudes

John Dear suggests a different approach to reading the sermon on the mount:
Instead of blessed, insert "walk on" or "walk forth." It provides a different angle into overly familiar words, inviting deeper reflection on what is sanitized all too often and easily forgotten and ignored.


"'Walk on poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Walk on you that mourn, for you shall be comforted.
Walk forth meek, for you shall inherit the earth.
Carry on you who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for you shall be filled.
Keep going you merciful, for you shall obtain mercy.
Carry on pure in heart, for you shall see God.
Keep after it, peacemakers, you shall be called the children of God.
Perservere you who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, yours is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.'"

The Way of the Non-Violent Jesus

I'm watching, again, the documentary, The Narrow Path, about Jesuit priest and peacemaker, John Dear. It is well worth a look.

"The whole point is to take your life story and fit it in with the life story of Jesus."
Peacemaker Daniel Berrigan’s advice to Peacemaker John Dear.
John Dear goes on: So when I get discouraged, I begin to think, “how can I follow the way of the non-violent Jesus?”

Yes, there it is. It is no more complicated than that. The human Jesus and the way of nonviolence.

Let us be on our way then.

RSC Minister’s Report August 3 2008 Roger Butts

1. I feel good about the service honoring Knoxville. Tyson sang a beautiful version of You’ll Never Walk Alone. Melissa Anderson Clark and Harper sang beautifully Annie. Many commented that seeing the kids file in was very effective.
2. I’m blogging a bit about church and other issues. A link is now available on our website. A lot on there about Knoxville.
3. I would like to draw attention to the two to three booklets I’d like to produce over this year. The idea is to bring home the stuff that happens in church—whether you have kids or are single or young or old, the idea is to keep reflecting on what we’re attempting to accomplish.
4. Please note that there are two special events this year: In November we’ll be doing a special event on Kristallnacht. In March, we’ll be hosting Paul Rasor, a theologian of the Unitarian Universalist variety who wrote Faith Without Certainty. His new thinking is around issues of war and peace.
5. Please note that Laurie Bertsche is attending a conference in North Carolina about small group ministries. Please note that Tyson is attending a UU Musicians Network conference this summer in Boston.
6. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your good work.
7. Love, Roger

"A person's life purpose is nothing more than to rediscover, through the detours of art, or love, or passionate work, those one or two images in the presence of which his heart first opened.” - Camus
A Play Around With Schedule 08-09
September 7 08 Water Communion: Blue Boat Home
Sept 7 to Sukkot October 19 A BOOKLET TO TAKE HOME WITH YOU. Everyday practices.
September 14: Teacher Dedication
FYI: Setpember 22 is Autumnal Equinox.
FYI: September 30 begins Rosh HaShanah
FYI: October 4: St. Francis (a good time to do blessing of animals)
October 12 08 Matthew Shepard
October 19 Since our theme is "home" Sukkot might wish to be observed here. Sukkot means hut. And at this time, Jews are instructed to construct a temporary home to symolize the huts that Jews lived in during their time of wandering in the wilderness.
October 26 Assocation Sunday
November 2: Most likely: The Election Sermon: A long enduring tradition in Unitarian history, the election sermon puts forth the minister's understandings of the important issues confronting a society before it votes (non-partisan of course, and issues oriented).
November 9 Kristallnacht
November 16:
November 23: morning: pagaent????
Evening: Interfaith Thanksgiving Service (temple or edwards)

BOOKLET: November 30-December 24: Home for the Holidays…
family, holy days, the blues, rituals and celebrations , etc etc.
December 7 or 14, Human Rights Sunday (december 10th is the occasion, we'll have to see).
December 14
December 21 Winter Solstice...Christmas Pagaent?
December 24: Christmas Eve
January 4: Roger preaches in Ames.

Roger will likely take study leave for a few weeks in January.

For the spring, it is just hard to know.
But we know that Easter, we’ll do something about the building.
And probably something about Valentine’s Day.
We also have ROPE and High School—let’s make this earlier in the year.
Teacher Appreciation and Music Sunday.

Those are constants and need to be assigned a date early.

Great Elliot Quote

From Rich Clewell, Davenport school board member, Unitarian Universalist.

