PeaceBang
The manic mind of the minister -- Auntie Mame Meets Cotton Mather. Blogging about Unitarian Universalism, UU Christian spiritual practice, occasional cultural and political ravings, and the inner life of ministry. PeaceBang is the alter ego of a small town pastor serving an historic New England Unitarian Universalist congregation.
For Your Consideration: UU Blog Awards
January 25, 2008 on 10:37 am | In Greatest Hits |Did I miss them? It’s time for the UU Blog Awards!!
Darling readers, PB is on vacation in Florida but takes a moment out from sun and rest to submit some of her favorite posts from 2007 to remind you why you are such loyal PeaceBangers (did I miss the deadline?):
“I’ll Pray For You,” my conversation with Miss Conduct about how atheists might more gracefully respond to those pesky people who insist on praying for them than by saying, “Cut it out!”
I’m fond of this piece on The Sanctity Of the Classroom, where I reminisce about being a high school English teacher, even though I can no longer spell “reminisce.”
This piece, “Passionate Does Not Equal Fundamentalist” apparently started a big, angry conversation elsewhere in the UU blogosphere. It is one of my classic rants against the particular hypocrisies and “besetting sins” of the so-called tolerant Unitarian Universalist movement. I know people don’t like being called ignorant, but sometimes it’s got to be named.
Here’s me doling out some practical advice for the single ministers and hopefully making the rest of you laugh and hold onto your honey (”Dating Etiquette For Pastors”).
In my scathing review (the link isn’t working, so please do a blog search for the title of the book of the best-selling Eat, Love, Pray, I earn the wrath of many yoga people who insist that I have no right to dislike this book, it must be that I’m just jealous.
And that, as they say, is that. Also, of course, is Beauty Tips For Ministers, a winner of many UU blog awards last year. Thank you, and I’ll be wearing Armani to the awards show, which will not be telecast due to the Writer’s Strike.
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I personally like the ‘Zombie Jesus’ entry. I cant find it right now (as I’m in a boring meeting at work), but that was the first entry I read and I really related to it.
Comment by Mars Girl — January 25, 2008 #
Here it is:
http://www.peacebang.com/2007/10/09/come-and-get-me-jesus/
Comment by Mars Girl — January 25, 2008 #
Congrats and good luck! And may I also put in a request, upon return, for some Arden pix? That sweet girl must be in her new home by now, no? I mean, theology and cultural criticism is all very well in its place, but puppies? That’s where the action is.
Comment by Miss Conduct — January 25, 2008 #
It was your post on “Eat, Pray, Love” that got me to read “Take This Bread”.
Thanks.
Comment by Cathy — January 25, 2008 #
Here’s the Eat, Love, Pray review, dahlink:
http://peacebang.blogspot.com/2007/03/eat-pray-love-peacebang-review.html
Comment by Jane R — January 25, 2008 #
Just read that post, by the way, because you just mentioned it and I somehow missed it back then. The old blog won’t take my comment so here it is:
Wow. Now I know why I instinctively didn’t like the book even though I haven’t read it. (Does this invalidate my comment completely?) It sounded like one more “Ooh, I traveled the world to enlighten my individualistic upper-middle-class white self and I discovered all this really basic stuff I really could have learned back home.” Sounds even worse though. Nobody had mentioned the exploitation-of-the-locals side of it to me. Ew.
And I’m glad someone agrees with me about Anne Lamott. Wonderful writer, funny, tender, spiritually inspiring — and very, very narcissistic. Why does no one ever mention this?
Now - I am deeply aware that some of my feelings about her are triggered by Writer’s Envy. There. I’ve said it. I want to be a best-seller too instead of having my books languish mid-list. But I still think she’s narcissistic. As for the kid, I haven’t read the recent stuff on him. I loved Operating Instructions and howled with laughter but I think I’m about two books behind, so I haven’t seen the recent stuff on him. He’ll need a good shrink, I guess, but they live in California, so shrinkery is de rigueur. And I do speak from experience since I lived there for ten years ;-).
Comment by Jane R — January 25, 2008 #
P.S. Hope you’re having a fabulous, restful vacation, doll.
Comment by Jane R — January 25, 2008 #
Dear PeaceBang,
This looking-back post seems like a good time to pass on my appreciation for your blog overall. As someone new to UUism only a few years ago, with no previous religious background and only experience with a few different UU congregations under my belt, I have until lately been still very much in the “100 Questions About UUism” phase. As the newness and glamor wear off, I am beginning to confront the complexities of UUism as a revolutionary and prophetic, but ultimately imperfect (made up of humans, after all), movement. It’s not in regular structured Sunday services but in communication that I’ve found the tools to begin to question and, hopefully, answer, but in communication and specifically in thoughtful and engaging writing like your blog. Thanks for showing me through your frank reflections that it is possible for UUism to be flawed and fallible and occasionally hypocritical, but ultimately still a wonderful place to be…
[Thank you, my friend! How nice! - PB]
Comment by Miya — January 26, 2008 #