"If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's hearbeat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence." Elliot

Monica Casteneda Reflections on the Knoxville UU Shootings

Listening to the Voice of Love
Monica Casteneda

Last Sunday morning my husband made banana pancakes for breakfast. I was sitting there admiring the eating capacity of our two boys, 5 and 2, and how my husband has been increasing the quantities in his recipe over the months to satisfy their morning hunger and still have some to carry in their lunch box to go to church. After breakfast I got the kids and myself ready to go.

Then I saw my husband walk to the bathroom saying he was going to shower. We were already running a little bit late and I was surprised to see he wasn't ready and hadn't even showered yet. He said, "Why don't you go ahead with the boys and I'll meet you there later." I agreed, but when I got to the kitchen to fetch their lunch box with the pancakes I changed my mind, and decided that it was more important for us to be together as a family on a Sunday morning than to be on time. I could as easily have left, annoyed at my husband's tardiness on such a special day as this. You see, I had promised my kids that I would take them to see the play "Annie Jr." that the children of our church had put together during summer camp.

That morning I listened to the voice of love, instead of to the voice of annoyance and I will forever be grateful for it.

We got to the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church in Knoxville, TN at 10:21, right after the first police car arrived. In fact, the police car passed us on Kingston Pike and I felt the first pang of fear when I saw him turn on the driveway to our church. The second pang came when we saw the officer get out of the car with what looked like a sniper's rifle. Then a couple of young women told us there had been a shooting and while I was trying to convince myself this was probably a quarrel or a burglary, they shouted "people have been shot, you have to leave!"

At that time they didn't know that the perpetrator had been submitted and disarmed by members of the congregation.I am sure you have heard the rest in the news.

Now that the initial shock is over, I am once again reminded that there are many things in life that I cannot control, some over which I don't even have a say, but there are also many things in my life in which I can make a difference. One of these is my home, what I put in it and how I take care of it. The care of my home cannot be separated from the care of my family.

At times like these it is even more important that I create a tranquil and loving atmosphere in our home. We have many friends that were touched by this tragedy in a variety of degrees. It is important that we stay loving and centered ourselves so that we can provide support and comfort where needed. This applies to us adults as well as to our children.Work to make your home into an embrace of love. Let go of things that you don't use, don't like, don't love, and those things that are reminders of bad times. Make sure all the living beings in your home, people, pets and plants are thriving. Fix what can be fixed, hire help for what you cannot do yourself.

Make a plan, budget your time and your resources. Make sure to leave some time every day to recharge your batteries, to do something that nourishes you and that you enjoy. These are the basics of a happy home.And when you need to choose between the voice of love or the voice of fear, anger or annoyance, always choose the voice of love.May you be blessed by Feng Shui!


Monica P. Castaneda
monica@fengshuiforus.com

Rabbi Lerner's Sending this Around Re: Knoxville church shooting

Shootings at Unitarian Church in Knoxville

I became a Unitarian in early 1956 because it was the most Christian church I could find in the entire state of Florida--the most Christian church I could even imagine!

Some UUs seem embarrassed to claim that part of our grand worldwide heritage, but we try hard to practice what Jesus taught and that's what matters. Rev. John Brigham of the Unitarian Universalist Association once told me that UUs don't talk much about God because, being stuck on one tiny planet, the only knowledge we possess about the vast universe is very recent. We simply don't know much and might say something that isn't true. "It's fine to make guesses and spin metaphors about God, but we certainly shouldn't make claims that these are infallible truths! It's wise just to speculate tentatively or stay thoughtfully silent," he said, adding, "Most UUs don't dismiss God, but I believe that our Puritan heritage makes us take blasphemy very seriously, and we know instinctively that insisting on the literal truth of imaginative metaphors is blasphemy. It's little more than a sales pitch, and we UUs avoid hucksters."

I agree that we are suspicious of religious sales pitches, but my life experience would add that we also abhor exploitation, whether of individual persons, spotted owls or the entire ecosphere, and I think most of us would agree that denying evidence, like that of evolution, is a major sin against oneself and society. What we embrace positively is listed in our Principles and can be summed up succinctly in St Paul's words from 1st Corinthians, ". . .faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love."

Love is not something to be directed inward. Loving ourselves and spending time on "self-improvement" just isn't high priority in an age of critical needs. Paying attention outside ourselves is important, and it takes guts. I have friends who have been arrested literally dozens of times since the Iraq War began, for pushing back the envelope of free speech that has closed in around our society and penned us in. I admire them and wish I had money for bailouts and lawyers. My arrest record is minimal. In May of '56, a brand-new Unitarian, I was taken into custody (illegally), along with others in the U. of Florida Unitarian Fellowship, for petitioning to get a highly qualified African American, an undergraduate A-student and Korean War veteran, into the UF law school. We obtained an amazing 3,000 signatures during the first three hours of the petition drive. Someone phoned the politicians up in Tallahassee who profited from racism, they got scared and sicced the cops on us, who took our petitions and either destroyed them or delivered the names to the governor's mansion. I was 20 years old and was more than scared, I was terrified, but none of us cooped up in that sweltering little room wept or wailed, there were no regrets, the grad student leader, a woman whose last name was Guerry, cracked jokes about the lack of drinking water and a toilet. Otherwise we worried silently about what could happen to us in an Okefenokee Swamplockup and waited it out till the Dean of Women, the blessed Marna V. Brady, a former WWII WAC Colonel, marched in indignantly and sprang us. (You need not ask why I joined the military after graduating.) What our Fellowship did and our behavior in distress, and learning that our Korean vet entered the law school two years later and ranked near the top of his class, made me proud of being a UU and I've stayed proud. I admit, sometimes the New Age self-absorption gets me irritated. Sometimes we concentrate too much on minor areas of reform and ignore the world falling apart around us. Sometimes I feel as though I almost have to SCREAM to plead for parishioners to break routine and come out to an important mass demonstration where numbers matter. Sometimes it seems we're not as generally well-informed as we were in the 1950s, but in this age of Idiot Box sound bites, who is? I respect and admire--even love--other religions, but am hooked for life as a UU, and maybe for life after death too, although in honesty, I can't be sure about that.

Curiously, I think that this attack on one typical Unitarian Universalist church and the congregation's amazingly courageous response will end up bringing many persons into UU churches who may never before have heard of us. When they learn of the Knoxville church's activities and its Christ-like welcome of those who are often despised in Southern culture, they may think as I did years ago, "Here is a truly Christian church!" One deranged man has created martyrs who didn't want to be martyrs any more than Viola Liuzzo did. It's rather depressing when we consider how often martyrdom makes converts. I suppose it's understandable as the psychology of hero-worship or, at least, admiration. The number of Unitarians increased significantly all over Europe after John Calvin burnt Michael Servetus for heresy. It just works that way. Historically, as this article points out, we have a grand array of activist saints; now some new ones.

I decided forty years ago during the Nixon suppression of law that I didn't want to be a martyr either, but could be one if forced to do so. I'm definitely not a courageous person, and know all about poor Winston Smith in "1984" and the prisoners my own nation has tortured into false admissions since 2001, but my adult life has been dedicated to studying the history of dissent and it's an awesome legacy. How could I not follow the example of my own heroes like Marguerite de Porete, John Ball, John Bunyan, Wolfe Tone, Viola Liuzzo? So I still believe they could lock me up and torture me, threaten death and even carry it out, and I would need to grit my teeth and remain a proud heretic, dissenter, political liberal, social radical, panentheist, Unitarian and Universalist--to the end. There, I've written something for the public record that many UUs would find weird or stupid. But because it's public, you see, I can't make excuses and renege. It's on record. In an era in which we know exactly who "they" are, maybe we should all think about this and take a stand, because, as UUs, we know there are ideals and goals worth putting oneself on the line for. And, as Sara Robinson points out and as the Tibetan Buddhists of China have exemplified recently, wherever the forces of Big Brother tyranny exercise complete control, the outspoken liberals of all religious faiths are likely to be the first to be persecuted for our beliefs and actions. Remember Pastor Bonhoeffer's warning.

Sandy Fulton

knoxville service

Welcome to this place of hospitality and peace and healing.
Welcome to this place of memory and hope.

If you have felt lonely,
You are welcomed here.

If you have felt afraid,
You are welcomed here.

If you have known tragedy and somehow found a way to keep breathing and keep living,
You are welcome here.

If you have known loss,
You are welcome here.

If you have been at a loss for words when someone you love is troubled,
You are welcome here.

If ever you have sat with someone who was sad, held their hand, fed them soup, listened to them patiently, kindly,
You are welcome here.

If you’ve reminded yourself and others that the sun will come out again, the storm will end, a smile will return,
You are welcome here.

If you have known courage, if you have shared courage,
You are welcome here.

If your spirit is heavy this morning, may you find here a place to share with one another something of comfort and peace. May you be a blessing here.
If life is smiling upon you this morning, if you are discovering a new way, a new faith, a new day, welcome, may your joy be truly contagious and may you be a blessing here.A word about this service…
Last week, while our service included a playful and meaningful ritual that had as its refrain: You are welcome here, a devastating and shocking event took place in a Unitarian universalist church in Knoxville, Tennessee. A man, named Jim Adkisson, entered the sanctuary of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church on July 27 and began shooting indiscriminately. The shooting occurred during a performance of a children’s play, Annie. 25 young people gathered to share their talents, their gifts, to put on this play, and they were interrupted by gun shot.Thankfully no children were shot.
Six were injured. Two people died. One was an usher and a board member named Greg McKendry. The other was Linda Krager, who belonged to West Side Unitarian Universalist Church but was there to enjoy the performance
In the news that followed this week, we understand now that Mr. Adkisson targeted the Unitarian Universalist church for its support of liberal causes, for its stance in favor of human liberation and freedom and dignity for all, including members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community.
We also learned that the board member, Mr. McKendry, jumped in front of the shooter, sacrificed himself, basically, in hopes that the community might be safer as a result. His is a powerful story.
This is not the service I intended for today. Instead we’ve pushed the sermon I intended for today back to August 31. Rather, today we gather in a spirit of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Knoxville. We gather to attempt to reflect deeply on the precious and dare I say fragile nature of life—the miracle of it, the gift of it, the random accident of it and the opportunity it presents.
As you can imagine I’ve heard from many of you this week. I want to lift up one powerful thing one of you said: How can we be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Knoxville: by being the very best Unitarian Universalist church we can be here. By standing for what it is we believe it, with passion, power and clarity.
Welcome to this service.


Let us enter into a period of reflection, which some call prayer, or attentiveness, or reflection. Whatever you call it, you are welcomed here.

Bill Welch, the congregation's minister for programs, talked about how isolating it can be to be a liberal in today's world of right-wing talk radio and conservative Christians "that talk about liberals as if we are bad people." "In our prayers, we should remember that we're not alone, that there are people who share our beliefs, that we are part of a larger body," Welch said.

So let us then gather in that spirit. Deep in your heart you have known love, I invite you to invoke that love just now.
Great Spirit of Life, Spirit of Love,
We gather today with heavy hearts. Our world is filled to the brim with senseless violence, maddening divisions, prejudice and blaming. There are strange and foolish walls that divide us. Today, in Knoxville there are families, congregations, a community torn apart by loss and fear and grieving. May they know peace and comfort, and the kind of healing that comes from deep in our human capacity for caring and compassion and solidarity. As the wounded heal physically, may they heal emotionally and spiritually. As the congregation in Knoxville rededicates itself today to its mission of radical inclusion, may they know courage and strength. May they know they are not alone, may their voices not be stilled. May the children be well. We pray for them especially. That their fear will cease and love increase.

And for the shooter. We pray that as the journey toward healing begins for the victims, that it might begin for Mr. Adkisson too. Let him too be touched by love’s long and unconditional embrace. May those who serve him medically and emotionally provide for him a healing that will bring to him a sense of peace and well-being.


May the little that we know of goodness and compassion, be enough to guide us O god, O love, O beauty, as we journey on our way to wholeness.

Let us sing.

Making Sense of Tragedy

Processing Grief

Power of Forgiveness

Culture of Guns and Violence

Our Congregation and Safety

Silence

You’ll Never Walk Alone

The Edwards Rock
Liv: Message from the TVUUC

124 Be That Guide

Building Rededication

Offertory
What can you do:
Keep courage
UUA Relief Fund
Monica and Marco

Benediction. Liv

Postlude Annie

Friends,A wonderful piece in the Washington Post today, post Knoxville. Tomorrow, a special service is planned, with powerful music, a labyrinth for those who wish to do that, opportunities for conversation, and a chance to stand together in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who live in Knoxville.The Post article...


Unitarians Keep the Faith After Attack in ChurchBy Jacqueline L. SalmonWashington Post Staff
Saturday, August 2, 2008; B09

Across the country, as well as in the Washington area, hundreds of Unitarian Universalist congregations held services and candlelight vigils this week after a deadly rampage at a Knoxville, Tenn., church to show support for their denomination's long-standing progressive tradition.

Two people were killed and six wounded Sunday in a shooting at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, allegedly by an out-of-work trucker who, according to the Knoxville police chief, "hated the liberal movement." A seventh person was wounded in the ensuing chaos.

At the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax in Oakton, about 60 people from five UU congregations in Northern Virginia came together for a service Monday evening. Bill Welch, the congregation's minister for programs, talked about how isolating it can be to be a liberal in today's world of right-wing talk radio and conservative Christians "that talk about liberals as if we are bad people."

"In our prayers, we should remember that we're not alone, that there are people who share our beliefs, that we are part of a larger body," Welch said.

Since the shooting, some Unitarian churches have held education sessions to explain their denomination to the public."People are determined to speak out" and defend and explain Unitarian values and beliefs, said Janet Hayes, a spokeswoman for the Boston-based national office. "They're not hiding. They're actually reaching out and opening up."

As a denomination, Unitarianism is tiny: According to the 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 0.3 percent of adults identify themselves as Unitarian Universalists. The Unitarian Universalist Association has 1,000 U.S. churches with 220,000 members.

It is a faith that has long been known for unabashed liberalism in its theological and political beliefs. It has no creed. Instead, it has a set of principles that give its members wide latitude."Private religious beliefs we leave to the individuals," Hayes said.

The denomination considers itself "post-Christian," she said. "We include the teaching of Jesus and we appreciate the wisdom of the Bible, but we don't limit our sources of inspiration to the Christian faith.

"Unitarians also look to other faiths, such as Native American beliefs, neopaganism, Judaism, Buddhism and, more recently, Islam."The driving belief behind it is that there is wisdom in many places," Hayes said.

Politically, the denomination has long been in the forefront of liberalism. In recent years, its General Assembly has voted to oppose ''modern-day slavery'' conditions for migrant workers, support full legal protection for transgender people and to work to halt or reverse global warming.

"Unitarians' response to an event like this is coming together and affirming the religious values that we care about," said the Rev. Rebecca A. Parker, president and professor of theology at Starr King School for the Ministry, a Unitarian seminary in Berkeley, Calif.

In a statement, the Rev. William Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, said Unitarians remain committed to their convictions. "Let me assure you that we will not change our beliefs or compromise our demands for social justice," he said.

"Fear will not prevent us from standing on the side of love, and we will continue to open our doors and our hearts to all people."

August Services, Unitarian Church Davenport, IA

August 3. Roger Butts preaching. Worship Associate: Liv Husman.
This service is an honoring of the victims of the shootings at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville. Tyson Danner will sing You Will Never Walk Alone and Melissa Anderson Clark and Harper Anderson Clark will sing a song from Annie, which was the scheduled performance for last Sunday's service at TVUUC.
Labyrinth Walk is available.

August 10. Religious Services Committee.

August 17. Love and Death Roger Butts preaching. Worship Associate: Katie Goff.
Rev. Forrest Church, minister at All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City has a wonderful line: “To the extent that we eliminate risk from life, we may also succeed in sucking the air out of it. ‘A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for’. . . To bring ourselves to life requires courage.” Forrest Church is dying now, and I will share some thoughts from his remarkable new book: Love and Death, which he wrote in response to his knowledge that his life will now be measured in months not years.

August 24. Meredith Price. Stewardship. The Veatch Fund story.
The creation of the Veatch Program Fund at a Unitarian Church on Long Island is a remarkable story of vision and stewardship. Come and join us as we share in a story of giving that has produced millions and millions of dollars for ordinary people seeking justice around the country and the globe? What are you willing to stand up for and give to? Why?


August 31. The John Murry story. A story of hospitality and welcome and miracles, miracles everywhere you turn.

PLEASE NOTE: Our Services return to 11 a.m. on September 7